17 Then allotment was made to the people of Manasseh, for he was ^(A)the firstborn of Joseph. To ^(B)Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, ^(C)were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. ² And allotments were made ^(D)to the rest of the people of Manasseh by their clans, Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph, by their clans.

³ Now ^(E)Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters, and these are the names of his daughters: ^(F)Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ They approached ^(G)Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the leaders and said, ^(H)“The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brothers.” So according to the mouth of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father. ⁵ Thus there fell to Manasseh ten portions, besides ^(I)the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is on the other side of the Jordan, ⁶ because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance along with his sons. The land of Gilead was allotted to the rest of the people of Manasseh.

⁷ The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to ^(J)Michmethath, which is east of Shechem. Then the boundary goes along southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸ The land of ^(K)Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah on the boundary of Manasseh belonged to the people of Ephraim. ^9 (L)Then the boundary went down to the brook Kanah. These cities, to the south of the brook, among the cities of Manasseh, belong to Ephraim. Then the boundary of Manasseh goes on the north side of the brook and ends at the sea, ¹⁰ the land to the south being Ephraim's and that to the north being Manasseh's, with the sea forming its boundary. On the north Asher is reached, and on the east Issachar. ¹¹ Also in Issachar and in Asher ^(M)Manasseh had Beth-shean and its villages, and Ibleam and its villages, and the inhabitants of ^(N)Dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of ^(O)Taanach and its villages, and the inhabitants of ^(P)Megiddo and its villages; ^(Q)the third is Naphath.^{[a] 12 (R)}Yet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. ¹³ Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites ^(S)to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

¹⁴ Then ^(T)the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but ^(U)one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am ^(V)a numerous people, since all along the Lord has blessed me?” ¹⁵ And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up by yourselves to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and ^(W)the Rephaim, since ^(X)the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” ¹⁶ The people of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us. Yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have ^(Y)chariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in ^(Z)the Valley of Jezreel.” ¹⁷ Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are a numerous people and have great power. You shall not have one allotment only, ¹⁸ but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders. For you shall drive out the Canaanites, ^(AA)though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.”

Allotment of the Remaining Land

18 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at ^(AB)Shiloh and set up ^(AC)the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.

² There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. ³ So Joshua said to the people of Israel, ^(AD)“How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴ Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. ⁵ They shall divide it into seven portions. ^(AE)Judah shall continue in his territory on the south, ^(AF)and the house of Joseph shall continue in their territory on the north. ⁶ And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. ^(AG)And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. ^7 (AH)The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage. ^(AI)And Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

⁸ So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.” ⁹ So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, ¹⁰ and Joshua ^(AJ)cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, ^(AK)to each his portion.

The Inheritance for Benjamin

¹¹ The lot of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to its clans came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the people of Judah and the people of Joseph. ^12 (AL)On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan. ^(AM)Then the boundary goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward, and it ends at the wilderness of ^(AN)Beth-aven. ¹³ From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of ^(AO)Luz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to ^(AP)Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower ^(AQ)Beth-horon. ¹⁴ Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the ^(AR)western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal (^(AS)that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city belonging to the people of Judah. This forms the western side. ¹⁵ And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. And the boundary goes from there to Ephron,^{[b] (AT)}to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks ^(AU)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of ^(AV)Rephaim. And it then goes down the ^(AW)Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and downward to ^(AX)En-rogel. ¹⁷ Then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim. Then it goes down to ^(AY)the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, ¹⁸ and passing on to the north of ^(AZ)the shoulder of Beth-arabah^[c] it goes down to ^(BA)the Arabah. ¹⁹ Then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of ^(BB)Beth-hoglah. And the boundary ends at the northern bay of ^(BC)the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border. ²⁰ The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, according to their clans, boundary by boundary all around.

²¹ Now the cities of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to their clans were ^(BD)Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, ²² Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, Geba—twelve cities with their villages: ²⁵ Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zela, Haeleph, ^(BE)Jebus^[d] (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah^[e] and Kiriath-jearim^[f]—fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin according to its clans.

Messengers from John the Baptist

^18 (A)(B)The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, ¹⁹ calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one ^(C)who is to come, or ^(D)shall we look for another?” ²⁰ And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one ^(E)who is to come, or ^(F)shall we look for another?’” ²¹ In that hour ^(G)he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and ^(H)on many who were blind he bestowed sight. ²² And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: ^(I)the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, ^(J)lepers^[a] are cleansed, and ^(K)the deaf hear, ^(L)the dead are raised up, ^(M)the poor have good news preached to them. ²³ And blessed is the one who is ^(N)not offended by me.”

²⁴ When John's messengers had gone, Jesus^[b] began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^(O)into the wilderness to see? ^(P)A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵ What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. ²⁶ What then did you go out to see? ^(Q)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is he of whom it is written,

²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹ (^(S)When all the people heard this, and ^(T)the tax collectors too, they declared God just,^{[c] (U)}having been baptized with ^(V)the baptism of John, ^30 (W)but the Pharisees and ^(X)the lawyers ^(Y)rejected ^(Z)the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

³¹ “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

³³ For John the Baptist has come ^(AA)eating no bread and ^(AB)drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come ^(AC)eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^(AD)a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ Yet ^(AE)wisdom is justified by all her children.”

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

^36 (AF)One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. ^37 (AG)And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, ³⁸ and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and ^(AH)wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If ^(AI)this man were ^(AJ)a prophet, he ^(AK)would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

⁴¹ “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred ^(AL)denarii, and the other fifty. ^42 (AM)When they could not pay, he ^(AN)cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ⁴⁴ Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; ^(AO)you gave me no water for my feet, but ^(AP)she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ^45 (AQ)You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to ^(AR)kiss my feet. ^46 (AS)You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷ Therefore I tell you, her sins, ^(AT)which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸ And he said to her, ^(AU)“Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹ Then those who were at table with him began to say among^[d] themselves, ^(AV)“Who is this, who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, ^(AW)“Your faith has saved you; ^(AX)go in peace.”

Come to Our Help

To the choirmaster. ^(A)A Maskil^[a] of the Sons of Korah.