Bible in 90 Days

15 The share of land for the family group of the people of Judah by their families was south to the land of Edom. It went to the Desert of Zin at the far south. ² The south side of their land was from the south end of the Salt Sea. ³ It went south of the hill of Akrabbim and on to Zin. Then it went up by the south of Kadesh-barnea and on to Hezron and Addar and turned to Karka. ⁴ It went on to Azmon and the river of Egypt and ended at the sea. This was the south side of their land. ⁵ The east side was the Salt Sea, as far as the end of the Jordan. The north side was from the part of the sea at the end of the Jordan. ⁶ It went up to Beth-hoglah, passed north of Beth-arabah, and went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. ⁷ It went up to Debir from the valley of Achor, then turned north to Gilgal beside the hill of Adummim which is on the south side of the valley. It went on to the waters of En-shemesh, and ended at Enrogel. ⁸ Then the side of their land went up the valley of Ben-Hinnom to the hill of the Jebusite on the south (that is, Jerusalem). It went on to the top of the mountain beside the valley of Hinnom on the west, at the north end of the valley of Rephaim. ⁹ The side of their land then went from the top of the mountain to the well of the waters of Nephtoah. It went on to the cities of Mount Ephron, then turned to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim). ¹⁰ The side of their land went around west of Baalah to Mount Seir. It went on to the north side of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), then down to Beth-shemesh and on through Timnah. ¹¹ The side of their land went on to the north side of Ekron. Then it turned to Shikkeron and went on to Mount Baalah and on to Jabneel, and ended at the sea. ¹² The west side of their land was along the side of the Great Sea. These are the sides of the land of the people of Judah by their families.

¹³ Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a share among the people of Judah, as the Lord told him. It was Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), named for Arba, the father of Anak. ¹⁴ Caleb drove away from there the three sons of Anak. The children of Anak were Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. ¹⁵ From there he went to fight against the people of Debir. The name of Debir had been Kiriath-sepher before. ¹⁶ Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife to the one who fights against Kiriath-sepher and takes it.” ¹⁷ Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, took it. So Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. ¹⁸ When she came to Othniel, she talked him into asking her father for a field. When she got down off her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” ¹⁹ Achsah answered, “Give me a gift. You have given me the land of the Negev. Give me wells of water also.” So Caleb gave her the wells in the high-land and in the valley.

²⁰ This is the land given to the family group of the people of Judah for their families.

²¹ The cities of the family of Judah in the far south, toward the land of Edom, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵ Hazor-hadattah, Keriothhezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-peet, ²⁸ Hazar-shual, Beer-sheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon. There were twenty-nine cities in all, with the towns around them.

³³ Near the sea were Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶ Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim, fourteen cities with their towns.

³⁷ And there were Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, ³⁸ Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmas, Chitlish, ⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah, sixteen cities with their towns. ⁴² There were Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah, nine cities with their towns.

⁴⁵ And there was Ekron with its towns and villages, ⁴⁶ from Ekron to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod, with their towns and villages.

⁴⁷ There were Ashdod with its towns and villages, and Gaza with its towns and villages, as far as the river of Egypt and the side of the Great Sea.

⁴⁸ In the hill country there were Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, and Giloh, eleven cities with their towns.

⁵² And there were Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janum, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior, nine cities with the towns around them.

⁵⁵ There were Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gilbeah, and Timnah, ten cities with the towns around them.

⁵⁸ There were Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon, six cities with the towns around them.

⁶⁰ And there were Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah, two cities with the towns around them.

⁶¹ In the desert there were Betharabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶² Nibshan, the City of Salt, and Engedi, six cities with the towns around them.

⁶³ But the sons of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites, the people of Jerusalem. So the Jebusites live with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

16 The share of land for the people of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, into the desert. It went from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. ² It went from Bethel to Luz, and on to the land of the Archites at Ataroth. ³ Then it went west to the land of the Japhletites, as far as the land of lower Beth-horon, and to Gezer. It ended at the sea.

⁴ The people of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim received their land.

⁵ The land of the people of Ephraim by their families on the east side was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Bethhoron. ⁶ Then the side of the land went toward the sea, with Michmethath on the north, and turned east to Taanath-shiloh, and on to the east side of Janoah. ⁷ From Janoah it went down to Ataroth, to Naarah, touched Jericho, and ended at the Jordan. ⁸ From Tappuah it went west to the river of Kanah and ended at the sea. This is the land given to the family group of the people of Ephraim for their families. ⁹ And there are the cities which were set apart for the people of Ephraim within the land that was given to the people of Manasseh, all the cities with the towns around them. ¹⁰ But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites live among Ephraim to this day. But they have been made to work for the people of Ephraim.

