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The Church in Antioch

19 (A) Some of the Lord's followers had been scattered because of the terrible trouble that started when Stephen was killed. They went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, but they told the message only to the Jews.

20 Some of the followers from Cyprus and Cyrene went to Antioch and started telling Gentiles[a] the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord's power was with them, and many people turned to the Lord and put their faith in him. 22 News of what was happening reached the church in Jerusalem. Then they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

23 When Barnabas got there and saw how God had blessed them with undeserved grace, he was very glad. So he begged them to remain faithful to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 Barnabas was a good man of great faith, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Many more people turned to the Lord.

25 Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 He found Saul and brought him to Antioch, where they met with the church for a whole year and taught many of its people. There in Antioch the Lord's followers were first called Christians.

27 During this time some prophets from Jerusalem came to Antioch. 28 (B) One of them was Agabus. Then with the help of the Spirit, he told that there would be a terrible famine everywhere in the world. And it happened when Claudius was Emperor.[b] 29 The followers in Antioch decided to send whatever help they could to the followers in Judea. 30 So they appointed Barnabas and Saul to take their gifts to the church leaders in Jerusalem.

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Footnotes

  1. 11.20 Gentiles: This translates a Greek word that may mean “people who speak Greek” or “people who live as Greeks do.” Here the word seems to mean “people who are not Jews.” Some manuscripts have “Greeks,” which also seems to mean “people who are not Jews.”
  2. 11.28 when Claudius was Emperor: a.d. 41–54.

The Land Israel Had Not Yet Taken

13 Many years later, the Lord told Joshua:

Now you are very old, but there is still a lot of land that Israel has not yet taken. 2-7 (A) First, there is the Canaanite territory that starts at the Shihor River just east of Egypt and goes north to Ekron. The southern part of this region belongs to the Avvites and the Geshurites,[a] and the land around Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron belongs to the five Philistine rulers.

The other Canaanite territory is in the north. Its northern border starts at the town of Arah, which belongs to the Sidonians. From there, it goes to Aphek,[b] then along the Amorite border[c] to Hamath Pass.[d] The eastern border starts at Hamath Pass and goes south to Baal-Gad at the foot of Mount Hermon, and its southern boundary runs west from there to Misrephoth-Maim.[e] This northern region includes the Lebanon Mountains and the land that belongs to the Gebalites[f] and the Sidonians who live in the hill country from the Lebanon Mountains to Misrephoth-Maim.

With my help, Israel will capture these Canaanite territories and force out the people who live there. But you must divide up the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea[g] among the nine tribes and the half of Manasseh that don't have any land yet. Then each tribe will have its own land.

The Land East of the Jordan River

(B) Moses had already given land east of the Jordan River to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. This region stretched north from the town in the middle of the Arnon River valley, and included the town of Aroer on the northern edge of the valley. It covered the flatlands of Medeba north of Dibon, 10 and took in the towns that had belonged to Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon. Some of these towns were as far east as the Ammonite border.

11-12 Geshur and Maacah were part of this region, and so was the whole territory that King Og had ruled, that is, Gilead, Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan as far east as Salecah. Og had lived in Ashtaroth part of each year, and he had lived in Edrei the rest of the year. Og had been one of the last of the Rephaim,[h] but Moses had defeated Sihon and Og and their people[i] and had forced them to leave their land. 13 However, the Israelites did not force the people of Geshur and Maacah to leave, and they still live there among the Israelites.

Why Moses Did Not Give Land to the Levi Tribe

14 (C) Moses did not give any land to the Levi tribe, because the Lord God of Israel had told them, “Instead of land, you will receive the sacrifices offered at my altar.”

The Land Moses Gave to the Reuben Tribe

15 Moses gave land to each of the clans in the Reuben tribe. 16 Their land started in the south at the town in the middle of the Arnon River valley, took in the town of Aroer on the northern edge of the valley, and went as far north as the flatlands around Medeba. 17-21 The Amorite King Sihon had lived in Heshbon and had ruled the towns in the flatlands. Now Heshbon belonged to Reuben, and so did the following towns in the flatlands: Dibon, Bamoth-Baal, Beth-Baal-Meon, Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-Shahar on the hill in the valley, Beth-Peor, Slopes of Mount Pisgah, and Beth-Jeshimoth.

Moses defeated Sihon and killed him and the Midianite chiefs who ruled parts of his kingdom for him. Their names were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. 22 The Israelites also killed Balaam the son of Beor, who had been a fortuneteller.

23 This region with its towns and villages was the land for the Reuben tribe, and the Jordan River was its western border.

The Land Moses Gave to the Gad Tribe

24 Moses also gave land to each of the clans in the Gad tribe. 25 It included the town of Jazer, and in the Gilead region their territory took in the land and towns as far east as the town of Aroer[j] just west of Rabbah.[k] This was about half of the land that had once belonged to the Ammonites. 26 The land given to Gad stretched from Heshbon in the south to Ramath-Mizpeh and Betonim in the north, and even further north to Mahanaim and Lidebor.[l] 27 Gad also received the eastern half of the Jordan River valley, which had been ruled by King Sihon of Heshbon. This territory stretched as far north as Lake Galilee,[m] and included the towns of Beth-Haram, Beth-Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon. 28 These regions with their towns and villages were given to the Gad tribe.

The Land Moses Gave to Half the Manasseh Tribe

29 Moses gave land east of the Jordan River to half of the clans from the Manasseh tribe. 30-31 Their land started at Mahanaim and took in the region that King Og of Bashan had ruled, including Ashtaroth and Edrei, the two towns where he had lived. The villages where the Jair clan settled were part of Manasseh's land, and so was the northern half of the region of Gilead. The clans of this half of Manasseh had 60 towns in all.

