| New King James Version | Berean Study 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 the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?” |
| 2And the LORD said, “Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.” | 2“Judah shall go up,” answered the LORD. “Indeed, I have delivered the land into their hands.” |
| 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. | 3Then the men of Judah said to their brothers the Simeonites, “Come up with us to our allotted territory, and let us fight against the Canaanites. And we likewise will go with you to your territory.” So the Simeonites 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. | 4When Judah attacked, the LORD delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek. |
| 5And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him; and they defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. | 5And there they found Adoni-bezek and fought against him, striking down the Canaanites and Perizzites. |
| 6Then Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. | 6As Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, seized him, and 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. | 7Then Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done to them, so God has repaid me.” And 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. | 8Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it 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. | 9Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the foothills. |
| 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. | 10Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba), and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. |
| 11From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir was formerly Kirjath Sepher.) | 11From there they marched against the inhabitants of Debir (formerly known as Kiriath-sepher). |
| 12Then Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife.” | 12And Caleb said, “To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage.” |
| 13And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife. | 13So Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz captured the city, and Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage. |
| 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 day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?” |
| 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. | 15“Give me a blessing,” she answered. “Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water as well.” 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 Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad. They went to live among the people. |
| 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. | 17Then the men of Judah went with their brothers the Simeonites, attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and devoted the city to destruction. So it was called Hormah. |
| 18Also Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. | 18And Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron—each with its territory. |
| 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 Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the plains because they had chariots of iron. |
| 20And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then he expelled from there the three sons of Anak. | 20Just as Moses had promised, Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, who drove out the descendants of the three sons of Anak. |
| 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 Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the Benjamites. |
| 22And the house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. | 22The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them. |
| 23So the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly Luz.) | 23They sent spies to Bethel (formerly known as 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.” | 24and when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us how to get into the city, and we will treat you kindly.” |
| 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. | 25So the man showed them the entrance to the city, and they put the city to the sword but released that man and all his family. |
| 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. | 26And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called it Luz, which is its name to this 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. | 27At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. |
| 28And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out. | 28When Israel became stronger, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor, but they never drove them out completely. |
| 29Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. | 29Ephraim also failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer; so the Canaanites continued to dwell 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. | 30Zebulun failed to drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced laborers. |
| 31Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. | 31Asher failed to drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob. |
| 32So the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. | 32So the Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, because they did not drive them out. |
| 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. | 33Naphtali failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath. So the Naphtalites also lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, but the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served them as forced laborers. |
| 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 Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to come down into the 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. | 35And the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the house of Joseph grew in strength, they pressed the Amorites into forced labor. |
| 36Now the boundary of the Amorites was from the Ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela, and upward. | 36And the border of the Amorites extended from the Ascent of Akrabbim to Sela and beyond. |
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