New Living Translation

English Standard Version

1After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, “Which tribe should go first to attack the Canaanites?”

1After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”

2The LORD answered, “Judah, for I have given them victory over the land.”

2The LORD said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.”

3The men of Judah said to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon, “Join with us to fight against the Canaanites living in the territory allotted to us. Then we will help you conquer your territory.” So the men of Simeon went with Judah.

3And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him.

4When the men of Judah attacked, the LORD gave them victory over the Canaanites and Perizzites, and they killed 10,000 enemy warriors at the town of Bezek.

4Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek.

5While at Bezek they encountered King Adoni-bezek and fought against him, and the Canaanites and Perizzites were defeated.

5They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6Adoni-bezek escaped, but the Israelites soon captured him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

6Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

7Adoni-bezek said, “I once had seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off, eating scraps from under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.” They took him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

7And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it, killing all its people and setting the city on fire.

8And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

9Then they went down to fight the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev, and the western foothills.

9And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland.

10Judah marched against the Canaanites in Hebron (formerly called Kiriath-arba), defeating the forces of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

10And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

11From there they went to fight against the people living in the town of Debir (formerly called Kiriath-sepher).

11From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher.

12Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the one who attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher.”

12And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.”

13Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother, Kenaz, was the one who conquered it, so Acsah became Othniel’s wife.

13And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife.

14When Acsah married Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she got down off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What’s the matter?”

14When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?”

15She said, “Let me have another gift. You have already given me land in the Negev; now please give me springs of water, too.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

15She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16When the tribe of Judah left Jericho—the city of palms—the Kenites, who were descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, traveled with them into the wilderness of Judah. They settled among the people there, near the town of Arad in the Negev.

16And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people.

17Then Judah joined with Simeon to fight against the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they completely destroyed the town. So the town was named Hormah.

17And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah.

18In addition, Judah captured the towns of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, along with their surrounding territories. Israel Fails to Conquer the Land

18Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.

19The LORD was with the people of Judah, and they took possession of the hill country. But they failed to drive out the people living in the plains, who had iron chariots.

19And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron.

20The town of Hebron was given to Caleb as Moses had promised. And Caleb drove out the people living there, who were descendants of the three sons of Anak.

20And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak.

21The tribe of Benjamin, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live in Jerusalem among the people of Benjamin.

21But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22The descendants of Joseph attacked the town of Bethel, and the LORD was with them.

22The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them.

23They sent men to scout out Bethel (formerly known as Luz).

23And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.)

24They confronted a man coming out of the town and said to him, “Show us a way into the town, and we will have mercy on you.”

24And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.”

25So he showed them a way in, and they killed everyone in the town except that man and his family.

25And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go.

26Later the man moved to the land of the Hittites, where he built a town. He named it Luz, which is its name to this day.

26And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day.

27The tribe of Manasseh failed to drive out the people living in Beth-shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and all their surrounding settlements, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in that region.

27Manasseh 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 persisted in dwelling in that land.

28When the Israelites grew stronger, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves, but they never did drive them completely out of the land.

28When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

29The tribe of Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, so the Canaanites continued to live there among them.

29And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30The tribe of Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron and Nahalol, so the Canaanites continued to live among them. But the Canaanites were forced to work as slaves for the people of Zebulun.

30Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.

31The tribe of Asher failed to drive out the residents of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob.

31Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob,

32Instead, the people of Asher moved in among the Canaanites, who controlled the land, for they failed to drive them out.

32so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

33Likewise, the tribe of Naphtali failed to drive out the residents of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath. Instead, they moved in among the Canaanites, who controlled the land. Nevertheless, the people of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath were forced to work as slaves for the people of Naphtali.

33Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.

34As for the tribe of Dan, the Amorites forced them back into the hill country and would not let them come down into the plains.

34The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain.

35The Amorites were determined to stay in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim, but when the descendants of Joseph became stronger, they forced the Amorites to work as slaves.

35The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor.

36The boundary of the Amorites ran from Scorpion Pass to Sela and continued upward from there.

36And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.