Bible in 90 Days

15 The Land Given to the Tribe of Judah (as assigned by sacred lot): Judah’s southern boundary began at the northern border of Edom, crossed the wilderness of Zin, and ended at the northern edge of the Negeb. ^2-4 More specifically, this boundary began at the south bay of the Dead Sea, ran along the road going south of Mount Akrabbim, on into the wilderness of Zin to Hezron (south of Kadesh-barnea), and then up through Karka and Azmon, until it finally reached the brook of Egypt, and along that to the Mediterranean Sea.

⁵ The eastern boundary extended along the Dead Sea to the mouth of the Jordan River.

The northern boundary began at the bay where the Jordan River empties into the Salt Sea, ⁶ crossed to Beth-hoglah, then proceeded north of Beth-arabah to the stone of Bohan (son of Reuben). ⁷ From that point it went through the valley of Achor to Debir, where it turned northwest toward Gilgal, opposite the slopes of Adummim on the south side of the valley. From there the border extended to the springs at En-shemesh and on to En-rogel. ⁸ The boundary then passed through the valley of Hinnom, along the southern shoulder of Jebus (where the city of Jerusalem is located), then west to the top of the mountain above the valley of Hinnom, and on up to the northern end of the valley of Rephaim. ⁹ From there the border extended from the top of the mountain to the spring of Nephtoah, and from there to the cities of Mount Ephron before it turned northward to circle around Baalah (which is another name for Kiriath-jearim). ^10-11 Then the border circled west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passed along to the town of Chesalon on the northern shoulder of Mount Jearim, and went down to Beth-shemesh. Turning northwest again, the boundary line proceeded past the south of Timnah to the shoulder of the hill north of Ekron, where it bent to the left, passing south of Shikkeron and Mount Baalah. Turning again to the north, it passed Jabneel and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.

¹² The western border was the shoreline of the Mediterranean.

¹³ The Land Given to Caleb: The Lord instructed Joshua to assign some of Judah’s territory to Caleb (son of Jephunneh), so he was given the city of Arba (also called Hebron), which had been named after Anak’s father. ¹⁴ Caleb drove out the descendants of the three sons of Anak: Talmai, Sheshai, and Ahiman. ¹⁵ Then he fought against the people living in the city of Debir (formerly called Kiriath-sepher).

¹⁶ Caleb said that he would give his daughter Achsah to be the wife of anyone who would go and capture Kiriath-sepher. ¹⁷ Othniel (son of Kenaz), Caleb’s nephew, was the one who conquered it, so Achsah became Othniel’s wife. ^18-19 As she was leaving with him, she urged him to ask her father for an additional field as a wedding present.^[a] She got off her donkey to speak to Caleb about this.

“What is it? What can I do for you?” he asked.

And she replied, “Give me another present! For the land you gave me is a desert. Give us some springs too!” Then he gave her the upper and lower springs.

²⁰ So this was the assignment of land to the tribe of Judah:

^21-32 The cities of Judah which were situated along the borders of Edom in the Negeb, namely: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (or, Hazor), Amam, Shema, Moladah, Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, Hazar-shual, Beer-sheba, Biziothiah, Baalah, Iim, Ezem, Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon. In all, there were twenty-nine of these cities with their surrounding villages.

^33-36 The following cities situated in the lowlands were also given to Judah: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim. In all, there were fourteen of these cities with their surrounding villages.

^37-44 The tribe of Judah also inherited twenty-five other cities with their villages:^[b] Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel, Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, Makkedah, Libnah, Ether, Ashan, Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah.

⁴⁵ The territory of the tribe of Judah also included all the towns and villages of Ekron. ⁴⁶ From Ekron the boundary extended to the Mediterranean and included the cities along the borders of Ashdod with their nearby villages; ⁴⁷ also the city of Ashdod with its villages, and Gaza with its villages as far as the brook of Egypt; also the entire Mediterranean coast from the mouth of the brook of Egypt on the south to Tyre on the north.

^48-62 Judah also received these forty-four cities in the hill country with their surrounding villages:^[c] Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (or Debir), Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, Goshen, Holon, Giloh, Arab, Dumah, Eshan, Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, Humtah, Kiriath-arba (or, Hebron), Zior, Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, Kain, Gibeah, Timnah, Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, Maarath, Beth-anoth, Eltekon, Kiriath-baal (also known as Kiriath-jearim), Rabbah, Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, Nibshan, The City of Salt, and En-gedi.

⁶³ But the tribe of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites who lived in the city of Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live there among the people of Judah to this day.

16 ^1-4 The Southern Boundary of the Tribes of Joseph (Ephraim and the half-tribe of Manasseh): This boundary extended from the Jordan River at Jericho through the wilderness and the hill country to Bethel. It then went from Bethel to Luz, then on to Ataroth, in the territory of the Archites; and west to the border of the Japhletites as far as Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer and on over to the Mediterranean.

