Joshua 17-23

New American Standard Bible

Territory of Manasseh

17 Now this was the lot for the tribe of ^(A)Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, ^[a]were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. ² So the lot was made for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their families: for the sons of Abiezer, the sons of Helek, the sons of Asriel, the sons of Shechem, the sons of Hepher, and the sons of Shemida; these were the male ^[b]descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.

³ However, ^(B)Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So ^(C)in accordance with the ^[c]command of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. ⁵ So ten portions fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan, ⁶ because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the ^(D)land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.

⁷ The border of Manasseh ^[d]ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went ^[e]southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸ The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but ^(E)Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim. ⁹ And the ^(F)border went down to the ^[f]brook of Kanah, southward of the ^[g]brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh), and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the ^[h]brook, and ^[i]it ended at the sea. ¹⁰ The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the sea was ^[j]their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. ¹¹ In Issachar and in Asher, ^(G)Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; the third is ^(H)Napheth. ^12 (I)But the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites persisted in living in this land. ¹³ And it came about when the sons of Israel became strong, ^(J)they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not ^[k]drive them out completely.

¹⁴ Then the ^(K)sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me only one lot and one portion as an inheritance, though I am a numerous people whom the Lord has blessed up to this point?” ¹⁵ And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go ^[l]up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” ¹⁶ The sons of Joseph then said, “The hill country is not enough for us, but all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have ^(L)iron chariots, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the Valley of Jezreel.” ¹⁷ But Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, “You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, ¹⁸ but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it, and to its ^[m]farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall ^[n]drive out the Canaanites, even though they have ^(M)iron chariots and though they are strong.”

Rest of the Land Divided

18 Then the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled at ^(N)Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.

² But there remained among the sons of Israel seven tribes who had not divided their inheritance. ³ So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “^(O)How long will you ^[o]put off entering to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴ Provide for yourselves three men from ^[p]each tribe so that I may send them, and that they may arise and walk through the land and write a description of it according to their inheritance; then they shall ^[q]return to me. ⁵ And they shall divide it into seven portions; ^(P)Judah shall stay in its territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall stay in their territory on the north. ⁶ And you shall write a description of the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me. ^(Q)Then I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. ⁷ For ^(R)the Levites have no portion among you, because the priesthood of the Lord is ^[r]their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh also have received their inheritance eastward beyond the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

⁸ Then the men arose and went, and Joshua commanded those who went to write a description of the land, saying, “Go and walk through the land and write a description of it, and return to me; then I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in ^(S)Shiloh.” ⁹ So the men went and passed through the land, and wrote a description of it by cities in seven divisions in a book; and they came to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. ^10 (T)Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land for the sons of Israel according to their divisions.

The Territory of Benjamin

¹¹ Now the lot of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot ^[s]lay between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph. ^12 (U)Their border on the north side was from the Jordan, then the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward, and ^[t]it ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven. ¹³ Then from there the border continued to ^(V)Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel) southward; and the border went down to Ataroth-addar, near the hill which lies on the south of ^(W)lower Beth-horon. ¹⁴ And the border changed direction from there and turned around on the west side southward, from the hill which lies opposite Beth-horon southward; and ^[u]it ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the west side. ¹⁵ Then the ^(X)south side was from the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went westward and went to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then the border went down to the edge of the hill which is ^[v]in the ^(Y)Valley of Ben-hinnom, which is in the Valley of Rephaim northward; and it went down to the Valley of Hinnom, to the slope of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel. ¹⁷ Then it turned northward and went to En-shemesh, and went to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and it went down to the ^(Z)stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. ¹⁸ And it continued to the side in front of the Arabah northward, and went down to the Arabah. ¹⁹ Then the border continued to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the ^[w]border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border. ²⁰ Moreover, the Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin according to their families, and according to its borders all around.

