Bible in 90 Days
Territory of Judah
15 Now (A)the lot for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families [a]reached the (B)border of Edom, southward to the (C)wilderness of Zin at the extreme south. 2 Their south border was from the lower end of the Salt Sea, from the bay that turns to the south. 3 Then it proceeded southward to the ascent of Akrabbim and continued to Zin, then went up by the south of Kadesh-barnea and continued to Hezron, and went up to Addar and turned about to Karka. 4 It (D)continued to Azmon and proceeded to the [b](E)brook of Egypt, and the [c]border ended at the sea. This shall be your south border. 5 The (F)east border was the Salt Sea, as far as the [d]mouth of the Jordan. And the (G)border of the north side was from the bay of the sea at the [e]mouth of the Jordan. 6 Then the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and continued on the north of Beth-arabah, and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 7 The border went up to Debir from (H)the valley of Achor, and turned northward toward Gilgal which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south of the valley; and the border continued to the waters of En-shemesh and [f]it ended at En-rogel. 8 Then the border went up the valley of Ben-hinnom to the slope of the (I)Jebusite on the south (that is, Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain which is before the valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the valley of Rephaim toward the north. 9 From the top of the mountain the border curved to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, then the border curved to (J)Baalah (that is, (K)Kiriath-jearim). 10 The border turned about from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and continued to the slope of Mount Jearim on the north (that is, Chesalon), and went down to Beth-shemesh and continued through (L)Timnah. 11 The border proceeded to the side of Ekron northward. Then the border curved to Shikkeron and continued to Mount Baalah and proceeded to Jabneel, and the [g]border ended at the sea. 12 The west border was (M)at the Great Sea, even its [h]coastline. This is the border around the sons of Judah according to their families.
13 Now (N)he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion (O)among the sons of Judah, according to the [i]command of the Lord to Joshua, namely, [j]Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron). 14 (P)Caleb [k]drove out from there the three (Q)sons of Anak: Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the children of Anak. 15 Then (R)he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher. 16 And Caleb said, “The one who [l]attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, [m]I will give him Achsah my daughter as a wife.” 17 (S)Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it; so he gave him Achsah his daughter as a wife. 18 (T)It came about that when she came to him, she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. So she alighted from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 19 Then she said, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me the land of the [n]Negev, give me also springs of water.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families.
21 Now the cities at the extremity of the tribe of the sons of Judah toward the border of Edom in the south were Kabzeel and (U)Eder and Jagur, 22 and Kinah and Dimonah and Adadah, 23 and Kedesh and Hazor and Ithnan, 24 Ziph and Telem and Bealoth, 25 and Hazor-hadattah and Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), 26 Amam and Shema and Moladah, 27 and Hazar-gaddah and Heshmon and Beth-pelet, 28 and Hazar-shual and (V)Beersheba and Biziothiah, 29 Baalah and Iim and Ezem, 30 and Eltolad and Chesil and Hormah, 31 and (W)Ziklag and Madmannah and Sansannah, 32 and Lebaoth and Shilhim and Ain and Rimmon; in all, twenty-nine cities with their villages.
33 In the lowland: (X)Eshtaol and Zorah and Ashnah, 34 and Zanoah and En-gannim, Tappuah and Enam, 35 Jarmuth and (Y)Adullam, Socoh and Azekah, 36 and Shaaraim and Adithaim and Gederah and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages.
37 Zenan and Hadashah and Migdal-gad, 38 and Dilean and Mizpeh and Joktheel, 39 (Z)Lachish and Bozkath and Eglon, 40 and Cabbon and Lahmas and Chitlish, 41 and Gederoth, Beth-dagon and Naamah and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.
42 Libnah and Ether and Ashan, 43 and Iphtah and Ashnah and Nezib, 44 and Keilah and Achzib and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages.
45 Ekron, with its towns and its villages; 46 from Ekron even to the sea, all that were by the [o]side of Ashdod, with their villages.
47 Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; as far as (AA)the [p]brook of Egypt and the Great Sea, even its [q]coastline.
48 In the hill country: Shamir and Jattir and Socoh, 49 and Dannah and Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), 50 and Anab and Eshtemoh and Anim, 51 and Goshen and Holon and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.
