Bible in 90 Days

Inheritance of Judah

15 Now the allotment for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was as far as the border of Edom, southward to the wilderness of Zin at the extreme south. ² Their southern border was from the lower end of the Salt Sea, from the bay projecting southward. ³ Then it proceeded south of the Ascent of Akrabbim and passed on to Zin, and then went up by the south of Kadesh-barnea and passed on to Hezron, and went up to Addar and turned toward Karka. ⁴ It passed along to Azmon and went on to the Wadi of Egypt, where the border ended at the sea—this will be your southern border.

⁵ The eastern border is the Salt Sea to the end of the Jordan. The border on the northern side was from the bay of the sea at the end of the Jordan. ⁶ It then went up to Beth-hoglah and passed north of Beth-arabah, and went up to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. ⁷ The border then went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and turned northward toward Gilgal, facing the Ascent of Adummim, which is south of the wadi. Next the border passed along to the waters of En-shemesh and ended at En-rogel. ⁸ Then the border went up the Valley of Ben-hinnom to the southern flank of the Jebusites—that is, Jerusalem—and went up to the top of the mountain that flanks the Hinnom Valley to the west, which is at the northern end of the Rephaim Valley. ⁹ From the top of the mountain the border curved to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and went out to the towns of Mount Ephron, then curved to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim).

¹⁰ From Baalah the border turned westward to Mount Seir, passed along to the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon) and went down to Beth-shemesh, then passed Timnah. ¹¹ Next the border went out to the slope north of Ekron, then went out to Shikkeron, passed along to Mount Baalah, went on to Jabneel, and the border ended at the sea.

¹² The western border was the Great Sea and its coastline. These were the borders around the children of Judah according to their clans.

¹³ Now to Caleb son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah, at the command of Adonai to Joshua—Kiriath-arba, which is Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). ¹⁴ So Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak—Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai, children of Anak. ¹⁵ Then he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir (now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher).

¹⁶ Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife to the one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it.” ¹⁷ So Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s kinsman, captured it, so he gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. ¹⁸ Now it came about when she came to him, that she persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her: “What do you need?”

¹⁹ “Give me a blessing,” she said. “For you have given me land in the Negev^[a], you should also give me springs of water.” So he gave her the Upper Springs and the Lower Springs.

²⁰ This is the portion of the tribe of the children of Judah by their clans: ²¹ the towns at the end of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the border of Edom in the south were Kavzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵ Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, ²⁸ Hazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰ El-tolad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³² Lebaot, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon—a total of 29 towns, with their villages.

³³ In the lowland: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoach, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶ Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah and Gederothaim—14 towns with their villages. ³⁷ Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, ³⁸ Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmas, Chithlish, ⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah and Makkedah—16 towns with their villages. ⁴² Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, Achzib and Mareshah—9 towns with their villages. ⁴⁵ Ekron with its towns and villages; ⁴⁶ from Ekron to the sea, all that were under Ashdod’s hand, with their villages, ⁴⁷ Ashdod, its dependencies and its villages; Gaza, its dependencies and its villages, all the way to the Wadi of Egypt and the coastline of the Great Sea.

⁴⁸ In the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon and Giloh—11 towns with their villages. ⁵² Arab, Rumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janum, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—9 towns with their villages. ⁵⁵ Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kayin, Gibeah and Timnah—10 towns with their villages; ⁵⁸ Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon—6 towns with their villages. ⁶⁰ Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim) and Rabbah—2 towns with their villages.

⁶¹ In the wilderness: Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶² Nibshan, the City of Salt and En-gedi—6 towns with their villages.

⁶³ As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out. So the Jebusites continue to live among the children of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.

Inheritance of Ephraim

16 The allotment for the children of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east to the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. ² From Bethel it went out to Luz, then continued to the border of the Archites at Ataroth. ³ Then it went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, to the territory of Lower Beth-horon, on to Gezer, and ended at the sea. ⁴ So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their portion.

⁵ Now the territory of the children of Ephraim according to their clans was as follows: the border of their inheritance eastward was Atroth-addar, up to Upper Beth-horon. ⁶ Then the border went out westward at Mich-methath on the north, then the border turned eastward to Taanath-shiloh, and passed by it to the east of Janoah. ⁷ Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. ⁸ From Tappuah the border went along westward to the Wadi Kanah and ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their clans, ⁹ together with the towns which were set apart for the children of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all these towns with their villages.

¹⁰ But they did not drive out the Canaanites that were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites continued to live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and became forced laborers.

