Judges 1 Comparison: King James Version vs Bible in Basic English
Judges 1
1Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
2And the Lord said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.
3And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.
4And Judah went up; and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
5And they found Adoni–bezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew 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.
7And Adoni–bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
8Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
9And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.
10And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath–arba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
11And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath–sepher:
12And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath–sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
13And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
14And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?
15And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.
16And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.
17And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.
18Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.
19And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
20And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.
21And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
22And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth–el: and the Lord was with them.
23And the house of Joseph sent to descry Beth–el. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
24And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.
25And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.
26And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.
27Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Beth–shean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
28And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.
29Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
30Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.
31Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:
32But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.
33Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth–shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth–anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth–shemesh and of Beth–anath became tributaries unto them.
34And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer 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 tributaries.
36And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.
Judges 1
1Now after the death of Joshua, the children of Israel made request to the Lord, saying, Who is to go up first to make war for us against the Canaanites?
2And the Lord said, Judah is to go up: see, I have given the land into his hands.
3Then Judah said to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my heritage, so that we may make war against the Canaanites; and I will then go with you into your heritage. So Simeon went with him.
4And Judah went up; and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands; and they overcame ten thousand of them in Bezek.
5And they came across Adoni-zedek, and made war on him; and they overcame the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6But Adoni-zedek went in flight; and they went after him and overtook him, and had his thumbs and his great toes cut off.
7And Adoni-zedek said, Seventy kings, whose thumbs and great toes had been cut off, got broken meat under my table: as I have done, so has God done to me in full. And they took him to Jerusalem, and he came to his end there.
8Then the children of Judah made an attack on Jerusalem, and took it, burning down the town after they had put its people to the sword without mercy.
9After that the children of Judah went down to make war on the Canaanites living in the hill-country and in the south and in the lowlands.
10And Caleb went against the Canaanites of Hebron: (now in earlier times Hebron was named Kiriath-arba:) and he put Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai to the sword.
11And from there he went up against the people of Debir. (Now the name of Debir in earlier times was Kiriath-sepher.)
12And Caleb said, I will give Achsah, my daughter, as wife to the man who overcomes Kiriath-sepher and takes it.
13And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah for his wife.
14Now when she came to him, he put into her mind the idea of requesting a field from her father: and she got down from her ass; and Caleb said to her, What is it?
15And she said to him, Give me a blessing; because you have put me in a dry south-land, now give me springs of water. So Caleb gave her the higher spring and the lower spring.
16Now Hobab the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, had come up out of the town of palm-trees, with the children of Judah, into the waste land of Arad; and he went and was living among the Amalekites;
17And Judah went with Simeon, his brother, and overcame the Canaanites living in Zephath, and put it under the curse; and he gave the town the name of Hormah.
18Then Judah took Gaza and its limit, and Ashkelon and its limit, and Ekron and its limit.
19And the Lord was with Judah; and he took the hill-country for his heritage; but he was unable to make the people of the valley go out, for they had war-carriages of iron.
20And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said; and he took the land of the three sons of Anak, driving them out from there.
21And the children of Judah did not make the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem go out; the Jebusites are still living with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem.
22And the family of Joseph went up against Beth-el, and the Lord was with them.
23So they sent men to make a search round Beth-el. (Now the name of the town in earlier times was Luz.)
24And the watchers saw a man coming out of the town, and said to him, If you will make clear to us the way into the town, we will be kind to you.
25So he made clear to them the way into the town, and they put it to the sword; but they let the man and all his family get away safe.
26And he went into the land of the Hittites, building a town there and naming it Luz: which is its name to this day.
27And Manasseh did not take away the land of the people of Beth-shean and its daughter-towns, or of Taanach and its daughter-towns, or of the people of Dor and its daughter-towns, or of the people of Ibleam and its daughter-towns, or of the people of Megiddo and its daughter-towns, driving them out; but the Canaanites would go on living in that land.
28And whenever Israel became strong, they put the Canaanites to forced work, without driving them out completely.
29And Ephraim did not make the Canaanites who were living in Gezer go out; but the Canaanites went on living in Gezer among them.
30Zebulun did not make the people of Kitron or the people of Nahalol go out; but the Canaanites went on living among them and were put to forced work.
31And Asher did not take the land of the people of Acco, or Zidon, or Ahlab, or Achzib, or Helbah, or Aphik, or Rehob, driving them out;
32But the Asherites went on living among the Canaanites, the people of the land, without driving them out.
33Naphtali did not take the land of the people of Beth-shemesh or of Beth-anath, driving them out; but he was living among the Canaanites in the land; however, the people of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath were put to forced work.
34And the children of Dan were forced into the hill-country by the Amorites, who would not let them come down into the valley;
35For the Amorites would go on living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; but the children of Joseph became stronger than they, and put them to forced work.
36And the limit of the Edomites went from the slope of Akrabbim from Sela and up.
Understanding King James Version vs Bible in Basic English in Judges 1
King James Version (KJV)
The classic 1611 English translation known for its majestic prose and literary influence. Ideal for traditional study and memorization thanks to its formal style. A foundational English Bible used for centuries.
Bible in Basic English (BBE)
A simplified translation using a limited English vocabulary for clarity and accessibility. Helpful for new readers, ESL learners, and quick comprehension. Great for devotional reading and getting the big picture of each passage.
You are viewing a side-by-side comparison of Judges 1 in the King James Version and Bible in Basic English. Comparing these two versions can help shed light on the nuances of the original text.
Key Comparison: Judges 1:16
"And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people."
"Now Hobab the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, had come up out of the town of palm-trees, with the children of Judah, into the waste land of Arad; and he went and was living among the Amalekites;"
