Bible in 90 Days
20 Moses replied to them, “If you do this—if you arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, 21 and every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven His enemies from His presence, 22 and the land is subdued before the Lord—afterward you may return and be free from obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the Lord. 23 But if you don’t do this, you will certainly sin against the Lord; be sure your sin will catch up with you. 24 Build cities for your dependents and folds for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”(A)
25 The Gadites and Reubenites answered Moses, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands. 26 Our little children, wives, livestock, and all our animals will remain here in the cities of Gilead, 27 but your servants are equipped for war before the Lord and will go across to the battle as my lord orders.”
28 So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the family leaders of the Israelite tribes. 29 Moses told them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, every man in battle formation before the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, you are to give them the land of Gilead as a possession.(B) 30 But if they don’t go across with you in battle formation, they must accept land in Canaan with you.”
31 The Gadites and Reubenites replied, “What the Lord has spoken to your servants is what we will do. 32 We will cross over in battle formation before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but we will keep our hereditary possession across the Jordan.”
33 So Moses gave them—the Gadites, Reubenites, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land including its cities with the territories surrounding them. 34 The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran(C) as fortified cities, and built sheepfolds. 37 The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.
39 The descendants of Machir(D) son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir son of Manasseh, and they settled in it. 41 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages, which he renamed Jair’s Villages.[a](E) 42 Nobah went and captured Kenath with its villages and called it Nobah after his own name.
Wilderness Travels Reviewed
33 These were the stages of the Israelites’ journey when they went out of the land of Egypt by their military divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. 2 At the Lord’s command, Moses wrote down the starting points for the stages of their journey; these are the stages listed by their starting points:
3 They departed from Rameses(F) in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month. On the day after the Passover(G) the Israelites went out triumphantly[b](H) in the sight of all the Egyptians. 4 Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying every firstborn male the Lord had struck down among them, for the Lord had executed judgment against their gods.(I) 5 The Israelites departed from Rameses and camped at Succoth.(J)
6 They departed from Succoth and camped at Etham,(K) which is on the edge of the wilderness.
7 They departed from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol.(L)
8 They departed from Pi-hahiroth[c] and crossed through the middle of the sea(M) into the wilderness. They took a three-day journey into the Wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.(N)
9 They departed from Marah and came to Elim.(O) There were 12 springs of water and 70 date palms at Elim, so they camped there.
10 They departed from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.
11 They departed from the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin.(P)
12 They departed from the Wilderness of Sin and camped in Dophkah.
13 They departed from Dophkah and camped at Alush.
14 They departed from Alush and camped at Rephidim,(Q) where there was no water for the people to drink.(R)
15 They departed from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai.(S)
16 They departed from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.(T)
17 They departed from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.(U)
18 They departed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.
19 They departed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.
20 They departed from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.
21 They departed from Libnah and camped at Rissah.
22 They departed from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.
23 They departed from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.
24 They departed from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.
25 They departed from Haradah and camped at Makheloth.
26 They departed from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.
27 They departed from Tahath and camped at Terah.
28 They departed from Terah and camped at Mithkah.
29 They departed from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.
30 They departed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.
31 They departed from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.(V)
32 They departed from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.
33 They departed from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.
34 They departed from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.
35 They departed from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.(W)
36 They departed from Ezion-geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin(X) (that is, Kadesh).
37 They departed from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor(Y) on the edge of the land of Edom. 38 At the Lord’s command, Aaron the priest climbed Mount Hor and died there on the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year after the Israelites went out of the land of Egypt.(Z) 39 Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor. 40 At that time the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan,(AA) heard the Israelites were coming.
41 They departed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.
42 They departed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon.
43 They departed from Punon and camped at Oboth.(AB)
44 They departed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab.(AC)
45 They departed from Iyim[d] and camped at Dibon-gad.(AD)
46 They departed from Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim.(AE)
47 They departed from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the Abarim(AF) range facing Nebo.(AG)
48 They departed from the Abarim range and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.(AH) 49 They camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth(AI) to the Acacia Meadow[e](AJ) on the plains of Moab.
