Bible in 90 Days
Allotment for Judah(A)
15 The allotment for the tribe of Judah, by their clans, stretches southward to the border of Edom, to the Zin wilderness in the south.
2 Their southern border runs from the southern tip of the Salt Sea, 3 to south of the Ascent of Akrabbim, crosses to Zin, rises south of Kadesh Barnea, crosses to Hezron, then rises to Addar, turns toward Karka, 4 then crosses to Azmon, goes out to the Brook of Egypt, and then to the sea. This is your southern border.
5 The eastern border is the Salt Sea up to the mouth of the Jordan.
The northern border runs from the northern extremity of the Dead Sea at the mouth of the Jordan River, 6 then rises to Beth Hoglah, crosses north of Beth Arabah, rises to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben, 7 and rises to Debir from the Achor Valley, turns northward to Gilgal opposite the Ascent of Adummim south of the valley, and crosses to the waters of En Shemesh and onward to En Rogel. 8 The border rises to Valley of Ben Hinnom, to the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem), then rises to the top of the hill west of the Valley of Ben Hinnom, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. 9 The border turns from the top of the hill to the waters of Nephtoah and goes out to the cities of Mount Ephron, then turns to Baalah (that is, Kiriath Jearim). 10 The border turns west of Baalah to Mount Seir, crosses to the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Kesalon), descends to Beth Shemesh, and crosses to Timnah. 11 The border goes out to the northern slope of Ekron, turns to Shikkeron, crosses to Mount Baalah, goes out to Jabneel, and ends at the sea.
12 The western border was the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.
These were the borders surrounding the tribe of Judah according to their clans.
13 According to the word of the Lord to Joshua, Caleb son of Jephunneh was given an allotment among the tribe of Judah: Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron). Arba was the father of Anak. 14 Caleb drove out from there three Anakites: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, descendants of Anak. 15 He went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir. Before the name of Debir was Kiriath Sepher. 16 Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and captures it.” 17 Othniel son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it, so Caleb gave him Aksah his daughter in marriage.
18 When she came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. She dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What can I do for you?”
19 She answered, “Please give me a blessing. Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water.” So he gave her the upper and lower springs.
20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Judah according to their clans.
21 The cities at the southern extremity of the tribe of Judah toward the border with Edom were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, 25 Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27 Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, 28 Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, 29 Baalah, Iyim, Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, 31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon. The cities numbered twenty-nine with their villages.
33 In the lowland were Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Sokoh, Azekah, 36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah (Gederothaim): fourteen cities with their villages.
37 Also there were Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, 38 Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, 39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 40 Kabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah: sixteen cities with their villages.
42 Also there were Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 Keilah, Akzib, and Mareshah: nine cities with their villages.
45 Also there were Ekron, its towns and villages; 46 from Ekron to the sea, all the land near Ashdod and their villages, 47 Ashdod, its towns and villages, Gaza, its towns and villages, as far as the Brook of Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea with its coast.
48 In the hill country were Shamir, Jattir, Sokoh, 49 Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (that is, Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities with their villages.
52 Also there were Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 53 Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior: nine cities with their villages.
55 Also there were Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten cities with their villages.
58 Also there were Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon: six cities with their villages.
60 Also there were Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah: two cities with their villages.
61 In the wilderness were Beth Arabah, Middin, Sekakah, 62 Nibshan, City of Salt, and En Gedi: six cities with their villages.
63 The people of Judah were not able to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.
Allotment for Ephraim and Manasseh
16 The allotment of land for the descendants of Joseph was from the Jordan by Jericho then east into the wilderness, rising from Jericho to the hill country of Bethel. 2 It goes out from Bethel to Luz and passes to the border of Arkite territory at Ataroth. 3 It goes down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, to the border of lower Beth Horon and Gezer, and then goes out to the sea.