17 This was the share of land given to the family of Manasseh, the first-born of Joseph. Gilead and Bashan were given to Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war. ² And land was given to the rest of the sons of Manasseh for their families. The sons of Joseph’s son Manasseh, with their families, were Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. ³ But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters. The names of his daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ They came to Eleazar the religious leader, Joshua the son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “The Lord told Moses to give us a share of land among our brothers.” So they gave them a share of land among their father’s brothers, as the Lord had said. ⁵ Ten parts of the land were given to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan on the other side of the Jordan; ⁶ because Manasseh’s daughters received a share of land among his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.

⁷ The side of the land of Manasseh went from Asher to Michmethath, east of Shechem. Then it went south to the people of En-tappuah. ⁸ The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh. But the town of Tappuah on the side of Manasseh’s land belonged to the sons of Ephraim. ⁹ Then the side of the land went down to the river of Kanah. The cities south of the river, among the cities of Manasseh, belonged to Ephraim. Then Manasseh’s land went along the north side of the river and ended at the sea. ¹⁰ The south side belonged to Ephraim. The north side belonged to Manasseh. Their land spread from the sea to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. ¹¹ In Issachar and in Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns, Ibleam and its towns, the people of Dor and its towns, the people of En-dor and its towns, the people of Taanach and its towns, and the people of Megiddo and its towns. The third city is Napheth. ¹² But the sons of Manasseh could not take these cities for their own because the Canaanites would not leave that land. ¹³ When the people of Israel became strong, they made the Canaanites work for them. But they did not drive all of them out.

¹⁴ The sons of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one share of the land? We have many people. And the Lord has brought good to us until now.” ¹⁵ Joshua said to them, “If you have many people, go up among the trees and clear a place for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” ¹⁶ The sons of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us. But all the Canaanites who live in the valley have iron war-wagons. Both those in Beth-shean and its towns and those in the valley of Jezreel have them.” ¹⁷ Then Joshua said to the families of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, “You have many people and much power. You will not have only one share of land. ¹⁸ The hill country will be yours. It is full of trees, but you will clear it. All of it will be yours. For you will drive out the Canaanites, even if they have iron war-wagons and much strength.”

18 Then all the people of Israel gathered together at Shiloh. They set up the tent of meeting there. The land around them had been taken in battle. ² There were still seven family groups among the people of Israel who had not received their share of land. ³ So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you wait before going in to take the land the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴ Choose three men from each of these seven family groups. I will send them to go through the land and write down what they find it to be like, to be shared by each family. Then they will return to me. ⁵ They will divide it into seven parts. Judah will stay in his land in the south. The house of Joseph will stay in their land in the north. ⁶ You will write down how the land should be divided into seven parts, then bring it to me. I will draw names for you here before the Lord our God. ⁷ The Levites have no share of land among you. Being the religious leaders for the Lord is their share. Gad and Reuben and the half-family group of Manasseh have received their land east of the Jordan. The Lord’s servant Moses gave it to them.”

⁸ As the men got up to go, Joshua told them, “Go and walk through the land. Write down what you find, and return to me. Then I will draw names for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.” ⁹ The men went and passed through the land. They wrote in a book the cities they found and divided them into seven parts. Then they returned to Joshua among the tents at Shiloh. ¹⁰ Joshua drew names for them in Shiloh before the Lord. There he divided the land among the people of Israel, a part for each family.

¹¹ The first name drawn was for the families of the people of Benjamin. The share of their land was between the people of Judah and the people of Joseph. ¹² The north side of their land was from the Jordan up to the north side of Jericho. Then it went west through the hill country, ending at the desert of Beth-aven. ¹³ The side of their land went from there south to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel). Then it went down to Ataroth-addar, near the hill south of the valley land of Beth-horon. ¹⁴ The side of their land turned west from there around the south side of the hill before Bethhoron. It ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the people of Judah. This was the west side. ¹⁵ The south side was from the side of Kiriath-jearim west to the well of the waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then the side of their land went down to the side of the hill in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, at the north end of the valley of Rephaim. It went down to the valley of Hinnom, south of the side of the Jebusites, and down to En-rogel. ¹⁷ Then it went north to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth by the hill of Adummim, then down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. ¹⁸ It went on to the north side of Beth-arabah, and down to the Arabah. ¹⁹ Then the side of their land went along the north side of Beth-hoglah. And it ended at the north waters of the Salt Sea at the south end of the Jordan. This was the south side. ²⁰ The east side of their land was the Jordan. This was the land with its sides, given to the family group of Benjamin.

²¹ The cities of the people of Benjamin for their families were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, ²² Betharabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba, twelve cities with their towns. ²⁵ And there were Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath, fourteen cities with their towns. This is the land that was given to the families of the people of Benjamin.

