Bible in 90 Days

Land for Judah

15 The land that was given to the tribe of Judah was divided among all the family groups. It went all the way to the Desert of Zin in the far south, at the border of Edom.

² The southern border of Judah’s land started at the south end of the Dead Sea. ³ It went south of Scorpion Pass to Zin. From there it passed to the south of Kadesh Barnea. It continued past Hezron to Addar. From Addar it turned and went to Karka. ⁴ It continued to Azmon, the brook of Egypt and then to the Mediterranean Sea. This was the southern border.

⁵ The eastern border was the shore of the Dead Sea. It went as far as the area where the Jordan River flowed into the sea.

The northern border started at the area where the Jordan River flowed into the Dead Sea. ⁶ Then it went to Beth Hoglah and continued north of Beth Arabah. It continued to the stone of Bohan. Bohan was the son of Reuben. ⁷ Then the northern border went through the Valley of Achor to Debir. There it turned toward the north and went to Gilgal. Gilgal is across from the road that goes through the mountain of Adummim. It is on the south side of the ravine. The border continued along the waters of En Shemesh. It stopped at En Rogel. ⁸ Then it went through the Valley of Ben Hinnom. This is next to the southern side of the Jebusite city. (That city was called Jerusalem.) There the border went to the top of the hill on the west side of Hinnom Valley. This was at the northern end of the Valley of Giants. ⁹ From there it went to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah. Then it went to the cities near Mount Ephron. There it turned and went toward Baalah. (Baalah is also called Kiriath Jearim.) ¹⁰ At Baalah the border turned west and went toward Mount Edom. It continued along the north side of Mount Jearim (also called Kesalon) and came to Beth Shemesh. From there it went past Timnah. ¹¹ Then it went to the hill north of Ekron. From there it turned toward Shikkeron and went past Mount Baalah. It continued on to Jabneel and ended at the sea.

¹² The Mediterranean Sea was the western border. Inside these borders lived the family groups of Judah.

¹³ The Lord had commanded Joshua to give Caleb son of Jephunneh part of the land in Judah. So he gave Caleb the land God had commanded. He gave him the town of Kiriath Arba, also called Hebron. (Arba was the father of Anak.) ¹⁴ Caleb forced out the three Anakite families living in Hebron. Those families were Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. They were descendants of Anak. ¹⁵ Then he fought against the people living in Debir. (In the past Debir had been called Kiriath Sepher.) ¹⁶ Caleb said, “I want a man to attack and capture Kiriath Sepher. I will give him Acsah, my daughter, as a wife.” ¹⁷ Othniel son of Kenaz defeated the city. So Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel to be his wife. ¹⁸ Acsah wanted Othniel to ask her father Caleb for more land.

So Acsah went to her father. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”

¹⁹ Acsah answered, “I would like a special favor. The land you gave me is very dry. So also give me land with springs of water on it.”

So Caleb gave her land with springs of water on the upper and lower part of it.

²⁰ The tribe of Judah got the land God had promised them. Each family group got part of the land.

²¹ The tribe of Judah got all the towns in the southern part of Canaan. These towns were near the border of Edom. Here is a list of the towns: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor and Ithnan; ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵ Hazor Hadattah and Kerioth Hezron (also called Hazor); ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon and Beth Pelet; ²⁸ Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Kesil and Hormah; ³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon. There were 29 towns and all their fields.

³³ The tribe of Judah got these towns in the western mountain slopes: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah and Enam; ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶ Shaaraim, Adithaim and Gederah (also called Gederothaim). There were 14 towns and all their fields.

³⁷ Judah was also given these towns in the western mountain slopes: Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, ³⁸ Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath and Eglon; ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish, ⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah and Makkedah. There were 16 towns and all their fields.

⁴² Judah was also given these towns in the western mountain slopes: Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, Aczib and Mareshah. There were nine towns and all their fields.

⁴⁵ The tribe of Judah also got the town of Ekron and all the small towns and fields near it. ⁴⁶ They also got the area west of Ekron and all the fields and towns near Ashdod. ⁴⁷ Ashdod and all the small towns around it were part of the land of Judah. They also got the fields and towns around Gaza. Their land continued to the brook of Egypt. And it went on along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

⁴⁸ The tribe of Judah was also given these towns in the mountains: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah and Kiriath Sannah (also called Debir); ⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon and Giloh. There were 11 towns and all their fields.

⁵² They were also given these towns in the mountains: Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janim, Beth Tappuah and Aphekah; ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) and Zior. There were 9 towns and all their fields.

⁵⁵ Judah was also given these towns in the mountains: Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah and Timnah. There were 10 towns and all their fields.

⁵⁸ They were also given these towns in the mountains: Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth Anoth and Eltekon. There were 6 towns and all their fields.

⁶⁰ The people of Judah were also given the 2 towns of Rabbah and Kiriath Baal (also called Kiriath Jearim).

⁶¹ Judah was given towns in the desert. Here are those towns: Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶² Nibshan, the City of Salt and En Gedi. There were 6 towns and all their fields.

⁶³ The army of Judah was not able to force out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites still live among the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.

Land for Ephraim and Manasseh

16 This is the land the tribe of Joseph received. It started at the Jordan River near Jericho. It continued to the waters of Jericho, just east of the city. The border went up from Jericho to the mountains of Bethel. ² Then it continued from Bethel (also called Luz) to the Arkite border at Ataroth. ³ From there it went west to the border of the Japhletites. It continued to the area of the Lower Beth Horon. Then it went to Gezer and ended at the sea.

⁴ So Manasseh and Ephraim received their land. They were sons of Joseph.

