Bible in 90 Days

The Territory of Judah

15 The lot for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their families reached southward to the boundary of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin at the farthest south. ² And their south boundary ran from the end of the Salt Sea, from the bay that faces southward; ³ it goes out southward of the ascent of Akrab′bim, passes along to Zin, and goes up south of Ka′desh-bar′nea, along by Hezron, up to Addar, turns about to Karka, ⁴ passes along to Azmon, goes out by the Brook of Egypt, and comes to its end at the sea. This shall be your south boundary. ⁵ And the east boundary is the Salt Sea, to the mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan; ⁶ and the boundary goes up to Beth-hoglah, and passes along north of Beth-arabah; and the boundary goes up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben; ⁷ and the boundary goes up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and so northward, turning toward Gilgal, which is opposite the ascent of Adum′mim, which is on the south side of the valley; and the boundary passes along to the waters of En-she′mesh, and ends at En-ro′gel; ⁸ then the boundary goes up by the valley of the son of Hinnom at the southern shoulder of the Jeb′usite (that is, Jerusalem); and the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the valley of Reph′aim; ⁹ then the boundary extends from the top of the mountain to the spring of the Waters of Nephto′ah, and from there to the cities of Mount Ephron; then the boundary bends round to Ba′alah (that is, Kir′iath-je′arim); ¹⁰ and the boundary circles west of Ba′alah to Mount Se′ir, passes along to the northern shoulder of Mount Je′arim (that is, Ches′alon), and goes down to Beth-she′mesh, and passes along by Timnah; ¹¹ the boundary goes out to the shoulder of the hill north of Ekron, then the boundary bends round to Shik′keron, and passes along to Mount Ba′alah, and goes out to Jabneel; then the boundary comes to an end at the sea. ¹² And the west boundary was the Great Sea with its coast-line. This is the boundary round about the people of Judah according to their families.

Caleb Occupies His Portion

¹³ According to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, he gave to Caleb the son of Jephun′neh a portion among the people of Judah, Kir′iath-ar′ba, that is, Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). ¹⁴ And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, She′shai and Ahi′man and Talmai, the descendants of Anak. ¹⁵ And he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir formerly was Kir′iath-se′pher. ¹⁶ And Caleb said, “Whoever smites Kir′iath-se′pher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.” ¹⁷ And Oth′ni-el the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. ¹⁸ When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field; and she alighted from her ass, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” ¹⁹ She said to him, “Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

The Towns of Judah

²⁰ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Judah according to their families. ²¹ The cities belonging to the tribe of the people of Judah in the extreme South, toward the boundary of Edom, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimo′nah, Ada′dah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Be-a′loth, ²⁵ Ha′zor-hadat′tah, Ker′i-oth-hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Mola′dah, ²⁷ Ha′zar-gad′dah, Heshmon, Beth-pe′let, ²⁸ Hazar-shu′al, Beer-sheba, Biziothi′ah, ²⁹ Ba′alah, I′im, Ezem, ³⁰ Elto′lad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madman′nah, Sansan′nah, ³² Leba′oth, Shilhim, A′in, and Rimmon: in all, twenty-nine cities, with their villages.

³³ And in the lowland, Eshta′ol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zano′ah, En-gan′nim, Tap′puah, Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Aze′kah, ³⁶ Sha-ara′im, Aditha′im, Gede′rah, Gederotha′im: fourteen cities with their villages.

³⁷ Zenan, Hadash′ah, Mig′dal-gad, ³⁸ Di′lean, Mizpeh, Jok′theel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, ⁴¹ Gede′roth, Beth-da′gon, Na′amah, and Makke′dah: sixteen cities with their villages.

⁴² Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Kei′lah, Achzib, and Mare′shah: nine cities with their villages.

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

⁴⁷ Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; to the Brook of Egypt, and the Great Sea with its coast-line.

⁴⁸ And in the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kir′iath-san′nah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰ Anab, Esh′temoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities with their villages.