52 Arab and Dumah and Eshan, 53 and Janum and Beth-tappuah and Aphekah, 54 and Humtah and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.
55 Maon, Carmel and Ziph and Juttah, 56 and Jezreel and Jokdeam and Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.
58 Halhul, Beth-zur and Gedor, 59 and Maarath and Beth-anoth and Eltekon; six cities with their villages.
60 Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah; two cities with their villages.
61 In the wilderness: Beth-arabah, Middin and Secacah, 62 and Nibshan and the City of Salt and Engedi; six cities with their villages.
63 Now as for the (AB)Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the sons of Judah could not [r]drive them out; so the Jebusites live with the sons of Judah at Jerusalem until this day.
Territory of Ephraim
16 Then the lot for the sons of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east into (AC)the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. 2 It went from Bethel to Luz, and (AD)continued to the border of the Archites at Ataroth. 3 It went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of lower (AE)Beth-horon even to (AF)Gezer, and [s]it ended at the sea.
4 The (AG)sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. 5 Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was (AH)Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. 6 Then the border went westward at (AI)Michmethath on the north, and the border turned about eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. 7 It went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to (AJ)Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. 8 From (AK)Tappuah the border continued westward to the [t]brook of Kanah, and [u]it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families, 9 together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. 10 (AL)But they did not [v]drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so (AM)the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.
Territory of Manasseh
17 Now this was the lot for the tribe of (AN)Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, [w]were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. 2 So the lot was made for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their families: for the sons of Abiezer and for the sons of Helek and for the sons of Asriel and for the sons of Shechem and for the sons of Hepher and for the sons of Shemida; these were the male [x]descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.
3 However, (AO)Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. 4 They came near before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua the son of Nun and before the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So (AP)according to the [y]command of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. 5 Thus there fell ten portions to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the (AQ)land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.
7 The border of Manasseh [z]ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went [aa]southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. 8 The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but (AR)Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim. 9 The (AS)border went down to the [ab]brook of Kanah, southward of the [ac]brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh), and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the [ad]brook and [ae]it ended at the sea. 10 The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the sea was [af]their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. 11 In Issachar and in Asher, (AT)Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, the third is (AU)Napheth. 12 (AV)But the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites persisted in living in that land. 13 It came about when the sons of Israel became strong, (AW)they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not [ag]drive them out completely.
14 Then the (AX)sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me only one lot and one portion for an inheritance, since I am a numerous people whom the Lord has thus far blessed?” 15 Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go [ah]up to the forest and [ai]clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” 16 The sons of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have (AY)chariots of iron, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the valley of Jezreel.” 17 Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, “You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, 18 but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall [aj]clear it, and to its [ak]farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall [al]drive out the Canaanites, even though they have (AZ)chariots of iron and though they are strong.”
Rest of the Land Divided
18 Then the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled themselves at (BA)Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.
2 There remained among the sons of Israel seven tribes who had not divided their inheritance. 3 So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “(BB)How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? 4 Provide for yourselves three men from [am]each tribe that I may send them, and that they may arise and walk through the land and write a description of it according to their inheritance; then they shall [an]return to me. 5 They shall divide it into seven portions; (BC)Judah shall stay in its territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall stay in their territory on the north. 6 You shall describe the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me. (BD)I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. 7 For (BE)the Levites have no portion among you, because the priesthood of the Lord is [ao]their inheritance. Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh also have received their inheritance eastward beyond the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”
8 Then the men arose and went, and Joshua commanded those who went to describe the land, saying, “Go and walk through the land and describe it, and return to me; then I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in (BF)Shiloh.” 9 So the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities in seven divisions in a book; and they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh. 10 And (BG)Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land to the sons of Israel according to their divisions.
The Territory of Benjamin
11 Now the lot of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot [ap]lay between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph. 12 (BH)Their border on the north side was from the Jordan, then the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward, and [aq]it ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven. 13 From there the border continued to (BI)Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel) southward; and the border went down to Ataroth-addar, near the hill which lies on the south of (BJ)lower Beth-horon. 14 The border extended from there and turned round on the west side southward, from the hill which lies before Beth-horon southward; and [ar]it ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the west side. 15 Then the (BK)south side was from the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went westward and went to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah. 16 The border went down to the edge of the hill which is in the (BL)valley of Ben-hinnom, which is in the valley of Rephaim northward; and it went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the slope of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel. 17 It extended northward and went to En-shemesh and went to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and it went down to the (BM)stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 18 It continued to the side in front of the Arabah northward and went down to the Arabah. 19 The border continued to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the [as]border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the south border. 20 Moreover, the Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin, according to their families and according to its borders all around.
