Old/New Testament
Tribes East of the Jordan River
32 The tribes of Reuben and Gad had many cattle. These people looked at the land near Jazer and Gilead. They saw that this land was good for their cattle. 2 So the people from the tribes of Reuben and Gad came to Moses. They spoke to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the people. 3-4 They said, “We, your servants, have many cattle. And the land that the Lord let the people of Israel capture is good land for cattle. This land includes the area around Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah,[a] Nebo, and Beon. 5 If it pleases you, we would like this land to be given to us. Don’t take us to the other side of the Jordan River.”
6 Moses told the people from the tribes of Reuben and Gad, “Will you let your brothers go and fight while you settle here? 7 Why are you trying to discourage the Israelites? You will make them not want to cross the river and take the land that the Lord has given to them! 8 Your fathers did the same thing to me. In Kadesh Barnea I sent spies to look at the land. 9 These men went as far as Eshcol Valley. They saw the land, and they discouraged the Israelites. These men made the Israelites not want to go into the land that the Lord had given to them. 10 The Lord became very angry with the people. He made this promise: 11 ‘None of the people who came from Egypt and are 20 years old or older will be allowed to see this land. I made a promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I promised to give this land to these people, but they did not really follow me. 12 Only Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun really followed the Lord!’
13 “The Lord was very angry with the Israelites. So he made the people stay in the desert for 40 years. He made them stay there until all the people who had sinned against the Lord were dead. 14 And now you are doing the same thing that your fathers did. You sinful people, do you want the Lord to be even more angry with his people? 15 If you stop following the Lord, he will make Israel stay even longer in the desert. Then you will destroy all these people!”
16 But the people from the tribes of Reuben and Gad went to Moses. They said, “We will build cities for our children and barns for our animals here. 17 Then our children can be safe from the other people who live in this land. But we will gladly come and help the other Israelites. We will bring them to their land. 18 We will not come back home until everyone in Israel has taken his part of the land. 19 We will not take any of the land west of the Jordan River. No, our part of the land is east of the Jordan River.”
20 So Moses told them, “If you do all these things, this land will belong to you. But your soldiers must go before the Lord into battle. 21 Your soldiers must cross the Jordan River and be ready to fight for the Lord until he forces the enemy to leave. 22 After the Lord helps us all take the land, you can go back home. Then the Lord and Israel will not think that you are guilty. And the Lord will let you have this land. 23 But if you don’t do these things, you will be sinning against the Lord. And know for sure that you will be punished for your sin. 24 Build cities for your children and barns for your animals. But then, you must do what you promised.”
25 Then the people from the tribes of Gad and Reuben said to Moses, “We are your servants. You are our master, so we will do what you say. 26 Our wives, children, and all our animals will stay in the cities of Gilead. 27 But we, your servants, will cross the Jordan River. We will march before the Lord into battle, as our master says.”
28 So Moses, Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and all the leaders of the tribes of Israel heard them make that promise. 29 Moses said to them, “The people of Gad and Reuben will cross the Jordan River. They will march before the Lord into battle. They will help you take the land. And you will give the land of Gilead as their part of the country. 30 But if they do not cross the river with you ready to fight, they will not get any land on this side. They will get only a share of the land of Canaan with the rest of you.”
31 The people of Gad and Reuben answered, “We promise to do what the Lord commanded. 32 We will cross the Jordan River and march before the Lord into the land of Canaan. And our part of the country is the land east of the Jordan River.”
33 So Moses gave that land to the people of Gad, to the people of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh. (Manasseh was Joseph’s son.) That land included the kingdom of Sihon the Amorite and the kingdom of King Og of Bashan and all the cities around that area.
34 The people of Gad built the cities of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth Nimrah, and Beth Haran. They built cities with strong walls, and they built barns for their animals.
37 The people of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, Baal Meon, and Sibmah. They used the names of the cities that they rebuilt. But they changed the names of Nebo and Baal Meon.
39 People from Makir’s family group went to Gilead.[b] (Makir was Manasseh’s son.) They defeated the city. They defeated the Amorites who lived there. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to Makir from the tribe of Manasseh, and his family settled there. 41 Jair, from the family of Manasseh, defeated the small towns there. Then he called them Towns of Jair. 42 Nobah defeated Kenath and the small towns near it. Then he called that place by his own name.
