When Israel became stronger, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor, but they never drove them out completely.
Parallel translations
- WEB When Israel had grown strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out.
- KJV And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.
- NKJV And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out.
- NASB And it came about, when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor; but they did not drive them out completely.
- NLT When the Israelites grew stronger, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves, but they never did drive them completely out of the land.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When Israel grows strong it enslaves the Canaanites rather than driving them out. It matters as choosing convenience over obedience.
Overview
Israel opts for forced labor instead of full obedience to God's command to dispossess the Canaanites. Economic gain replaces faithfulness. This compromise leaves a corrupting presence in the land, showing how God's people repeatedly settle for less than what he commands, to their own spiritual harm.
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 1:28 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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