4 So the descendants of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
5 The territory of the Ephraimites, according to their clans, was as follows. The border of their inheritance on the east was Ataroth Addar as far as upper Beth Horon. 6 The border goes out toward the sea with Mikmethath on the north. It turns eastward toward Taanath Shiloh and passes it on the east toward Janoah. 7 It descends from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, touches Jericho, and extends to the Jordan. 8 From Tappuah the border goes west to the Kanah Ravine and out to the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the Ephraimites according to their clans. 9 The other cities for the Ephraimites were in the middle of the inheritance of the descendants of Manasseh, all the cities and their villages.
10 They did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim until this day performing heavy labor as slaves.
17 Then allotment was made to the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Makir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a warrior. 2 And allotments were made to the rest of the tribe of Manasseh, according to their families: Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida; these were the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, according to their families.
3 Yet Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh had no sons, only daughters. These were his daughters’ names: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah. 4 They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our relatives.” So Joshua gave them an inheritance among their fathers’ relatives according to the word of the Lord. 5 Therefore Manasseh received ten regions, apart from the lands of Gilead and Bashan on the east side of the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons, and the rest of the people of Manasseh received the land of Gilead.
7 The boundary of Manasseh was from Asher to Mikmethath east of Shechem, and it runs south toward the inhabitants of En Tappuah. 8 Now Manasseh owned the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the Ephraimites. 9 Then the border descended to the Kanah Ravine, southward to the brook. These cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook, and it ended at the sea. 10 The land belonging to Ephraim was to the south, and the land belonging to Manasseh to the north. The Mediterranean Sea was the boundary of this territory, which bordered Asher in the north and Issachar in the east.
11 In Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned districts: Beth Shan, Ibleam, Dor, Endor, Taanach, Megiddo, Naphoth, and their respective villages.
12 Yet the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, because the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. 13 But when the children of Israel became strong, they put the Canaanites to hard labor as slaves, but they did not actually drive them out.
14 The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you assigned us a single allotment, a single portion? We are a numerous people, as the Lord has blessed us.”
15 Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forests and clear out a place there for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you.”
16 The descendants of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites living in the plains have iron chariots, both those in Beth Shan and the Jezreel Valley.”
17 Joshua said to Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph, “You are a numerous people who have great strength. There will not be only one allotment for you. 18 The hill country shall be yours. Although it is a forest you shall clear it and own it to its borders. You shall drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and are strong.”
Dividing the Rest of the Land
18 The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land was subdued before them. 2 Yet seven tribes among the children of Israel remained who had not yet received their inheritance.
3 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “How long will you delay going in to possess the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? 4 Select three men from each tribe, and I will send them out; and they will rise and go throughout the land, and describe it according to their inheritance, and they will come back to me. 5 They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah will stay in their territory in the south, and the house of Joseph will stay in their territory in the north. 6 So describe the land in seven portions and return to me. Then I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. 7 Yet there is no portion for the Levites among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have acquired their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”
8 So the men got up and left. Joshua commanded those who were leaving to survey the land, saying, “Go and walk back and forth throughout the land. Write a description of it, then return to me. Here in Shiloh I will cast lots for you before the Lord.” 9 The men went and passed through the land. In a book they wrote a description of it by cities in seven portions, and they came back to Joshua at the Shiloh settlement. 10 Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. There Joshua apportioned the land for the children of Israel according to their divisions.
The Allotment for Benjamin
11 The lot of the tribe of Benjamin, according to their clans, came up. The territory allotted to it fell between Judah and Joseph.
12 Their northern border goes from the Jordan up the northern slope of Jericho. It runs westward into the hill country and extends to the wilderness of Beth Aven. 13 The border passes from there southward toward Luz, to the slope of Luz (that is, Bethel), and descends to Ataroth Addar on the hill south of lower Beth Horon.
14 On the western side, the border turns south from the hill that lies to the south near Beth Horon, and it extends to Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a city belonging to Judah. This is the western border.