Inheritance of Manasseh

17 Now this was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh, the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, since he was a man of war, he got Gilead and Bashan. ² So for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their clans—for the sons of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida—these were the male children of Manasseh son of Joseph according to their clans. ³ But Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters—these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ So they appeared before Eleazar the kohen, before Joshua son of Nun and before the leaders saying: “Adonai commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our kinsmen.” Therefore according to the commandment of Adonai he gave them a portion among their father’s kinsmen. ⁵ Thus ten shares fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan that is beyond the Jordan, ⁶ because the daughters of Manasseh received a portion among his sons. Meanwhile the land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.

⁷ The border of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethath, which is facing Shechem. Then the border went along southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸ The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim. ⁹ Next the border went down to the Wadi Kanah, south of the wadi, by towns belonging to Ephraim among Manasseh’s towns. But the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the wadi, and ended at the sea. ¹⁰ The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side belonged to Manasseh, and the sea was its border. They reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. ¹¹ Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh possessed Beth-shean and its villages, Ibleam and its villages, the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, the inhabitants of Taanach and its villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages—three regions.

¹² Yet the children of Manasseh could not take possession of these towns, because the Canaanites were resolved to live in that land. ¹³ But when Bnei-Yisrael became stronger, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly dispossess them.

¹⁴ Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua saying: “Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? For we are a numerous people whom Adonai has thus far blessed?”

¹⁵ So Joshua said to them, “If you have so many people, go you up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.”

¹⁶ “The hill country will not be enough for us,” the children of Joseph replied. “But all the Canaanites who inhabit the valley land have iron chariots—both those who are in Beth-shean and its villages and those who are in the Jezreel Valley.”

¹⁷ But Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh saying: “You are a numerous people with great strength! You shouldn’t have just one allotment, ¹⁸ because the hill country should be yours. Though it is a forest, you will clear it, and to its farthest borders it will be yours—for you will drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and even though they are strong.”

Scouting the Land Further

18 Then the whole congregation of Bnei-Yisrael assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there, after the land was now subdued before them. ² Yet there remained among Bnei-Yisrael seven tribes that still had not received their portions. ³ So Joshua said to Bnei-Yisrael, “How long will you be slack about going in to possess the land which Adonai, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴ Appoint for yourselves three men from each tribe, and I will send them, and they will arise and walk through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance, and then return to me. ⁵ They are to divide it into seven portions: Judah will remain within its territory in the south, and the house of Joseph will remain within their territory in the north. ⁶ After you have described the seven portions of land, bring the description here to me. Then I will cast lots for you here before Adonai our God. ⁷ But the Levites have no portion among you—for the priesthood of Adonai is their inheritance. Also Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of Adonai gave them.”

⁸ So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write a description of the land, saying: “Go and walk through the land and describe it, then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here before Adonai in Shiloh.” ⁹ So the men went, passing through the land, and described it in a scroll, town by town, in seven parts. Then they came to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰ Then Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before Adonai, and there Joshua apportioned the land to Bnei-Yisrael according to their divisions.

Inheritance of Benjamin

¹¹ Now the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up, for their clans. The territory of their allotment lay between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. ¹² Now their border on the north side was from the Jordan—the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward, and it ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven. ¹³ Then the border passed from there to Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel) southward. Next the border went down to Atroth-addar, near the mountain that lies to the south of Lower Beth-horon.

¹⁴ On the west side, from the hill facing Beth-horon southward, the border curved, turning about southward, and ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a town of the children of Judah. This was the west side.

¹⁵ Then the south side was from the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim, then the border went westward, going to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then the border went down to the foot of the mountain by the Valley of Ben-hinnom, which is at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. Then it went down to the Valley of Hinnom, to the slope of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel. ¹⁷ Then it curved north, and went to En-shemesh and ran to Geliloth opposite the Ascent of Adummim, and went down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. ¹⁸ Next it passed northward to the slope facing the Arabah (of the Jordan Valley), and went down to the Arabah. ¹⁹ Then the border passed along the side of Beth-hoglah northward, and the border ended at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.

²⁰ The Jordan was to be the border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, and its borders all around according to their clans.

²¹ Now the towns of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their clans were: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, ²² Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Chephar-ammonah, Ophni, and Geba—12 towns with their villages. ²⁵ Gibeon, Ramah, Beerot, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zela, Eleph, and Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath—14 towns with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their clans.

Portions for Other Tribes

19 Then the second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their clans. Now their portion was in the midst of the portion of the children of Judah. ² They had for their inheritance: Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah, ³ Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴ El-tolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵ Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, ⁶ Beth-lebaoth and Sharuhen—13 towns with their villages; ⁷ also Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan—4 towns with their villages; ⁸ all the villages that were around these towns as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negev. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their clans. ⁹ The inheritance of the children of Simeon was taken out of the allotment of the children of Judah, for the portion of the children of Judah was too much for them; so the children of Simeon had inheritance within Judah’s inheritance.

