Law concerning Murder by Persons Unknown

21 “If, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess, a body is found lying in open country, and it is not known who struck the person down,^{(A) 2} then your elders and your judges shall come out to measure the distances to the towns that are near the body. ³ The elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked, one that has not pulled in the yoke; ⁴ the elders of that town shall bring the heifer down to a wadi with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the wadi. ⁵ Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to him and to pronounce blessings in the name of the Lord, and by their decision all cases of dispute and assault shall be settled.^{(B) 6} All the elders of that town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the wadi, ⁷ and they shall declare, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor were we witnesses to it. ⁸ Absolve, O Lord, your people Israel, whom you redeemed; do not let the guilt of innocent blood remain in the midst of your people Israel.’ Then they will be absolved of bloodguilt.^{(C) 9} So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, because you must do what is right in the sight of the Lord.^(D)

Female Captives

¹⁰ “When you go out to war against your enemies and the Lord your God hands them over to you and you take them captive, ¹¹ suppose you see among the captives a beautiful woman whom you desire and want to marry, ¹² and so you bring her home to your house: she shall shave her head, pare her nails,^{(E) 13} discard her captive’s garb, and remain in your house a full month mourning for her father and mother; after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. ¹⁴ But if you are not satisfied with her, you shall let her go free and certainly not sell her for money. You must not treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.

The Right of the Firstborn

¹⁵ “If a man has two wives, one of them loved and the other disliked, and if both the loved and the disliked have borne him sons, the firstborn being the son of the one who is disliked, ¹⁶ then on the day when he wills his possessions to his sons, he is not permitted to treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the disliked, who is the firstborn.^{(F) 17} He must acknowledge as firstborn the son of the one who is disliked, giving him a double portion^[a] of all that he has; since he is the first issue of his virility, the right of the firstborn is his.^(G)

Rebellious Children

¹⁸ “If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father and mother, who does not heed them when they discipline him,^{(H) 19} then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the gate of that place. ²⁰ They shall say to the elders of his town, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.’ ²¹ Then all the men of the town shall stone him to death. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.^(I)

Miscellaneous Laws

²² “When someone is convicted of a crime punishable by death and is executed and you hang him on a tree, ²³ his corpse must not remain all night upon the tree; you must bury him that same day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the Lord your God is giving you for possession.^(J)

22 “You shall not watch your neighbor’s ox or sheep straying away and ignore them; you shall take them back to their owner.^{(K) 2} If the owner does not reside near you or you do not know who the owner is, you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with you until the owner claims it; then you shall return it. ³ You shall do the same with a neighbor’s donkey; you shall do the same with a neighbor’s garment; and you shall do the same with anything else that your neighbor loses and you find. You may not withhold your help.

⁴ “You shall not see your neighbor’s donkey or ox fallen on the road and ignore it; you shall help to lift it up.^(L)

⁵ “A woman shall not wear a man’s apparel, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for whoever does such things is abhorrent to the Lord your God.

⁶ “If you come on a bird’s nest, in any tree or on the ground, with fledglings or eggs, with the mother sitting on the fledglings or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young.^{(M) 7} Let the mother go, taking only the young for yourself, in order that it may go well with you and you may live long.^(N)

⁸ “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof; otherwise you might have bloodguilt on your house, if anyone should fall from it.

⁹ “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or the whole yield will be forbidden, both the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard itself.^(O)

¹⁰ “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

¹¹ “You shall not wear clothes made of wool and linen woven together.^(P)

¹² “You shall make tassels on the four corners of the cloak with which you cover yourself.^(Q)

Laws concerning Sexual Relations

¹³ “Suppose a man marries a woman but after going in to her dislikes her^{(R) 14} and makes up charges against her, slandering her by saying, ‘I married this woman, but when I lay with her, I did not find evidence of her virginity.’ ¹⁵ The father of the young woman and her mother shall then submit the evidence of the young woman’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate.^{(S) 16} The father of the young woman shall say to the elders: ‘I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her, ¹⁷ and now he has made up charges against her, saying, “I did not find evidence of your daughter’s virginity.” But here is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ Then they shall spread out the cloth before the elders of the town. ¹⁸ The elders of that town shall take the man and punish him; ¹⁹ they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver (which they shall give to the young woman’s father) because he has slandered a virgin of Israel. She shall remain his wife; he shall not be permitted to divorce her as long as he lives.