15 The southern border starts from Kiriath Jearim and goes out westward to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. 16 The border then descends to the foot of the mountain that lies by the Valley of Ben Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim. It descends from the Hinnom Valley to the slope of the Jebusites, then down to En Rogel. 17 The border runs north and goes out to En Shemesh and Geliloth, which is opposite the Ascent of Adummim, and descends to the Stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 18 It passes toward the slope north of the Beth Arabah and descends to the Arabah. 19 The border passes north of the slope of Beth Hoglah, and it runs out to the northern tip of the Dead Sea at the southern end of the Jordan. This is the southern border.
20 The Jordan forms the eastern boundary.
This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin, according to their clans, by its boundaries all around.
21 The cities belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, according to their clans, were Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, 22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba: twelve cities with their villages.
25 Also there were Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath: fourteen cities with their villages.
This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to their clans.
Allotment for Simeon(B)
19 The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of Simeon according to their clans. Their inheritance was within the inheritance of the tribe of Judah. 2 Their inheritance was Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, 3 Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beth Markaboth, Hazar Susah, 6 Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen: thirteen cities and their villages;
7 Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan: four cities and their villages; 8 and all the villages that were around these cities as far as Baalath Beer, Ramah of the Negev.
This was the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon according to their clans. 9 Simeon received a portion of the inheritance of Judah, for the inheritance of Judah was too large for them, so Simeon inherited land in the midst of the inheritance of Judah.
Allotment for Zebulun
10 The third lot came up for Zebulun according to their clans. Their territory extended to Sarid, 11 and their border ascended westward to Maralah, reaching Dabbesheth and the valley east of Jokneam. 12 From Sarid the border turned east to the border of Kisloth Tabor, out to Daberath, and up to Japhia. 13 From there it passes east to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin. It turns out to Rimmon and turns toward Neah. 14 The boundary turns north to Hannathon and extends to the Valley of Iphtah El; 15 and Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities and their villages.
16 This was the inheritance of the tribe of Zebulun according to their clans: these cities and their villages.
Allotment for Issachar
17 The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the tribe of Issachar according to their clans. 18 Their territory included Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah, and Beth Pazzez. 22 The border touches Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh, then extends to the Jordan: sixteen cities and their villages.
23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar according to their clans: the cities and their villages.
Allotment for Asher
24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher according to their clans. 25 Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Akshaph, 26 Allammelek, Amad, and Mishal. On the west their border touches Carmel and Shihor Libnath. 27 Then it turns eastward, goes to Beth Dagon, and touches Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El northward to Beth Emek and Neiel; then it continues in the north to Kabul, 28 Abdon, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon. 29 Then the border turned to Ramah, reaching the fortified city of Tyre. Then the border turned to Hosah, and ended at the Mediterranean Sea by the region of Akzib, 30 Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob: twenty-two cities and their villages.
31 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Asher according to their clans: these cities and their villages.
Allotment for Naphtali
32 The sixth lot came out for the tribe of Naphtali according to their clans.
33 Their border runs from Heleph, from the oak of Zaanannim, to Adami Nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and extends to the Jordan. 34 The border turns west to Aznoth Tabor, goes out from there to Hukkok, and touches Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and Judah at the Jordan on the east. 35 Their fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, 38 Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh: nineteen cities and their villages.
39 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali according to their clans: the cities and their villages.
Allotment for Dan
40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan according to their clans. 41 The territory of their inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, 46 Me Jarkon, and Rakkon, along with the territory near Joppa.
47 Yet the tribe of Dan lost their territory, so they went up to wage war against Leshem and captured it. They attacked it with the edge of the sword, took possession of it, and settled there. They called Leshem Dan after the name of Dan their father.
48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Dan according to their clans: these cities and their villages.
The Allotment for Joshua
49 When they had finished allotting the land according to its boundaries, the children of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua son of Nun. 50 According to the word of the Lord, they gave him the city for which he asked: Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He built up the city and lived in it.
51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the family leaders of the Israelite tribes assigned by lot in Shiloh before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. So they completed dividing the land.