Instructions for Occupying Canaan
50 The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, 51 “Tell the Israelites: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, destroy all their stone images(AK) and cast images,(AL) and demolish all their high places. 53 You are to take possession of the land and settle in it because I have given you the land(AM) to possess. 54 You are to receive the land as an inheritance by lot according to your clans. Increase the inheritance for a large clan and decrease it for a small one. Whatever place the lot indicates for someone will be his. You will receive an inheritance according to your ancestral tribes. 55 But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become thorns in your eyes and in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you will live. 56 And what I had planned to do to them, I will do to you.”(AN)
Boundaries of the Promised Land
34 The Lord spoke to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan, it will be allotted to you as an inheritance[f] with these borders:
3 Your southern side will be from the Wilderness of Zin along the boundary of Edom. Your southern border on the east will begin at the east end of the Dead Sea. 4 Your border will turn south of the Ascent of Akrabbim,[g] proceed to Zin, and end south of Kadesh-barnea. It will go to Hazar-addar and proceed to Azmon.(AO) 5 The border will turn from Azmon(AP) to the Brook of Egypt,(AQ) where it will end at the Mediterranean Sea.
6 Your western border will be the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea; this will be your western border.
7 This will be your northern border: From the Mediterranean Sea draw a line to Mount Hor;[h](AR) 8 from Mount Hor draw a line to the entrance of Hamath,[i](AS) and the border will reach Zedad.(AT) 9 Then the border will go to Ziphron and end at Hazar-enan.(AU) This will be your northern border.
10 For your eastern border, draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham. 11 The border will go down from Shepham to Riblah east of Ain.(AV) It will continue down and reach the eastern slope of the Sea of Chinnereth.[j](AW) 12 Then the border will go down to the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea. This will be your land defined by its borders on all sides.”
13 So Moses commanded the Israelites, “This is the land you are to receive by lot as an inheritance, which the Lord commanded to be given to the nine and a half tribes. 14 For the tribe of the Reubenites and the tribe of the Gadites have received their inheritance according to their ancestral houses, and half the tribe of Manasseh has received its inheritance. 15 The two and a half tribes have received their inheritance(AX) across the Jordan from Jericho, eastward toward the sunrise.”
Leaders for Distributing the Land
16 The Lord spoke to Moses, 17 “These are the names of the men who are to distribute the land as an inheritance for you: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun. 18 Take one leader from each tribe to distribute the land. 19 These are the names of the men:
Caleb(AY) son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;
20 Shemuel son of Ammihud from the tribe of Simeon;
21 Elidad son of Chislon from the tribe of Benjamin;
22 Bukki son of Jogli, a leader from the tribe of Dan;
23 from the sons of Joseph:
Hanniel son of Ephod, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh,
24 Kemuel son of Shiphtan, a leader from the tribe of Ephraim;
25 Eli-zaphan son of Parnach, a leader from the tribe of Zebulun;
26 Paltiel son of Azzan, a leader from the tribe of Issachar;
27 Ahihud son of Shelomi, a leader from the tribe of Asher;
28 Pedahel son of Ammihud, a leader from the tribe of Naphtali.”
29 These are the ones the Lord commanded to distribute the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.
Cities for the Levites
35 The Lord again spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho: 2 “Command the Israelites to give cities out of their hereditary property for the Levites to live in and pastureland around the cities.(AZ) 3 The cities will be for them to live in, and their pasturelands will be for their herds, flocks, and all their other animals. 4 The pasturelands of the cities you are to give the Levites will extend from the city wall 500 yards[k] on every side. 5 Measure 1,000 yards[l] outside the city for the east side, 1,000 yards[m] for the south side, 1,000 yards[n] for the west side, and 1,000 yards[o] for the north side, with the city in the center. This will belong to them as pasturelands for the cities.