²⁰ “If, however, this charge is true, that evidence of the young woman’s virginity was not found, ²¹ then they shall bring the young woman out to the entrance of her father’s house, and the men of her town shall stone her to death, because she committed a disgraceful act in Israel by prostituting herself in her father’s house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.^(T)

²² “If a man is discovered lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman as well as the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.^(U)

²³ “If there is a young woman, a virgin already engaged to be married, and a man meets her in the town and lies with her, ²⁴ you shall bring both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death, the young woman because she did not cry for help in the town and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.^(V)

²⁵ “But if the man meets the engaged woman in the open country and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die.^{(W) 26} You shall do nothing to the young woman; the young woman has not committed an offense punishable by death, because this case is like that of someone who attacks and murders a neighbor. ²⁷ Since he found her in the open country, the engaged woman may have cried for help, but there was no one to rescue her.

²⁸ “If a man meets a virgin who is not engaged and seizes her and lies with her, and they are discovered,^{(X) 29} the man who lay with her shall give fifty shekels of silver to the young woman’s father, and she shall become his wife. Because he violated her, he shall not be permitted to divorce her as long as he lives.

^30 [b]“A man shall not marry his father’s wife, thereby violating his father’s rights.^[c](Y)

Those Excluded from the Assembly

23 “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall come into the assembly of the Lord.

² “Those born of an illicit union shall not come into the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall come into the assembly of the Lord.

³ “No Ammonite or Moabite shall come into the assembly of the Lord even to the tenth generation. None of their descendants shall come into the assembly of the Lord forever, ⁴ because they did not meet you with food and water on your journey out of Egypt and because they hired against you Balaam son of Beor, from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. ⁵ (Yet the Lord your God refused to heed Balaam; the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you.) ⁶ You shall never promote their welfare or their prosperity as long as you live.

⁷ “You shall not abhor any of the Edomites, for they are your kin. You shall not abhor any of the Egyptians, because you were an alien residing in their land. ⁸ The children of the third generation that are born to them may come into the assembly of the Lord.

Sanitary, Ritual, and Humanitarian Precepts

⁹ “When you are encamped against your enemies, you shall guard against every evil thing.

¹⁰ “If one of you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp; he must not come within the camp. ¹¹ When evening comes, he shall wash himself with water, and when the sun has set, he may come back into the camp.

¹² “You shall have a designated area outside the camp to which you shall go. ¹³ With your tools you shall have a trowel; when you relieve yourself outside, you shall dig a hole with it and then cover up your excrement. ¹⁴ Because the Lord your God travels along with your camp, to save you and to hand over your enemies to you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.

¹⁵ “You shall not return to their owners slaves who have escaped to you from their owners. ¹⁶ They shall reside with you, in your midst, in any place they choose in any one of your towns, wherever they please; you shall not oppress them.

¹⁷ “None of the daughters of Israel shall serve in an illicit shrine; none of the sons of Israel shall serve in an illicit shrine.^{(Z) 18} You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

¹⁹ “You shall not charge interest on loans to another Israelite,^[d] interest on money, interest on provisions, interest on anything that is lent.^{(AA) 20} On loans to a foreigner you may charge interest, but on loans to another Israelite^[e] you may not charge interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings in the land that you are about to enter and possess.^(AB)

²¹ “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not postpone fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you would incur guilt.^{(AC) 22} But if you refrain from vowing, you will not incur guilt. ²³ Whatever your lips utter you must diligently perform, just as you have freely vowed to the Lord your God with your own mouth.

²⁴ “If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in a container.

