THE BOOK OF
JUDGES

Judges 1 ©

The tribe of Judah, by God’s command, begins to make war against the inhabitants of Canaan, v. 1, etc. Subdues Adoni-bezek, 4. Takes Jerusalem, 8. Slays the children of Anak at Hebron, 10. Othniel subdues Debir, and thereby gets Caleb’s daughter to wife, 12. The Kenites dwell among Judah, 16. Simeon subdues Zephath, 17. And Judah several cities of the Philistines, 18. They, of the house of Joseph, subdue Bethel, 23. A relation of the remissness of the tribes in driving out the Canaanites, for which they are vexed by them, and are left to dwell one among another, 19, 21, etc.

1

NOW after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel 1asked the LORD, saying, Whoa shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

2

And the LORD said, 2Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

3

And Judah said unto 3Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my 4lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.

4

And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into 5their hand: and they slew of them in 6Bezek ten thousand men.

5

And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6

But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and 7cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

7

And Adoni-bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered 8their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

8

Now the children of Judah 9had fought against Jerusalem, and had 10taken it, and smitten it with the 11edge of the sword, and 12set the city on fire.

9

¶Andb13afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.

10

Andc14Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in 15Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba:) and they slew 16Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

11

And from thence 17he went against the inhabitants of Debir:d and the name of 18Debir before was Kirjath-sepher:

12

And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

13

And Othniel 19the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s 20younger 21brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

14

22And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she 23moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?

15

And she said unto him, Give me a 24blessing: for thou hast given me a 25south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.

16

¶And the children of the 26Kenite, Moses’ father in law, went up out of 27the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of 28Arad; 29and they went and dwelt among the people.

17

And 30Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited 31Zephath, and utterly 32destroyed it. And the name of the city was called 33Hormah.

18

Also Judah took 34Gaza with the 35coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.

19

And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but 36could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, 37because they had chariots of iron.

20

And they gave 38Hebron unto Caleb, as Mosese said: and he expelled thence the 39three sons of Anak.

21

And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited 40Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto 41this day.

22

¶And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el: and the LORD was with them.

23

And the house of Joseph sent to descryf Beth-el. (Now the name of the city beforegwas 42Luz.)

24

And the 43spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.

25

And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.

26

And the man went into the land of the 44Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.

27

¶Neitherh did 45Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of 46Beth-shean and her 47towns, nor 48Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of 49Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites 50would dwell in that land.

28

And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not 51utterly drive them out.

29

¶Neitheri did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in 52Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

30

¶Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of 53Kitron, nor the inhabitants of 54Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among 55them, and became tributaries.

31

¶Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of 56Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of 57Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:

32

But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.

33

¶Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of 58Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributaries unto them.

34

And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to 59the valley:

35

But the Amorites 60would dwell in mount Heres in 61Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became 62tributaries.

36

And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to 63Akrabbim, from the 64rock, and upward.