⁵ This is the land that was given to the family groups of Ephraim: Their border started at Ataroth Addar in the east. It went to Upper Beth Horon ⁶ and then to the sea. From Micmethath it turned eastward toward Taanath Shiloh and continued eastward to Janoah. ⁷ Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah. It continued until it touched Jericho and stopped at the Jordan River. ⁸ The border went from Tappuah west to Kanah Ravine and went to the sea. This is all the land that was given to the Ephraimites. Each family group in the tribe got a part of this land. ⁹ Many of the border towns of Ephraim were actually within Manasseh’s borders. But the people of Ephraim got those towns and their fields. ¹⁰ The Ephraimites could not force the Canaanites to leave Gezer. So the Canaanites still live among the Ephraimites today. But they became slaves of the Ephraimites.

17 Then land was given to the tribe of Manasseh. He was Joseph’s first son. Manasseh’s first son was Makir, the father of Gilead. Makir was a great soldier. So the lands of Gilead and Bashan were given to his family. ² Land was also given to the other family groups of Manasseh. They were Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida. These were all the other sons of Manasseh son of Joseph.

³ Zelophehad was the son of Hepher. Hepher was the son of Gilead. Gilead was the son of Makir, and Makir was the son of Manasseh. But Zelophehad had no sons. He had five daughters. The daughters were named Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. ⁴ The daughters went to Eleazar the priest. They also went to Joshua son of Nun and all the leaders. They said, “The Lord told Moses to give us land like the men received.” So Eleazar obeyed the Lord and gave the daughters some land. These daughters received land just as the brothers of their father did. ⁵ So the tribe of Manasseh had ten sections of land west of the Jordan River. They also had two more sections, Gilead and Bashan. These sections were on the other side of the Jordan River. ⁶ The daughters of Manasseh got land just as the sons did. Gilead was given to the rest of the families of Manasseh.

⁷ The lands of Manasseh were in the area between Asher and Micmethath. This is near Shechem. The border went south to the En Tappuah area. ⁸ The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh. But the town of Tappuah did not. It was along the border of Manasseh’s land and belonged to the sons of Ephraim. ⁹ The border of Manasseh continued south to Kanah Ravine. The cities in this area of Manasseh belonged to Ephraim. Manasseh’s border was on the north side of the ravine and went to the sea. ¹⁰ The land to the south belonged to Ephraim. And the land to the north belonged to Manasseh. The Mediterranean Sea was the western border. The border touched Asher’s land on the north. And it touched Issachar’s land on the east.

¹¹ In the areas of Issachar and Asher, the people of Manasseh owned Beth Shan and its small towns. They also owned Ibleam and its small towns. And they owned all the people who lived in Dor and its small towns. They owned the people in Naphoth Dor and its small towns. And they owned all the people who lived in Taanach and its small towns. Manasseh also owned the people in Megiddo and its small towns. ¹² Manasseh was not able to defeat those cities. So the Canaanites continued to live there. ¹³ But the Israelites grew strong. When this happened, they forced the Canaanites to work for them. But they did not force them to leave the land.

¹⁴ The people from the tribes of Joseph spoke to Joshua. They said, “You gave us only one area of land. But we are many people. Why did you give us only one part of all the land the Lord gave his people?”

¹⁵ And Joshua answered them, “You have many people. Go up to the forest. Make a place for yourselves to live there. This is in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaites. The mountain country of Ephraim is too small for you.”

¹⁶ The people of Joseph said, “It is true. The mountain country of Ephraim is not enough for us. But the land where the Canaanites live is dangerous. They are skilled fighters. They have powerful weapons in Beth Shan and all the small towns in that area. And they are also in the Valley of Jezreel.”

¹⁷ Then Joshua spoke to the people of Joseph—to Ephraim and to Manasseh. He said, “But there are many of you. And you have great power. You should be given more than one share of land. ¹⁸ You also will have the mountain country. It is a forest. But you can cut down the trees and make it a good place to live. And you will own all of it. You will force the Canaanites to leave the land. You can defeat them even though they have powerful weapons and are strong.”

The Rest of the Land Divided

18 All of the Israelites gathered together at Shiloh. There they set up the Meeting Tent. The Israelites controlled that country. They had defeated all the enemies there. ² But there were still seven tribes of Israel that had not yet received the land God had promised them.

³ So Joshua said to the Israelites: “Why do you wait so long to take your land? The Lord, the God of your fathers, has given this land to you. ⁴ So each tribe should choose three men. I will send them out to study the land. They will describe in writing the land their tribe wants as its share. Then they will come back to me. ⁵ They will divide the land into seven parts. The people of Judah will keep their land in the south. The people of Joseph will keep their land in the north. ⁶ But you should divide the land into seven parts. Describe the seven parts in writing. Then bring what you have written to me. We will let the Lord our God decide which tribe will get which land. ⁷ But the Levites do not get any part of these lands. They are priests, and their work is to serve the Lord. Gad, Reuben and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh have received the land promised to them. They are on the east side of the Jordan River. Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave it to them.”

⁸ So the men who were chosen started into the land. Their plan was to describe it in writing and take it back to Joshua. Joshua told them, “Go and study the land. Describe it in writing. Then come back to me. Then I will ask the Lord to choose the land you should get. We will do this here in Shiloh.” ⁹ So the men left and went into the land. They studied it and described it in writing for Joshua. They studied each town. They saw that the land had seven parts. They described it in writing and then came back to Joshua. He was still at the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰ Then Joshua asked the Lord to help. He threw lots to choose the lands that should be given to each tribe.

Land for Benjamin

¹¹ The first part of the land was given to the tribe of Benjamin. Each family group in the tribe of Benjamin received some land. They were given the land between the land of Judah and the land of Joseph. This is the land chosen for Benjamin:

¹² The northern border started at the Jordan River. It went along the northern edge of Jericho. Then it went west into the mountains. That boundary continued until it was just east of Beth Aven. ¹³ From there it went south to Luz (also called Bethel). Then it went down to Ataroth Addar. Ataroth Addar is on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.

¹⁴ There is a hill to the south of Beth Horon. At this hill the border turned and went south near the western side of the hill. It went to Kiriath Baal (also called Kiriath Jearim). This is a town where people of Judah lived. It was the western border.