21 Now the cities of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho and Beth-hoglah and Emek-keziz, 22 and Beth-arabah and Zemaraim and Bethel, 23 and Avvim and Parah and Ophrah, 24 and Chephar-ammoni and Ophni and (BN)Geba; twelve cities with their villages. 25 Gibeon and Ramah and Beeroth, 26 and Mizpeh and Chephirah and Mozah, 27 and Rekem and Irpeel and Taralah, 28 and (BO)Zelah, Haeleph and the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the (BP)sons of Benjamin according to their families.
Territory of Simeon
19 Then the second lot [at]fell to Simeon, to the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families, and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Judah. 2 So they had as their inheritance Beersheba or [au]Sheba and Moladah, 3 and Hazar-shual and Balah and Ezem, 4 and Eltolad and Bethul and Hormah, 5 and Ziklag and Beth-marcaboth and Hazar-susah, 6 and Beth-lebaoth and Sharuhen; thirteen cities with their villages; 7 Ain, Rimmon and Ether and Ashan; four cities with their villages; 8 and all the villages which were around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the [av]Negev. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families. 9 The inheritance of the sons of Simeon was taken from the portion of the sons of Judah, for the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; so the sons of Simeon received an inheritance in the midst of [aw]Judah’s inheritance.
Territory of Zebulun
10 Now the third lot came up for the sons of Zebulun according to their families. And the territory of their inheritance was as far as Sarid. 11 Then their border went up to the west and to Maralah, it then [ax]touched Dabbesheth and reached to the [ay]brook that is before Jokneam. 12 Then it turned from Sarid to the east toward the sunrise as far as the border of Chisloth-tabor, and it proceeded to Daberath and [az]up to Japhia. 13 From there it continued eastward toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and it proceeded to Rimmon [ba]which stretches to Neah. 14 The border circled around it on the north to Hannathon, and [bb]it ended at the valley of Iphtahel. 15 Included also were Kattah and Nahalal and Shimron and Idalah and Bethlehem; twelve cities with their villages. 16 This was the inheritance of the sons of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.
Territory of Issachar
17 The fourth lot [bc]fell to Issachar, to the sons of Issachar according to their families. 18 Their territory was to Jezreel and included Chesulloth and (BQ)Shunem, 19 and Hapharaim and Shion and Anaharath, 20 and Rabbith and Kishion and Ebez, 21 and Remeth and En-gannim and En-haddah and Beth-pazzez. 22 The border reached to (BR)Tabor and Shahazumah and Beth-shemesh, and [bd]their border ended at the Jordan; sixteen cities with their villages. 23 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.
Territory of Asher
24 Now the fifth lot [be]fell to the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families. 25 Their territory was Helkath and Hali and Beten and Achshaph, 26 and Allammelech and Amad and Mishal; and it reached to Carmel on the west and to Shihor-libnath. 27 It turned toward the [bf]east to Beth-dagon and reached to Zebulun, and to the valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel; then it proceeded on [bg]north to (BS)Cabul, 28 and Ebron and Rehob and Hammon and Kanah, as far as Great (BT)Sidon. 29 The border turned to Ramah and to the fortified city of Tyre; then the border turned to Hosah, and [bh]it ended at the sea by the region of (BU)Achzib. 30 Included also were Ummah, and Aphek and Rehob; twenty-two cities with their villages. 31 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.
Territory of Naphtali
32 The sixth lot [bi]fell to the sons of Naphtali; to the sons of Naphtali according to their families. 33 Their border was from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim and Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and [bj]it ended at the Jordan. 34 Then the border turned westward to Aznoth-tabor and proceeded from there to Hukkok; and it reached to Zebulun on the south and [bk]touched Asher on the west, and to Judah at the Jordan toward the [bl]east. 35 The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer and (BV)Hammath, Rakkath and (BW)Chinnereth, 36 and Adamah and Ramah and Hazor, 37 and Kedesh and Edrei and En-hazor, 38 and Yiron and Migdal-el, Horem and Beth-anath and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages. 39 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali according to their families, the cities with their villages.
