18. The men of Judah also captured the cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron and all the small towns around them.
19. The Lord was on the side of the men of Judah when they fought. They took the land in the hill country, but they failed to take the land in the valleys, because the people living there had iron chariots.
20. Moses had promised to give the land near Hebron to Caleb, so that land was given to Caleb’s family. The men of Caleb forced the three sons of Anak to leave that place.
21. The tribe of Benjamin could not force the Jebusites to leave Jerusalem. So even today, the Jebusites live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem.
22. The descendants of Joseph went to fight against the city of Bethel, and the Lord was with them.
23. They sent some spies to the city of Bethel (which was then called Luz).
24. While the spies were watching, they saw a man come out of the city. They said to the man, “Show us a secret way into the city. If you help us, we will not hurt you.”
25. The man showed the spies the secret way into the city. The men of Joseph used their swords to kill the people of Bethel. But they did not hurt the man who helped them or anyone in his family. The man and his family were allowed to go free.
26. He went to the land where the Hittites lived and built a city. He named it Luz, and that city is still called Luz today.
27. There were Canaanites living in the cities of Beth Shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and the small towns around the cities. The people from the tribe of Manasseh could not force those people to leave their towns. So the Canaanites stayed. They refused to leave their homes.
28. Later, the Israelites grew stronger and forced the Canaanites to work as slaves for them. But the Israelites could not force all the Canaanites to leave their land.
29. There were Canaanites living in Gezer. And the Ephraimites did not make all the Canaanites leave their land. So they continued to live in Gezer with the Ephraimites.