Bible in 90 Days
15 The territory allotted to the tribe of the Judahites, clan by clan, reached south to the border of Edom, and even further south into the wilderness of Zin. 2 Their southern border ran from the bay at the south end of the Dead Sea (the Salt Sea), 3 and continued to the south of the ascent of Akrabbim,[a] crossed the wilderness of Zin, and went up south of Kadesh-barnea, past Hezron, on up to Addar, and then turning toward Karka, 4 on to Azmon, then out by the wadi of Egypt, and ending at the Mediterranean Sea. “This,” they were told, “will be your southern boundary.”
5 On the east the territory of Judah was bounded by the Dead Sea up to where the Jordan runs into it. Their boundary on the north began at the bay at the mouth of the Jordan, 6 went up to Beth-hoglah, passed north of Beth-arabah, and continued up to the stone of Bohan, Reuben’s descendant. 7 From there the boundary went to Debir from the valley of Achor, and then northward, turning toward Gilgal across from the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the river valley. From there the boundary passed along to the waters of En-shemesh, and on to En-rogel. 8 Then the boundary went up the valley of Ben-hinnom, just at the southern slope of the Jebusite city, Jerusalem, and then up to the top of the mountain west of the Hinnom Valley at the northern end of the valley of Rephaim. 9 From the mountaintop, the boundary extended to the spring of Nephtoah, and from there to the towns of Mount Ephron. Then the boundary curved around to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim); 10 and from there circled west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passed along to the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, passed through Timnah 11 to the northern flank of Ekron, then turned toward Shikkeron, past Mount Baalah, and out to Jabneel. The boundary ended at the Mediterranean Sea.
12 The western boundary, then, was the Mediterranean coast, and this recounts all the boundary of the land allotted to the people of Judah and its clans.
13 As the Eternal had commanded him, Joshua gave Caleb, son of Jephunneh, a share of land within the territory allotted to the people of Judah—Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron; Arba was the father of Anak). 14 Caleb drove from that land the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 15 From there he went to battle the inhabitants of Debir (formerly Kiriath-sepher).
Caleb: 16 Whoever attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher will receive my daughter Achsah as his wife.
Kiriath-sepher had originally been conquered by Joshua, but it was retaken by the Canaanites. Now Caleb must go back and attack the city once more.
17 Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, captured it, so Caleb gave Othniel his daughter Achsah in marriage. 18 One day she urged Othniel to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted her donkey, Caleb spoke to her.
Caleb: What do you wish?
Achsah: 19 Here is what I would like as a wedding gift: since you have given me the desert of the Negev, give me also some springs of water.
So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
20 This, then, is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Judah, according to their clans. 21 A list of the towns belonging to the tribe of the people of Judah, beginning in the far south near the boundary of Edom: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, 25 Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27 Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, 28 Hazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, 29 Baalah, Iim, Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, 31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—in all, 29 cities with their surrounding villages.
33 In the lowlands: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, 36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim—14 cities with their surrounding villages.
37 Also Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, 38 Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel, 39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 40 Cabbon, Lahmas, Chitlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah—16 cities with their surrounding villages.
42 Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah—9 cities with their surrounding villages.
45 Ekron with its towns and villages, 46 from Ekron to the Mediterranean Sea, and everything near Ashdod, with its villages.
47 Also Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; on to the wadi of Egypt, and then the Mediterranean with its coast.
48 In the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, 49 Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—11 cities with their surrounding villages.
52 Also Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 53 Janum, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—9 cities with their surrounding villages.
55 Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah—10 cities with their surrounding villages.
58 Also Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon—6 cities with their surrounding villages.
60 Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim) and Rabbah—2 cities with their surrounding villages.
61 In the desert: Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and Engedi—6 cities with their surrounding villages.
63 But the people of Judah could not conquer the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites still live alongside the people of Judah in Jerusalem today.
16 The inheritance of the people of Joseph was bounded on the east by the Jordan at the waters of Jericho, and into the desert, then rising from Jericho into the highlands of Bethel. 2 From there it went to Luz, and along to Ataroth, the frontier of the land of the Archites, 3 then downward and westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the border of lower Beth-horon, then on to Gezer, and it ended at the sea. 4 So the people of Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim received their inheritance.
Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, only receive one land allotment between them. Later this will cause contention (17:14–18).
5 The territory of the Ephraimites, clan by clan, was as follows: the eastern border of their inheritance was Ataroth-addar to upper Beth-horon, 6 and the boundary went west at Michmethath on the north and turned east toward Taanath-shiloh, and passed along beyond it on the east to Janoah. 7 Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, touched Jericho, and ended at the Jordan. 8 From Tappuah, the boundary ran west to the wadi of Kanah and ended at the sea. This was the land allotted to the tribe of the Ephraimites, clan by clan, 9 along with the cities that were set apart for the people of Ephraim scattered within the inheritance of the people of Manasseh, all those cities and their surrounding villages. 10 But the people of Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, who have lived among the people of Ephraim to this day but are forced to serve them.
17 Land was allotted to the tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn. Machir, the firstborn son of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, received Gilead and Bashan because he was a warrior. 2 Then land was allotted to the rest of the people of Manasseh by clans: Abiezerites, Helekites, Asrielites, Shechemites, Hepherites, and Shemidaites (the male descendants of Manasseh, son of Joseph, by clans).