6 “The cities you give the Levites will include six cities of refuge,(BA) which you must provide so that the one who kills someone may flee there; in addition to these, give 42 other cities.(BB) 7 The total number of cities you give the Levites will be 48, along with their pasturelands. 8 Of the cities that you give from the Israelites’ territory, you should take more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one. Each tribe is to give some of its cities to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance it receives.”
Cities of Refuge
9 The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 designate cities to serve as cities of refuge for you, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.(BC) 12 You will have the cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the one who kills someone will not die until he stands trial before the assembly. 13 The cities you select will be your six cities of refuge. 14 Select three cities across the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan to be cities of refuge. 15 These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or temporary resident among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.
16 “If anyone strikes a person with an iron object and death results, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. 17 If a man has in his hand a stone capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death. 18 If a man has in his hand a wooden object capable of causing death and strikes another person and he dies, the murderer must be put to death. 19 The avenger of blood himself is to kill the murderer; when he finds him, he is to kill him. 20 Likewise, if anyone in hatred pushes a person or throws an object at him with malicious intent and he dies, 21 or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood is to kill the murderer when he finds him.
22 “But if anyone suddenly pushes a person without hostility or throws any object at him without malicious intent 23 or without looking drops a stone that could kill a person and he dies, but he was not his enemy and wasn’t trying to harm him, 24 the assembly is to judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. 25 The assembly is to protect the one who kills someone from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge he fled to, and he must live there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.(BD)
26 “If the one who kills someone ever goes outside the border of the city of refuge he fled to, 27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside the border of his city of refuge and kills him, the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed, 28 for the one who killed a person was supposed to live in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may the one who has killed a person return to the land he possesses. 29 These instructions will be a statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations wherever you live.
30 “If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death based on the word of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of one witness.(BE) 31 You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of killing someone; he must be put to death. 32 Neither should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to his city of refuge, allowing him to return and live in the land before the death of the high priest.[p]
33 “Do not defile the land where you are,[q] for bloodshed defiles the land,(BF) and there can be no atonement for the land because of the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the person who shed it. 34 Do not make the land unclean where you live and where I reside; for I, Yahweh, reside among the Israelites.”
The Inheritance of Zelophehad’s Daughters
36 The family leaders from the clan of the descendants of Gilead—the son of Machir, son of Manasseh—who were from the clans of the sons of Joseph, approached and addressed Moses and the leaders who were over the Israelite families. 2 They said, “Yahweh commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites. My lord was further commanded by Yahweh to give our brother Zelophehad’s inheritance to his daughters.(BG) 3 If they marry any of the men from the other Israelite tribes, their inheritance will be taken away from our fathers’ inheritance and added to that of the tribe into which they marry. Therefore, part of our allotted inheritance would be taken away. 4 When the Jubilee(BH) comes for the Israelites, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.”
5 So Moses commanded the Israelites at the word of the Lord, “What the tribe of Joseph’s descendants says is right. 6 This is what the Lord has commanded concerning Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they like provided they marry within a clan of their ancestral tribe. 7 An inheritance belonging to the Israelites must not transfer from tribe to tribe, because each of the Israelites is to retain the inheritance of his ancestral tribe. 8 Any daughter who possesses an inheritance from an Israelite tribe must marry someone from the clan of her ancestral tribe, so that each of the Israelites will possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9 No inheritance is to transfer from one tribe to another, because each of the Israelite tribes is to retain its inheritance.”
10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses. 11 Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, married cousins on their father’s side. 12 They married men from the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained within the tribe of their father’s clan.