Territory of Dan
40 The seventh lot [bm]fell to the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families. 41 The territory of their inheritance was Zorah and Eshtaol and Ir-shemesh, 42 and Shaalabbin and Aijalon and Ithlah, 43 and Elon and Timnah and Ekron, 44 and Eltekeh and Gibbethon and Baalath, 45 and Jehud and Bene-berak and Gath-rimmon, 46 and Me-jarkon and Rakkon, with the territory over against [bn]Joppa. 47 The territory of the (BX)sons of Dan proceeded [bo]beyond them; for the sons of Dan went up and fought with Leshem and captured it. Then they struck it with the edge of the sword and possessed it and [bp]settled in it; and they called [bq](BY)Leshem Dan after the name of Dan their father. 48 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
49 When they finished apportioning the land for inheritance by its borders, the sons of Israel gave an inheritance in their midst to Joshua the son of Nun. 50 In accordance with the [br]command of the Lord they gave him the city for which he asked, (BZ)Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. So he built the city and [bs]settled in it.
51 (CA)These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the [bt]households of the tribes of the sons of Israel distributed by lot in Shiloh before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.
Six Cities of Refuge
20 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘[bu]Designate (CB)the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you [bv]through Moses, 3 that the manslayer who [bw]kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 He shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the (CC)gate of the city and state his case in the hearing of the elders of that city; and they shall [bx]take him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may dwell among them. 5 Now (CD)if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him beforehand. 6 He shall dwell in that city (CE)until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the manslayer shall [by]return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.’”
7 So they [bz]set apart (CF)Kedesh in [ca]Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in (CG)the hill country of Judah. 8 Beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they [cb]designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. 9 (CH)These were the appointed cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them, that whoever [cc]kills any person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.
Forty-eight Cities of the Levites
21 Then the heads of [cd]households of (CI)the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of [ce]households of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 2 They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “(CJ)The Lord commanded [cf]through Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasture lands for our cattle.” 3 So the sons of Israel gave the Levites from their inheritance these cities with their pasture lands, according to the [cg]command of the Lord. 4 Then the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And the sons of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, [ch]received thirteen cities by lot from the tribe of Judah and from the tribe of the Simeonites and from the tribe of Benjamin.
5 The rest of the sons of Kohath [ci]received ten cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim and from the tribe of Dan and from the half-tribe of Manasseh.
6 The sons of Gershon [cj]received thirteen cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Issachar and from the tribe of Asher and from the tribe of Naphtali and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 The sons of Merari according to their families [ck]received twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben and from the tribe of Gad and from the tribe of Zebulun.
8 Now the (CK)sons of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasture lands, as the Lord had commanded [cl]through Moses.
9 They gave these cities which are here mentioned by name from the tribe of the sons of Judah and from the tribe of the sons of Simeon; 10 and they were for the sons of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, of the sons of Levi, for the lot was theirs first. 11 Thus (CL)they gave them Kiriath-arba, Arba being the (CM)father of Anak (that is, Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, with its surrounding pasture lands. 12 But the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession.
13 So (CN)to the sons of Aaron the priest they gave (CO)Hebron, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands, and (CP)Libnah with its pasture lands, 14 and (CQ)Jattir with its pasture lands and (CR)Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, 15 and [cm]Holon with its pasture lands and (CS)Debir with its pasture lands, 16 and [cn]Ain with its pasture lands and (CT)Juttah with its pasture lands and (CU)Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands; nine cities from these two tribes. 17 From the tribe of Benjamin, (CV)Gibeon with its pasture lands, (CW)Geba with its pasture lands, 18 Anathoth with its pasture lands and [co]Almon with its pasture lands; four cities. 19 All the cities of the sons of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.