19 The second name drawn was for the families of the people of Simeon. Their land was in the center of the land of the people of Judah. ² They had in their land the cities of Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, ³ Hazarshual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴ Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵ Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, ⁶ Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen, thirteen cities with the towns around them. ⁷ There were Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan, four cities with their towns. ⁸ And they had all the towns around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, also known as Ramah of the Negev. This was the land given to the families of the people of Simeon. ⁹ The land of the people of Simeon was taken from the land of the people of Judah. For the share of the people of Judah was too large for them. So the people of Simeon received a share of land in the center of Judah’s land.

¹⁰ The third name drawn was for the families of the people of Zebulun. The share of their land was as far as Sarid. ¹¹ The side of their land went from there west to Marealah, touched Dabbesheth, and on to the river by Jokneam. ¹² It turned east from Sarid toward the sunrise as far as the land of Chisloth-tabor, then on to Daberath and up to Japhia. ¹³ From there it went east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, Eth-kazin, and on to Rimmon, turning toward Neah. ¹⁴ Then the side of their land turned north to Hannathon, and ended at the valley of Iphtahel. ¹⁵ In their land were Kattah, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem. In all there were twelve cities with the towns around them. ¹⁶ This is what was given to the families of the people of Zebulun, these cities with the towns around them.

¹⁷ The fourth name drawn was for the families of the people of Issachar. ¹⁸ Their land spread to Jezreel. In it were Chesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹ Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰ Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Bethpazzez. ²² Their land spread to Tabor, Shahazumah, Beth-shemesh, and ended at the Jordan, with sixteen cities and their towns. ²³ This is what was given to the families of the people of Issachar, the cities with the towns around them.

²⁴ The fifth name drawn was for the families of the people of Asher. ²⁵ In their land were Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, ²⁶ Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. It spread west to Carmel and Shihor-libnath. ²⁷ It turned east to Beth-dagon and to Zebulun along the valley of Iphtahel north to Bethemek and Neiel. Then it went on north to Cabul, ²⁸ Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as the big city of Sidon. ²⁹ From there the side of their land turned toward Ramah and then to the strong city of Tyre, turned again to Hosah, and ended at the sea near Achzib, ³⁰ Ummah, Aphek and Rehob. There were twenty-two cities with the towns around them. ³¹ This is what was given to the families of the people of Asher, these cities with the towns around them.

³² The sixth name drawn was for the people of Naphtali, for the families of the people of Naphtali. ³³ Their land spread from Heleph, from the big tree in Zaanannim. It went through Adami-nekeb and Jabneel as far as Lakkum. And it ended at the Jordan. ³⁴ The side of their land turned from there west to Aznoth-tabor, and went on to Hukkok. It spread to Zebulun in the south, Asher in the west, and to Judah at the Jordan in the east. ³⁵ The strong cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, ³⁶ Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, ³⁸ Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh. There were nineteen cities with their towns. ³⁹ This is what was given to the families of the people of Naphtali, the cities with their towns.

⁴⁰ The seventh name drawn was for the families of the people of Dan. ⁴¹ In their land were 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, with the land near Joppa. ⁴⁷ The people of Dan needed more land. So they went up and fought with Leshem and took it with the sword. They took it for themselves and lived in it. And they gave it the name Leshem Dan after the name of Dan their father. ⁴⁸ This is what was given to the families of the people of Dan, these cities with their towns.

⁴⁹ When they finished dividing the land and giving to each family group their share, then the people of Israel gave some land among them to Joshua the son of Nun. ⁵⁰ As the Lord had told them, they gave him the city he asked for. They gave him Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. So he built the city and lived in it.

⁵¹ This is the land which was given by Eleazar the religious leader, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the houses of the families of the people of Israel. It was given by drawing names in Shiloh before the Lord at the door of the meeting tent. So they finished dividing the land.

20 The Lord said to Joshua, ² “Say to the people of Israel, ‘Choose the cities where you may go and be safe when you are in trouble, as I said to you through Moses. ³ So the man who kills any person without meaning to or planning to may run to one of these cities. They will be places where you can go to be safe from the one who wants to punish you for the killing. ⁴ He will run to one of these cities and stand at the city gate. There he will tell his story to the leaders of that city. They will take him into the city and give him a place. So he may live among them. ⁵ If the one who wants to punish him comes after him, they will not give him the one who killed the person, because he killed his neighbor without planning to, and did not hate him in the past. ⁶ He will live in that city until he has been tried in front of the people. And he will live there until the death of the one who is the head religious leader at the time. Then the one who killed the person may return to his own city and his own house, to the city he ran away from.’”