Cities of Refuge(C)
20 Then the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Say to the children of Israel, ‘Choose refuge cities, as I told you through Moses, 3 so that anyone who kills a person without intent and unknowingly may flee there. They shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
4 “ ‘The refugee can flee to one of these cities then stand at the entrance of the city gate and tell his case to the city elders. They will take him into the city and give him a place to stay, and he will live with them. 5 When the avenger of blood comes after him, they shall not hand over the manslayer to him, for he struck down his neighbor unintentionally with no premeditated malice. 6 He shall live in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest serving at that time. Then the manslayer may return to his home and to his city from which he had fled.’ ”
7 They selected Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. 8 Across the Jordan east of Jericho, they selected Bezer in the wilderness plain from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. 9 These were the cities designated for all the children of Israel and resident foreigners living among them, to which anyone who killed someone inadvertently could flee and not die at the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the congregation.
Cities for the Levites(D)
21 The family leaders of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the family leaders of the Israelite tribes. 2 At Shiloh in the land of Canaan they said to them, “Through Moses the Lord commanded that we be given cities in which to live and grazing lands for our livestock.” 3 So according to the word of the Lord, out of their inheritance the children of Israel gave the Levites these cities and their grazing lands.
4 The lot came out for the clans of the Kohathites, so the Levites who were descendants of Aaron received an allotment of thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The remaining descendants of Kohath received an allotment of ten cities from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
6 The descendants of Gershon received an allotment of thirteen cities from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 Descendants of Merari by their clans received an allotment of twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
8 The children of Israel allotted the Levites these cities and their grazing lands, as the Lord commanded through Moses.
9 From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they assigned the following cities with these names. 10 They were assigned to the descendants of Aaron, to the clans of the Kohathites of the tribe of Levi, for theirs was the first lot.
11 They assigned them Kiriath Arba (Arba was the father of Anak), which is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, and the grazing lands around it. 12 (Now they had assigned the city’s fields and its surrounding villages to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his property.)
13 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they assigned Hebron (a refuge city for people who committed manslaughter), Libnah with its pastures, 14 Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15 Holon, Debir, 16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, together with the grazing lands of each: nine cities from these two tribes.
17 From the tribe of Benjamin they assigned Gibeon, Geba, 18 Anathoth, and Almon, together with the grazing lands of each: four cities.
19 Altogether the descendants of Aaron received thirteen cities and their grazing lands.
20 The rest of the Levites from the clans of the descendants of Kohath received cities allotted from the tribe of Ephraim.
21 They assigned them Shechem (a refuge city for people who committed manslaughter) in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer, 22 Kibzaim, and Beth Horon, together with the grazing lands of each: four cities.
23 From the tribe of Dan they assigned Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24 Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon, together with the grazing lands of each: four cities.
25 From the half-tribe of Manasseh they assigned Taanach and Gath Rimmon, together with the grazing lands of each: two cities.
26 Altogether the rest of the clans of the descendants of Kohath received ten cities and their grazing lands.
27 From the half-tribe of Manasseh they assigned to the descendants of Gershon (one of the Levite clans): Golan in Bashan (a refuge city for people who committed manslaughter) and Be Eshterah, together with the grazing lands of each: two cities.
28 From the tribe of Issachar they assigned Kishion, Daberath, 29 Jarmuth, and En Gannim, together with the grazing lands of each: four cities.
30 From the tribe of Asher they assigned Mishal, Abdon, 31 Helkath, and Rehob, together with the grazing lands of each: four cities.
32 From the tribe of Naphtali they assigned Kedesh in Galilee (a refuge city for people who committed manslaughter), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan, together with the grazing lands of each: three cities.
33 Altogether the Gershonites according to their clans received thirteen cities and their grazing lands.
34 From the tribe of Zebulun they assigned to the descendants of Merari (the remaining Levites): Jokneam, Kartah, 35 Dimnah, and Nahalal, together with the grazing lands of each: four cities.