^5-6 The Land Given to the Tribe of Ephraim: The eastern boundary began at Ataroth-addar. From there it ran to Upper Beth-horon, then on to the Mediterranean Sea. The northern boundary began at the Sea, ran east past Michmethath, then continued on past Taanath-shiloh and Janoah. ⁷ From Janoah it turned southward to Ataroth and Naarah, touched Jericho, and ended at the Jordan River. ⁸ The western half of the northern boundary^[d] went from Tappuah and followed along Kanah Brook to the Mediterranean Sea. ⁹ Ephraim was also given some of the cities in the territory of the half-tribe of Manasseh. ¹⁰ The Canaanites living in Gezer were never driven out, so they still live as slaves among the people of Ephraim.

17 The Land Given to the Half-Tribe of Manasseh (Joseph’s oldest son): The clan of Machir (Manasseh’s oldest son who was the father of Gilead) had already been given the land of Gilead and Bashan on the east side of the Jordan River,^[e] for they were great warriors. ² So now, land on the west side of the Jordan^[f] was given to the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida, and Hepher.

³ However, Hepher’s son Zelophehad (grandson of Gilead, great-grandson of Machir, and great-great-grandson of Manasseh) had no sons. He had only five daughters whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ These women came to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua and the Israeli leaders and reminded them, “The Lord told Moses that we were to receive as much property as the men of our tribe.”^[g]

^5-6 So, as the Lord had commanded through Moses, these five women were given an inheritance along with their five great-uncles, and the total inheritance came to ten sections of land (in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan across the Jordan River).

⁷ The northern boundary of the tribe of Manasseh extended southward from the border of Asher to Michmethath, which is east of Shechem. On the south the boundary went from Michmethath to the spring of Tappuah. ⁸ (The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the city of Tappuah, on the border of Manasseh’s land, belonged to the tribe of Ephraim.) ⁹ From the spring of Tappuah the border of Manasseh followed the north bank of Kanah Brook to the Mediterranean Sea. (Several cities south of the brook belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, though they were located in Manasseh’s territory.) ¹⁰ The land south of the brook and as far west as the Mediterranean Sea was assigned to Ephraim, and the land north of the brook and east of the sea went to Manasseh. Manasseh’s northern boundary was the territory of Asher, and the eastern boundary was the territory of Issachar.

¹¹ The half-tribe of Manasseh was also given the following cities, which were situated in the areas assigned to Issachar and Asher: Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor, En-dor, Taanach, Megiddo (where there are the three cliffs), with their respective villages. ¹² But since the descendants of Manasseh could not drive out the people who lived in those cities, the Canaanites remained. ¹³ Later on, however, when the Israelis became strong enough, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves.

¹⁴ Then the two tribes of Joseph came to Joshua and asked, “Why have you given us only one portion of land when the Lord has given us such large populations?”

¹⁵ “If the hill country of Ephraim is not large enough for you,” Joshua replied, “and if you are able to do it, you may clear out the forest land where the Perizzites and Rephaim live.”

^16-18 “Fine,” said the tribes of Joseph, “for the Canaanites in the lowlands around Beth-shean and the valley of Jezreel have iron chariots and are too strong for us.”

“Then you shall have the mountain forests,” Joshua replied, “and since you are such a large, strong tribe you will surely be able to clear it all and live there. And I’m sure you can drive out the Canaanites from the valleys, too, even though they are strong and have iron chariots.”

18 ^1-2 After the conquest—although seven of the tribes of Israel had not yet entered and conquered the land God had given them—all Israel gathered at Shiloh to set up the Tabernacle.

³ Then Joshua asked them, “How long are you going to wait before clearing out the people living in the land that the Lord your God has given to you? ⁴ Select three men from each tribe, and I will send them to scout the unconquered territory and bring back a report of its size and natural divisions so that I can divide it for you. ^5-6 The scouts will map it into seven sections, and then I will throw the sacred dice to decide which section will be assigned to each tribe. ⁷ However, remember that the Levites won’t receive any land; they are priests of the Lord. That is their wonderful heritage. And of course the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh won’t receive any more, for they already have land on the east side of the Jordan where Moses promised them that they could settle.”

⁸ So the scouts went out to map the country and to bring back their report to Joshua. Then the Lord could assign the sections of land to the tribes by the throw of the sacred dice. ⁹ The men did as they were told and divided the entire territory into seven sections, listing the cities in each section. Then they returned to Joshua and the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰ There at the Tabernacle at Shiloh the Lord showed Joshua by the sacred lottery which tribe should have each section:

¹¹ The Land Given to the Tribe of Benjamin:

The section of land assigned to the families of the tribe of Benjamin lay between the territory previously assigned to the tribes of Judah and Joseph.

