The Allotment for Ephraim and Manasseh

16 The allotment of the people of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, ^(A)into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel. ² Then ^(B)going from Bethel to Luz, it passes along to Ataroth, the territory of the Archites. ³ Then it goes down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of Lower ^(C)Beth-horon, then to ^(D)Gezer, and it ends at the sea.

^4 (E)The people of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.

⁵ The territory of the people of Ephraim by their clans was as follows: the boundary of their inheritance on the east was ^(F)Ataroth-addar as far as Upper Beth-horon, ⁶ and the boundary goes from there to the sea. On the north is ^(G)Michmethath. Then on the east the boundary turns around toward Taanath-shiloh and passes along beyond it on the east to Janoah, ⁷ then it goes down from Janoah to Ataroth and ^(H)to Naarah, and touches Jericho, ending at the Jordan. ⁸ From ^(I)Tappuah the boundary goes westward to the brook Kanah and ends at the sea. Such is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Ephraim by their clans, ⁹ together with ^(J)the towns that were set apart for the people of Ephraim within the inheritance of the Manassites, all those towns with their villages. ¹⁰ However, ^(K)they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made ^(L)to do forced labor.

17 Then allotment was made to the people of Manasseh, for he was ^(M)the firstborn of Joseph. To ^(N)Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, ^(O)were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. ² And allotments were made ^(P)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 ^(Q)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: ^(R)Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ They approached ^(S)Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the leaders and said, ^(T)“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 ^(U)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 ^(V)Michmethath, which is east of Shechem. Then the boundary goes along southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸ The land of ^(W)Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah on the boundary of Manasseh belonged to the people of Ephraim. ^9 (X)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 ^(Y)Manasseh had Beth-shean and its villages, and Ibleam and its villages, and the inhabitants of ^(Z)Dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of ^(AA)Taanach and its villages, and the inhabitants of ^(AB)Megiddo and its villages; ^(AC)the third is Naphath.^{[a] 12 (AD)}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 ^(AE)to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

¹⁴ Then ^(AF)the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but ^(AG)one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am ^(AH)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 ^(AI)the Rephaim, since ^(AJ)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 ^(AK)chariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in ^(AL)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, ^(AM)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 ^(AN)Shiloh and set up ^(AO)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, ^(AP)“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. ^(AQ)Judah shall continue in his territory on the south, ^(AR)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. ^(AS)And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. ^7 (AT)The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage. ^(AU)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 ^(AV)cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, ^(AW)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 (AX)On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan. ^(AY)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 ^(AZ)Beth-aven. ¹³ From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of ^(BA)Luz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to ^(BB)Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower ^(BC)Beth-horon. ¹⁴ Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the ^(BD)western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal (^(BE)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] (BF)}to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks ^(BG)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of ^(BH)Rephaim. And it then goes down the ^(BI)Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and downward to ^(BJ)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 ^(BK)the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, ¹⁸ and passing on to the north of ^(BL)the shoulder of Beth-arabah^[c] it goes down to ^(BM)the Arabah. ¹⁹ Then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of ^(BN)Beth-hoglah. And the boundary ends at the northern bay of ^(BO)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 ^(BP)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, ^(BQ)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.

The Inheritance for Simeon

19 The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the people of Simeon, according to their clans, ^(BR)and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the people of Judah. ^2 (BS)And they had for their inheritance Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, ³ Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴ Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵ Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, ⁶ Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen cities with their villages; ⁷ Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four cities with their villages, ⁸ together with all the villages around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negeb. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Simeon according to their clans. ^9 (BT)The inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah. Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.

The Inheritance for Zebulun

¹⁰ The third lot came up for the people of Zebulun, according to their clans. And the territory of their inheritance reached as far as Sarid. ¹¹ Then their boundary goes up ^(BU)westward and on to Mareal and touches Dabbesheth, then the brook that is east of ^(BV)Jokneam. ¹² From Sarid it goes in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise to the boundary of Chisloth-tabor. From there it goes to Daberath, then up to Japhia. ¹³ From there it passes along on the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and going on to Rimmon it bends toward Neah, ¹⁴ then on the north the boundary turns about to Hannathon, and it ends at the Valley of Iphtahel; ¹⁵ and Kattath, Nahalal, ^(BW)Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve cities with their villages. ¹⁶ This is the inheritance of the people of Zebulun, according to their clans—these cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Issachar

¹⁷ The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the people of Issachar, according to their clans. ¹⁸ Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, ^(BX)Shunem, ¹⁹ Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰ Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, Beth-pazzez. ²² The boundary also touches Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and its boundary ends at the Jordan—sixteen cities with their villages. ²³ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Issachar, according to their clans—the cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Asher

