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 southern 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 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 southern border. 5 The (F)eastern 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 And 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 opposite the Valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the Valley of Rephaim toward the north. 9 And from the top of the mountain the border turned to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, then the border turned to (J)Baalah (that is, (K)Kiriath-jearim). 10 The border turned 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 Then the border proceeded to the side of Ekron northward. And the border turned to Shikkeron and continued to Mount Baalah and proceeded to Jabneel, and the [g]border ended at the sea. 12 The western 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, in accordance with the [i]command of the Lord to Joshua, namely, [j]Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron). 14 And (P)Caleb [k]drove out from there the three (Q)sons of Anak: Sheshai, 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 previously 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)And it happened that when she came to him, she incited him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted 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 springs of water also.” 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, (U)Eder, and Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, and Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, and Ithnan, 24 Ziph, Telem, and Bealoth, 25 Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, and Moladah, 27 Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, and Beth-pelet, 28 Hazar-shual, (V)Beersheba, and Biziothiah, 29 Baalah, Iim, and Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Chesil, and Hormah, 31 (W)Ziklag, Madmannah, and Sansannah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon; in all, twenty-nine cities with their villages.
33 In the lowland: (X)Eshtaol, Zorah, and Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, and Enam, 35 Jarmuth, (Y)Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah, 36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages.
37 Zenan, Hadashah, and Migdal-gad, 38 Dilean, Mizpeh, and Joktheel, 39 (Z)Lachish, Bozkath, and Eglon, 40 Cabbon, Lahmas, and Chitlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.
42 Libnah, Ether, and Ashan, 43 Iphtah, Ashnah, and Nezib, 44 Keilah, 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, Jattir, and Socoh, 49 Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.
52 Arab, Dumah, and Eshan, 53 Janum, Beth-tappuah, and Aphekah, 54 Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.
55 Maon, Carmel, Ziph, and Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, and Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.
58 Halhul, Beth-zur, and Gedor, 59 Maarath, 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 Nibshan, 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 in Jerusalem to 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 Then 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 eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. 7 Then 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, the sons of Helek, the sons of Asriel, the sons of Shechem, the sons of Hepher, and 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, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So (AP)in accordance with the [y]command of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. 5 So ten portions fell 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 And 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 this land. 13 And 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 as an inheritance, though I am a numerous people whom the Lord has blessed up to this point?” 15 And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go [ah]up to the forest and 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 then said, “The hill country is not enough for us, but all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have (AY)iron chariots, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the Valley of Jezreel.” 17 But 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 clear it, and to its [ai]farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall [aj]drive out the Canaanites, even though they have (AZ)iron chariots and though they are strong.”
Rest of the Land Divided
18 Then the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled at (BA)Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.
2 But 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 [ak]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 [al]each tribe so 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 [am]return to me. 5 And 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 And you shall write a description of the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me. (BD)Then 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 [an]their inheritance. Gad, 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 write a description of the land, saying, “Go and walk through the land and write a description of 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 wrote a description of it by cities in seven divisions in a book; and they came to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. 10 (BG)Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land for 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 [ao]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 [ap]it ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven. 13 Then 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 And the border changed direction from there and turned around on the west side southward, from the hill which lies opposite Beth-horon southward; and [aq]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 Then the border went down to the edge of the hill which is [ar]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 Then it turned 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 And it continued to the side in front of the Arabah northward, and went down to the Arabah. 19 Then 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 southern 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, Beth-hoglah, and Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, and Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, and Ophrah, 24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and (BN)Geba; twelve cities with their villages. 25 Gibeon, Ramah, and Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, and Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, and Taralah, 28 (BO)Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (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 went 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 in their inheritance Beersheba or [at]Sheba and Moladah, 3 Hazar-shual, Balah, and Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, and Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susah, 6 Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities with their villages; 7 Ain, Rimmon, 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 [au]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, because the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; so the sons of Simeon received an inheritance in the midst of [av]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, and it reached Dabbesheth and reached to the [aw]brook that is opposite 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 [ax]up to Japhia. 13 From there it continued eastward toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and it proceeded to Rimmon [ay]which stretches to Neah. 14 Then the border circled around it on the north to Hannathon, and [az]it ended at the Valley of Iphtahel. 15 Included also were Kattah, Nahalal, Shimron, 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 went to Issachar, to the sons of Issachar according to their families. 