CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Judges 1 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/judges/1.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/judges/1-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</a> > Judges 1</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../joshua/24.htm" title="Joshua 24">◄</a> Judges 1 <a href="../judges/2.htm" title="Judges 2">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s1">The Tribes of Judah and Simeon Fight the Canaanites</h3><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_1"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.1" class="v7_1_1">1</span>After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the <span class="nd">Lord</span>, “Which of our tribes should attack the Canaanites first?”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_2"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.2" class="v7_1_2">2</span>“Judah!” the <span class="nd">Lord</span> answered. “I'll help them take the land.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_3"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.3" class="v7_1_3">3</span>The people of Judah went to their relatives, the Simeon tribe, and said, “Canaanites live in the land God gave us. Help us fight them, and we will help you.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_3">Troops from Simeon came to help Judah. </span><span class="v7_1_4"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.4-Judg.1.5" class="v7_1_4">4-5</span>Together they attacked an army of 10,000 Canaanites and Perizzites at Bezek, and the <span class="nd">Lord</span> helped Judah defeat them. During the battle, Judah's army found out where the king of Bezek<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.4-Judg.1.5!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> was, and they attacked there. </span><span class="v7_1_6"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.6" class="v7_1_6">6</span>The king tried to escape, but soldiers from Judah caught him. They cut off his thumbs and big toes, </span><span class="v7_1_7"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.7" class="v7_1_7">7</span>and he said, “I've cut off the thumbs and big toes of 70 kings and made those kings crawl around under my table for scraps of food. Now God is paying me back.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_7">The army of Judah took the king of Bezek along with them to Jerusalem, where he died. </span><span class="v7_1_8"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.8" class="v7_1_8">8</span>They attacked Jerusalem,<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.8!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> captured it, killed everyone who lived there, and then burned it to the ground.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_9"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.9" class="v7_1_9">9</span>Judah's army fought the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, the Southern Desert, and the foothills to the west. </span><span class="v7_1_10"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.10" class="v7_1_10">10</span>After that, they attacked the Canaanites who lived at Hebron, defeating the three clans called<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.10!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. At that time, Hebron was called Kiriath-Arba.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_11"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.11" class="v7_1_11">11</span>From Hebron, Judah's army went to attack Debir, which at that time was called Kiriath-Sepher. </span><span class="v7_1_12"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.12" class="v7_1_12">12</span>Caleb<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.12!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> told his troops, “The man who captures Kiriath-Sepher can marry my daughter Achsah.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_13"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.13" class="v7_1_13">13</span>Caleb's nephew Othniel captured Kiriath-Sepher, so Caleb let him marry Achsah. Othniel was the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz.<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.13!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span><span class="v7_1_14"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.14" class="v7_1_14">14</span>Right after the wedding, Achsah started telling Othniel that he<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.14!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> ought to ask her father for a field. She went to see her father, and while she was getting down from<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.14!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> her donkey, Caleb asked, “What's bothering you?”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_15"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.15" class="v7_1_15">15</span>She answered, “I need your help. The land you gave me is in the Southern Desert, so please give me some spring-fed ponds for a water supply.”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_15">Caleb gave her a couple of small ponds named Higher Pond and Lower Pond.<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.15!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_16"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.16" class="v7_1_16">16</span>The people who belonged to the Kenite clan were the descendants of the father-in-law of Moses. They left Jericho<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.16!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> with the people of Judah and settled near Arad in the Southern Desert of Judah not far from the Amalekites.<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.16!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_17"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.17" class="v7_1_17">17</span>Judah's army helped Simeon's army attack the Canaanites who lived at Zephath. They completely destroyed<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.17!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> the town and renamed it Hormah.<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.17!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_18"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.18-Judg.1.19" class="v7_1_18">18-19</span>The <span class="nd">Lord</span> helped the army of Judah capture Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the land near those towns. They also took the hill country. But the people who lived in the valleys had iron chariots, so Judah was not able to make them leave or to take their land.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_20"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.20" class="v7_1_20">20</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.20!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> The tribe of Judah gave the town of Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had told them to do. Caleb defeated the three Anakim<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.20!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> clans<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.20!f.3" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> and took over the town.</span></p><h3 class="s1">The Benjamin Tribe Does Not Capture Jerusalem</h3><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_21"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.21" class="v7_1_21">21</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.21!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> The Jebusites were living in Jerusalem, and the Benjamin tribe did not defeat them or capture the town. That's why Jebusites still live in Jerusalem along with the people of Benjamin.</span></p><h3 class="s1">The Ephraim and Manasseh Tribes Capture Bethel</h3><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_22"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.22-Judg.1.23" class="v7_1_22">22-23</span>The Ephraim and Manasseh tribes<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.22-Judg.1.23!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> were getting ready to attack Bethel, which at that time was called Luz. And the <span class="nd">Lord</span> helped them when they sent spies to find out as much as they could about Bethel. </span><span class="v7_1_24"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.24" class="v7_1_24">24</span>While the spies were watching the town, a man came out, and they told him, “If you show us how our army can get into the town,<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.24!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> we will make sure that you aren't harmed.” </span><span class="v7_1_25"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.25" class="v7_1_25">25</span>The man showed them, and the two Israelite tribes attacked Bethel, killing everyone except the man and his family. The two tribes made the man and his family leave, </span><span class="v7_1_26"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.26" class="v7_1_26">26</span>so they went to the land of the Hittites,<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.26!