²⁴ The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the people of Asher according to their clans. ²⁵ Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, ²⁶ Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west it touches ^(BY)Carmel and Shihor-libnath, ²⁷ then it turns eastward, it goes to Beth-dagon, and touches Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel. Then it continues in the north to ^(BZ)Cabul, ²⁸ Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, as far as ^(CA)Sidon the Great. ²⁹ Then the boundary turns to Ramah, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre. Then the boundary turns to Hosah, and it ends at the sea; Mahalab,^[g] Achzib, ³⁰ Ummah, Aphek and Rehob—twenty-two cities with their villages. ³¹ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Asher according to their clans—these cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Naphtali

³² The sixth lot came out for the people of Naphtali, for the people of Naphtali, according to their clans. ³³ And their boundary ran from Heleph, from ^(CB)the oak in Zaanannim, and Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and it ended at the Jordan. ³⁴ Then the boundary turns ^(CC)westward to Aznoth-tabor and goes from there to Hukkok, touching Zebulun at the south and Asher on the west and Judah on the east at the Jordan. ³⁵ The fortified cities are Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, ^(CD)Chinnereth, ³⁶ Adamah, Ramah, ^(CE)Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, ³⁸ Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh—nineteen cities with their villages. ³⁹ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Naphtali according to their clans—the cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Dan

⁴⁰ The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans. ⁴¹ And the territory of its inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, ^42 (CF)Shaalabbin, ^(CG)Aijalon, Ithlah, ⁴³ Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴ Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵ Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, ⁴⁶ and Me-jarkon and Rakkon with the territory over against ^(CH)Joppa. ⁴⁷ When ^(CI)the territory of the people of Dan was lost to them, the people of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and after capturing it and striking it with the sword they took possession of it and settled in it, calling Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor. ⁴⁸ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans—these cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Joshua

⁴⁹ When they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the people of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. ⁵⁰ By command of the Lord they gave him the city that he asked, ^(CJ)Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he rebuilt the city and settled in it.

^51 (CK)These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel distributed by lot ^(CL)at Shiloh before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.

The Cities of Refuge

20 Then the Lord said to Joshua, ² “Say to the people of Israel, ^(CM)‘Appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, ³ that the manslayer who strikes any person without intent or unknowingly may flee there. They shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴ He shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand ^(CN)at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city. Then they shall take him into the city and give him a place, and he shall remain with them. ⁵ And if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not give up the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unknowingly, and did not hate him in the past. ⁶ And he shall remain in that city ^(CO)until he has stood before the congregation for judgment, until the death of him who is high priest at the time. Then the manslayer may return to his own town and his own home, to the town from which he fled.’”

⁷ So they set apart ^(CP)Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and ^(CQ)Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and ^(CR)Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) ^(CS)in the hill country of Judah. ⁸ And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they appointed ^(CT)Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland, from the tribe of Reuben, and ^(CU)Ramoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad, and ^(CV)Golan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹ These were the cities designated for all the people of Israel and ^(CW)for the stranger sojourning among them, that anyone who killed a person without intent could flee there, so that he might not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, till he stood before the congregation.

Cities and Pasturelands Allotted to Levi

21 Then the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites came ^(CX)to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel. ² And they said to them ^(CY)at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, ^(CZ)“The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to dwell in, along with their pasturelands for our livestock.” ³ So by command of the Lord the people of Israel gave to the Levites the following cities and pasturelands out of their inheritance.

⁴ The lot came out for the clans of the Kohathites. So those Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest ^(DA)received by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, thirteen cities.

⁵ And the rest of the Kohathites received by lot ^(DB)from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.

⁶ The ^(DC)Gershonites received by lot from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

⁷ The ^(DD)Merarites according to their clans received from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

⁸ These cities and their pasturelands the people of Israel ^(DE)gave by lot to the Levites, ^(DF)as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

⁹ Out of the tribe of the people of Judah and the tribe of the people of Simeon they gave the following cities mentioned by name, ¹⁰ which went to ^(DG)the descendants of Aaron, one of the clans of the Kohathites who belonged to the people of Levi; since the lot fell to them first. ^11 (DH)They gave them ^(DI)Kiriath-arba (Arba being the father of Anak), that is Hebron, ^(DJ)in the hill country of Judah, along with the pasturelands around it. ¹² But the fields of the city and its villages had been given to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession.

¹³ And to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, ^(DK)the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands, ^(DL)Libnah with its pasturelands, ¹⁴ Jattir with its pasturelands, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, ¹⁵ Holon with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, ¹⁶ Ain with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands, Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands—nine cities out of these two tribes; ¹⁷ then out of the tribe of Benjamin, ^(DM)Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands, ¹⁸ Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its pasturelands—four cities. ¹⁹ The cities of the descendants of Aaron, the priests, were in all thirteen cities with their pasturelands.

