Judges 1:28 Made Simple

KJV ORIGINAL

And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.

Close to the original. Clear modern English.

✦ MADE SIMPLE

When Israel became strong enough, they forced the Canaanites to pay taxes and serve them, but they didn't completely drive them out of the land as they should have.

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

This verse shows that Israel chose the easier path of making the Canaanites pay tribute rather than fully obeying God's command to remove them from the land.

📚 Historical Context

God had commanded Israel to completely drive out or destroy the Canaanite nations when they conquered the Promised Land, warning that leaving them would lead to spiritual corruption. Instead of obeying fully, Israel found it more profitable to keep the Canaanites as taxpaying subjects. This compromise would later cause exactly the spiritual problems God had warned about, as the Israelites began adopting Canaanite religious practices.

Explore Similar Verses

Numbers 21:3

And the LORD listened to Israel's request and handed over the Canaanites to them. Israel completely destroyed them and their cities, and they named that place Hormah.

Joshua 17:13

But when the Israelites became strong and powerful, they made the Canaanites pay them taxes and work for them, instead of completely driving them out of the land as they were supposed to do.

Joshua 5:1

When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan River and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard that the LORD had dried up the Jordan River so the Israelites could cross over, they were terrified and lost all courage because of what God had done for Israel.

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