¹⁰ Now the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their clans. The territory of their inheritance was as far as Sarid. ¹¹ Their border went up westward to Maralah, then reached Dabbesheth, and on to the wadi alongside Jokneam. ¹² It turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrise to the border of Chisloth-tabor, then went on to Dobrath and up to Japhia. ¹³ From there it went east to Gath-hepher, to Ethkazin, and went on to Rimmon, where it curved to Neah. ¹⁴ Then the border circled around on the north to Hannathon and ended at the Valley of Iphtahel. ¹⁵ Included also were Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem—12 towns with their villages. ¹⁶ This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their clans, these towns with their villages.

¹⁷ The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the children of Issachar according to their clans. ¹⁸ Now their territory was to Jezreel, and included Chesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹ Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰ Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah and Beth-pazzez. ²² The border extended to Tabor, Shahazim, and Beth-shemesh, and ended at the Jordan—16 towns with their villages. ²³ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their clans, the towns with their villages.

²⁴ Then the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their clans. ²⁵ Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, ²⁶ Allam-melech, Amad, and Mishal. It extended to Carmel westward and Shihor-libnath. ²⁷ Then it turned toward the sunrise to Beth-dagon, extended to Zebulun and to the Iphtahel Valley on the north toward Beth-emek and Neiel, then went on to Cabul on the north, ²⁸ then Ebron, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah, up to greater Sidon. ²⁹ Next the border turned to Ramah, then to the fortified city of Tyre. Then the border turned to Hosah and ended at the sea in the region of Achzib, ³⁰ Also included were Ummah, Aphek and Rehob—22 towns with their villages. ³¹ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their clans, these towns with their villages.

³² The sixth lot came out for the children of Naphtali, for the children of Naphtali according to their clans. ³³ Their border went from Heleph and from Elon-beza-anannim, including Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and ended at the Jordan. ³⁴ Then the border turned westward to Aznoth-tabor, and went on from there to Hukok. It touched Zebulun on the south, touched Asher on the west, and Judah at the Jordan toward the east. ³⁵ The fortified cities were Ziddim-zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, ³⁶ Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Edrei, En-Hazor, ³⁸ Iron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath and Beth-shemesh—19 towns with their villages. ³⁹ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their clans, the towns with their villages.

⁴⁰ The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their clans. ⁴¹ The territory of their inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, ⁴² Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, ⁴³ Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴ Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵ Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, ⁴⁶ and the Waters of Jarkon and Rakkon along the border opposite Joppa. ⁴⁷ The territory of the children of Dan slipped away from them, so the children of Dan went up and fought against Leshem and captured it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, possessed it and settled in it, and called Leshem Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor. ⁴⁸ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their clans, these towns with their villages.

⁴⁹ When they had finished allotting the land for inheritance by its borders, Bnei-Yisrael gave a portion to Joshua son of Nun in their midst. ⁵⁰ According to the command of Adonai they gave him the city that he requested, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. So he built up the city and lived in it.

⁵¹ These are the portions which Eleazar the kohen and Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the ancestral houses of the tribes of Bnei-Yisrael distributed for inheritance by lot in Shiloh before Adonai, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. So they finished apportioning the land.

Six Cities of Refuge

20 Then Adonai spoke to Joshua saying, ² “Speak to Bnei-Yisrael saying, ‘Designate your cities of refuge, about which I spoke to you through Moses. ³ So the manslayer who kills any person by mistake and without premeditation may flee there. They will be your refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴ When one flees to one of those cities, he must stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and state his case in the hearing of the elders of that city. Then they are to take him into their city and give him a place to live among them. ⁵ Now if the blood avenger pursues him, then they will not hand the manslayer over to him, since he killed his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him beforehand. ⁶ So he will stay in that city until he can stand trial before the congregation, or until the death of the kohen gadol in those days. Then the manslayer may return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he had fled.’”

⁷ So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. ⁸ Across the Jordan east of Jericho, they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹ These were the appointed cities for all Bnei-Yisrael and for the outsider who is dwelling among them, so that whoever kills any person unintentionally might flee there and not die by the hand of the blood avenger, before standing trial before the congregation.