¹⁵ The southern border started near Kiriath Jearim and went to the Waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then it went down to the bottom of the hill. This was near the Valley of Ben Hinnom. It was the north side of the Valley of Rephaim. The border continued down the Hinnom Valley just south of the Jebusite city to En Rogel. ¹⁷ There it turned north and went to En Shemesh. It continued to Geliloth near the Adummim Pass in the mountains. Then it went down to the great Stone of Bohan. Bohan was the son of Reuben. ¹⁸ The border continued to the northern part of Beth Arabah. Then it went down into the Jordan Valley. ¹⁹ From there it went to the northern part of Beth Hoglah. It ended at the north shore of the Dead Sea. This is where the Jordan River flows into the sea. This was the southern border.

²⁰ The Jordan River was the border on the eastern side. So this was the land given to the family groups of Benjamin. These were the borders on all sides.

²¹ Each family group of Benjamin received some of this land. And these are the cities they owned: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, ²² Beth Arabah, Zemaraim and Bethel; ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Kephar Ammoni, Ophni and Geba. There were 12 towns and all their villages.

²⁵ The tribe of Benjamin also owned Gibeon, Ramah and Beeroth. ²⁶ They owned Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel and Taralah. ²⁸ They also owned Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (Jerusalem), Gibeah and Kiriath. There were 14 towns and all their villages. All these areas are the lands the tribe of Benjamin was given.

Land for Simeon

19 The second part of the land was given to the tribe of Simeon. Each family group received some of the land. It was inside the area of Judah. ² They received Beersheba (also called Sheba), Moladah, ³ Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴ Eltolad, Bethul and Hormah. ⁵ They also received Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, ⁶ Beth Lebaoth and Sharuhen. There were 13 towns and all their fields.

⁷ They also received the towns of Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan. There were 4 towns and all their fields. ⁸ They also received all the very small areas with people living in them as far as Baalath Beer. (This is the same as Ramah in southern Canaan.) So these were the lands given to the tribe of Simeon. Each family group received some of the land. ⁹ The land of the Simeonites was taken from part of the land of Judah. Judah had much more land than they needed. So the Simeonites received part of their land.

Land for Zebulun

¹⁰ The third part of the land was given to the tribe of Zebulun. Each family group of Zebulun received some of the land. The border of Zebulun went as far as Sarid. ¹¹ Then it went west to Maralah and came near Dabbesheth. Then it went near Jokneam. ¹² Then it turned to the east. It went from Sarid to the area of Kisloth Tabor. From there it went on to Daberath and to Japhia. ¹³ It continued eastward to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin. Then it ended at Rimmon. Then the border turned and went toward Neah. ¹⁴ At Neah it turned again and went to the north. It went to Hannathon and continued to the Valley of Iphtah El. ¹⁵ Inside this border were the cities of Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem. There were 12 towns and all their fields.

¹⁶ So these are the towns and the areas that were given to Zebulun. Each family group received some of the land.

Land for Issachar

¹⁷ The fourth part of the land was given to the tribe of Issachar. Each family group of Issachar received some of the land. ¹⁸ Their land included Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹ Hapharaim, Shion and Anaharath; ²⁰ Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah and Beth Pazzez.

²² The border of their land touched the area called Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh. It stopped at the Jordan River. There were 16 towns and their fields.

²³ These cities and towns were part of the land that was given to the tribe of Issachar. Each family group received part of this land.

Land for Asher

²⁴ The fifth part of the land was given to the tribe of Asher. Each family group of Asher received some of the land. ²⁵ Their land included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, ²⁶ Allammelech, Amad and Mishal.

The western border touched Mount Carmel and Shihor Libnath. ²⁷ Then it turned toward the east. It went to Beth Dagon. It touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El. Then it went north of Beth Emek and Neiel. It passed north to Cabul. ²⁸ Then it went to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah. It continued to Greater Sidon. ²⁹ Then the border went back south toward Ramah. It continued to the strong, walled city of Tyre. Then it turned and went toward Hosah. It ended at the sea. This was in the area of Aczib, ³⁰ Ummah, Aphek and Rehob. There were 22 towns and their fields.

³¹ These cities and their fields were part of the land that was given to the tribe of Asher. Each family group in that tribe received some of this land.

Land for Naphtali

³² The sixth part of the land was given to the tribe of Naphtali. Each family group of Naphtali received some of the land. ³³ The border of their land started at the large tree in the area of Zaanannim. This is near Heleph. Then it went through Adami Nekeb and Jabneel. It continued to the area of Lakkum and ended at the Jordan River. ³⁴ Then it went to the west through Aznoth Tabor. It stopped at Hukkok. It went to the area of Zebulun on the south. And it went to the area of Asher on the west. It went to Judah, at the Jordan River, on the east. ³⁵ There were some strong, walled cities inside these borders. Those cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath and Kinnereth; ³⁶ Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Edrei and En Hazor; ³⁸ Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath and Beth Shemesh. There were 19 towns and all their fields.

³⁹ The cities and the towns around them were in the land that was given to the tribe of Naphtali. Each family group in that tribe got some of this land.

Land for Dan

⁴⁰ The seventh part of the land was given to the tribe of Dan. Each family group of Dan received some of the land. ⁴¹ Their land included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, ⁴² Shaalabbin, Aijalon and Ithlah; ⁴³ Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴ Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵ Jehud, Bene Berak and Gath Rimmon; ⁴⁶ Me Jarkon, Rakkon and the area near Joppa.

⁴⁷ (But the Danites had trouble taking their land. There were strong enemies there. And the Danites could not easily defeat them. So the Danites went and fought against Leshem. They defeated Leshem and killed the people who lived there. So the Danites lived in the town of Leshem. They changed its name to Dan because he was the father of their tribe.) ⁴⁸ All of these cities and towns were given to the tribe of Dan. Each family group got part of this land.

Land for Joshua

⁴⁹ So the Israelite leaders finished dividing the land and giving it to the different tribes. After they finished, all the Israelites decided to give Joshua son of Nun some land, too. This was land that had been promised to him. ⁵⁰ The Lord had commanded that he be given this land. So they gave Joshua the town of Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim. This was the town that Joshua told them he wanted. So he built up the town and lived there.

