Bible in 90 Days

Agreement Reached. ^20 [a]Moses said to them in reply: “If you do this—if you march as troops before the Lord into battle ²¹ and cross the Jordan in full force before the Lord until he has driven his enemies out of his way ²² and the land is subdued before the Lord, then you may return here, free from every obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and this land will be your possession before the Lord.^{(A) 23} But if you do not do this, you will have sinned against the Lord, and you can be sure that the consequences of your sin will overtake you. ²⁴ Build the towns, then, for your families, and the folds for your flocks, but fulfill what you have promised.”

²⁵ The Gadites and Reubenites answered Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. ^26 (B)While our wives and children, our livestock and other animals remain there in the towns of Gilead, ²⁷ all your servants will go across as armed troops before the Lord to battle, just as my lord says.”

²⁸ So Moses gave this command in their regard to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua, son of Nun, and to the heads of the ancestral houses of the Israelite tribes: ²⁹ He said to them, “If all the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you in full force before the Lord into battle, the land will be subdued before you, and you will give them Gilead as a possession. ³⁰ But if they will not go across in force with you before the Lord, you will bring their wives and children and livestock across before you into Canaan, and they will possess a holding among you in the land of Canaan.”

³¹ To this the Gadites and Reubenites replied, “We will do what the Lord has ordered your servants. ³² We ourselves will go across in force before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but we will retain our hereditary property on this side of the Jordan.”^{[b] 33} So Moses gave them—^[c]the Gadites and Reubenites, as well as half the tribe of Manasseh, son of Joseph—the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, the land with its towns, and the districts of the surrounding towns.^(C)

³⁴ The Gadites rebuilt the cities of Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, ³⁵ Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, ³⁶ Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran—fortified cities—and sheepfolds. ³⁷ The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, ³⁸ Nebo, Baal-meon (names to be changed!),^[d] and Sibmah. These towns, which they rebuilt, they called by their old names.

Other Conquests. ³⁹ The descendants of Machir, son of Manasseh, went to Gilead and captured it, dispossessing the Amorites who were there. ⁴⁰ (Moses gave Gilead to Machir,^(D) son of Manasseh, and he settled there.) ⁴¹ Jair,^(E) a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their tent villages, and called them Havvoth-jair.^{[e] 42} Nobah went and captured Kenath with its dependencies and called it Nobah after his own name.

Chapter 33

Stages of the Journey. ¹ The following are the stages by which the Israelites went out by companies from the land of Egypt under the guidance of Moses and Aaron.^{[f] 2} Moses recorded the starting points of the various stages at the direction of the Lord. These are the stages according to their starting points: ³ They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover the Israelites went forth in triumph, in view of all Egypt, ⁴ while the Egyptians buried those whom the Lord had struck down, every firstborn; on their gods, too, the Lord executed judgments.^(F)

From Egypt to Sinai. ⁵ Setting out from Rameses, the Israelites camped at Succoth. ⁶ Setting out from Succoth, they camped at Etham near the edge of the wilderness. ⁷ Setting out from Etham, they turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which is opposite Baal-zephon, and they camped opposite Migdol.^{(G) 8} Setting out from Pi-hahiroth, they crossed over through the sea into the wilderness,^(H) and after they traveled a three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, they camped at Marah. ⁹ Setting out from Marah, they came to Elim; at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.^{(I) 10} Setting out from Elim, they camped beside the Red Sea. ¹¹ Setting out from the Red Sea, they camped in the wilderness of Sin. ¹² Setting out from the wilderness of Sin, they camped at Dophkah. ¹³ Setting out from Dophkah, they camped at Alush. ¹⁴ Setting out from Alush, they camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.^{(J) 15} Setting out from Rephidim, they camped in the wilderness of Sinai.^(K)

From Sinai to Kadesh. ¹⁶ Setting out from the wilderness of Sinai, they camped at Kibroth-hattaavah. ¹⁷ Setting out from Kibroth-hattaavah, they camped at Hazeroth.^{(L) 18} Setting out from Hazeroth, they camped at Rithmah. ¹⁹ Setting out from Rithmah, they camped at Rimmon-perez. ²⁰ Setting out from Rimmon-perez, they camped at Libnah. ²¹ Setting out from Libnah, they camped at Rissah. ²² Setting out from Rissah, they camped at Kehelathah. ²³ Setting out from Kehelathah, they camped at Mount Shepher. ²⁴ Setting out from Mount Shepher, they camped at Haradah. ²⁵ Setting out from Haradah, they camped at Makheloth. ²⁶ Setting out from Makheloth, they camped at Tahath. ²⁷ Setting out from Tahath, they camped at Terah. ²⁸ Setting out from Terah, they camped at Mithkah. ²⁹ Setting out from Mithkah, they camped at Hashmonah. ^30 [g]Setting out from Hashmonah, they camped at Moseroth. ³¹ Setting out from Moseroth, they camped at Bene-jaakan. ³² Setting out from Bene-jaakan, they camped at Mount Gidgad. ³³ Setting out from Mount Gidgad, they camped at Jotbathah. ³⁴ Setting out from Jotbathah, they camped at Abronah. ³⁵ Setting out from Abronah, they camped at Ezion-geber.^{[h] 36} Setting out from Ezion-geber, they camped in the wilderness of Zin, that is, Kadesh.^(M)

From Kadesh to the Plains of Moab. ³⁷ Setting out from Kadesh, they camped at Mount Hor on the border of the land of Edom.