⁵² Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janim, Beth-tap′puah, Aphe′kah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kir′iath-ar′ba (that is, Hebron), and Zi′or: nine cities with their villages.

⁵⁵ Ma′on, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jok′de-am, Zano′ah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gib′e-ah, and Timnah: ten cities with their villages.

⁵⁸ Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Ma′arath, Beth-anoth, and El′tekon: six cities with their villages.

⁶⁰ Kir′iath-ba′al (that is, Kir′iath-je′arim), and Rabbah: two cities with their villages.

⁶¹ In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Middin, Seca′cah, ⁶² Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-ge′di: six cities with their villages.

⁶³ But the Jeb′usites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the people of Judah could not drive out; so the Jeb′usites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

The Territory of Ephraim

16 The allotment of the descendants of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel; ² then going from Bethel to Luz, it passes along to At′aroth, the territory of the Archites; ³ then it goes down westward to the territory of the Japh′letites, as far as the territory of Lower Beth-hor′on, then to Gezer, and it ends at the sea.

⁴ The people of Joseph, Manas′seh and E′phraim, received their inheritance.

⁵ The territory of the E′phraimites by their families was as follows: the boundary of their inheritance on the east was At′aroth-ad′dar as far as Upper Beth-hor′on, ⁶ and the boundary goes thence to the sea; on the north is Mich-me′thath; then on the east the boundary turns round toward Ta′anath-shi′loh, and passes along beyond it on the east to Jan-o′ah, ⁷ then it goes down from Jan-o′ah to At′aroth and to Na′arah, and touches Jericho, ending at the Jordan. ⁸ From Tap′puah the boundary goes westward to the brook Kanah, and ends at the sea. Such is the inheritance of the tribe of the E′phraimites by their families, ⁹ together with the towns which were set apart for the E′phraimites within the inheritance of the Manas′sites, all those towns with their villages. ¹⁰ However they did not drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: so the Canaanites have dwelt in the midst of E′phraim to this day but have become slaves to do forced labor.

The Other Half-Tribe of Manasseh (West)

17 Then allotment was made to the tribe of Manas′seh, for he was the first-born of Joseph. To Machir the first-born of Manas′seh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. ² And allotments were made to the rest of the tribe of Manas′seh, by their families, Abi-e′zer, Helek, As′ri-el, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemi′da; these were the male descendants of Manas′seh the son of Joseph, by their families.

³ Now Zelo′phehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manas′seh, had no sons, but only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ They came before Elea′zar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the leaders, and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brethren.” So according to the commandment of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father. ⁵ Thus there fell to Manas′seh ten portions, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is on the other side of the Jordan; ⁶ because the daughters of Manas′seh received an inheritance along with his sons. The land of Gilead was allotted to the rest of the Manas′sites.

⁷ The territory of Manas′seh reached from Asher to Mich-me′thath, which is east of Shechem; then the boundary goes along southward to the inhabitants of En-tap′puah. ⁸ The land of Tap′puah belonged to Manas′seh, but the town of Tap′puah on the boundary of Manas′seh belonged to the sons of E′phraim. ⁹ Then the boundary went down to the brook Kanah. The cities here, to the south of the brook, among the cities of Manas′seh, belong to E′phraim. Then the boundary of Manas′seh goes on the north side of the brook and ends at the sea; ¹⁰ the land to the south being E′phraim’s and that to the north being Manas′seh’s, with the sea forming its boundary; on the north Asher is reached, and on the east Is′sachar. ¹¹ Also in Is′sachar and in Asher Manas′seh had Beth-she′an and its villages, and Ibleam and its villages, and the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of Ta′anach and its villages, and the inhabitants of Megid′do and its villages; the third is Naphath.^{[a] 12} Yet the sons of Manas′seh could not take possession of those cities; but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. ¹³ But when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out.

The Tribe of Joseph Protests

¹⁴ And the tribe of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since hitherto the Lord has blessed me?” ¹⁵ And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Per′izzites and the Reph′aim, since the hill country of E′phraim is too narrow for you.” ¹⁶ The tribe of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us; yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have chariots of iron, both those in Beth-she′an and its villages and those in the Valley of Jezreel.” ¹⁷ Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to E′phraim and Manas′seh, “You are a numerous people, and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, ¹⁸ but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.”

