Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹When Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had utterly destroyed it—as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king—and that the residents of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were [living] among them,

²he [and his people] feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty.

³So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, and to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying,

⁴"Come up to me and help me, and let us attack Gibeon [with a combined army], because it has made peace with Joshua and with the sons (people) of Israel."

⁵Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and they camped by Gibeon and fought against it.

⁶So the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, "Do not abandon your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all [five of] the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country have assembled against us."

⁷So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the men of valor.

⁸The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not fear them, because I have given them into your hand; not one of them shall stand before you."

⁹So Joshua came upon them suddenly, [surprising them] by marching [uphill] all night from Gilgal.

¹⁰And the LORD caused them to panic and be confused before Israel, and He struck them dead in a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goes up to Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

¹¹As they fled before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down large stones [of hail] from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. More [Amorites] died because of the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

¹²Then Joshua spoke to the LORD on the day when the LORD handed over the Amorites to the sons of Israel, and Joshua said in the sight of Israel, "Sun, stand still at Gibeon, And moon, in the Valley of Aijalon."

¹³So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the nation [of Israel] took vengeance upon their enemies. Is it not written in the Book of Jashar? So the sun stood still in the middle of the sky and was in no hurry to go down for about a whole day.

¹⁴There has not been a day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to (heeded) the voice of a man; for the LORD was fighting for Israel.

¹⁵Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.

¹⁶Now these five [Amorite] kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.

¹⁷And Joshua was told, "The five kings have been found and are hidden in the cave at Makkedah."

¹⁸Joshua said, "Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and assign men by it to guard them,

¹⁹but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies and attack them from the rear. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand."

²⁰Now when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking the Amorites dead in a very great defeat, until they were wiped out, and the surviving remnant among them had entered the fortified cities,

²¹all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one uttered a [threatening] word against any of the sons of Israel.

²²Then Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave and bring out to me those five [Amorite] kings from the cave."

²³They did so, and brought these five [Amorite] kings out of the cave to him—the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.

²⁴When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and told the commanders of the men of war who had gone with him, "Come up close, put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came forward and put their feet on the necks [of the five kings].

²⁵Joshua said to them, "Do not fear or be dismayed (intimidated)! Be strong and courageous, for this is what the LORD will do to all your enemies against whom you [are about to] fight."

²⁶Then afterward Joshua struck them [with his sword] and put them to death, and he hung them on five trees; and they hung on the trees until evening.

²⁷At sunset Joshua gave a command, and they took the bodies down from the trees and threw them into the cave where the kings had hidden themselves, and placed large stones over the mouth of the cave, [where they remain] to this very day.

²⁸Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed it and everyone who was in it. He left no survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

²⁹Then Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Makkedah to Libnah, and fought against Libnah.

³⁰The LORD gave it also along with its king into the hands of Israel, and Joshua struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor in it. So he did to the king of Libnah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹And Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it.

³²The LORD gave Lachish into the hands of Israel; and Joshua captured it on the second day, and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, just as he had done to Libnah.

³³Then Horam king of Gezer went up to help Lachish, and Joshua struck him and his people down until he had left him no survivor.

³⁴And Joshua and all Israel with him went on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it.

³⁵They captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and on that day he utterly destroyed every person who was in it, just as he had done to Lachish.

³⁶Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron, and they fought against it

³⁷and captured it and struck it and its king and all its cities and all the persons who were in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor, just as he had done to Eglon. He utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it.

³⁸Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to Debir, and fought against it.

³⁹He captured it with its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Just as he had done to Hebron, so Joshua did to Debir and its king, as he had done also to Libnah and its king.

⁴⁰So Joshua struck all the land, the hill country, the Negev (South country) and the lowland and the slopes [that descend to the Dead Sea] and all their kings. He left no survivor, but he utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.

⁴¹Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen even as far as Gibeon.

⁴²Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

⁴³So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.

¹Then when Jabin king of Hazor heard [of Israel's other victories] he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,

²and to the kings who were in the north, in the hill country, and in the Arabah [the plain] south of Chinnereth (the Sea of Galilee) and in the lowland and on the hills of Dor on the west;

³to the Canaanite in the east and in the west, and to the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the hill country, and the Hivite at the foot of [Mount] Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.

⁴They went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.

⁵So all these kings met and they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

⁶Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow by this time I am going to hand over all of them slain [by the sword] to Israel; you shall hamstring (disable) their horses and set fire to their chariots."