³⁸ Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor^(N) at the Lord’s direction, and there he died in the fortieth year after the departure of the Israelites from the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. ³⁹ Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

^40 [i]When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who ruled over the Negeb in the land of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming….

^41 [j]Setting out from Mount Hor, they camped at Zalmonah. ⁴² Setting out from Zalmonah, they camped at Punon. ⁴³ Setting out from Punon, they camped at Oboth. ⁴⁴ Setting out from Oboth, they camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab. ⁴⁵ Setting out from Iye-abarim, they camped at Dibon-gad. ⁴⁶ Setting out from Dibon-gad, they camped at Almon-diblathaim. ⁴⁷ Setting out from Almon-diblathaim, they camped in the Abarim range opposite Nebo. ⁴⁸ Setting out from the Abarim range, they camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho. ⁴⁹ They camped by the Jordan on the plains of Moab extended from Beth-jeshimoth to Abel-shittim.

Conquest and Division of Canaan. ⁵⁰ The Lord spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho: ⁵¹ Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you go across the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ⁵² dispossess all the inhabitants of the land before you; destroy all their stone figures, destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places.^(O)

⁵³ You will take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. ⁵⁴ You will apportion the land among yourselves by lot, clan by clan, assigning a large heritage to a large clan and a small heritage to a small clan.^(P) Wherever anyone’s lot falls, there will his possession be; you will apportion these shares within your ancestral tribe.

⁵⁵ But if you do not dispossess the inhabitants of the land before you, those whom you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will harass you in the land where you live,^{(Q) 56} and I will treat you as I had intended to treat them.

Chapter 34

The Boundaries. ¹ The Lord spoke to Moses: ² Give the Israelites this order: When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the territory that shall fall to you as your heritage—the land of Canaan with its boundaries:

³ Your southern boundary will be at the wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom;^(R) on the east your southern boundary will begin at the end of the Salt Sea. ⁴ Then your boundary will turn south of the Akrabbim Pass and cross Zin. Terminating south of Kadesh-barnea, it extends to Hazar-addar and crosses to Azmon.^{(S) 5} Then the boundary will turn from Azmon to the Wadi of Egypt and terminate at the Sea.^(T)

⁶ For your western boundary you will have the Great Sea^[k] with its coast; this will be your western boundary.

⁷ This will be your boundary on the north: from the Great Sea you will draw a line to Mount Hor,^{[l] 8} and draw it from Mount Hor to Lebo-hamath, with the boundary terminating at Zedad. ⁹ Then the boundary extends to Ziphron and terminates at Hazar-enan. This will be your northern boundary.

¹⁰ For your eastern boundary you will draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham. ¹¹ From Shepham the boundary will go down to Riblah, east of Ain, and descending further, the boundary will strike the ridge on the east side of the Sea of Chinnereth;^{[m] 12} then the boundary will descend along the Jordan and terminate with the Salt Sea.

This will be your land, with the boundaries that surround it.

¹³ Moses also gave this order to the Israelites: “This is the land, to be apportioned among you by lot, which the Lord has commanded to be given to the nine and a half tribes. ¹⁴ For the tribe of the Reubenites according to their ancestral houses, and the tribe of the Gadites according to their ancestral houses, as well as half of the tribe of Manasseh, have already received their heritage; ¹⁵ these two and a half tribes have received their heritage across the Jordan opposite Jericho, in the east, toward the sunrise.”

Supervisors of the Allotment. ¹⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁷ These are the names of the men who shall apportion the land among you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua, son of Nun; ^18 (U)and you will designate one leader from each of the tribes to apportion the land. ¹⁹ These are the names of the men:

Chapter 35

Cities for the Levites. ¹ The Lord spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho: ^2 (V)Command the Israelites out of the heritage they possess to give the Levites cities to dwell in; you will also give the Levites the pasture lands around the cities. ³ The cities will be for them to dwell in, and the pasture lands will be for their cattle, their flocks, and all their other animals. ⁴ The pasture lands of the cities to be assigned the Levites shall extend a thousand cubits out from the city walls in every direction. ⁵ You will measure out two thousand cubits outside the city along the east side, two thousand cubits along the south side, two thousand cubits along the west side, and two thousand cubits along the north side, with the city lying in the center. These will be the pasture lands of their cities.

^6 (W)Now these are the cities you will give to the Levites: the six cities of asylum which you must establish for the homicide to run to, and in addition forty-two other cities— ⁷ a total of forty-eight cities with their pasture lands which you will assign to the Levites. ^8 [n]In assigning the cities from what the Israelites possess, take more from a larger group and fewer from a smaller one, so that each will cede cities to the Levites in proportion to the heritage which it receives.

Cities of Asylum. ^9 (X)The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁰ Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you go across the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ¹¹ select for yourselves cities to serve as cities of asylum, where a homicide who has killed someone inadvertently may flee. ¹² These cities will serve you as places of asylum from the avenger of blood,^[o] so that a homicide will not be put to death until tried before the community. ¹³ As for the cities you assign, you will have six cities of asylum: ¹⁴ you will designate three cities beyond the Jordan, and you will designate three cities in the land of Canaan. These will be cities of asylum. ¹⁵ These six cities will serve as places of asylum for the Israelites, and for the resident or transient aliens among them, so that anyone who has killed a person inadvertently may flee there.