⁷ So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali. They set apart Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim. And they set apart Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. ⁸ On the other side of the Jordan east of Jericho, they set apart Bezer in the desert plain from the family of Reuben. They set apart Ramoth in Gilead from the family of Gad. And they set apart Golan in Bashan from the family of Manasseh. ⁹ These were the chosen cities for all the people of Israel and for the stranger staying among them. So whoever killed any person without meaning to could run there. He could not be killed by the one who wanted to punish him, before standing trial in front of the people.

21 Then the family heads of the Levites came to Eleazar the religious leader, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the family groups of Israel. ² They said to them at Shiloh in Canaan, “The Lord said through Moses to give us cities to live in, as well as fields around them for our cattle.” ³ So the sons of Israel gave these cities and fields of their land to the Levites, as the Lord had said. ⁴ The name drawn first was for the families of the Kohathites. The Levites who were children of Aaron the religious leader received thirteen cities from the families of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. ⁵ The rest of the sons of Kohath by drawing names received ten cities from the families of Ephraim and Dan and the half-family group of Manasseh. ⁶ The sons of Gershon by drawing names received thirteen cities from the families of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the half-family group of Manasseh in Bashan. ⁷ The sons of Merari received twelve cities from the families of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun. ⁸ The sons of Israel by drawing names gave these cities with their fields to the Levites, as the Lord had said through Moses.

⁹ They gave from the families of Judah and Simeon the cities given here by name. ¹⁰ They were for the sons of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, of the sons of Levi. For their name was drawn first. ¹¹ They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) with the fields around it in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.) ¹² But the city’s fields and towns had been given to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his own.

¹³ So to the sons of Aaron the religious leader they gave Hebron and Libnah with their fields. Hebron was the city where one who killed a man could go to be safe. ¹⁴ And they gave them Jattir with its fields, Eshtemoa with its fields, ¹⁵ Holon with its fields, Debir with its fields, ¹⁶ Ain with its fields, Juttah with its fields, and Bethshemesh with its fields. There were nine cities from these two family groups. ¹⁷ From the family of Benjamin were given Gibeon with its fields, Geba with its fields, ¹⁸ Anathoth with its fields, and Almon with its fields, four cities. ¹⁹ For the sons of Aaron, the religious leaders, there were thirteen cities in all, with their fields.

²⁰ Then cities from the family of Ephraim were given to the rest of the families of the people of Kohath, the Levites. ²¹ They gave them Shechem with its fields in the hill country of Ephraim. A man who killed another person could run to Shechem to be safe. And they gave them Gezer with its fields, ²² Kibzaim with its fields, and Beth-horon with its fields, four cities. ²³ From the family of Dan were given Eletke with its fields, Gibbethon with its fields, ²⁴ Aijalon with its fields, and Gath-rimmon with its fields, four cities. ²⁵ From the half-family group of Manasseh were given Taanach with its fields, and Gathrimmon with its fields, two cities. ²⁶ There were ten cities in all, with their fields, for the rest of the families of the Kohathites.

²⁷ From the half-family group of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan and Be-eshterah and their fields to the sons of Gershon, one of the Levite families. A man who killed another person could run to Golan in Bashan to be safe. They were given two cities. ²⁸ From the family of Issachar were given Kishion with its fields, Daberath with its fields, ²⁹ Jarmuth with its fields, and Engannim with its fields, four cities. ³⁰ From the family of Asher were given Mishal with its fields, Abdon with its fields, ³¹ Helkath with its fields, and Rehob with its fields, four cities. ³² From the family of Naphtali were given Kedesh in Galilee with its fields, Hammoth-dor with its fields, and Kartan with its fields, three cities. A man who killed another man could run to Kedesh to be safe. ³³ The cities for the families of the Gershonites were thirteen in all, with their fields.

³⁴ They gave cities to the families of the sons of Merari, the rest of the Levites, from the family of Zebulun. They gave them Jokneam with its fields, Kartah with its fields, ³⁵ Dimnah with its fields, and Nahalal with its fields, four cities. ³⁶ From the family of Reuben were given Bezer with its fields, Jahaz with its fields, ³⁷ Kedemoth with its fields, and Mephaath with its fields, four cities. ³⁸ From the family of Gad was given Ramoth in Gilead with its fields. A man who killed another person could run to Ramoth in Gilead to be safe. And they gave them Mahanaim with its fields, ³⁹ Heshbon with its fields, and Jazer with its fields, four cities in all. ⁴⁰ There were twelve cities in all given to the families of the people of Merari, the rest of the families of the Levites.

⁴¹ The cities of the Levites among the land of the people of Israel were forty-eight cities in all, with their fields. ⁴² Each one of these cities had its fields around it. So it was with all these cities.

