Joshua 11-13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 11
Northern Confederacy. 1 When Jabin, king of Hazor,[a] learned of this, he sent a message to Jobab, king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, 2 and to the northern kings in the mountain regions and in the Arabah near Chinneroth, in the Shephelah, and in Naphath-dor to the west.(A) 3 These were Canaanites to the east and west, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the mountain regions, and Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah.(B) 4 They came out with all their troops, an army numerous as the sands on the seashore, and with a multitude of horses and chariots.(C) 5 All these kings made a pact and together they marched to the waters of Merom,[b] where they encamped to fight against Israel.
6 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for by this time tomorrow I will present them slain to Israel. You must hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.” 7 Joshua with his whole army came upon them suddenly at the waters of Merom and fell upon them. 8 The Lord delivered them into the power of the Israelites, who defeated them and pursued them to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth-maim,(D) and eastward to the valley of Mizpeh. They struck them all down, leaving no survivors. 9 Joshua did to them as the Lord had commanded: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.
Conquest of Northern Canaan. 10 At that time Joshua, turning back, captured Hazor and struck down its king with the sword; for Hazor formerly was the chief of all those kingdoms. 11 He also struck down with the sword every person there, carrying out the ban, till none was left alive. Hazor itself he burned. 12 All the cities of those kings, and the kings themselves, Joshua captured and put to the sword, carrying out the ban on them, as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded.(E) 13 However, Israel did not destroy by fire any of the cities built on their mounds, except Hazor, which Joshua burned. 14 All the spoil and livestock of these cities the Israelites took as plunder; but the people they put to the sword, until they had destroyed the last of them, leaving none alive. 15 As the Lord had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua acted accordingly.(F) He left nothing undone that the Lord had commanded Moses should be done.
Survey of the Conquest. 16 So Joshua took all this land: the mountain regions, the entire Negeb, all the land of Goshen, the Shephelah, the Arabah, as well as the mountain regions and Shephelah of Israel,(G) 17 from Mount Halak that rises toward Seir(H) as far as Baal-gad in the Lebanon valley at the foot of Mount Hermon. All their kings he captured and put to death. 18 Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. 19 With the exception of the Hivites who lived in Gibeon, no city made peace with the Israelites; all were taken in battle.(I) 20 For it was the Lord’s doing to make their hearts obstinate to meet Israel in battle, that they might be put under the ban without mercy, and be destroyed as the Lord had commanded Moses.(J)
21 [c]At that time Joshua penetrated the mountain regions and exterminated the Anakim in Hebron,(K) Debir, Anab, the entire mountain region of Judah, and the entire mountain region of Israel. Joshua put them and their cities under the ban, 22 so that no Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites. However, some survived in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod. 23 (L)Thus Joshua took the whole land, just as the Lord had said to Moses. Joshua gave it to Israel as their heritage, apportioning it among the tribes. And the land had rest from war.[d]
Chapter 12[e]
Lists of Conquered Kings. 1 These are the kings of the land whom the Israelites conquered and whose lands they occupied, east of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon, including all the eastern section of the Arabah: 2 (M)First, Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. His domain extended from Aroer, which is on the bank of the Wadi Arnon, to include the wadi itself, and the land northward through half of Gilead to the Wadi Jabbok at the border with the Ammonites, 3 as well as the Arabah from the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth, as far south as the eastern side of the Salt Sea of the Arabah in the direction of Beth-jeshimoth,(N) southward under the slopes of Pisgah. 4 Secondly, the border of Og, king of Bashan, a survivor of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and Edrei.(O) 5 He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, and all Bashan as far as the boundary of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and over half of Gilead as far as the territory of Sihon, king of Heshbon. 6 It was Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the Israelites who conquered them; Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave possession of their land to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.(P)
7 This is a list of the kings of the land whom Joshua and the Israelites conquered west of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the Lebanon valley to Mount Halak which rises toward Seir; Joshua apportioned their land and gave possession of it to the tribes of Israel; 8 it included the mountain regions and Shephelah, the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness, and the Negeb, belonging to the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites: 9 The king of Jericho, one;(Q) the king of Ai, which is near Bethel, one; 10 the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; 11 the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;(R) 12 the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;(S) 13 the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;(T) 14 the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; 15 the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;(U) 16 the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;(V) 17 the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;(W) 18 the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;(X) 19 the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;(Y) 20 the king of Shimron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;(Z) 21 the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;(AA) 22 the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam, at Carmel, one;(AB) 23 the king of Dor, in Naphath-dor, one; the king of Goyim at Gilgal, one;(AC) 24 and the king of Tirzah, one—thirty-one kings in all.
