Judah and Simeon Conquer the Land

1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Which tribe should go first to attack the Canaanites?”

¹⁸ Before the battle the Israelites went to Bethel and asked God, “Which tribe should go first to attack the people of Benjamin?”

The Lord answered, “Judah is to go first.”

²¹ When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.”

²⁸ and Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron was the priest.) The Israelites asked the Lord, “Should we fight against our relatives from Benjamin again, or should we stop?”

The Lord said, “Go! Tomorrow I will hand them over to you.”

⁹ But David learned of Saul’s plan and told Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod and ask the Lord what he should do. ¹⁰ Then David prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here.

⁹ Then Doeg the Edomite, who was standing there with Saul’s men, spoke up. “When I was at Nob,” he said, “I saw the son of Jesse talking to the priest, Ahimelech son of Ahitub. ¹⁰ Ahimelech consulted the Lord for him. Then he gave him food and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

The Nations Left in Canaan

3 These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. ² He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle. ³ These are the nations: the Philistines (those living under the five Philistine rulers), all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath. ⁴ These people were left to test the Israelites—to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses.

⁵ So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, ⁶ and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites served their gods.

²⁷ The tribe of Manasseh failed to drive out the people living in Beth-shan,^[a] Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and all their surrounding settlements, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in that region.

Leaders Buried in the Promised Land

²⁹ After this, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. ³⁰ They buried him in the land he had been allocated, at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

³⁰ Insert the Urim and Thummim into the sacred chestpiece so they will be carried over Aaron’s heart when he goes into the Lord’s presence. In this way, Aaron will always carry over his heart the objects used to determine the Lord’s will for his people whenever he goes in before the Lord.