²⁵ “If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.^(AD)

Laws concerning Marriage and Divorce

24 “Suppose a man enters into marriage with a woman but she does not please him because he finds something objectionable about her, so he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house; ² she then leaves his house and goes off to become another man’s wife.^{(AE) 3} Then suppose the second man dislikes her, writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house (or the second man who married her dies): ⁴ her first husband, who sent her away, is not permitted to take her again to be his wife after she has been defiled, for that would be abhorrent to the Lord, and you shall not bring guilt on the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession.^(AF)

Miscellaneous Laws

⁵ “When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be charged with any related duty. He shall be free at home one year, to be happy with the wife whom he has married.^(AG)

⁶ “No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.

⁷ “If someone is caught kidnaping another Israelite, enslaving or selling the Israelite, then that kidnaper shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.^(AH)

⁸ “Guard against an outbreak of a defiling skin disease by being very careful; you shall carefully observe whatever the Levitical priests instruct you, just as I have commanded them.^{(AI) 9} Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on your journey out of Egypt.^(AJ)

¹⁰ “When you make your neighbor a loan of any kind, you shall not go into the house to take the pledge. ¹¹ You shall wait outside while the person to whom you are making the loan brings the pledge out to you. ¹² If the person is poor, you shall not sleep in the garment given you as^[f] the pledge. ¹³ You shall give the pledge back by sunset, so that your neighbor may sleep in the cloak and bless you, and it will be to your credit before the Lord your God.^(AK)

¹⁴ “You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns.^{(AL) 15} You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.^(AM)

¹⁶ “Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their parents; only for their own crimes may persons be put to death.^(AN)

¹⁷ “You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge.^{(AO) 18} Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.^(AP)

¹⁹ “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings.^{(AQ) 20} When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.^(AR)

²¹ “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. ²² Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this.^(AS)

25 “Suppose two persons have a dispute and enter into litigation, and the judges decide between them, declaring one to be in the right and the other to be in the wrong.^{(AT) 2} If the one in the wrong deserves to be flogged, the judge shall make that person lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of lashes proportionate to the offense. ³ Forty lashes may be given but not more; if more lashes than these are given, your neighbor will be degraded in your sight.^(AU)

⁴ “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.^(AV)

Levirate Marriage

⁵ “When brothers reside together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, taking her in marriage and performing the duty of a husband’s brother to her,^{(AW) 6} and the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed to the name of the deceased brother, so that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.^{(AX) 7} But if the man has no desire to marry his brother’s widow, then his brother’s widow shall go up to the elders at the gate and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’^{(AY) 8} Then the elders of his town shall summon him and speak to him. If he persists, saying, ‘I have no desire to marry her,’^{(AZ) 9} then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, pull his sandal off his foot, spit in his face, and declare, ‘This is what is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’^{(BA) 10} Throughout Israel his family shall be known as ‘the house of him whose sandal was pulled off.’

Various Commands

¹¹ “If men get into a fight with one another and the wife of one intervenes to rescue her husband from the grip of his opponent by reaching out and seizing his genitals, ¹² you shall cut off her hand; show no pity.

¹³ “You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, large and small.^{(BB) 14} You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, large and small. ¹⁵ You shall have only a full and honest weight; you shall have only a full and honest measure, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ¹⁶ For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are abhorrent to the Lord your God.^(BC)

¹⁷ “Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey out of Egypt,^{(BD) 18} how he attacked you on the way, when you were faint and weary, and struck down all who lagged behind you; he did not fear God. ¹⁹ Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies on every hand, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; do not forget.^(BE)

First Fruits and Tithes

26 “When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess and you possess it and settle in it, ² you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.^{(BF) 3} You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’ ⁴ When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, ⁵ you shall make this response before the Lord your God: ‘A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.^{(BG) 6} When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us,^{(BH) 7} we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.^{(BI) 8} The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders;^{(BJ) 9} and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.^{(BK) 10} So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.’ You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. ¹¹ Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.^(BL)

¹² “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year (which is the year of the tithe), giving it to the Levites, the aliens, the orphans, and the widows, so that they may eat their fill within your towns,^{(BM) 13} then you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from the house, and I have given it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows, in accordance with your entire commandment that you commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor forgotten any of your commandments:^{(BN) 14} I have not eaten of it while in mourning; I have not removed any of it while I was unclean; and I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God, doing just as you commanded me.^{(BO) 15} Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.’