⁵¹ So all of these lands were given to the different tribes of Israel. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the leaders of each tribe worked together. They divided up the land while they were at Shiloh. They met before the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent to do this. Now they had finished dividing the land.

Cities of Safety

20 Then the Lord said to Joshua: ² “Tell the Israelites to choose the special cities of safety. This is what I had Moses command you to do. ³ A person might kill someone accidentally and without meaning to kill him. He may go to a city of safety to hide. There he will be safe from the relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer.

⁴ “This is what he must do. When he runs to one of those cities, he must stop at the entrance gate. He must stand there and tell the leaders of the people what happened. Then they will allow him to enter the city. They will give him a place to live among them. ⁵ But the one who is chasing him might follow him to that city. If this happens, the leaders of the city must not give him up. They must protect the person who came to them for safety. They must protect him because he killed that person accidentally. He was not angry and did not decide ahead of time to kill the person. ⁶ He should stay in the city until he has been judged by the court there. And he should stay until the high priest dies. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he ran away.”

⁷ So the Israelites chose some cities to be cities of safety. These cities were: Kedesh in Galilee in the mountains of Naphtali; Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim; Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) in the mountains of Judah; ⁸ Bezer on the east side of the Jordan River near Jericho in the desert in the land of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead in the land of Gad; and Golan in Bashan in the land of Manasseh. ⁹ Any Israelite or anyone living among them who killed someone accidentally was included. He was to be allowed to run to one of these cities of safety. Then he could be safe there and would not be killed by the relative who had the duty of punishing a murderer. He would be judged by the court in that city.

Towns for the Levites

21 The heads of the Levite families went to talk to Eleazar the priest. They also talked to Joshua son of Nun and to the heads of the families of all the tribes of Israel. ² This happened at the town of Shiloh in the land of Canaan. The heads of the Levite families said to them, “The Lord commanded Moses that you give us towns where we may live. And he commanded that you give us pastures.” ³ So the Israelites obeyed this commandment of the Lord. They gave the Levite people these towns and pastures: ⁴ The Kohath family groups were part of the tribe of Levi. Some of the Levites in the Kohath family groups were from the family of Aaron the priest. To these Levites were given 13 towns. These towns were in the areas that belonged to Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. ⁵ The other family groups of Kohath were given 10 towns. These 10 towns were in the areas of Ephraim, Dan and West Manasseh.

⁶ The people from the Gershon groups were given 13 towns. They were in the land that belonged to Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷ The family groups of Merari were given 12 towns. These 12 towns were in the area that belonged to Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.

⁸ So the Israelites gave the Levites these towns and the pastures around them. They did this to obey the commandment that the Lord had given Moses.

⁹ These are the names of the towns that came from the lands of Judah and Simeon. ¹⁰ The first choice of towns was given to the Kohath family groups of the Levites. ¹¹ They gave them Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) and all its pastures. This was in the mountains of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.) ¹² But the fields and the small towns around the city of Kiriath Arba had been given to Caleb son of Jephunneh.

¹³ So they gave the city of Hebron to the descendants of Aaron. (Hebron was a city of safety.) They also gave them these towns: Libnah, ¹⁴ Jattir, Eshtemoa, ¹⁵ Holon, Debir, ¹⁶ Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh. They also gave them all the pastures that were around these towns. There were 9 towns given to these two groups.

¹⁷ They also gave the people of Aaron cities that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. These cities were Gibeon, Geba, ¹⁸ Anathoth and Almon. They gave them these 4 towns and all the pastures around them.

¹⁹ So these towns were given to the priests. These priests were from the family of Aaron. The total number of towns with their pastures was 13.

²⁰ The other Kohathite family groups of the Levites were given these towns from the tribe of Ephraim: ²¹ They gave them the city of Shechem from the mountains of Ephraim. (Shechem was a city of safety.) They also gave them Gezer, ²² Kibzaim and Beth Horon. There were 4 towns and their pastures.

²³ The tribe of Dan gave them Eltekeh, Gibbethon, ²⁴ Aijalon and Gath Rimmon. There were 4 towns and their pastures.

²⁵ The western half-tribe of Manasseh gave them Taanach and Gath Rimmon. They were also given all the pastures around these 2 towns.

²⁶ So this was 10 more towns and all the pastures around the towns. These were given to the rest of the Kohathite family groups.

²⁷ The Gershonite family groups of the Levite tribe were given these towns: The eastern half-tribe of Manasseh gave them Golan in Bashan. (Golan was a city of safety.) Manasseh also gave them Be Eshtarah. All the pastures around these two towns were also given to the Gershonites.

²⁸ The tribe of Issachar gave them Kishion, Daberath, ²⁹ Jarmuth and En Gannim. Issachar also gave them all the pastures around these 4 towns.

³⁰ The tribe of Asher gave them Mishal, Abdon, ³¹ Helkath and Rehob. All the pastures around these 4 towns were also given to them.

³² The tribe of Naphtali gave them Kedesh in Galilee. (Kedesh was a city of safety.) Naphtali also gave them Hammoth Dor and Kartan. All the pastures around these 2 towns were also given to the Gershonites.

³³ So the Gershonite family groups received 13 towns. They also received all the pastures around these towns.

³⁴ The Merarite family groups (the rest of the Levites) were given these towns: The tribe of Zebulun gave them Jokneam, Kartah, ³⁵ Dimnah and Nahalal. All the pastures around these 4 towns were also given to the Merarites.

³⁶ The tribe of Reuben gave them Bezer, Jahaz, ³⁷ Kedemoth and Mephaath. All the pastures around these 4 towns were also given to the Merarites.

³⁸ The tribe of Gad gave them Ramoth in Gilead. (Ramoth was a city of safety.) They also gave them Mahanaim, ³⁹ Heshbon and Jazer. Gad also gave them all the pastures around these 4 towns.

