Bible in 90 Days

Land for Judah's tribe

15 This is the land that Joshua gave to the tribe of Judah, clan by clan. Their land went south along the border of Edom, as far as the wilderness of Zin in the Negev.

² The south border of Judah's land was from the south end of the Salt Sea. ³ It went across the south side of the Scorpion Hill, to Zin. From the south it went up to Kadesh-Barnea, as far as Hebron. Their border continued past Addar, and it turned towards Karka. ⁴ Then it went to Azmon and it continued to the Stream of Egypt. It finished at the sea. That was the south border of Judah's land.

⁵ Judah's east border went from the Salt Sea as far as the end of the Jordan River.

Their north border started from the end of the Jordan at the Salt Sea. ⁶ From there it went to Beth Hoglah. Then it went north of Beth Arabah to the stone of Bohan. (Bohan was a son of Reuben.) ⁷ The border went from the valley of Achor to Debir.^[a] Then it went north to Gilgal. Gilgal is opposite the Adummim hill, on the south side of the valley. Then it reached the springs of En Shemesh to En Rogel. ⁸ From there it went through the valley of Hinnom to the south side of a hill beside the Jebusite city of Jerusalem. Judah's border then continued to the top of the hill on the west side of the Hinnom valley. This was at the north end of the valley of the Rephaites. ⁹ From there it went to the springs of Nephtoah and onto the cities near Mount Ephron. It went towards Baalah (also called Kiriath-Jearim). ¹⁰ It went round Baalah towards the hills of Edom. It went north of Jearim mountain (also called Kesalon) down to Beth Shemesh, and it continued on past Timnah. ¹¹ Then it went out to the hills north of Ekron, and on towards Shikkeron. It went past Baalah mountain, as far as Jabneel. Judah's north border ended at the sea.

¹² The west border of Judah's land was the Mediterranean Sea.

Those were the borders of the land which Judah's tribe and its clans received.

Caleb takes the cities of Hebron and Debir^[b]

¹³ The Lord had told Joshua to give Kiriath Arba to Caleb, Jephunneh's son. That was the part of Judah's land that Caleb received. Arba was the father of Anak. Kiriath Arba was now called Hebron. ¹⁴ Caleb chased out the three sons of Anak from Hebron. Their names were Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. ¹⁵ From there he went to attack the people of Debir. (Debir had been called Kiriath Sepher). ¹⁶ Caleb said, ‘If a brave man attacks and takes Kiriath Sepher, he can marry my daughter, Acsah.’ ¹⁷ Othniel attacked the city and he took it. He was the son of Caleb's brother, Kenaz. So Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel, to be his wife.

¹⁸ After this, Acsah told Othniel that they should ask her father to give them some land. She went to see her father, Caleb. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, ‘What would you like me to do for you?’

¹⁹ She said, ‘Please be kind and give me a special gift. You have given me some land in the Negev desert. Now please give me a place with springs so that I have water for the land.’ So Caleb gave her some land with springs, on high land and on low land.

Judah's towns

²⁰ This is the land that Joshua gave to the clans of Judah's tribe.

²¹ These towns were in the south of Judah's land, near the border of Edom:

Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, and Bealoth. ²⁵ Also Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar-Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet. ²⁸ Also Hazar-Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon.

That is 29 towns with their villages.

³³ These towns were in the low hills in the west:

Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh and Azekah. ³⁶ Also he gave them Shaaraim, Adithaim and Gederah, (or Gederothaim).

There were 14 towns and villages.

³⁷ He gave them Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, ³⁸ Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmas, and Kitlish. ⁴¹ Also he gave them Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah and Makkedah.

There were 16 towns and their villages.

⁴² He also gave them Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, Aczib and Mareshah.

There were nine towns with their villages.

⁴⁵ He also gave them Ekron with the houses and villages that belonged to it. ⁴⁶ And he gave them all those towns west of Ekron, near to Ashdod with their villages. ⁴⁷ And he gave them Ashdod and Gaza with their houses and villages. They had the land as far as the Stream of Egypt, and to the Mediterranean Sea.

⁴⁸ These towns were in the hill country:

Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰ and Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon and Giloh.

There were 11 towns and their villages.

⁵² He also gave them Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) and Zior.

There were nine towns and their villages.

⁵⁵ Also Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah and Timnah.

There were ten towns and their villages.

⁵⁸ And he gave them Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth Anoth and Eltekon.

There were six towns and their villages.

⁶⁰ And Kiriath Baal, (that is, Kiriath-Jearim) and Rabbah.

There were two towns and their villages.

⁶¹ These towns were in the desert:

Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶² Nibshan, Salt city, and En Gedi.

There were six towns and their villages.

⁶³ But the men of Judah's tribe could not chase the Jebusites out of Jerusalem. As a result, the Jebusites still live there, together with the people of Judah.

Land for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh

16 This is the land that Joshua gave to the descendants of Joseph.^[c] Their land went from the Jordan River at Jericho, and from there it went through the desert into the hills of Bethel.

² The south border of their land went from Bethel, to Luz, and then to the land of the Arkites at Ataroth. ³ It continued to the west, to the land of the Japhletites as far as lower Beth Horon and Gezer. The border ended at the sea.

⁴ Joshua gave this land to Manasseh and Ephraim, the sons of Joseph. It was for them and their descendants.

Land for Ephraim's tribe

⁵ Joshua gave this land to the tribe of Ephraim, clan by clan:

The border of their land went from Ataroth Addar in the east to Beth Horon. ⁶ Then it continued west to the sea, with Micmethath on the north side of the border. East of Micmethath, the border went past Taanath Shiloh on the east and then to Janoah. ⁷ From there it went to Ataroth and Naarah and past Jericho to the Jordan River. ⁸ From Tappuah, the border continued to the west, to the stream of Kanah. From there, it continued to the sea.