⁷So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and attacked them.

⁸The LORD handed them over to Israel, who struck them and pursued them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh; they struck them down until no survivor was left.

⁹Joshua did to them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung (disabled) their horses and set fire to their chariots.

¹⁰At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and struck its king dead with the sword; for Hazor previously was the head of all these kingdoms.

¹¹They struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them; there was no one left who breathed. And he set fire to Hazor.

¹²Joshua captured all the cities of these kings, and all their kings, and he struck them with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded.

¹³But Israel did not burn any of the cities that stood [walled and fortified] on their mounds, except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned.

¹⁴The sons of Israel took as their plunder all the spoil of these cities and the cattle; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them. They left no one alive.

¹⁵Just as the LORD had commanded Moses His servant, so Moses had commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹⁶So Joshua took all this land: the hill country, all the Negev (South country), all the land of Goshen, the lowland, the Arabah [plain], the hill country of Israel and its lowland

¹⁷from Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir [in the south], even as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon [in the north]. He captured all their kings and struck them and put them to death.

¹⁸Joshua waged war with all these kings a long time [at least five years].

¹⁹There was no city that made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took all the others in battle.

²⁰For it was [the purpose] of the LORD to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle so that Israel would utterly destroy them, that they would receive no mercy, but that Israel would destroy them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

²¹Then Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab and from all the hill country of Judah and all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.

²²There were no Anakim left in the land of the children of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod [of Philistia] some remained.

²³So Joshua took the whole land [of Canaan], according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. So the land had rest from war.

¹Now these are the kings of the land whom the sons of Israel defeated, and whose land they possessed beyond the Jordan toward the east, from the valley of the [river] Arnon to Mount Hermon, and all the Arabah [plain] to the east:

²Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the [river] Arnon, both the middle of the valley and half of Gilead, and as far as the brook Jabbok, [which is] the border of the sons of Ammon;

³and the Arabah [plain] as far as the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee) eastward, and as far as the sea of the Arabah, the Salt (Dead) Sea, eastward toward Beth-jeshimoth, and southward to the foot of the slopes of [Mount] Pisgah;

⁴and the territory of Og king of Bashan, one of the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,

⁵and ruled over Mount Hermon and Salecah and all of Bashan to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and over half of Gilead, as far as the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

⁶Moses the servant of the LORD and the sons of Israel defeated them; and Moses the servant of the LORD gave their land as a possession to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

⁷These are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the sons of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir. Joshua gave their land to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions,

⁸in the hill country, in the lowland (foothills), in the Arabah [plain], on the slopes [descending to the Dead Sea], and in the wilderness, and in the Negev (South country)—the [lands of the] Hittite, the Amorite and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite:

⁹the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;

¹⁰the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;

¹¹the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;

¹²the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;

¹³the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;

¹⁴the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;

¹⁵the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;

¹⁶the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;

¹⁷the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;

¹⁸the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;

¹⁹the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;

²⁰the king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;

²¹the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;

²²the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one;

²³the king of Dor in the heights of Dor, one; the king of Goiim in Gilgal, one;

²⁴the king of Tirzah, one: in all, thirty-one kings.

¹Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, "You have grown old and advanced in years, and very substantial portions of the land remain to be possessed.

²This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and all those of the Geshurites;

³from the Shihor [waterway] which is east of Egypt [at the southern end of Canaan], northward to the border of Ekron (all of it regarded as Canaanite); the five rulers of the Philistines: the Gazite, Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, the Ekronite; and the Avvite

⁴in the south, all the land of the Canaanite, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, as far as Aphek, to the border of the Amorite;

⁵and the land of the Gebalite, and all Lebanon, toward the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.

⁶As for all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, even all the Sidonians, I will drive them out before Israel; only allot the land to Israel as an inheritance just as I have commanded you.

⁷So now, divide this land [west of the Jordan] as an inheritance for the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh."

⁸With the other half-tribe [of Manasseh], the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance which Moses gave them beyond the Jordan eastward, just as Moses the servant of the LORD gave to them;

⁹from Aroer on the edge of the valley of the [river] Arnon, and the city in the middle of the valley, and all the plain of Medeba, as far as Dibon;

¹⁰and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the Ammonites;

¹¹and Gilead, and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah;

¹²the entire kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei—he alone was left of the remnant of the Rephaim [giants]—for Moses had struck them and dispossessed them.