Murder and Manslaughter. ^16 [p]If someone strikes another with an iron instrument and causes death, that person is a murderer, and the murderer must be put to death.^{(Y) 17} If someone strikes another with a death-dealing stone in the hand and death results, that person is a murderer, and the murderer must be put to death. ¹⁸ Or if someone strikes another with a death-dealing club in the hand and death results, that person is a murderer, and the murderer must be put to death. ¹⁹ The avenger of blood is the one who will kill the murderer, putting the individual to death on sight.

²⁰ If someone pushes another out of hatred, or throws something from an ambush, and death results,^{(Z) 21} or strikes another with the hand out of enmity and death results, the assailant must be put to death as a murderer. The avenger of blood will kill the murderer on sight.

^22 (AA)However, if someone pushes another without malice aforethought, or without lying in ambush throws some object at another, ²³ or without seeing drops upon another some death-dealing stone and death results, although there was neither enmity nor malice— ²⁴ then the community will judge between the assailant and the avenger of blood in accordance with these norms. ²⁵ The community will deliver the homicide from the avenger of blood and the community will return the homicide to the city of asylum where the latter had fled;^(AB) and the individual will stay there until the death of the high priest who has been anointed with sacred oil. ²⁶ If the homicide leaves at all the bounds of the city of asylum to which flight had been made, ²⁷ and is found by the avenger of blood beyond the bounds of the city of asylum, and the avenger of blood kills the homicide, the avenger incurs no bloodguilt; ²⁸ for the homicide was required to stay in the city of asylum until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may the homicide return to the land of the homicide’s possession.

²⁹ This is the statute for you throughout all your generations, wherever you live, for rendering judgment.

Judgment. ³⁰ Whenever someone kills another, the evidence of witnesses is required to kill the murderer.^(AC) A single witness does not suffice for putting a person to death.

No Indemnity. ³¹ You will not accept compensation in place of the life of a murderer who deserves to die, but that person must be put to death. ³² Nor will you accept compensation to allow one who has fled to a city of asylum to return to live in the land before the death of the high priest. ³³ You will not pollute the land where you live. For bloodshed pollutes the land, and the land can have no expiation for the blood shed on it except through the blood of the one who shed it. ³⁴ Do not defile the land in which you live and in the midst of which I dwell;^(AD) for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the Israelites.

Chapter 36

Inheritance of Daughters. ¹ The heads of the ancestral houses in a clan of the descendants of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh—one of the Josephite clans—came up and spoke before Moses and Eleazar the priest and before the leaders who were the heads of the ancestral houses of the Israelites. ² They said: “The Lord commanded my lord to apportion the land by lot for a heritage among the Israelites;^(AE) and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the heritage of Zelophehad our kinsman to his daughters. ³ But if they marry into one of the other Israelite tribes, their heritage will be withdrawn from our ancestral heritage and will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry; thus the heritage that fell to us by lot will be diminished. ⁴ When the Israelites celebrate the jubilee year,^[q] the heritage of these women will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry and their heritage will be withdrawn from that of our ancestral tribe.”

^5 [r]So Moses commanded the Israelites at the direction of the Lord: “The tribe of the Josephites are right in what they say. ⁶ This is what the Lord commands with regard to the daughters of Zelophehad: They may marry anyone they please, provided they marry into a clan of their ancestral tribe, ⁷ so that no heritage of the Israelites will pass from one tribe to another, but all the Israelites will retain their own ancestral heritage. ⁸ Every daughter who inherits property in any of the Israelite tribes will marry someone belonging to a clan of her own ancestral tribe, in order that all the Israelites may remain in possession of their own ancestral heritage. ⁹ Thus, no heritage will pass from one tribe to another, but all the Israelite tribes will retain their own ancestral heritage.”

¹⁰ The daughters of Zelophehad did exactly as the Lord commanded Moses. ¹¹ Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, Zelophehad’s daughters, married sons of their uncles on their father’s side. ¹² They married within the clans of the descendants of Manasseh, son of Joseph; hence their heritage remained in the tribe of their father’s clan.

Conclusion. ¹³ These are the commandments and decisions which the Lord commanded the Israelites through Moses, on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan opposite Jericho.

I. First Address

Chapter 1

Introduction. ^1 [s]These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah, opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. ² It is a journey of eleven days from Horeb^[t] to Kadesh-barnea by way of the highlands of Seir.

³ In the fortieth year,^[u] on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the Israelites according to all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to them, ⁴ after he had defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon,^(AF) and Og, king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei. ⁵ Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law:

Departure from Horeb. ^6 [v](AG)The Lord, our God, said to us at Horeb:^[w] You have stayed long enough at this mountain. ⁷ Leave here and go to the hill country of the Amorites^[x] and to all the surrounding regions, the Arabah, the mountains, the Shephelah, the Negeb and the seacoast—the land of the Canaanites and the Lebanon as far as the Great River, the Euphrates. ⁸ See, I have given that land over to you.^(AH) Go now and possess the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.