20 Then the cities from the tribe of Ephraim were allotted to the (CX)families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, even to the rest of the sons of Kohath. 21 They gave them (CY)Shechem, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands, in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer with its pasture lands, 22 and Kibzaim with its pasture lands and Beth-horon with its pasture lands; four cities. 23 From the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands, 24 Aijalon with its pasture lands, Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; four cities. 25 From the half-tribe of Manasseh, they allotted Taanach with its pasture lands and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; two cities. 26 All the cities with their pasture lands for the families of the rest of the sons of Kohath were ten.
27 (CZ)To the sons of Gershon, one of the families of the Levites, from the half-tribe of Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands, and Be-eshterah with its pasture lands; two cities. 28 From the tribe of Issachar, they gave Kishion with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands, 29 Jarmuth with its pasture lands, En-gannim with its pasture lands; four cities. 30 From the tribe of Asher, they gave Mishal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands, 31 Helkath with its pasture lands and Rehob with its pasture lands; four cities. 32 From the tribe of Naphtali, they gave (DA)Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands and Hammoth-dor with its pasture lands and Kartan with its pasture lands; three cities. 33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.
34 To the families of (DB)the sons of Merari, the rest of the Levites, they gave from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands and Kartah with its pasture lands. 35 Dimnah with its pasture lands, Nahalal with its pasture lands; four cities. 36 From the tribe of Reuben, they gave (DC)Bezer with its pasture lands and Jahaz with its pasture lands, 37 Kedemoth with its pasture lands and Mephaath with its pasture lands; four cities. 38 From the tribe of Gad, they gave (DD)Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands and (DE)Mahanaim with its pasture lands, 39 Heshbon with its pasture lands, Jazer with its pasture lands; four cities in all. 40 All these were the cities of the sons of Merari according to their families, the rest of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities.
41 (DF)All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel were forty-eight cities with their pasture lands. 42 These cities each had its surrounding pasture lands; thus it was with all these cities.
43 (DG)So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and (DH)they possessed it and lived in it. 44 And the Lord (DI)gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and (DJ)no one of all their enemies stood before them; (DK)the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. 45 (DL)Not [cp]one of the good promises which the Lord had [cq]made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.
Tribes beyond Jordan Return
22 (DM)Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, (DN)and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you. 3 You have not forsaken your brothers these many days to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God. 4 And now (DO)the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as He spoke to them; therefore turn now and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan. 5 Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to (DP)love the Lord your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him (DQ)with all your heart and with all your soul.” 6 So Joshua (DR)blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.
7 Now (DS)to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but (DT)to the other half Joshua gave a possession among their brothers westward beyond the Jordan. So when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them, 8 and said to [cr]them, “Return to your tents with great riches and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; (DU)divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.” 9 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home and departed from the sons of Israel at Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the (DV)land of Gilead, to the land of their possession which they had possessed, according to the [cs]command of the Lord [ct]through Moses.
The Offensive Altar
10 When they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a large altar in appearance. 11 And the sons of Israel heard it [cu]said, “Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have (DW)built an altar at the [cv]frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the sons of Israel.” 12 When the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered themselves at (DX)Shiloh to go up against them in war.
13 Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, (DY)Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 and with him ten chiefs, one chief for each father’s household from each of the tribes of Israel; and (DZ)each one of them was the head of his father’s household among the [cw]thousands of Israel. 15 They came to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them saying, 16 “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the Lord this day, by (EA)building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the Lord this day? 17 Is not (EB)the iniquity of Peor [cx]enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although a plague came on the congregation of the Lord, 18 that you must turn away this day from following the Lord? If you rebel against the Lord today, (EC)He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow. 19 If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then [cy]cross into the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord’s tabernacle [cz]stands, and take possession among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord, or rebel against us by (ED)building an altar for yourselves, besides the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Did not (EE)Achan the son of Zerah act unfaithfully in the things under the ban, and wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.’”
21 Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the heads of the [da]families of Israel. 22 “The (EF)Mighty One, God, the Lord, the Mighty One, God, the Lord! (EG)He knows, and may Israel itself know. If it was in rebellion, or if in an unfaithful act against the Lord do not save us this day! 23 If we have built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord, or if to (EH)offer a burnt offering or grain offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, may the Lord Himself require it. 24 But truly we have done this out of concern, [db]for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your sons may say to our [dc]sons, “What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25 For the Lord has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you sons of Reuben and sons of Gad; you have no portion in the Lord.” So your sons may make our sons stop fearing the Lord.’