²¹ Now the cities of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, and Emek-keziz, ²² Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, and Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, and Ophrah, ²⁴ Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and ^(AA)Geba; twelve cities with their villages. ²⁵ Gibeon, Ramah, and Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, and Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, and Taralah, ^28 (AB)Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the ^(AC)sons of Benjamin according to their families.

Territory of Simeon

19 Then the second lot went to Simeon, to the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families; and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Judah. ² So they had in their inheritance Beersheba or ^[x]Sheba and Moladah, ³ Hazar-shual, Balah, and Ezem, ⁴ Eltolad, Bethul, and Hormah, ⁵ Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susah, ⁶ Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities with their villages; ⁷ Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan; four cities with their villages; ⁸ and all the villages which were around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the ^[y]Negev. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families. ⁹ The inheritance of the sons of Simeon was taken from the portion of the sons of Judah, because the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; so the sons of Simeon received an inheritance in the midst of ^[z]Judah’s inheritance.

Territory of Zebulun

¹⁰ Now the third lot came up for the sons of Zebulun according to their families. And the territory of their inheritance was as far as Sarid. ¹¹ Then their border went up to the west and to Maralah, and it reached Dabbesheth and reached to the ^[aa]brook that is opposite Jokneam. ¹² Then it turned from Sarid to the east toward the sunrise as far as the border of Chisloth-tabor, and it proceeded to Daberath and ^[ab]up to Japhia. ¹³ From there it continued eastward toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and it proceeded to Rimmon ^[ac]which stretches to Neah. ¹⁴ Then the border circled around it on the north to Hannathon, and ^[ad]it ended at the Valley of Iphtahel. ¹⁵ Included also were Kattah, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem; twelve cities with their villages. ¹⁶ This was the inheritance of the sons of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

Territory of Issachar

¹⁷ The fourth lot went to Issachar, to the sons of Issachar according to their families. ¹⁸ Their territory was to Jezreel and included Chesulloth, ^(AD)Shunem, ¹⁹ Hapharaim, Shion, and Anaharath, ²⁰ Rabbith, Kishion, and Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez. ²² The border reached to ^(AE)Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and ^[ae]their border ended at the Jordan; sixteen cities with their villages. ²³ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.

Territory of Asher

²⁴ Now the fifth lot went to the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families. ²⁵ Their territory was Helkath, Hali, Beten, and Achshaph, ²⁶ Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal; and it reached to Carmel on the west and Shihor-libnath. ²⁷ It turned toward the ^[af]east to Beth-dagon and reached Zebulun, and to the Valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel; then it proceeded on ^[ag]north to ^(AF)Cabul, ²⁸ Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as Great ^(AG)Sidon. ²⁹ The border turned to Ramah and to the fortified city of Tyre; then the border turned to Hosah, and ^[ah]it ended at the sea by the region of ^(AH)Achzib. ³⁰ Included also were Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob; twenty-two cities with their villages. ³¹ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.

Territory of Naphtali

³² The sixth lot went to the sons of Naphtali; to the sons of Naphtali according to their families. ³³ Their border was from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, and Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and ^[ai]it ended at the Jordan. ³⁴ Then the border turned westward to Aznoth-tabor and proceeded from there to Hukkok; and it reached Zebulun on the south and reached Asher on the west, and Judah at the Jordan toward the ^[aj]east. ³⁵ The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, ^(AI)Hammath, Rakkath, and ^(AJ)Chinnereth, ³⁶ Adamah, Ramah, and Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Edrei, and En-hazor, ³⁸ Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages. ³⁹ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali according to their families, the cities with their villages.

Territory of Dan

⁴⁰ The seventh lot went to the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families. ⁴¹ The territory of their inheritance was Zorah, Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh, ⁴² Shaalabbin, Aijalon, and Ithlah, ⁴³ Elon, Timnah, and Ekron, ⁴⁴ Eltekeh, Gibbethon, and Baalath, ⁴⁵ Jehud, Bene-berak, and Gath-rimmon, ⁴⁶ Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the territory opposite ^[ak]Joppa. ⁴⁷ The territory of the ^(AK)sons of Dan proceeded ^[al]beyond them; for the sons of Dan went up and fought with Leshem and captured it. Then they struck it with the edge of the sword and took possession of it and ^[am]settled in it; and they named ^[an](AL)Leshem Dan after the name of their father Dan. ⁴⁸ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.