⁴⁰ So the total number of towns given to the Merarite family groups was 12.

⁴¹ A total of 48 towns with their pastures were given to the Levites. All these towns were in the land controlled by the Israelites. ⁴² Each town had pastures around it.

⁴³ So the Lord kept the promise he had made to the Israelites. He gave the people all the land he had promised. The people took the land and lived there. ⁴⁴ The Lord allowed them to have peace on all sides of their land. This is what he had promised to their people who lived long ago. None of their enemies defeated them. The Lord allowed the Israelites to defeat every enemy. ⁴⁵ He kept every promise he had made to the Israelites. No promises failed. Each one came true.

Three Tribes Go Home

22 Then Joshua called a meeting of all the people from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. ² He said to them, “You have obeyed everything Moses told you to do. He was a servant of the Lord. And also, you have obeyed all my commands. ³ All this time you have supported all the other Israelites. You have been careful to obey all the commands the Lord your God gave you. ⁴ The Lord your God promised to give the Israelites peace. Now he has kept his promise. Now you may go back to your homes. You may go to the land that Moses, the Lord’s servant, gave you. It is the land on the east side of the Jordan River. ⁵ But continue to obey the teachings Moses gave you. That law is to love the Lord your God and obey his commands. Continue to follow him and serve him the very best you can.”

⁶ Then Joshua said good-bye to them, and they left. They went away to their homes. ⁷ Moses had given the land of Bashan to the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan River to the western half-tribe of Manasseh. And he sent them to their homes. He blessed them. ⁸ He said, “Go back to your homes and your riches. You have many animals, silver, gold, bronze and iron. And you have many beautiful clothes. Also, you have taken many things from your enemies. You should divide these among yourselves.”

⁹ So the people from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh left the other Israelites. They left Shiloh in Canaan and went back towards Gilead. This was their own land. Moses gave it to them as the Lord had commanded.

¹⁰ The people of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh traveled to Geliloth. This was near the Jordan River in the land of Canaan. There they built a beautiful altar. ¹¹ But the other Israelites still at Shiloh heard about the altar these three tribes had built. They heard that the altar was at the border of Canaan at Geliloth. It was near the Jordan River on Israel’s side. ¹² All the Israelites became very angry at these three tribes. They met together and decided to fight them.

¹³ So the Israelites sent some men to talk to the people of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. The leader of these men was Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest. ¹⁴ They also sent one leader of each of the ten tribes at Shiloh. Each of these men was a leader of his family group of Israelites.

¹⁵ So these men went to Gilead. They went to talk to the people of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. The men said to them: ¹⁶ “All the Israelites ask you: ‘Why did you turn against the God of Israel? Why did you build an altar for yourselves? You know that this is against God’s law. ¹⁷ Remember what happened at Peor? We still suffer today because of that sin. Because of it, God caused many of the Israelites to become very sick. ¹⁸ And now are you doing the same thing? Are you turning against the Lord? Will you refuse to follow the Lord?

“‘If you don’t stop what you’re doing, the Lord will be angry with everyone in Israel. ¹⁹ Your land may not be a good enough place to worship. If not, come over into our land. The Lord’s Tent is in our land. You may have some of our land and live there. But don’t turn against the Lord by building another altar. We already have the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰ Remember Achan son of Zerah. He refused to obey the command about what must be completely destroyed. That one man broke God’s law, but all the Israelites were punished. Achan died because of his sin. But many other people also died.’”

²¹ The people from Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh answered them. They said: ²² “The Lord is our God! Again we say that the Lord is our God! God knows why we did this. We want you to know also. You can judge what we did. If you believe we have done something wrong, you may kill us. ²³ If we broke God’s law, we ask the Lord himself to punish us. Do you think we built this altar to offer burnt offerings? And did we build it to use for offerings of grain and fellowship?

²⁴ “No! We did not build it for that reason. We feared that some day your people would not accept us as part of your nation. Then they might say, ‘You cannot worship the Lord, the God of Israel. ²⁵ God gave you land on the other side of the Jordan River. It separates us from you people of Reuben and Gad. You cannot worship the Lord.’ So we feared that your children might make our children stop worshiping the Lord.

²⁶ “So we decided to build this altar. But we did not plan to use it for burning sacrifices and making offerings. ²⁷ It was really to show our people that we worship the same God as you. This altar is proof to you and us. And it will prove to all our children who will come after us that we worship the Lord. We give our whole burnt offerings, grain and fellowship offerings to the Lord. This was to keep your children from saying that our children could not worship the Lord.

²⁸ “In the future your children might say that we do not belong to Israel. Then our children could say, ‘Look! Our fathers who lived before us made an altar. It is exactly like the Lord’s altar. We do not use it for sacrifices. This altar shows that we are part of Israel.’

²⁹ “Truly, we don’t want to be against the Lord. We don’t want to stop following him. We know the only true altar is the one in front of the Holy Tent. It belongs to the Lord our God.”

³⁰ Phinehas the priest and the ten leaders heard these things. They listened to the people of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. And they were pleased. ³¹ So Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, spoke. He said, “Now we know the Lord is with us. And we know you didn’t turn against him. We’re happy that the Israelites will not be punished by the Lord.”

³² Then Phinehas and the leaders went home. They left the people of Reuben and Gad in Gilead. And they went back to Canaan. There they told the Israelites what had happened. ³³ They were also pleased. They were happy and thanked God. And they decided not to fight against the people of Reuben and Gad. They decided not to destroy those lands.

³⁴ And the people of Reuben and Gad gave the altar a name. They called it Proof that We Believe that the Lord Is God.

Joshua Says Good-bye

23 The Lord gave Israel peace from their enemies around them. He made Israel safe. Many years passed, and Joshua became very old. ² So he called a meeting of all the elders, heads of families, judges and officers of the Israelites. He said, “I am now very old. ³ You have seen what the Lord has done to our enemies. He did it to help us. The Lord your God fought for you. ⁴ Remember that your people have been given their land. It’s the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. It’s the land I promised to give you. But you don’t control that land yet. ⁵ The Lord your God will make the people living there leave. You will enter the land. And the Lord will force them out ahead of you. He has promised you this.