13 These are the commands and ordinances the Lord commanded the Israelites through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
Introduction
1 These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan in the wilderness,(BI) in the Arabah opposite Suph,[r] between Paran(BJ) and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth,(BK) and Di-zahab. 2 It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of Mount Seir. 3 In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him to say to them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.(BL) 5 Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying:
Departure from Horeb
6 “The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb: ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough. 7 Resume your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites and their neighbors in the Arabah, the hill country, the Judean foothills,[s] the Negev and the sea coast—to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon as far as the Euphrates River.[t] 8 See, I have set the land before you. Enter and take possession of the land the Lord swore to give to your fathers(BM) Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their future descendants.’(BN)
Leaders for the Tribes
9 “I said to you at that time: I can’t bear the responsibility for you on my own. 10 The Lord your God has so multiplied you that today you are as numerous as the stars of the sky.(BO) 11 May Yahweh, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times more, and bless you as He promised you. 12 But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes by myself? 13 Appoint for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will make them your leaders.
14 “You replied to me, ‘What you propose to do is good.’
15 “So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and set them over you as leaders: officials for thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and officers for your tribes. 16 I commanded your judges at that time: Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge rightly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident. 17 Do not show partiality when deciding a case;(BP) listen to small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God.(BQ) Bring me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it. 18 At that time I commanded you about all the things you were to do.(BR)
Israel’s Disobedience at Kadesh-barnea
19 “We then set out from Horeb and went across all the great and terrible wilderness you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as the Lord our God had commanded us. When we reached Kadesh-barnea, 20 I said to you: You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up and take possession of it as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.
22 “Then(BS) all of you approached me and said, ‘Let’s send men ahead of us, so that they may explore the land for us and bring us back a report about the route we should go up and the cities we will come to.’ 23 The plan seemed good to me, so I selected 12 men from among you, one man for each tribe. 24 They left and went up into the hill country and came to the Valley of Eshcol, scouting the land. 25 They took some of the fruit from the land in their hands, carried it down to us, and brought us back a report: ‘The land the Lord our God is giving us is good.’(BT)
26 “But you were not willing to go up, rebelling against the command of the Lord your God. 27 You grumbled in your tents(BU) and said, ‘The Lord brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites so they would destroy us, because He hated us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have discouraged us,(BV) saying: The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, fortified to the heavens.(BW) We also saw the descendants of the Anakim(BX) there.’
29 “So I said to you: Don’t be terrified or afraid of them!(BY) 30 The Lord your God who goes before you(BZ) will fight for you,(CA) just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt. 31 And you saw in the wilderness how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son all along the way you traveled until you reached this place. 32 But in spite of this you did not trust the Lord your God, 33 who went before you on the journey to seek out a place for you to camp. He went in the fire by night and in the cloud by day to guide you on the road you were to travel.
34 “When the Lord heard your[u] words, He grew angry and swore an oath: 35 ‘None of these men in this evil generation will see the good land I swore to give your fathers,(CB) 36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land on which he has set foot, because he followed the Lord completely.’
37 “The Lord was angry with me also because of you and said: ‘You will not enter there either.(CC) 38 Joshua son of Nun, who attends you, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will enable Israel to inherit it.(CD) 39 Your little children, whom you said would be plunder, your sons who[v] don’t know good from evil, will enter there. I will give them the land, and they will take possession of it. 40 But you are to turn back and head for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea.’(CE)
41 “You answered me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ Then each of you put on his weapons of war and thought it would be easy to go up into the hill country.
42 “But the Lord said to me, ‘Tell them: Don’t go up and fight, for I am not with you to keep you from being defeated by your enemies.’(CF) 43 So I spoke to you, but you didn’t listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and defiantly went up into the hill country. 44 Then the Amorites who lived there came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir as far as Hormah.(CG) 45 When you returned, you wept before the Lord, but He didn’t listen to your requests or pay attention to you. 46 For this reason you stayed in Kadesh as long as you did.[w]
Journey past Seir
2 “Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me, and we traveled around the hill country of Seir for many days. 2 The Lord then said to me, 3 ‘You’ve been traveling around this hill country long enough; turn north. 4 Command the people: You are about to travel through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful. 5 Don’t fight with them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even an inch of it,[x] because I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession. 6 You may purchase food from them with silver, so that you may eat, and buy water from them to drink.(CH) 7 For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands.(CI) He has watched over your journey through this immense wilderness. The Lord your God has been with you this past 40 years, and you have lacked nothing.’