⁴⁹ When they finished apportioning the land for inheritance by its borders, the sons of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. ⁵⁰ In accordance with the ^[ao]command of the Lord, they gave him the city for which he asked, ^(AM)Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. So he built the city and ^[ap]settled in it.

^51 (AN)These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel apportioned by lot in Shiloh before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.

Six Cities of Refuge

20 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘^[aq]Designate ^(AO)the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you ^[ar]through Moses, ³ so that one who commits manslaughter by ^[as]killing a person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴ Then he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the ^(AP)gate of the city, and state his case in the ^[at]presence of the elders of that city; and they shall ^[au]receive him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may remain among them. ⁵ Now ^(AQ)if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they are not to hand the one who committed manslaughter over to him, since he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him previously. ⁶ And he shall remain in that city ^(AR)until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then ^[av]he shall ^[aw]return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.’”

⁷ So they ^[ax]set apart ^(AS)Kedesh in ^[ay]Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in ^(AT)the hill country of Judah. ⁸ And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they ^[az]designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. ^9 (AU)These were the designated cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them, so that whoever ^[ba]kills a person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.

Forty-eight Cities of the Levites

21 Then the heads of fathers’ households of ^(AV)the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel. ² And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “^(AW)The Lord commanded ^[bb]through Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasture lands for our cattle.” ³ So the sons of Israel gave the Levites from their inheritance these cities with their pasture lands, in accordance with the ^[bc]command of the Lord. ⁴ Then the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And to the sons of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, thirteen cities were given by lot from the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of the Simeonites, and from the tribe of Benjamin.

⁵ And to the rest of the sons of Kohath ten cities were given by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh.

⁶ And to the sons of Gershon thirteen cities were given by lot from the families of the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷ To the sons of Merari according to their families twelve cities were given from the tribe of Reuben, from the tribe of Gad, and from the tribe of Zebulun.

⁸ Now the ^(AX)sons of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasture lands, as the Lord had commanded ^[bd]through Moses.

⁹ They gave these cities which are mentioned here by name from the tribe of the sons of Judah and from the tribe of the sons of Simeon; ¹⁰ and they were for the sons of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, of the sons of Levi, because the lot was theirs first. ¹¹ So ^(AY)they gave them Kiriath-arba (Arba being the ^(AZ)father of Anak), that is, Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with its surrounding pasture lands. ¹² But the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession.

¹³ So ^(BA)to the sons of Aaron the priest they gave ^(BB)Hebron, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, ^(BC)Libnah with its pasture lands, ^14 (BD)Jattir with its pasture lands, ^(BE)Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, ^15 [be]Holon with its pasture lands, ^(BF)Debir with its pasture lands, ^16 [bf]Ain with its pasture lands, ^(BG)Juttah with its pasture lands, and ^(BH)Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands; nine cities from these two tribes. ¹⁷ From the tribe of Benjamin, ^(BI)Gibeon with its pasture lands, ^(BJ)Geba with its pasture lands, ¹⁸ Anathoth with its pasture lands, and ^[bg]Almon with its pasture lands; four cities. ¹⁹ All the cities of the sons of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.

²⁰ Then the cities from the tribe of Ephraim were allotted to the ^(BK)families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, that is, to the rest of the sons of Kohath. ²¹ They gave them ^(BL)Shechem, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer with its pasture lands, ²² and Kibzaim with its pasture lands, and Beth-horon with its pasture lands; four cities. ²³ And from the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands, ²⁴ Aijalon with its pasture lands, Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; four cities. ²⁵ From the half-tribe of Manasseh, they allotted Taanach with its pasture lands and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; two cities. ²⁶ All the cities with their pasture lands for the families of the rest of the sons of Kohath were ten.

