Israel’s Failure to Complete the Conquest of Canaan

1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the Lord, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”^(A)

¹⁸ The Israelites proceeded to go up to Bethel, where they inquired of God, “Which of us shall go up first to battle against the Benjaminites?” And the Lord answered, “Judah shall go up first.”^(A)

²¹ But he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the decision of the Urim before the Lord; at his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the Israelites with him, the whole congregation.”^(A)

²⁸ and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days), saying, “Shall we go out once more to battle against our kinsfolk the Benjaminites, or shall we desist?” The Lord answered, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.”^(A)

⁹ When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to the priest Abiathar, “Bring the ephod here.”^{(A) 10} David said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account.

⁹ Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul’s servants, answered, “I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech son of Ahitub;^{(A) 10} he inquired of the Lord for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”^(B)

Nations Remaining in the Land

3 Now these are the nations that the Lord left to test all those in Israel who had no experience of war in Canaan^{(A) 2} (it was only for successive generations of Israelites, to teach war to those who had no experience of it): ³ the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath.^{(B) 4} They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord that he commanded their ancestors by Moses.^{(C) 5} So the Israelites lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, ⁶ and they took their daughters as wives for themselves, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.^(D)

²⁷ Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of^[a] Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, but the Canaanites continued to live in that land.^(A)

Death of Joshua and Eleazar

²⁹ After these things Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred ten years old.^{(A) 30} They buried him in his own inheritance at Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.^(B)

³⁰ In the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord; thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the Israelites on his heart before the Lord continually.^(A)