¹² The northern boundary began at the Jordan River, went north of Jericho, then west through the hill country and the wilderness of Beth-aven. ¹³ From there the boundary went south to Luz (also called Bethel) and proceeded down to Ataroth-addar in the hill country south of Lower Beth-horon. ¹⁴ There the border turned south, passing the mountain near Beth-horon and ending at the village of Kiriath-baal (sometimes called Kiriath-jearim), one of the cities of the tribe of Judah. This was the western boundary.

¹⁵ The southern border ran from the edge of Kiriath-baal, over Mount Ephron to the spring of Naphtoah, ¹⁶ and down to the base of the mountain beside the valley of Hinnom, north of the valley of Rephaim. From there it continued across the valley of Hinnom, crossed south of the old city of Jerusalem^[h] where the Jebusites lived, and continued down to En-rogel. ¹⁷ From En-rogel the boundary proceeded northeast to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth (which is opposite the slope of Adummim). Then it went down to the Stone of Bohan (who was a son of Reuben), ¹⁸ where it passed along the north edge of the Arabah. The border then went down into the Arabah, ¹⁹ ran south past Beth-hoglah, and ended at the north bay of the Dead Sea—which is the southern end of the Jordan River.

²⁰ The eastern border was the Jordan River. This was the land assigned to the tribe of Benjamin. ^21-28 These twenty-six cities were included in the land^[i] given to the tribe of Benjamin: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, Beth-arabah, Zimaraim, Bethel, Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, Geba, Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (or Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim. All of these cities and their surrounding villages were given to the tribe of Benjamin.

19 The Land Given to the Tribe of Simeon: The tribe of Simeon received the next assignment of land—including part of the land previously assigned to Judah. ^2-7 Their inheritance included these seventeen cities^[j] with their respective villages: Beer-sheba, Sheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, Beth-lebaoth, Sharuhen, En-rimmon, Ether, and Ashan. ⁸ The cities as far south as Baalath-beer (also known as Ramah-in-the-Negeb) were also given to the tribe of Simeon. ⁹ So the Simeon tribe’s inheritance came from what had earlier been given to Judah, for Judah’s section had been too large for them.

¹⁰ The Land Given to the Tribe of Zebulun: The third tribe to receive its assignment of land was Zebulun. Its boundary started on the south side of Sarid. ¹¹ From there it circled to the west, going near Mareal and Dabbesheth until it reached the brook east of Jokneam. ¹² In the other direction, the boundary line went east to the border of Chisloth-tabor, and from there to Daberath and Japhia; ¹³ then it continued east of Gath-hepher, Ethkazin, and Rimmon and turned toward Neah. ¹⁴ The northern boundary of Zebulun passed Hannathon and ended at the valley of Iphtahel. ^15-16 The cities in these areas, besides those already mentioned,^[k] included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, Bethlehem, and each of their surrounding villages. Altogether there were twelve of these cities.

^17-23 The Land Given to the Tribe of Issachar: The fourth tribe to be assigned its land was Issachar. Its boundaries included the following cities: Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, Beth-pazzez, Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh—sixteen cities in all, each with its surrounding villages. The boundary of Issachar ended at the Jordan River.

^24-26 The Land Given to the Tribe of Asher: The fifth tribe to be assigned its land was Asher. The boundaries included these cities: Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal.

The boundary on the west side went from Carmel to Shihor-libnath, ²⁷ turned east toward Beth-dagon, and ran as far as Zebulun in the valley of Iphtahel, running north of Beth-emek and Neiel. It then passed to the east of Kabul, ²⁸ Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, and Greater Sidon. ²⁹ Then the boundary turned toward Ramah and the fortified city of Tyre and came to the Mediterranean Sea at Hosah. The territory also included Mahalab, Achzib, ^30-31 Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob—an overall total of twenty-two cities and their surrounding villages.

³² The Land Given to the Tribe of Naphtali: The sixth tribe to receive its assignment was the tribe of Naphtali. ³³ Its boundary began at Judah, at the oak in Zaanannim, and extended across to Adami-nekeb, Jabneel, and Lakkum, ending at the Jordan River. ³⁴ The western boundary began near Heleph and ran past Aznoth-tabor, then to Hukkok, and coincided with the Zebulun boundary in the south, and with the boundary of Asher on the west, and with the Jordan River at the east. ^35-39 The fortified cities included in this territory were: Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, Kedesh, Edrei, Enhazor, Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh. So altogether the territory included nineteen cities with their surrounding villages.

⁴⁰ The Land Given to the Tribe of Dan: The last tribe to be assigned its land was Dan. ^41-46 The cities within its area included: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, Elon, Timnah, Ekron, Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, also the territory near Joppa. ^47-48 But some of this territory proved impossible to conquer, so the tribe of Dan captured the city of Leshem, slaughtered its people, and lived there; and they called the city “Dan,” naming it after their ancestor.