That is the land that Joshua gave to the families of the tribe of Ephraim. ⁹ They also received some towns and villages that were in Manasseh's land. ¹⁰ But the tribe of Ephraim did not chase out the Canaanite people who lived in Gezer. Canaanite people still live there with the people of Ephraim, but they have to work as their slaves.

Land for Manasseh's tribe

17 This is the land that Manasseh's tribe received. Manasseh was Joseph's firstborn son. Manasseh's firstborn son was Makir. He was the father of Gilead. Makir's descendants were brave soldiers. Because of that, Moses had already given Gilead and Bashan to them, east of the Jordan River. ² The other families of Manasseh received land on the west side of the Jordan. They were the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida. They were all sons of Manasseh, and leaders of their clans.

³ Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, had no sons. He had only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. ⁴ They went to see Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders. They said, ‘The Lord told Moses to give us part of the land. We must have land like the sons of other families.’ Joshua agreed and he gave land to them, like the other families. ⁵ That is why Manasseh's tribe received ten parts of the land, as well as Gilead and Bashan on the east side of the Jordan. ⁶ The daughters of Manasseh received some land, as well as his sons. They gave the land of Gilead to the other families of Manasseh.

⁷ The border of Manasseh's land went from Asher to Micmethath, east of Shechem. It went south to include En Tappuah. ⁸ Manasseh received the land near Tappuah, but the town of Tappuah belonged to the tribe of Ephraim. ⁹ The border of Manasseh's land went down to Kanah valley and along its north side to the Mediterranean Sea. Some towns on the south of that valley belonged to Ephraim, but they were in Manasseh's land. ¹⁰ Ephraim's land was south of the river, and Manasseh's land was to the north. Manasseh's west border was the Mediterranean Sea. Asher's land was on the north side of Manasseh's land. Issachar's land was on the east side. ¹¹ Some towns that were in the lands of Issachar and Asher belonged to Manasseh. They were Beth Shan, Ibleam and the people who lived in Dor, Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo. They included the villages near those towns. ¹² But the men of Manasseh could not chase out the people who lived in those cities. So the Canaanite people continued to live there. ¹³ When the Israelites became stronger, they made the Canaanites work for them as slaves. But they never completely chased the Canaanites out from those towns.

Joseph's descendants ask for more land

¹⁴ Joseph's descendants asked Joshua, ‘Why have you given only one part of the land for us to live in? The Lord has blessed us with many children, so there are many people in our tribe.’

¹⁵ Joshua said to them, ‘Because there are so many of you, you may take more land. If the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, move into the forest that belongs to the Perizzites and the Rephaites. Cut down trees there to make a place to live.’

¹⁶ They replied, ‘The hill country is certainly not big enough for us. But the Canaanites who live in Beth Shan and its villages, and in the valley of Jezreel, have iron chariots.’

¹⁷ Joshua said to the men from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, ‘You have very many strong men who can fight. I will give you more land than the part that you have already received. ¹⁸ You may take the whole of the hill country as your land. You can cut down the trees of the forests and live there. It is true that the Canaanites are strong fighters and they have iron chariots. But you will be strong enough to chase them out.’

Joshua gives land to the other tribes

18 All the Israelite people met together at Shiloh.^[d] There they put up the Tent of Meeting. They now ruled the whole land. ² But there were still seven tribes that Joshua had not yet given a part of the land for themselves.

³ Joshua said to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you the land. How much longer will you wait before you take it? ⁴ Choose three men from each tribe. I will send them to look at the whole land, to see what it is like. They must describe each part and then bring a report back to me. ⁵ You must make it into seven parts. Judah's tribe will keep the land in the south. Joseph's two tribes will keep their land in the north.^[e] Divide the rest of the land into seven parts. ⁶ See what the land is like and describe each of the seven parts. Bring your report to me. Then I will use lots to choose which tribe should receive each part of the land. The Lord our God will decide this. ⁷ The Levites will not have any land of their own. Their gift from the Lord is to serve him. Gad, Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh already have their land on the east side of the Jordan River. The Lord's servant, Moses, gave it to them.’

⁸ Before the men left, Joshua said to them, ‘Go and look carefully at the land. Describe what you see. Then bring your report back to me here in Shiloh. I will use lots so that the Lord decides how to share the land between you.’

⁹ So the men left and they travelled through the land. They described the land and each town and they wrote it in a book. They wrote about each of the seven parts of the land. Then they went back to Joshua at Shiloh, where the Israelites had put up their tents.

¹⁰ There at Shiloh, Joshua used lots to see how the Lord wanted to divide the land. He told each of the seven Israelite tribes which part of the land they would receive.

Land for Benjamin's tribe

¹¹ The first part of the land was for Benjamin's tribe, clan by clan. Their land was between the land that Joshua had already given to the tribes of Judah and Joseph.

¹² The north border of their land began at the Jordan River, and it went up the hills to the north of Jericho. From there it went west into the hills, to the desert of Beth Aven. ¹³ Then their border continued to the south of Luz (that is Bethel) and went down to Ataroth Addar. That is on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.

¹⁴ From that hill, their west border went south to Kiriath Baal (that is Kiriath-Jearim). This town belonged to the people of Judah. That was the west border of Benjamin's land.

¹⁵ The south border went from the edge of Kiriath-Jearim to the springs of water at Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then it went to the edge of the hill country, near Ben Hinnom valley. This was north of the Valley of the Rephaites. It continued down the Hinnom valley, south of the Jebusite city and then went on to En Rogel. ¹⁷ Then it went north to En Shemesh. It continued to Geliloth, opposite the valley of Adummim. Then it went to the great stone of Bohan, Reuben's son. ¹⁸ It continued to the north of Beth Arabah down into the Jordan Valley. ¹⁹ Then it went north of Ben Hoglah, to the north end of the Salt Sea, where the Jordan River ends. That was the south border of Benjamin's land.

