Chapter 1

Jerusalem Is Captured

1 Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel ainquired of the Lord, saying, “Who shall go up first for us bagainst the Canaanites, to fight against them?”

2 The Lord said, “aJudah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.”

3 Then Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into 1the territory allotted me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and 2I in turn will go with you into 3the territory allotted you.” So Simeon went with him.

4 Judah went up, and athe Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they 1defeated ten thousand men at Bezek.

5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they 1defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his 1thumbs and big toes.

7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to gather up scraps under my table; aas I have done, so God has repaid me.” So they brought him to Jerusalem and he died there.

8 Then the sons of Judah fought against aJerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

9 Afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country and in the 1Negev and in the lowland.

10 aSo Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba); and they struck Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

Capture of Other Cities

11 Then afrom there he went against the inhabitants of Debir (now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher).

12 And Caleb said, “The one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will even give him my daughter Achsah for a wife.”

13 aOthniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah for a wife.

14 Then ait came about when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. Then she alighted from 1her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What 2do you want?”

15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing, since you have given me the land of the 1Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 The 1descendants of athe Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the bcity of palms with the sons of Judah, to the wilderness of Judah which is in the south of cArad; and they went and lived with the people.

17 Then Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called aHormah.

18 And Judah took aGaza with its territory and Ashkelon with its territory and Ekron with its territory.

19 Now the Lord was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not 1drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had airon chariots.

20 Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, aas Moses had 1promised; and he drove out from there bthe three sons of Anak.

21 aBut the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the bJebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 Likewise the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.

23 The house of Joseph spied out Bethel (anow the name of the city was formerly Luz).

24 The spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city and awe will treat you kindly.”

25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, abut they let the man and all his family go free.

26 The man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and named it Luz 1which is its name to this day.

Places Not Conquered

27 aBut Manasseh did not take possession 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; so bthe Canaanites persisted in living in that land.

28 It came about when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.

29 aEphraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.

31 Asher 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.

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

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.

34 Then the Amorites 1forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley;

35 yet the Amorites persisted in 1living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon and in Shaalbim; but when the 2power of the house of Joseph 3grew strong, they became forced labor.

36 The border of the Amorites ran from the aascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Chapter 2

Israel Rebuked

1 Now athe angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to bBochim. And he said, “cI brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘dI will never break My covenant with you,

2 and as for you, ayou shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; byou shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not 1obeyed Me; what is this you have done?

3 “Therefore I also said, ‘aI will not drive them out before you; but they will 1become bas thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.’ ”

4 When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept.

5 So they named that place 1Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the Lord.

Joshua Dies

6 aWhen Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each 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 1survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

8 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten.

9 And they buried him in the territory of ahis inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

10 All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who adid not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.

Israel Serves Baals

11 Then the sons of Israel did aevil in the sight of the Lord and 1served the bBaals,

12 and athey forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger.

13 So they forsook the Lord and aserved Baal and the Ashtaroth.

14 aThe anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and bHe sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

15 Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and aas the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

16 aThen the Lord raised up judges 1who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them.

17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way ain which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers.

18 When the Lord raised up judges for them, athe Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was bmoved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them.

19 But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways.

20 aSo the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice,

21 aI also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died,

22 in order to atest Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers 1did, or not.”

23 So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

Chapter 3

Idolatry Leads to Servitude

1 aNow these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not 1experienced any of the wars of Canaan;

2 only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might 1be taught war, 2those who had not 3experienced it formerly).

3 These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and athe Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as 1Lebo-hamath.

4 They were for 1atesting Israel, to find out if they would 2obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers 3through Moses.

5 aThe sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites;

6 and athey took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

7 The sons of Israel did awhat was evil in the sight of the Lord, and bforgot the Lord their God and cserved the Baals and the 1Asheroth.

8 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of 1Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.

The First Judge Delivers Israel

9 When the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them, aOthniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.

10 aThe Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of 1Mesopotamia into his hand, so that 2he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.

11 Then the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

12 Now the sons of Israel again adid evil in the sight of the Lord. So bthe Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord.

13 And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and 1defeated Israel, and they possessed athe city of the palm trees.

14 The sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

Ehud Delivers from Moab

15 But when the sons of Israel acried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by 1him to Eglon the king of Moab.

16 Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak.

17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.

18 It came about when he had finished presenting the tribute, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute.

19 But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who attended him left him.

20 Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat.

21 Ehud stretched out his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly.

22 The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out.

23 Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them.

24 When he had gone out, his servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “aHe is only 1relieving himself in the cool room.”

25 They waited until they 1became anxious; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the 2floor dead.

26 Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah.

27 It came about when he had arrived, that ahe blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them.

28 He said to them, “Pursue them, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hands.” So they went down after him and seized athe fords of the Jordan opposite Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross.

29 They struck down at that time about ten thousand Moabites, all robust and valiant men; and no one escaped.

30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was undisturbed for eighty years.

Shamgar Delivers from Philistines

31 After him came aShamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.

Chapter 4

Deborah and Barak Deliver from Canaanites

1 Then athe sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died.

2 And the Lord sold them into the hand of aJabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in bHarosheth-hagoyim.

3 The sons of Israel cried to the Lord; for he had nine hundred airon chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years.

4 Now Deborah, a 1prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.

5 She used to 1sit under the apalm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment.

6 Now she sent and summoned aBarak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, “1Behold, the Lord, the God of Israel, has commanded, ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun.

7 ‘I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his 1many troops to the river Kishon, and aI will give him into your hand.’ ”

8 Then Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”

9 She said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, afor the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

10 Barak called aZebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh, and ten thousand men went up 1bwith him; Deborah also went up with him.

11 Now Heber athe Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the 1oak in bZaanannim, which is near Kedesh.

12 Then they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.

13 Sisera called together all his chariots, anine hundred iron chariots, and all the people who were with him, from bHarosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon.

14 Deborah said to Barak, “Arise! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hands; 1behold, athe Lord has gone out before you.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

15 aThe Lord 1routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot.

16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; anot even one was left.

17 Now Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

18 Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my master, turn aside to me! Do not be afraid.” And he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a 1rug.

19 aHe said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a 1bottle of milk and gave him a drink; then she covered him.

20 He said to her, “Stand in the doorway of the tent, and it shall be if anyone comes and inquires of you, and says, ‘Is there anyone here?’ that you shall say, ‘No.’ ”

21 But Jael, Heber’s wife, atook a tent peg and 1seized a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted. So he died.

22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” And he entered 1with her, and behold Sisera was lying dead with the tent peg in his temple.

23 So aGod subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the sons of Israel.

24 The hand of the sons of Israel pressed heavier and heavier upon Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had 1destroyed Jabin the king of Canaan.