Appointment of Elders. ^9 (AI)At that time I said to you, “I am unable to carry you by myself.^{(AJ) 10} The Lord, your God, has made you numerous, and now you are as numerous as the stars of the heavens.^{(AK) 11} May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times over, and bless you as he promised! ¹² But how can I, by myself, bear the weight, the contentiousness of you? ¹³ Provide wise, discerning, and reputable persons for each of your tribes, that I may appoint them as your leaders.” ¹⁴ You answered me, “What you have proposed is good.” ¹⁵ So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and reputable, and set them as leaders over you, commanders over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties and over tens, and other tribal officers. ^16 (AL)I charged your judges at that time, “Listen to complaints among your relatives, and administer true justice to both parties even if one of them is a resident alien. ¹⁷ In rendering judgment, do not consider who a person is; give ear to the lowly and to the great alike, fearing no one, for the judgment is God’s. Any case that is too difficult for you bring to me and I will hear it.” ¹⁸ Thus I charged you, at that time, with all the things you were to do.

The Twelve Scouts. ^19 (AM)Then we set out from Horeb and journeyed through that whole vast and fearful wilderness that you have seen, in the direction of the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord, our God, had commanded; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.^{(AN) 20} I said to you, “You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord, our God, is giving us. ²¹ See, the Lord, your God, has given this land over to you. Go up and take possession of it, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” ²² Then all of you approached me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and report to us on the road we should follow and the cities we will come upon.” ²³ Agreeing with the proposal, I took twelve men from your number, one from each tribe. ²⁴ They set out into the hill country as far as the Wadi Eshcol, and explored it. ²⁵ Then, taking along some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, “The land the Lord, our God, is giving us is good.”

Threats of Revolt. ^26 (AO)But you refused to go up;^(AP) you defied the command of the Lord, your God. ²⁷ You set to murmuring in your tents, “Out of hatred for us the Lord has brought us out of the land of Egypt,^(AQ) to deliver us into the power of the Amorites and destroy us. ²⁸ What shall we meet with up there? Our men have made our hearts melt by saying, ‘The people are bigger and taller than we, and their cities are large and fortified to the sky; besides, we saw the Anakim^[y] there.’”^(AR)

²⁹ But I said to you, “Have no dread or fear of them. ^30 (AS)The Lord, your God, who goes before you, is the one who will fight for you, just as he acted with you before your very eyes in Egypt, ³¹ as well as in the wilderness, where you saw how the Lord, your God, carried you, as one carries his own child, all along your journey until you arrived at this place.” ³² Despite this, you would not trust the Lord, your God, ³³ who journeys before you to find you a place to camp—by night in the fire, and by day in the cloud, to show you the way to go.^{(AT) 34} When the Lord heard your words, he was angry, and took an oath: ³⁵ Not a single one of this evil generation shall look upon the good land I swore to give to your ancestors, ³⁶ except Caleb,^[z] son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, for to him and to his descendants I will give the land he trod upon,^(AU) because he has fully followed the Lord.

³⁷ The Lord was angered against me also on your account, and said, You shall not enter there either,^{(AV) 38} but Joshua,^(AW) son of Nun, your attendant, shall enter. Encourage him, for he is the one who is to give Israel its possession. ³⁹ Your little ones, who you said would become plunder, and your children, who as yet do not know good from evil—they shall enter there; to them I will give it, and they shall take possession of it. ⁴⁰ But as for yourselves: turn back and proceed into the wilderness on the Red Sea road.

Unsuccessful Invasion. ^41 (AX)In reply you said to me, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up ourselves and fight, just as the Lord, our God, commanded us.” And each of you girded on his weapons, making light of going up into the hill country. ⁴² But the Lord said to me, Warn them: Do not go up and fight—for I will not be in your midst—lest you be beaten down before your enemies. ⁴³ I gave you this warning but you would not listen. You defied the Lord’s command and arrogantly went off into the hill country. ⁴⁴ Then the Amorites living in that hill country came out against you and put you to flight the way bees do, cutting you down in Seir as far as Hormah. ⁴⁵ On your return you wept before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to your voice or give ear to you. ⁴⁶ That is why you had to stay as long as you did at Kadesh.

Chapter 2

Northward Along Edom. ^1 (AY)Then we turned and proceeded into the wilderness on the Red Sea road,^(AZ) as the Lord had told me, and circled around the highlands of Seir for a long time. ² Finally the Lord said to me, ³ You have wandered round these highlands long enough; turn and go north. ⁴ Command the people: You are now about to pass through the territory of your relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. Though they are afraid of you, be very careful ⁵ not to come in conflict with them, for I will not give you so much as a foot of their land, since I have already given Esau possession of the highlands of Seir.^{(BA) 6} You shall purchase from them with money the food you eat; even the water you drink you shall buy from them with money. ⁷ Surely, the Lord, your God, has blessed you in all your undertakings; he has been concerned^[aa] about your journey through this vast wilderness. It is now forty years that the Lord, your God, has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.^{(BB) 8} So we passed by our relatives, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, leaving behind us the Arabah route, Elath, and Ezion-geber.