²⁷ And ^(BM)to the sons of Gershon, one of the families of the Levites, from the half-tribe of Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, and Be-eshterah with its pasture lands; two cities. ²⁸ And from the tribe of Issachar they gave Kishion with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands, ²⁹ Jarmuth with its pasture lands, and En-gannim with its pasture lands; four cities. ³⁰ From the tribe of Asher, they gave Mishal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands, ³¹ Helkath with its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture lands; four cities. ³² And from the tribe of Naphtali, they gave ^(BN)Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, Hammoth-dor with its pasture lands, and Kartan with its pasture lands; three cities. ³³ All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.

³⁴ And to the families of ^(BO)the sons of Merari, the rest of the Levites, they gave from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands, Kartah with its pasture lands, ³⁵ Dimnah with its pasture lands, and Nahalal with its pasture lands; four cities. ³⁶ From the tribe of Reuben they gave ^(BP)Bezer with its pasture lands, Jahaz with its pasture lands, ³⁷ Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands; four cities. ³⁸ And from the tribe of Gad, they gave ^(BQ)Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, ^(BR)Mahanaim with its pasture lands, ³⁹ Heshbon with its pasture lands, and Jazer with its pasture lands; four cities in all. ⁴⁰ All these were the cities of the sons of Merari according to their families, the rest of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities.

^41 (BS)All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel were forty-eight cities with their pasture lands. ⁴² These cities individually had ^[bh]their surrounding pasture lands; this is how it was with all these cities.

^43 (BT)So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and ^(BU)they took possession of it and lived in it. ⁴⁴ And the Lord ^(BV)gave them rest on every side, in accordance with everything that He had sworn to their fathers, and ^(BW)no one of all their enemies stood before them; ^(BX)the Lord handed all their enemies over to them. ^45 (BY)Not ^[bi]one of the good promises which the Lord had ^[bj]made to the house of Israel failed; everything came to pass.

Tribes beyond Jordan Return

22 ^(BZ)Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ² and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, ^(CA)and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you. ³ You have not abandoned your brothers these many days to this day, but have fulfilled the obligation of the commandment of the Lord your God. ⁴ And now ^(CB)the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as He spoke to them; therefore turn now and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan. ⁵ Only be very careful to ^[bk]follow the commandment and the Law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to ^(CC)love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways, and keep His commandments and cling to Him, and serve Him ^(CD)with all your heart and with all your soul.” ⁶ So Joshua ^(CE)blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

⁷ Now ^(CF)to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but ^(CG)to the other half Joshua gave a possession among their brothers westward beyond the Jordan. So when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he also blessed them, ⁸ and said to ^[bl]them, “Return to your tents with great riches and with very many livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; ^(CH)divide the spoils of your enemies with your brothers.” ⁹ So the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, ^[bm]leaving the sons of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the ^(CI)land of Gilead, to the land of their possession in which they had settled, in accordance with the ^[bn]command of the Lord ^[bo]through Moses.

The Offensive Altar

¹⁰ When they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, ^[bp]a large altar in appearance. ¹¹ But the sons of Israel ^[bq]heard a report: “Behold, the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have ^(CJ)built an altar at the ^[br]frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the sons of Israel.” ¹² And when the sons of Israel heard about it, the entire congregation of the sons of Israel assembled at ^(CK)Shiloh to go up against them in battle.

