Judges 1 - Simple English

1After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel asked the LORD, "Which of us shall go up first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?"

2The LORD said, "Judah shall go up. Look, I have given the land into his hand."

3Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Come up with me into the land given to me, and let us fight against the Canaanites. Then I also will go with you into the land given to you." So Simeon went with him.

4Judah went up, and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand. They killed ten thousand men of them at Bezek.

5They found Adonibezek in Bezek. They fought against him, and they killed the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6But Adonibezek ran away. They chased him and caught him, and they cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

7Adonibezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has paid me back." They brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

8The people of Judah had fought against Jerusalem and had taken it. They struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

9Afterward the people of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, and in the south, and in the valley.

10Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron. (The name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba.) They killed Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.

11From there he went against the people living in Debir. (The name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher.)

12Caleb said, "Whoever attacks Kirjathsepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as his wife."

13Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it. So Caleb gave him Achsah his daughter as his wife.

14When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. She got down off her donkey, and Caleb said to her, "What do you want?"

15She said to him, "Give me a blessing. You have given me land in the south; give me also springs of water." So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16The children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the people of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad. They went and lived among the people.

17Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they killed the Canaanites who lived in Zephath, and completely destroyed it. So the city was called Hormah.

18Judah also took Gaza with its land around it, and Askelon with its land around it, and Ekron with its land around it.

19The LORD was with Judah. He drove out the people of the hill country, but he could not drive out the people of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

20They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said, and he drove out from there the three sons of Anak.

21The people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them.

23The house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city before was Luz.)

24The spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, "Please show us the way into the city, and we will show you mercy."

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

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

27Manasseh did not drive out the people of Bethshean and its towns, or Taanach and its towns, or the people of Dor and its towns, or the people of Ibleam and its towns, or the people of Megiddo and its towns. The Canaanites were determined to live in that land.

28When Israel became strong, they made the Canaanites pay them tribute, but they did not completely drive them out.

29Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites went on living in Gezer among them.

30Zebulun did not drive out the people of Kitron or the people of Nahalol. So the Canaanites lived among them, and had to pay tribute.

31Asher did not drive out the people of Accho, or the people of Zidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob.

32So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the people of the land, because they did not drive them out.

33Naphtali did not drive out the people of Bethshemesh or the people of Bethanath. So he lived among the Canaanites, the people of the land. But the people of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath had to pay tribute to them.

34The Amorites forced the people of Dan into the hill country. They would not allow them to come down to the valley.

35The Amorites were determined to live in mount Heres, in Aijalon and in Shaalbim. Yet the hand of the house of Joseph grew strong, so that they had to pay tribute.

36The border of the Amorites ran from the slope of Akrabbim, from the rock and upward.