¹³But the sons of Israel did not dispossess the Geshurites or the Maacathites; for Geshur and Maacath live among Israel to this day.

¹⁴It was only to the tribe of Levi that Moses gave no [territory as an] inheritance; the offerings by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as He told him.

¹⁵So Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the sons of Reuben according to their families.

¹⁶Their territory was from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the [river] Arnon, and the city which is in the middle of the valley and all the plain by Medeba;

¹⁷with Heshbon, and all its cities which are on the plain: Dibon and Bamoth-baal and Beth-baal-meon,

¹⁸and Jahaz and Kedemoth and Mephaath,

¹⁹and Kiriathaim and Sibmah and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley,

²⁰and Beth-peor and the slopes of Pisgah and Beth-jeshimoth,

²¹even all the cities of the plain and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses struck down along with the leaders of Midian, Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land.

²²The sons of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner (soothsayer), with the sword among [the rest of] their slain.

²³The border of the sons of Reuben was the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the sons of Reuben according to their families, with their cities and villages.

²⁴Moses also gave an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the sons of Gad, according to their families.

²⁵Their territory was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the sons of Ammon, as far as Aroer east of Rabbah;

²⁶and from Heshbon as far as Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim as far as the border of Debir;

²⁷and in the valley, Beth-haram and Beth-nimrah and Succoth and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, with the Jordan as a border, as far as the lower end of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee) east of the Jordan.

²⁸This is the inheritance of the sons of Gad according to their families, with their cities and their villages.

²⁹Moses also gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh; and it was for the half-tribe of the sons of Manasseh according to their families.

³⁰Their region extended from Mahanaim, all Bashan, the entire kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities;

³¹also half of Gilead, with Ashtaroth and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan; these were for the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the sons of Machir according to their families (clans).

³²These are the territories which Moses distributed as an inheritance in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho to the east.

³³But to the tribe of Levi, Moses did not give an inheritance; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He told them.

¹Now these are the territories which the tribes of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the households of the tribes of Israel apportioned to them as an inheritance,

²by the lot of their inheritance, as the LORD had commanded through Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe.

³For Moses had given an inheritance to the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Jordan; but he did not give [any territory as] an inheritance to the Levites among them.

⁴For the sons of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and no portion was given in the land to the Levites except cities in which to live, with their pasture lands for their livestock and for their property.

⁵The Israelites did just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.

⁶Then the [tribe of the] sons of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know the word which the LORD said to Moses the man of God concerning me and you in Kadesh-barnea.

⁷I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout the land [of Canaan], and I brought a report back to him as it was in my heart.

⁸My brothers (fellow spies) who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the LORD my God completely.

⁹So Moses swore [an oath to me] on that day, saying, 'Be assured that the land on which your foot has walked will be an inheritance to you and to your children always, because you have followed the LORD my God completely.'

¹⁰And now, look, the LORD has let me live, just as He said, these forty-five years since the LORD spoke this word to Moses, when Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, look at me, I am eighty-five years old today.

¹¹I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so is my strength now, for war and for going out and coming in.

¹²So now, give me this hill country about which the LORD spoke that day, for you heard on that day that the [giant-like] Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said."

¹³So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.

¹⁴Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, completely.

¹⁵The name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba [city of Arba]; for Arba was the greatest man among the [giant-like] Anakim. Then the land had rest from war.

¹Now the lot (allotment) for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families reached [southward to] the border of Edom, southward to the wilderness of Zin at its most southern part.

²Their southern border was from the lower end of the Salt (Dead) Sea, from the bay that turns southward.

³Then it proceeded southward to the ascent of Akrabbim and continued along to Zin, and then went by the south of Kadesh-barnea and continued along to Hezron, and went up to Addar and turned about to Karka.

⁴It continued along to Azmon and proceeded to the Brook of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish), and the border ended at the [Mediterranean] sea. This was their southern border.

⁵The eastern border was the Salt (Dead) Sea, as far as the mouth of the Jordan. The northern border was from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan.

⁶Then the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and continued along north of Beth-arabah, and the border went up to the [landmark of the] stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.

⁷The border went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and turned northward toward Gilgal which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley; and the border continued on to the waters of En-shemesh and ended at En-rogel.

⁸Then the border went up by the Valley of Ben-hinnom (son of Hinnom) at the southern slope of the Jebusite [city] (that is, Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the Valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim.