Women don’t make many appearances in Israel’s story, mostly because women were not given a prominent role in ancient Middle Eastern cultures, but this episode is a startling example of equality and justice: although inheritance usually is passed from father to the oldest son, this family has only daughters. How will they pass down their land? Well the law of Moses, which has provided for so many things, also provides for this.
3 Now Zelophehad, son of Hepher, grandson of Gilead, great-grandson of Machir, great-great-grandson of Manasseh, had no sons to inherit, only five daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 These daughters came before Eleazar the priest, Joshua (son of Nun), and the leaders of the people.
Zelophehad’s Daughters: In the law, the Eternal commanded Moses to give daughters an inheritance along with male relatives.
So, as the Eternal had commanded, he gave the daughters an inheritance alongside their uncles.
5 So Manasseh was given 10 portions (in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan on the far side of the Jordan) 6 since the daughters of Manasseh also received an inheritance among their male relatives. The land of Gilead itself was given to Manasseh’s other male descendants.
7 The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to Michmethath, which is east of Shechem; then the boundary went southward to the inhabitants of the spring of Tappuah. 8 (The land of Tappuah belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, but the town itself on the boundary of Manasseh belonged to the people of Ephraim.) 9 From there, the boundary went south to the wadi of Kanah. The towns to the south of the river among the towns of Manasseh also belonged to Ephraim. Then the boundary of Manasseh went along the north side of the wadi and ended at the sea.
10 The south side was given to Ephraim, and the north to Manasseh with the sea forming the western boundary; the northern boundary was the land allotted to Asher, and the eastern was Issachar. 11 Within the territories of Issachar and Asher, Manasseh possessed these cities: Beth-shean and its villages, Ibleam and its villages, the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, the inhabitants of Taanach and Megiddo and their villages, the three towns of the slopes.[b]
12 But the descendants of Manasseh could not conquer those cities because the Canaanites stubbornly continued to live among them in that region. 13 At last when the Israelites grew stronger, they made the Canaanites their servants, although they did not remove them completely.
14 Then the descendants of Joseph came to Joshua and made demands of him.
Joseph’s Descendants: Why are we only receiving one share, one portion to inherit, since we are numerous and the Eternal has always generously blessed us?
Joshua (to Joseph’s descendants): 15 If there are so many of you and the hill country of Ephraim is too crowded, then why don’t you go up into the forests? Clear more land for yourselves and spread out where the Perizzites and the Rephaim live.
Joseph’s Descendants: 16 The hill country does not have enough room for us; and what’s more, all the Canaanites who inhabit the plains in Beth-shean and its villages and in the valley of Jezreel have iron chariots to use against us.
Joshua (to Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s descendants): 17 All right; it’s true that there are many of you and that you are powerful. You should not have just one share. 18 The hill country will be yours, and you can clear the forests and possess the land to its farthest borders. But you will have to defeat the Canaanites even with their iron chariots and powerful warriors.
18 The whole community of Israelites assembled at Shiloh and raised the congregation tent. The region was fully under their control. 2 But there were still seven tribes who had not received their inheritance of land.
Joshua (to the remaining Israelites): 3 How much more time do you intend to waste before going to claim the land the Eternal God of your ancestors is giving to you? 4 Pick three men from every tribe, and I will send them into the land so they can survey the regions in light of your inheritances and bring me back descriptions. 5 They will divide the land into seven sections, between the people of Judah remaining in its territory in the south and the people of Joseph in their places in the north. 6 After you divide the land, return here with the seven descriptions, and I will draw lots so that the Eternal One, our True God, can choose who will inherit what part of it.
7 Remember that the Levites will not receive a share in this apportioning since their inheritance is the priesthood of the Eternal. The tribes of Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance east of the Jordan that Moses, the servant of the Eternal, gave them.
The tribe of Levi is the one exception to this process of allocating land because they have been set aside as priests in service to God. The other tribes will have to take care of Levi so that they may do the work God has given them to do for the entire people.
8 So the chosen men prepared to go, and Joshua repeated his instructions to them.
Joshua: Go into the land and survey it. Keep in mind that we need to divide it into seven sections. When you come back, we will draw lots before the Eternal here in Shiloh to divide the land.
9 The men went out and passed through the land, marking the cities, dividing it into seven parts and recording their findings on a scroll. Then they returned to Joshua at Shiloh, 10 and Joshua drew lots in Shiloh in the presence of the Eternal to divide the land among the remaining Israelites, each getting a share.
11 The land assigned by lot to the tribe of the Benjaminites according to their clans was between the people of Judah in the south and the people of Joseph in the north. 12 On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan: then the boundary went up to the northern side of Jericho, climbed westward through the hill country, and ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven. 13 From there, the boundary went southward in the direction of Luz; near Luz (that is, Bethel) it went down to Ataroth-addar, on the mountain to the south of lower Beth-horon. 14 From this point, the western boundary turned southward from the mountain opposite Beth-horon to Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a town belonging to the people of Judah. This was the western boundary of their inheritance.
15 The southern boundary began on the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim and from there went west to the springs of Nephtoah. 16 Then the boundary went along the border of the mountain overlooking the valley of Ben-hinnom, which is at the north end of the valley of Rephaim; and it then went down the valley of Hinnom, south of the slope of the Jebusites, and further to En-rogel. 17 Then it curved in a northerly direction toward En-shemesh and from there went on to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim; then down to the stone of Bohan, Reuben’s son, 18 and passing on to the north of the slope of Arabah, it descended down to the Arabah.[c] 19 The boundary then went north of the slope of Beth-hoglah and ended at the northern bay of the Dead Sea where the Jordan empties into the sea. This was the southern border. 20 On the eastern side, the Jordan formed its boundary.
