Judges 1:8

THE MESSAGE

The people of Judah attacked and captured Jerusalem, subduing the city by sword and then sending it up in flames. After that they had gone down to fight the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the foothills. Judah had gone on to the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba) and brought Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai to their knees.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The men of Judah fought against Jerusalem, captured it, put it to the sword, and set the city on fire.

Hebrew Names Version
The children of Yehudah fought against Yerushalayim, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

King James Version
Now 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.

Lexham English Bible
The descendants of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and they captured it, put it to the sword, and set the city on fire.

English Standard Version
And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

New Century Version
Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They attacked with their swords and burned the city.

New English Translation
The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They put the sword to it and set the city on fire.

Amplified Bible
Then the sons of Judah fought against [Jebusite] Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

New American Standard Bible
Then the sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

Geneva Bible (1587)
(Nowe the children of Iudah had fought against Ierusalem, and had taken it and smitten it with the edge of the sworde, and had set the citie on fire.)

Legacy Standard Bible
Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and blaspheme glorious ones.

Contemporary English Version
They attacked Jerusalem, captured it, killed everyone who lived there, and then burned it to the ground.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then the people of Y'hudah fought against Yerushalayim, captured it, overpowered it with the sword, and set the city on fire.

Darby Translation
And the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

Easy-to-Read Version
The men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They used their swords to kill the people of Jerusalem. Then they burned the city.

George Lamsa Translation
And the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it and smote it with the edge of the sword and set the villages thereof on fire.

Good News Translation
The people of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They killed its people and set fire to the city.

Literal Translation
And the sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and captured it, and struck it with the mouth of the sword, and set the city on fire.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But ye childre of Iuda foughte agaynst Ierusalem, and wane it, and smote it with the edge of the swerde, and set fyre vpon the cite.

American Standard Version
And the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

Bible in Basic English
Then 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.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
(The childre of Iuda had fought against Hierusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, & set the citie on fire.)

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

King James Version (1611)
(Now the children of Iudah had fought against Ierusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the citie on fire)

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the children of Judas fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote with the edge of the sword, and they burnt the city with fire.

English Revised Version
And the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

Berean Standard Bible
Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor the sones of Juda fouyten ayens Jerusalem, and token it, and smytiden bi the scharpnesse of swerd, and bitoken al the cytee to brennyng.

Young's Literal Translation
And the sons of Judah fight against Jerusalem, and capture it, and smite it by the mouth of the sword, and the city they have sent into fire;

Update Bible Version
And the sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

Webster's Bible Translation
(Now 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.)

World English Bible
The children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

New King James Version
Now the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it; they struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

New Living Translation
The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it, killing all its people and setting the city on fire.

New Life Bible
Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it. They destroyed it with the sword and set the city on fire.

New Revised Standard
Then the people of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it. They put it to the sword and set the city on fire.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the sons of Judah made war upon Jerusalem, and captured it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, - and, the city, they set on fire.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the children of Juda besieging Jerusalem, took it, and put it to the sword, and set the whole city on fire.

Revised Standard Version
And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

Contextual Overview

¹ A time came after the death of Joshua when the People of Israel asked God , "Who will take the lead in going up against the Canaanites to fight them?" ² And God said, "Judah will go. I've given the land to him." ³ The men of Judah said to those of their brother Simeon, "Go up with us to our territory and we'll fight the Canaanites. Then we'll go with you to your territory." And Simeon went with them. ⁴ So Judah went up. God gave them the Canaanites and the Perizzites. They defeated them at Bezek—ten military units! ⁵They caught up with My-Master-Bezek there and fought him. They smashed the Canaanites and the Perizzites. My-Master-Bezek ran, but they gave chase and caught him. They cut off his thumbs and big toes. My-Master-Bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to crawl under my table, scavenging. Now God has done to me what I did to them." They brought him to Jerusalem and he died there. ⁸The people of Judah attacked and captured Jerusalem, subduing the city by sword and then sending it up in flames. After that they had gone down to fight the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the foothills. Judah had gone on to the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba) and brought Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai to their knees.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Judges 1:21, Joshua 15:63

Reciprocal: Joshua 15:8 - the Jebusite Joshua 18:16 - Jebusi Judges 19:10 - Jebus 2 Samuel 5:6 - Jerusalem

Cross-References

Genesis 1:31
God looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good! It was evening, it was morning— Day Six.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it,.... Which accounted for their carrying Adonibezek thither. This they had done in the times of Joshua; for when the king of that place was taken and slain by Joshua, it seems that he and Israel went and fought against the city, and took that in which the tribe of Judah had a principal concern; so Kimchi and Ben Gersom interpret it; but Jarchi and Abarbinel are of opinion, that now from Bezek they went up to Jerusalem, and fought against it, and took it; and so others think, because only the children of Judah are mentioned, and not all Israel, who fought together in Joshua's time; nor is there any mention made of its being taken in his time, and yet it seems plain that it was inhabited in part by the children of Judah, Joshua 15:63; some therefore have thought that it was twice taken; that after Joshua had taken it, he and the children of Israel being employed in making conquests in other parts of the land, the Jebusites repossessed it, from whence they were now again in part driven, not wholly; and Josephus says k, the lower part was taken, and all the inhabitants killed, but the upper part was hard to be taken, because of the strength of the walls, and the nature of the place:

and smitten it with the edge of the sword; the "inhabitants of it", so far as they got possession of it:

and set the city on fire; some part of it only, for in some part of it dwelt the children of Judah, and in another part the Jebusites.

k Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 2. sect. 2.)

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Render “and the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it,” etc. With regard to the capture of Jerusalem there is some obscurity. It is here said to have been taken, smitten with the edge of the sword, and burned, by the children of Judah. In Joshua 12:8, Joshua 12:10 the Jebusite and the king of Jerusalem are enumerated among Joshua’s conquests, but without any distinct mention of the capture of the city; and in the marginal reference we read that the Jebusites were not expelled from Jerusalem, but dwelt with the children of Judah (compare Judges 1:21). Further, we learn from Judges 19:10-12 that Jerusalem was wholly a Jebusite city in the lifetime of Phinehas Judges 20:28, and so it continued until the reign of David 2 Samuel 5:6-9. The conclusion is that Jerusalem was only taken once, namely, at the time here described, and that this was in the lifetime of Joshua; but that the children of Judah did not occupy it in sufficient force to prevent the return of the Jebusites, who gradually recovered complete possession.

Set the city on fire - A phrase found only at Judges 20:48; 2 Kings 8:12, and Psalms 74:7.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Judges 1:8. Had fought against Jerusalem — We read this verse in a parenthesis, because we suppose that it refers to the taking of this city by Joshua; for as he had conquered its armies and slew its king, Joshua 10:26, it is probable that he took the city: yet we find that the Jebusites still dwelt in it, Joshua 15:63; and that the men of Judah could not drive them out, which probably refers to the strong hold or fortress on Mount Zion, which the Jebusites held till the days of David, who took it, and totally destroyed the Jebusites. See 2 Samuel 5:6-9, and 1 Chronicles 11:4-8. It is possible that the Jebusites who had been discomfited by Joshua, had again become sufficiently strong to possess themselves of Jerusalem; and that they were now defeated, and the city itself set on fire: but that they still were able to keep possession of their strong fort on Mount Zion, which appears to have been the citadel of Jerusalem.