The Daily Audio Bible

Land Still to be Taken

13 Now Joshua was old and well advanced in years. The Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, but very much of the land still remains to be possessed.

² “This is the land that remains: all the districts of the Philistines and those of the Geshurites ³ (from the Shihor east of Egypt northward to the boundary of Ekron, which is counted as Canaanite; the cities of the five Philistine governors: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron), and also the Avvites’ lands. ⁴ Also remaining in the south is all the land of the Canaanites, Arah owned by the Sidonians, as far as Aphek at the Amorite boundary, ⁵ the land of the Gebalites and all Lebanon to the east, and from Baal Gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath.

⁶ “I will drive out from before the children of Israel all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim and all the Sidonians. Be sure to divide these lands by lot as an inheritance for Israel as I have commanded you. ⁷ So now, divide this land as an inheritance for the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

Division of the Land East of the Jordan River

⁸ With the other half-tribe of Manasseh, Reuben and Gad took their inheritance that Moses gave to them on the east side of the Jordan, as Moses the servant of the Lord had given them: ⁹ from Aroer on the bank of the River Arnon, the city in the middle of the valley, all the plain from Medeba to Dibon, ¹⁰ all the cities of King Sihon of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, and the land up to the Ammonite border. ¹¹ Moses had also given them Gilead, the territory of the Geshurites and Maakathites, all of Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan as far as Salekah, ¹² and in Bashan all the kingdom of Og, one of the last remnant of the giants, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. Moses struck them down and took their lands. ¹³ Yet the children of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maakathites, and Geshur and Maakah live among Israel until this day.

¹⁴ However Moses did not give an inheritance to the tribe of Levi. The burnt offerings of the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as He said to them.

¹⁵ Moses assigned land to the tribe of the Reubenites according to their clans. ¹⁶ Their territory was from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley, the city in the middle of the valley, all the plain of Medeba, ¹⁷ Heshbon and all its towns in the plain: Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, ¹⁸ Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ¹⁹ Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on the hill of the valley, ²⁰ Beth Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth Jeshimoth, ²¹ all the cities of the plain, and the whole kingdom of King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon. Moses struck him down along with the leaders of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who were princes of Sihon who lived in the land. ²² The children of Israel killed Balaam son of Beor, who practiced divination, with the sword along with the rest of the slain. ²³ The border of the Reubenites was the banks of the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the Reubenites according to their clans: those towns and their settlements.

²⁴ Moses assigned land to the tribe of Gad for the Gadites according to their clans. ²⁵ Their territory was Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half of the Ammonite land as far as Aroer, which is east of Rabbah, ²⁶ from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah, Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory of Debir. ²⁷ In the valley were Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Sukkoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon, the Jordan as its boundary to the lower Sea of Galilee to the east of the Jordan. ²⁸ This was the inheritance of the Gadites according to their clans: those towns and their settlements.

²⁹ Moses assigned land to the half-tribe of Manasseh for the descendants of Manasseh according to their clans. ³⁰ Their territory was from Mahanaim, through all of Bashan, all the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, all the sixty villages of Jair that are in Bashan, ³¹ half of Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei: cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. This was for the descendants of Makir son of Manasseh, half of the descendants of Makir by their clans.

³² This is the territory Moses assigned in the desert plains of Moab, on the eastern side of Jericho and the Jordan. ³³ Yet Moses did not assign land to the tribe of Levi as an inheritance. The Lord God of Israel was their inheritance, as He said to them.

Division of the Land West of the Jordan

14 These are the territories that the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the family leaders of the Israelite tribes assigned to them. ² Their inheritance fell to them by lot, as the Lord commanded through Moses, for the nine and a half tribes. ³ For Moses had assigned the inheritance of two and a half tribes on the other side of the Jordan, but he had not assigned an inheritance among them to the Levites. ⁴ The descendants of Joseph were two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim. They did not give territory to the Levites in the land, but only towns in which to live, along with the pastures, livestock, and property. ⁵ Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did when they divided the land.

Hebron Given to Caleb

⁶ The descendants of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God about you and me at Kadesh Barnea. ⁷ I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy on the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart. ⁸ My companions who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt, but I wholeheartedly followed after the Lord my God. ⁹ On that day Moses swore an oath, ‘The land on which your foot treads shall be your inheritance, for your descendants perpetually, because you completely followed after the Lord my God.’

¹⁰ “Now, the Lord has kept me alive, just as He said, for forty-five years, since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. ¹¹ I am still just as strong today as I was on the day that Moses sent me. My strength now is just like my strength then, both for battle and for going out and returning. ¹² So now, give me this hill country that the Lord spoke about on that day. That day you heard that the Anakites live there in large, fortified cities. Perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out, as the Lord said.”

¹³ Then Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. ¹⁴ Therefore Hebron became an inheritance of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite until this day because he completely followed after the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ The former name of Hebron was Kiriath Arba. Arba was the greatest man among the Anakites.

Then the land had rest from war.

The Parable of the Widow and the Judge

18 He told them a parable to illustrate that it is necessary always to pray and not lose heart. ² He said: “In a city there was a judge who did not fear God or regard man. ³ And a widow was in that city. She came to him, saying, ‘Avenge me against my adversary.’

⁴ “He would not for a while. Yet afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I do not fear God or respect man, ⁵ yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she will weary me.’ ”

⁶ And the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And shall not God avenge His own elect and be patient with them, who cry day and night to Him? ⁸ I tell you, He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ He told this parable to some who trusted in themselves, as though they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed these things about himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men: extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week, and I tithe of all that I earn.’

¹³ “But the tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but struck his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner.’

¹⁴ “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Little Children Blessed^(A)

¹⁵ They also brought infants to Him that He might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Permit the little children to come to Me, and do not hinder them. For to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁷ Truly, I say to you, whoever will not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will in no wise enter it.”

Psalm 85

For the Music Director. A Psalm of the songs of Korah.