⁴³ The Lord gave Israel all the land He had promised to give to their fathers. They took it for their own, and lived in it. ⁴⁴ The Lord gave them peace on every side, just as He had promised their fathers. Not one of all those who hated them could stand in front of them. The Lord gave all those who hated them into their hand. ⁴⁵ Every good promise which the Lord had made to the people of Israel came true.

22 Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-family group of Manasseh. ² He said to them, “You have done all that the Lord’s servant Moses told you to do. You have obeyed me in all I have told you to do. ³ You have not left your brothers alone even to this day. But you have been careful to do what the Lord your God has told you. ⁴ Now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as He promised them. So go now. Return to your homes in your own land, which the Lord’s servant Moses gave you on the other side of the Jordan. ⁵ Only be very careful to obey the Law which the Lord’s servant Moses told you. Love the Lord your God. Walk in all His ways. Obey His Laws. Stay close to Him, and work for Him with all your heart and soul.” ⁶ Joshua prayed that good would come to them, and sent them away. Then they went to their homes.

⁷ Moses had given land in Bashan to the half-family group of Manasseh. But Joshua gave land west of the Jordan to the other half of the family among their brothers. Joshua prayed that good would come to them when he sent them away to their homes. ⁸ He said to them, “Return to your homes with much riches, many animals, silver, gold, brass, iron, and very many clothes. Share with your brothers the riches taken from those who fought against you.” ⁹ The sons of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh returned home. They left the people of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and went to their own land of Gilead. They had taken this land by the word of the Lord through Moses.

¹⁰ The sons of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh came to the Jordan River. Before they crossed the Jordan, they built a very large altar on the Canaan side of the Jordan. ¹¹ The people of Israel heard the news, “See, the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh have built an altar in the land of Canaan by the Jordan. It stands on the side that belongs to the people of Israel.” ¹² When the people of Israel heard about it, all the sons of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them.

¹³ Then the sons of Israel sent Phinehas the son of the religious leader Eleazar into the land of Gilead to the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh. ¹⁴ With him were ten leaders, one leader from each ruling house in every family of Israel. Each one was the head of his father’s house among the families of Israel. ¹⁵ They came to the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, and said to them, ¹⁶ “All the people of the Lord say, ‘What sin is this that you have done against the God of Israel? You have turned away from following the Lord this day, by building yourselves an altar. Today you have gone against the Lord. ¹⁷ Is not the sin of Peor enough for us? We have made ourselves unclean from that to this day, and much trouble has come upon the people of the Lord. ¹⁸ Now to add to that sin, this day you have turned away from following the Lord. If you go against the Lord today, He will be angry with all the people of Israel tomorrow. ¹⁹ Now if the land you have been given is unclean, cross over into the Lord’s land. There stands the meeting tent of the Lord. Take land for yourselves among us. But do not go against the Lord, or against us, by building an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰ Did not Zerah’s son Achan sin by taking things that should have been destroyed? Anger came upon all the people of Israel. He did not die alone for his sin.’” ²¹ Then the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-family group of Manasseh answered the leaders of the families of Israel, saying, ²² “The Powerful One, the Lord, the Powerful One, God, the Lord! He knows! And may Israel itself know! If it was going against the Lord and not being faithful to Him, do not save us this day! ²³ If we have built an altar to turn away from following the Lord, or to give burnt gifts, grain gifts or peace gifts on it, may the Lord Himself punish us. ²⁴ We have done this because we were afraid that in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵ For the Lord has put the Jordan between us and you people of Reuben and Gad. You have nothing to do with the Lord.’ Then your children might make our children stop worshiping the Lord. ²⁶ So we said, ‘Let us build an altar. It will not be for burnt gifts or killing animals in worship. ²⁷ But it will be something special to be seen between us and you and our children after us. It will show that we are to serve the Lord before Him with our burnt gifts, our gifts of animals and our peace gifts. Then your children will not say to our children in the future, “You have nothing to do with the Lord.”’ ²⁸ We thought that if they say this to us or our children in the future we can say, ‘See the altar we have made like the altar of the Lord which our fathers made. It is not for burnt gifts or killing animals in worship. But it is something special to see between us and you.’ ²⁹ Never let it be said that we went against the Lord and turned away from following the Lord this day by building an altar. It is not for burnt gifts or grain gifts or killing animals in worship. It is not to be used instead of the altar of the Lord our God before His meeting tent.”

³⁰ Phinehas the religious leader and the leaders of the people, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, were pleased when they heard the words of the people of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. ³¹ Phinehas the son of Eleazar the religious leader said to the people of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is among us. Because you have not done this as sin against the Lord. Now you have saved the people of Israel from the hand of the Lord.” ³² Then Phinehas the son of the religious leader Eleazar and the leaders left the people of Reuben and Gad. They returned from the land of Gilead to the people of Israel in the land of Canaan. And they told them what had happened. ³³ The news pleased the people of Israel, and they gave thanks to God. They said no more about going against them in war, to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and Gad were living. ³⁴ The people of Reuben and Gad said, “This altar shows the agreement between us that the Lord is God.”