Israel’s Journey From Egypt
33 Here is a list of the places the Israelites went when they left Egypt. They were organized in groups like an army and were led by Moses and Aaron. 2 Following the Lord’s command, Moses kept a record of each place they stayed before moving on to the next place. These are all the places they went:
3 On the 15th day of the first month, they left Rameses. That morning after Passover, the Israelites marched out of Egypt with their arms raised in victory. All the people of Egypt saw them. 4 The Egyptians were burying all the people the Lord killed. They were burying all their firstborn sons. The Lord had shown his judgment against the gods[c] of Egypt.
5 The Israelites left Rameses and traveled to Succoth. 6 From Succoth they traveled to Etham. They camped there at the edge of the desert. 7 They left Etham and went to Pi Hahiroth. This was near Baal Zephon. They camped near Migdol.
8 They left Pi Hahiroth and walked through the middle of the sea. They went toward the desert. Then they traveled for three days through the desert of Etham. The people camped at Marah.
9 They left Marah and went to Elim and camped there. There were 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees there.
10 They left Elim and camped near the Red Sea.[d]
11 They left the Red Sea and camped in the western Sinai desert.[e]
12 They left there and camped at Dophkah.
13 They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.
14 They left Alush and camped at Rephidim. There was no water for the people to drink at that place.
15 They left Rephidim and camped in the desert of Sinai.
16 They left the desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.
17 They left Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.
18 They left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.
19 They left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez.
20 They left Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah.
21 They left Libnah and camped at Rissah.
22 They left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.
23 They left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.
24 They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.
25 They left Haradah and camped at Makheloth.
26 They left Makheloth and camped at Tahath.
27 They left Tahath and camped at Terah.
28 They left Terah and camped at Mithcah.
29 They left Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah.
30 They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.
31 They left Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan.
32 They left Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad.
33 They left Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.
34 They left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.
35 They left Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber.
36 They left Ezion Geber and camped at Kadesh, in the desert of Zin.
37 They left Kadesh and camped at Hor. This was the mountain at the border of the country of Edom. 38 Aaron the priest obeyed the Lord and went up Mount Hor. Aaron died at that place on the first day of the fifth month. That was the 40th year after the Israelites had left Egypt. 39 Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.
40 Arad was a town in the Negev, in the land of Canaan. The Canaanite king in that place heard that the Israelites were coming. 41 The people left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.
42 They left Zalmonah and camped at Punon.
43 They left Punon and camped at Oboth.
44 They left Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim. This was at the border of the country of Moab.
45 They left Iye Abarim and camped at Dibon Gad.
46 They left Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.
47 They left Almon Diblathaim and camped on the mountains of Abarim near Nebo.
48 They left the mountains of Abarim and camped in the Jordan Valley in Moab. This was near the Jordan River across from Jericho. 49 They camped by the Jordan River in the Jordan Valley in Moab. Their camp went from Beth Jeshimoth to Acacia Field.
50 There, the Lord spoke to Moses and said, 51 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them this: You will cross the Jordan River. You will go into the land of Canaan. 52 You will take the land from the people you find there. You must destroy all of their carved statues and idols. You must destroy all of their high places. 53 You will take the land and you will settle there, because I am giving this land to you. It will belong to your family groups. 54 Each of your family groups will get part of the land. You will throw lots to decide which family group gets each part of the country. Large family groups will get large parts of the land. Small family groups will get small parts of the land. The lots will show which family group gets which part of the land. Each tribe will get its part of the land.
55 “You must force these other people to leave the country. If you let them stay in your country, they will bring many troubles to you. They will be like a needle[f] in your eye and a thorn in your side. They will bring many troubles to the country where you will be living. 56 I showed you what I would do—and I will do that to you!”