The Territories of the Remaining Tribes

18 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; the land lay subdued before them.

² There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. ³ So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you be slack to go in and take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴ Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land, writing a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. ⁵ They shall divide it into seven portions, Judah continuing in his territory on the south, and the house of Joseph in their territory on the north. ⁶ And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. ⁷ The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage; and Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manas′seh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

⁸ So the men started on their way; and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down and write a description of the land, and come again to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.” ⁹ So the men went and passed up and down in the land and set down in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions; then they came to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh, ¹⁰ and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord; and there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, to each his portion.

The Territory of Benjamin

¹¹ The lot of the tribe of Benjamin according to its families came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Joseph. ¹² On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan; then the boundary goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward; and it ends at the wilderness of Beth-a′ven. ¹³ From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of Luz (the same is Bethel), then the boundary goes down to At′aroth-ad′dar, upon the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-hor′on. ¹⁴ Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-hor′on, and it ends at Kir′iath-ba′al (that is, Kir′iath-je′arim), a city belonging to the tribe of Judah. This forms the western side. ¹⁵ And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kir′iath-je′arim; and the boundary goes from there to Ephron,^[b] to the spring of the Waters of Nephto′ah; ¹⁶ then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the valley of Reph′aim; and it then goes down the valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jeb′usites, and downward to En-ro′gel; ¹⁷ then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-she′mesh, and thence goes to Geli′loth, which is opposite the ascent of Adum′mim; then it goes down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben; ¹⁸ and passing on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-arabah^[c] it goes down to the Arabah; ¹⁹ then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-hoglah; and the boundary ends at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border. ²⁰ The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin, according to its families, boundary by boundary round about.

²¹ Now the cities of the tribe of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-ke′ziz, ²² Beth-arabah, Zemara′im, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Che′pharam′moni, Ophni, Geba—twelve cities with their villages: ²⁵ Gibeon, Ramah, Be-er′oth, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephi′rah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Tar′alah, ²⁸ Zela, Ha-eleph, Jebus^[d] (that is, Jerusalem), Gib′e-ah^[e] and Kir′iath-je′arim^[f]—fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to its families.

The Territory of Simeon

19 The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of Simeon, according to its families; and its inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah. ² And it had for its inheritance Beer-sheba, Sheba, Mola′dah, ³ Hazar-shu′al, Balah, Ezem, ⁴ Elto′lad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵ Ziklag, Beth-mar′caboth, Ha′zar-su′sah, ⁶ Beth-leba′oth, and Sharu′hen—thirteen cities with their villages; ⁷ En-rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four cities with their villages; ⁸ together with all the villages round about these cities as far as Ba′alath-beer, Ramah of the Negeb. This was the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon according to its families. ⁹ The inheritance of the tribe of Simeon formed part of the territory of Judah; because the portion of the tribe of Judah was too large for them, the tribe of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.

The Territory of Zebulun

¹⁰ The third lot came up for the tribe of Zeb′ulun, according to its families. And the territory of its inheritance reached as far as Sarid; ¹¹ then its boundary goes up westward, and on to Mar′eal, and touches Dab′besheth, then the brook which is east of Jok′ne-am; ¹² from Sarid it goes in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise to the boundary of Chis′loth-ta′bor; thence it goes to Dab′erath, then up to Japhi′a; ¹³ from there it passes along on the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and going on to Rimmon it bends toward Ne′ah; ¹⁴ then on the north the boundary turns about to Han′nathon, and it ends at the valley of Iph′tahel; ¹⁵ and Kattath, Nahal′al, Shimron, I′dalah, and Bethlehem—twelve cities with their villages. ¹⁶ This is the inheritance of the tribe of Zeb′ulun, according to its families—these cities with their villages.