23 A long time after that, the Lord had given Israel rest from all those around them who hated them. Joshua had grown old, and had lived many years. ² Joshua called all Israel, their leaders, their heads, and the men chosen among them who judge between what is right or wrong. Then he said to them, “I am old and have lived many years. ³ And you have seen all the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you. The Lord your God is the One Who has fought for you. ⁴ See, I have given to you as land for your families those nations that are left, with all the nations I have destroyed. They lie from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. ⁵ The Lord your God will send them out from in front of you. He will send them away from you. Then their land will be yours, just as the Lord your God promised you. ⁶ So do not be moved by others. Keep and obey all that is written in the book of the Law of Moses. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left. ⁷ Do not mix with these nations that stay among you. Do not say the names of their gods or make anyone swear by them. Do not work for them or worship them. ⁸ But hold on to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. ⁹ For the Lord has driven away large and strong nations from in front of you. No man has been able to stand in front of you to this day. ¹⁰ One of your men makes a thousand run away. For the Lord your God is the One Who fights for you, just as He promised you. ¹¹ Be very careful to love the Lord your God. ¹² For if you ever turn away and join the people of these nations left among you and marry some of their people and go among them, ¹³ know for sure that the Lord your God will stop driving these nations away from you. And they will be a net and a trap to you. They will be a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you are destroyed from this good land the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴ “See, today I am going the way of all the earth. Know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God made to you has been broken. All have come true for you. Not one of them has been broken. ¹⁵ Every good promise the Lord your God made to you has come true. But in the same way, He will keep His promises to punish you. He will punish you until He has destroyed you from this good land the Lord your God has given you. ¹⁶ If you do not keep the agreement the Lord your God made with you, and serve other gods and worship them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you and you will be destroyed from the good land He has given you.”

24 Then Joshua gathered all the families of Israel to Shechem. He called for the leaders of Israel, the heads of the families and those who judged between what is right or wrong. And they showed themselves before God. ² Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your fathers lived on the other side of the River. There was Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor. And they worshiped other gods. ³ Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River. I led him through all the land of Canaan. I gave him many children, and I gave him Isaac. ⁴ To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Mount Seir to Esau for his own. But Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. ⁵ I sent Moses and Aaron. I had to bring trouble upon Egypt by what I did among them. Then I brought you out. ⁶ I brought your fathers out of Egypt to the Sea. Egypt went after your fathers to the Red Sea with war-wagons and horsemen. ⁷ But when they cried out to the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians. He brought the sea upon them and covered them. Your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the desert for a long time. ⁸ I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived on the east side of the Jordan. They fought with you, and I gave them to you. You took their land for your own when I destroyed them in front of you.

⁹ ’Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, came and fought against Israel. He sent for Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. ¹⁰ But I would not listen to Balaam. So he had to pray for good to come to you. And I saved you from his hand.

¹¹ ’You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you. And the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite fought against you. So I gave them into your hand. ¹² I sent the hornets ahead of you. They drove out the people and the two kings of the Amorites from in front of you. You did not do it by your sword or bow. ¹³ I gave you a land you did not work for. You live in cities you did not build. You are eating from vines and olive trees you did not plant.’

¹⁴ “So fear the Lord. Serve Him in faith and truth. Put away the gods your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. ¹⁵ If you think it is wrong to serve the Lord, choose today whom you will serve. Choose the gods your fathers worshiped on the other side of the river, or choose the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

¹⁶ The people answered, “May it never be that we turn away from the Lord and serve other gods. ¹⁷ For the Lord our God is the One Who brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house where we were made to work. He did these powerful works in front of our eyes. He kept us safe everywhere we went, among all the nations we passed through. ¹⁸ The Lord drove away from in front of us all the nations, even the Amorites who lived in the land. So we will serve the Lord. For He is our God.”

¹⁹ Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord. For He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your wrong-doing or your sins. ²⁰ If you turn away from the Lord and serve strange gods, He will turn and punish you. He will destroy you after He has been good to you.” ²¹ The people said to Joshua, “Not so, for we will serve the Lord.” ²² Then Joshua said to the people, “You have spoken for yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” And they said, “We have spoken for ourselves.” ²³ Joshua said, “So put away the strange gods that are among you. Give your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” ²⁴ The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey His voice.” ²⁵ So Joshua made an agreement with the people that day. And he made Laws for them in Shechem. ²⁶ Joshua wrote these words in the book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the tree that was by the holy place of the Lord. ²⁷ Joshua said to all the people, “See, this stone will be here to speak against us. For it has heard all the words the Lord spoke to us. So it will be here to speak against you, if you do not stay true to your God.” ²⁸ Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own land.