²⁰ The east border of their land was the Jordan River.

Those are the borders of the land that Joshua gave to the families of Benjamin's tribe.

²¹ These are the cities that Joshua gave to the tribe of Benjamin:

Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, ²² Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Kephar, Ammoni, Ophni and Geba.

There were 12 towns and their villages.

²⁵ Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah and Kiriath.

There were 14 towns and their villages.

Joshua gave these cities to Benjamin's tribe, for each clan to live in.

Land for Simeon's tribe

19 The second part of the land was for Simeon's tribe, clan by clan. Their land was in the middle of Judah's land. ² It included these towns:

Beersheba (also called Sheba), Moladah, ³ Hazar-Shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴ Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵ Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar-Susah, ⁶ Beth Lebaoth and Sharuhen.

There were 13 towns and their villages.

⁷ He also gave them Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan.

There were four towns and their villages. ⁸ This included all the villages near them as far as Baalath Beer (also called Ramah, in the Negev).

That was the land that Joshua gave to the families of Simeon's tribe. ⁹ Because Judah had received more land than they needed, Joshua took some of their land for Simeon. So Simeon's tribe lived inside the land that Joshua had given to Judah.^[f]

Land for Zebulun's tribe

¹⁰ The next part of the land was for Zebulun's tribe, clan by clan. The border of their land went as far as Sarid. ¹¹ Then it went west to Maralah, it touched Dabbesheth, and it went to the valley near Jokneam. ¹² From Sarid their border went east to the land of Kisloth Tabor. Then it went to Daberath and it continued up to Japhia. ¹³ From there, it went east to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin. It went on to Rimmon, and turned to go to Neah. ¹⁴ The border went north to Hannathon and stopped at the valley of Iphtah El. ¹⁵ Their land included these towns: Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem.

There were 12 towns and their villages.

¹⁶ That was the land that Joshua gave to the families of Zebulun's tribe, as well as the towns and their villages.

Land for Issachar's tribe

¹⁷ The next part of the land was for Issachar's tribe, clan by clan. ¹⁸ Their land included Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹ Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰ Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah and Beth Pazzez. ²² The border of their land touched Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh. It ended at the Jordan River.

There were 16 towns and their villages.

²³ That was the land that Joshua gave to the families of Issachar's tribe, as well as the towns and their villages.

Land for Asher's tribe

²⁴ The next part of the land was for Asher's tribe, clan by clan. ²⁵ Their land included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, ²⁶ Allammelech, Amad and Mishal. The west border of their land touched Carmel and Shihor Libnath. ²⁷ Then it went east towards Beth Dagon, to touch Zebulun and the valley of Iphtah El. Then their border went north to Beth Emek and Neiel. It continued to Cabul in the north. ²⁸ It went to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah, as far as Great Sidon. ²⁹ Then the border turned towards Ramah, and it went as far as the strong city of Tyre. Then it turned to Hosah and it ended at the Mediterranean Sea. Their towns included Hebel, Aczib, ³⁰ Ummah, Aphek and Rehob. They received 22 towns and their villages.

³¹ That was the land that Joshua gave to the families of Asher's tribe, as well as the towns and their villages.

Land for Naphtali's tribe

³² The sixth part of the land was for Naphtali's tribe, clan by clan.

³³ The border of their land went from Heleph and the big oak tree in Zaanannim. It went to Adami Nekeb and Jabneel, and it continued to Lakkum. It ended at the Jordan River. ³⁴ The border turned west to Aznoth Tabor and it continued to Hukkok. It touched Zebulun's land on its south side, Asher's land on its west side and the Jordan River on its east side. ³⁵ Their land included these strong cities: Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath and Kinnereth, ³⁶ Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, ³⁸ Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath and Beth Shemesh. They received 19 towns and their villages.

³⁹ That was the land that Joshua gave to the families of Naphtali's tribe, as well as the towns and their villages.

Land for Dan's tribe

⁴⁰ The seventh part of the land was for Dan's tribe, clan by clan. ⁴¹ Their land 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. They also received land in front of Joppa.

⁴⁷ (But later, the people of Dan failed to take their land and keep it. So they went to attack Leshem. They took the town and they killed its people. Then they lived there themselves. They called the city Dan, after their ancestor.)

⁴⁸ That was the land that Joshua gave to the families of Dan's tribe, as well as the towns and their villages.

Land for Joshua

⁴⁹ When all the tribes had received their part of the land, the Israelites gave to Joshua, son of Nun, some land for himself. ⁵⁰ This is what the Lord had told them to do. Joshua asked to have Timnah Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. So they gave it to him. He built up the town and he lived in it.

⁵¹ That is the list of all the pieces of land that each tribe received. Eleazar the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the Israelite leaders used lots to decide which part of the land was for each tribe. They did this in Shiloh, in front of the Tent of Meeting. The Lord was there with them. In that way, they finished giving each tribe a part of the land.

Safe cities

20 Then the Lord said to Joshua, ² ‘Tell the Israelite people to choose special cities as safe places. I told Moses that you should do this. ³ Anyone can be safe in these cities if he has killed someone but he did not mean to kill. A person like that must run to one of these towns and he will be safe from the dead person's relative.^[g]

⁴ The person who killed someone must go to the special city. When he arrives, he must stand at the gate of the city. There he must tell the leaders what he has done. Then they must take him into the city. They must give him a place to stay so that he can live there. ⁵ The dead person's relative may chase after the killer. The leaders of the city must not let him hurt the killer. This is because the killer did not mean to kill. ⁶ The killer must stay inside that city. The judges there will decide if he is not guilty of murder. Then he must wait until the leader of the priests dies. After that, he is free to return to the town that he came from.’