The Territory of Issachar

¹⁷ The fourth lot came out for Is′sachar, for the tribe of Is′sachar, according to its families. ¹⁸ Its territory included Jezreel, Chesul′loth, Shunem, ¹⁹ Haph′ara-im, Shion, Ana′harath, ²⁰ Rabbith, Kish′ion, Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En-gan′nim, En-had′dah, Beth-paz′zez; ²² the boundary also touches Tabor, Shahazu′mah, and Beth-she′mesh, and its boundary ends at the Jordan—sixteen cities with their villages. ²³ This is the inheritance of the tribe of Is′sachar, according to its families—the cities with their villages.

The Territory of Asher

²⁴ The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher according to its families. ²⁵ Its territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Ach′shaph, ²⁶ Allam′melech, Amad, and Mishal; on the west it touches Carmel and Shihor-lib′nath, ²⁷ then it turns eastward, it goes to Beth-dagon, and touches Zeb′ulun and the valley of Iph′tahel northward to Beth-emek and Nei′el; then it continues in the north to Cabul, ²⁸ Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, as far as Sidon the Great; ²⁹ then the boundary turns to Ramah, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre; then the boundary turns to Hosah, and it ends at the sea; Mahalab,^[g] Achzib, ³⁰ Ummah, Aphek and Rehob—twenty-two cities with their villages. ³¹ This is the inheritance of the tribe of Asher according to its families—these cities with their villages.

The Territory of Naphtali

³² The sixth lot came out for the tribe of Naph′tali, for the tribe of Naph′tali, according to its families. ³³ And its boundary ran from Heleph, from the oak in Za-anan′nim, and Ad′ami-nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum; and it ended at the Jordan; ³⁴ then the boundary turns westward to Az′noth-tabor, and goes from there to Hukkok, touching Zeb′ulun at the south, and Asher on the west, and Judah on the east at the Jordan. ³⁵ The fortified cities are Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chin′nereth, ³⁶ Ad′amah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Ed′re-i, En-ha′zor, ³⁸ Yiron, Mig′dal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-she′mesh—nineteen cities with their villages. ³⁹ This is the inheritance of the tribe of Naph′tali according to its families—the cities with their villages.

The Territory of Dan

⁴⁰ The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan, according to its families. ⁴¹ And the territory of its inheritance included Zorah, Esh′ta-ol, Ir-she′mesh, ⁴² Sha-alab′bin, Ai′jalon, Ithlah, ⁴³ Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴ El′tekeh, Gib′bethon, Ba′alath, ⁴⁵ Jehud, Bene-be′rak, Gath-rim′mon, ⁴⁶ and Me-jar′kon and Rakkon with the territory over against Joppa. ⁴⁷ When the territory of the Danites was lost to them, the Danites went up and fought against Leshem, and after capturing it and putting it to the sword they took possession of it and settled in it, calling Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor. ⁴⁸ This is the inheritance of the tribe of Dan, according to their families—these cities with their villages.

Joshua’s Inheritance

⁴⁹ When they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the people of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. ⁵⁰ By command of the Lord they gave him the city which he asked, Tim′nath-se′rah in the hill country of E′phraim; and he rebuilt the city, and settled in it.

⁵¹ These are the inheritances which Elea′zar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel distributed by lot at Shiloh before the Lord, at the door of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.

The Cities of Refuge

20 Then the Lord said to Joshua, ² “Say to the people of Israel, ‘Appoint the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, ³ that the manslayer who kills any person without intent or unwittingly may flee there; they shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴ He shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and explain his case to the elders of that city; then they shall take him into the city, and give him a place, and he shall remain with them. ⁵ And if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not give up the slayer into his hand; because he killed his neighbor unwittingly, having had no enmity against him in times past. ⁶ And he shall remain in that city until he has stood before the congregation for judgment, until the death of him who is high priest at the time: then the slayer may go again to his own town and his own home, to the town from which he fled.’”