This, then, was the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, clan by clan, boundary by boundary. 21 And the cities of the tribe of the Benjaminites allocated to the clans were: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—12 cities and their surrounding villages. 25 Also Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zela, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath—14 cities with their surrounding villages. This was the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, clan by clan.
19 The second allotment went to the tribe of the Simeonites, clan by clan, and its inheritance lay within the lands of the people of Judah. 2 Simeon had for its inheritance Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, 3 Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, 6 Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—13 cities with their surrounding villages; 7 also Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four towns with their surrounding villages; 8 also all the villages surrounding these towns as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negev. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Simeonites, clan by clan. 9 The inheritance of the people of Simeon was taken from the people of Judah because the allotment of the people of Judah was too large for them. So the tribe of Simeon received an inheritance within Judah’s inheritance.
Simeon receives no land allotment for himself. He is to be scattered within Judah’s territory.
10 The third lot fell to the people of Zebulun, clan by clan. The boundary of its inheritance stretched as far as Sarid, 11 then it climbed up westward to Maralah and brushed Dabbesheth, then on to the wadi that is east of Jokneam. 12 From Sarid it turned in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise to the frontier of Chisloth-tabor; and from there it went to Daberath, then up to Japhia. 13 From there it went eastward to Gath-hepher, then Eth-kazin, and going on to Rimmon, it curved toward Neah. 14 Then on the north, the boundary curved toward Hannathon and ended at the valley of Iphtahel 15 with Kattah, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—12 cities with their surrounding villages. 16 This, then, was the land granted to the people of Zebulun, clan by clan: these cities with their surrounding villages.
17 The fourth lot went to the people of Issachar, clan by clan. 18 The territory that they inherited included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, Beth-pazzez. 22 The boundary extended up to Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and ended at the Jordan—16 cities with their surrounding villages. 23 This, then, was the land granted to the tribe of the Issacharites, clan by clan: these cities with their surrounding villages.
24 The fifth lot was drawn for the tribe of the Asherites, clan by clan. 25 The boundary of its inheritance included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. It reached Carmel on the west and the brook Shihor-libnath, 27 then it turned eastward toward Beth-dagon and brushed Zebulun and the valley of Iphtahel north to Beth-emek and Neiel; then it continued on north passing by Cabul on the left, 28 to Ebron,[d] Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, as far as Sidon the Great. 29 The border turned to Ramah and the fortified city of Tyre. Then it turned to Hosah and ended at the sea near the region of Achzib; 30 also, Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob—22 cities with their surrounding villages. 31 This, then, was the land allotted to the tribe of the Asherites, clan by clan: these cities and their surrounding villages.
32 The sixth lot was drawn for the people of the Naphtalites, clan by clan; 33 and its boundary ran from Heleph and the oak in Zaanannim, with Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum; it ended at the Jordan. 34 The western boundary ran from Heleph to Aznoth-tabor and went from there to Hukkok, brushing the inheritance of Zebulun to the south, Asher on the west, and Judah on the east at the Jordan. 35 The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, 38 Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh—19 cities in all with their surrounding villages. 39 This, then, was the land granted to the tribe of the Naphtalites, clan by clan: these cities with their surrounding villages.
40 The seventh lot fell to the tribe of the Danites, clan by clan; 41 and the territory of its inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, 46 and Me-jarkon and Rakkon on the border opposite Joppa. 47 The people of Dan had a difficult time subduing their allotted territory so they went up and attacked Leshem, and when they had captured it and killed its inhabitants, they settled there, renaming Leshem “Dan,” after their ancestor. 48 This, then, was the land granted to the tribe of the Danites, clan by clan: these cities with their surrounding villages.
49 When at last they had finished distributing the territories of the land as inheritances, the Israelites gave Joshua, son of Nun, a special inheritance among them. 50 As the Eternal had commanded, they gave Joshua the town he had asked for, Timnath-serah in the highlands of Ephraim. So he built a city and settled there.
51 These, then, are the inheritances that the priest Eleazar, Joshua (son of Nun), and the heads of the leaders of the Israelite tribes distributed by drawing lots at Shiloh. All this was done in the presence of the Eternal at the entrance of the congregation tent. And the division of the land was complete.
20 Then the Eternal One spoke to Joshua.
Eternal One: 2 Tell the Israelites, “You must set apart cities of refuge, as I directed you through Moses, 3 so that anyone who accidentally or unintentionally kills a person may flee there. These cities shall be set up as a refuge from anyone seeking blood revenge. 4 If the slayer flees to one of these cities, he can stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain the case to the elders of that city; then the fugitive will be taken into the city and given a place, and he will live among them. 5 If the person seeking to avenge in blood comes after him, the people of the city may not give up the slayer since the neighbor was killed by mistake and there was no premeditation or prior hatred. 6 The slayer may remain in that city until there is a trial before the congregation. And when the high priest who currently holds the office dies, then the slayer may return home to the town from which he fled.”
God asks the people to set aside places of sanctuary. This is a violent time, and people often take justice into their own hands. But these cities of refuge are set aside as places where those who have accidentally killed someone might be safe from avenging relatives until a determination of guilt might be made.