⁶ “Be strong. You must be careful to obey everything the Lord has commanded. Obey everything written in the Book of the Teachings of Moses. Do exactly as it says. ⁷ There are still some people living among us who are not Israelites. They worship their own gods. Don’t become friends with them. Don’t serve or worship their gods. ⁸ You must continue to follow the Lord your God. You have done this in the past. And you must continue to do it.

⁹ “The Lord has helped you defeat many great and powerful nations. He has forced them to leave ahead of you. No nation has been able to defeat you. ¹⁰ With his help, one Israelite could defeat a thousand enemies. This is because the Lord your God fights for you, as he promised to do. ¹¹ So you must be careful to love the Lord your God.

¹² “Don’t turn away from the way of the Lord. Don’t become friends with these people who are not part of Israel. Don’t marry them. If you do become their friends, ¹³ the Lord your God will not help you defeat your enemies. So they will become like traps for you. They will cause you pain like a whip on your back and thorns in your eyes. And none of you will be left in this good land the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴ “It’s almost time for me to die. You know and fully believe that the Lord has done great things for you. You know that he has not failed in any of his promises. He has kept every promise he has given. ¹⁵ Every good promise that the Lord your God made has come true. And in the same way, his other promises will come true. He promised that evil will come to you. He will destroy you from this good land that he gave you. ¹⁶ This will happen if you don’t keep your agreement with the Lord your God. You will lose this land if you go and serve other gods. You must not worship them. If you do, the Lord will become very angry with you. Then none of you will be left in this good land he has given you.”

24 Then all the tribes of Israel met together at Shechem. Joshua called them all together there. Then he called the elders, heads of families, judges and officers of Israel. These men stood before God.

² Then Joshua spoke to all the people. He said, “Here’s what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you: ‘A long time ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. I am talking about men like Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped other gods. ³ But I, the Lord, took your ancestor Abraham out of the land on the other side of the river. I led him through the land of Canaan. And I gave him many children. I gave him his son Isaac. ⁴ And I gave Isaac two sons named Jacob and Esau. I gave the land around the mountains of Edom to Esau. But Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. ⁵ Then I sent Moses and Aaron to Egypt. I caused many terrible things to happen to the Egyptians. Then I brought you people out. ⁶ When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, they came to the Red Sea. And the Egyptians chased them. There were chariots and men on horses. ⁷ So the people asked me, the Lord, for help. And I caused great trouble to come to the Egyptians. I caused the sea to cover them. You yourselves saw what I did to the army of Egypt. After that, you lived in the desert for a long time.

⁸ “‘Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites. This was east of the Jordan River. They fought against you, but I gave you the power to defeat them. I destroyed them before you. Then you took control of that land. ⁹ But the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, prepared to fight against the Israelites. The king sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you. ¹⁰ But I, the Lord, refused to listen to Balaam. So he asked for good things to happen to you! He blessed you many times. I saved you and brought you out of his power.

¹¹ “‘Then you traveled across the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The people in the city of Jericho fought against you. Also, the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites fought against you. But I allowed you to defeat them all. ¹² While your army traveled forward, I sent hornets ahead of them. These hornets made the people leave before you came. So you took the land without using your swords and bows. ¹³ It was I, the Lord, who gave you that land. I gave you land where you did not have to work. I gave you cities that you did not have to build. And now you live in that land and in those cities. You eat from vineyards and olive trees. But you did not have to plant them.’”

¹⁴ Then Joshua spoke to the people. He said, “Now you have heard the Lord’s words. So you must respect the Lord and serve him fully and sincerely. Throw away the false gods that your people worshiped. That happened on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Now you must serve the Lord. ¹⁵ But maybe you don’t want to serve the Lord. You must choose for yourselves today. You must decide whom you will serve. You may serve the gods that your people worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. Or you may serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land. As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

¹⁶ Then the people answered, “No! We will never stop following the Lord. We will never serve other gods! ¹⁷ We know it was the Lord our God who brought our people out of Egypt. We were slaves in that land. But the Lord did great things for us there. He brought us out. He protected us while we traveled through other lands. ¹⁸ Then he helped us defeat the people living in these lands. He helped us defeat the Amorites who lived here. So we will continue to serve the Lord because he is our God.”

¹⁹ Then Joshua said, “You will not be able to serve the Lord well enough. He is a holy God. And he is a jealous God. If you turn against him and sin, he will not forgive you. ²⁰ If you leave the Lord and serve other gods, he will cause great trouble to come to you. The Lord has been good to you. But if you turn against him, he will destroy you.”

²¹ But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”

²² Then Joshua said, “Look around at yourselves and the people with you here. Do you all know and agree that you have chosen to serve the Lord? Are you all witnesses to this?”

The people answered, “Yes, it’s true! We all see that we have chosen to serve the Lord.”

²³ Then Joshua said, “Now throw away the false gods that you have among you. Love the Lord, the God of Israel, with all your heart.”

²⁴ Then the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey him.”

²⁵ On that day Joshua made an agreement for the people. He made the agreement a law for them to follow. This happened at Shechem. ²⁶ Joshua wrote these things in the Book of the Teachings of God. Then he found a large stone. He put the stone under the oak tree near the Lord’s Holy Tent.

²⁷ Then Joshua said to all the people, “See this stone! It will help you remember what we did today. It was here when the Lord was speaking to us today. It will help you remember what happened. It will stop you from turning against your God.”

Joshua Dies

²⁸ Then Joshua told the people to go back to their homes. And everyone went back to his own land.

²⁹ After that, Joshua son of Nun died. He was 110 years old. ³⁰ And they buried him in his own land at Timnath Serah. This was in the mountains of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

³¹ The Israelites had served the Lord during the time Joshua was living. And after he died, they continued to serve the Lord. They continued to serve him while their elders were still alive. These were the leaders who had seen what the Lord had done for the Israelites.