⁷ So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naph′tali, and Shechem in the hill country of E′phraim, and Kir′iath-ar′ba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. ⁸ And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they appointed Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland, from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan, from the tribe of Manas′seh. ⁹ These were the cities designated for all the people of Israel, and for the stranger sojourning among them, that any one who killed a person without intent could flee there, so that he might not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, till he stood before the congregation.

Cities Allotted to the Levites

21 Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites came to Elea′zar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel; ² and they said to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, “The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to dwell in, along with their pasture lands for our cattle.” ³ So by command of the Lord the people of Israel gave to the Levites the following cities and pasture lands out of their inheritance.

⁴ The lot came out for the families of the Ko′hathites. So those Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest received by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, thirteen cities.

⁵ And the rest of the Ko′hathites received by lot from the families of the tribe of E′phraim, from the tribe of Dan and the half-tribe of Manas′seh, ten cities.

⁶ The Gershonites received by lot from the families of the tribe of Is′sachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naph′tali, and from the half-tribe of Manas′seh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

⁷ The Merar′ites according to their families received from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zeb′ulun, twelve cities.

⁸ These cities and their pasture lands the people of Israel gave by lot to the Levites, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

⁹ Out of the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Simeon they gave the following cities mentioned by name, ¹⁰ which went to the descendants of Aaron, one of the families of the Ko′hathites who belonged to the Levites; since the lot fell to them first. ¹¹ They gave them Kir′iath-ar′ba (Arba being the father of Anak), that is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, along with the pasture lands round about it. ¹² But the fields of the city and its villages had been given to Caleb the son of Jephun′neh as his possession.

¹³ And to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the slayer, with its pasture lands, Libnah with its pasture lands, ¹⁴ Jattir with its pasture lands, Eshtemo′a with its pasture lands, ¹⁵ Holon with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands, ¹⁶ A′in with its pasture lands, Juttah with its pasture lands, Beth-she′mesh with its pasture lands—nine cities out of these two tribes; ¹⁷ then out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba with its pasture lands, ¹⁸ An′athoth with its pasture lands, and Almon with its pasture lands—four cities. ¹⁹ The cities of the descendants of Aaron, the priests, were in all thirteen cities with their pasture lands.

²⁰ As to the rest of the Ko′hathites belonging to the Ko′hathite families of the Levites, the cities allotted to them were out of the tribe of E′phraim. ²¹ To them were given Shechem, the city of refuge for the slayer, with its pasture lands in the hill country of E′phraim, Gezer with its pasture lands, ²² Kib′za-im with its pasture lands, Beth-hor′on with its pasture lands—four cities; ²³ and out of the tribe of Dan, El′teke with its pasture lands, Gib′bethon with its pasture lands, ²⁴ Ai′jalon with its pasture lands, Gath-rim′mon with its pasture lands—four cities; ²⁵ and out of the half-tribe of Manas′seh, Ta′anach with its pasture lands, and Gath-rim′mon with its pasture lands—two cities. ²⁶ The cities of the families of the rest of the Ko′hathites were ten in all with their pasture lands.

²⁷ And to the Gershonites, one of the families of the Levites, were given out of the half-tribe of Manas′seh, Golan in Bashan with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the slayer, and Be-esh′terah with its pasture lands—two cities; ²⁸ and out of the tribe of Is′sachar, Ki′shion with its pasture lands, Dab′erath with its pasture lands, ²⁹ Jarmuth with its pasture lands, En-gan′nim with its pasture lands—four cities; ³⁰ and out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands, ³¹ Helkath with its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture lands—four cities; ³² and out of the tribe of Naph′tali, Kedesh in Galilee with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the slayer, Ham′moth-dor with its pasture lands, and Kartan with its pasture lands—three cities. ³³ The cities of the several families of the Gershonites were in all thirteen cities with their pasture lands.