7 So they set apart and consecrated Kedesh in Galilee (in the hill country of Naphtali), Shechem (in the hill country of Ephraim), and Kiriath-arba (Hebron, in the hill country of Judah). 8 Beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho, they appointed Bezer (in the desert plateau from the tribe of Reuben), Ramoth in Gilead (from the tribe of Gad), and Golan in Bashan (from the tribe of Manasseh). 9 These, then, were the cities set aside to be sanctuaries for all the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them, so that anyone who killed a person accidentally could flee there and not die at the hands of someone seeking blood revenge until there was a trial before the congregation.
21 It was at this time that the heads of the leaders of the Levites came before the priest Eleazar and Joshua, son of Nun, and the other leaders of the tribes of the Israelites 2 at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
Levite Leaders: The Eternal gave orders through Moses that we of the tribe of Levi be given towns to live in, along with pasturelands for our livestock and cattle.
The Kohathites are given land in the areas around what will be Jerusalem, where it will be convenient for them to later serve in the temple.
3 So in obedience to the Eternal’s command, the Israelites allotted to the Levites towns with their surrounding pasturelands, from out of their inheritances, 4 and lots were drawn for the clans of the descendants of Kohath. To those Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest went 13 towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The other descendants of Kohath were given 10 towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim and Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 6 The descendants of Gershon were allotted 13 towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh that lived in Bashan. 7 The descendants of Merari and their clans were granted 12 towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 8 This, then, was the land granted by drawing lots for the Levites, by the other people of Israel as the Eternal had commanded through Moses—these towns with their surrounding pastures. 9 From the tribes of the Judahites and the Simeonites came the following towns mentioned by name, 10 which were granted to the descendants of Aaron, of the clans of the descendants of Kohath who were Levites, since they were chosen first: 11 the city of Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is Hebron, in the highlands of Judah, as well as the pasturelands around it. 12 The fields and villages of the town had already been granted to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, for his inheritance.
13-16 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for a slayer, and Libnah; Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh, all with their villages—9 cities with their pastures given by these two tribes.
17-19 These cities were given by the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon, all with their villages—4 cities. So the cities granted to the descendants of Aaron—the priests—totaled 13, with their pastures and their villages.
20-22 As for the remaining clans of the people of Kohath of the Levites, the cities allotted to them were given by the tribe of Ephraim: Shechem (the city of refuge in the highlands of Ephraim) Gezer, Kibzaim, and Beth-horon, all with their villages—4 cities with their pastures. 23-24 Out of the tribe of Dan they were given Elteke, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon, all with their pasturelands—4 cities. 25 And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach with its villages and Gath-rimmon with its villages and their pastures—2 cities. 26 So the cities given to the clans of the rest of the Kohathites totaled 10, with their pasturelands.
27 The Gershonites, another of the clans of the Levites, received from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (the city of refuge), with its villages and pastures, and Beeshterah with its villages and pastures—2 cities. 28-29 From the tribe of Issachar they received Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En-gannim, all with their villages—4 cities.
30-31 From the tribe of Asher came Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob, all with their villages and pastures—4 cities. 32 From the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee (the city of refuge), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan, all with their villages and their pastures—3 cities. 33 In all, the cities granted to the clans of the Gershonites totaled 13, along with their villages and their pastures.
34-35 The rest of the Levites—the clans of the Merarites—received from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal, all with their villages and pastures—4 cities. 36-37 From the tribe of Reuben they were given Bezer, Jahzah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath, all with their villages and their pastures—4 cities. 38-39 From the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead (the city of refuge), Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer, all with their villages and their pastures—4 cities in all. 40 So the cities of the Merarite clans, that is, the remaining clans of Levi, totaled 12. 41 The Levites were granted 48 cities, each with villages around them and the pasturelands, within the holdings of the Israelites. 42 So it was that they received these cities, their villages, and their pastures.
43 That is how the Eternal gave to the people of Israel all the land He had promised to their ancestors; and when they had taken possession of the land, the Israelites settled upon it. 44 So He gave them rest from war on every side as He had sworn to their ancestors; none of their enemies still stood against them, for the Eternal had delivered them all into their hands. 45 Not a single one of all the good promises that He had made to the house of Israel went unfulfilled; all of them came to pass.
22 It was time for Joshua to discharge the tribes whose land was east of the Jordan, and they came before him—the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Joshua: 2 You have done all that Moses the servant of the Eternal commanded you to do, and you have done all that I asked of you. 3 You did not abandon your people through all of the many days we struggled, down to this very day, and you have always been faithful to the charge that was laid upon you by the Eternal One, your True God.
4 The Eternal One, your True God, has given rest now to all your people as He promised them. So now it is time for you to return to your tents and your possessions in the land on the far banks of the Jordan that Moses, the Eternal’s servant, granted you. 5 Be very careful always to follow the commandments and teachings of Moses, the Eternal’s servant: love the Eternal your God; walk in His pathways, keep His commandments, be faithful to Him, and serve Him with diligence and devotion.
6 He gave them his blessing and sent them home to their tents, 7 but since Moses had given to the half-tribe of Manasseh an inheritance in Bashan, east of the Jordan, and to the other half Joshua had given an inheritance alongside the other people west of the Jordan, he blessed them and sent them away.
Joshua: 8 You will return now to your tents with great wealth, with herds of livestock and cattle, with silver and gold, bronze and iron, and piles of fine clothing. Be sure to divide these spoils of war among your relatives.