⁷ So they chose these towns: 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 They also chose these towns beyond Jericho, on the east side of Jordan River: Bezer (in the flat desert land of Reuben), Ramoth in Gilead (on Gad's land), Golan in Bashan (on Manasseh's land).

⁹ Any Israelite or foreign person living in Israel could run to these cities and be safe. They may have killed someone, but they did not mean to kill them. If they run to these cities, the dead person's relative could not kill them. The judges in the city had to decide whether a killer was guilty of murder. Nobody could kill them before the judges decided.

Towns for the Levites

21 The leaders of the Levite families came to speak to Joshua, son of Nun. Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the other tribes were also there. ² They met at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. The Levites said, ‘The Lord told Moses that you must give us towns to live in, as well as land for our animals.’^[h]

³ So the Israelites did as the Lord had told them. They gave to the Levites towns to live in and land for their animals. They gave these from their own land.

⁴ They gave towns first to the clans of Kohath. They gave 13 towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. They gave these to Levites who were descendants of Aaron, the priest. ⁵ They also gave to the other descendants of Kohath, towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and the west half of Manasseh.

⁶ Then they gave 13 towns to the descendants of Gershon. Those towns came from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the east half of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷ They gave 12 towns to the descendants of Merari. Those towns came from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.

⁸ In that way, the Israelites gave these towns to the Levites, as well as land for their animals. They used lots to do it. They did as the Lord had told Moses to do.

⁹ These are the names of the towns that the tribes of Simeon and Judah gave to the Levites. ¹⁰ The Kohathite clans who were descendants of Aaron received these towns, because God chose them first.

¹¹ They received Kiriath Arba (or Hebron), with land near to it, in the hill country of Judah. Arba was the father of Anak. ¹² But the fields and villages near Hebron belonged to Caleb, son of Jephunneh. ¹³ Hebron was one of the safe cities. The descendants of Aaron, the priest, received Hebron, Libnah, ¹⁴ Jattir, Eshtemoa, ¹⁵ Holon, Debir, ¹⁶ Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh, as well as their fields. These two tribes gave them nine towns. ¹⁷ Benjamin's tribe also gave four towns to them: Gibeon, Geba, ¹⁸ Anathoth and Almon, as well as their fields.

¹⁹ So the priests, descendants of Aaron, received 13 towns with their fields.

²⁰ The tribe of Ephraim gave some towns to Levites from other clans of Kohath. ²¹ They gave them Shechem, a safe city, in the hill country of Ephraim, as well as Gezer, ²² Kibzaim and Beth Horon, with their fields. That was four towns. ²³ The tribe of Dan gave them Eltekeh, Gibbethon, ²⁴ Aijalon, and Gath-Rimmon. That was another four towns with their fields. ²⁵ The west half tribe of Manasseh gave them Taanach and Gath-Rimmon, with their fields. That was two towns.

²⁶ So these Kohathite clans received ten towns with their fields.

²⁷ The Levites from the clans of Gershon received these towns. The east half tribe of Manasseh gave them Golan in Bashan, a safe city, and Be Eshtarah. That was two towns, as well as their fields. ²⁸ The tribe of Issachar gave them Kishion, Daberath, ²⁹ Jarmuth and En Gannim, with their fields. That was another four towns. ³⁰ The tribe of Asher gave them Mishal, Abdon, ³¹ Helkath and Rehob, with their fields. That was four more towns. ³² The tribe of Naphtali gave them Kedesh in Galilee, a safe city, Hammoth Dor and Kartan, with their fields. That was three towns.

³³ So the clans of Gershon received 13 cities with their fields.

³⁴ The other Levites were from the clan of Merari. The tribe of Zebulun gave them Jokneam, Kartah, ³⁵ Dimnah and Nahalal. That was four towns, as well as their fields. ³⁶ The tribe of Reuben gave them Bezer, Jahaz, ³⁷ Kedemoth and Mephaath, with their fields. That was four towns. ³⁸ The tribe of Gad gave them Ramoth in Gilead, a safe city, Mahanaim, ³⁹ Heshbon and Jazer, with their fields. That was four more towns.

⁴⁰ So the clans of Merari received 12 towns. That was all the Levite clans.

⁴¹ The Levites received 48 towns in the land of the Israelite people. ⁴² Each of these towns had its own fields round it, for animals to eat the grass.

⁴³ That is how the Lord gave the land to all the Israelite people. He had promised their ancestors that he would give the land to them. They took it from the people who had lived there, and then they lived there themselves. ⁴⁴ The Lord let them live there safely, as he had promised to their ancestors. The Lord made them stronger than their enemies, so nobody could attack them. ⁴⁵ The Lord did all the good things that he had promised to do for the people of Israel. He did not fail to do anything that he had promised.

The 2½ tribes go home

22 Then Joshua called together the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. ² Joshua said, ‘You have done everything that Moses, the Lord's servant, told you to do.^[i] You have also obeyed everything that I told you to do. ³ You have helped the other tribes for a long time now. You have stayed with them even until today. You have done all the work that the Lord your God gave you to do. ⁴ Now your brothers can live safely in the land, as the Lord promised them. So you can return to your homes on the other side of the Jordan River. Moses, the Lord's servant, gave that land to you. ⁵ But you must be very careful to obey the rules and the laws that Moses gave to you. You must love the Lord your God. You must obey the rules and commands that he has given to us. You must worship him and serve him with everything that you have.’

⁶ Joshua then blessed them and he sent them away to their homes. ⁷ (Moses had given land in Bashan to half the tribe of Manasseh. But Joshua had given land on the west side of the Jordan to the other half of the tribe, as he did for the other tribes.) When Joshua sent the 2½ tribes home, he blessed them. ⁸ He said, ‘Go back to your homes with the valuable things that you took from your enemies. Take many animals with you. Take silver, gold, bronze and iron things, as well as beautiful clothes. Share these things with the other people of your tribes.’