Journey past Moab
8 “So we bypassed our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road and from Elath and Ezion-geber. We traveled along the road to the Wilderness of Moab. 9 The Lord said to me, ‘Show no hostility toward Moab, and do not provoke them to battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, since I have given Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot.’”(CJ)
10 The Emim, a great and numerous people as tall as the Anakim, had previously lived there. 11 They were also regarded as Rephaim,(CK) like the Anakim, though the Moabites called them Emim.(CL) 12 The Horites had previously lived in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out, destroying them completely[y] and settling in their place, just as Israel did in the land of its possession the Lord gave them.
13 “The Lord said, ‘Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.’ So we crossed the Zered Valley.(CM) 14 The time we spent traveling from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley was 38 years until the entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. 15 Indeed, the Lord’s hand was against them, to eliminate them from the camp until they had all perished.
Journey past Ammon
16 “When all the fighting men had died among the people, 17 the Lord spoke to me, 18 ‘Today you are going to cross the border of Moab at Ar. 19 When you get close to the Ammonites, don’t show any hostility to them or fight with them, for I will not give you any of the Ammonites’ land as a possession; I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.’”(CN)
20 This too used to be regarded as the land of the Rephaim. The Rephaim lived there previously, though the Ammonites called them Zamzummim, 21 a great and numerous people, tall as the Anakim. The Lord destroyed the Rephaim at the advance of the Ammonites, so that they drove them out and settled in their place. 22 This was just as He had done for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites before them; they drove them out and have lived in their place until now. 23 The Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor,[z] destroyed the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, and settled in their place.
Defeat of Sihon the Amorite
24 “The Lord also said, ‘Get up, move out, and cross the Arnon Valley. See, I have handed Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land over to you. Begin to take possession of it; engage him in battle. 25 Today I will begin to put the fear and dread of you on the peoples everywhere under heaven. They will hear the report about you, tremble, and be in anguish because of you.’
26 “So I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon from the Wilderness of Kedemoth, saying, 27 ‘Let us travel through your land; we will keep strictly to the highway. We will not turn to the right or the left.(CO) 28 You can sell us food in exchange for silver so we may eat, and give us water for silver so we may drink. Only let us travel through on foot, 29 just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir did for us, and the Moabites who live in Ar, until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us.’ 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us travel through his land, for the Lord your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to hand him over to you, as has now taken place.
31 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land to you. Begin to take possession of it.’ 32 So Sihon and his whole army came out against us for battle at Jahaz. 33 The Lord our God handed him over to us, and we defeated him, his sons, and his whole army. 34 At that time we captured all his cities and completely destroyed the people of every city, including the women and children. We left no survivors. 35 We took only the livestock and the spoil from the cities we captured as plunder for ourselves. 36 There was no city that was inaccessible to[aa] us, from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead.(CP) The Lord our God gave everything to us. 37 But you did not go near the Ammonites’ land, all along the bank of the Jabbok River,(CQ) the cities of the hill country, or any place that the Lord our God had forbidden.(CR)
Defeat of Og of Bashan
3 “Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan(CS) came out against us with his whole army to do battle at Edrei.(CT) 2 But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have handed him over to you along with his whole army and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites,(CU) who lived in Heshbon.’ 3 So the Lord our God also handed over Og king of Bashan and his whole army to us. We struck him until there was no survivor left. 4 We captured all his cities at that time. There wasn’t a city that we didn’t take from them: 60 cities, the entire region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 All these were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a large number of rural villages. 6 We completely destroyed them, as we had done to Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying the men, women, and children of every city. 7 But we took all the livestock and the spoil from the cities as plunder for ourselves.(CV)
The Land of the Transjordan Tribes
8 “At that time we took the land from the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Hermon, 9 which the Sidonians call Sirion, but the Amorites call Senir, 10 all the cities of the plateau, Gilead, and Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of Og’s kingdom in Bashan.(CW) 11 (Only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed was made of iron.[ab] Isn’t it in Rabbah of the Ammonites? It is 13 feet six inches long and six feet wide by a standard measure.[ac])
12 “At that time we took possession of this land.(CX) I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites the area extending from Aroer by the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead along with its cities. 13 I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh the rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og. The entire region of Argob, the whole territory of Bashan, used to be called the land of the Rephaim. 14 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took over the entire region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He called Bashan by his own name, Jair’s Villages,[ad] as it is today. 15 I gave Gilead to Machir, 16 and I gave to the Reubenites and Gadites the area extending from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the Ammonites. 17 The Arabah and Jordan are also borders from Chinnereth[ae] as far as the Sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah on the east.(CY)
18 “I commanded you at that time: The Lord your God has given you this land to possess. All your fighting men will cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers the Israelites. 19 But your wives, young children, and livestock—I know that you have a lot of livestock—will remain in the cities I have given you 20 until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as He has to you, and they also take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession that I have given you.(CZ)
The Transfer of Israel’s Leadership
21 “I commanded Joshua at that time: Your own eyes have seen everything the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms you are about to enter. 22 Don’t be afraid of them, for the Lord your God fights for you.