The Death of Joshua and Eleazar

²⁹ After this, Joshua the son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died. He was 110 years old. ³⁰ They buried him in the land he was given in Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. ³¹ Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and of the leaders who lived after him who had known all the works the Lord had done for Israel.

³² The people of Israel brought the bones of Joseph from Egypt. They buried them in Shechem, in the piece of ground Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for 100 pieces of money. It became the land of Joseph’s children.

³³ Eleazar the son of Aaron died also. They buried him on the hill at Gibeah that was given to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.

Adoni-bezek Is Taken

1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel asked the Lord, “Who will be first to go up and fight against the Canaanites for us?” ² The Lord said, “Judah will go up. See, I have given the land into his hand.” ³ Then Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Come with me into the land which is given to me. Let us fight against the Canaanites together. Then I will go with you into the land which is given to you.” So Simeon went with him. ⁴ Judah went up, and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands. They killed 10,000 men at Bezek. ⁵ They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they won the war against the Canaanites and the Perizzites. ⁶ Adoni-bezek tried to run away, but they went after him and caught him. They cut off his thumbs and big toes. ⁷ Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off had to gather their food under my table. Now God has paid me for what I have done.” So they brought him to Jerusalem and there he died.

⁸ Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it. They destroyed it with the sword and set the city on fire. ⁹ After this the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, in the Negev and in the plains. ¹⁰ Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron. (The name of Hebron was Kiriath-arba before.) They won the war against Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

¹¹ From there Judah went against the people of Debir. (The name of Debir was Kiriath-sepher before.) ¹² Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife to the one who fights against Kiriath-sepher and takes it.” ¹³ Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took the city. So Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah for a wife. ¹⁴ When she came to Othniel, she talked him into asking her father for a field. As she came down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” ¹⁵ She said to him, “Give me a special gift. You have given me the land of the Negev. Give me the wells of water also.” So Caleb gave her the wells in the high land and in the valley.

¹⁶ The children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went with the people of Judah from Jericho to the desert of Judah south of Arad. They went and lived with the people. ¹⁷ Then Judah went with his brother Simeon. They killed the Canaanites living in Zephath and destroyed the whole city. The name of the city was called Hormah. ¹⁸ Judah took Gaza with its land, Ashkelon with its land, and Ekron with its land. ¹⁹ The Lord was with Judah. They took the hill country for their own. They could not drive out the people living in the valley, because they had iron war-wagons. ²⁰ They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had promised, and he drove out the three sons of Anak. ²¹ But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

²² The men of the family of Joseph went up against Bethel. And the Lord was with them. ²³ Those of the family of Joseph spied out Bethel. (The name of the city was Luz before.) ²⁴ The men who were spying out Bethel saw a man coming out of the city. They said to him, “Show us the way into the city, and we will be kind to you.” ²⁵ So he showed them the way into the city. They destroyed the city with the sword. But they let the man and all his family go free. ²⁶ The man went into the land of the Hittites. He built a city there and gave it the name of Luz. That is its name to this day.

Some of the People Were Not Driven Out of the Land

²⁷ But the men of Manasseh did not take for their own Bethshean and its towns or Taanach and its towns. They did not drive out the people of Dor and its towns, or of Ibleam and its towns, or of Megiddo and its towns. So the Canaanites stayed in that land. ²⁸ When Israel became strong, they made the Canaanites work for them. But they did not drive all of them out.

²⁹ Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer. So the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

³⁰ Zebulun did not drive out the people of Kitron or the people of Nahalol. So the Canaanites lived among them and were made to work.

³¹ Asher did not drive out the people of Acco, or the people of Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. ³² So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the people of the land. For they did not drive them out.

³³ Naphtali did not drive out the people of Beth-shemesh or the people of Beth-anath. But they lived among the Canaanites, the people of the land. The people of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath were made to work for them.

³⁴ The Amorites drove the people of Dan into the hill country. They did not let them come down to the valley. ³⁵ The Amorites would not leave Mount Heres, Aijalon or Shaalbim. But when the family of Joseph became strong, they made the Amorites work for them. ³⁶ The land of the Amorites was from the hill-side of Akrabbim, up from Sela.

The Angel of the Lord Speaks to Israel

2 The angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land I promised your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break My agreement with you. ² Do not make any agreement with the people of this land. Tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? ³ So now I say, ‘I will not drive them away from you. They will be like thorns in your sides. Their gods will be a trap to you.’” ⁴ When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people cried in a loud voice. ⁵ So they called that place Bochim. And there they gave gifts in worship to the Lord.

