| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, “Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?” | 1After Joshua died, the Israelites asked the LORD, "Who should lead the invasion against the Canaanites and launch the attack?" |
| 2And the LORD said, “Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.” | 2The LORD said, "The men of Judah should take the lead. Be sure of this! I am handing the land over to them." |
| 3So Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me to my allotted territory, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I will likewise go with you to your allotted territory.” And Simeon went with him. | 3The men of Judah said to their relatives, the men of Simeon, "Invade our allotted land with us and help us attack the Canaanites. Then we will go with you into your allotted land." So the men of Simeon went with them. |
| 4Then Judah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they killed ten thousand men at Bezek. | 4The men of Judah attacked, and the LORD handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They killed ten thousand men at Bezek. |
| 5And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him; and they defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. | 5They met Adoni-Bezek at Bezek and fought him. They defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites. |
| 6Then Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. | 6When Adoni-Bezek ran away, they chased him and captured him. Then they cut off his thumbs and big toes. |
| 7And Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has repaid me.” Then they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. | 7Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up food scraps under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them." They brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. |
| 8Now the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it; they struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. | 8The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They put the sword to it and set the city on fire. |
| 9And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, in the South, and in the lowland. | 9Later the men of Judah went down to attack the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev, and the lowlands. |
| 10Then Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron. (Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kirjath Arba.) And they killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. | 10The men of Judah attacked the Canaanites living in Hebron. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba.) They killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. |
| 11From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir was formerly Kirjath Sepher.) | 11From there they attacked the people of Debir. (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) |
| 12Then Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife.” | 12Caleb said, "To the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher I will give my daughter Acsah as a wife." |
| 13And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife. | 13When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it, Caleb gave him his daughter Acsah as a wife. |
| 14Now it happened, when she came to him, that she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” | 14One time Acsah came and charmed her father so she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, "What would you like?" |
| 15So she said to him, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. | 15She answered, "Please give me a special present. Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water." So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs. |
| 16Now the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the City of Palms with the children of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah, which lies in the South near Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people. | 16Now the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the City of Date Palm Trees to Arad in the desert of Judah, located in the Negev. They went and lived with the people of Judah. |
| 17And Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called Hormah. | 17The men of Judah went with their brothers the men of Simeon and defeated the Canaanites living in Zephath. They wiped out Zephath. So people now call the city Hormah. |
| 18Also Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. | 18The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the territory surrounding each of these cities. |
| 19So the LORD was with Judah. And they drove out the mountaineers, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had chariots of iron. | 19The LORD was with the men of Judah. They conquered the hill country, but they could not conquer the people living in the coastal plain, because they had chariots with iron-rimmed wheels. |
| 20And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then he expelled from there the three sons of Anak. | 20Caleb received Hebron, just as Moses had promised. He drove out the three Anakites. |
| 21But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. | 21The men of Benjamin, however, did not conquer the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this very day. |
| 22And the house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. | 22When the men of Joseph attacked Bethel, the LORD was with them. |
| 23So the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly Luz.) | 23When the men of Joseph spied out Bethel (it used to be called Luz), |
| 24And when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will show you mercy.” | 24the spies spotted a man leaving the city. They said to him, "If you show us a secret entrance into the city, we will reward you." |
| 25So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his family go. | 25He showed them a secret entrance into the city, and they put the city to the sword. But they let the man and his extended family leave safely. |
| 26And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day. | 26He moved to Hittite country and built a city. He named it Luz, and it has kept that name to this very day. |
| 27However, Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. | 27The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shan, Taanach, or their surrounding towns. Nor did they conquer the people living in Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo or their surrounding towns. The Canaanites managed to remain in those areas. |
| 28And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out. | 28Whenever Israel was strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor, but they never totally conquered them. |
| 29Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. | 29The men of Ephraim did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites lived among them in Gezer. |
| 30Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put under tribute. | 30The men of Zebulun did not conquer the people living in Kitron and Nahalol. The Canaanites lived among them and were forced to do hard labor. |
| 31Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. | 31The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco or Sidon, nor did they conquer Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob. |
| 32So the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. | 32The people of Asher live among the Canaanites residing in the land because they did not conquer them. |
| 33Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but they dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were put under tribute to them. | 33The men of Naphtali did not conquer the people living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath. They live among the Canaanites residing in the land. The Canaanites living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced to do hard labor for them. |
| 34And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley; | 34The Amorites forced the people of Dan to live in the hill country. They did not allow them to live in the coastal plain. |
| 35and the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; yet when the strength of the house of Joseph became greater, they were put under tribute. | 35The Amorites managed to remain in Har Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. Whenever the tribe of Joseph was strong militarily, the Amorites were forced to do hard labor. |
| 36Now the boundary of the Amorites was from the Ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela, and upward. | 36The border of Amorite territory ran from the Scorpion Ascent to Sela and on up. |
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