9 So the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh departed from the other Israelites at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, and returned to their homes and families in Gilead, which Moses had given them by order of the Eternal.
10 When the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh came to the western bank of the Jordan, although still in the land of Canaan, they built an immense altar there by the river. 11 When the other people of Israel heard that the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built a huge altar on the frontier of Canaan on the side of the Jordan given to them, they feared the altar was going to be used to worship the gods of the land of Canaan. 12 So the Israelites all gathered at Shiloh and talked of going to war against the tribes across the Jordan. 13-14 But first they appointed the priest Phinehas, son of Eleazar, to travel with 10 chiefs, one from each Israelite tribe and each clan who were settled in the land of Canaan, to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead.
15 When they came to the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, Phinehas and the chiefs delivered the message.
Phinehas: 16 We bring a message from all the Eternal’s people in Canaan. How dare you! How can you commit this treachery against the True God of Israel by turning away from Him and building this altar to be used against Him? 17 Didn’t we learn our lessons about the sin of sacrificing to false gods in Peor? We have not yet cleansed ourselves of the stain or gotten over the plague that the Eternal sent among us because of it; 18 and now, already, you’re turning away from Him? Listen to me: If you rebel against Him today, He will punish the whole assembly of Israel tomorrow!
19 If the problem is that there is no holy site in your country, then come over to us in the country where the Eternal’s congregation tent is standing. Take an inheritance among us. Only don’t rebel against Him or rebel against us by building an altar that isn’t going to be used to sacrifice to the Eternal One, our True God. 20 Don’t you remember what happened when Achan, the son of Zerah, was unfaithful by keeping some of the spoil at Jericho and trying to deceive God and Joshua? His wrath fell upon the whole people, and he was not the only one who perished because of his sin!
21 Then the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered Phinehas and the heads of the clans of Israel:
Leaders of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh: 22 The Eternal One, God of gods! The Eternal One, God of gods! He knows the truth, and Israel should know, too. If it was out of rebellion against Him or faithlessness against Him, then devote us to destruction today! 23 If we have built this altar to renounce our allegiance to Him, or to present burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings on it, then may the Eternal Himself take vengeance on us!
24 No, we were afraid that someday, years from now, your sons and daughters might say to our sons and daughters, “Who are you? What connection do you have with the Eternal God of Israel? 25 Didn’t He set the river Jordan between us, the Reubenites and the Gadites, as a boundary? You have no share in the Eternal One.” So your sons and daughters might prevent ours from worshiping Him. 26-28 And we thought, should that day ever come, we could point to this altar and say, “Look, this constructed altar dedicated to Him was not set up to sacrifice on, but to be a witness here at the border between us that we serve the same God so that your children will not accuse our children of following other gods.”
29 It was the farthest thing from our minds to build an altar so that we could turn away from the Eternal God or to present burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings on anything but the altar that stands in front of His congregation tent, the place of revelation.
30 When the priest Phinehas, and the leaders of the congregation and the heads of the clans of Israel who accompanied him, heard the reply from the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, they were satisfied.
Phinehas (to the people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh): 31 We know now that the Eternal is among us. Because you have not committed some treachery against Him, you have saved all of the Israelites from punishment at His hands.
32 So Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and the leaders left the people of Reuben and Gad in the land of Gilead and returned to the assembly at Shiloh to tell them what they had heard. 33 Their report pleased the Israelites, and they stopped talking about going to war or destroying the people of Reuben and Gad. 34 The people of Reuben and Gad called the altar “Witness.”
Tribes of Reuben and Gad: We have built this altar as a witness between us that the Eternal is the True God.
In this final section of this book (chapters 23–24), Joshua’s speeches recap the story of their exodus from Egypt, remind the Israelites (and us) that God has been faithful in keeping all His promises, and call the people of Israel to accountability and faithfulness. It is this last charge that they will fail to keep—and that failure will cause the people of Israel so much trouble in the generations to come.
23 After Israel had taken possession of their inheritances and the Eternal had given them peace for many years and when Joshua was very old, 2 he summoned all of Israel, their judges and officers and leaders.
Joshua: I am an old man. 3 You have seen everything the Eternal One, your True God, did to these nations for you; the Eternal One, your True God, fought for you. 4 I have allotted as your tribes’ inheritances the territories of those people who still remain, as well as all the nations I captured from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean. 5 The Eternal your God will push them out of their lands and out of your sight and you will live in their lands, just as He promised you. 6 So be firm and unswerving, observing all that is written in the law of Moses without deviation. 7 That will ensure that you don’t start to blend in with the other nations around you or call upon their gods or worship them or serve them. 8 Just hold tightly to the Eternal One, your True God, as you always have, 9 for He has driven out great and powerful nations before you like leaves in the wind, and you know that no one has ever been able to stand against you. 10 One of you can pursue a thousand because it is He who fights for you, just as He promised.
11 So always be careful to love the Eternal One, your God. 12 If you turn away from Him and toward those left of the foreign nations among you—if your women marry them and their women marry you— 13 you can be sure that the Eternal will turn from you. He won’t remove the nations around you, but instead He will let them be a snare for you to be caught in, a wound in your sides, and thorns in your eyes until you perish from this good land that He has given you.
14 The time has come for me to die and return to the earth. But I want to leave you with these thoughts: Think back and you will know without a doubt that not one single good thing that the Eternal One, your God, promised you has been left undone. Not a single one.