⁴⁹ So all the land was divided among the tribes, with the boundaries indicated; and the nation of Israel gave a special piece of land to Joshua, ⁵⁰ for the Lord had said that he could have any city he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim; he rebuilt it and lived there.

⁵¹ Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the leaders of the tribes of Israel supervised the sacred lottery to divide the land among the tribes. This was done in the Lord’s presence at the entrance of the Tabernacle at Shiloh.

20 The Lord said to Joshua,

² “Tell the people of Israel to designate now the Cities of Refuge, as I instructed Moses.^{[l] 3} If a man is guilty of killing someone unintentionally, he can run to one of these cities and be protected from the relatives of the dead man, who may try to kill him in revenge. ⁴ When the innocent killer reaches any of these cities, he will meet with the city council and explain what happened, and they must let him come in and must give him a place to live among them. ⁵ If a relative of the dead man comes to kill him in revenge, the innocent slayer must not be released to him for the death was accidental. ⁶ The man who caused the accidental death must stay in that city until he has been tried by the judges and found innocent, and must live there until the death of the High Priest who was in office at the time of the accident. But then he is free to return to his own city and home.”

⁷ The cities chosen as Cities of Refuge were Kedesh of Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali; Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim; and Kiriath-arba (also known as Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. ⁸ The Lord also instructed that three cities be set aside for this purpose on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho. They were Bezer, in the wilderness of the land of the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth of Gilead, in the territory of the tribe of Gad; and Golan of Bashan, in the land of the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹ These Cities of Refuge were for foreigners living in Israel as well as for the Israelis themselves, so that anyone who accidentally killed another man could run to that place for a trial and not be killed in revenge.

21 Then the leaders of the tribe of Levi came to Shiloh to consult with Eleazar the priest and with Joshua and the leaders of the various tribes.

² “The Lord instructed Moses to give cities to us Levites for our homes, and pastureland for our cattle,” they said.

³ So they were given some of the recently conquered cities with their pasturelands. ⁴ Thirteen of these cities had been assigned originally to the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. These were given to some of the priests of the Kohath division (of the tribe of Levi, descendants of Aaron). ⁵ The other families of the Kohath division were given ten cities from the territories of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ⁶ The Gershon division received thirteen cities, selected by sacred lot in the area of Bashan. These cities were given by the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ⁷ The Merari division received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. ⁸ So the Lord’s command to Moses was obeyed, and the cities and pasturelands were assigned by the toss of the sacred dice.

^9-16 First to receive their assignment were the priests—the descendants of Aaron, who was a member of the Kohath division of the Levites. The tribes of Judah and Simeon gave them the nine cities^[m] listed below, with their surrounding pasturelands:

Hebron, in the Judean hills, as a City of Refuge—it was also called Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak)—although the fields beyond the city and the surrounding villages were given to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh; Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh.

^17-18 The tribe of Benjamin gave them these four cities and their pasturelands: Gibeon, Gaba, Anathoth, and Almon. ¹⁹ So in all, thirteen cities were given to the priests—the descendants of Aaron.

^20-22 The other families of the Kohath division received four cities^[n] and pasturelands from the tribe of Ephraim: Shechem (a City of Refuge), Gezer, Kibza-im, and Beth-horon.

^23-24 The following four cities and pasturelands were given by the tribe of Dan: Elteke, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon.

²⁵ The half-tribe of Manasseh gave the cities of Taanach and Gath-rimmon with their surrounding pasturelands.

²⁶ So the total number of cities and pasturelands given to the remainder of the Kohath division was ten.

²⁷ The descendants of Gershon, another division of the Levites, received two cities and pasturelands from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan, in Bashan (a City of Refuge), and Beeshterah.

^28-29 The tribe of Issachar gave four cities: Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth, and Engannim.

^30-31 The tribe of Asher gave four cities and pasturelands: Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob.

³² The tribe of Naphtali gave: Kedesh, in Galilee (a City of Refuge), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan.

³³ So thirteen cities with their pasturelands were assigned to the division of Gershon.

^34-35 The remainder of the Levites—the Merari division—were given four cities by the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal.

^36-37 Reuben gave them: Bezer, Jahaz, Kedemoth, and Mephaath. ^38-39 Gad gave them four cities with pasturelands: Ramoth (a City of Refuge), Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer.

⁴⁰ So the Merari division of the Levites was given twelve cities in all.

^41-42 The total number of cities and pasturelands given to the Levites came to forty-eight.

⁴³ So in this way the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had promised to their ancestors, and they went in and conquered it and lived there. ⁴⁴ And the Lord gave them peace, just as he had promised, and no one could stand against them; the Lord helped them destroy all their enemies. ⁴⁵ Every good thing the Lord had promised them came true.