23 “At that time I begged the Lord: 24 Lord God, You have begun to show Your greatness and power to Your servant, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can perform deeds and mighty acts like Yours? 25 Please let me cross over and see the beautiful land(DA) on the other side of the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.
26 “But the Lord was angry with me on account of you and would not listen to me. The Lord said to me, ‘That’s enough! Do not speak to Me again about this matter. 27 Go to the top of Pisgah and look to the west, north, south, and east, and see it with your own eyes, for you will not cross this Jordan.(DB) 28 But commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will cross over ahead of the people and enable them to inherit this land that you will see.’(DC) 29 So we stayed in the valley facing Beth-peor.
Call to Obedience
4 “Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live, enter, and take possession of the land Yahweh, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 You must not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it,(DD) so that you may keep the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you. 3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal-peor, for the Lord your God destroyed every one of you who followed Baal of Peor.(DE) 4 But you who have remained faithful[af] to the Lord your God are all alive today. 5 Look, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as the Lord my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to possess. 6 Carefully follow them, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples. When they hear about all these statutes, they will say, ‘This great nation is indeed a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has a god near to it as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to Him? 8 And what great nation has righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?
9 “Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don’t forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.(DF) 10 The day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people before Me, and I will let them hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth and may instruct their children.’ 11 You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire into the heavens and enveloped in a dense, black cloud. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you from the fire. You kept hearing the sound of the words, but didn’t see a form; there was only a voice.(DG) 13 He declared His covenant(DH) to you. He commanded you to follow the Ten Commandments, which He wrote on two stone tablets. 14 At that time the Lord commanded me to teach you statutes and ordinances for you to follow in the land you are about to cross into and possess.
Worshiping the True God
15 “For your own good, be extremely careful—because you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb— 16 not to act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves in the shape of any figure: a male or female form, 17 or the form of any beast on the earth, any winged creature that flies in the sky, 18 any creature that crawls on the ground, or any fish in the waters under the earth. 19 When you look to the heavens and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the array of heaven—do not be led astray to bow down and worship them. The Lord your God has provided them for all people everywhere under heaven. 20 But the Lord selected you and brought you out of Egypt’s iron furnace to be a people for His inheritance, as you are today.