18 Their territory was to Jezreel and included Chesulloth, (BQ)Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, and Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, and Ebez, 21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez. 22 The border reached to (BR)Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and [ba]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 went to the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families. 25 Their territory was Helkath, Hali, Beten, and Achshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal; and it reached to Carmel on the west and Shihor-libnath. 27 It turned toward the [bb]east to Beth-dagon and reached Zebulun, and to the Valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel; then it proceeded on [bc]north to (BS)Cabul, 28 Ebron, Rehob, 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 [bd]it ended at the sea by the region of (BU)Achzib. 30 Included also were Ummah, 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 went 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 [be]it ended at the Jordan. 34 Then the border turned westward to Aznoth-tabor and proceeded from there to Hukkok; and it reached Zebulun on the south and reached Asher on the west, and Judah at the Jordan toward the [bf]east. 35 The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, (BV)Hammath, Rakkath, and (BW)Chinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, and Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, and En-hazor, 38 Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, 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 went to the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families. 41 The territory of their inheritance was Zorah, Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, and Ithlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, and Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, and Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene-berak, and Gath-rimmon, 46 Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the territory opposite [bg]Joppa. 47 The territory of the (BX)sons of Dan proceeded [bh]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 took possession of it and [bi]settled in it; and they named [bj](BY)Leshem Dan after the name of their father Dan. 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 among them to Joshua the son of Nun. 50 In accordance with the [bk]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 [bl]settled in it.
51 (CA)These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel apportioned 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, ‘[bm]Designate (CB)the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you [bn]through Moses, 3 so that one who commits manslaughter by [bo]killing a person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 Then 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 [bp]presence of the elders of that city; and they shall [bq]receive him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may remain among them. 5 Now (CD)if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they are not to hand the one who committed manslaughter over to him, since he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him previously. 6 And he shall remain 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 [br]he shall [bs]return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.’”
7 So they [bt]set apart (CF)Kedesh in [bu]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 And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they [bv]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 designated cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them, so that whoever [bw]kills a 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 fathers’ households of (CI)the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel. 2 And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “(CJ)The Lord commanded [bx]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, in accordance with the [by]command of the Lord. 4 Then the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And to the sons of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, thirteen cities were given by lot from the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of the Simeonites, and from the tribe of Benjamin.
5 And to the rest of the sons of Kohath ten cities were given by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh.
6 And to the sons of Gershon thirteen cities were given by lot from the families of the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 To the sons of Merari according to their families twelve cities were given from the tribe of Reuben, 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 [bz]through Moses.
9 They gave these cities which are mentioned here 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, because the lot was theirs first. 11 So (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 one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, (CP)Libnah with its pasture lands, 14 (CQ)Jattir with its pasture lands, (CR)Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, 15 [ca]Holon with its pasture lands, (CS)Debir with its pasture lands, 16 [cb]Ain with its pasture lands, (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 [cc]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, that is, to the rest of the sons of Kohath. 21 They gave them (CY)Shechem, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, 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 And 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 And (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 one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, and Be-eshterah with its pasture lands; two cities. 28 And from the tribe of Issachar they gave Kishion with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands, 29 Jarmuth with its pasture lands, and 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 And from the tribe of Naphtali, they gave (DA)Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, 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 And 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, Kartah with its pasture lands, 35 Dimnah with its pasture lands, and Nahalal with its pasture lands; four cities. 36 From the tribe of Reuben they gave (DC)Bezer with its pasture lands, Jahaz with its pasture lands, 37 Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands; four cities. 38 And from the tribe of Gad, they gave (DD)Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, (DE)Mahanaim with its pasture lands, 39 Heshbon with its pasture lands, and 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 individually had [cd]their surrounding pasture lands; this is how 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 took possession of it and lived in it. 44 And the Lord (DI)gave them rest on every side, in accordance with everything that He had sworn to their fathers, and (DJ)no one of all their enemies stood before them; (DK)the Lord handed all their enemies over to them. 45 (DL)Not [ce]one of the good promises which the Lord had [cf]made to the house of Israel failed; everything 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 abandoned your brothers these many days to this day, but have fulfilled the obligation 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 [cg]follow 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 cling 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 also blessed them, 8 and said to [ch]them, “Return to your tents with great riches and with very many livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; (DU)divide the spoils of your enemies with your brothers.” 9 So the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, [ci]leaving 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 in which they had settled, in accordance with the [cj]command of the Lord [ck]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, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, [cl]a large altar in appearance. 11 But the sons of Israel [cm]heard a report: “Behold, the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have (DW)built an altar at the [cn]frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the sons of Israel.” 12 And when the sons of Israel heard about it, the entire congregation of the sons of Israel assembled at (DX)Shiloh to go up against them in battle.
