Judges 1

1 After the death [passing away, end of life] of Joshua [leader, successor of Moses], the Israelites [descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] inquired [asked, sought guidance] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God], “Who [which tribe, what leader] will be the first [at the beginning, to initiate] to go up [ascend, march against] and fight [engage in battle, war] for us [on our behalf] against the Canaanites [inhabitants of Canaan, unbelievers]?” word study 2 “Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, a son of Jacob] shall go up [to ascend, rise, or take the lead],” answered the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]. “Indeed, I have delivered [given, put, or set] the land [the soil, ground, or territory] into their hands [an open hand; strength, a side or share] [by my power, into their possession].” word study 3 Then the men of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, son of Jacob] said to their brothers [close relatives, fellow Israelites] the Simeonites [the tribe of Simeon, also known as Shimeon], “Come up [to ascend, go up with us] with us to our allotted territory [our inheritance, portion assigned by God], and let us fight [engage in battle, struggle against] against the Canaanites [the people of Canaan, a merchants’ and traders’ nation]. And we likewise [also, in the same way] will go with you to your territory [your inheritance, land given by God].” So the Simeonites [the tribe of Simeon] went with them [accompanied, joined with them]. word study 4 When Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, son of Jacob] attacked, the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] delivered the Canaanites [inhabitants of the land of Canaan] and Perizzites [a Canaanite tribe] into their hands [an open hand; strength, a side or share], and they struck down [to smite or hit] ten thousand [a large number] men at Bezek [a place of lightning-fast battles]. word study 5 And there they found [discovered, came upon] Adoni-bezek [a Canaanite king] and fought [engaged in battle, waged war] against him, striking down [smiting, defeating] the Canaanites [merchants and traders] and Perizzites [a Canaanite tribe, inhabitants of the land]. word study 6 As Adoni-bezek [the Canaanite king] fled [to escape, running away], they pursued [chased after] him, seized [caught, grasped] him, and cut off [removed, severed] his thumbs [big toes, largest digits] and big toes [thumb, referring to the largest digit on the hand or foot]. word study 7 Then Adoni-bezek [a Canaanite king] said, “Seventy [threescore and ten] kings with their thumbs [or big toes] and big toes [or thumbs] cut off [mutilated, disabled] have gathered [to pick up, collected] the scraps [leftovers, crumbs] under my table [as a sign of humiliation]. As I have done [or acted] to them, so God [Elohim, the supreme Judge] has repaid [or requited] me [in like manner, with similar punishment].” And they brought him to Jerusalem [the city of peace], where he died [or met his end, perished]. word study 8 Then the men [sons, descendants] of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, the son of Jacob] fought [to engage in battle, to consume] against Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital city of Palestine] and captured [to seize, to take control of] it. They put the city [the town, the excitement of the people] to the sword [the cutting instrument, the tool of war] and set [to send, to dispatch] it on fire [the refining presence]. word study 9 Afterward [following this, at a later time], the men of Judah [sons of Judah, descendants of the tribe] marched down [went down, descended] to fight [to battle, to engage in war] against the Canaanites [inhabitants of Canaan, the people of the land] living [dwelling, residing] in the hill country [the mountain, the highlands], in the Negev [the south, the southern district], and in the foothills [the lowlands, the Shephelah]. word study 10 Judah [the tribe of praise] also marched against the Canaanites [the merchants and traders of the land] who were living [dwelling, residing] in Hebron [the city of alliance, formerly Kiriath-arba] (formerly known as [previously called] Kiriath-arba), and they struck down [slew, smote] Sheshai [a giant, son of Anak], Ahiman [a Levite servant], and Talmai [a Canaanite king]. word study 11 From there [at that point in time, thence] they marched [went to battle, advanced] against the inhabitants [those dwelling, residents] of Debir [a city in Judah] (formerly known as [previously named] Kiriath-sepher [city of the book, Kiriath-sannah]). word study 12 And Caleb [a faithful Israelite] said, “To the man who strikes down [smiteth, attacks] Kiriath-sepher [the city of the book, Debir] and captures [taketh, seizes] it, I will give [bestow, grant] my daughter [female child, woman] Acsah [a woman of Judah, daughter of Caleb] in marriage [to wife, as a spouse].” word study 13 So Othniel [son of Kenaz, a hunter] son of Caleb’s [a faithful Israelite] younger brother [relative, kin] Kenaz captured [took, seized] the city, and Caleb gave his daughter [female child, woman] Acsah [a woman of Judah] to him in marriage [as a wife, to be his partner]. word study 14 One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged [incited, stimulated] him to ask her father [parent, ancestral head] for a field [land, territory]. When she got off [descended from] her donkey [male ass, beast of burden], Caleb asked her, “What [how, in what way] do you desire [wish, long for]?” word study 15 “Give me a blessing [a gift from God, bringing prosperity and praise],” she answered. “Since you have given me land [a country, territory, or region] in the Negev [the southern district, a dry and barren area], give me springs of water [a source of refreshment] as well.” So Caleb [a faithful and obedient servant of God] gave her both the upper [high, elevated] and lower [low, humble] springs. word study 16 Now the descendants [sons, family members] of Moses’ father-in-law [relative, brother-in-law], the Kenite [a tribe], went up [ascended, rose] with the men of Judah [the tribe of Judah, the people of Judah] from the City of Palms [the city of palm trees, Jericho] to the Wilderness [desert, open field] of Judah [the region of Judah] in the Negev [the south country, southern district] near Arad [a city, a place]. They went to live [dwell, settle] among [with, near] the people [a nation, Amaw]. word study 17 Then the men of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, a son of Jacob] went with their brothers [close relatives, fellow Israelites] the Simeonites [descendants of Simeon, another son of Jacob], attacked [struck, smote] the Canaanites [inhabitants of the land of Canaan, merchants and traders] living [dwelling, inhabiting] in Zephath [a watch-tower, a place in Palestine], and devoted [utterly destroyed, put under the curse] the city [a town with a wall, a settlement] to destruction [complete devastation, ruin]. So it was called [named, designated] Hormah [a place of devotion, meaning devotion]. word study 18 And Judah [the tribe of Judah, as a corporate entity] also captured [seized, took control of] Gaza [Azzah, the strong city], Ashkelon [a major Philistine city], and Ekron [one of the five major cities of the Philistines]—each with its [surrounding, adjacent] territory [border, boundary]. word study 19 The LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] was with Judah [the tribe descended from Judah], and they took possession [to occupy and control] of the hill country [mountain or hill]; but they could not drive out [to dispossess or expel] the inhabitants of the plains [valley or lowland area] because they had chariots [vehicles or cavalry] of iron [a strong metal]. word study 20 Just as Moses [the Israelite leader, who received the law from God] had promised, Judah gave Hebron [a place in Palestine, also the name of two Israelites] to Caleb [a man from the tribe of Judah], who drove out [expelled, dispossessed] the descendants [sons, offspring] of the three [a quantity of, thrice] sons of Anak [a Canaanite man, father of Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai]. word study 21 The Benjamites [children of Benjamin, sons of the right hand], however, failed [did not have the strength or will] to drive out [dispossess, take control of] the Jebusites [inhabitants of Jebus, descendants of Canaan] living [dwelling, residing] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, capital of Palestine]. So to this day [until now, as far as this point in time] the Jebusites [Jebusite people-group] live [dwell, remain] there among [with, near] the Benjamites [tribe of Benjamin]. word study 22 The house [dwelling place, family] of Joseph [Jehovah has added] also [too, even] attacked [went up against] Bethel [house of God], and the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] was with [together, in accompaniment] them. word study 23 They sent [to spy out, to explore, to descry] spies to Bethel [house of God, a significant location] (formerly [beforetime, in earlier times] known as Luz [a place name, meaning almond tree]), word study 24 and when the spies [watchers, guardians] saw a man [male person, individual] coming out [leaving, exiting] of the city [town, settlement], they said to him, “Please [we pray, kindly] show us [make clear to us] how to get into the city [entrance, way into], and we will treat you kindly [deal kindly with you, show mercy].” word study 25 So the man [provider, one who shows the way] showed them the entrance [gate, way into] to the city [town, settlement], and they put the city [with its inhabitants] to the sword [edge of the sword, by the power of the sword] but released [sent away, let go] that man [the individual, the one who helped them] and all [every