The Death of Joshua

⁶ When Joshua sent the people of Israel away, each one went home to his own land. ⁷ The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the leaders who lived longer than Joshua and who had seen all the great works the Lord had done for Israel. ⁸ Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was 110 years old. ⁹ They buried him within his land in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. ¹⁰ All the people of that day died. The children who came after them did not know the Lord. They did not know about the things He had done for Israel.

Israel Is No Longer Faithful to the Lord

¹¹ Then the people of Israel sinned in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals, the gods of the Canaanites. ¹² They turned away from the Lord, the God of their fathers, Who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods of the nations around them, and worshiped them. So they made the Lord angry. ¹³ They turned away from the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. ¹⁴ The Lord was angry with Israel. He gave them into the hands of angry men who robbed them. He sold them into the hands of those around them who hated them. The people of Israel could no longer stand in front of those who hated them. ¹⁵ The Lord punished them everywhere they went. The Lord did what He had told them and promised them He would do. The people were very troubled.

¹⁶ Then the Lord gave them special men to judge between what was right or wrong. These men saved them from those who robbed them. ¹⁷ But the people did not listen to those chosen to judge. The people were not faithful to the Lord and they worshiped other gods. They were quick to turn aside from the way their fathers had walked in obeying the Laws of the Lord. They did not do as their fathers had done. ¹⁸ When the Lord gave them special men to judge them, the Lord was with the judge. And He saved them from those who hated them. For the Lord showed them pity because of their pain when others made it hard for them and hurt them. ¹⁹ But when the judge died, they would turn again and act worse than their fathers. They would follow other gods and serve them and worship them. They would not give up their sinful acts or their strong wills. ²⁰ So the anger of the Lord was against Israel. He said, “This nation has sinned against My agreement I made with their fathers. They have not listened to My voice. ²¹ I will stop driving away from them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. ²² I will use them to test Israel. I will see if Israel will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it like their fathers did, or not.” ²³ So the Lord let those nations stay. He was not quick to drive them out. And He did not give them into the power of Joshua.

The Nations That Are Still in the Land

3 These are the nations the Lord left to test Israel. They were left to test all those who had not fought in any of the wars in Canaan. ² So the children of the people of Israel who had not fought in wars might be taught about war. ³ These nations are: the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. ⁴ They were left to test Israel, to find out if Israel would obey the Laws the Lord gave their fathers through Moses. ⁵ The people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. ⁶ They married their daughters. They gave their own daughters to their sons, and they worshiped their gods. ⁷ The people of Israel did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. ⁸ So the anger of the Lord was against Israel. He sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. The people of Israel worked for Cushan-rishathaim for eight years. ⁹ But the people of Israel cried to the Lord. And the Lord gave the people of Israel someone who would save them. He gave them Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he led Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. He was stronger than Cushan-rishathaim. ¹¹ The land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

¹² The people of Israel sinned in the eyes of the Lord again. So the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab strength against Israel, because they had sinned in the eyes of the Lord. ¹³ Eglon gathered together with the people of Ammon and Amalek. They went and won the war against Israel. And they took the city of Jericho. ¹⁴ The people of Israel worked for Eglon the king of Moab for eighteen years.

¹⁵ But when the people of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord gave them someone to save them. He gave them Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent taxes by him to Eglon the king of Moab. ¹⁶ Ehud made a sword for himself with two sharp sides, almost as long as an arm. He tied it to the top part of his right leg, under his coat. ¹⁷ Then he brought the taxes to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. ¹⁸ When Ehud had finished paying the taxes, he sent away the people who had carried the taxes. ¹⁹ But he himself turned around at the stone gods of Gilgal and returned to Eglon, saying, “I have secret news for you, O king.” Eglon said, “Keep quiet.” And all who stood by him went away from him. ²⁰ Ehud came to him while Eglon was sitting alone in his summer room. And Ehud said, “I have news from God for you.” The king got up from his seat. ²¹ Ehud put out his left hand, took the sword from his right leg, and pushed it into Eglon’s stomach. ²² The whole sword went into his stomach and the fat closed over it. For he did not pull the sword out of his stomach. The insides of Eglon’s stomach ran out. ²³ Then Ehud went out the back way. He closed the doors of the summer room behind him, and locked them.

²⁴ When Ehud had gone out, Eglon’s servants came. They saw that the doors of the summer room were locked. So they said, “He is only resting in there away from the heat.” ²⁵ They waited until they were afraid because Eglon did not open the doors of the summer room. So they opened the lock and looked in the doors. And they found their owner lying dead on the floor.

²⁶ Ehud got away while they were waiting. He passed the stone gods and got away to Seirah. ²⁷ When he got there, he blew the horn in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country. Ehud went in front of them.