Towns for the Levites

21 Then the heads of ancestral houses of the Levites approached Eleazar the kohen and Joshua son of Nun and the heads of ancestral houses of the tribes of Bnei-Yisrael, ² and they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan saying: “Adonai commanded through Moses to give us towns to live in, with their pastures for our cattle.” ³ So Bnei-Yisrael gave to the Levites from their inheritance, according to the command of Adonai, these towns and their pastures: ⁴ the lot came out for the clan of the Kohathites. The children of Aaron the kohen, who were of the Levites, received 13 towns by lot from the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Simeon and the tribe of Benjamin. ⁵ The rest of the children of Kohath received 10 towns by lot from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe of Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ⁶ The children of Gershon received 13 towns by lot from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. ⁷ The children of Merari according to their clans received 12 towns from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the tribe of Zebulun.

⁸ So Bnei-Yisrael gave by lot to the Levites these towns with their pastures, as Adonai had commanded through Moses. ⁹ They gave from the tribe of the children of Judah and from the tribe of the children of Simeon these towns which are here mentioned by name. ¹⁰ They were for the children of Aaron, of the clans of the Kohathites, of the children of Levi, for theirs was the first lot: ¹¹ So they gave them Kiriath-arba, the father of Anak (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah, with its surrounding pastures. ¹² But the fields of the city and its villages they had already given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession. ¹³ But to the children of Aaron the kohen they assigned Hebron (the city of refuge for the manslayer) with its pastures, Libnah with its pastures, ¹⁴ Jattir with its pastures, Eshtemoa with its pastures, ¹⁵ Holon with its pastures, Debir with its pastures, ¹⁶ Ain with its pastures, Juttah with its pastures and Beth-shemesh with its pastures—9 towns from these two tribes.

¹⁷ Then from the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon with its pastures, Geba with its pastures, ¹⁸ Anathoth with its pastures and Almon with its pastures—4 towns. ¹⁹ All the towns of the kohanim, the children of Aaron, were 13 towns with their pastures.

²⁰ As for the other clans of the children of Kohath, the remaining Levites descended from the children of Kohath, the towns of their lot were from the tribe of Ephraim. ²¹ So they gave them Shechem (the city of refuge for the manslayer) with its pastures in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pastures, ²² Kibzaim with its pastures and Beth-horon with its pastures—4 towns.

²³ From the tribe of Dan: Elteke with its pastures, Gibbethon with its pastures, ²⁴ Aijalon with its pastures and Gath-rimmon with its pastures—4 towns. ²⁵ From the half-tribe of Manasseh: Taanach with its pastures and Gath-rimmon with its pastures—2 towns. ²⁶ All the towns of the clans of the rest of the children of Kohath were 10 with their pastures.

²⁷ Now to the children of Gershon of the clans of the Levites: from the half-tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan (the city of refuge for the manslayer) in Bashan with its pastures and Beeshterah with its pastures—2 towns. ²⁸ From the tribe of Issachar: Kishion with its pastures, Dobrath with its pastures, ²⁹ Jarmuth with its pastures and En-gannim with its pastures—4 towns. ³⁰ From the tribe of Asher: Mishal with its pastures, Abdon with its pastures, ³¹ Helkath with its pastures, and Rehob with its pastures—4 towns. ³² From the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh (the city of refuge for the manslayer) in Galilee with its pastures, Hammoth-dor with its pastures, Kartan with its pastures—3 towns. ³³ All the towns of the Gershonites according to their clans were 13 towns with their pastures.

³⁴ To the remaining Levites of the clans of the children of Merari, they gave from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam with its pastures, Kartah with its pastures, ³⁵ Dimnah with its pastures, and Nahalal with its pastures—4 towns. ³⁶ From the tribe of Reuben: Bezer with its pastures, Jahaz with its pastures, ³⁷ Kedemoth with its pastures and Mephaath with its pastures—4 cities. ³⁸ From the tribe of Gad: Ramoth (the city of refuge for the manslayer) in Gilead with its pastures, Mahanaim with its pastures, ³⁹ Heshbon with its pastures, and Jazer with its pastures—4 towns in all. ⁴⁰ All the towns that went by lot to the children of Merari (the remaining Levites) according to their clans, were 12 towns.

⁴¹ The total of the towns of the Levites within the holdings of Bnei-Yisrael was 48 towns with their pastures. ⁴² Each of these towns had its own pastures; so it was for all these towns.

Adonai Keeps All His Promises

⁴³ So Adonai gave to Israel the entire land that He had sworn to give to their fathers. They took possession and settled in it. ⁴⁴ Then Adonai gave them rest on all sides, just as He had sworn to their fathers. Not one man of all their enemies withstood them, for Adonai gave all their enemies into their hand. ⁴⁵ Not one good thing that Adonai had promised to the house of Israel failed. All came to pass.