The Borders of Canaan
34 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them this: You will soon enter the land of Canaan. I am giving you that land to be your very own. These will be its borders: 3 On the south, you will get part of the desert of Zin near Edom. Your southern border will start at the south end of the Dead Sea. 4 It will cross south of Scorpion Pass. It will go through the town of Zin to Kadesh Barnea and then to Hazar Addar, and then it will pass through Azmon. 5 From Azmon the border will go to the River of Egypt,[g] and it will end at the Mediterranean Sea. 6 Your western border will be the Mediterranean Sea. 7 Your northern border will begin at the Mediterranean Sea and go to Mount Hor. 8 From Mount Hor it will go to Lebo Hamath, and then to Zedad. 9 Then that border will go to Ziphron and it will end at Hazar Enan. So that will be your northern border. 10 Your eastern border will begin at Enan and it will go to Shepham. 11 From Shepham the border will go east of Ain to Riblah. The border will continue along the hills by Lake Galilee.[h] 12 Then the border will continue along the Jordan River. It will end at the Dead Sea. These are the borders around your country.”
13 So Moses gave this command to the Israelites, “That is the land that you will get. You will throw lots to divide the land among the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh, as the Lord commanded. 14 The tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already taken their land. 15 These two and a half tribes took the land near Jericho—they took the land east of the Jordan River.”
16 Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 17 “These are the men who will help you divide the land: Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, 18 and the leaders of all the tribes. There will be one leader from each tribe. These men will divide the land. 19 These are the names of the leaders:
from the tribe of Judah—Caleb son of Jephunneh;
20 from the tribe of Simeon—Shemuel son of Ammihud;
21 from the tribe of Benjamin—Elidad son of Kislon;
22 from the tribe of Dan—Bukki son of Jogli;
23 from the descendants of Joseph;
from the tribe of Manasseh—Hanniel son of Ephod;
24 from the tribe of Ephraim—Kemuel son of Shiphtan;
25 from the tribe of Zebulun—Elizaphan son of Parnach;
26 from the tribe of Issachar—Paltiel son of Azzan;
27 from the tribe of Asher—Ahihud son of Shelomi;
28 from the tribe of Naphtali—Pedahel son of Ammihud.”
29 The Lord chose these men to divide the land of Canaan among the Israelites.
Jesus Talks About His Death(A)
30 Then Jesus and his followers left there and went through Galilee. Jesus did not want the people to know where they were. 31 He wanted to teach his followers alone. He said to them, “The Son of Man will be handed over to the control of other men, who will kill him. After three days, he will rise from death.” 32 But the followers did not understand what he meant, and they were afraid to ask him.
Who Is the Greatest?(B)
33 Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. They went into a house, and Jesus said to them, “I heard you arguing on the way here today. What were you arguing about?” 34 But the followers did not answer, because their argument on the road was about which one of them was the greatest.
35 Jesus sat down and called the twelve apostles to him. He said, “Whoever wants to be the most important must make others more important than themselves. They must serve everyone else.”
36 Then Jesus took a small child and stood the child in front of the followers. He held the child in his arms and said, 37 “Whoever accepts children like these in my name is accepting me. And anyone who accepts me is also accepting the one who sent me.”
Whoever Is Not Against Us Is For Us(C)
38 Then John said, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to force demons out of someone. He is not one of us. So we told him to stop, because he does not belong to our group.”
39 Jesus said, “Don’t stop him. Whoever uses my name to do powerful things will not soon say bad things about me. 40 Whoever is not against us is with us. 41 I can assure you that anyone who helps you by giving you a drink of water because you belong to the Messiah will definitely get a reward.
Jesus Warns About Causes of Sin(D)
42 “If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it will be very bad for that person. It would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their neck and be drowned in the sea. 43 If your hand makes you sin, cut it off. It is better for you to lose part of your body and have eternal life than to have two hands and go to hell. There the fire never stops. 44 [a] 45 If your foot makes you sin, cut it off. It is better for you to lose part of your body and have eternal life than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 46 [b] 47 If your eye makes you sin, take it out. It is better for you to have only one eye and enter God’s kingdom than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. 48 The worms that eat the people in hell never die. The fire there is never stopped.
49 “Everyone will be salted with fire.[c]
50 “Salt is good. But if it loses its salty taste, you can’t make it good again. So, don’t lose that good quality of salt you have. And live in peace with each other.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International