Concluding Exhortation

¹⁶ “This very day the Lord your God is commanding you to observe these statutes and ordinances, so observe them diligently with all your heart and with all your soul.^{(BP) 17} Today you have obtained the Lord’s agreement: to be your God; and for you to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, and his ordinances, and to obey him. ¹⁸ Today the Lord has obtained your agreement: to be his treasured people, as he promised you, and to keep all his commandments;^{(BQ) 19} for him to set you high above all nations that he has made, in praise and in fame and in honor; and for you to be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.”^(BR)

The Inscribed Stones and Altar on Mount Ebal

27 Then Moses and the elders of Israel charged all the people as follows: “Keep the entire commandment that I am commanding you today. ² On the day that you cross over the Jordan into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and cover them with plaster.^{(BS) 3} You shall write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over, to enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.^{(BT) 4} So when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones about which I am commanding you today on Mount Ebal, and you shall cover them with plaster. ⁵ And you shall build an altar there to the Lord your God, an altar of stones on which you have not used an iron tool.^{(BU) 6} You must build the altar of the Lord your God of unhewn^[g] stones. Then offer up burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God; ⁷ make sacrifices of well-being, and eat them there, rejoicing before the Lord your God. ⁸ You shall write on the stones all the words of this law very clearly.”

⁹ Then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel! This very day you have become the people of the Lord your God.^{(BV) 10} Therefore obey the Lord your God, observing his commandments and his statutes that I am commanding you today.”

Twelve Curses

¹¹ The same day Moses charged the people as follows: ¹² “When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.^{(BW) 13} And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. ¹⁴ Then the Levites shall declare in a loud voice to all the Israelites,

¹⁵ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who makes an idol or casts an image, anything abhorrent to the Lord, the work of an artisan, and sets it up in secret.’ All the people shall respond, saying, ‘Amen!’^(BX)

¹⁶ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors father or mother.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(BY)

¹⁷ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who moves a neighbor’s boundary marker.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(BZ)

¹⁸ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind person on the road.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(CA)

¹⁹ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who deprives an alien, an orphan, or a widow of justice.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(CB)

²⁰ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his father’s wife, because he has violated his father’s rights.’^[h] All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(CC)

²¹ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who lies with any animal.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(CD)

²² “ ‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(CE)

²³ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his mother-in-law.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(CF)

²⁴ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who strikes down a neighbor in secret.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(CG)

²⁵ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(CH)

²⁶ “ ‘Cursed be anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by observing them.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen!’^(CI)

Blessings for Obedience

28 “If you will only obey the Lord your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth;^{(CJ) 2} all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God:

³ “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field.^(CK)

⁴ “Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your livestock, both the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock.^(CL)

⁵ “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

⁶ “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

⁷ “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.^{(CM) 8} The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you undertake; he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ⁹ The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways.^{(CN) 10} All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you.^{(CO) 11} The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you.^{(CP) 12} The Lord will open for you his rich storehouse, the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all your undertakings. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.^{(CQ) 13} The Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be only at the top and not at the bottom—if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today by diligently observing them, ¹⁴ and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I am commanding you today, either to the right or to the left, following other gods to serve them.^(CR)

Warnings against Disobedience

¹⁵ “But if you will not obey the Lord your God by diligently observing all his commandments and decrees that I am commanding you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you:^(CS)

¹⁶ “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.

¹⁷ “Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

¹⁸ “Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock.

¹⁹ “Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

²⁰ “The Lord will send upon you disaster, panic, and frustration in everything you attempt to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds with which you have forsaken me.^{(CT) 21} The Lord will make the pestilence cling to you until it has consumed you off the land that you are entering to possess.^{(CU) 22} The Lord will afflict you with consumption, fever, inflammation, with fiery heat and drought,^[i] and with blight and mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.^{(CV) 23} The sky over your head shall be bronze and the earth under you iron.^{(CW) 24} The Lord will change the rain of your land into powder, and only dust shall come down upon you from the sky until you are destroyed.