member of] his family [household, clan]. word study 26 And the man [a male person, individual] went to the land [country, territory, region] of the Hittites [descendants of Heth], built [established, constructed] a city [town, settlement], and called it Luz [a place name, meaning separation], which is its name [identity, character] to this day [until now, as far as this point in time]. word study 27 At that time Manasseh [the grandson of Jacob, a leader of a large tribe] failed to drive out [did not dispossess, could not expel] the inhabitants of Beth-shean [a city in ancient Palestine, meaning house of ease], Taanach [an ancient city, conquered by Joshua], Dor [a city in the territory of Manasseh], Ibleam [a city in ancient Palestine, meaning devotion], Megiddo [an important city in ancient Israel], and their villages [surrounding towns, daughter cities]; for the Canaanites [the people of the land of Canaan, merchants and traders] were determined [insisted, willing] to dwell [to sit, to remain, to abide] in that land [the territory, the region, the earth]. word study 28 When Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] became stronger [waxed strong, grew in power], they pressed the Canaanites [the inhabitants of the land, merchants and traders] into forced labor [taskwork, tribute], but they never [did not utterly] drove them out [expelled, dispossessed] completely [wholly, entirely]. word study 29 Ephraim [a tribe of Israel, doubly fruitful] also failed [did not succeed, was unable] to drive out [expel, dispossess] the Canaanites [inhabitants of the land, merchants and traders] living [dwelling, residing] in Gezer [a city in Palestine, a special portion]; so the Canaanites [Canaan people-group] continued [remained, stayed] to dwell [sit, abide] among them [in their midst, in their entrails] in Gezer [the city of Gezer]. word study 30 Zebulun [a tribe of Israel, descendant of Jacob] failed [did not succeed, was unable] to drive out [expel, dispossess] the inhabitants [residents, dwellers] of Kitron [a town in Zebulun, associated with incense] and Nahalol [a place in Palestine, possibly the modern village of Malul]; so the Canaanites [the native people of the land, merchants and traders] lived [dwelt, remained] among them [in their midst, as neighbors] and served [became, were made] as forced laborers [taskworkers, tributaries, subject to taskwork]. word study 31 Asher [failed to overcome, did not dispossess] failed to drive out [expel, cast out] the inhabitants [residents, dwellers] of Acco [a seaport town], Sidon [an ancient city on the Mediterranean coast], Ahlab [a fertile place], Achzib [a town of deceit], Helbah [a fertile town], Aphik [an enclosure], and Rehob [a place of wide spaces]. word study 32 So the Asherites [descendants of Asher, a tribe in Israel] lived [to dwell, remain, or abide] among the Canaanite [from the land of Canaan, merchants and traders] inhabitants [residents, people of the land] of the land [the soil, ground, or region], because [for the reason that] they did not [lacking the action of] drive them out [to possess, take control of, or dispossess]. word study 33 Naphtali [a tribe of Israel, descended from Jacob’s son] failed to drive out [did not dispossess, or expel] the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh [Heliopolis, a city of the sun] and Beth-anath [house of response, or affliction]. So the Naphtalites also lived [dwelt, or remained] among the Canaanite [indigenous, or native] inhabitants of the land [the earth, or territory], but the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served [became tributaries, or were subjected to forced labor] them as forced laborers [taskworkers, or those performing compulsory work]. word study 34 The Amorites [a Canaanite tribe] forced [oppressed, squeezed] the Danites [sons of Dan, a tribe of Israel] into the hill country [mountain, high land] and did not allow [would not suffer, refused to permit] them to come down [to go down, descend] into the plain [valley, lowland area]. word study 35 And the Amorites [a Canaanite tribe, descendants of Canaan] were determined to dwell [to sit or remain, to live as residents] in Mount Heres [a mountain in Palestine, inhabited by Amorites], Aijalon [a city in Palestine, meaning field of deer], and Shaalbim [a town in Dan, known as the place of foxes]. But when the house [a dwelling place, including a family home] of Joseph [Jehovah has added, a name given to several Israelites] grew in strength [became stronger or more numerous], they pressed the Amorites into forced labor [became tributaries, were made to work as taskworkers]. word study 36 And the border [limit, boundary] of the Amorites [a Canaanite tribe, descended from Canaan] extended from the Ascent [going up] of Akrabbim [the desert pass, or ascent of scorpions] to Sela [a crag, a strong and secure place] and beyond [above, upward, to a higher place]. word study