22 Joshua now called together the troops from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ^2-3 and addressed them as follows:

“You have done as the Lord’s disciple Moses commanded you, and have obeyed every order I have given you—every order of the Lord your God. You have not deserted your brother tribes, even though the campaign has lasted for such a long time. ⁴ And now the Lord our God has given us success and rest as he promised he would. So go home now to the land given you by the Lord’s servant Moses, on the other side of the Jordan River. ⁵ Be sure to continue to obey all of the commandments Moses gave you. Love the Lord and follow his plan for your lives. Cling to him and serve him enthusiastically.”

⁶ So Joshua blessed them and sent them home. ^7-8 (Moses had assigned the land of Bashan to the half-tribe of Manasseh, although the other half of the tribe was given land on the west side of the Jordan.) As Joshua sent away these troops, he blessed them and told them to share their great wealth with their relatives back home—their loot of cattle, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and clothing.

⁹ So the troops of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the army of Israel at Shiloh in Canaan and crossed the Jordan River to their own homeland of Gilead. ¹⁰ Before they went across, while they were still in Canaan, they built a large monument for everyone to see, in the shape of an altar.

¹¹ But when the rest of Israel heard about what they had done, ¹² they mustered an army at Shiloh and prepared to go to war against their brother tribes. ¹³ First, however, they sent a delegation led by Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest. They crossed the river and talked to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. ¹⁴ In this delegation were ten high officials of Israel, one from each of the ten tribes, and each a clan leader. ¹⁵ When they arrived in the land of Gilead they said to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,

¹⁶ “The whole congregation of the Lord demands to know why you are sinning against the God of Israel by turning away from him and building an altar of rebellion against the Lord. ^17-18 Was our guilt at Peor—from which we have not even yet been cleansed despite the plague that tormented us—so little that you must rebel again? For you know that if you rebel today the Lord will be angry with all of us tomorrow. ¹⁹ If you need the altar because your land is defiled, then join us on our side of the river where the Lord lives among us in his Tabernacle, and we will share our land with you. But do not rebel against the Lord by building another altar in addition to the only true altar of our God. ²⁰ Don’t you remember that when Achan, the son of Zerah, sinned against the Lord, the entire nation was punished in addition to the one man who had sinned?”

²¹ This was the reply of the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to these high officials:

^22-23 “We swear by Jehovah, the God of gods, that we have not built the altar in rebellion against the Lord. He knows (and let all Israel know it too) that we have not built the altar to sacrifice burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings—may the curse of God be on us if we did. ^24-25 We have done it because we love the Lord and because we fear that in the future your children will say to ours, ‘What right do you have to worship the Lord God of Israel? The Lord has placed the Jordan River as a barrier between our people and your people! You have no part in the Lord.’ And your children may make our children stop worshiping him. ^26-27 So we decided to build the altar as a symbol to show our children and your children that we, too, may worship the Lord with our burnt offerings and peace offerings and sacrifices, and your children will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no part in the Lord our God.’ ²⁸ If they say this, our children can reply, ‘Look at the altar of the Lord that our fathers made, patterned after the altar of Jehovah. It is not for burnt offerings or sacrifices but is a symbol of the relationship with God that both of us have.’ ²⁹ Far be it from us to turn away from the Lord or to rebel against him by building our own altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices. Only the altar in front of the Tabernacle may be used for that.”

³⁰ When Phinehas the priest and the high officials heard this from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, they were very happy.

³¹ Phinehas replied to them, “Today we know that the Lord is among us because you have not sinned against the Lord as we thought; instead, you have saved us from destruction!”

³² Then Phinehas and the ten ambassadors went back to the people of Israel and told them what had happened, ³³ and all Israel rejoiced and praised God and spoke no more of war against Reuben and Gad. ³⁴ The people of Reuben and Gad named the altar “The Altar of Witness,” for they said, “It is a witness between us and them that Jehovah is our God too.”

23 Long after this, when the Lord had given success to the people of Israel against their enemies and when Joshua was very old, ² he called for the leaders of Israel—the elders, judges, and officers—and said to them, “I am an old man now, ³ and you have seen all that the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime. He has fought for you against your enemies and has given you their land. ^4-5 And I have divided to you the land of the nations yet unconquered as well as the land of those you have already destroyed. All the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea shall be yours, for the Lord your God will drive out all the people living there now, and you will live there instead, just as he has promised you.

⁶ “But be very sure to follow all the instructions written in the book of the laws of Moses; do not deviate from them the least little bit. ⁷ Be sure that you do not mix with the heathen people still remaining in the land; do not even mention the names of their gods, much less swear by them or worship them. ⁸ But follow the Lord your God just as you have until now. ⁹ He has driven out great, strong nations from before you, and no one has been able to defeat you. ¹⁰ Each one of you has put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised. ¹¹ So be very careful to keep on loving him.

¹² “If you don’t, and if you begin to intermarry with the nations around you, ¹³ then know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no longer chase those nations from your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a pain in your side and a thorn in your eyes, and you will disappear from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴ “Soon I will be going the way of all the earth—I am going to die.