36 From the tribe of Reuben they assigned Bezer, Jahaz, 37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath, together with the grazing lands of each: four cities.
38 From the tribe of Gad they assigned Ramoth in Gilead (a refuge city for people who committed manslaughter), Mahanaim, 39 Heshbon, and Jazer, together with the grazing lands of each: four cities in all.
40 So twelve cities were allotted for the descendants of Merari according to their clans (the remaining Levite clans).
41 Altogether the Levites received forty-eight cities and their grazing lands within the possessions of the children of Israel. 42 Each of these cities had grazing lands surrounding them. It was this way with all these cities.
43 The Lord gave Israel all the land that He swore to give to their fathers. They took possession of it and lived in it. 44 The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He swore to their fathers. Not a man among their enemies stood before them, and the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands. 45 Not a single word of all the good things that the Lord had spoken to the children of Israel failed. They all came to pass.
The Eastern Tribes Return Home
22 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 2 He said to them, “You have done everything that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you and have obeyed me in everything that I have commanded you. 3 You have not left your brothers these many days down to this day, and you have observed the obligations of the commandment of the Lord your God. 4 Now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as He had said to them. So now, turn and go to your homes, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 Only carefully obey the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commandments, to cling to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and soul.”
6 Joshua blessed them and sent them off, and they went to their tents. 7 Moses had assigned land in Bashan to half the tribe of Manasseh, and to the other half Joshua assigned land among their brothers on the west side of the Jordan. When Joshua sent them also to their homes and blessed them, 8 he said, “Return home with great wealth, much livestock, silver, gold, copper, iron, and great quantities of clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies among your brothers.”
9 So the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the children of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to go to the land of Gilead, the land of their possession, according to the word of the Lord through Moses.
10 The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh came near the Jordan in the land of Canaan and built a very large altar by the Jordan. 11 The children of Israel heard someone say, “The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar by the land of Canaan by the Jordan on the Israelite side.” 12 When the children of Israel heard this, they assembled the whole congregation of the children of Israel at Shiloh to go up against them in war.
13 Then the children of Israel sent Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, to the sons of Reuben, to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, 14 and with him ten chiefs, one chief each for each father’s household of every tribe of Israel; and each one of them was the head of his father’s house among the thousands of Israel.
15 They came to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and said to them, 16 “The whole congregation of the Lord says, ‘What is this trespass you have committed against the God of Israel? Today you have turned from following the Lord by building yourselves an altar to rebel against Him! 17 Is the sin of Peor, from which we have still not purified ourselves even today, not enough for us, which brought a plague upon the congregation of the Lord 18 that today you have turned away from following the Lord?
“ ‘If today you are rebelling against the Lord, then tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel! 19 If indeed your own land is unclean, then cross over to the land of the Lord where the tabernacle of the Lord stands and take land among us. Yet do not rebel against the Lord or rebel against us by building an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Did not Achan son of Zerah commit a trespass 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 tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the Israelite clans, 22 “The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, He knows, and may Israel know—if we have acted in rebellion or disloyalty against the Lord, do not spare us today. 23 If we have built an altar to turn away from following the Lord, to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings or make peace offerings upon it, may the Lord Himself demand an account.
24 “We did this deed because we were worried that in the future your descendants might say, ‘What have you to do with the Lord God of Israel? 25 The Lord made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, the descendants of Reuben and Gad. You have no share in the Lord!’ In this way your descendants might make our descendants to stop worshipping the Lord.
26 “So we said to each other, ‘Let us build this altar, not for burnt offering or sacrifice, 27 but as a witness for us, for you, and for the generations after us, that we may perform the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings, and in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, “You have no share in the Lord!” ’
28 “Therefore we said, ‘In the future, if they say this to us or to our descendants, we will say, “Look at the replica of the altar of the Lord that our fathers made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between you and us.” ’
29 “God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord by turning from following the Lord today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, and sacrifices other than the altar of the Lord God that stands before His tabernacle!”