⁹ So the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh left the other Israelites in Shiloh, in the land of Canaan. They returned to their own land in Gilead. Moses had given this land to them, as the Lord had told him.

An altar causes trouble

¹⁰ The 2½ tribes came to Geliloth, near the Jordan River, in Canaan. They built a big altar there, beside the river. ¹¹ The other Israelites heard this news: ‘Those 2½ tribes have built an altar on the border of Canaan, at Geliloth! They have built it on the west side of the Jordan River, our side!’ ¹² So the Israelites came together at Shiloh to fight against the other 2½ tribes.

¹³ The Israelites sent Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, to the land of Gilead. He went to meet with the 2½ tribes, Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. ¹⁴ 10 Israelite leaders went with him, one man from each of their tribes. Each man was a leader of his own clan.

¹⁵ The Israelite leaders arrived in the land of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, in Gilead. ¹⁶ They said, ‘You have not obeyed the Lord, Israel's God. All the people of Israel agree that you have done a bad thing. You have turned against the Lord. You should not have built this altar for yourselves.^{[j] 17} We did something very bad at Peor.^[k] Even now, we have not made it right. The Lord brought a bad disease to punish us as his people. ¹⁸ Now you are doing another bad thing. You no longer want to obey the Lord. You are turning against him today. So tomorrow the Lord may punish us all!

¹⁹ If your land here in Gilead is unclean, come back across the river to the Lord's own land. You can come and live among us, in the land where the Lord's tabernacle is. But do not turn against the Lord or against us. Do not build an altar for yourselves. The Lord our God already has his altar here. ²⁰ Remember the time when Achan, son of Zerah, took things that belonged to God for himself. He refused to obey God's command about Jericho's valuable things. Then God became angry with all the people of Israel. Achan died because of his sin, but he was not the only one.’^[l]

²¹ Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered the Israelite leaders. ²² They said, ‘God, the Lord, is the great God! God, the Lord knows what is true! So all Israel must also know! Punish us today if we have turned against the Lord. We have not refused to obey him. ²³ We did not build our own altar to make burnt offerings or grain offerings or friendship offerings on it. If we have done that, the Lord himself should certainly punish us.

²⁴ No! We had a very different idea. We were afraid that in the future, your descendants might say to our descendants, “You have nothing to do with the Lord, Israel's God. ²⁵ The Lord put the Jordan River as a border between our tribes and your tribes. The tribes of Reuben and Gad cannot worship the Lord!” In that way, your descendants might stop our descendants from serving the Lord.

²⁶ That is why we decided to build this altar. It will not be an altar where we make sacrifices or burnt offerings. ²⁷ But it will help us all, our descendants and your descendants, to remember to obey the Lord. We will go to worship him at his tabernacle. There we will bring to him our burnt offerings, our sacrifices and our friendship offerings. Then, in future years, your descendants will not say to our descendants, “You cannot worship the Lord with us.”

²⁸ If they say that to us, we will reply, “Look at this altar that our ancestors built. It is a copy of the Lord's true altar. It is not for burnt offerings or sacrifices. They built it so that we would remember that we all belong to the Lord.” 

²⁹ We would never decide to turn against the Lord. We want to continue to obey him. We know that the only altar where we must make burnt offerings, sacrifices and friendship offerings is the true altar of the Lord our God. That altar stands in front of his tabernacle.’

³⁰ Phinehas the priest and the Israelite leaders that were with him heard this. They were happy with what the people of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had told them. ³¹ They said to them, ‘Now we know that the Lord is with us! You have not refused to obey the Lord. So we know that he will not punish us Israelites.’

³² Then Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and the leaders left Gilead and they went back to the land of Canaan. They told the Israelites in Canaan what the people of Reuben and Gad had said. ³³ The Israelites were happy to hear their report. They thanked God. They did not think any more that they might attack the other tribes and destroy their land.

³⁴ The people of Reuben and Gad gave their altar a name, because they wanted to remember that the Lord is their God. So they called the altar ‘Remember’.

Joshua says ‘goodbye’

23 Joshua became very old. The Lord had let the Israelite people live safely for many years. The other nations who lived near them did not attack them. ² One day, Joshua called all the leaders to meet with him. They were the leaders of Israel's tribes and clans, the judges and the officers. He said to them,

‘I am now very old. ³ You yourselves have seen what the Lord has done to these other nations. It was the Lord who fought against them on your behalf. ⁴ Remember how I have given land to each of your tribes. The land is between the Jordan River in the east, and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. It is land that belonged to different nations. Some of those people we have chased away, but some of them still remain in the land. ⁵ The Lord himself will chase those people out of the land, so that you can live there. The Lord your God has promised you all this.

⁶ Be very strong. Be careful that you obey everything that Moses wrote in the Book of the Law. Do not turn away from any of those rules. ⁷ Do not become friends of the nations that live near you. Do not call out to their gods. Do not use the names of their gods to make a promise. You must not serve them or worship them. ⁸ But you must always serve the Lord your God, as you have until now.

⁹ The Lord has chased out in front of you nations that are great and strong. None of them has been strong enough to win against you. ¹⁰ Because the Lord your God fights on your behalf, one of you can chase away 1,000 men! The Lord has promised to do this for you. ¹¹ You must be very careful that you continue to love the Lord your God. ¹² You must not turn away from him to join with the other nations that still live near you. Do not marry any of them. Do not live in the way that they live. ¹³ If you do that, the Lord your God will not chase them out in front of you any more. Instead, those nations will become a danger for you. They will be like a trap that catches you. They will be like sticks that beat your backs, and like sharp thorns in your eyes. They will bring trouble to you until none of you remain in this good land that the Lord your God has given to you.