“You know very well that God’s promises to you have all come true. ^15-16 But as certainly as the Lord has given you the good things he promised, just as certainly he will bring evil upon you if you disobey him. For if you worship other gods, he will completely wipe you out from this good land that the Lord has given you. His anger will rise hot against you, and you will quickly perish.”

24 Then Joshua summoned all the people of Israel to him at Shechem, along with their leaders—the elders, officers, and judges. So they came and presented themselves before God.

² Then Joshua addressed them as follows: “The Lord God of Israel says, ‘Your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived east of the Euphrates River; and they worshiped other gods. ³ But I took your father Abraham from that land across the river and led him into the land of Canaan and gave him many descendants through Isaac, his son. ⁴ Isaac’s children, whom I gave him, were Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the area around Mount Seir while Jacob and his children went into Egypt.

⁵ “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron to bring terrible plagues upon Egypt; and afterwards I brought my people out as free men. ⁶ But when they arrived at the Red Sea, the Egyptians chased after them with chariots and cavalry. ⁷ Then Israel cried out to me and I put darkness between them and the Egyptians; and I brought the sea crashing in upon the Egyptians, drowning them. You saw what I did. Then Israel lived in the wilderness for many years.

⁸ “‘Finally I brought you into the land of the Amorites on the other side of the Jordan; and they fought against you, but I destroyed them and gave you their land. ⁹ Then King Balak of Moab started a war against Israel, and he asked Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse you. ¹⁰ But I wouldn’t listen to him. Instead I made him bless you; and so I delivered Israel from him.

¹¹ “‘Then you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, and so did many others—the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Each in turn fought against you, but I destroyed them all. ¹² And I sent hornets ahead of you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites and their people. It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory! ¹³ I gave you land you had not worked for and cities you did not build—these cities where you are now living. I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them.’

¹⁴ “So revere Jehovah and serve him in sincerity and truth. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Worship the Lord alone. ¹⁵ But if you are unwilling to obey the Lord, then decide today whom you will obey. Will it be the gods of your ancestors beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites here in this land? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

¹⁶ And the people replied, “We would never forsake the Lord and worship other gods! ¹⁷ For the Lord our God is the one who rescued our fathers from their slavery in the land of Egypt. He is the God who did mighty miracles before the eyes of Israel, as we traveled through the wilderness, and preserved us from our enemies when we passed through their land. ¹⁸ It was the Lord who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. Yes, we choose the Lord, for he alone is our God.”

¹⁹ But Joshua replied to the people, “You can’t worship the Lord God, for he is holy and jealous; he will not forgive your rebellion and sins. ²⁰ If you forsake him and worship other gods, he will turn upon you and destroy you, even though he has taken care of you for such a long time.”

²¹ But the people answered, “We choose the Lord!”

²² “You have heard yourselves say it,” Joshua said. “You have chosen to obey the Lord.”

“Yes,” they replied, “we are witnesses.”

²³ “All right,” he said, “then you must destroy all the idols you now own, and you must obey the Lord God of Israel.”

²⁴ The people replied to Joshua, “Yes, we will worship and obey the Lord alone.”

²⁵ So Joshua made a covenant with them that day at Shechem, committing them to a permanent and binding contract between themselves and God. ²⁶ Joshua recorded the people’s reply in the book of the laws of God and took a huge stone as a reminder and rolled it beneath the oak tree that was beside the Tabernacle.

²⁷ Then Joshua said to all the people, “This stone has heard everything the Lord said, so it will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word.”

²⁸ Then Joshua sent the people away to their own sections of the country.

²⁹ Soon after this he died at the age of 110. ³⁰ He was buried on his own estate at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north side of the mountains of Gaash.

³¹ Israel obeyed the Lord throughout the lifetimes of Joshua and the other old men who had personally witnessed the amazing deeds the Lord had done for Israel.

³² The bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel had brought along when they left Egypt, were buried in Shechem, in the parcel of ground Jacob had bought^[o] from the sons of Hamor. (The land was located in the territory assigned to the tribes of Joseph.)

³³ Eleazar, the son of Aaron, also died; he was buried in the hill country of Ephraim, at Gibeah, the city that had been given to his son Phinehas.

1 After Joshua died, the nation of Israel went to the Lord to receive his instructions.

“Which of our tribes should be the first to go to war against the Canaanites?” they inquired.

² God’s answer came, “Judah. And I will give them a great victory.”

³ The leaders of the tribe of Judah, however, asked help from the tribe of Simeon. “Join us in clearing out the people living in the territory allotted to us,” they said, “and then we will help you conquer yours.” So the army of Simeon went with the army of Judah. ^4-6 And the Lord helped them defeat the Canaanites and Perizzites, so that ten thousand of the enemy were slain at Bezek. King Adoni-bezek escaped, but the Israeli army soon captured him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

⁷ “I have treated seventy kings in this same manner and have fed them the scraps under my table!” King Adoni-bezek said. “Now God has paid me back.” He was taken to Jerusalem and died there.