⁹Then the border extended from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron; then the border curved to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim).

¹⁰The border went around west from Baalah to Mount Seir, and passed along to the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), and went down to Beth-shemesh and then continued on through Timnah.

¹¹The border proceeded to the slope [of the hill] of Ekron northward, then curved to Shikkeron and continued to Mount Baalah and proceeded to Jabneel. Then the border ended at the [Mediterranean] sea.

¹²The western border was at the Great Sea, with its coastline. This is the border around the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families.

¹³Now to Caleb the son of Jephunneh Joshua gave a portion among the sons of Judah, as the LORD commanded him, namely, Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron).

¹⁴So Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the children of Anak.

¹⁵Then he went up from there against the people of Debir; Debir was formerly named Kiriath-sepher.

¹⁶Caleb said, "I will give Achsah my daughter as wife to the man who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it."

¹⁷And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's brother, captured it; so he gave him Achsah his daughter as a wife.

¹⁸Now it came about that when Achsah came to Othniel, she persuaded him [to allow her] to ask her father for a field. Then she [rode up to Caleb and] dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, "What do you want?"

¹⁹Achsah answered, "Give me a blessing; since you have given me the [dry] land of the Negev (South country), give me springs of water, too." So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

²⁰This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families (clans).

²¹The cities of the tribe of the sons of Judah in the extreme south toward the border of Edom were Kabzeel and Eder and Jagur,

²²and Kinah and Dimonah and Adadah,

²³and Kedesh and Hazor and Ithnan,

²⁴Ziph and Telem and Bealoth,

²⁵and Hazor-hadattah and Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor),

²⁶Amam and Shema and Moladah,

²⁷and Hazar-gaddah and Heshmon and Beth-pelet,

²⁸and Hazar-shual and Beersheba and Biziothiah,

²⁹Baalah and Iim and Ezem,

³⁰and Eltolad and Chesil and Hormah,

³¹and Ziklag and Madmannah and Sansannah,

³²and Lebaoth and Shilhim and Ain and Rimmon; in all twenty-nine cities with their villages.

³³In the lowland: Eshtaol and Zorah and Ashnah,

³⁴and Zanoah and En-gannim, Tappuah and Enam,

³⁵Jarmuth and Adullam, Socoh and Azekah,

³⁶and Shaaraim and Adithaim and Gederah and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages.

³⁷Zenan and Hadashah and Migdal-gad,

³⁸and Dilean and Mizpeh and Joktheel,

³⁹Lachish and Bozkath and Eglon,

⁴⁰and Cabbon and Lahmas and Chitlish,

⁴¹and Gederoth, Beth-dagon and Naamah and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.

⁴²Libnah and Ether and Ashan,

⁴³and Iphtah and Ashnah and Nezib,

⁴⁴and Keilah and Achzib and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages.

⁴⁵Ekron, with its towns and villages;

⁴⁶from Ekron even to the sea, all that were beside Ashdod, with their villages;

⁴⁷Ashdod, with its towns and its villages; Gaza, with its towns and its villages; as far as the Brook of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish) and the Great [Mediterranean] Sea with its coastline.

⁴⁸In the hill country: Shamir and Jattir and Socoh,

⁴⁹and Dannah and Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir),

⁵⁰and Anab and Eshtemoh and Anim,

⁵¹and Goshen and Holon and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.

⁵²Arab and Dumah and Eshan,

⁵³and Janum and Beth-tappuah and Aphekah,

⁵⁴and Humtah and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.

⁵⁵Maon, Carmel and Ziph and Juttah,

⁵⁶and Jezreel and Jokdeam and Zanoah,

⁵⁷Kain, Gibeah and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.

⁵⁸Halhul, Beth-zur and Gedor,

⁵⁹and Maarath and Beth-anoth and Eltekon; six cities with their villages.

⁶⁰Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah; two cities with their villages.

⁶¹In the wilderness [that slopes downward toward the Dead Sea]: Beth-arabah, Middin and Secacah,

⁶²and Nibshan and the City of Salt and Engedi; six cities with their villages.

⁶³But as for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the [tribe of the] sons of Judah were not able to drive them out; so the Jebusites live with the sons of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.

¹Then the lot (allotment) for the sons of Joseph went from the Jordan Valley at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east into the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel.

²Then it went from Bethel to Luz, and continued to Ataroth, the border of the Archites.