Altar of Witness

22 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, Gadites and half-tribe of Manasseh, ² and said to them: “You have kept all that Moses the servant of Adonai commanded you, and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you. ³ You have not abandoned your kinsmen these many days to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of Adonai your God. ⁴ So now Adonai your God has given rest to your kinsmen, as He said to them. So now, turn and go to your tents, to the land that is your possession, which Moses the servant of Adonai gave you beyond the Jordan. ⁵ Only be very careful to observe the mitzvah and the Torah which Moses the servant of Adonai commanded you, to love Adonai your God and walk in all His ways, and to keep His mitzvot, cling to Him and worship Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

⁶ So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. ⁷ Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given inheritance in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua gave territory among their kinsmen to the west of the Jordan. Moreover, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them ⁸ and spoke to them saying: “Return to your tents with great wealth and with very much cattle, with silver, gold, bronze, iron and with very many clothes. Share the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.”

⁹ So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned and departed from Bnei-Yisrael at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their inheritance that they had possessed, according to the mouth of Adonai by Moses’ hand.

¹⁰ Now when they came to the region near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan—a large, conspicuous altar. ¹¹ Then Bnei-Yisrael heard about it and said: “Behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar opposite the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, across from Bnei-Yisrael.” ¹² And when Bnei-Yisrael heard of it, the whole congregation of Bnei-Yisrael assembled at Shiloh to go up against them in war. ¹³ So Bnei-Yisrael sent word to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas son of Eleazar the kohen, ¹⁴ and with him ten chieftains, one chieftain from each ancestral house of each of the tribes of Israel. Every one of them was the head of his ancestral house among the thousands of Israel.

¹⁵ So they came to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, and spoke with them saying: ¹⁶ “Thus says the whole congregation of Adonai: ‘What is this treachery that you have committed today against the God of Israel, by turning away from following Adonai, building yourselves an altar, rebelling this day against Adonai? ¹⁷ Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although a plague came on the congregation of Adonai, ¹⁸ that you would turn away this day from following Adonai? Now you rebel against Adonai today, tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel! ¹⁹ If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then cross over to the land of the possession of Adonai, where Adonai’s Tabernacle stands. Acquire holdings among us, but do not rebel against Adonai or against us by building an altar for yourselves other than the altar of Adonai our God. ²⁰ Did not Achan son of Zerah act unfaithfully concerning the things under the ban, and so wrath fell on the entire community of Israel? Nor did that man perish alone in his iniquity.’”

²¹ Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke to the heads of the thousands of Israel: ²² “God of gods is Adonai! God of gods is Adonai! He knows, and may Israel itself know! If we acted in rebellion or in treachery against Adonai, don’t spare us this day! ²³ If we have built an altar to turn away from following Adonai, or if it was to offer burnt offering or grain offering on it, or to offer sacrifices of fellowship offerings on it, let Adonai Himself require it. ²⁴ But we have done this rather out of anxious concern, for a reason, saying: ‘In the future, your children might say to our children: “What have you to do with Adonai, God of Israel? ²⁵ For Adonai has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you children of Reuben and children of Gad—you have no share in Adonai!” So your children may make our children stop fearing Adonai.

²⁶ “Therefore we said: ‘Let’s now build an altar for ourselves—not for burnt offering or for sacrifice— ²⁷ but as a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, so that we may do the service of Adonai before Him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices and with our fellowship offerings. Then your children may not say to our children in times to come. “You have no share in Adonai!”’ ²⁸ Therefore we said: ‘If they say such to us or to our future generations, then we will say, “See the replica of the altar of Adonai which our fathers made—not for burnt offering or for sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.”’ ²⁹ Far be it from us that we should rebel against Adonai and turn away this day from following Adonai, by building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering or for sacrifice, besides the altar of Adonai our God that stands before His Tabernacle.”

³⁰ So when Phinehas the kohen and the leaders of the congregation—the heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him—heard the words that the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them well. ³¹ So Phinehas son of Eleazar the kohen said to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh, “Today we know that Adonai is in the midst of us, because you have not committed this treachery against Adonai. Now you have delivered Bnei-Yisrael from the hand of Adonai.”

³² Then Phinehas son of Eleazar the kohen and the leaders returned from the children of Reuben and from the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to Bnei-Yisrael, and brought back a report to them. ³³ The report pleased Bnei-Yisrael, and Bnei-Yisrael blessed God, and they did not speak of going up against them in war, to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad were living. ³⁴ So the children of Reuben and the children of Gad named the altar, “for it is a witness between us that Adonai is God.”

