Judges 1:1

Judah Takes the Lead

1:1 After Joshua died, the Israelites asked ¹  the Lord, “Who should lead the invasion against the Canaanites and launch the attack?” ² 

Judges 1:3-4

1:3 The men of Judah said to their relatives, the men of Simeon, ³  “Invade our allotted land with us and help us attack the Canaanites. ⁴  Then we ⁵  will go with you into your allotted land.” So the men of Simeon went with them.

1:4 The men of Judah attacked, ⁶  and the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They killed ten thousand men at Bezek.

Judges 1:10

1:10 The men of Judah attacked the Canaanites living in Hebron. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba.) They killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

Judges 1:17

1:17 The men of Judah went with their brothers the men of Simeon ⁷  and defeated the Canaanites living in Zephath. They wiped out Zephath. ⁸  So people now call the city Hormah. ⁹ 

Judges 1:30

1:30 The men of Zebulun did not conquer the people living in Kitron and Nahalol. ¹⁰  The Canaanites lived among them and were forced to do hard labor.

Judges 3:3

3:3 These were the nations: ¹¹  the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo-Hamath. ¹² 

[1:1]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb translated “asked” (שָׁאַל, sha’al) refers here to consulting the Lord through a prophetic oracle; cf. NAB “consulted.”

[1:1]  ² tn Heb “Who should first go up for us against the Canaanites to attack them?”

[1:3]  ³ tn Heb “Judah said to Simeon, his brother.”

[1:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “Come up with me into our allotted land and let us attack the Canaanites.”

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “I.” The Hebrew pronoun is singular, agreeing with the collective singular “Judah” earlier in the verse. English style requires a plural pronoun here, however.

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “Judah went up.”

[1:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “Judah went with Simeon, his brother.”

[1:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Zephath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:17]  ⁹ sn The name Hormah (חָרְמָה, khormah) sounds like the Hebrew verb translated “wipe out” (חָרַם, kharam).

[1:30]  ⁹ tn Heb “the people living in Kitron and the people living in Nahalol.”

[3:3]  ¹¹ tn The words “These were the nations,” though not present in the Hebrew text, are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:3]  ¹² tn Or “the entrance to Hamath.”