⁸ (Judah had conquered Jerusalem and massacred its people, setting the city on fire.) ⁹ Afterward the army of Judah fought the Canaanites in the hill country and in the Negeb, as well as on the coastal plains. ¹⁰ Then Judah marched against the Canaanites in Hebron (formerly called Kiriath-arba), destroying the cities of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. ¹¹ Later they attacked the city of Debir (formerly called Kiriath-sepher).

¹² “Who will lead the attack against Debir?” Caleb challenged them. “Whoever conquers it shall have my daughter Achsah as his wife!”

¹³ Caleb’s nephew, Othniel, son of his younger brother Kenaz, volunteered to lead the attack; and he conquered the city and won Achsah as his bride. ¹⁴ As they were leaving for their new home,^[p] she urged him to ask her father for an additional piece of land. She dismounted from her donkey to speak to Caleb about it.

“What do you wish?” he asked.

¹⁵ And she replied, “You have been kind enough to give me land in the Negeb, but please give us springs of water too.”

So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

¹⁶ When the tribe of Judah moved into its new land in the Negeb Desert south of Arad, the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law—members of the Kenite tribe—accompanied them. They left their homes in Jericho, “The City of Palm Trees,” and the two tribes lived together after that. ¹⁷ Afterwards the army of Judah joined Simeon’s, and they fought the Canaanites at the city of Zephath and massacred all its people. So now the city is named Hormah (meaning, “massacred”). ¹⁸ The army of Judah also conquered the cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, with their surrounding villages. ¹⁹ The Lord helped the tribe of Judah exterminate the people of the hill country, though they failed in their attempt to conquer the people of the valley, who had iron chariots.

²⁰ The city of Hebron was given to Caleb as the Lord had promised; so Caleb drove out the inhabitants of the city; they were descendants of the three sons of Anak.

²¹ The tribe of Benjamin failed to exterminate the Jebusites living in their part of the city of Jerusalem, so they still live there today, mingled with the Israelis.

^22-23 As for the tribe of Joseph, they attacked the city of Bethel, formerly known as Luz, and the Lord was with them. First they sent scouts, ²⁴ who captured a man coming out of the city. They offered to spare his life and that of his family if he would show them the entrance passage through the wall.^{[q] 25} So he showed them how to get in, and they massacred the entire population except for this man and his family. ²⁶ Later the man moved to Syria and founded a city there, naming it Luz, too, as it is still known today.

²⁷ The tribe of Manasseh failed to drive out the people living in Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, with their surrounding towns; so the Canaanites stayed there. ²⁸ In later years when the Israelis were stronger, they put the Canaanites to work as slaves, but never did force them to leave the country. ²⁹ This was also true of the Canaanites living in Gezer; they still live among the tribe of Ephraim.

³⁰ And the tribe of Zebulun did not massacre the people of Kitron or Nahalol, but made them their slaves; ^31-32 nor did the tribe of Asher drive out the residents of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob; so the Israelis still live among the Canaanites, who were the original people of that land. ³³ And the tribe of Naphtali did not drive out the people of Beth-shemesh or of Beth-anath, so these people continue to live among them as servants.

³⁴ As for the tribe of Dan, the Amorites forced them into the hill country and wouldn’t let them come down into the valley; ³⁵ but when the Amorites later spread into Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim, the tribe of Joseph conquered them and made them their slaves. ³⁶ The boundary of the Amorites begins at the ascent of Scorpion Pass, runs to a spot called The Rock, and continues upward from there.

2 One day the Angel of the Lord arrived at Bochim, coming from Gilgal, and announced to the people of Israel, “I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I promised to your ancestors, and I said that I would never break my covenant with you, ² if you, on your part, would make no peace treaties with the people living in this land; I told you to destroy their heathen altars. Why have you not obeyed? ³ And now since you have broken the contract, it is no longer in effect, and I no longer promise to destroy the nations living in your land; rather, they shall be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.”

⁴ The people broke into tears as the Angel finished speaking; ⁵ so the name of that place was called “Bochim” (meaning, “the place where people wept”). Then they offered sacrifices to the Lord.

⁶ When Joshua finally disbanded the armies of Israel, the tribes moved into their new territories and took possession of the land. ^7-9 Joshua, the man of God, died at the age of 110 and was buried at the edge of his property in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. The people had remained true to the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime, and as long afterward as the old men of his generation were still living—those who had seen the mighty miracles the Lord had done for Israel.

¹⁰ But finally all that generation died; and the next generation did not worship Jehovah as their God and did not care about the mighty miracles he had done for Israel. ¹¹ They did many things that the Lord had expressly forbidden, including the worshiping of heathen gods. ^12-14 They abandoned Jehovah, the God loved and worshiped by their ancestors—the God who had brought them out of Egypt. Instead, they were worshiping and bowing low before the idols of the neighboring nations. So the anger of the Lord flamed out against all Israel. He left them to the mercy of their enemies, for they had departed from Jehovah and were worshiping Baal and the Ashtaroth idols.