Keep and Do Torah

23 Now it came about after many days, when Adonai had given rest to Israel from all their enemies around them, and Joshua was old and advanced in years, ² that Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders, their heads, their judges and their officials, and said to them: “I have grown old and am advanced in years. ³ Now you have seen all that Adonai your God has done to all these nations because of you, for it was Adonai your God who was fighting for you. ⁴ Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance, according to your tribes, these nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun. ⁵ So Adonai your God, He Himself will thrust them out from before you, and drive them from before you, so you will possess their land, just as Adonai your God spoke to you.

⁶ “Be very resolute to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the Torah of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right or to the left, ⁷ and not intermingle with these nations who are still remaining among you. Do not mention the names of their gods or swear by them or worship them or bow down to them. ⁸ But cling to Adonai your God, as you have done to this day. ⁹ For Adonai has driven out from before you great and mighty nations. As for you, no one remained standing before you to this day. ¹⁰ One of you can put a thousand to flight, for Adonai your God, He Himself is fighting for you, just as He said to you. ¹¹ For your own sake, therefore, be most mindful to love Adonai your God. ¹² For if you ever go back and cling to the remnant of these nations that are still remaining among you, and intermarry with them, and you associate with them and they with you, ¹³ know for certain that Adonai your God will no longer drive these nations out from before you. Instead they will become a snare and a trap for you, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which Adonai your God has given you.

¹⁴ “Now today I am about to go the way of all the earth. You will know with all your heart and with all your soul that not one word of the good things which Adonai your God spoke concerning you has failed to happen. All of them have come to pass for you; not one word has failed. ¹⁵ Now it will be that just as all the good things which Adonai your God has spoken to you have come upon you, so all the evil things will Adonai bring upon you, until He has wiped you off this good land which Adonai your God has given you. ¹⁶ When you transgress the covenant of Adonai your God, which He commanded you, and go and worship other gods and bow down to them, then will the anger of Adonai burn against you, and you will perish quickly off this good land which He has given you.”

Whom Will You Worship?

24 Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned Israel’s elders, heads, judges and officials. So they presented themselves before God. ² Then Joshua said to all the people: “Thus says Adonai, God of Israel: ‘From ancient times your fathers—Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor—lived beyond the River and worshipped other gods. ³ Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through the entire land of Canaan and multiplied his offspring. I gave him Isaac, ⁴ then to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it as his own, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

⁵ “So I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst, and afterward I brought you out. ⁶ I brought your fathers out of Egypt. When you came to the sea, the Egyptians pursued your fathers to the Sea of Reeds with chariots and horsemen. ⁷ But when they cried out to Adonai, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, then He brought the sea upon them, and it covered them; and your eyes saw what I did to the Egyptians. Then you stayed in the wilderness for a long time.

⁸ “Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites who were living beyond the Jordan. Though they fought against you, I gave them into your hand, and you possessed their land when I destroyed them from before you. ⁹ Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose and fought against Israel. He even sent and called for Balaam son of Beor to curse you. ¹⁰ But I refused to listen to Balaam; instead, he had to keep blessing you. Thus I delivered you from his hand.

¹¹ “Then you crossed over the Jordan and came to Jericho, but the men of Jericho fought against you—the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites and the Jebusites—but I delivered them into your hand. ¹² Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove them out from before you—the two kings of the Amorites—not by your sword or your bow. ¹³ I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities that you had not built and you have settled in them, vineyards and olive groves that you had not planted, that you are eating.

¹⁴ “Now therefore, fear Adonai and worship Him in sincerity and in truth. Get rid of the gods that your fathers had worshipped beyond the River and in Egypt, and worship Adonai. ¹⁵ If it seems bad to you to worship Adonai, then choose for yourselves today whom you will serve—whether the gods that your fathers worshipped that were beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will worship Adonai!”

¹⁶ Then the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake Adonai to worship other gods! ¹⁷ For it was Adonai our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us all along the way that we travelled and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. ¹⁸ It was Adonai who drove out from before us all the peoples, the Amorites that lived in the land. Therefore we also will worship Adonai, for He is our God.”

¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to worship Adonai, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not pardon your transgression and your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake Adonai and worship foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done good to you.”

²¹ But the people said to Joshua, “No! For we will worship Adonai.”

²² So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses to yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves Adonai, to worship Him.”

“We are witnesses,” they responded.

²³ “Now therefore, get rid of the foreign gods that are in your midst, and incline your hearts to Adonai, God of Israel.” ²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, “We will worship none but Adonai our God, and we will obey none but His voice.”