Joseph Comes Home

³² When the Israelites left Egypt, they carried the bones of Joseph with them. They buried them at Shechem, in the land Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor. (Hamor was the father of Shechem.) Jacob had bought the land for 100 pieces of silver. This land belonged to Joseph’s children.

³³ And Eleazar son of Aaron died. He was buried at Gibeah in the mountains of Ephraim. Gibeah had been given to Eleazar’s son Phinehas.

The Men of Judah Fight the Canaanites

1 Joshua died. Then the people of Israel prayed to the Lord. They said, “Who will be first to go and fight for us against the Canaanite people?”

² The Lord said to them, “The tribe of Judah will go. I have given them the power to take this land.”

³ The men of Judah asked for help from the men of Simeon, their relatives. The men of Judah said, “Come and help us fight the Canaanites for our land. If you do, we will go and help you fight for your land.” So the men of Simeon went with them.

⁴ The Lord gave the men of Judah the victory over the Canaanites and the Perizzites. The men of Judah defeated l0,000 men at the city of Bezek. ⁵ There they found Adoni-Bezek, the ruler of the city, and fought him. The men of Judah defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. ⁶ So Adoni-Bezek ran away. But the men of Judah chased him. When they caught him, they cut off his thumbs and big toes.

⁷ Then Adoni-Bezek said, “I cut off the thumbs and big toes of 70 kings. And those kings had to eat scraps that fell from my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.” The men of Judah took Adoni-Bezek to Jerusalem, and he died there.

⁸ Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They used their swords to kill the people of Jerusalem. And they burned the city.

⁹ Later, they went down to fight against more of the Canaanites. Some of the Canaanites lived in the mountains. Others lived in the dry country to the south. And still others lived in the western mountain slopes. ¹⁰ Then the men of Judah went to fight against the Canaanites in the city of Hebron. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba.) The men of Judah defeated the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.

Caleb and His Daughter

¹¹ Then the men of Judah left Hebron. They went to the city of Debir to fight against the people there. (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) ¹² Before attacking the city, Caleb said, “I want a man to attack and capture the city of Kiriath Sepher. I will give him Acsah, my daughter, as a wife.” ¹³ Caleb had a younger brother named Kenaz. Kenaz had a son named Othniel. Othniel captured the city of Kiriath Sepher. So Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel to be his wife. ¹⁴ When Acsah came to Othniel, he told her to ask her father for some land. So she got down from her donkey, and Caleb said, “What do you want?”

¹⁵ Acsah answered Caleb, “Do me a favor. You have put me in the dry land of southern Judah. Give me some land with springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs of water.

Fights with the Canaanites

¹⁶ The Kenite people left Jericho, the city of palm trees. They went with the men of Judah. The Kenites went to the Desert of Judah to live with the people there. This was in southern Judah near the city of Arad. (The Kenites were from the family of Moses’ father-in-law.)

¹⁷ Some Canaanite people also lived in the city of Zephath. So the men of Judah and the men of Simeon, their relatives, defeated those Canaanites. They completely destroyed the city. So they called the city Hormah.^{[a] 18} The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron and all the lands around them.

¹⁹ The Lord was on the side of the men of Judah. They took the land in the mountains. But they could not force out the people living on the plain. This was because those people had iron chariots. ²⁰ As Moses had promised, Hebron was given to Caleb. Caleb forced out the three sons of Anak. ²¹ But the people of Benjamin could not make the Jebusite people leave Jerusalem. Since that time the Jebusites have lived with the Benjaminites in Jerusalem.

²² The men of Joseph went to fight against the city of Bethel. The Lord was on their side. ²³ They sent some spies to Bethel. (Bethel used to be called Luz.) ²⁴ The spies saw a man coming out of the city. They said to him, “Show us a way into the city. If you help us, we will be kind to you.” ²⁵ The man showed the spies the way into the city. The men of Joseph killed the people in Bethel. But the man who helped them and his family were allowed to go free. ²⁶ He went to the land where the Hittite people lived, and he built a city. He named the city Luz, and it is called that today.

²⁷ There were Canaanites living in the cities of Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo and the small towns around them. The people of Manasseh did not force those people out of their towns. The Canaanites were determined to stay there. ²⁸ Later, the people of Israel grew strong. They forced the Canaanites to work as slaves for them. But the Israelites did not make all the Canaanites leave their land. ²⁹ There were Canaanites living in Gezer. And the people of Ephraim did not make all of those Canaanites leave their land. So the Canaanite people continued to live in Gezer with the people of Ephraim. ³⁰ Some Canaanites lived in the cities of Kitron and Nahalol. The people of Zebulun did not make them leave their land. They stayed and lived with the people of Zebulun. But Zebulun made them work as slaves.

³¹ The people of Asher did not make the Canaanites leave the cities of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek and Rehob. ³² The people of Asher did not make them leave their land. So the Canaanites continued to live with the people of Asher. ³³ The people of Naphtali did not make the people leave the cities of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath. So the people of Naphtali continued to live with the Canaanites in those cities. Those people worked as slaves for the people of Naphtali. ³⁴ The Amorites forced the Danites back into the mountains. The Amorites would not let them come down to live in the plain. ³⁵ The Amorites were determined to stay in Mount Heres, Aijalon and Shaalbim. But the Israelites grew stronger. Then they made the Amorites work as slaves for them. ³⁶ The land of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass to Sela and beyond it.

The Angel of the Lord at Bokim

2 The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim. He spoke to the people of Israel there and said: “I brought you up from Egypt. I led you to the land I promised to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my agreement with you. ² But in return, you must not make an agreement with the people who live in this land. You must destroy their altars.’ But you did not obey me. How could you do this? ³ Now I will tell you this: ‘I will not force out the people in this land. They will become your enemies. Their gods will become a trap for you.’”

