Old Testament

New Testament

Judges 1:14-28 New Century Version (NCV)

14. When Acsah came to Othniel, she told him to ask her father for a field. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”

15. Acsah answered him, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in southern Canaan, also give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

16. The Kenite people, who were from the family of Moses’ father-in-law, left Jericho, the city of palm trees. They went with the men of Judah to the Desert of Judah to live with them there in southern Judah near the city of Arad.

17. The men of Judah and the men of Simeon, their relatives, defeated the Canaanites who lived in Zephath. They completely destroyed the city, so they called it Hormah.

18. The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the lands around them.

19. The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took the land in the mountains, but they could not force out the people living on the plain, because they had iron chariots.

20. As Moses had promised, Hebron was given to Caleb, and Caleb forced out the three sons of Anak.

21. But the people of Benjamin could not make the Jebusite people leave Jerusalem. Since that time the Jebusites have lived with the Benjaminites in Jerusalem.

22. The men of Joseph went to fight against the city of Bethel, and the Lord was with them.

23. They sent some spies to Bethel (which used to be called Luz).

24. The spies saw a man coming out of the city and said to him, “Show us a way into the city, and we will be kind to you.”

25. So the man showed them the way into the city. The men of Joseph attacked with swords the people in Bethel, but they let the man and his family go free.

26. He went to the land where the Hittites lived and built a city. He named it Luz, which it is called even today.

27. There were Canaanites living in the cities of Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and the small towns around them. The people of Manasseh did not force those people out of their towns, because the Canaanites were determined to stay there.

28. Later, the Israelites grew strong and forced the Canaanites to work as slaves, but they did not make all the Canaanites leave their land.

Read complete chapter Judges 1