Psalm 70 - Judges 1 - Judges 2 - Judges 3

Psalm 70

1> Hurry, God, to deliver me. Come quickly to help me, Yahweh.

2Let them be disappointed and confounded who seek my soul. Let those who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.

3Let them be turned because of their shame Who say, "Aha! Aha!"

4Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation continually say, "Let God be exalted!"

5But I am poor and needy. Come to me quickly, God. You are my help and my deliverer. Yahweh, don't delay.

The Promised Land

Judges 1

1It happened after the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, Who shall go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them? 2Yahweh said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. 3Judah said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your lot. So Simeon went with him. 4Judah went up; and Yahweh delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they struck of them in Bezek ten thousand men. 5They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek; and they fought against him, and they struck the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. 7Adoni-bezek said, "Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered [their food] under my table: as I have done, so God has requited me." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. 8The children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. 9Afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill-country, and in the South, and in the lowland. 10Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron before was Kiriath Arba); and they struck Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. 11From there he went against the inhabitants of Debir. (Now the name of Debir before was Kiriath Sepher.) 12Caleb said, He who strikes Kiriath Sepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife. 13Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. 14It happened, when she came [to him], that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she alighted from off her donkey; and Caleb said to her, What would you? 15She said to him, Give me a blessing; for that you have set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water. Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16The children of the Kenite, Moses' brother-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and lived with the people. 17Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. The name of the city was called Hormah. 18Also Judah took Gaza with the border of it, and Ashkelon with the border of it, and Ekron with the border of it. 19Yahweh was with Judah; and drove out [the inhabitants of] the hill-country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. 20They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had spoken: and he drove out there the three sons of Anak. 21The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. 22The house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel; and Yahweh was with them. 23The house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.) 24The watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him, Show us, we pray you, the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you. 25He shown them the entrance into the city; and 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, and called the name of it Luz, which is the name of it to this day. 27Manasseh did not drive out [the inhabitants of] Beth-shean and its towns, nor [of] Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. 28It happened, when Israel had grown strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out. 29Ephraim didn't drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. 30Zebulun didn't drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites lived among them, and became subject to forced labor. 31Asher didn't drive out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob; 32but the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. 33Naphtali didn't 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 subject to forced labor. 34The Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill-country; for they would not allow them to come down to the valley; 35but 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 subject to forced labor. 36The border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

Judges 2

1The angel of Yahweh came up from Gilgal to Bochim. He said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you: 2and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars. But you have not listened to my voice: why have you done this? 3Therefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be [as thorns] in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you. 4It happened, when the angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. 5They called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there to Yahweh. 6Now when Joshua had sent the people away, the children of Israel went every man to his inheritance to possess the land. 7The people served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of Yahweh that he had worked for Israel. 8Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being one hundred ten years old. 9They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. 10Also all that generation were gathered to their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, who didn't know Yahweh, nor yet the work which he had worked for Israel. 11The children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and served the Baals; 12and they forsook Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the peoples who were round about them, and bowed themselves down to them: and they provoked Yahweh to anger. 13They forsook Yahweh, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14The anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers who despoiled them; and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. 15Wherever they went out, the hand of Yahweh was against them for evil, as Yahweh had spoken, and as Yahweh had sworn to them: and they were sore distressed. 16Yahweh raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who despoiled them. 17Yet they didn't listen to their judges; for they played the prostitute after other gods, and bowed themselves down to them: they turned aside quickly out of the way in which their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of Yahweh; [but] they didn't do so. 18When Yahweh raised them up judges, then Yahweh was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented Yahweh because of their groaning by reason of those who oppressed them and vexed them. 19But it happened, when the judge was dead, that they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them; they didn't cease from their doings, nor from their stubborn way. 20The anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel; and he said, Because this nation have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not listened to my voice; 21I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations that Joshua left when he died; 22that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of Yahweh to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. 23So Yahweh left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

Judges 3

1Now these are the nations which Yahweh left, to prove Israel by them, even as many [of Israel] as had not known all the wars of Canaan; 2only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing of it: 3[namely], the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. 4They were [left], to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would listen to the commandments of Yahweh, which he commanded their fathers by Moses. 5The children of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites: 6and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods. 7The children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and forgot Yahweh their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8Therefore the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Cushan Rishathaim eight years. 9When the children of Israel cried to Yahweh, Yahweh raised up a savior to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10The Spirit of Yahweh came on him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and Yahweh delivered Cushan Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand: and his hand prevailed against Cushan Rishathaim. 11The land had rest forty years. Othniel the son of Kenaz died. 12The children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh: and Yahweh strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh. 13He gathered to him the children of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and struck Israel, and they possessed the city of palm trees. 14The children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. 15But when the children of Israel cried to Yahweh, Yahweh raised them up a savior, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a man left-handed. The children of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length; and he girded it under his clothing on his right thigh. 17He offered the tribute to Eglon king of Moab: now Eglon was a very fat man. 18When he had made an end of offering the tribute, he sent away the people who bore the tribute. 19But he himself turned back from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand to you, king. He said, Keep silence. All who stood by him went out from him. 20Ehud came to him; and he was sitting by himself alone in the cool upper room. Ehud said, I have a message from God to you. He arose out of his seat. 21Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his body: 22and the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed on the blade, for he didn't draw the sword out of his body; and it came out behind. 23Then Ehud went forth into the porch, and shut the doors of the upper room on him, and locked them. 24Now when he was gone out, his servants came; and they saw, and, behold, the doors of the upper room were locked; and they said, Surely he is covering his feet in the upper chamber. 25They waited until they were ashamed; and, behold, he didn't open the doors of the upper room: therefore they took the key, and opened [them], and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth. 26Ehud escaped while they waited, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped to Seirah. 27It happened, when he had come, that he blew a trumpet in the hill-country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel went down with him from the hill-country, and he before them. 28He said to them, Follow after me; for Yahweh has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. They went down after him, and took the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and didn't allow a man to pass over. 29They struck of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, every lusty man, and every man of valor; and there escaped not a man. 30So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. The land had rest eighty years. 31After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox-goad: and he also saved Israel.