¹³ Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben, to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, ^(CL)Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, ¹⁴ and with him ten leaders, one leader for each father’s household from each of the tribes of Israel; and ^(CM)each one of them was the head of his father’s household among the ^[bs]thousands of Israel. ¹⁵ They came to the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, ¹⁶ “This is what the whole congregation of the Lord says: ‘What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the Lord this day, by ^(CN)building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the Lord this day? ¹⁷ Is ^(CO)the wrongdoing of Peor ^[bt]not enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although ^[bu]a plague came on the congregation of the Lord, ¹⁸ that you must turn away this day from following the Lord? If you rebel against the Lord today, ^(CP)He will be angry with the entire congregation of Israel tomorrow. ¹⁹ If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then ^[bv]cross into the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord’s ^[bw]tabernacle ^[bx]stands, and settle among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord, or rebel against us, by ^(CQ)building an altar for yourselves besides the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰ Did ^(CR)Achan the son of Zerah not act unfaithfully in the things designated for destruction, and wrath fall on the entire congregation of Israel? So that man did not perish alone in his guilt.’”

²¹ Then the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the heads of the ^[by]families of Israel. ²² “The ^(CS)Mighty One, God, the Lord, the Mighty One, God, the Lord! ^(CT)He knows, and may Israel itself know. If it was in rebellion, or if in an unfaithful act against the Lord, do not save us this day! ²³ If we have built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord, or if to ^(CU)offer a burnt offering or grain offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, may the Lord Himself ^[bz]demand it. ²⁴ But truly we have done this out of concern, ^[ca]for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your sons may say to our ^[cb]sons, “What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵ For the Lord has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you sons of Reuben and sons of Gad; you have no portion in the Lord.” So your sons may make our sons stop fearing the Lord.’

²⁶ “Therefore we said, ‘Let’s ^[cc]build an altar, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; ²⁷ rather, it shall be ^(CV)a witness between us and you and between our generations after us, that we are to ^(CW)perform the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings, our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings, so that your sons will not say to our sons in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”’ ²⁸ Therefore we said, ‘It shall also come about if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, “See the copy of the altar of the Lord which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather, it is a witness between us and you.”’ ²⁹ Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away from following the Lord this day, by ^(CX)building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the Lord our God which is before His ^[cd]tabernacle.”

³⁰ So when Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the congregation, that is, the heads of the ^[ce]families of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. ³¹ And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Manasseh, “Today we know that the ^(CY)Lord is in our midst, because you have not committed this unfaithful act against the Lord; now you have saved the sons of Israel from the hand of the Lord.”

³² Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and brought back word to them. ³³ The word pleased the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel ^(CZ)blessed God; and they did not speak of going up against them in battle to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living. ³⁴ And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad ^(DA)called the altar Witness; “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”

Joshua’s Farewell Address

23 Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given ^(DB)rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, ² that ^(DC)Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, their heads, their judges, and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years. ³ And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for ^(DD)the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you. ⁴ See, ^(DE)I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have eliminated, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the ^[cf]west. ⁵ And the Lord your God, He will thrust them away from you and ^[cg](DF)drive them from you; and ^(DG)you will take possession of their land, just as the Lord your God ^[ch]promised you. ^6 (DH)Be very determined, then, to keep and do everything that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, so that you will not turn aside from it to the right or to the left, ⁷ so that you will not ^[ci]associate with these nations, these which remain with you, or ^(DI)mention the name of their gods, or ^(DJ)make anyone swear by them, or ^(DK)serve them, or bow down to them. ⁸ But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. ^9 (DL)For the Lord has ^[cj]driven out great and mighty nations from before you; and as for you, ^(DM)no one has stood against you to this day. ^10 (DN)One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is ^(DO)He who fights for you, just as He ^[ck]promised you. ¹¹ So take great care for yourselves that you love the Lord your God. ¹² For if you ever go back and ^(DP)cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain with you, and ^(DQ)intermarry with them, so that you ^[cl]associate with them and they with you, ¹³ know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to ^[cm]drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a ^(DR)snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴ “Now behold, today ^(DS)I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that ^(DT)not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; they all have ^[cn]been fulfilled for you, not ^[co]one of them has failed. ¹⁵ But it will come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so ^(DU)the Lord will bring upon you ^[cp]all the warnings, until He has eliminated you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. ^16 (DV)When you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”