¹⁷ The men of Judah marched out with their fellow Israelites, the men of Simeon. They attacked the people of Canaan living in Zephath. They set the city apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. That’s why the city was called Hormah. ¹⁸ The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron. They also captured the territory around each of those cities.

¹⁹ The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took over the central hill country. But they weren’t able to drive the people out of the plains. That’s because those people used chariots that had some iron parts.