30 When Phinehas the priest, the leaders of the congregation, and the heads of the Israelite clans who were with him heard what the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh said, it pleased them. 31 Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is in our midst because you did not violate your obligations to the Lord in this matter. Indeed, you have delivered the children of Israel from the judgment of the Lord.”
32 Then Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from meeting the descendants of Reuben and Gad in the land of Gilead to the children of Israel in the land of Canaan. They brought back a report. 33 This report was good in the eyes of the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God. They decided not to make war against the descendants of Reuben and Gad to ruin the land in which they lived.
34 The descendants of Reuben and Gad named the altar Witness, “For it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
Joshua’s Charge to the Leaders
23 A long time later, after the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua was old and advanced in years. 2 Joshua called for all Israel, their elders, clan heads, judges, and officials, and said to them, “I am old and advanced in years. 3 You have seen all that the Lord your God did to all these peoples before you, for it is the Lord your God who has waged war for you. 4 See, I have allotted to you as an inheritance the land of these peoples who remain, along with the land of the peoples whom I defeated, from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 The Lord your God will drive them out and dispossess them from before you, and you will inherit their land, as the Lord your God told you.
6 “Now be very strong to observe and enact all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, so that you do not deviate from it to the right or the left. 7 Do not assimilate with these peoples remaining among you. Do not invoke the names of their gods, nor swear by, serve, or worship them. 8 Instead, cling to the Lord your God, as you have done until today.
9 “For the Lord has dispossessed before you great and mighty peoples, and as for you, not a single man has been able to stand against you until today. 10 One man from among you can make a thousand flee, for it is the Lord your God who wages war for you, as He told you. 11 Now be careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God!
12 “For if you should turn and cling to the remainder of these peoples who are left with you, and you intermarry and assimilate with them, and they with you, 13 know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Now, I am going the way of all the earth. You know in all your hearts and souls that not a single word has failed out of all the good things that the Lord your God has said concerning you. All came true for you. Not a single word among them failed. 15 So just as every good thing that the Lord your God said to you came to be, even so the Lord can bring every bad thing upon you until He has destroyed you from this good land that the Lord your God gave you. 16 If you break the covenant of the Lord your God that He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land that He gave you.”
Covenant Renewed at Shechem
24 Joshua called for all the Israelite tribes at Shechem and summoned the elders, clan heads, judges, and officials of Israel. They presented themselves before God.
2 Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Long ago your fathers—Terah father of Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates[a] and served other gods. 3 I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates,[b] brought him through all the land of Canaan, and gave him many descendants. To him I gave Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir for his inheritance, but Jacob and his descendants went down into Egypt.
5 “I sent Moses and Aaron, I struck Egypt down with all I did in their midst, and afterward I brought you out. 6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt, then you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 Your fathers cried out to the Lord, and He placed darkness between you and the Egyptians. He made the sea come upon them and cover them. Your own eyes saw what I did to Egypt, and you lived in the wilderness a long time.
8 “I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They waged war against you, but I gave them into your hand so that you might inherit their land, and I destroyed them before you. 9 Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and waged war against Israel. He called for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I refused to listen to Balaam. Therefore he blessed you still, and I delivered you out of his hand.
11 “You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The leaders of Jericho, along with the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, waged war against you, but I gave them into your hand. 12 I sent the hornet and drove out the two Amorite kings from before you, but not with your sword or your bow. 13 I gave you a land for which you did not work, and cities that you did not build. You live in them, and you are eating from the produce of vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.
14 “Now fear the Lord, and serve Him with sincerity and faithfulness. Put away the gods your fathers served beyond the River[c] and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. 15 If it is displeasing to you to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve, if it should be the gods your fathers served beyond the River[d] or the gods of the Amorites’ land where you are now living. Yet as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16 The people answered and said, “God forbid that we forsake the Lord and serve other gods! 17 For it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers out from slavery in the land of Egypt and performed these great signs in our sight and guarded us all the way that we went and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18 The Lord drove out before us all the people, even the Amorites, who lived in the land. So we will indeed serve the Lord, for He is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God, and He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn, bring disaster upon you, and finish you off, after having been good to you.”