^20 (DN)As to the rest of the Kohathites belonging to the Kohathite clans of the Levites, the cities allotted to them were out of the tribe of Ephraim. ²¹ To them were given Shechem, ^(DO)the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, ²² Kibzaim with its pasturelands, Beth-horon with its pasturelands—four cities; ²³ and out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasturelands, Gibbethon with its pasturelands, ²⁴ Aijalon with its pasturelands, Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands—four cities; ²⁵ and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its pasturelands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands—two cities. ²⁶ The cities of the clans of the rest of the Kohathites were ten in all with their pasturelands.

^27 (DP)And to the Gershonites, one of the clans of the Levites, were given out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its pasturelands, ^(DQ)the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah with its pasturelands—two cities; ²⁸ and out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, ²⁹ Jarmuth with its pasturelands, En-gannim with its pasturelands—four cities; ³⁰ and out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, ³¹ Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands—four cities; ³² and out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its pasturelands, ^(DR)the city of refuge for the manslayer, Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands—three cities. ³³ The cities of the several clans of the Gershonites were in all thirteen cities with their pasturelands.

^34 (DS)And to the rest of the Levites, the Merarite clans, were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands, ³⁵ Dimnah with its pasturelands, Nahalal with its pasturelands—four cities; ³⁶ and out of the tribe of Reuben, ^(DT)Bezer with its pasturelands, Jahaz with its pasturelands, ³⁷ Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands—four cities; ³⁸ and out of the tribe of Gad, ^(DU)Ramoth in Gilead with its pasturelands, the city of refuge for the manslayer, ^(DV)Mahanaim with its pasturelands, ^39 (DW)Heshbon with its pasturelands, Jazer with its pasturelands—four cities in all. ⁴⁰ As for the cities of the several Merarite clans, that is, the remainder of the clans of the Levites, those allotted to them were in all twelve cities.

^41 (DX)The cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the people of Israel were in all forty-eight cities with their pasturelands. ⁴² These cities each had its pasturelands around it. So it was with all these cities.

^43 (DY)Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. ^44 (DZ)And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. ^(EA)Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for ^(EB)the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. ^45 (EC)Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

The Eastern Tribes Return Home

22 At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ² and said to them, “You have kept ^(ED)all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you ^(EE)and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. ³ You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God. ^4 (EF)And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, ^(EG)which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. ^5 (EH)Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, ^(EI)to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” ⁶ So Joshua ^(EJ)blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

⁷ Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, ^(EK)but to the other half Joshua had given a possession beside their brothers in the land west of the Jordan. And when Joshua sent them away to their homes and blessed them, ⁸ he said to them, “Go back to your tents with much wealth and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. ^(EL)Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.” ⁹ So the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go ^(EM)to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had possessed themselves by command of the Lord through Moses.

The Eastern Tribes' Altar of Witness

¹⁰ And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size. ¹¹ And the people of Israel ^(EN)heard it said, “Behold, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built the altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the people of Israel.” ¹² And when the people of Israel heard of it, ^(EO)the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them.

¹³ Then the people of Israel sent to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, ^(EP)Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, ¹⁴ and with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel, ^(EQ)every one of them the head of a family among the clans of Israel. ¹⁵ And they came to the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them, ¹⁶ “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the Lord by building yourselves an altar this day ^(ER)in rebellion against the Lord? ¹⁷ Have we not had enough of ^(ES)the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the Lord, ¹⁸ that you too must turn away this day from following the Lord? And if ^(ET)you too rebel against the Lord today then tomorrow ^(EU)he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. ¹⁹ But now, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the Lord's land ^(EV)where the Lord's tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us. ^(EW)Only do not rebel against the Lord or make us as rebels by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. ^20 (EX)Did not Achan the son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and ^(EY)wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity.’”

²¹ Then the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, ²² “The Mighty One, ^(EZ)God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! ^(FA)He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the Lord, do not spare us today ²³ for building an altar to turn away from following the Lord. Or if we did so to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings on it, may the Lord himself ^(FB)take vengeance. ²⁴ No, but we did it from fear that ^(FC)in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵ For the Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you people of Reuben and people of Gad. You have no portion in the Lord.’ So your children might make our children cease to worship the Lord. ²⁶ Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, ²⁷ but to be ^(FD)a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we ^(FE)do perform the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”’ ²⁸ And we thought, ‘If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, “Behold, the copy of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be ^(FF)a witness between us and you.”’ ²⁹ Far be it from us that we should ^(FG)rebel against the Lord and turn away this day from following the Lord ^(FH)by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle!”