²⁵ “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out against them one way and flee before them seven ways. You shall become an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.^{(CX) 26} Your corpses shall be food for every bird of the air and animal of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away.^{(CY) 27} The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, scurvy, and itch, of which you cannot be healed.^{(CZ) 28} The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind; ²⁹ you shall grope about at noon as blind people grope in darkness, but you shall be unable to find your way, and you shall be continually abused and robbed, without anyone to help.^{(DA) 30} You shall become engaged to a woman, but another man shall lie with her. You shall build a house but not live in it. You shall plant a vineyard but not enjoy its fruit.^{(DB) 31} Your ox shall be butchered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it. Your donkey shall be stolen in front of you and shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies without anyone to help you. ³² Your sons and daughters shall be given to another people while you look on; you will strain your eyes looking for them all day but be powerless to do anything.^{(DC) 33} A people whom you do not know shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors; you shall be continually abused and crushed^{(DD) 34} and driven mad by the sight that your eyes shall see. ³⁵ The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs with grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.^{(DE) 36} The Lord will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your ancestors have known, where you shall serve other gods, of wood and stone.^{(DF) 37} You shall become an object of horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you.^(DG)

³⁸ “You shall carry much seed into the field but shall gather little in, for the locust shall consume it.^{(DH) 39} You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them. ⁴⁰ You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop off. ⁴¹ You shall have sons and daughters, but they shall not remain yours, for they shall go into captivity.^{(DI) 42} All your trees and the fruit of your ground the cicada shall take over.^{(DJ) 43} Aliens residing among you shall ascend above you higher and higher, while you shall descend lower and lower.^{(DK) 44} They shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to them; they shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.^(DL)

⁴⁵ “All these curses shall come upon you, pursuing and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God by observing the commandments and the decrees that he commanded you.^{(DM) 46} They shall be among you and your descendants as a sign and a portent forever.

⁴⁷ “Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and with gladness of heart for the abundance of everything,^{(DN) 48} therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and lack of everything. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.^{(DO) 49} The Lord will bring a nation from far away, from the end of the earth, to swoop down on you like an eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand,^{(DP) 50} a grim-faced nation showing no respect to the old or favor to the young. ⁵¹ It shall consume the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your ground until you are destroyed, leaving you neither grain, wine, and oil nor the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock, until it has made you perish.^{(DQ) 52} It shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout your land; it shall besiege you in all your towns throughout the land that the Lord your God has given you.^{(DR) 53} In the desperate straits to which the enemy siege reduces you, you will eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your own sons and daughters whom the Lord your God has given you.^{(DS) 54} Even the most refined and gentle of men among you will begrudge food to his own brother, to the wife whom he embraces, and to the last of his remaining children, ⁵⁵ giving to none of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because nothing else remains to him, in the desperate straits to which the enemy siege will reduce you in all your towns. ⁵⁶ She who is the most refined and gentle among you, so gentle and refined that she does not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge food to the husband whom she embraces, to her own son, and to her own daughter,^{(DT) 57} begrudging even the afterbirth that comes out from between her thighs and the children that she bears, because she is eating them in secret for lack of anything else, in the desperate straits to which the enemy siege will reduce you in your towns.

⁵⁸ “If you do not diligently observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, fearing this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God,^{(DU) 59} then the Lord will overwhelm both you and your offspring with severe and lasting afflictions and grievous and lasting maladies. ⁶⁰ He will bring back upon you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were in dread, and they shall cling to you.^{(DV) 61} Every other malady and affliction, even though not recorded in the book of this law, the Lord will inflict on you until you are destroyed.^{(DW) 62} Although once you were as numerous as the stars in heaven, you shall be left few in number because you did not obey the Lord your God.^{(DX) 63} And just as the Lord took delight in making you prosperous and numerous, so the Lord will take delight in bringing you to ruin and destruction; you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to possess.^{(DY) 64} The Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known.^{(DZ) 65} Among those nations you shall find no ease, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a languishing spirit.^{(EA) 66} Your life shall hang in doubt before you; night and day you shall be in dread, with no assurance of your life. ⁶⁷ In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’—because of the dread that your heart shall feel and the sights that your eyes shall see.^{(EB) 68} The Lord will bring you back in ships to Egypt, by a route that I promised you would never see again, and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”