³⁴ And to the rest of the Levites, the Merar′ite families, were given out of the tribe of Zeb′ulun, Jok′ne-am with its pasture lands, Kartah with its pasture lands, ³⁵ Dimnah with its pasture lands, Na′halal with its pasture lands—four cities; ³⁶ and out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its pasture lands, Jahaz with its pasture lands, ³⁷ Ked′emoth with its pasture lands, and Meph′a-ath with its pasture lands—four cities; ³⁸ and out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the slayer, Mahana′im with its pasture lands, ³⁹ Heshbon with its pasture lands, Jazer with its pasture lands—four cities in all. ⁴⁰ As for the cities of the several Merar′ite families, that is, the remainder of the families of the Levites, those allotted to them were in all twelve cities.

⁴¹ The cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the people of Israel were in all forty-eight cities with their pasture lands. ⁴² These cities had each its pasture lands round about it; so it was with all these cities.

⁴³ Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers; and having taken possession of it, they settled there. ⁴⁴ And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers; not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. ⁴⁵ Not one of all the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

The Eastern Tribes Return to Their Territory

22 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manas′seh, ² and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you; ³ you have not forsaken your brethren these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God. ⁴ And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brethren, as he promised them; therefore turn and go to your home in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. ⁵ Take good care to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” ⁶ So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away; and they went to their homes.

⁷ Now to the one half of the tribe of Manas′seh Moses had given a possession in Bashan; but to the other half Joshua had given a possession beside their brethren in the land west of the Jordan. And when Joshua sent them away to their homes and blessed them, ⁸ he said to them, “Go back to your homes with much wealth, and with very many cattle, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.” ⁹ So the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manas′seh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had possessed themselves by command of the Lord through Moses.

A Memorial Altar East of the Jordan

¹⁰ And when they came to the region about the Jordan, that lies in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manas′seh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of great size. ¹¹ And the people of Israel heard say, “Behold, the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manas′seh have built an altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the people of Israel.” ¹² And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh, to make war against them.

¹³ Then the people of Israel sent to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manas′seh, in the land of Gilead, Phin′ehas the son of Elea′zar the priest, ¹⁴ and with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel, every one of them the head of a family among the clans of Israel. ¹⁵ And they came to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manas′seh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them, ¹⁶ “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What is this treachery which you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the Lord, by building yourselves an altar this day in rebellion against the Lord? ¹⁷ Have we not had enough of the sin at Pe′or from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the Lord, ¹⁸ that you must turn away this day from following the Lord? And if you rebel against the Lord today he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow. ¹⁹ But now, if your land is unclean, pass over into the Lord’s land where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us; only do not rebel against the Lord, or make us as rebels by building yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰ Did not Achan the son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity.’”

²¹ Then the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manas′seh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, ²² “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith toward the Lord, spare us not today ²³ for building an altar to turn away from following the Lord; or if we did so to offer burnt offerings or cereal offerings or peace offerings on it, may the Lord himself take vengeance. ²⁴ Nay, but we did it from fear 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 made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you Reubenites and Gadites; you have no portion in the Lord.’ So your children might make our children cease to worship the Lord. ²⁶ Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, ²⁷ but to be a witness between us and you, and between the generations after us, that we do perform the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings; lest your children say to our children in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”’ ²⁸ And we thought, If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, ‘Behold the copy of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.’ ²⁹ Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn away this day from following the Lord by building an altar for burnt offering, cereal offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle!”

³⁰ When Phin′ehas the priest and the chiefs of the congregation, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the Reubenites and the Gadites and the Manas′sites spoke, it pleased them well. ³¹ And Phin′ehas the son of Elea′zar the priest said to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the Manas′sites, “Today we know that the Lord is in the midst of us, because you have not committed this treachery against the Lord; now you have saved the people of Israel from the hand of the Lord.”