Along Moab. Then we turned and passed on toward the wilderness of Moab. ^9 (BC)And the Lord said to me, Do not show hostility to the Moabites or engage them in battle, for I will not give you possession of any of their land, since I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.^{(BD) 10} (Formerly the Emim lived there, a people great and numerous and as tall as the Anakim;^{(BE) 11} like the Anakim they are considered Rephaim, though the Moabites call them Emim.^{(BF) 12} In Seir, however, the former inhabitants were the Horites;^(BG) the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, clearing them out of the way and dwelling in their place, just as Israel has done in the land of its possession which the Lord gave it.) ¹³ Now get ready to cross the Wadi Zered.

So we crossed the Wadi Zered. ^14 (BH)Now thirty-eight years had elapsed between our departure from Kadesh-barnea and the crossing of the Wadi Zered; in the meantime the whole generation of soldiers had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn they should. ¹⁵ Indeed the Lord’s own hand was against them, to rout them from the camp completely.

Along Ammon. ^16 (BI)When at length death had put an end to all the soldiers among the people, ¹⁷ the Lord said to me, ¹⁸ You are now about to leave Ar and the territory of Moab behind. ¹⁹ As you come opposite the Ammonites,^(BJ) do not show hostility or come in conflict with them, for I will not give you possession of any land of the Ammonites, since I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession. ²⁰ (This also is considered a country of the Rephaim; formerly the Rephaim dwelt there. The Ammonites call them Zamzummim,^{(BK) 21} a people great and numerous and as tall as the Anakim. But these, too, the Lord cleared out of the way for the Ammonites, so that they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place.^{(BL) 22} He did the same for the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, by clearing the Horites out of their way, so that they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place down to the present.^{(BM) 23} As for the Avvim, who once lived in villages in the vicinity of Gaza,^[ab] the Caphtorim, migrating from Caphtor, cleared them away and dwelt in their place.)^(BN)

Defeat of Sihon. ^24 (BO)Advance now across the Wadi Arnon. I now deliver into your power Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession; engage him in battle.^{(BP) 25} This day I will begin to put a fear and dread of you into the peoples everywhere under heaven, so that at the mention of your name they will quake and tremble before you.

²⁶ So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with this offer of peace: ²⁷ “Let me pass through your country. I will travel only on the road. I will not turn aside either to the right or to the left. ²⁸ The food I eat you will sell me for money, and the water I drink, you will give me for money. Only let me march through, ²⁹ as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar have done, until I cross the Jordan into the land the Lord, our God, is about to give us.”^{(BQ) 30} But Sihon, king of Heshbon, refused to let us pass through his land, because the Lord, your God, made him stubborn in mind and obstinate in heart that he might deliver him into your power, as indeed he has now done.

³¹ Then the Lord said to me, Now that I have already begun to give over to you Sihon and his land, begin to take possession. ³² So Sihon and all his people advanced against us to join battle at Jahaz; ³³ but since the Lord, our God, had given him over to us, we defeated him and his sons and all his people. ^34 (BR)At that time we captured all his cities and put every city under the ban,^[ac] men, women and children; we left no survivor. ³⁵ Our only plunder was the livestock and the spoils of the captured cities. ³⁶ From Aroer on the edge of the Wadi Arnon and from the town in the wadi itself, as far as Gilead,^(BS) no city was too well fortified for us. All of them the Lord, our God, gave over to us. ³⁷ However, just as the Lord, our God, commanded us, you did not encroach upon any of the Ammonite land, neither the region bordering on the Wadi Jabbok, nor the cities of the highlands.^(BT)

Chapter 3

Defeat of Og. ¹ Then we turned and proceeded up the road to Bashan. But Og, king of Bashan,^(BU) came out against us with all his people to give battle at Edrei. ² The Lord said to me, Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your power with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon. ³ And thus the Lord, our God, delivered into our power also Og, king of Bashan, with all his people. We defeated him so completely that we left him no survivor. ⁴ At that time we captured all his cities; there was no town we did not take: sixty cities in all, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan— ⁵ all these cities were fortified with high walls and gates and bars—besides a great number of unwalled towns. ^6 (BV)As we had done to Sihon, king of Heshbon, so also here we put all the towns under the ban, men, women and children; ⁷ but all the livestock and the spoils of each city we took as plunder for ourselves.

⁸ And so at that time we took from the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan the territory from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon ⁹ (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion and the Amorites call it Senir), ¹⁰ all the towns of the plateau, all of Gilead, and all of Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei, towns of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ¹¹ (Og, king of Bashan, was the last remaining survivor of the Rephaim. He had a bed of iron,^[ad] nine regular cubits long and four wide, which is still preserved in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)^(BW)

Allotment of the Conquered Lands. ^12 (BX)As for the land we took possession of at that time, I gave Reuben and Gad the territory from Aroer, on the edge of the Wadi Arnon, halfway up into the highlands of Gilead, with its cities. ¹³ The rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (The whole Argob region, all that part of Bashan, was once called a land of the Rephaim.^{(BY) 14} Jair, a Manassite,^(BZ) took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and named them—Bashan, that is—after himself, Havvoth-jair, the name it bears today.) ¹⁵ To Machir^[ae] I gave Gilead, ¹⁶ and to Reuben and Gad the territory from Gilead to the Wadi Arnon—the middle of the wadi being its boundary—and to the Wadi Jabbok, which is the border of the Ammonites, ¹⁷ as well as the Arabah with the Jordan and its banks from Chinnereth^[af] to the Salt Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

^18 (CA)At that time I charged you: The Lord, your God, has given you this land as your possession. But all your troops equipped for battle must cross over in the vanguard of your fellow Israelites. ¹⁹ But your wives and children, as well as your livestock, of which I know you have a large number, shall remain behind in the towns I have given you, ²⁰ until the Lord has settled your relatives as well, and they too possess the land which the Lord, your God, will give them on the other side of the Jordan. Then you may all return to the possessions I have given you.