The Manasseh tribe is sometimes called the Machir tribe, after Manasseh's son Machir.

32 That was how Moses divided up the Moab Plains to the east of Jericho on the other side of the Jordan River, so these two and a half tribes would have land of their own. 33 (D) But Moses did not give any land to the Levi tribe, because the Lord had promised that he would always provide for them.

The Land West of the Jordan River

14 1-5 (E) Nine and a half tribes still did not have any land, although two and a half tribes had already received land east of the Jordan River. Moses had divided that land among them, and he had also said that the Levi tribe would not receive a large region like the other tribes. Instead, the people of Levi would receive towns and the nearby pastures for their sheep, goats, and cattle. And since the descendants of Joseph had become the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, there were still nine and a half tribes that needed land. The Lord had told Moses that he would show those tribes[n] how to divide up the land of Canaan.

When the priest Eleazar, Joshua, and the leaders of the families and tribes of Israel met to divide up the land of Canaan, the Lord showed them how to do it.

Joshua Gives Hebron to Caleb

(F) One day while the Israelites were still camped at Gilgal, Caleb the son of Jephunneh went to talk with Joshua. Caleb belonged to the Kenaz clan, and many other people from the Judah tribe went with Caleb. He told Joshua:

You know that back in Kadesh-Barnea the Lord talked to his prophet Moses about you and me. (G) I was 40 years old at the time Moses sent me from Kadesh-Barnea into Canaan as a spy. When I came back and told him about the land, everything I said was true. The other spies said things that made our people afraid, but I completely trusted the Lord God. (H) The same day I came back, Moses told me, “Since you were faithful to the Lord God, I promise that the places where you went as a spy will belong to you and your descendants forever.”

10 Joshua, it was 45 years ago that the Lord told Moses to make that promise, and now I am 85. Even though Israel has moved from place to place in the desert, the Lord has kept me alive all this time as he said he would. 11 I'm just as strong today as I was then, and I can still fight as well in battle.

12 So I'm asking you for the hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You were there. You heard the other spies talk about that part of the hill country and the large, walled towns where the Anakim[o] live. But maybe the Lord will help me take their land, just as he promised.

13 Joshua prayed that God would help Caleb, then he gave Hebron to Caleb and his descendants. 14 And Hebron still belongs to Caleb's descendants, because he was faithful to the Lord God of Israel.

15 Hebron used to be called Arba's Town,[p] because Arba had been one of the greatest[q] of the Anakim.

There was peace in the land.

Footnotes

  1. 13.2-7 Geshurites: Not the same Geshur as in 12.5 and 13.11. One ancient translation has “Gezerites.” Gezer was a town north of Ekron that the Israelites did not capture (see Judges 1.29).
  2. 13.2-7 Aphek: Not the same Aphek as in 12.9-24.
  3. 13.2-7 Amorite border: What had been the southern border of the old Amorite kingdom of Amurru.
  4. 13.2-7 Hamath Pass: Or “Lebo-Hamath.”
  5. 13.2-7 Misrephoth-Maim: Or “Misrephoth” or “the Misrephoth River.”
  6. 13.2-7 Gebalites: Gebal was another name for Byblos.
  7. 13.2-7 from … Sea: One ancient translation; the Hebrew text does not have these words.
  8. 13.11,12 Rephaim: See the note at 12.4.
  9. 13.11,12 Sihon … people: Or “the Rephaim.”
  10. 13.25 Aroer: Not the same town as the Aroer in verse 16.
  11. 13.25 Rabbah: The capital city of Ammon.
  12. 13.26 Lidebor: This may be another name for Lo-Debar, a town a few kilometers east of the Jordan River and about 16 kilometers south of Lake Galilee.
  13. 13.27 Lake Galilee: See the note at 11.2.
  14. 14.1-5 he would show those tribes: The Hebrew text has “those tribes must cast lots to find out.” Pieces of wood or stone (called “lots”) were used to find out what God wanted his people to do.
  15. 14.12 Anakim: See the note at 11.21.
  16. 14.15 Arba's Town: Or “Kiriath-Arba.”
  17. 14.15 Arba's Town, because … greatest: Hebrew; one ancient translation “Arba's Town. It was one of the main towns.”

Job Continues

I Am Desperate

27 Job said:
I am desperate because
God All-Powerful refuses
    to do what is right.
As surely as God lives,
and while he gives me breath,
    I will tell only the truth.
Until the day I die,
I will refuse to do wrong
    by saying you are right,
because each day my conscience
    agrees that I am innocent.

I pray that my enemies
will suffer no less
    than the wicked.
Such people are hopeless,
and God All-Powerful
    will cut them down,
without listening
    when they beg for mercy.
10 And that is what God should do,
because they don't like him
    or ever pray.
11 Now I will explain in detail
    what God All-Powerful does.
12 All of you have seen these things
for yourselves.
    So you have no excuse.

How God Treats the Wicked

13 Here is how God All-Powerful
treats those who are wicked
    and brutal.
14 They may have many children,
but most of them will go hungry
    or suffer a violent death.
15 Others will die of disease,
and their widows
    won't be able to weep.
16 The wicked may collect riches
and clothes in abundance
    as easily as clay.
17 But God's people will wear
clothes taken from them
    and divide up their riches.
18 No homes built by the wicked
will outlast a cocoon
    or a shack.
19 Those sinners may go to bed rich,
    but they will wake up poor.[a]
20 Terror will strike at night
    like a flood or a storm.
21 Then a scorching wind
    will sweep them away
22 without showing mercy,
    as they try to escape.
23 At last, the wind will celebrate
    because they are gone.

Footnotes

  1. 27.19 poor: Or “dead.”

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