15 But in the same way the Eternal One, your True God, has fulfilled all these blessings, you can be sure that if you turn away from Him, He will fulfill the curses until the Eternal has obliterated you from this good land He gave you. 16 If you break the commandments that He has laid upon you and turn from Him to serve and worship other gods, then His anger will flare white-hot against you, and you will quickly be wiped from the face of this good land He has given you.
The Book of Deuteronomy, which precedes Joshua, records Moses giving a similar farewell speech prior to his death. Moses reminded the people of Israel where they had come from and foretold many of the things that later came to pass when they entered into the promised land of Canaan. Joshua’s speech does the same thing. He reminds the Israelites of their story, and he warns the people of Israel that if they turn from their faith in God they should expect curses instead of the blessings they have experienced.
24 So Joshua summoned all of the tribes of Israel together at Shechem, all the leaders, judges, officers, and elders, and they stood in the presence of the True God.
Joshua: 2 The Eternal One, the True God of Israel has told me to give you this message: “Many years ago, your ancestors, Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River where they served other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham and led him over the river and into the land of Canaan, and I made his descendants numerous. I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the highlands of Seir for a possession, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 When the time came for them to be delivered, I sent Moses and Aaron, I struck Egypt with plagues, and I brought you out of Egypt.
6 When I brought you out of Egypt, your ancestors were closely pursued by soldiers in their chariots of war to the Red Sea itself. 7 When they cried out to the Eternal, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians and brought the sea to cover and drown them, every one, in the sea. Your own eyes saw this. You lived in the desert for a long time, wandering in the wilderness. 8 Finally I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the east side of the Jordan. They fought against you; but I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land. I destroyed them before you.
9 When Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, decided to attack Israel, he called on Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam. All he could do was bless you. I delivered you out of his clutches.
11 When you crossed over the Jordan into the land of Canaan and came to Jericho, the leaders[e] of Jericho fought against you. So did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I gave them all into your power.
12 I sent hornets ahead of you to run off the two kings of the Amorites; it was not done by your bow or sword. 13 I delivered to you fields you had not worked and towns you had not built, yet today you live in them. You eat the fruit of olive trees and of grape vineyards you did not even have to plant.”
14 So remember: fear the Eternal and serve Him sincerely and faithfully. Put away from you any gods your ancestors served across the Euphrates River or in Egypt, and serve only Him. 15 If you decide that you’re not willing to serve Him, then today is the day for you to choose whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors bowed to in the land beyond the great River, or the gods of the Amorites whose country you possess. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Eternal.
This people that complained in the wilderness now acknowledges that God alone gave them this land, and they pledge their faithfulness to Him.
People of Israel (responding): 16 Nothing could be further from our minds than abandoning the Eternal to serve other gods. 17 We know that the Eternal One our God rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. We remember that He performed all those great signs in front of us. He protected us from the people we passed as we traveled. 18 And we know that He removed the Amorites and all the peoples who lived in Canaan. We, too, will serve the Eternal One, for He is our True God.
Joshua (warning them): 19 If you think you will be able to serve the Eternal, you are wrong. He is a holy God and a jealous God; He will not tolerate your shortcomings and your sins. 20 If you desert Him and worship these foreign gods, He will fall upon you and totally consume you, even though He has done all this great good for you.
People of Israel: 21 All the same, we choose to serve the Eternal.
Joshua: 22 All right, then. You are witnesses—against yourselves, if it comes to that—that you have made this choice to serve the Eternal.
Israel: We are witnesses to it.
Joshua (repeating): 23 Then you must put all other gods away from you and turn your hearts to the Eternal God of Israel.
Israel: 24 We will serve the Eternal One, our God, and we will obey His voice.
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day at Shechem and gave them statutes and ordinances to obey. 26 Joshua wrote the words in the scroll of the law, and he had a large stone set up underneath the oak tree near the Eternal’s holy place.
Joshua (to all the people): 27 This stone will also be a witness to your vow. It has heard all the words the Eternal spoke to us, so it will be a witness if you turn your backs on your True God.
28 So he sent the people away, back to the lands He had given them.
29 After that, Joshua, the son of Nun, the Eternal’s servant, died at the age of 110. 30 They buried him in the land he had been given at Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim to the north of Mount Gaash.
31 And Israel served the Eternal faithfully for as long as Joshua lived, and then throughout the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had seen all the mighty things that the Eternal One did for Israel.
32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had carried out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the land Jacob had bought from the descendants of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver, and which had been passed on to the people of Joseph as an inheritance.
33 Eventually Eleazar, the son of Aaron, died. They buried him at Gibeah, in the city his son Phinehas had been granted in the highlands of Ephraim.
Modern readers wrestle with the violence in the Old Testament. In the wake of events like the holocaust, when the Jews were slaughtered by the millions, many do not see God as a protecting God or as a God of might.
But in Judges we learn about a God who fights for His chosen people or empowers champions to protect them. This was certainly the way the people of God in the time of Judges thought about God, as defender and protector, and the way people in the ancient Middle East understood faith, worship, and divinity. But the Lord is different from all the other gods. He is jealous, so when His people abandon Him, all that power is turned against them in the form of invading armies. The Israelites have need of judges who can lead them in their military exploits and who can keep them faithful to the mighty God of Israel.