²¹ And I charged Joshua as well, “Your own eyes have seen all that the Lord, your God, has done to both these kings; so, too, will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you will cross over. ²² Do not fear them, for it is the Lord, your God, who will fight for you.”^(CB)

Moses Excluded from the Promised Land. ^23 (CC)It was then that I entreated the Lord, ²⁴ “Lord God, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. What god in heaven or on earth can perform deeds and powerful acts like yours? ²⁵ Ah, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that fine hill country, and the Lebanon!” ²⁶ But the Lord was angry with me on your account^[ag] and would not hear me.^(CD) The Lord said to me, Enough! Speak to me no more of this. ²⁷ Go up to the top of Pisgah and look out to the west, and to the north, and to the south, and to the east. Look well, for you shall not cross this Jordan.^{(CE) 28} Commission Joshua,^(CF) and encourage and strengthen him, for it is he who will cross at the head of this people and he who will give them possession of the land you are to see.

²⁹ So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

Chapter 4

Advantages of Fidelity. ¹ Now therefore, Israel, hear the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.^{(CG) 2} In your observance of the commandments of the Lord, your God,^(CH) which I am commanding you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. ³ You have seen with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal-peor:^(CI) the Lord, your God, destroyed from your midst everyone who followed the Baal of Peor; ⁴ but you, who held fast to the Lord, your God, are all alive today. ⁵ See, I am teaching you the statutes and ordinances as the Lord, my God, has commanded me, that you may observe them in the land you are entering to possess. ⁶ Observe them carefully, for this is your wisdom and discernment in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “This great nation is truly a wise and discerning people.”^{(CJ) 7 (CK)}For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? ⁸ Or what great nation has statutes and ordinances that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?^(CL)

Revelation at Horeb. ⁹ However, be on your guard and be very careful not to forget the things your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart as long as you live, but make them known to your children^(CM) and to your children’s children, ¹⁰ that day you stood before the Lord, your God, at Horeb, when the Lord said to me: Assemble the people for me, that I may let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear^[ah] me as long as they live in the land and may so teach their children. ^11 (CN)You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain blazed to the heart of the heavens with fire and was enveloped in a dense black cloud. ¹² Then the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire.^(CO) You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. ¹³ He proclaimed to you his covenant, which he commanded you to keep: the ten words,^[ai] which he wrote on two stone tablets.^{(CP) 14} At that time the Lord charged me to teach you the statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land you are about to cross into and possess.

Danger of Idolatry. ¹⁵ Because you saw no form at all on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, be strictly on your guard ¹⁶ not to act corruptly by fashioning an idol for yourselves to represent any figure, whether it be the form of a man or of a woman,^{(CQ) 17} the form of any animal on the earth, the form of any bird that flies in the sky, ¹⁸ the form of anything that crawls on the ground, or the form of any fish in the waters under the earth. ¹⁹ And when you look up to the heavens and behold the sun or the moon or the stars, the whole heavenly host, do not be led astray into bowing down to them and serving them.^(CR) These the Lord, your God, has apportioned to all the other nations under the heavens; ²⁰ but you the Lord has taken and led out of that iron foundry, Egypt, that you might be his people, his heritage, as you are today.^{(CS) 21} But the Lord was angry with me on your account^(CT) and swore that I should not cross the Jordan nor enter the good land which the Lord, your God, is giving you as a heritage. ²² I myself shall die in this country; I shall not cross the Jordan; but you are going to cross over and take possession of that good land.^{(CU) 23} Be careful, therefore, lest you forget the covenant which the Lord, your God, has made with you, and fashion for yourselves against his command an idol in any form whatsoever.^{(CV) 24} For the Lord, your God, is a consuming fire, a jealous God.^[aj](CW)

God’s Fidelity and Love. ^25 (CX)When you have children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, should you then act corruptly by fashioning an idol in the form of anything, and by this evil done in his sight provoke the Lord, your God, ²⁶ I call heaven and earth this day to witness against you, that you shall all quickly perish from the land which you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You shall not live in it for any length of time but shall be utterly wiped out.^{(CY) 27} The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and there shall remain but a handful of you among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. ²⁸ There you shall serve gods that are works of human hands, of wood and stone, gods which can neither see nor hear, neither eat nor smell.^{(CZ) 29} Yet when you seek the Lord, your God, from there, you shall indeed find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul.^{(DA) 30} In your distress, when all these things shall have come upon you, you shall finally return to the Lord, your God, and listen to his voice. ³¹ Since the Lord, your God, is a merciful God, he will not abandon or destroy you, nor forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them.^(DB)

³² Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created humankind upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of? ³³ Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?^{(DC) 34} Or did any god venture to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders,^(DD) by war, with strong hand and outstretched arm, and by great terrors, all of which the Lord, your God, did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? ³⁵ All this you were allowed to see that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other.^{(DE) 36} Out of the heavens he let you hear his voice to discipline you; on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard him speaking out of the fire. ³⁷ For love of your ancestors he chose their descendants after them and by his presence and great power led you out of Egypt, ³⁸ dispossessing before you nations greater and mightier than you, so as to bring you in and to give their land to you as a heritage, as it is today. ³⁹ This is why you must now acknowledge, and fix in your heart, that the Lord is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other.^{(DF) 40} And you must keep his statutes and commandments which I command you today, that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may have long life on the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you forever.^(DG)

Cities of Refuge. ^41 (DH)Then Moses set apart three cities in the region east of the Jordan, ⁴² to which a homicide might flee who killed a neighbor unintentionally, where there had been no hatred previously, so that the killer might flee to one of these cities and live: ⁴³ Bezer in the wilderness, in the region of the plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

II. Second Address

A. The Lord’s Covenant with Israel

Introduction. ⁴⁴ This is the law^[ak] which Moses set before the Israelites.^{(DI) 45} These are the decrees, and the statutes and ordinances^[al] which Moses proclaimed to the Israelites after they came out of Egypt,^{(DJ) 46 (DK)}beyond the Jordan in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses and the Israelites defeated after they came out of Egypt.^{(DL) 47} They took possession of his land and the land of Og, king of Bashan, as well—the land of these two kings of the Amorites in the region beyond the Jordan to the east: ⁴⁸ from Aroer on the edge of the Wadi Arnon to Mount Sion^[am] (that is, Hermon) ⁴⁹ and all the Arabah beyond the Jordan to the east, as far as the Arabah Sea^[an] under the slopes of Pisgah.

Chapter 5

The Covenant at Horeb. ¹ Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances which I proclaim in your hearing this day, that you may learn them and take care to observe them.^{(DM) 2} The Lord, our God, made a covenant with us at Horeb; ³ not with our ancestors^[ao] did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, all of us who are alive here this day. ^4 (DN)Face to face, the Lord spoke with you on the mountain from the midst of the fire,^{(DO) 5} while I was standing between the Lord and you at that time, to announce to you these words of the Lord, since you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain:

The Decalogue. ^6 (DP)I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,^(DQ) out of the house of slavery. ^7 (DR)You shall not have other gods beside me. ⁸ You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; ^9 [ap]you shall not bow down before them or serve them. For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous^[aq] God, bringing punishment for their parents’ wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation, ¹⁰ but showing love down to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

¹¹ You shall not invoke the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.^(DS) For the Lord will not leave unpunished anyone who invokes his name in vain.

^12 (DT)Observe the sabbath day—keep it holy, as the Lord, your God, commanded you. ¹³ Six days you may labor and do all your work, ¹⁴ but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God. You shall not do any work, either you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or donkey or any work animal, or the resident alien within your gates, so that your male and female slave may rest as you do. ¹⁵ Remember that you too were once slaves in the land of Egypt, and the Lord, your God, brought you out from there with a strong hand and outstretched arm. That is why the Lord, your God, has commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

^16 (DU)Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord, your God, has commanded you, that you may have a long life and that you may prosper in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

^17 (DV)You shall not kill.^[ar]

^18 (DW)You shall not commit adultery.

^19 (DX)You shall not steal.

^20 (DY)You shall not bear dishonest witness against your neighbor.

^21 (DZ)You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.

You shall not desire your neighbor’s house or field, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Moses as Mediator. ²² These words the Lord spoke with a loud voice to your entire assembly on the mountain from the midst of the fire and the dense black cloud, and added no more. He inscribed them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.^{(EA) 23} But when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, you came near to me, all your tribal heads and elders, ²⁴ and said, “The Lord, our God, has indeed let us see his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice from the midst of the fire.^(EB) Today we have found out that God may speak to a mortal and that person may still live. ²⁵ Now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord, our God, any more, we shall die.^{(EC) 26} For what mortal has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of fire, as we have, and lived? ²⁷ You go closer and listen to all that the Lord, our God, will say, and then tell us what the Lord, our God, tells you; we will listen and obey.”^(ED)

²⁸ The Lord heard your words as you were speaking to me and said to me, I have heard the words these people have spoken to you, which are all well said.^{(EE) 29} Would that they might always be of such a mind, to fear me and to keep all my commandments! Then they and their descendants would prosper forever. ³⁰ Go, tell them: Return to your tents. ³¹ Then you stand here near me and I will give you all the commandments, the statutes and the ordinances; you must teach them, that they may observe them in the land I am giving them to possess.^(EF)

³² Be careful, therefore, to do as the Lord, your God, has commanded you, not turning aside to the right or to the left, ³³ but following exactly the way that the Lord, your God, commanded you that you may live and prosper, and may have long life in the land which you are to possess.^(EG)

Chapter 6

¹ This then is the commandment, the statutes and the ordinances,^(EH) which the Lord, your God, has commanded that you be taught to observe in the land you are about to cross into to possess, ² so that you, that is, you, your child, and your grandchild, may fear the Lord, your God, by keeping, as long as you live, all his statutes and commandments^(EI) which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life. ³ Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly; for the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you a land flowing with milk and honey.^(EJ)

