0 SAB Judges 1

Judges

CHAPTER 1

God delivers 10,000 Canaanites and Perizzites
1:1-4

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

After Joshua died, the Israelites asked God, saying,
Who will help us fight the Canaanites?

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

God, said,
The people of Judah will lead the fight. I've delivered the land into their hands.

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

The people of Judah said to the people of Simeon,
Help us fight the Canaanites. We'll fight with you.
So the people of Simeon fought with them.

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

The people of Judah fought the Canaanites.

God delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and 10,000 Canaanites were killed. [1]

Adonibezek's thumbs and big toes are cut off
1:5-7

5 And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

They found Adonibezek [2] in Bezek, and they killed the Canaanites and Perizzites.

6 But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

Adonibezek fled, but they caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. [3]

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

Adonibezek said,
I cut off the thumbs and great toes of 70 kings who ate meat under my table. God is punishing me for that.

They brought him to Jerusalem where he died.

The Jerusalem massacre
1:8

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

The people of Judah killed everyone in Jerusalem and set the city on fire. [4]
Caleb gives his daughter to his nephew Othniel (for smiting Kirjathsepher)
1:9-15

9 And afterward 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 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

After the Jerusalem massacre, the people of Judah fought against the Canaanites [5], killing Sheshai, Ahimanm, and Talmai.

11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher:

Then they attacked the people of Debir.

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

Caleb said,
I will give my daughter to whoever smites Kirjathsepher.

13And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

14 And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved 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 blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.

Othniel, Caleb's nephew, smote Kirjathsepher, and Caleb gave him his daughter as a wife. [6]
Four Canaanite cities are destroyed
1:16-18

16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

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

The tribes of Judah and Simeon killed the Canaanites in Zephath, and utterly destroy it.

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

The tribe of Judah took Gaza, Askelon, and Ekron, along with their coastlines.
Iron chariots
1:19-21

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

God was with Judah [7] when he drove out the mountain people, but God couldn't drive out the valley people since they had chariots of iron. [8]

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

They gave Hebron to Caleb (as Moses said), and he expelled the three sons of Anak. [9]

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

The tribe of Benjamin didn't drive out the Jebusites in Jerusalem. [10]
(The Jebusites and the tribe of Benjamin still live together in Jerusalem today.)
The Bethel massacre
1:22-26

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

The tribe of Joseph fought against Bethel. God was with them.

23 And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)

24 And the spies 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.

The tribe of Joseph sent spies to Bethel, who saw a man leaving the city. They said to him, "show us the city entrance and we'll show you mercy."

25And 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. called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.

When the man showed them the entrance, they killed everyone in Bethel, except for the man (and his family) who showed them how to enter the city.

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

The man who showed them the entrance, built a city named Luz. It's still there today.

Those who couldn't be driven out
1:27-36

27Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

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

The tribe of Manasseh couldn't drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, or Megiddo. So the Canaanites continued to live there.

29Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

The tribe of Ephraim couldn't drive out the Canaanites in Gezer. So the Canaanites lived with them there. [11]

30Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.

The tribe of Zebulun couldn't drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or Nahalol. So they Canaanities lived with them there.

31Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:

The tribe of Asher couldn't drive out the inhabitants of Acho, Zidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob.

32But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.

So the Asherites lived with the Canaanites.

33Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.

The tribe of Naphtali couldn't drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh or Bethanath, so they lived among the Canaanites.

34And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:

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

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

The tribe of Dan was forced by the Amorites to live in the mountains, and wouldn't let them come down to the valley.
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