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> where he built a town. He named the town Luz, and that is still its name.</span></p><h3 class="s1">Israel Does Not Get Rid of All the Canaanites</h3><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_27"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.27-Judg.1.28" class="v7_1_27">27-28</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.27-Judg.1.28!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Canaanites lived in the towns of Beth-Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and all the villages nearby. The Canaanites were determined to stay, and the Manasseh tribe never did get rid of them. But later on, when the Israelites grew more powerful, they made slaves of the Canaanites.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_29"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.29" class="v7_1_29">29</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.29!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> The Ephraim tribe did not get rid of the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived there with Israelites all around them.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_30"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.30" class="v7_1_30">30</span>The Zebulun tribe did not get rid of the Canaanites who lived in Kitron and Nahalol, and the Canaanites stayed there with Israelites around them. But the people of Zebulun did force the Canaanites into slave labor.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_31"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.31-Judg.1.32" class="v7_1_31">31-32</span>The Asher tribe did not get rid of the Canaanites who lived in Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob, and the Asher tribe lived with Canaanites all around them.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_33"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.33" class="v7_1_33">33</span>The Naphtali tribe did not get rid of the Canaanites who lived in Beth-Shemesh and Beth-Anath, but they did force the Canaanites into slave labor. The Naphtali tribe lived with Canaanites around them.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_34"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.34" class="v7_1_34">34</span>The Amorites<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.34!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> were strong enough to keep the tribe of Dan from settling in the valleys, so Dan had to stay in the hill country.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_35"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.35" class="v7_1_35">35</span>The Amorites on Mount Heres and in Aijalon and Shaalbim were also determined to stay. Later on, as Ephraim and Manasseh grew more powerful, they forced those Amorites into slave labor.</span></p><h3 class="s1">The Amorite-Edomite Border</h3><p class="par"><span class="v7_1_36"><span class="reftext" id="Judg.1.36" class="v7_1_36">36</span>The old Amorite-Edomite border used to go from Sela through Scorpion Pass<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.36!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> into the hill country.<a href="#fn" id="link_Judg.1.36!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p></div> </div> <a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.4,5 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">king of Bezek: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “Adoni-Bezek.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.8 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Jerusalem: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">This probably refers to towns and villages belonging to Jerusalem but lying in Judah's territory south of the city wall. Jerusalem itself was just inside Benjamin's territory, but was not captured by Israel at this time (see verse 21; Joshua 15.5-9; 18.15-18).</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.10 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">clans called: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “warriors.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.12 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Caleb: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One of the leaders of Judah; see Joshua 14.6-14 and Numbers 13.6,30; 14.6,10, 20-24. For verses 12-15, see Joshua 15.13-19.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.13 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Othniel was the son of … Kenaz: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “Othniel and Caleb both belonged to the Kenaz clan, but Othniel was younger than Caleb.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.14 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Achsah … Othniel … he: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Hebrew; two ancient translations “Othniel … Achsah … she.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.14 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">getting down from: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.15 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">spring-fed ponds … small ponds … Higher Pond and Lower Pond: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “wells … wells … Higher Well and Lower Well.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.16 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Jericho: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">The Hebrew text has “Town of Palm Trees,” another name for Jericho.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.16 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">not far … Amalekites: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.17 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">completely destroyed: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">The Hebrew word means that the town was given completely to the <char style="nd">Lord</char>, and since it could not be used for normal purposes anymore, it had to be destroyed.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.17 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Hormah: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">In Hebrew “Hormah” sounds like “completely destroyed.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.20 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Anakim: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Perhaps a group of very tall people that lived in Palestine before the Israelites (see Numbers 13.33 and Deuteronomy 2.10,11, 20,21).</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.20 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">clans: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">See the note at 1.10.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.22,23 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">The Ephraim and Manasseh tribes: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">The Hebrew text has “The Joseph family,” which was divided into these two tribes named after Joseph's sons.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.24 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">If you … town: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Sometimes there were small doors in the town wall that could be opened from the inside even when the main town gates were shut and locked.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.26 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">land of the Hittites: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">The Hittites had an empire centered in what is now Turkey. At one time their empire reached south into Syria, north of Israel.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.34 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Amorites: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Used in the general sense of nations that lived in Canaan before the Israelites.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.36 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Scorpion Pass: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “Akrabbim Pass.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">1.36 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">country: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 36.</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Bible text from the Contemporary English Version 2nd Edition (CEV®) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (<a href="http://www.americanbible.org">www.americanbible.org</a>). Learn more at <a href="http://www.cev.bible">www.cev.bible</a>. Discover .BIBLE resources for your ministry at <a href="http://www.get.bible/cev">www.get.bible/cev</a></span></p><br /><br /><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br /><br /><br /></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../joshua/24.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Joshua 24"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Joshua 24" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../judges/2.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Judges 2"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Judges 2" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/judges/1-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchapnoad.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>