21 “The Lord was angry with me on your account. He swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land(DI) the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.(DJ) 22 I won’t be crossing the Jordan because I am going to die in this land. But you are about to cross over and take possession of this good land. 23 Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that He made with you, and make an idol for yourselves in the shape of anything He has forbidden you. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire,(DK) a jealous God.(DL)
25 “When you have children and grandchildren and have been in the land a long time, and if you act corruptly, make an idol in the form of anything, and do what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, provoking Him to anger, 26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will quickly perish(DM) from the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not live long there, but you will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be reduced to a few survivors[ag] among the nations where the Lord your God will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see, hear, eat, or smell. 29 But from there, you will search for the Lord your God, and you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart and all your soul.(DN) 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, you will return to the Lord your God in later days and obey Him. 31 He will not leave you, destroy you, or forget the covenant(DO) with your fathers that He swore to them by oath, because the Lord your God is a compassionate God.(DP)
32 “Indeed, ask about the earlier days that preceded you, from the day God created man on the earth and from one end of the heavens to the other: Has anything like this great event ever happened, or has anything like it been heard of? 33 Has a people heard God’s voice speaking from the fire as you have, and lived? 34 Or has a god attempted to go and take a nation as his own out of another nation, by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 You were shown these things so that you would know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides Him.(DQ) 36 He let you hear His voice from heaven to instruct you.(DR) He showed you His great fire on earth, and you heard His words from the fire.(DS) 37 Because He loved(DT) your fathers, He chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by His presence and great power, 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you in and give you their land as an inheritance,(DU) as is now taking place. 39 Today, recognize and keep in mind that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other. 40 Keep His statutes and commands, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper and so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”
Cities of Refuge
41 Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordan to the east. 42 Someone could flee there who committed manslaughter, killing his neighbor accidentally without previously hating him. He could flee to one of these cities and stay alive: 43 Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau land, belonging to the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead, belonging to the Gadites; or Golan in Bashan, belonging to the Manassites.(DV)
Introduction to the Law
44 This is the law Moses gave the Israelites. 45 These are the decrees, statutes, and ordinances Moses proclaimed to them after they came out of Egypt, 46 across the Jordan in the valley facing Beth-peor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites. He lived in Heshbon, and Moses and the Israelites defeated him after they came out of Egypt. 47 They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings who were across the Jordan to the east, 48 from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Sion (that is, Hermon) 49 and all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Dead Sea below the slopes of Pisgah.
The Ten Commandments
5 Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am proclaiming as you hear them today. Learn and follow them carefully. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant(DW) with us at Horeb. 3 He did not make this covenant with our fathers,(DX) but with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The Lord spoke to you face to face from the fire on the mountain. 5 At that time I was standing between the Lord and you to report the word[ah] of the Lord to you, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain. And He said:
6 I am the Lord your God,(DY) who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.(DZ)
7 Do not have other gods besides Me.
8 Do not make an idol for yourself in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 9 You must not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the fathers’ sin to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,(EA) 10 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands.
11 Do not misuse the name(EB) of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses His name.
12 Be careful to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 You are to labor six days and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or donkey, any of your livestock, or the foreigner who lives within your gates, so that your male and female slaves may rest as you do. 15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 Honor your father and your mother,(EC) as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and so that you may prosper in the land the Lord your God is giving you.(ED)
17 Do not murder.(EE)
18 Do not commit adultery.(EF)
19 Do not steal.
20 Do not give dishonest testimony against your neighbor.(EG)
21 Do not covet your neighbor’s wife or desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.(EH)
The People’s Response
22 “The Lord spoke these commands in a loud voice to your entire assembly from the fire, cloud, and thick darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. He wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me. 23 All of you approached me with your tribal leaders and elders when you heard the voice from the darkness and while the mountain was blazing with fire. 24 You said, ‘Look, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and greatness, and we have heard His voice from the fire. Today we have seen that God speaks with a person, yet he still lives. 25 But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us and we will die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer. 26 For who out of all mankind has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the fire, as we have, and lived? 27 Go near and listen to everything the Lord our God says. Then you can tell us everything the Lord our God tells you; we will listen and obey.’(EI)
28 “The Lord heard your[ai] words when you spoke to me. He said to me, ‘I have heard the words that these people have spoken to you. Everything they have said is right. 29 If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commands always, so that they and their children will prosper forever. 30 Go and tell them: Return to your tents. 31 But you stand here with Me, and I will tell you every command—the statutes and ordinances—you are to teach them, so that they may follow them in the land I am giving them to possess.’