⁴ After the angel gave Israel this message from the Lord, they cried loudly. ⁵ So they named the place Bokim.^[b] There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

Joshua Dies

⁶ Then Joshua told the people they could go home. So each one went to take his own share of the land. ⁷ The people of Israel served the Lord as long as Joshua was alive. They continued serving the Lord during the lifetimes of the elders who lived on after Joshua. These men had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. ⁸ Joshua son of Nun was the servant of the Lord. Joshua died at the age of 110. ⁹ So the Israelites buried him in the land he had been given. That land was at Timnath Heres. It was in the mountains of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

The People Disobey

¹⁰ After those people had died, their children grew up. They did not know the Lord or what he had done for Israel. ¹¹ So they did evil and worshiped the Baal idols. They did what the Lord said was wrong. ¹² The Lord had brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. And the ancestors of these people had worshiped the Lord. But the Israelites quit following the Lord. They began to worship the gods of the people who lived around them. That made the Lord angry. ¹³ The Israelites quit following the Lord and worshiped Baal and Ashtoreth. ¹⁴ The Lord was angry with the people of Israel. So he let robbers attack them and take their possessions. He let their enemies who lived around them defeat them. They could not protect themselves from their enemies. ¹⁵ When the Israelites went out to fight, they always lost. They lost because the Lord was not on their side. The Lord had sworn to them this would happen. So the Israelites suffered very much.

God Chooses Judges

¹⁶ Then the Lord chose leaders called judges.^[c] These leaders saved the people of Israel from the robbers. ¹⁷ But the Israelites did not listen to their judges. They were not faithful to God. They followed other gods instead. In the past the people of Israel obeyed the Lord’s commands. But now the Israelites stopped obeying the Lord. ¹⁸ Many times the enemies of Israel hurt the Israelites. So the Israelites would cry for help. And each time the Lord felt sorry for them. Each time he sent a judge to save them from their enemies. The Lord was with those judges. ¹⁹ But when each judge died, the Israelites again sinned and worshiped the false gods. They became worse than their ancestors. The Israelites were very stubborn; they refused to change their evil ways.

²⁰ So the Lord became angry with the Israelites. He said, “These people have broken the agreement I made with their ancestors. They have not listened to me. ²¹ So I will no longer defeat the nations who were left when Joshua died. ²² I will use those nations to test Israel. I will see if Israel keeps the Lord’s commands as their ancestors did.” ²³ In the past the Lord had permitted those nations to stay in the land. He did not quickly force them out. He did not help Joshua’s army defeat them.

3 These are the nations the Lord did not force to leave. He wanted to test the Israelites who had not fought in the wars to take Canaan. ² The only reason the Lord left those nations in the land was to teach the descendants of the Israelites. He wanted to teach the people who had not fought in those wars how to fight. ³ These are the nations: the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the people of Sidon and the Hivites. The Hivites lived in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. ⁴ Those nations were in the land to test the Israelites. The Lord wanted to see if Israel would obey the commands he had given to their ancestors by Moses.

⁵ The people of Israel lived with the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁶ The Israelites began to marry the daughters of those people. And the Israelites allowed their daughters to marry the sons of those people. Israel served the gods of those people.

Othniel, the First Judge

⁷ The people of Israel did what the Lord said was wrong. They forgot about the Lord their God. Instead, they served the idols of Baal and Asherah. ⁸ The Lord was angry with Israel. He allowed Cushan-Rishathaim king of Northwest Mesopotamia to rule over the Israelites. They were under that king’s rule for eight years. ⁹ Then Israel cried to the Lord. So the Lord sent a man to save them. He was Othniel son of Kenaz. (Kenaz was Caleb’s younger brother.) Othniel saved the Israelites. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord entered Othniel. And he became Israel’s judge and went to war. The Lord helped him to defeat Cushan-Rishathaim king of Northwest Mesopotamia. ¹¹ So the land was at peace for 40 years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.

Ehud, the Judge

¹² Again the people of Israel did what the Lord said was wrong. So the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power to defeat Israel. This was because of the evil Israel did. ¹³ Eglon got the Ammonite people and the Amalekite people to join him. Then he attacked Israel and took Jericho, the city of palm trees. ¹⁴ The people of Israel were under the rule of Eglon king of Moab for 18 years.

¹⁵ So the people cried to the Lord. And he sent a man to save them. That man was Ehud, who was left-handed. Ehud was the son of Gera from the people of Benjamin. Israel sent Ehud to give Eglon king of Moab the payment he demanded. ¹⁶ Ehud made a sword for himself. The sword had two edges and was about 18 inches long. He tied the sword to his right upper leg under his clothes. ¹⁷ So Ehud came to Eglon king of Moab and gave him the payment he demanded. Eglon was a very fat man. ¹⁸ After he had given Eglon the payment, Ehud sent home the men who had carried it. ¹⁹ When he passed the statues near the city Gilgal, he turned around. Ehud said to Eglon, “I have a secret message for you, King Eglon.”

The king said, “Be quiet!” Then he sent all of his servants out of the room. ²⁰ Ehud went to King Eglon. Eglon was now sitting alone in the room on top of his summer palace.

Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king stood up from his chair, ²¹ Ehud reached with his left hand. He took out the sword that was tied to his right upper leg. Then he stabbed the sword deep into the king’s belly! ²² The sword went into Eglon’s belly so far that even the handle sank in. And the blade came out his back. The king’s fat covered the whole sword. So Ehud left the sword in Eglon. ²³ He went out of the room and closed and locked the doors behind him.

²⁴ The servants returned just after Ehud left. They found the doors to the room locked. So they thought the king was relieving himself. ²⁵ They waited for a long time. Finally they became worried because he still had not opened the doors. So they got the key and unlocked them. When they entered, they saw their king lying dead on the floor!

²⁶ While the servants were waiting, Ehud had escaped. He passed by the statues and went to Seirah. ²⁷ When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim. The people of Israel heard it and went down from the hills with Ehud leading them.