The Daily Audio Bible

The Land Still to Be Taken

13 Joshua was now very old. The Lord said to him, “You are very old, but there is still much land to be taken: ² all the territory of Philistia and Geshur, ³ as well as all the territory of the Avvim to the south. (The land from the stream Shihor, at the Egyptian border, as far north as the border of Ekron was considered Canaanite; the kings of the Philistines lived at Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.) ⁴ There is still all the Canaanite country, and Mearah (which belonged to the Sidonians), as far as Aphek, at the Amorite border; ⁵ the land of the Gebalites; all of Lebanon to the east, from Baalgad, which is south of Mount Hermon, to Hamath Pass. ^6 (A)This includes all the territory of the Sidonians, who live in the hill country between the Lebanon Mountains and Misrephoth Maim. I will drive all these peoples out as the people of Israel advance. You must divide the land among the Israelites, just as I have commanded you to do. ⁷ Now then, divide this land among the other nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh, for them to possess as their own.”

The Division of the Territory East of the Jordan

^8 (B)The tribes of Reuben and Gad and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh had already received the land that Moses, the Lord's servant, had given them; it was on the east side of the Jordan River. ⁹ Their territory extended to Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and the city in the middle of that valley and included all of the plateau from Medeba to Dibon. ¹⁰ It went as far as the border of Ammon and included all the cities that had been ruled by the Amorite king Sihon, who had ruled at Heshbon. ¹¹ It included Gilead, the regions of Geshur and Maacah, all of Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan as far as Salecah. ¹² It included the kingdom of Og, the last of the Rephaim, who had ruled at Ashtaroth and Edrei. Moses had defeated these people and driven them out. ¹³ However, the Israelites did not drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah; they still live in Israel.

^14 (C)Moses had given no land to the tribe of Levi. As the Lord had told Moses, they were to receive as their possession a share of the sacrifices burned on the altar to the Lord God of Israel.

The Territory Assigned to Reuben

¹⁵ Moses had given a part of the land to the families of the tribe of Reuben as their possession. ¹⁶ Their territory extended to Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and the city in the middle of that valley and included all the plateau around Medeba. ¹⁷ It included Heshbon and all the cities on the plateau: Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baalmeon, ¹⁸ Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ¹⁹ Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on the hill in the valley, ²⁰ Bethpeor, the slopes of Mount Pisgah, and Beth Jeshimoth. ²¹ It included all the cities of the plateau and the whole kingdom of the Amorite king Sihon, who had ruled at Heshbon. Moses defeated him, as well as the rulers of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. All of them had ruled the land for King Sihon. ²² Among those whom the people of Israel killed was the fortune teller Balaam son of Beor. ²³ The Jordan was the western border of the tribe of Reuben. These were the cities and towns given to the families of the tribe of Reuben as their possession.

The Territory Assigned to Gad

²⁴ Moses had also given a part of the land to the families of the tribe of Gad as their possession. ²⁵ Their territory included Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, half the land of Ammon as far as Aroer, which is east of Rabbah; ²⁶ their land extended from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpeh and Betonim, from Mahanaim to the border of Lodebar. ²⁷ In the Jordan Valley it included Beth Haram, Bethnimrah, Sukkoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon. Their western border was the Jordan River as far north as Lake Galilee. ²⁸ These were the cities and towns given to the families of the tribe of Gad as their possession.

The Territory Assigned to East Manasseh

²⁹ Moses had given a part of the land to the families of half the tribe of Manasseh as their possession. ³⁰ Their territory extended to Mahanaim and included all of Bashan—the whole kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, as well as all sixty of the villages of Jair in Bashan. ³¹ It included half of Gilead, as well as Ashtaroth and Edrei, the capital cities of Og's kingdom in Bashan. All this was given to half the families descended from Machir son of Manasseh.

³² This is how Moses divided the land east of Jericho and the Jordan when he was in the plains of Moab. ^33 (D)But Moses did not assign any land to the tribe of Levi. He told them that their possession was to be a share of the offerings to the Lord God of Israel.

The Division of the Territory West of the Jordan

14 What follows is an account of how the land of Canaan west of the Jordan was divided among the people of Israel. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the families of the Israelite tribes divided it among the population. ^2 (E)As the Lord had commanded Moses, the territories of the nine and one-half tribes west of the Jordan were determined by drawing lots.^{[a] 3-4 (F)}Moses had already assigned the land east of the Jordan to the other two and one-half tribes. (The descendants of Joseph were divided into two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim.) However, Moses gave the Levites no portion of the territory. Instead, they received cities to live in, with fields for their cattle and flocks. ⁵ The people of Israel divided the land as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Hebron Is Given to Caleb

^6 (G)One day some people from the tribe of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. One of them, Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, said to him, “You know what the Lord said in Kadesh Barnea about you and me to Moses, the man of God. ^7 (H)I was forty years old when the Lord's servant Moses sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out this land. I brought an honest report back to him. ⁸ The men who went with me, however, made our people afraid. But I faithfully obeyed the Lord my God. ^9 (I)Because I did, Moses promised me that my children and I would certainly receive as our possession the land which I walked over. ¹⁰ But now, look. It has been forty-five years since the Lord said that to Moses. That was when Israel was going through the desert, and the Lord, as he promised, has kept me alive ever since. Look at me! I am eighty-five years old ¹¹ and am just as strong today as I was when Moses sent me out. I am still strong enough for war or for anything else. ¹² Now then, give me the hill country that the Lord promised me on that day when my men and I reported. We told you then that the race of giants called the Anakim were there in large walled cities. Maybe the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out, just as the Lord said.”

¹³ Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him the city of Hebron as his possession. ¹⁴ Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, because he faithfully obeyed the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ Before this, Hebron was called the city of Arba. (Arba had been the greatest of the Anakim.)

There was now peace in the land.

The Parable of the Widow and the Judge

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to teach them that they should always pray and never become discouraged. ² “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. ³ And there was a widow in that same town who kept coming to him and pleading for her rights, saying, ‘Help me against my opponent!’ ⁴ For a long time the judge refused to act, but at last he said to himself, ‘Even though I don't fear God or respect people, ⁵ yet because of all the trouble this widow is giving me, I will see to it that she gets her rights. If I don't, she will keep on coming and finally wear me out!’”

⁶ And the Lord continued, “Listen to what that corrupt judge said. ^7 (A)Now, will God not judge in favor of his own people who cry to him day and night for help? Will he be slow to help them? ⁸ I tell you, he will judge in their favor and do it quickly. But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he comes?”

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ Jesus also told this parable to people who were sure of their own goodness and despised everybody else. ¹⁰ “Once there were two men who went up to the Temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood apart by himself and prayed,^[a] ‘I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest, or an adulterer, like everybody else. I thank you that I am not like that tax collector over there. ¹² I fast two days a week, and I give you one tenth of all my income.’ ^13 (B)But the tax collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his face to heaven, but beat on his breast and said, ‘God, have pity on me, a sinner!’ ^14 (C)I tell you,” said Jesus, “the tax collector, and not the Pharisee, was in the right with God when he went home. For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children^(D)

¹⁵ Some people brought their babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. The disciples saw them and scolded them for doing so, ¹⁶ but Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ Remember this! Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

A Prayer for the Nation's Welfare^[a]

⁷ Some people pretend to be rich, but have nothing. Others pretend to be poor, but own a fortune.

⁸ The rich have to use their money to save their lives, but no one threatens the poor.