¹⁴ I will soon die, as all men do. The Lord your God has done everything that he promised you he would do. Deep inside yourselves, you know that is true. He has not failed to do even one thing that he promised. ¹⁵ The Lord has given to you every good thing that he has promised. But if you refuse to obey him, he will also punish you in every way that he has promised. He will destroy you so that you no longer live in this good land that he has given to you. ¹⁶ You must obey the rules that he commanded you to obey in his covenant. You must not serve or worship other gods. If you turn against him, the Lord your God will be very angry with you. Then very soon none of you will remain in this good land that he has given to you.’

The people agree to serve the Lord

24 Joshua called all the Israelite tribes to meet together at Shechem.^[m] He called the leaders of clans, the rulers, the judges and the officers to stand in front of the tabernacle. ² Joshua said to the people, ‘This is what the Lord, Israel's God, says:

“A long time ago, your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates river. They included Terah who was the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshipped other gods. ³ But I took Abraham, your ancestor, away from that land beyond the Euphrates river. I brought him here and I led him through all the land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants. I gave him a son, Isaac. ⁴ I gave to Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau. I gave to Esau the hills of Seir. But Jacob and his sons went down to live in Egypt.

⁵ I sent Moses and Aaron to lead the Israelites when they were in Egypt. I punished the people of Egypt, and I brought you out from there. ⁶ When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, they reached the Red Sea. The Egyptians chased after them to the sea, with soldiers on horses and in chariots. ⁷ But your ancestors called to the Lord for help. He made the space between them and the Egyptians become dark. He caused the Egyptian soldiers to drown in the sea. Your ancestors saw what I did to the Egyptians with their own eyes. After that, they lived in the desert for a long time.

⁸ I brought you to the land of the Amorites, on the east side of the Jordan River. They fought against you, but I helped you to win the fight. I destroyed them in front of you, and you took their land. ⁹ The king of Moab, Zippor's son Balak, prepared to attack you. When he did this, he asked Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you. ¹⁰ But I would not listen to Balaam. So he could not curse you but he continued to bless you. In that way I saved you from Balak's power.

¹¹ Then you went across the Jordan River and you came to Jericho city. The people of Jericho fought against you. So did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites. I helped you to win against all those people. ¹² I sent great fear on your enemies as you moved into the land.^[n] I chased them all away, as well as the two kings of the Amorites. You did not win because of your strong weapons, but because of me. ¹³ The land was a gift from me. I gave you a land where you had not worked in its fields. I gave you towns to live in that you did not build. You eat grapes and olives from trees that you did not plant.” ’

¹⁴ Joshua said to the people, ‘Now you must serve the Lord with fear. You must worship him. You must continue to trust him. Throw away the gods that your ancestors worshipped when they lived beyond the Euphrates river and in Egypt. Worship the Lord. ¹⁵ But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then you should choose another god to worship. Decide today! Will you serve the gods that your ancestors worshipped across the river? Will you serve the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living? You choose! But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.’

¹⁶ The people answered Joshua, ‘We would never turn against the Lord to serve other gods! ¹⁷ We and our fathers were slaves in Egypt. But the Lord our God brought us out from there. We saw the great miracles that he did there. He kept us safe all the time on our journey, as we travelled through other nations. ¹⁸ The Lord chased all the nations out as we moved into the land. He chased out the Amorites and the other people who lived in the land. So we too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.’

¹⁹ Joshua said to them, ‘The Lord is a holy God. You will not be able to serve him. He wants you to belong to him. If you turn against him or you do not obey him, he will not forgive you. ²⁰ If you turn away from the Lord and you serve foreign gods, he will turn against you. He has been kind and he has helped you until now. But he will bring trouble to you and he will destroy you, if you turn away from him.’

²¹ The people said to Joshua, ‘Never! We will only serve the Lord.’

²² Joshua said to them, ‘You yourselves have chosen to serve the Lord. Agree now that you have done that.’

They replied, ‘Yes, we agree!’

²³ Joshua said, ‘So now you must throw away the foreign gods that you still keep. Trust the Lord, Israel's God, and obey him.’

²⁴ The people said to Joshua, ‘We will serve the Lord our God and we will obey him.’

²⁵ That same day, Joshua made an agreement for the people to accept. There at Shechem, he made a list of rules and laws for them to obey. ²⁶ Joshua wrote these things in the Book of God's Law. Then he took a big stone. He stood it there under the oak tree that was near the Lord's holy place.

²⁷ Joshua said to all the people, ‘Look at this stone! It has heard everything that the Lord has said to us today! It will speak against you if you fail to obey your God!’^[o]

²⁸ Then Joshua sent the people away. They went to the parts of the land that now belonged to each of them.

Joshua dies

²⁹ After this, the Lord's servant, Joshua, son of Nun, died at the age of 110. ³⁰ The Israelites buried him in his own land that was at Timnah Serah. That was in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

³¹ The people of Israel continued to serve the Lord while Joshua and the old men were still alive. Joshua and those men had seen everything that the Lord had done to help Israel.

³² The Israelites had brought Joseph's bones up from Egypt, to bury him at Shechem.^[p] This land was in the field that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father. Jacob had paid them 100 pieces of silver for the land. Now the land belonged to Joseph's descendants.

³³ Aaron's son, Eleazar, also died. The people buried him at Gibeah, in the hill country of Ephraim. That land had been given to Eleazar's son Phinehas.

