1 After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked Jehovah, saying: »Who will go first to fight against the Canaanites for us?«

2 Jehovah said: »Judah will go up. I have delivered the land into his hand.«

3 Judah said to Simeon his brother: »Come up with me to my allotted territory that we may fight against the Canaanites. I likewise will go with you to your territory.« So Simeon went with him.

4 Judah went up and Jehovah delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand. They killed ten thousand men at Bezek.

5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek: and they fought against him. They killed the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6 Adoni-bezek fled and they chased him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

7 And Adoni-bezek said: »Seventy kings with their big toes cut off have gathered food scrapes under my table. God has repaid me for what I have done.« So they brought him to Jerusalem where he died.

8 The children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put it to the sword and set the city on fire.

9 Afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that lived in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.

10 Judah went against the Canaanites that lived in Hebron previously called Kirjath-arba and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

11 From there they advanced against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher:

12 Caleb said: »He that attacks Kirjath-sepher, and captures it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter for a wife.«

13 Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife.

14 When she came to him she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey Caleb said to her: »What do you wish?«

15 She said: »Give me a blessing: for you have given me a land south with spring water.« And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 The children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah to the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the south of Arad to live with the people.

17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they attacked the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath and utterly destroyed it. The name of the city was Hormah.

18 Judah took Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory as well as Ekron with its territory.

19 Jehovah was with Judah. He drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

20 They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had promised and he expelled the three sons of Anak.

21 The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem. The Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel: and Jehovah was with them.

23 The house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel.

24 The spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him: »Show us the entrance into the city, and we will show you mercy.«

25 When he showed them the entrance into the city, they struck the city with the edge of the sword. But spared the man and all his family.

26 The man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city. He called it Luz, which is its name this day.

27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites wanted to live in that land.

28 When Israel was strong they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor. They did not completely drive them out.

29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that lived in Gezer. But the Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.

30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became forced laborers.

31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:

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

33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became forced laborers to them.

34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain. They would not allow them to come down to the valley.

35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became forced laborers.

36 The boundary of the Amorites was from the Ascent to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.