21 The people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!”
22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves, that you have chosen the Lord, to serve Him.”
Then they said, “We are witnesses.”
23 “Now then,” he said, “put away the foreign gods in your midst, and stretch out your hearts to the Lord God of Israel!”
24 The people said to Joshua, “It is the Lord our God we will serve, and His voice that we will obey.”
25 So that day Joshua made a covenant for the people and established regulations and laws for them at Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. He took a large stone and set it up under the oak by the sanctuary of the Lord.
27 Joshua said to all the people, “See, this stone will be a witness for us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that He spoke to us. It will be a witness for us, lest you deny your God.”
28 Then Joshua sent the people away, each man to his inheritance.
Joshua’s Death and Burial
29 After these events took place, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten. 30 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath Serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.
31 Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the deeds that the Lord had done for Israel.
32 They buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought out of Egypt, in Shechem in the part of the field that Jacob bought from the descendants of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver.[e] It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.
33 Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of Phinehas his son, which was in the hill country of Ephraim.
Israel Fights Remaining Canaanites
1 After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel inquired of the Lord, “Who should go up against the Canaanites first, in order to wage war against them?”
2 The Lord said, “Judah shall go up. Indeed, I have given the land into their hands.”
3 Then the men of Judah said to Simeon, their brothers, “Come up with us into our allotted territory. We will wage war against the Canaanites. Likewise we will go with you into your allotted territory.” So Simeon went with them.
4 Then Judah went up, and the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands. They struck down ten thousand men in Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek and fought against him. They struck down the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 Yet Adoni-Bezek fled, and they chased after him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
7 Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings whose thumbs and big toes were cut off once collected scraps of food under my table. Just as I have done, so God has repaid me.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8 Then Judah waged war against Jerusalem. They captured it, struck it with the edge of the sword, and sent the city up in flames.
9 Afterwards, Judah went down to wage war against the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev, and the lowlands. 10 Judah went against the Canaanites living in Hebron (previously the name of Hebron was Kiriath Arba) and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir (previously the name of Debir was Kiriath Sepher).
12 Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath Sepher and takes it, I will give him my daughter Aksah as wife.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, captured it. So Caleb gave him Aksah his daughter in marriage.
14 When she came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What can I do for you?”
15 She answered, “Please give me a special gift. Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the descendants of Judah from the City of Palms to the Negev near Arad. Then they went and lived with the people.
17 But Judah went with his brother Simeon and struck down the Canaanites living in Zephath and utterly destroyed it. So now they call the city Hormah. 18 Then Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the territory belonging to each of these cities.
19 The Lord was with Judah, and they took the hill country but could not drive out the inhabitants of the coastal plain, for they had iron chariots. 20 They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said, and he drove out the three sons of Anak. 21 However, the tribe of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live with the tribe of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
22 The descendants of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 The descendants of Joseph sent spies into Bethel (the former name of the city was Luz). 24 The spies saw a man coming out of the city and said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 So he showed them an entrance to the city. They struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and his extended family go. 26 The man went to the land of the Hittites. He built a city and named it Luz, and that is its name to this day.
27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, or their daughter villages, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. 28 When the children of Israel became strong, they put the Canaanites to hard labor as slaves, but they did not actually drive them out. 29 Ephraim did not drive out the inhabitants of Gezer, so the Canaanites lived among them in Gezer. 30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them and became slave laborers. 31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Akko, Sidon, Ahlab, Akzib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob. 32 Asher 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 Beth Anath, so they live among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. The Canaanites of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became slave laborers for them. 34 The Amorites pushed the tribe of Dan into the hill country, for they would not let them come down to the coastal plain. 35 The Amorites were determined to live in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim, but the hand of the descendants of Joseph was heavy on them, and they became slave laborers. 36 The border of the Amorites was from the Ascent of Akrabbim to Sela and beyond.
