1 

After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of The LORD, saying, "Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?"

2 

The LORD said, "Judah shall go up. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand."

3 

Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your lot." So Simeon went with him.

4 

Judah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand. They struck ten thousand men in Bezek.

5 

They found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and they fought against him. They struck the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6 

But Adoni-Bezek fled. They pursued him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

7 

Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their big toes cut off, scavenged under my table. As I have done, so God has done to me." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 

The children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, took it, struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

9 

After that, the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, and in the South, and in the lowland.

10 

Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron. (The name of Hebron before that was Kiriath Arba.) They struck Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

11 

From there he went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir before that was Kiriath Sepher.)

12 

Caleb said, "I will give Achsah my daughter as wife to the man who strikes Kiriath Sepher, and takes it."

13 

Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it, so he gave him Achsah his daughter as his wife.

14 

When she came, she got him to ask her father for a field. She dismounted from off of her donkey; and Caleb said to her, "What would you like?"

15 

She said to him, "Give me a blessing; because you have set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water." Then Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 

The children of the Kenite, Moses' brother-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and lived with the people.

17 

Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. The name of the city was called Hormah.

18 

Also Judah took Gaza with its border, and Ashkelon with its border, and Ekron with its border.

19 

The LORD was with Judah; and drove out the inhabitants of the hill country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

20 

They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said, and he drove the three sons of Anak out of there.

21 

The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem, but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 

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

23 

The house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city before that was Luz.)

24 

The watchers saw a man come out of the city, and they said to him, "Please show us the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you."

25 

He showed them the entrance into the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his family go.

26 

The man went into the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.

27 

Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its towns, nor Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

28 

When Israel had grown strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out.

29 

Ephraim didn't drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, but the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 

Zebulun didn't drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites lived among them, and became subject to forced labor.

31 

Asher didn't drive out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob;

32 

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

33 

Naphtali didn't drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but he lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and of Beth Anath became subject to forced labor.

34 

The Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill country, for they would not allow 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 subject to forced labor.

36 

The border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

1 

The LORD's angel came up from Gilgal to Bochim. He said, "I brought you out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to give your fathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you.

2 

You shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You shall break down their altars.' But you have not listened to my voice. Why have you done this?

3 

Therefore I also said, 'I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.'"

4 

When The LORD's angel spoke these words to all the children of Israel, the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

5 

They called the name of that place Bochim, and they sacrificed there to The LORD.

6 

Now when Joshua had sent the people away, the children of Israel each went to his inheritance to possess the land.

7 

The people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the LORD that he had worked for Israel.

8 

Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of The LORD, died, being one hundred ten years old.

9 

They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.

10 

After all that generation were gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them, who didn't know The LORD, nor the work which he had done for Israel.

11 

The children of Israel did that which was evil in The LORD's sight, and served the Baals.

12 

They abandoned The LORD, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger.

13 

They abandoned The LORD, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth.

14 

The LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

15 

Wherever they went out, The LORD's hand was against them for evil, as the LORD had spoken, and as the LORD had sworn to them; and they were very distressed.

16 

The LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

17 

Yet they didn't listen to their judges; for they prostituted themselves to other gods, and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly out of the way in which their fathers walked, obeying The LORD's commandments. They didn't do so.

18 

When the LORD raised up judges for them, then the LORD was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it grieved the LORD because of their groaning by reason of those who oppressed them and troubled them.

19 

But when the judge was dead, they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them. They didn't cease what they were doing, or give up their stubborn ways.

20 

The LORD's anger burned against Israel; and he said, "Because this nation transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not listened to my voice,

21 

I also will no longer drive out any of the nations that Joshua left when he died from before them;

22 

that by them I may test Israel, to see if they will keep The LORD's way to walk therein, as their fathers kept it, or not."

23 

So the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily. He didn't deliver them into Joshua's hand.

1 

Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to test Israel by them, even as many as had not known all the wars of Canaan;

2 

only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at least those who knew nothing of it before:

3 

the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.

4 

They were left to test Israel by them, to know whether they would listen to The LORD's commandments, which he commanded their fathers by Moses.

5 

The children of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

6 

They took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.