³² Then Phin′ehas the son of Elea′zar the priest, and the chiefs, returned from the Reubenites and the Gadites in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the people of Israel, and brought back word to them. ³³ And the report pleased the people of Israel; and the people of Israel blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them, to destroy the land where the Reubenites and the Gadites were settled. ³⁴ The Reubenites and the Gadites called the altar Witness; “For,” said they, “it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”

Joshua Exhorts the People

23 A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, ² Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders and heads, their judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years; ³ and you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. ⁴ Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. ⁵ The Lord your God will push them back before you, and drive them out of your sight; and you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God promised you. ⁶ Therefore be very steadfast to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, ⁷ that you may not be mixed with these nations left here among you, or make mention of the names of their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or bow down yourselves to them, ⁸ but cleave to the Lord your God as you have done to this day. ⁹ For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations; and as for you, no man has been able to withstand you to this day. ¹⁰ One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, as he promised you. ¹¹ Take good heed to yourselves, therefore, to love the Lord your God. ¹² For if you turn back, and join the remnant of these nations left here among you, and make marriages with them, so that you marry their women and they yours, ¹³ know assuredly that the Lord your God will not continue to drive out these nations before you; but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a scourge on your sides, and thorns in your eyes, till you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴ “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God promised concerning you; all have come to pass for you, not one of them has failed. ¹⁵ But just as all the good things which the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you, ¹⁶ if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land which he has given to you.”

The Tribes Renew the Covenant

24 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. ² And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Your fathers lived of old beyond the Euphra′tes, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. ³ Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac; ⁴ and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Se′ir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. ⁵ And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it; and afterwards I brought you out. ⁶ Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. ⁷ And when they cried to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt; and you lived in the wilderness a long time. ⁸ Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan; they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. ⁹ Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel; and he sent and invited Balaam the son of Be′or to curse you, ¹⁰ but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you; so I delivered you out of his hand. ¹¹ And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the men of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Per′izzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Gir′gashites, the Hivites, and the Jeb′usites; and I gave them into your hand. ¹² And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. ¹³ I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you dwell therein; you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards which you did not plant.’

¹⁴ “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵ And if you be unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

¹⁶ Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; ¹⁷ for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; ¹⁸ and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land; therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord; for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.” ²¹ And the people said to Joshua, “Nay; but we will serve the Lord.” ²² Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³ He said, “Then put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” ²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” ²⁵ So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem. ²⁶ And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord. ²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the Lord which he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” ²⁸ So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

Death of Joshua and Eleazar

²⁹ After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being a hundred and ten years old. ³⁰ And they buried him in his own inheritance at Tim′nath-se′rah, which is in the hill country of E′phraim, north of the mountain of Ga′ash.

³¹ And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work which the Lord did for Israel.

³² The bones of Joseph which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt were buried at Shechem, in the portion of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money;^[h] it became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.

³³ And Elea′zar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gib′e-ah, the town of Phin′ehas his son, which had been given him in the hill country of E′phraim.

Israel’s Failure to Complete the Conquest of Canaan

1 After the death of Joshua the people of Israel inquired of the Lord, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” ² The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” ³ And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. ⁴ Then Judah went up and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Per′izzites into their hand; and they defeated ten thousand of them at Bezek. ⁵ They came upon Ado′ni-be′zek at Bezek, and fought against him, and defeated the Canaanites and the Per′izzites. ⁶ Ado′ni-be′zek fled; but they pursued him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. ⁷ And Ado′ni-be′zek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their great toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has requited me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

⁸ And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. ⁹ And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. ¹⁰ And Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kir′iath-ar′ba); and they defeated Sheshai and Ahi′man and Talmai.

¹¹ From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kir′iath-se′pher. ¹² And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kir′iath-se′pher and takes it, I will give him Achsah my daughter as wife.” ¹³ And Oth′ni-el the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. ¹⁴ When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field; and she alighted from her ass, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” ¹⁵ She said to him, “Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

¹⁶ And the descendants of the Ken′ite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad; and they went and settled with the people. ¹⁷ And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called Hormah. ¹⁸ Judah also took Gaza with its territory, and Ash′kelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. ¹⁹ And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain, because they had chariots of iron. ²⁰ And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said; and he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. ²¹ But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jeb′usites who dwelt in Jerusalem; so the Jeb′usites have dwelt with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

²² The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel; and the Lord was with them. ²³ And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) ²⁴ And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Pray, show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” ²⁵ And he showed them the way into the city; and they smote the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. ²⁶ And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and called its name Luz; that is its name to this day.

