| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 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?” | 1After Joshua died, the Israelites asked the LORD, "Who should lead the invasion against the Canaanites and launch the attack?" |
| 2The LORD said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given 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." |
| 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. | 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 gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them 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. |
| 5They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. | 5They met Adoni-Bezek at Bezek and fought him. They defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites. |
| 6Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his 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 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 8The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They put the sword to it and set the city on fire. |
| 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. | 9Later the men of Judah went down to attack the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev, and the lowlands. |
| 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. | 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 Kiriath-sepher. | 11From there they attacked the people of Debir. (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) |
| 12And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a 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, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. | 13When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it, Caleb gave him his daughter Acsah as a wife. |
| 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?” | 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?" |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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 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. | 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. |
| 18Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and 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. |
| 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. | 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 Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. | 20Caleb received Hebron, just as Moses had promised. He drove out the three Anakites. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 22The 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. |
| 23And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) | 23When the men of Joseph spied out Bethel (it used to be called Luz), |
| 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.” | 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." |
| 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. | 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 and built a city and called its name Luz. That 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 28When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. | 28Whenever Israel was strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor, but they never totally conquered them. |
| 29And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. | 29The men of Ephraim did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites lived among them in Gezer. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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, | 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 lived 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 34The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. | 34The Amorites forced the people of Dan to live in the hill country. They did not allow them to live in the coastal plain. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 36And the border of the Amorites ran 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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