II. Division of the Land
Chapter 13
Division of Land Commanded. 1 When Joshua was old and advanced in years, the Lord said to him:(AD) Though now you are old and advanced in years, a very large part of the land still remains to be possessed. 2 This is the remaining land: all Geshur[f] and all the districts of the Philistines 3 (from the stream adjoining Egypt to the boundary of Ekron in the north is reckoned Canaanite territory, though held by the five lords of the Philistines in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron); 4 also where the Avvim are in the south;(AE) all the land of the Canaanites from Mearah of the Sidonians to Aphek, and the boundaries of the Amorites;(AF) 5 and the Gebalite territory; and all the Lebanon on the east, from Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath. 6 All the inhabitants of the mountain regions between Lebanon and Misrephoth-maim, all Sidonians, I will drive out before the Israelites;(AG) at least include these areas in the division of the Israelite heritage, just as I have commanded you. 7 Now, therefore, apportion among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh the land which is to be their heritage.
The Eastern Tribes. 8 (AH)Now the other half of the tribe of Manasseh, as well as the Reubenites and Gadites, had taken as their heritage what Moses, the servant of the Lord, had given them east of the Jordan: 9 from Aroer on the bank of the Wadi Arnon and the city in the wadi itself, through the tableland of Medeba and Dibon, 10 with the rest of the cities of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, to the boundary of the Ammonites; 11 also Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah, 12 the entire kingdom in Bashan of Og, who was king at Ashtaroth and Edrei (he was a holdover from the remnant of the Rephaim). These Moses defeated and dispossessed. 13 But the Israelites did not dispossess the Geshurites and Maacathites, so that Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day. 14 (AI)However, Moses assigned no heritage to the tribe of Levi; the Lord, the God of Israel, is their heritage, as the Lord had promised them.
Reuben. 15 (AJ)This is what Moses gave to the tribe of the Reubenites by their clans:(AK) 16 Their territory reached from Aroer, on the bank of the Wadi Arnon, and the city in the wadi itself, through the tableland about Medeba, 17 to include Heshbon and all its towns on the tableland, Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, 18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the knoll within the valley, 20 Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth-jeshimoth, 21 and the other cities of the tableland and of the whole kingdom of Sihon. This Amorite king, who reigned in Heshbon, Moses had defeated, with the princes of Midian, vassals of Sihon who were settled in the land: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba;(AL) 22 Balaam, son of Beor, the diviner, the Israelites killed with the sword, together with those they struck down.(AM) 23 The boundary of the Reubenites was the Jordan. These cities and their villages were the heritage of the Reubenites by their clans.
Gad. 24 (AN)This is what Moses gave to the tribe of the Gadites by their clans: 25 Their territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, toward Rabbah 26 (that is, from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the boundary of Lo-debar); 27 and in the Jordan valley: Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, Zaphon, the other part of the kingdom of Sihon, king of Heshbon, with the bank of the Jordan to the southeastern tip of the Sea of Chinnereth. 28 These cities and their villages were the heritage of the clans of the Gadites.
Manasseh. 29 (AO)This is what Moses gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh; the half-tribe of the Manassites, by their clans, had 30 territory including Mahanaim, all of Bashan, the entire kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and all the villages of Jair, which are sixty cities in Bashan. 31 Half of Gilead, with Ashtaroth and Edrei, royal cities of Og in Bashan, fell to the descendants of Machir, son of Manasseh, to half the Machirites, by their clans.
32 These are the heritages which Moses gave when he was in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan east of Jericho. 33 But Moses gave no heritage to the tribe of Levi: the Lord, the God of Israel, is their heritage, as he had promised them.(AP)
Footnotes
- 11:1–3 Hazor, Madon, Shimron, and Chinneroth: cities and their surrounding districts in eastern Galilee. Achshaph and Naphath-dor: southwest of Galilee. The mountain regions: in central and northern Galilee.
- 11:5 The waters of Merom: of uncertain identification, perhaps Tel Qarnei Hittin, about seven and a half kilometers west of modern Tiberias.
- 11:21–23 Most of the land assigned to the tribe of Judah was not conquered by it until the early period of the Judges. See note on Jgs 1:1–36.
- 11:23 The land had rest from war: later passages (15:13–17; 17:12–13) show individual tribes still fighting against the remaining Canaanites. This verse forms the conclusion to the first part of the book.
- 12:1–24 This chapter, inserted between the two principal parts of the book (chaps. 1–11 and 13–21), resembles the lists of conquered cities which are inscribed on monuments of Egyptian and Assyrian rulers. Perhaps this list was copied here from some such public Israelite record.
- 13:2 Geshur: not to be confused with the large Aramean district of the same name in Bashan (vv. 11–13; Dt 3:14); here it is a region to the south of the Philistine country, since vv. 2–5 list the unconquered lands along the coast from south to north; cf. also 1 Sm 27:8.
Psalm 109
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 109[a]
Prayer of a Person Falsely Accused
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 O God, whom I praise, do not be silent,(A)
for wicked and treacherous mouths attack me.
They speak against me with lying tongues;
3 with hateful words they surround me,
attacking me without cause.
4 In return for my love they slander me,
even though I prayed for them.
5 They repay me evil for good,
hatred for my love.(B)
II
6 Appoint an evil one over him,
an accuser[b] to stand at his right hand,
7 That he may be judged and found guilty,
that his plea may be in vain.