29 ^[j]These are the words of the covenant that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.^(EC)

The Covenant Renewed in Moab

^2 [k]Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land,^{(ED) 3} the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. ⁴ But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.^{(EE) 5} I have led you forty years in the wilderness. The clothes on your back have not worn out, and the sandals on your feet have not worn out;^{(EF) 6} you have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or strong drink—so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.^{(EG) 7} When you came to this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against us for battle, but we defeated them.^{(EH) 8} We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.^{(EI) 9} Therefore observe the words of this covenant and perform them, in order that you may succeed^[l] in everything that you do.^(EJ)

¹⁰ “You stand assembled today, all of you, before the Lord your God—the leaders of your tribes,^[m] your elders, and your officials, all the men of Israel, ¹¹ your children, your women, and the aliens who are in your camp, both those who cut your wood and those who draw your water^(EK)— ¹² to enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, sworn by an oath, which the Lord your God is making with you today, ¹³ in order that he may establish you today as his people and that he may be your God, as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.^{(EL) 14} I am making this covenant, sworn by an oath, not only with you ¹⁵ who stand here with us today before the Lord our God but also with those who are not here with us today. ¹⁶ You know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. ¹⁷ You have seen their detestable things, the filthy idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, that were among them.^{(EM) 18} It may be that there is among you a man or woman or a family or tribe whose heart is already turning away from the Lord our God to serve the gods of those nations. It may be that there is among you a root sprouting poisonous and bitter growth.^{(EN) 19} All who hear the words of this oath and bless themselves, thinking in their hearts, ‘We are safe even though we go our own stubborn ways’ (thus sweeping away the moist with the dry)^[n]— ²⁰ the Lord will be unwilling to pardon them, for then the Lord’s anger and passion will smoke against them. All the curses written in this book will descend on them, and the Lord will blot out their names from under heaven.^{(EO) 21} The Lord will single them out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the law.^{(EP) 22} The next generation, your children who rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who comes from a distant country, will see the devastation of that land and the afflictions with which the Lord has afflicted it^(EQ)— ²³ all its soil burned out by sulfur and salt, nothing planted, nothing sprouting, unable to support any vegetation, like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his fierce anger^(ER)— ²⁴ they and indeed all the nations will wonder, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused this great display of anger?’^{(ES) 25} They will conclude, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. ²⁶ They turned and served other gods, worshiping them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them; ²⁷ so the anger of the Lord was kindled against that land, bringing on it every curse written in this book. ²⁸ The Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, fury, and great wrath and cast them into another land, as is now the case.’^{(ET) 29} The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to observe all the words of this law.

God’s Fidelity Assured

30 “When all these things have happened to you, the blessings and the curses that I have set before you, if you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you^{(EU) 2} and return to the Lord your God, and you and your children obey him with all your heart and with all your soul, just as I am commanding you today,^{(EV) 3} then the Lord your God will return you from your captivity and have compassion on you, gathering you again from all the peoples among whom the Lord your God has scattered you.^{(EW) 4} Even if you are exiled to the ends of the world,^[o] from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you back.^{(EX) 5} The Lord your God will bring you into the land that your ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors.

⁶ “Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live.^{(EY) 7} The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on the adversaries who took advantage of you. ⁸ Then you shall again obey the Lord, observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, ⁹ and the Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors,^{(EZ) 10} when you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Exhortation to Choose Life

¹¹ “Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.^{(FA) 12} It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’^{(FB) 13} Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ ¹⁴ No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.