32 “Be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or the left. 33 Follow the whole instruction the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live, prosper, and have a long life in the land you will possess.
The Greatest Command
6 “This is the command—the statutes and ordinances—the Lord your God has instructed me to teach you, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess.(EJ) 2 Do this so that you may fear(EK) the Lord your God all the days of your life by keeping all His statutes and commands I am giving you, your son, and your grandson, and so that you may have a long life. 3 Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.(EL)
4 “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.[aj](EM) 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.(EN) 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.(EO) 7 Repeat them to your children.(EP) Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol[ak] on your forehead.[al](EQ) 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Remembering God through Obedience
10 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He would give you—a land with large and beautiful cities that you did not build, 11 houses full of every good thing that you did not fill them with, wells dug that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant(ER)—and when you eat and are satisfied,(ES) 12 be careful not to forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.(ET) 13 Fear Yahweh your God, worship Him, and take your oaths in His name.(EU) 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you, 15 for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God.(EV) Otherwise, the Lord your God will become angry with you and wipe you off the face of the earth. 16 Do not test(EW) the Lord your God as you tested Him at Massah.(EX) 17 Carefully observe the commands of the Lord your God, the decrees and statutes He has commanded you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that you may prosper and so that you may enter and possess the good land(EY) the Lord your God swore to give your fathers,(EZ) 19 by driving out all your enemies before you, as the Lord has said.(FA)
20 “When your son asks you in the future, ‘What is the meaning of the decrees, statutes, and ordinances, which the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 tell him, ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand. 22 Before our eyes the Lord inflicted great and devastating signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household, 23 but He brought us from there in order to lead us in and give us the land that He swore to our fathers. 24 The Lord commanded us to follow all these statutes and to fear the Lord our God for our prosperity always and for our preservation, as it is today. 25 Righteousness will be ours if we are careful to follow every one of these commands before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.’
Israel to Destroy Idolatrous Nations
7 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land(FB) you are entering to possess,(FC) and He drives out many nations before you—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you— 2 and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,(FD) 4 because they will turn your sons away from Me to worship other gods. Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you. 5 Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles,(FE) and burn up their carved images. 6 For you are a holy people(FF) belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be His own possession(FG) out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
7 “The Lord was devoted to you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But because the Lord loved(FH) you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed(FI) you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commands.(FJ) 10 But He directly pays back[am] and destroys those who hate Him.(FK) He will not hesitate to directly pay back[an] the one who hates Him. 11 So keep the command—the statutes and ordinances—that I am giving you to follow today.
12 “If you listen to and are careful to keep these ordinances, the Lord your God will keep His covenant loyalty with you, as He swore to your fathers.(FL) 13 He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will bless your descendants,[ao](FM) and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil—the young of your herds, and the newborn of your flocks, in the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you. 14 You will be blessed above all peoples; there will be no infertile male or female among you or your livestock. 15 The Lord will remove all sickness from you; He will not put on you(FN) all the terrible diseases of Egypt that you know about, but He will inflict them on all who hate you. 16 You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God is delivering over to you and not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
17 “If you say to yourself, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I drive them out?’ 18 do not be afraid of them. Be sure to remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt: 19 the great trials that you saw, the signs and wonders, the strong hand and outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you fear. 20 The Lord your God will also send the hornet against them until all the survivors and those hiding from you perish.(FO) 21 Don’t be terrified of them, for the Lord your God, a great and awesome God, is among you. 22 The Lord your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be able to destroy them all at once; otherwise, the wild animals will become too numerous for you.(FP) 23 The Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed. 24 He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe out their names under heaven. No one will be able to stand against you; you will annihilate them. 25 You must burn up the carved images of their gods. Don’t covet the silver and gold on the images and take it for yourself, or else you will be ensnared by it, for it is abhorrent to the Lord your God. 26 You must not bring any abhorrent thing into your house, or you will be set apart for destruction like it. You are to utterly detest and abhor it, because it is set apart for destruction.
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