26 “Therefore we said, ‘Let us [dd]build an altar, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; 27 rather it shall be (EI)a witness between us and you and between our generations after us, that we are to (EJ)perform the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices and with our peace offerings, so that your sons will not say to our sons in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”’ 28 Therefore we said, ‘It shall also come about if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, “See the copy of the altar of the Lord which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather it is a witness between us and you.”’ 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away from following the Lord this day, by (EK)building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the Lord our God which is before His [de]tabernacle.”
30 So when Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the congregation, even the heads of the [df]families of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. 31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Manasseh, “Today we know that the (EL)Lord is in our midst, because you have not committed this unfaithful act against the Lord; now you have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand of the Lord.”
32 Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and brought back word to them. 33 The word pleased the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel (EM)blessed God; and they did not speak of going up against them in war to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living. 34 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad (EN)called the altar Witness; “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
Joshua’s Farewell Address
23 Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given (EO)rest to Israel from all their enemies [dg]on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, 2 that (EP)Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years. 3 And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for (EQ)the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you. 4 See, (ER)I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun. 5 The Lord your God, He will thrust them out from before you and [dh](ES)drive them from before you; and (ET)you will possess their land, just as the Lord your God [di]promised you. 6 (EU)Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, 7 so that you will not [dj]associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or (EV)mention the name of their gods, or (EW)make anyone swear by them, or (EX)serve them, or bow down to them. 8 But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. 9 (EY)For the Lord has [dk]driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, (EZ)no man has stood before you to this day. 10 (FA)One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is (FB)He who fights for you, just as He [dl]promised you. 11 So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God. 12 For if you ever go back and (FC)cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and (FD)intermarry with them, so that you [dm]associate with them and they with you, 13 know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to [dn]drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a (FE)snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Now behold, today (FF)I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that (FG)not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have [do]been fulfilled for you, not [dp]one of them has failed. 15 It shall come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so (FH)the Lord will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 16 (FI)When 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 burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.”
Joshua Reviews Israel’s History
24 Then (FJ)Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the [dq]River, namely, (FK)Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. 3 Then (FL)I took your father Abraham from beyond the [dr]River, and led him through all the land of Canaan, and (FM)multiplied his [ds]descendants and gave him (FN)Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave (FO)Jacob and Esau, and (FP)to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but (FQ)Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 Then (FR)I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt [dt]by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. 6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and (FS)you came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the [du]Red Sea. 7 But when they cried out to the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And (FT)you lived in the wilderness for a long time. 8 Then (FU)I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land when I destroyed them before you. 9 Then (FV)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 But I (FW)was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I delivered you from his hand. 11 (FX)You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and (FY)the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus (FZ)I gave them into your hand. 12 Then I (GA)sent the hornet before you and it [dv]drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but (GB)not by your sword or your bow. 13 (GC)I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
“We Will Serve the Lord”
14 “Now, therefore, [dw](GD)fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and [dx]truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the [dy]River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or (GE)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of [dz]bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 The Lord drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord, (GF)for He is a holy God. He is (GG)a jealous God; (GH)He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. 20 (GI)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” 21 The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” 22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that (GJ)you have chosen for yourselves the Lord, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and (GK)incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 (GL)The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and we will [ea]obey His voice.” 25 (GM)So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 And Joshua (GN)wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, (GO)this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke [eb]to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.
Joshua’s Death and Burial
29 It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in (GP)Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.
31 (GQ)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who [ec]survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel.
32 Now (GR)they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground (GS)which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred [ed]pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him [ee]at Gibeah of (GT)Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
Jerusalem Is Captured
1 Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel (GU)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Who shall go up first for us (GV)against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The Lord said, “(GW)Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 Then Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into [ef]the territory allotted me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and [eg]I in turn will go with you into [eh]the territory allotted you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Judah went up, and (GX)the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they [ei]defeated ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they [ej]defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his [ek]thumbs and big toes. 7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to gather up scraps under my table; (GY)as I have done, so God has repaid me.” So they brought him to Jerusalem and he died there.