¹⁵ “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.^{(FC) 16} If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God^[p] that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. ¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you do not hear but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, ¹⁸ I declare to you today that you shall certainly perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.^{(FD) 19} I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live,^{(FE) 20} loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him, for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”^(FF)

Joshua Becomes Moses’s Successor

31 When Moses had finished speaking all^[q] these words to all Israel, ² he said to them, “I am now one hundred twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, and the Lord has told me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’^{(FG) 3} The Lord your God himself will cross over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua also will cross over before you, as the Lord promised.^{(FH) 4} The Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. ⁵ The Lord will give them over to you, and you shall deal with them in full accord with the command that I have given to you.^{(FI) 6} Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.”^(FJ)

⁷ Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and bold, for you are the one who will go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their ancestors to give them, and you will put them in possession of it.^{(FK) 8} It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”^(FL)

The Law to Be Read Every Seventh Year

⁹ Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.^{(FM) 10} Moses commanded them, “Every seventh year, in the scheduled year of remission, during the Festival of Booths,^{[r](FN) 11} when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.^{(FO) 12} Assemble the people—men, women, and children, as well as the aliens residing in your towns—so that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God and to observe diligently all the words of this law^{(FP) 13} and so that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”^(FQ)

Moses and Joshua Receive God’s Charge

¹⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Your time to die is near; call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, so that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting,^{(FR) 15} and the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud; the pillar of cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.^(FS)

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “Soon you will lie down with your ancestors. Then this people will begin to prostitute themselves to the foreign gods in their midst, the gods of the land into which they are going; they will forsake me, breaking my covenant that I have made with them.^{(FT) 17} My anger will be kindled against them on that day. I will forsake them and hide my face from them; they will become easy prey, and many terrible troubles will come upon them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these troubles come upon us because our God is not in our midst?’^{(FU) 18} On that day I will surely hide my face on account of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. ¹⁹ Now, therefore, write this song, and teach it to the Israelites; put it in their mouths, in order that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites. ²⁰ For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I promised on oath to their ancestors, and they have eaten their fill and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, despising me and breaking my covenant.^{(FV) 21} And when many terrible troubles come upon them, this song will confront them as a witness because it will not be lost from the mouths of their descendants. For I know what they are inclined to do even now, before I have brought them into the land that I promised them on oath.”^{(FW) 22} That very day Moses wrote this song and taught it to the Israelites.^(FX)

²³ Then the Lord^[s] commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, “Be strong and bold, for you shall bring the Israelites into the land that I promised them; I will be with you.”^(FY)

²⁴ When Moses had finished writing down in a book the words of this law to the very end, ²⁵ Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,^{(FZ) 26} “Take this book of the law and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God; let it remain there as a witness against you.^{(GA) 27} For I know well how rebellious and stubborn you are. If you already have been so rebellious toward the Lord while I am still alive among you, how much more after my death!^{(GB) 28} Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officials, so that I may recite these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them.^{(GC) 29} For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly, turning aside from the way that I have commanded you. In time to come trouble will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”^(GD)

The Song of Moses

³⁰ Then Moses recited the words of this song, to the very end, in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:

⁴⁴ Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua^[ak] son of Nun. ⁴⁵ When Moses had finished reciting all these words to all Israel, ⁴⁶ he said to them, “Take to heart all the words that I am giving in witness against you today; give them as a command to your children, so that they may diligently observe all the words of this law.^{(HR) 47} This is no trifling matter for you but rather your very life; through it you may live long in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”^(HS)

Moses’s Death Foretold

⁴⁸ On that very day the Lord addressed Moses as follows: ⁴⁹ “Ascend this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites for a possession;^{(HT) 50} you shall die there on the mountain that you ascend and shall be gathered to your kin, as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his kin, ⁵¹ because both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, by failing to maintain my holiness among the Israelites.^{(HU) 52} Although you may view the land from a distance, you shall not enter it, the land that I am giving to the Israelites.”^(HV)

Moses’s Final Blessing on Israel

33 This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites before his death.^{(HW) 2} He said,

⁷ And this he said of Judah,

⁸ And of Levi he said,

¹² Of Benjamin he said,

¹³ And of Joseph he said,

¹⁸ And of Zebulun he said,

²⁰ And of Gad he said,

²² And of Dan he said,

²³ And of Naphtali he said,

²⁴ And of Asher he said,

Moses Dies and Is Buried in the Land of Moab

34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, ² all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, ³ the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. ⁴ The Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.”^{(IV) 5} Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command.^{(IW) 6} He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. ⁷ Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired, and his vigor had not abated.^{(IX) 8} The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.