The Great Commandment.^{[as] 4 (EK)}Hear, O Israel!^[at] The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! ⁵ Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength.^{(EL) 6 (EM)}Take to heart these words which I command you today.^{(EN) 7} Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up.^{(EO) 8} Bind them on your arm as a sign^[au] and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.^{(EP) 9} Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.^(EQ)

Fidelity in Prosperity. ^10 (ER)When the Lord, your God, brings you into the land which he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give you, a land with fine, large cities that you did not build,^{(ES) 11} with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner, with cisterns that you did not dig, with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant; and when, therefore, you eat and are satisfied,^{(ET) 12 (EU)}be careful not to forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that house of slavery. ^13 (EV)The Lord, your God, shall you fear; him shall you serve,^[av] and by his name shall you swear. ^14 (EW)You shall not go after other gods, any of the gods of the surrounding peoples— ¹⁵ for the Lord, your God who is in your midst, is a passionate God—lest the anger of the Lord, your God, flare up against you and he destroy you from upon the land.

¹⁶ You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test, as you did at Massah.^{(EX) 17} But keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, and the decrees and the statutes he has commanded you. ¹⁸ Do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and you may enter in and possess the good land which the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, ¹⁹ driving all your enemies out of your way, as the Lord has promised.^(EY)

Instruction to Children. ^20 (EZ)Later on, when your son asks you, “What do these decrees and statutes and ordinances mean?”^(FA) which the Lord, our God, has enjoined on you, ^21 (FB)you shall say to your son, “We were once slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand^{(FC) 22} and wrought before our eyes signs and wonders, great and dire, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and his whole house. ²³ He brought us from there to bring us in and give us the land he had promised on oath to our ancestors.^{(FD) 24 (FE)}The Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes in fear of the Lord, our God, that we may always have as good a life as we have today. ²⁵ This is our justice before the Lord, our God: to observe carefully this whole commandment he has enjoined on us.”

Chapter 7

Destruction of the Nations in the Land. ^1 (FF)When the Lord, your God, brings you into the land which you are about to enter to possess, and removes many nations before you—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,^(FG) seven nations more numerous and powerful than you— ² and when the Lord, your God, gives them over to you and you defeat them, you shall put them under the ban. Make no covenant with them^(FH) and do not be gracious to them. ^3 (FI)You shall not intermarry with them, neither giving your daughters to their sons nor taking their daughters for your sons. ⁴ For they would turn your sons from following me to serving other gods, and then the anger of the Lord would flare up against you and he would quickly destroy you.

⁵ But this is how you must deal with them:^(FJ) Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, chop down their asherahs,^[aw] and destroy their idols by fire. ⁶ For you are a people holy to the Lord, your God; the Lord, your God, has chosen you from all the peoples on the face of the earth to be a people specially his own.^{(FK) 7} It was not because you are more numerous than all the peoples that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you; for you are really the smallest of all peoples.^{(FL) 8} It was because the Lord loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn to your ancestors, that the Lord brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.^{(FM) 9 (FN)}Know, then, that the Lord, your God, is God: the faithful God who keeps covenant mercy to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments,^{(FO) 10} but who repays with destruction those who hate him; he does not delay with those who hate him, but makes them pay for it. ¹¹ Therefore carefully observe the commandment, the statutes and the ordinances which I command you today.

Blessings of Obedience. ^12 (FP)As your reward for heeding these ordinances and keeping them carefully, the Lord, your God, will keep with you the covenant mercy he promised on oath to your ancestors. ¹³ He will love and bless and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your soil, your grain and wine and oil, the young of your herds and the offspring of your flocks, in the land which he swore to your ancestors he would give you. ¹⁴ You will be blessed above all peoples; no man or woman among you shall be childless nor shall your livestock be barren. ¹⁵ The Lord will remove all sickness from you; he will not afflict you with any of the malignant diseases that you know from Egypt, but will leave them with all those who hate you.

¹⁶ You shall consume all the peoples which the Lord, your God, is giving over to you. You are not to look on them with pity, nor serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.^{(FQ) 17 (FR)}If you say to yourselves, “These nations are more numerous than we. How can we dispossess them?” ¹⁸ do not be afraid of them. Rather, remember clearly what the Lord, your God, did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: ¹⁹ the great testings which your own eyes have seen, the signs and wonders, the strong hand and outstretched arm with which the Lord, your God, brought you out. The same also will he do to all the peoples of whom you are now afraid. ²⁰ Moreover, the Lord, your God, will send hornets among them, until those who are left and those who are hiding from you are destroyed.^{(FS) 21} Therefore, do not be terrified by them, for the Lord, your God, who is in your midst, is a great and awesome God. ²² He will remove these nations before you little by little. You cannot finish with them quickly, lest the wild beasts become too numerous for you.^{(FT) 23} The Lord, your God, will give them over to you and throw them into utter panic until they are destroyed.^{(FU) 24} He will deliver their kings into your power, that you may make their names perish from under the heavens. No one will be able to stand up against you,^(FV) till you have destroyed them. ^25 (FW)The images of their gods you shall destroy by fire. Do not covet the silver or gold on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord, your God.^{(FX) 26} You shall not bring any abominable thing into your house, so as to be, like it, under the ban; loathe and abhor it utterly for it is under the ban.^[ax]