13 Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben, to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, (DY)Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 and with him ten leaders, one leader 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 [co]thousands of Israel. 15 They came to the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, 16 “This is what the whole congregation of the Lord says: ‘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 (EB)the wrongdoing of Peor [cp]not enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although [cq]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 entire congregation of Israel tomorrow. 19 If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then [cr]cross into the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord’s [cs]tabernacle [ct]stands, and settle 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 (EE)Achan the son of Zerah not act unfaithfully in the things designated for destruction, and wrath fall on the entire congregation of Israel? So that man did not perish alone in his guilt.’”
21 Then the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the heads of the [cu]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 [cv]demand it. 24 But truly we have done this out of concern, [cw]for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your sons may say to our [cx]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’s [cy]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, 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 [cz]tabernacle.”
30 So when Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the congregation, that is, the heads of the [da]families of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the sons of Reuben, 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, 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 saved 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 battle to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living. 34 And 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 on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, 2 that (EP)Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, their heads, 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 eliminated, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the [db]west. 5 And the Lord your God, He will thrust them away from you and [dc](ES)drive them from you; and (ET)you will take possession of their land, just as the Lord your God [dd]promised you. 6 (EU)Be very determined, then, to keep and do everything that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, so that you will not turn aside from it to the right or to the left, 7 so that you will not [de]associate with these nations, these which remain with 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 [df]driven out great and mighty nations from before you; and as for you, (EZ)no one has stood against 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 [dg]promised you. 11 So take great care for yourselves that you love the Lord your God. 12 For if you ever go back and (FC)cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain with you, and (FD)intermarry with them, so that you [dh]associate with them and they with you, 13 know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to [di]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 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; they all have [dj]been fulfilled for you, not [dk]one of them has failed. 15 But it will 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 [dl]all the warnings, until He has eliminated you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 16 (FI)When you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and you 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 the good land which He has given you.”
Joshua Reviews Israel’s History
24 Then (FJ)Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges, and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates 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 Euphrates River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and (FM)multiplied his [dm]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 [dn]by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. 6 So 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 [do]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; but I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land when I eliminated them before you. 9 Then (FV)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel, and he sent messengers 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 saved 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, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Therefore (FZ)I handed them over to you. 12 Then I (GA)sent the hornet before you and it [dp]drove out the two kings of the Amorites from you—(GB)not by your sword nor your bow. 13 And (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, [dq](GD)fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and [dr]truth; and do away with the gods which your fathers served beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But 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 Euphrates 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 would abandon 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 slaves, and did these great signs in our sight and watched over 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 wrongdoing or your sins. 20 (GI)If you abandon the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and destroy you after He has done good to you.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” 22 So 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 then, do away with the foreign gods which are in your midst, and (GK)incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 And (GL)the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and [ds]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 Then Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, (GO)this stone shall be a witness against us, because it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke [dt]to us; so it shall be 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 Now it came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 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 [du]survived Joshua, and had known every deed 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 plot of land (GS)which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred [dv]pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of his son (GT)Phinehas, which was given to 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 handed the land over to him.” 3 Then Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Go up with me into [dw]the territory allotted me, and let’s fight the Canaanites; and [dx]I in turn will go with you into [dy]the territory allotted you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Judah went up, and (GX)the Lord handed over to them the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and they [dz]defeated ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they [ea]defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and caught him, and cut off his [eb]thumbs and big toes. 7 And 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 [ec]Negev, and in the lowland. 10 (HA)So Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (the name of Hebron was previously Kiriath-arba); and they struck Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
Capture of Other Cities
11 Then (HB)from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir was previously Kiriath-sepher). 12 And Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him my daughter Achsah as a wife.” 13 Now (HC)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. 14 Then (HD)it happened that when she came to him, she incited him to ask her father for a field. Then later, she dismounted from [ed]her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What [ee]do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing: since you have given me the land of the [ef]Negev, give me springs of water also.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
16 Now the [eg]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 his brother Simeon, 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, 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 [eh]drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had (HJ)iron chariots. 20 Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, (HK)as Moses had [ei]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 had men spy out Bethel ((HO)the name of the city previously was Luz). 24 And 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 Then the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and named it Luz, [ej]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 this land. 28 And it came about, when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor; but they did not drive them out completely.