²⁷ Manas′seh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-she′an and its villages, or Ta′anach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megid′do and its villages; but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. ²⁸ When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

²⁹ And E′phraim did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

³⁰ Zeb′ulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Na′halol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became subject to forced labor.

³¹ Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob; ³² but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.

³³ Naph′tali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-she′mesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-she′mesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.

³⁴ The Amorites pressed the Danites back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain; ³⁵ the Amorites persisted in dwelling in Har-heres, in Ai′jalon, and in Sha-al′bim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily upon them, and they became subject to forced labor. ³⁶ And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrab′bim, from Sela and upward.

Israel’s Disobedience

2 Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you into the land which I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, ² and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my command. What is this you have done? ³ So now I say, I will not drive them out before you; but they shall become adversaries^[i] to you, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” ⁴ When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. ⁵ And they called the name of that place Bochim;^[j] and they sacrificed there to the Lord.

Death of Joshua

⁶ When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. ⁷ And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work which the Lord had done for Israel. ⁸ And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten years. ⁹ And they buried him within the bounds of his inheritance in Tim′nath-he′res, in the hill country of E′phraim, north of the mountain of Ga′ash. ¹⁰ And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them, who did not know the Lord or the work which he had done for Israel.

Israel’s Unfaithfulness

¹¹ And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Ba′als; ¹² and they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; they went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were round about them, and bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger. ¹³ They forsook the Lord, and served the Ba′als and the Ash′taroth. ¹⁴ So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them; and he sold them into the power of their enemies round about, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. ¹⁵ Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had warned, and as the Lord had sworn to them; and they were in sore straits.

¹⁶ Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the power of those who plundered them. ¹⁷ And yet they did not listen to their judges; for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed down to them; they soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. ¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. ¹⁹ But whenever the judge died, they turned back and behaved worse than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them; they did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. ²⁰ So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel; and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not obeyed my voice, ²¹ I will not henceforth drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, ²² that by them I may test Israel, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” ²³ So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out at once, and he did not give them into the power of Joshua.

Nations Remaining in the Land

3 Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had no experience of any war in Canaan; ² it was only that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, that he might teach war to such at least as had not known it before. ³ These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sido′nians, and the Hivites who dwelt on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Ba′al-her′mon as far as the entrance of Hamath. ⁴ They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by Moses. ⁵ So the people of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Per′izzites, the Hivites, and the Jeb′usites; ⁶ and they took their daughters to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons; and they served their gods.

Othniel

⁷ And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, forgetting the Lord their God, and serving the Ba′als and the Ashe′roth. ⁸ Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cu′shan-rishatha′im king of Mesopota′mia; and the people of Israel served Cu′shan-rishatha′im eight years. ⁹ But when the people of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who delivered them, Oth′ni-el the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel; he went out to war, and the Lord gave Cu′shan-rishatha′im king of Mesopota′mia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cu′shan-rishatha′im. ¹¹ So the land had rest forty years. Then Oth′ni-el the son of Kenaz died.

Ehud

¹² And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹³ He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amal′ekites, and went and defeated Israel; and they took possession of the city of palms. ¹⁴ And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

¹⁵ But when the people of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. ¹⁶ And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length; and he girded it on his right thigh under his clothes. ¹⁷ And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. ¹⁸ And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people that carried the tribute. ¹⁹ But he himself turned back at the sculptured stones near Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. ²⁰ And Ehud came to him, as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. ²¹ And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly; ²² and the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the dirt came out. ²³ Then Ehud went out into the vestibule,^[k] and closed the doors of the roof chamber upon him, and locked them.

²⁴ When he had gone, the servants came; and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “He is only relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” ²⁵ And they waited till they were utterly at a loss; but when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them; and there lay their lord dead on the floor.

²⁶ Ehud escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the sculptured stones, and escaped to Se-i′rah. ²⁷ When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of E′phraim; and the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, having him at their head.