³It went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the outskirts of lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer, and it ended at the sea.

⁴The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.

⁵Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: on the east side the border of their inheritance was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon.

⁶Then the border went westward at Michmethath on the north, and turned eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah.

⁷It went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, touched Jericho and ended at the Jordan.

⁸The border continued from Tappuah westward to the Brook Kanah, and it ended at the [Mediterranean] sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families (clans),

⁹with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim within the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.

¹⁰But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites live among Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.

¹Now this was the lot (allotment) for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war.

²So the lot was also made for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their families—for the sons of Abiezer and for the sons of Helek and for the sons of Asriel and for the sons of Shechem and for the sons of Hepher and for the sons of Shemida; these were the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families (clans).

³But Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.

⁴They came before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua the son of Nun and before the leaders and said, "The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers." So according to the command of the LORD Joshua gave them an inheritance among their father's brothers.

⁵So ten portions fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan [on the east side of the river],

⁶because the daughters of [Zelophehad, a descendant of] Manasseh had received an inheritance among his [other] sons [whose inheritance went to their male descendants]. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.

⁷The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah.

⁸The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but [the city of] Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim.

⁹Then the border went down to the brook of Kanah, south of the brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim, among the cities of Manasseh), and Manasseh's border was on the north side of the brook and it ended at the sea.

¹⁰The land on the south side belonged to Ephraim and that on the north side was Manasseh's, and the sea was their border; they reached to [the territory of] Asher on the north and to [the territory of] Issachar on the east.

¹¹Also, in Issachar and in Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; the third is Napheth.

¹²But the sons of Manasseh were not able to [drive out the inhabitants and] take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites persisted in living in that land.

¹³When the Israelites became strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.

¹⁴The sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, "Why have you given us only one lot and one portion as an inheritance, when we are a numerous people whom the LORD has so far blessed?"

¹⁵Then Joshua replied, "If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest and clear ground for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you."

¹⁶The sons of Joseph said, "The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the valley have iron chariots, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those in the Valley of Jezreel."

¹⁷Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, "You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot,

¹⁸but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and though they are strong."

¹Then the whole congregation of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh [in the tribal territory of Ephraim], and set up the Tent of Meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.

²There remained among the Israelites seven tribes who had not yet divided their inheritance.

³So Joshua asked them, "How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?

⁴Provide for yourselves three men from each tribe so that I may send them, and that they may go through the land and write a description of it with regard to their [tribal] inheritance; then they shall return to me.

⁵They shall divide it into seven parts; [the tribe of] Judah shall remain in its territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall remain in its territory on the north.

⁶You shall describe the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me. I will cast lots for you here before the LORD our God.

⁷But the Levites have no portion among you, because the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance. Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh also have received their inheritance eastward beyond the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them."

⁸So the men arose and went [on their way], and Joshua commanded those who went to describe the land, saying, "Go and walk throughout the land and describe it, and return to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the LORD in Shiloh."

⁹So the men set out and passed through the land, and described it by cities in seven divisions in a book; and they came back to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh.

¹⁰Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD, and there Joshua divided the land to the sons of Israel, [to each tribe] according to their portions.

¹¹Now the lot (allotment) of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot fell between [the tribes of] the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph.

¹²On the north side their border began at the Jordan, then it went up the slope of Jericho on the north, and up through the hill country westward, and it ended at the Beth-aven wilderness.

¹³Then the border continued southward toward Luz, to the slope of Luz (that is, Bethel); then the border went down to Ataroth-addar, by the hill that lies south of lower Beth-horon.

¹⁴The border changed course [from there] and turned around on the western side southward, from the hill that lies to the south opposite Beth-horon; it ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of [the tribe of] the sons of Judah. This formed the western side [of Benjamin's territory].

¹⁵The southern side was from the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went on westward and went to the source of the waters of Nephtoah.

¹⁶Then the border went down to the edge of the hill overlooking the Valley of Ben-hinnom (son of Hinnom), which is at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim; and it descended to the Valley of Hinnom, south to the slope of the Jebusite, and went on down to En-rogel.

¹⁷Then it turned toward the north and went on to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and it went down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.

¹⁸It continued to the north to the side opposite [Beth-] Arabah and went down to the Arabah.

¹⁹The border continued along to the north of the slope of Beth-hoglah; and the border ended at the northern bay of the Salt (Dead) Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.