1 After Joshua died, the people of Israel asked a question of the Eternal One.
Israelites: So now who will lead us in our wars against the armies of Canaan?
Eternal One (to the leaders of Judah): 2 Judah will go and fight. See, I am giving the land into their hands.
3 The tribe of Judah enlisted support from the tribe of Simeon.
Tribe of Judah: If you will help us fight for the land we were given in Canaan, we will do the same for you.
The tribe of Simeon agreed to help them. 4-5 So Judah and her ally went up to fight against Adoni-bezek at the town of Bezek, and the Eternal gave them victory over the Canaanites and the Perizzites. They killed 10,000 of them at Bezek; 6 and although Adoni-bezek tried to escape, they caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes, which rendered him useless for basically anything.
Adoni-bezek: 7 In my time, I cut the thumbs and toes off 70 kings and left them to scramble for scraps under my table. And now God has done the same to me.
They carried him away to Jerusalem, where he died.
8 Then the people of Judah attacked Jerusalem; and when they had captured it, they killed many, burned the city, and destroyed it. 9 After that the people of Judah swept down upon the Canaanites remaining in the highlands and in the lowlands and in the southern desert. 10 Judah campaigned against the Canaanites of Hebron (formerly Kiriath-arba), where they defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, 11 and then they went out in battle against the people of Debir (formerly Kiriath-sepher). 12 It was about this battle that Caleb had made a vow.
Caleb: Whoever attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher will receive my daughter Achsah as his wife.
13 Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother, Kenaz, captured the city, so Caleb gave Othniel his daughter Achsah to marry. 14 When she came to Othniel, she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from her donkey, Caleb approached her.
Caleb: What do you wish?
Achsah: 15 Here is what I would like as a wedding gift: since you have given me a place in the southern desert, also give me some springs of water.
And so Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
16 The people who descended from Moses’ father-in-law, Hobab the Kenite, went with the people of Judah from the city of palm trees into the wilderness of Judah, and they settled there with the people, the Amalekites, in the southern desert near Arad.
17 Then Judah and Simeon defeated the Canaanites who lived in Zephath and destroyed them completely, so their city was renamed Hormah, which means “destruction.” 18 Judah went on to take the cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron and all the land surrounding them. 19 The Eternal was with Judah, and the tribe conquered all of the highlands. But those living in the plains had iron chariots, so Judah could not drive them out. 20 Caleb received the land of Hebron, as Moses had promised many years earlier, and he drove out the three sons of Anak. 21 The people of the tribe of Benjamin, however, did not drive the Jebusites out of Jerusalem, and the Jebusites live alongside the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this very day.
22-23 The tribe of Joseph went up against Bethel (which was formerly known as Luz), and the Eternal supported them. They sent out spies 24 who intercepted a man leaving the city.
Spies: Show us the way into the city, and we’ll spare you.
25 He showed them the way, and they destroyed the city with swords; but as they had promised, they let the man and his family go. 26 This man went into the land of the Hittites, and there he established a city; he called it Luz, and that is still its name.
27-28 The tribe of Manasseh failed to drive out the people who lived in the cities and surrounding villages of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo. The Canaanites continued to live in those regions for they were determined to live there; but when the people of Israel grew strong, they made the Canaanites their slaves and did not completely drive them out.
29 So it was with the tribe of Ephraim, who did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer but lived among them.
30 Zebulun also did not drive out the people of Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them and became their slaves.
31-32 Asher failed to drive out the people of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob; instead, the tribe of Asher lived among the Canaanites who lived in the land.
33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh or Beth-anath but lived among these Canaanites who lived in the land. They also became the slaves of Naphtali.
34 The Amorites pushed the tribe of Dan back into the hills and did not allow them to dwell in the valley. 35 The Amorites persisted in living on Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the tribe of Joseph overpowered them and forced them into labor. 36 In those days, the border of the Amorites ran from the heights of Akrabbim to Sela and beyond.
2 The Eternal’s messenger traveled from Gilgal to Bochim.
Messenger (to the people of Israel): I rescued you out of the land of Egypt and brought you into this land that I had promised to your ancestors. I said, “I will never break My covenant with you. 2 As your part of this bargain, you shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You must tear down the altars of their gods.” But you did not do as I commanded. Do you realize what you have done? 3 Now I tell you, “I will not drive them out before you. The people of the land will irritate you, and their gods will ensnare you.”
4 When the Eternal’s messenger spoke these words to Israel, the people wept bitterly. 5 So they named that place Bochim, which means “weeping,” and there they sacrificed to Him.
6 When Joshua sent the people away, each tribe of Israel went to gain possession of its territorial inheritance. 7 The people served the Eternal as long as Joshua lived and through all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua—those who had seen all the great works that the Eternal had done for Israel.
8 Joshua, son of Nun, the Eternal’s servant, died at the age of 110 years 9 and was buried within the borders of his inheritance at Timnath-heres in the hills of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 Now that whole generation, the generation that had walked with Moses—the generation that saw the walls of Jericho fall—that generation passed on, and another generation grew up after them, a generation that did not know the Eternal and had not seen the great works He had done for Israel. 11 Consequently this new generation served the gods of Canaan—the Baals[f] as they were called—doing what the Eternal God considered evil. 12 They abandoned the Eternal One, the True God of their ancestors, who brought them safely out of Egypt. Instead, they began to serve the gods of their neighbors, the Canaanites, bowing low before their images, causing the Eternal to burn with anger.