¹⁵ So now when the nation of Israel went out to battle against its enemies, the Lord blocked their path. He had warned them about this, and in fact had vowed that he would do it. But when the people were in this terrible plight, ¹⁶ the Lord raised up judges to save them from their enemies.

¹⁷ Yet even then Israel would not listen to the judges, but broke faith with Jehovah by worshiping other gods instead. How quickly they turned away from the true faith of their ancestors, for they refused to obey God’s commands. ¹⁸ Each judge rescued the people of Israel from their enemies throughout his lifetime, for the Lord was moved to pity by the groaning of his people under their crushing oppressions; so he helped them as long as that judge lived. ¹⁹ But when the judge died, the people turned from doing right and behaved even worse than their ancestors had. They prayed to heathen gods again, throwing themselves to the ground in humble worship. They stubbornly returned to the evil customs of the nations around them.

²⁰ Then the anger of the Lord would flame out against Israel again. He declared, “Because these people have violated the treaty I made with their ancestors, ²¹ I will no longer drive out the nations left unconquered by Joshua when he died. ²² Instead, I will use these nations to test my people, to see whether or not they will obey the Lord as their ancestors did.”

²³ So the Lord left those nations in the land and did not drive them out, nor let Israel destroy them.

3 ^1-3 Here is a list of the nations the Lord left in the land to test the new generation of Israel who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. For God wanted to give opportunity to the youth of Israel to exercise faith and obedience^[r] in conquering their enemies: the Philistines (five cities), the Canaanites, the Sidonians, the Hivites living in Mount Lebanon, from Baal-hermon to the entrance of Hamath. ⁴ These people were a test to the new generation of Israel, to see whether they would obey the commandments the Lord had given to them through Moses.

⁵ So Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Amorites, and Jebusites. ⁶ But instead of destroying them, the people of Israel intermarried with them. The young men of Israel took their girls as wives, and the Israeli girls married their men. And soon Israel was worshiping their gods. ⁷ So the people of Israel were very evil in God’s sight, for they turned against Jehovah their God and worshiped Baal and the Asheroth idols.

⁸ Then the anger of the Lord flamed out against Israel, and he let King Cushan-rishathaim of eastern Syria conquer them. They were under his rule for eight years. ⁹ But when Israel cried out to the Lord, he gave them Caleb’s nephew, Othniel (son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother) to save them. ¹⁰ The Spirit of the Lord took control of him, and he reformed and purged Israel so that when he led the forces of Israel against the army of King Cushan-rishathaim, the Lord helped Israel conquer him completely.

¹¹ Then, for forty years under Othniel, there was peace in the land. But when Othniel died, ¹² the people of Israel turned once again to their sinful ways, so God helped King Eglon of Moab to conquer part of Israel at that time. ¹³ Allied with him were the armies of the Ammonites and the Amalekites. These forces defeated the Israelis and took possession of Jericho, often called “The City of Palm Trees.” ¹⁴ For the next eighteen years the people of Israel were required to pay crushing taxes to King Eglon.

¹⁵ But when they cried to the Lord, he sent them a savior, Ehud (son of Gera, a Benjaminite), who was left-handed. Ehud was the man chosen to carry Israel’s annual tax money to the Moabite capital. ¹⁶ Before he went on this journey, he made himself a double-edged dagger eighteen inches long and hid it in his clothing, strapped against his right thigh. ^17-19 After delivering the money to King Eglon (who, by the way, was very fat!), he started home again. But outside the city, at the quarries of Gilgal, he sent his companions on and returned alone to the king.

“I have a secret message for you,” he told him.

The king immediately dismissed all those who were with him so that he could have a private interview. ²⁰ Ehud walked over to him as he was sitting in a cool upstairs room and said to him, “It is a message from God!”

King Eglon stood up at once to receive it, ²¹ whereupon Ehud reached beneath his robe with his strong left hand, pulled out the double-bladed dagger strapped against his right thigh, and plunged it deep into the king’s belly. ^22-23 The hilt of the dagger disappeared beneath the flesh, and the fat closed over it as the entrails oozed out. Leaving the dagger there, Ehud locked the doors behind him and escaped across an upstairs porch.

²⁴ When the king’s servants returned and saw that the doors were locked, they waited, thinking that perhaps he was using the bathroom. ²⁵ But when, after a long time, he still didn’t come out, they became concerned and got a key. And when they opened the door, they found their master dead on the floor.

²⁶ Meanwhile Ehud had escaped past the quarries to Seirah. ²⁷ When he arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, he blew a trumpet as a call to arms and mustered an army under his own command.