The Angel of the Lord at Bokim
2 The angel[f] of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I promised your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, 2 but you must not make a pact with the inhabitants of this land, and you must tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, ‘I will not drive them out before you. They will be 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 children of Israel, the people raised their voices and wept aloud. 5 They named that place Bokim and sacrificed to the Lord there.
The Death of Joshua
6 When Joshua dismissed the people, each Israelite went to his inheritance to possess the land. 7 So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works that the Lord had done for Israel.
8 Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten. 9 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
10 That entire generation passed away, and after them grew up a generation who did not know the Lord or the deeds that He had done for Israel.
Israel’s Unfaithfulness
11 The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 They abandoned the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed after other gods, the gods of the peoples around them. They worshipped them and provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of those who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they were no longer able to stand against their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them to bring disaster, as the Lord had said and as He had sworn to them. They were in great distress.
16 Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges, for they prostituted themselves to other gods and worshipped them. They quickly turned aside from the path their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord. They did not do as their fathers had done. 18 When the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for their groaning before their oppressors and tormentors grieved the Lord. 19 When the judge died, the people turned back and acted more wickedly than their fathers, pursuing other gods to serve and worship them. They would not give up their practices and obstinate ways.
20 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has violated My covenant that I commanded their fathers and has not heeded My voice, 21 I will no longer drive out from before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 so that through them I may test Israel and see whether or not they will keep the ways of the Lord, to walk in them as their fathers did.” 23 So the Lord left those nations, not hurrying to drive them out; and He did not deliver them into the hand of Joshua.
3 Now these are the nations that the Lord left to test those in Israel who had not experienced war in Canaan 2 (so that later generations of the children of Israel who did not know war before might know it, to teach them how to fight): 3 the five Philistine lords, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. 4 They were to test Israel, in order to know if they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
5 The children of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 6 They took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
Othniel
7 The children of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia. The children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim for eight years. 9 Then the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a deliverer in order to save the children of Israel—Othniel son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came on him, and he judged Israel. He went out to battle, and the Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia, into his hands, so that Othniel overpowered Cushan-Rishathaim. 11 The land rested forty years, then Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Ehud
12 Then the children of Israel once more did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord strengthened King Eglon of Moab against Israel because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 Eglon joined forces with the Ammonites and Amalekites; then he went and attacked Israel and took possession of the City of Palms. 14 The children of Israel served King Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.
15 Then the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a deliverer—Ehud son of Gera the Benjamite, a left-handed man. The children of Israel sent a tribute payment by him to King Eglon of Moab. 16 Ehud made a cubit-long[g] two-edged sword for himself and strapped it onto his right thigh under his cloak. 17 He brought the tribute payment to King Eglon of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 When Ehud finished offering the tribute payment, he sent away the people who carried it. 19 But he himself turned back from the stone idols that were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.”
And he said, “Keep silence!” And all who attended him departed from him.
20 Ehud approached him as he was sitting alone in his cool upper chamber. Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And Eglon rose from his seat. 21 Then Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into the belly of Eglon. 22 The hilt went in after the blade and the fat closed over the blade and his entrails came out, for he did not pull the sword out of the belly of Eglon. 23 Then Ehud went out to the entrance hall and closed the doors of the upper chamber on him and locked them.
24 When he went out, the servants of Eglon came. They looked and noticed the doors of the upper chamber were locked. They thought, “Surely he is attending to his needs in the cool chamber.” 25 They waited until they were embarrassed, but he still did not open the doors of the upper chamber. So they took a key and opened it. There, fallen dead on the floor, was their lord.
26 Yet Ehud escaped while they were waiting. He passed the sacred stones and escaped to Seirah. 27 Upon his arrival, he blew a ram’s horn trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the children of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he led them.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.