²⁵ So Joshua cut a covenant with the people that day, and set for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. ²⁶ Then Joshua wrote these words in the scroll of the Torah of God. Also he took a great stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the Sanctuary of Adonai. ²⁷ Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone will be a witness to us. For it has heard all the words of Adonai which He has spoken to us. So it will be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.”

²⁸ Joshua then dismissed the people, each to his own inheritance.

²⁹ Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua son of Nun, the servant of Adonai, died at the age of 110 years. ³⁰ So they buried him in the territory of his own portion in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. ³¹ Israel worshipped Adonai all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work of Adonai that He had done for Israel.

³² Joseph’s bones, which Bnei-Yisrael had brought up from Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in the parcel of ground that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for 100 pieces of silver.^[b] It became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

³³ Then Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him in Gibeah, which had been given to Phinehas his son, in the hill country of Ephraim.

Tribes Possess the Land

1 Now it came to pass after the death of Joshua that Bnei-Yisrael inquired of Adonai saying, “Who will be the first to go up for us against the Canaanites to attack them?” ² Adonai said, “Judah will go up. Behold, I have given the land into his hand.”

³ Judah then said to his brother Simeon, “Come up with me to my allotted territory, so that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I also will go with you into your allotted territory.” So Simeon went with him. ⁴ When Judah went up, Adonai delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands; they struck down 10,000 of them at Bezek. ⁵ They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, engaged him in battle, and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

⁶ Though Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. ⁷ So Adoni-bezek said, “70 kings, having their thumbs and big toes cut off, used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” They brought him to Jerusalem and he died there.

⁸ Then the children of Judah attacked Jerusalem, captured it, struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. ⁹ Afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites that dwelt in the hill country, in the Negev and in the lowland.

¹⁰ Judah then marched against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron (the former name of Hebron was Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. ¹¹ From there Judah marched against the inhabitants of Debir (the former name of Debir was Kiriath-sepher). ¹² Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, to him will I give my daughter Achsah for a wife.” ¹³ So Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger kinsman, captured it. So Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. ¹⁴ Now it came about when she came to him, she had persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you need?”

¹⁵ Give me a blessing,” she said. “For you have given me land in the Negev; you should also give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the Upper Springs and the Lower Springs.

¹⁶ The children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the children of Judah from the City of Palms to the wilderness of Judah, which is in the Negev of Arad. They went and settled with the people.

¹⁷ Then Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they defeated the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath. They utterly destroyed it, and thus the name of the city was called Hormah. ¹⁸ Also Judah captured Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory and Ekron with its territory. ¹⁹ Adonai was with Judah, and he possessed the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had iron chariots. ²⁰ Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had promised, so he drove out from there the three sons of Anak.

²¹ But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem, so the Jebusites continued to live with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

²² Also the house of Joseph marched against Bethel, and Adonai was with them. ²³ The house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel (the former name of the city was Luz). ²⁴ Now the scouts saw a man coming out from the city and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance into the city and we will deal kindly with you.” ²⁵ So he showed them the entrance into the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man go free with all his family. ²⁶ So the man went into the land of the Hittites, built a city, and named it Luz, which is its name to this day.

²⁷ Manasseh, however, did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages. So the Canaanites resolved to dwell in that land. ²⁸ When Israel became strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out.

²⁹ Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites settled in Gezer among them. ³⁰ Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites settled among them, but became subject to forced labor.

³¹ Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Zidon, Achlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik or Rehob; ³² so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites who were dwelling in the land, because they did not drive them out.

³³ Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites dwelling in the land, though the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.

³⁴ But the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill country, for they would not let them come down to the valley. ³⁵ Also the Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon and in Shaalbim, but when the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, they became forced labor for them. ³⁶ So the territory of the Amorites ran from the Ascent of Akrabbim^[c] from the Rock and upward.

After Joshua, Israel Abandons Adonai

2 Now the angel of Adonai came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and He said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and took you into the land which I swore to your fathers. I also said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. ² Now as for you, you must make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You must break down their altars.’ But you have not listened to My voice. What is this you have done? ³ Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out from before you, but they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.’” ⁴ Now when the angel of Adonai spoke these words to all Bnei-Yisrael, the people lifted up their voice and wept. ⁵ So they called the name of that place Bochim^[d], and they sacrificed there to Adonai.