29 And (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 [ek]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, Helbah, 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 [el]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 living on Mount Heres, in Aijalon and Shaalbim; but when the [em]power of the house of Joseph [en]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 not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land; (IA)you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not [eo]obeyed Me; what is this thing that you have done? 3 Therefore I also said, ‘(IB)I will not drive them out from you; but they will [ep]become (IC)like thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.’” 4 Now when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people raised their voices and wept. 5 So they named that place [eq]Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the Lord.
Joshua Dies
6 (ID)When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went, each one to his inheritance, to take possession of the land. 7 The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who [er]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 110. 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 another generation rose up after them who (IF)did not know the Lord, nor even the work which He had done for Israel.
Israel Serves the Baals
11 Then the sons of Israel did (IG)evil in the sight of the Lord and [es]served the (IH)Baals, 12 and (II)they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they followed other gods from the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them; so they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord and (IJ)served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14 (IK)Then the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He handed them over to plunderers, and they plundered them; and (IL)He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand [et]against their enemies. 15 Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for [eu]evil, as the Lord had spoken and (IM)just as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.
16 (IN)Then the Lord raised up judges [ev]who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they [ew]committed infidelity with other gods and bowed 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 the same as their fathers. 18 And when the Lord raised up judges for them, (IP)the Lord was with the judge and saved 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 tormented and oppressed 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 obstinate ways. 20 (IR)So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has violated My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not listened to My voice, 21 (IS)I in turn will no longer drive out from 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 [ex]did, or not.” 23 So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not hand them over to Joshua.
Idolatry Leads to Servitude
3 (IU)Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all the Israelites who had not [ey]experienced any of the wars of Canaan; 2 only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might [ez]be taught war, [fa]those who had not [fb]experienced it previously). 3 These nations are: the five governors of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians, and (IV)the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as [fc]Lebo-hamath. 4 They were left to (IW)test Israel by them, to find out if they would [fd]obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers [fe]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 So the sons of Israel did (IZ)what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they (JA)forgot the Lord their God and (JB)served the Baals and the [ff]Asheroth. 8 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim, king of [fg]Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.
The First Judge Frees Israel
9 But the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to set them free, (JC)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 And (JD)the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went to war, the Lord handed over to him Cushan-rishathaim king of [fh]Mesopotamia, so that [fi]he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 Then the land was at rest for 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 [fj]defeated Israel, and they took possession of (JG)the city of the palm trees. 14 And the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab for eighteen years.
Ehud Kills Eglon
15 But when the sons of Israel (JH)cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by [fk]him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 Now Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he strapped it on his right thigh under his cloak. 17 Then he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And it came about, when he had finished presenting the tribute, that Ehud 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 the king said, “Silence!” And all who were attending him left him. 20 Then Ehud came to him while he was sitting in his cool roof chamber alone. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he got up from his seat. 21 Then Ehud reached out with his left hand and took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 The hilt of the sword also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade because he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and [fl]the refuse came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the [fm]vestibule, and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them.
24 When he had left, [fn]the king’s servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “(JI)Undoubtedly he is [fo]relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 So they waited [fp]until it would have been shameful to wait longer; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. So they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the [fq]floor dead.
26 Now Ehud escaped while they were hesitating, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 And [fr]when he arrived, (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 [fs]leading them.
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