The children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, took it, struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
Parallel translations
- KJV 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.
- BSB Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.
- NKJV 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.
- NASB 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.
- NLT The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it, killing all its people and setting the city on fire.
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
Judah captures Jerusalem, strikes it, and burns it. It matters as an early but incomplete success against a stronghold that resurfaces later.
Overview
Judah takes the lower city of Jerusalem, though the fortress would remain contested until David's day (2 Samuel 5). This partial conquest highlights the unfinished nature of Israel's obedience. Jerusalem, only later secured, becomes the city of the great King and a recurring symbol pointing to the heavenly Jerusalem.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Josh 15:63As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah couldn’t drive them out; but the Jebusites live with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.
- Judg 1:21The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem, but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 1:8 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.