⁶ Now when Joshua had sent the people away, Bnei-Yisrael went every man to his inheritance to possess the land. ⁷ Then the people worshipped Adonai all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of Adonai that He had done for Israel. ⁸ Then Joshua son of Nun, the servant of Adonai, died at the age of 110 years, ⁹ and they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

¹⁰ But when all that generation were gathered to their fathers, there arose another generation after them that did not experience Adonai or the work that He had done for Israel. ¹¹ Then Bnei-Yisrael did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes, and worshipped the Baalim. ¹² They abandoned Adonai, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples around them, and bowed down to them. So they provoked the anger of Adonai. ¹³ So they forsook Adonai and worshipped Baal and the Ashtaroth. ¹⁴ So the anger of Adonai burned against Israel, and He gave them over to the hands of plunderers who plundered them, and He sold them over into the hand of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand up before their enemies. ¹⁵ Whenever they went out, the hand of Adonai was against them for evil, as Adonai had spoken and as Adonai had sworn to them. So they were severely distressed.

Rise of Judges

¹⁶ Then Adonai raised up judges who delivered them from the hand of those who plundered them. ¹⁷ Yet they listened not to their judges, for they prostituted themselves after other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned aside from the way in which their fathers walked in obeying the commandments of Adonai; they did not do so. ¹⁸ Whenever Adonai raised judges up for them, Adonai was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For Adonai was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and crushed them. ¹⁹ But when the judge died, they would keep turning back and acted more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods, worshipping them, and bowing down to them. They abandoned none of their practices and stubborn ways.

²⁰ So the anger of Adonai burned against Israel, and He declared, “Since this nation has transgressed My covenant that I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, ²¹ I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, ²² in order to test Israel by them, whether or not they will keep the way of Adonai to walk in it as their fathers did.” ²³ So Adonai left those nations, without driving them out quickly. Thus so He had not given them into the hand of Joshua.

3 Now these are the nations that Adonai left, to test all Israel who had not experienced any of the wars of Canaan. ² It was only in order that the generations of Bnei-Yisrael might learn from war, which they had not experienced before. ³ These nations included the five Philistine lords, and all the Canaanites, Zidonians and the Hivites living in the hill country of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to the entrance of Hamath. ⁴ They were for testing Israel, to know whether they would obey the mitzvot of Adonai, which He had commanded their fathers by Moses’ hand.

⁵ But Bnei-Yisrael settled among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, ⁶ and took their daughters for themselves as wives, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshipped their gods. ⁷ Bnei-Yisrael did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes, forgot Adonai their God and worshipped the Baalim and the Asherahs. ⁸ So Adonai’s anger burned against Israel, and He sold them over into the hand of King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-naharaim, and Bnei-Yisrael served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years.

Othniel, Ehud and Shamgar

⁹ When Bnei-Yisrael cried out to Adonai, Adonai raised up a deliverer for Bnei-Yisrael to deliver them—Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger kinsman. ¹⁰ The Spirit of Adonai came upon him as he judged Israel. When he went out to war, Adonai gave King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram into his hand so that he had the upper hand over Cushan-rishathaim. ¹¹ Then the land had peace 40 years.

When Othniel son of Kenaz died, ¹² Bnei-Yisrael again did what was evil in Adonai’s eyes. So Adonai strengthened King Eglon of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in Adonai’s eyes. ¹³ So he gathered to himself the people of Ammon and Amalek, then went and defeated Israel and took possession of the City of Palms. ¹⁴ Bnei-Yisrael became subject to King Eglon of Moab for 18 years.

¹⁵ But when Bnei-Yisrael cried out to Adonai, Adonai raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud son of Gera the Benjamite—a left-handed man. Now Bnei-Yisrael sent tribute with him to King Eglon of Moab. ¹⁶ Ehud made himself a double-edged sword, a cubit in length, which he girded on his right thigh under his cloak. ¹⁷ Then he presented the tribute to King Eglon of Moab. Eglon was a very fat man. ¹⁸ Now when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the people who had carried the tribute, ¹⁹ but he himself turned back, at the idols that were near Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.”

“Keep silence!” he replied, so all his attendants left him.

²⁰ Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in a roof chamber where it was cool, and said, “I have a message from God for you,” so he arose from his throne. ²¹ Then Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. ²² Even the handle went in after the blade and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not withdraw the sword out of his belly—and the filth came out. ²³ Then Ehud went out by the porch, shut the doors of the roof chamber on him, and locked them.

²⁴ After he had gone out, his courtiers came and looked, but behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked. So they said, “He is only relieving himself in the cool chamber.” ²⁵ So they waited till they were embarrassed, but behold, he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber. So they took the key and opened them—and behold, their master was lying dead on the floor.

²⁶ But Ehud escaped while they were lingering, passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. ²⁷ When he arrived, he blew the shofar in the hill country of Ephraim, so Bnei-Yisrael went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them.