13 The Israelites abandoned the worship of the Eternal One and turned to serve Baal and his consort the moon goddess, Ashtaroth. 14 So the Eternal’s anger burned hot against them, and He caused them to be overcome by those around them, using their enemies to plunder them so that the Israelites could no longer stand against their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out to battle, the hand of the Eternal One was raised against them in evil, as He had warned and promised them, and they were in anguish.
16 But the Eternal appointed judges among them, leaders and liberators who rescued the Israelites from their enemies who plundered them. 17 Even then the people of Israel did not listen to their judges, but instead passionately pursued other gods and bowed down to them. How quickly they turned from the faithfulness exhibited by their ancestors in obeying the Eternal’s commandments. This younger generation did not follow their ancestors’ example.
18 Still, whenever the Eternal appointed judges among the Israelites, He was with each one, saving the Israelites from their enemies as long as that leader lived, for He was moved to compassion by the groans of His people when they were persecuted and oppressed. 19 But when the judge died, then the people would fall away from their faithfulness, and the next generation behaved even worse than their ancestors, pursuing and serving other gods, and bowing down before them. They would not change their bad habits but clung to them stubbornly.
20 So the Eternal’s anger burned hot against the people of Israel.
Eternal One: Since these people have violated the covenant I gave as a commandment to their ancestors and no longer listen to My voice, 21 I will no longer drive out from their path any of the nations who still remained in this land when Joshua died. 22 I will put My people to the test to see whether or not they will walk the faithful way of the Eternal as their ancestors did.
23 So God did as He promised. He left those pagan nations in the land of Canaan. He did not drive them away immediately, nor did He give them into the hands of Joshua and his armies.
3 Here is a list of the nations that the Eternal left in the land to test those Israelites who had not gone to war in Canaan, 2 so that those who had not experienced war personally might know it: 3 the five Philistine capital cities, all the Canaanite tribes, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to the entrance of Lebo-hamath. 4 They were intended to test the Israelites, to determine whether they would follow the commandments that the Eternal gave to their ancestors through Moses.
After Joshua dies, the people of Israel are left without a leader. How will they know what to do? They are still surrounded by hostile peoples; there is still land to be fought for and won.
The people of God have some military success, but they are not able to drive out all the people of Canaan. They are forced to live among the pagans; and their ways, women, and gods become a temptation to the people of God. This situation is the catalyst for the next 1,000 years of Israel’s cyclical unfaithfulness and repentance.
5 The people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 They took the pagans’ daughters as wives, gave their own daughters to the pagans’ sons to marry, and worshiped pagan gods. 7 Israel committed what the Eternal considered evil: they forgot the Eternal, their True God, and instead worshiped the Baal and Asherah deities,[g] the various local gods of the people of Canaan.
8 So the Eternal’s anger burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim, a king of Mesopotamia. The Israelites toiled like slaves for Cushan-rishathaim for 8 years; 9 but when they cried out to the Eternal, He raised up a liberator from among them—Othniel, the son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb. 10 The Spirit of the Eternal came upon Othniel, and he became a judge over Israel. In God’s power, he emancipated Israel and went to war for them. The Eternal then delivered Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia, to Othniel, and Othniel’s army defeated him. 11 Afterward this territory had peace for 40 years. Then Othniel, the son of Kenaz, died.
12 The people of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of the Eternal, so He gave Eglon, king of Moab, power against the Israelites because they did what He viewed as evil. 13 Eglon allied with the Ammonites and the Amalekites; they went to battle against Israel and defeated them, and they captured the city of palm trees. 14 The Israelites toiled for Eglon, king of Moab, for 18 years; 15 but when the people of Israel cried to the Eternal for relief, He raised up a left-handed liberator from among them: Ehud, son of Gera the Benjaminite.
The Israelites sent Ehud to bring tribute to Eglon, king of Moab. 16 Before he set out, Ehud made for himself a double-edged sword about 18 inches in length, and he fastened it onto his right thigh, hidden under his clothes.
17 Ehud brought the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, who was a very fat man; 18 and when he was done with the presentation of the tribute to the king, he sent away those who carried it. 19 Ehud stopped on his homeward journey at the engraved idols near Gilgal and returned to speak with Eglon.
Ehud: I have a secret message for you, O king.
Eglon: Be silent.
Eglon sent his attendants away; 20 and Ehud came in to the king, who sat alone in a cool, private, upstairs room supported by beams.
Ehud: I have here a message for you from the True God.
As the king got up from his throne, 21 Ehud reached beneath his robes with his left hand, took the sword strapped to his right thigh, and thrust it deep into Eglon’s belly, 22 so deep, in fact, that the hilt followed the blade, and he did not remove the sword because the fat closed over the blade, and the contents of Eglon’s intestines spilled out. 23 So Ehud locked the doors of the roof area himself and exited through the porch. 24 After he had escaped, eventually the servants came to check on their master. When they saw that the doors to the upstairs room were locked, they assumed Eglon was relieving himself in the upstairs chamber. 25 They stood around waiting until their embarrassment grew too great. When Eglon didn’t open the doors, at last, they opened the doors with the key, and there was their master, lying dead on the floor.
26 Ehud took advantage of the delay. He passed the idols of Gilgal and escaped to Seirah. 27 Reaching safety, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of the tribe of Ephraim, and the Israelites followed him back down the mountain.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.