³⁰ When ^(FI)Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the congregation, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh spoke, ^(FJ)it was good in their eyes. ³¹ And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh, “Today we know that ^(FK)the Lord is in our midst, because you have not committed this breach of faith against the Lord. Now you have delivered the people of Israel from the hand of the Lord.”

³² Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the chiefs, returned from the people of Reuben and the people of Gad ^(FL)in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the people of Israel, and brought back word to them. ³³ And the report ^(FM)was good in the eyes of the people of Israel. And the people of Israel ^(FN)blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and the people of Gad were settled. ³⁴ The people of Reuben and the people of Gad called the altar Witness, “For,” they said, ^(FO)“it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”

Joshua's Charge to Israel's Leaders

23 A long time afterward, when the Lord had given ^(FP)rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua ^(FQ)was old and well advanced in years, ² Joshua ^(FR)summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. ³ And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, ^(FS)for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. ⁴ Behold, ^(FT)I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. ⁵ The Lord your God ^(FU)will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, ^(FV)just as the Lord your God promised you. ⁶ Therefore, ^(FW)be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, ^(FX)turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, ^7 (FY)that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you ^(FZ)or make mention of the names of their gods ^(GA)or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, ^8 (GB)but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. ^9 (GC)For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, ^(GD)no man has been able to stand before you to this day. ^10 (GE)One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God ^(GF)who fights for you, just as he promised you. ^11 (GG)Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. ¹² For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you ^(GH)and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, ¹³ know for certain that ^(GI)the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, ^(GJ)but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴ “And now ^(GK)I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that ^(GL)not one word has failed of all the good things^[h] that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. ¹⁵ But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you ^(GM)all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, ¹⁶ if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”

The Covenant Renewal at Shechem

24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel ^(GN)to Shechem and ^(GO)summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And ^(GP)they presented themselves before God. ² And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, ^(GQ)your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates,^[i] Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and ^(GR)they served other gods. ^3 (GS)Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River^[j] and ^(GT)led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. ^(GU)I gave him Isaac. ⁴ And to Isaac I gave ^(GV)Jacob and Esau. ^(GW)And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, ^(GX)but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. ^5 (GY)And I sent Moses and Aaron, ^(GZ)and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and ^(HA)afterward I brought you out.

⁶ “‘Then ^(HB)I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and ^(HC)you came to the sea. ^(HD)And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. ^7 (HE)And when they cried to the Lord, ^(HF)he put darkness between you and the Egyptians ^(HG)and made the sea come upon them and cover them; ^(HH)and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. ^(HI)And you lived in the wilderness a long time. ⁸ Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. ^(HJ)They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. ^9 (HK)Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. ^(HL)And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, ^10 (HM)but I would not listen to Balaam. ^(HN)Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. ^11 (HO)And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, ^(HP)and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also ^(HQ)the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. ¹² And I sent ^(HR)the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was ^(HS)not by your sword or by your bow. ¹³ I gave you a land on which you had not labored ^(HT)and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’

Choose Whom You Will Serve

^14 (HU)“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. ^(HV)Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ^15 (HW)And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, ^(HX)choose this day whom you will serve, whether ^(HY)the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or ^(HZ)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. ^(IA)But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

¹⁶ Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, ¹⁷ for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. ¹⁸ And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is ^(IB)a holy God. He is ^(IC)a jealous God; ^(ID)he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ^20 (IE)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then ^(IF)he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” ²¹ And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” ²² Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that ^(IG)you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³ He said, “Then ^(IH)put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” ²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” ²⁵ So Joshua ^(II)made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place ^(IJ)statutes and rules for them at Shechem. ²⁶ And Joshua ^(IK)wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And ^(IL)he took a large stone and set it up there ^(IM)under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. ²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, ^(IN)this stone shall be a witness against us, for ^(IO)it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” ²⁸ So Joshua ^(IP)sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

Joshua's Death and Burial

^29 (IQ)After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old. ³⁰ And they buried him in his own inheritance at ^(IR)Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.

^31 (IS)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua ^(IT)and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.

^32 (IU)As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land ^(IV)that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money.^[k] It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.

³³ And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of ^(IW)Phinehas his son, which had been given him in ^(IX)the hill country of Ephraim.

The Continuing Conquest of Canaan

1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel ^(A)inquired of the Lord, ^(B)“Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” ² The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” ³ And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. ^(C)And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. ⁴ Then Judah went up and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. ⁵ They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. ⁶ Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.