8 Then the sons of Judah fought against (GZ)Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 Afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country and in the [el]Negev and in the lowland. 10 (HA)So Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba); and they struck Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.
Capture of Other Cities
11 Then (HB)from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir (now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher). 12 And Caleb said, “The one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will even give him my daughter Achsah for a wife.” 13 (HC)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah for a wife. 14 Then (HD)it came about when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. Then she alighted from [em]her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What [en]do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing, since you have given me the land of the [eo]Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
16 The [ep]descendants of (HE)the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the (HF)city of palms with the sons of Judah, to the wilderness of Judah which is in the south of (HG)Arad; and they went and lived with the people. 17 Then Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called (HH)Hormah. 18 And Judah took (HI)Gaza with its territory and Ashkelon with its territory and Ekron with its territory. 19 Now the Lord was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not [eq]drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had (HJ)iron chariots. 20 Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, (HK)as Moses had [er]promised; and he drove out from there (HL)the three sons of Anak. 21 (HM)But the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the (HN)Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
22 Likewise the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 The house of Joseph spied out Bethel ((HO)now the name of the city was formerly Luz). 24 The spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city and (HP)we will treat you kindly.” 25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, (HQ)but they let the man and all his family go free. 26 The man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and named it Luz [es]which is its name to this day.
Places Not Conquered
27 (HR)But Manasseh did not take possession of 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; so (HS)the Canaanites persisted in living in that land. 28 It came about when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.
29 (HT)Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.
30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of [et]Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.
31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob. 32 So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.
33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.
34 Then the Amorites [eu]forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley; 35 yet the Amorites persisted in [ev]living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon and in Shaalbim; but when the [ew]power of the house of Joseph [ex]grew strong, they became forced labor. 36 The border of the Amorites ran from the (HU)ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.
Israel Rebuked
2 Now (HV)the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to (HW)Bochim. And he said, “(HX)I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘(HY)I will never break My covenant with you, 2 and as for you, (HZ)you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; (IA)you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not [ey]obeyed Me; what is this you have done? 3 Therefore I also said, ‘(IB)I will not drive them out before you; but they will [ez]become (IC)as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.’” 4 When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 So they named that place [fa]Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the Lord.
Joshua Dies
6 (ID)When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land. 7 The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who [fb]survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which He had done for Israel. 8 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the territory of (IE)his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who (IF)did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.
Israel Serves Baals
11 Then the sons of Israel did (IG)evil in the sight of the Lord and [fc]served the (IH)Baals, 12 and (II)they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 So they forsook the Lord and (IJ)served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14 (IK)The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and (IL)He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and (IM)as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.
16 (IN)Then the Lord raised up judges [fd]who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way (IO)in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers. 18 When the Lord raised up judges for them, (IP)the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was (IQ)moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 (IR)So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, 21 (IS)I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, 22 in order to (IT)test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers [fe]did, or not.” 23 So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.
Idolatry Leads to Servitude
3 (IU)Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not [ff]experienced any of the wars of Canaan; 2 only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might [fg]be taught war, [fh]those who had not [fi]experienced it formerly). 3 These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and (IV)the Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as [fj]Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for [fk](IW)testing Israel, to find out if they would [fl]obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers [fm]through Moses. 5 (IX)The sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; 6 and (IY)they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
7 The sons of Israel did (IZ)what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and (JA)forgot the Lord their God and (JB)served the Baals and the [fn]Asheroth. 8 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of [fo]Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
The First Judge Delivers Israel
9 When the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them, (JC)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 (JD)The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of [fp]Mesopotamia into his hand, so that [fq]he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 Then the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
12 Now the sons of Israel again (JE)did evil in the sight of the Lord. So (JF)the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and [fr]defeated Israel, and they possessed (JG)the city of the palm trees. 14 The sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
Ehud Delivers from Moab
15 But when the sons of Israel (JH)cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by [fs]him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak. 17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 It came about when he had finished presenting the tribute, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who attended him left him. 20 Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 Ehud stretched out his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. 22 The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them.
24 When he had gone out, his servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “(JI)He is only [ft]relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 They waited until they [fu]became anxious; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the [fv]floor dead.
26 Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 It came about when he had arrived, that (JJ)he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.