The Israelites take the land of Canaan

1 After Joshua had died, the Israelites asked the Lord, ‘Which of our tribes should be the first to attack the Canaanites?’ ² The Lord replied, ‘Judah should attack first. I will give the land to them, to take for themselves.’^[q]

³ The men of Judah's tribe said to their cousins, the men of Simeon's tribe, ‘Join with us to fight against the Canaanites. Help us to take the land that God has given to our tribe. Then we will help you to take the land that belongs to your tribe.’ So the men of Simeon's tribe joined with the men of Judah's tribe.

⁴ They attacked the Canaanites and the Perizzites at Bezek. The Lord helped them to win against 10,000 Canaanite and Perizzite fighters. ⁵ In the battle, they found King Adoni-Bezek and they attacked him there. ⁶ The king ran away, but the Israelites caught him. They cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

⁷ King Adoni-Bezek said, ‘God has punished me because I did the same thing to 70 other kings. I cut off their thumbs and big toes. I made them pick up bits of food to eat under my table.’ The Israelites took King Adoni-Bezek back to Jerusalem. He died there.

⁸ Judah's army then attacked Jerusalem. They took the city for themselves. They killed the people who lived there and they burnt down the buildings.

⁹ Then they went to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negev and in the low hills in the west. ¹⁰ They attacked the people who lived in Hebron. They won the fight against the clans of Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. Hebron was called Kiriath Arba at that time.

¹¹ Then they went to attack the people who lived in Debir. It was called Kiriath Sepher at that time. ¹² Caleb said, ‘If a brave man attacks and takes Kiriath Sepher, he can marry my daughter, Acsah.’ ¹³ Othniel attacked the city and he took it. He was the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz. So Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel, to be his wife.

¹⁴ After this, Acsah told Othniel that they should ask her father to give them some land. She went to see her father, Caleb. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, ‘What would you like me to do for you?’

¹⁵ She replied, ‘Please be kind and give me a special gift. You have given me some land in the Negev desert. Now please give me a place with springs so that I have water for the land.’ So Caleb gave her some land with springs, on high land and on low land.

¹⁶ The Kenites were descendants of Moses' wife's father. They left Jericho with Judah's people to live in the region of Arad, in the Negev desert.

¹⁷ Then Judah's men joined with their cousins, Simeon's men, to attack the Canaanites who lived in Zephath. They completely destroyed the city. They gave it a new name, ‘Hormah’.^{[r] 18} Judah's men also took for themselves the cities of Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron, as well as the land around those cities.

¹⁹ The Lord helped the men of Judah so that they took the towns in the hill country for themselves. But they could not win against the people who lived on the lower land near the sea. Those people had iron chariots to help them fight.

²⁰ Caleb received Hebron for his family, as Moses had promised him.^[s] Caleb had chased out the three clans of Anak who lived there.

²¹ The men of Benjamin's tribe could not chase out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. As a result, the Jebusites continue to live in Jerusalem with the people of Benjamin.

²² The men of Joseph's tribes attacked Bethel.^[t] The Lord helped them to do this. ²³ Bethel had been called Luz. They sent some men to look secretly at the city. ²⁴ Those men saw a man who was leaving the city. They said to him, ‘If you show us how our soldiers can get into the city, we will keep you safe.’ ²⁵ So the man showed them a secret entrance to the city.

The men of Joseph's tribes killed all the people in the city. But they kept the man and his family safe. ²⁶ He went to the land of the Hittites. He built a city there. He called it Luz, and that is still its name.

²⁷ But the men of Manasseh's tribe could not chase out the people of these five cities: Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam and Megiddo. The Canaanites who lived there were strong. So they continued to live in those cities and the regions around them. ²⁸ When the Israelites had a strong army, they made the Canaanites do hard work for them. But they could never chase the Canaanites away completely.

²⁹ The men of Ephraim's tribe could not chase out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. Those Canaanites continued to live among the people of Ephraim in Gezer.

³⁰ The men of Zebulun's tribe could not chase away the people who lived in Kitron and Nahalol. But they made the Canaanites who lived among them do hard work for them.

³¹ The men of Asher's tribe could not chase out the Canaanites who lived in Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek and Rehob. ³² Because of this, Asher's people continued to live among the Canaanites.

³³ The men of Naphtali's tribe could not chase out the Canaanites who lived in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath. They too continued to live among the Canaanites in the land. But the Canaanites who lived in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath had to do hard work for the Israelites.

³⁴ The Amorites were too strong for the men of Dan's tribe. So Dan's people had to live in the hill country. The Amorites would not let them live in the low land. ³⁵ The Amorites were also strong enough to keep Mount Heres, Aijalon and Shaalbim for themselves. But when the Israelite army became stronger, they made the Amorites do hard work for them. ³⁶ The border of the Amorites' land went from Scorpion Hill and it continued beyond Sela.

The Israelites do not obey God

2 The angel of the Lord went from Gilgal to Bokim. He said, ‘I have brought you out from Egypt. I brought you here to this land that I promised to give to your ancestors. I said that I would always do for you what I promised in my Covenant. ² I told you not to make any agreement with the people who live in this land. I told you to destroy the altars where they worship their gods. But you have not done as I told you. Why have you not obeyed me? ³ So now I tell you, I will not chase the Canaanites away so that you can take their land. Instead, they will cause trouble for you. Their false gods will cause you to turn away from me.’

⁴ When the Lord's angel had said this, the Israelites began to weep loudly. ⁵ They called that place Bokim.^[u] They offered sacrifices to the Lord there.

Joshua dies

⁶ Joshua sent the people away. Each Israelite tribe went to take the part of the land that would belong to them.^{[v] 7} The Israelites continued to serve the Lord while Joshua and the old men were still alive. Joshua and those men had seen the great things that the Lord had done to help Israel.

⁸ Then the Lord's servant Joshua, the son of Nun, died at 110 years old. ⁹ The people buried him in the land that had been given to his family. That was at Timnath Heres, in Ephraim's hill country, on the north side of Gaash mountain.

