The Book of Judges
1
1 And it cometh to pass, after the death of Joshua, that the sons of Israel ask at Jehovah, saying, 'Who doth go up for us unto the Canaanite, at the commencement, to fight against it?' 2 And Jehovah saith, 'Judah doth go up; lo, I have given the land into his hand.' 3 And Judah saith to Simeon his brother, 'Go up with me into my lot, and we fight against the Canaanite — and I have gone, even I, with thee into thy lot;' and Simeon goeth with him. 4 And Judah goeth up, and Jehovah giveth the Canaanite and the Perizzite into their hand, and they smite them in Bezek — ten thousand men; 5 and they find Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fight against him, and smite the Canaanite and the Perizzite. 6 And Adoni-Bezek fleeth, and they pursue after him, and seize him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes, 7 and Adoni-Bezek saith, 'Seventy kings — their thumbs and their great toes cut off — have been gathering under my table; as I have done so hath God repaid to me;' and they bring him in to Jerusalem, and he dieth there. 8 And the sons of Judah fight against Jerusalem, and capture it, and smite it by the mouth of the sword, and the city they have sent into fire; 9 and afterwards have the sons of Judah gone down to fight against the Canaanite, inhabiting the hill-country, and the south, and the low country; 10 and Judah goeth unto the Canaanite who is dwelling in Hebron (and the name of Hebron formerly [is] Kirjath-Arba), and they smite Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. 11 And he goeth thence unto the inhabitants of Debir (and the name of Debir formerly [is] Kirjath-Sepher), 12 and Caleb saith, 'He who smiteth Kirjath-Sepher — and hath captured it — then I have given to him Achsah my daughter for a wife.' 13 And Othniel son of Kenaz, younger brother of Caleb, doth capture it, and he giveth to him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 14 And it cometh to pass in her coming in, that she persuadeth him to ask from her father the field, and she lighteth from off the ass, and Caleb saith to her, 'What — to thee?' 15 And she saith to him, 'Give to me a blessing; when the south land thou hast given me — then thou hast given to me springs of water; and Caleb giveth to her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16 And the sons of the Kenite, father-in-law of Moses, have gone up out of the city of palms with the sons of Judah [to] the wilderness of Judah, which [is] in the south of Arad, and they go and dwell with the people. 17 And Judah goeth with Simeon his brother, and they smite the Canaanite inhabiting Zephath, and devote it; and [one] calleth the name of the city Hormah. 18 And Judah captureth Gaza and its border, and Askelon and its border, and Ekron and its border; 19 and Jehovah is with Judah, and he occupieth the hill-country, but not to dispossess the inhabitants of the valley, for they have chariots of iron. 20 And they give to Caleb Hebron, as Moses hath spoken, and he dispossesseth thence the three sons of Anak. 21 And the Jebusite, inhabiting Jerusalem, the sons of Benjamin have not dispossessed; and the Jebusite dwelleth with the sons of Benjamin, in Jerusalem, till this day. 22 And the house of Joseph go up — even they — to Beth-El, and Jehovah [is] with them; 23 and the house of Joseph cause [men] to spy about Beth-El (and the name of the city formerly is Luz), 24 and the watchers see a man coming out from the city, and say to him, 'Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance of the city, and we have done with thee kindness.' 25 And he sheweth them the entrance of the city, and they smite the city by the mouth of the sword, and the man and all his family they have sent away; 26 and the man goeth to the land of the Hittites, and buildeth a city, and calleth its name Luz — it [is] its name unto this day. 27 And Manasseh hath not occupied Beth-Shean and its towns, and Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Iblaim and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, and the Canaanite is desirous to dwell in that land; 28 and it cometh to pass, when Israel hath been strong, that he setteth the Canaanite to tribute, and hath not utterly dispossessed it. 29 And Ephraim hath not dispossessed the Canaanite who is dwelling in Gezer, and the Canaanite dwelleth in its midst, in Gezer. 30 Zebulun hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Kitron, and the inhabitants of Nahalol, and the Canaanite dwelleth in its midst, and they become tributary. 31 Asher hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Accho, and the inhabitants of Zidon, and Ahlab, and Achzib, and Helbah, and Aphik, and Rehob; 32 and the Asherite dwelleth in the midst of the Canaanite, the inhabitants of the land, for it hath not dispossessed them. 33 Naphtali hath not dispossessed the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh, and the inhabitants of Beth-Anath, and he dwelleth in the midst of the Canaanite, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh and of Beth-Anath have become tributary to them. 34 And the Amorites press the sons of Dan to the mountain, for they have not suffered them to go down to the valley; 35 and the Amorite is desirous to dwell in mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, and the hand of the house of Joseph is heavy, and they become tributary; 36 and the border of the Amorite [is] from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock and upward.