⁹ Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him, and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the Lord had commanded Moses.^(IY)

¹⁰ Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.^{(IZ) 11} He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land,^{(JA) 12} and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

God’s Commission to Joshua

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’s assistant, saying, ² “My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites.^{(JB) 3} Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses.^{(JC) 4} From the wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea in the west shall be your territory.^{(JD) 5} No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.^{(JE) 6} Be strong and courageous, for you shall lead this people to possess the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them. ⁷ Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go.^{(JF) 8} This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful.^{(JG) 9} I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”^(JH)

Preparations for the Invasion

¹⁰ Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, ¹¹ “Pass through the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for in three days you are to cross over this Jordan, to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess.’ ”^(JI)

¹² But to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said,^{(JJ) 13} “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’^{(JK) 14} Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan. But all the warriors among you shall cross over armed before your kindred and shall help them, ¹⁵ until the Lord gives rest to your kindred as well as to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to your own land and take possession of it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan to the east.”^(JL)

¹⁶ They answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. ¹⁷ Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses!^{(JM) 18} Whoever rebels against your orders and disobeys your words, whatever you command, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.”

Spies Sent to Jericho

2 Then Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and spent the night there.^{(JN) 2} The king of Jericho was told, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land.” ³ Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out the whole land.” ⁴ But the woman took the two men and hid them.^[az] Then she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from. ⁵ And when it was time to close the gate at dark, the men went out. Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them.” ⁶ She had, however, brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof.^{(JO) 7} So the men pursued them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. As soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

⁸ Before they went to sleep, she came up to them on the roof ⁹ and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land and that dread of you has fallen on us and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you.^{(JP) 10} For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea^[ba] before you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.^{(JQ) 11} As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in any of us because of you. The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below.^{(JR) 12} Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal kindly with my family. Give me a sign of good faith^{(JS) 13} that you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them and deliver our lives from death.” ¹⁴ The men said to her, “Our life for yours! If you do not tell this business of ours, then we will deal kindly and faithfully with you when the Lord gives us the land.”^(JT)

¹⁵ Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the outer side of the city wall and she resided within the wall itself. ¹⁶ She said to them, “Go toward the hill country, so that the pursuers may not come upon you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned; then afterward you may go your way.”^{(JU) 17} The men said to her, “We will be released from this oath that you have made us swear to you^{(JV) 18} if we invade the land and you do not tie this crimson cord in the window through which you let us down and you do not gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family.^{(JW) 19} If any of you go out of the doors of your house into the street, they shall be responsible for their own death, and we shall be innocent, but if a hand is laid upon any who are with you in the house, we shall bear the responsibility for their death.^{(JX) 20} But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be released from this oath that you made us swear to you.” ²¹ She said, “According to your words, so be it.” She sent them away, and they departed. Then she tied the crimson cord in the window.

²² They departed and went into the hill country and stayed there three days, until the pursuers returned. The pursuers had searched all along the way and found nothing. ²³ Then the two men came down again from the hill country. They crossed over, came to Joshua son of Nun, and told him all that had happened to them. ²⁴ They said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before us.”^(JY)

Israel Crosses the Jordan

3 Early in the morning Joshua rose and set out from Shittim with all the Israelites, and they came to the Jordan. They camped there before crossing over.^{(JZ) 2} At the end of three days, the officers went through the camp^{(KA) 3} and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it,^{(KB) 4} so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come any nearer to it.” ⁵ Then Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”^{(KC) 6} To the priests Joshua said, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on in front of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people.

⁷ The Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses.^{(KD) 8} You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’ ”^{(KE) 9} Joshua then said to the Israelites, “Draw near and hear the words of the Lord your God.” ¹⁰ Joshua said, “By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites:^{(KF) 11} the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan. ¹² So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.^{(KG) 13} When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, come to rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.”^(KH)

¹⁴ When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. ¹⁵ Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water,^{(KI) 16} the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea,^[bb] were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho.^{(KJ) 17} While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.^(KK)