A new generation turns away from the Lord

¹⁰ All the people of Joshua's generation died. The younger people no longer served the Lord. They themselves had not seen the great things that he had done to help Israel. ¹¹ The Israelites did things that the Lord saw were evil. They worshipped the idols of Baal. ¹² They turned away from the Lord God that their ancestors had worshipped. He was the one who had brought them safely out of Egypt. Instead, they served the false gods of the people who lived near them. They worshipped those gods and the Lord became very angry. ¹³ They turned away from the Lord and they worshipped the idols of Baal and Ashtoreth instead.

¹⁴ The Lord was very angry with the Israelites and he punished them. He sent robbers to attack them and take their animals and their food. He put them under the power of their enemies who lived around them. They were not strong enough to fight against their enemies. ¹⁵ When the Israelites went to fight against their enemies, the Lord turned against them. He punished them, as he said he would do. So the Israelites were in great trouble.

God chooses leaders for his people

¹⁶ After that, the Lord chose judges to lead his people. These leaders rescued the Israelites from their enemies who were robbing them. ¹⁷ But the people did not obey their leaders. They refused to serve the Lord faithfully. Instead, they worshipped false gods. They did not live in the way that their ancestors had lived. Their ancestors had obeyed the Lord's commands, but they refused to obey him.

¹⁸ Every time that the Lord chose a judge to lead them, the Lord helped the leader to rescue them from their enemies. While the leader was still alive, the Lord was kind to them. When the Israelites called out to the Lord for help, he was sorry for them. He saw the cruel things that their enemies were doing to give them pain.

¹⁹ But when the leader died, the people would stop serving the Lord. They would do even more wicked things than their fathers had done. They would serve false gods and they would worship them. They refused to stop doing the wicked things that they wanted to do.

²⁰ Because of this, the Lord became very angry with the Israelites. He said, ‘This nation of my people has not obeyed the covenant that I made with their ancestors. ²¹ So I will not chase out the nations that are still living in the land. They are the people who were still there when Joshua died. ²² I will use those nations to test the Israelites. I will see if my people will live carefully, in the way that I have shown them. That is the way that their ancestors lived.’

²³ So the Lord let some of the Canaanite nations continue to live in the land. He did not chase them all away. He did not put them all under Joshua's power.

3 The Lord allowed some nations to stay in Canaan. He would use them to test the Israelites who had not yet fought wars in Canaan. ² He wanted to teach the young men of Israel how to fight their enemies, because they had not fought battles before. ³ The nations who remained were:

⁴ These nations were still there to test the Israelites. The Lord wanted to know if his people would obey his commands. Those were the commands that he had told Moses to give to the ancestors of the Israelites.

⁵ So the Israelites lived among those other nations, the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁶ Some Israelites married young women from these nations. They also let their daughters marry Canaanite men. As a result, the Israelites started to worship the Canaanite gods.^[w]

Othniel

⁷ The Israelites forgot to serve the Lord their God. They did things that he saw were evil. They worshipped idols of Baal and Asherah. ⁸ The Lord was very angry with the Israelites. He let King Cushan-Rishathaim of Aram Naharaim attack them. They were under his power for eight years.

⁹ Then the Israelites called out to the Lord for help. So he chose Othniel to be their leader. He was the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. Othniel rescued them from their enemies. ¹⁰ The Lord's Spirit gave Othniel power to lead Israel. Othniel led them to fight against King Cushan-Rishathaim of Aram. The Lord helped Othniel to win the battle against the king. ¹¹ As a result, the land of Israel had peace for 40 years. Then Kenaz's son Othniel died.

Ehud

¹² Once again the Israelites did things that the Lord saw were evil. Because of this, the Lord gave Eglon, the king of Moab, power over Israel. ¹³ King Eglon made an agreement with the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join together to attack Israel. They attacked Jericho, ‘The City of Palm Trees’, and they took it for themselves. ¹⁴ The Israelites were under King Eglon's power for 18 years.

¹⁵ Again the Israelites called out to the Lord for help. He chose Ehud to be their leader. He was the son of Gera, from Benjamin's tribe. Ehud's strong hand was his left hand. The Israelites sent him to pay their taxes to King Eglon of Moab.

¹⁶ Ehud made a short sword that was sharp on both sides.^[x] He tied it to the top of his right leg and he hid it under his coat. ¹⁷ He took the money to give to King Eglon, who was a very fat man. ¹⁸ After Ehud had given the money to the king, he sent back home the men who had carried it. ¹⁹ But when Ehud reached the stone idols at Gilgal, he turned round to go back to the king. He said to King Eglon, ‘I have a secret message for you, sir!’ So the king said, ‘Leave us alone.’ All his servants went out. ²⁰ The king was now sitting alone in his cool room on the roof of the palace. Ehud went near to the king and he said, ‘I have a message from God for you.’ The king started to get up from his chair. ²¹ Then Ehud used his left hand to take the sword from his right leg. He pushed it deep into the king's stomach. ²² The king's fat covered the whole sword, even its handle. Its point came out through the king's back. Ehud did not pull out the sword. He left it there. ²³ Ehud went out of the room and he locked the doors. Then he escaped from the palace.

²⁴ The king's servants came up to the room on the roof. They saw that the doors were locked. They thought that the king was using the toilet inside. ²⁵ They waited for a long time and they started to worry. But the king still did not open the doors of his room. So they took the key and they opened the doors. Then they saw their master, the king! He was lying on the floor and he was dead.

²⁶ While the servants were waiting outside the king's room, Ehud had escaped. He went past the stone idols, and he ran to Seirah. ²⁷ When he arrived there in the hill country of Ephraim, he made a loud noise with a trumpet. He led the Israelites down from the hills.