Judges 1:15-25

15 She said, "Give me a marriage gift. You've given me desert land; Now give me pools of water!" And he gave her the upper and the lower pools.
16 The people of Hobab the Kenite, Moses' relative, went up with the people of Judah from the City of Palms to the wilderness of Judah at the descent of Arad. They settled down there with the Amalekites.
17 The people of Judah went with their kin the Simeonites and struck the Canaanites who lived in Zephath. They carried out the holy curse and named the city Curse-town.
18 But Judah didn't manage to capture Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron with their territories.
19 God was certainly with Judah in that they took over the hill country. But they couldn't oust the people on the plain because they had iron chariots.
20 They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had directed. Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak.
21 But the people of Benjamin couldn't get rid of the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. Benjaminites and Jebusites live side by side in Jerusalem to this day.
22 The house of Joseph went up to attack Bethel. God was with them.
23 Joseph sent out spies to look the place over. Bethel used to be known as Luz.
24 The spies saw a man leaving the city and said to him, "Show us a way into the city and we'll treat you well."
25 The man showed them a way in. They killed everyone in the city but the man and his family.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.