8 May his days be few;
may another take his office.(C)
9 May his children be fatherless,
his wife, a widow.(D)
10 May his children wander and beg,
driven from their hovels.
11 May the usurer snare all he owns,
strangers plunder all he earns.
12 May no one treat him with mercy
or pity his fatherless children.
13 May his posterity be destroyed,(E)
their name rooted out in the next generation.
14 May his fathers’ guilt be mentioned to the Lord;
his mother’s sin not rooted out.(F)
15 May their guilt be always before the Lord,(G)
till their memory is banished from the earth,(H)
16 For he did not remember to show mercy,
but hounded the wretched poor
and brought death to the brokenhearted.
17 He loved cursing; may it come upon him;
he hated blessing; may none come to him.
18 May cursing clothe him like a robe;
may it enter his belly like water,
his bones like oil.
19 May it be near as the clothes he wears,
as the belt always around him.
20 [c]May this be the reward for my accusers from the Lord,
for those speaking evil against me.
III
21 But you, Lord, are my Lord,
deal kindly with me for your name’s sake;
in your great mercy rescue me.
22 For I am poor and needy;
my heart is pierced within me.
23 Like a lengthening shadow I am gone,
I am shaken off like the locust.
24 My knees totter from fasting;(I)
my flesh has wasted away.
25 I have become a mockery to them;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
26 Help me, Lord, my God;
save me in your mercy.
27 Make them know this is your hand,
that you, Lord, have done this.
28 Though they curse, may you bless;
arise, shame them, that your servant may rejoice.
29 Clothe my accusers with disgrace;
make them wear their shame like a mantle.
30 I will give fervent thanks to the Lord;
before a crowd I will praise him.(J)
31 For he stands at the right hand of the poor
to save him from those who pass judgment on him.
Footnotes
- Psalm 109 A lament notable for the length and vehemence of its prayer against evildoers (Ps 109:6–20); the cry to God (Ps 109:1) and the complaint (Ps 109:22–25) are brief in comparison. The psalmist is apparently the victim of a slander campaign, potentially devastating in a society where reputation and honor are paramount. In the emotional perspective of the Psalm, there are only two types of people: the wicked and their poor victims. The psalmist is a poor victim (Ps 109:22, 31) and by that fact a friend of God and enemy of the wicked. The psalmist seeks vindication not on the basis of personal virtue but because of God’s promise to protect the poor.
- 109:6 An accuser: Hebrew satan, a word occurring in Job 1–2 and Zec 3:1–2. In the latter passage Satan stands at the right hand of the high priest to bring false accusations against him before God. Here the accuser is human.
- 109:20 May this be the reward…from the Lord: the psalmist prays that God ratify the curses of Ps 109:6–19 and bring them upon the wicked.
2 Thessalonians 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
III. Concluding Exhortations
Chapter 3[a]
Request for Prayers. 1 Finally, brothers, pray for us, so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified, as it did among you,(A) 2 and that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people, for not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.(B) 4 We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you, you [both] are doing and will continue to do.(C) 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.
Neglect of Work. 6 We instruct you, brothers, in the name of [our] Lord Jesus Christ, to shun any brother who conducts himself in a disorderly way and not according to the tradition they received from us.[b] 7 For you know how one must imitate us. For we did not act in a disorderly way among you, 8 nor did we eat food received free from anyone. On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked, so as not to burden any of you.(D) 9 Not that we do not have the right. Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you, so that you might imitate us.(E) 10 In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.(F) 11 We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a disorderly way, by not keeping busy but minding the business of others.(G) 12 Such people we instruct and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and to eat their own food. 13 But you, brothers, do not be remiss in doing good. 14 If anyone does not obey our word as expressed in this letter, take note of this person not to associate with him, that he may be put to shame. 15 Do not regard him as an enemy but admonish him as a brother.(H) 16 May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.(I)
IV. Final Greetings
17 This greeting is in my own hand, Paul’s. This is the sign in every letter; this is how I write.(J) 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
Footnotes
- 3:1–18 The final chapter urges the Thessalonians to pray for Paul and his colleagues (2 Thes 3:1–2) and reiterates confidence in the Thessalonians (2 Thes 3:3–5), while admonishing them about a specific problem in their community that has grown out of the intense eschatological speculation, namely, not to work but to become instead disorderly busybodies (2 Thes 3:6–15). A benediction (2 Thes 3:16) and postscript in Paul’s own hand round out the letter. On 2 Thes 3:17–18, cf. note on 2 Thes 2:2.
- 3:6 Some members of the community, probably because they regarded the parousia as imminent or the new age of the Lord to be already here (2 Thes 2:2), had apparently ceased to work for a living. The disciplinary problem they posed could be rooted in distorted thinking about Paul’s own teaching (cf. 1 Thes 2:16; 3:3–4; 5:4–5) or, more likely, in a forged letter (2 Thes 2:2) and the type of teaching dealt with in 2 Thes 2:1–15. The apostle’s own moral teaching, reflected in his selfless labors for others, was rooted in a deep doctrinal concern for the gospel message (cf. 1 Thes 2:3–10).
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.