Judges 1:4-21

4Judah’s troops went into battle, and the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They defeated 10,000 men at Bezek.

5At Bezek they also caught up with Adoni Bezek. They fought him and defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites.

6Adoni Bezek fled. Judah’s troops chased him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

7Adoni Bezek said, “Seventy kings who had their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up food under my table. God has paid me back for what I did to them.” Judah’s troops brought Adoni Bezek to Jerusalem, where he died.

8The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They killed everyone there and set the city on fire.

9After that, the men of Judah went to fight the Canaanites who lived in the mountains, the Negev, and the foothills.

10Then they went to fight the Canaanites who lived at Hebron. (In the past Hebron was called Kiriath Arba.) There they killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

11From there Judah’s troops went to fight the people living at Debir. (In the past Debir was called Kiriath Sepher.)

12Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife to whoever defeats Kiriath Sepher and captures it.”

13Then Othniel, son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz, captured it. So Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife.

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

15She answered, “Give me a blessing. Since you’ve given me some dry land, also give me some springs.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

16The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went with the people of Judah from the City of Palms into the desert of Judah. There they lived with the people of Judah in the Negev near Arad.

17The tribe of Judah went to fight along with the tribe of Simeon, their close relatives. They defeated the Canaanites who lived in Zephath and claimed it for the Lord by destroying it. So the city was called Hormah [Claimed for Destruction].

18Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron with their territories.

19The Lord was with the men of Judah so that they were able to take possession of the mountains. But they could not force out the people living in the valley who had chariots made of iron.

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

21The men of Benjamin did not force out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. The Jebusites still live with the tribe of Benjamin in Jerusalem today.