²⁰And the Jordan River was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin, according to their families and according to its borders all around.

²¹Now the cities of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho and Beth-hoglah and Emek-keziz,

²²and Beth-arabah and Zemaraim and Bethel,

²³and Avvim and Parah and Ophrah,

²⁴and Chephar-ammoni and Ophni and Geba; twelve cities with their villages;

²⁵Gibeon and Ramah and Beeroth,

²⁶and Mizpeh and Chephirah and Mozah,

²⁷and Rekem and Irpeel and Taralah,

²⁸and Zelah, Haeleph and the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of [the tribe of] the sons of Benjamin according to their families (clans).

¹Then the second lot fell to Simeon, to the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families (clans), and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the sons of Judah.

²So they had as their inheritance Beersheba or Sheba and Moladah,

³and Hazar-shual and Balah and Ezem,

⁴and Eltolad and Bethul and Hormah,

⁵and Ziklag and Beth-marcaboth and Hazar-susah,

⁶and Beth-lebaoth and Sharuhen; thirteen cities with their villages;

⁷Ain, Rimmon and Ether and Ashan; four cities with their villages;

⁸and all the villages which were around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negev (South country). This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families.

⁹The inheritance of the sons of Simeon was taken from the portion of the sons of Judah, for the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; so the sons of Simeon received an inheritance within Judah's inheritance.

¹⁰The third lot came up for [the tribe of] the sons of Zebulun according to their families. The territory of their inheritance extended to Sarid.

¹¹Then its border went up westward and on to Maralah, and reached to Dabbesheth and reached to the brook east of Jokneam.

¹²Then it turned from Sarid east toward the sunrise as far as the border of Chisloth-tabor, and it proceeded to Daberath and on up to Japhia.

¹³From there it continued east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher and to Eth-kazin, and proceeded to Rimmon which turns toward Neah.

¹⁴The border circled it on the north to Hannathon, ending at the Valley of Iphtahel.

¹⁵Included were Kattah and Nahalal and Shimron and Idalah and Bethlehem; twelve cities with their villages.

¹⁶This was the inheritance of the sons of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

¹⁷The fourth lot fell to [the tribe of] Issachar, to the sons of Issachar according to their families.

¹⁸Their territory included: Jezreel and Chesulloth and Shunem,

¹⁹and Hapharaim and Shion and Anaharath,

²⁰and Rabbith and Kishion and Ebez,

²¹and Remeth and En-gannim and En-haddah and Beth-pazzez.

²²The border reached to Tabor and Shahazumah and Beth-shemesh, and their border ended at the Jordan; sixteen cities with their villages.

²³This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages.

²⁴The fifth lot fell to the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families.

²⁵Their territory was Helkath and Hali and Beten and Achshaph,

²⁶and Allammelech and Amad and Mishal; and on the west it reached to Carmel and to Shihor-libnath.

²⁷Then it turned eastward to Beth-dagon and reached Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel, and continued in the north to Cabul,

²⁸and Ebron and Rehob and Hammon and Kanah, as far as Great Sidon.

²⁹Then the border turned to Ramah, [reaching] to the fortified city of Tyre; and it turned to Hosah, and it ended at the [Mediterranean] sea at the region of Achzib.

³⁰Included were Ummah, and Aphek and Rehob; twenty-two cities with their villages.

³¹This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.

³²The sixth lot fell to [the tribe of] the sons of Naphtali according to their families.

³³Their border ran from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim and Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and it ended at the Jordan.

³⁴Then the border turned westward to Aznoth-tabor and went from there to Hukkok; and it reached Zebulun on the south and reached Asher on the west, and to Judah toward the east at the Jordan.

³⁵The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, and Hammath, Rakkath and Chinnereth,

³⁶and Adamah and Ramah and Hazor,

³⁷and Kedesh and Edrei and En-hazor,

³⁸and Yiron and Migdal-el, Horem and Beth-anath and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages.

³⁹This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages.

⁴⁰The seventh lot fell to the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families.

⁴¹The territory of their inheritance included Zorah and Eshtaol and Ir-shemesh,

⁴²and Shaalabbin and Aijalon and Ithlah,

⁴³and Elon and Timnah and Ekron,

⁴⁴and Eltekeh and Gibbethon and Baalath,

⁴⁵and Jehud and Bene-berak and Gath-rimmon,

⁴⁶and Me-jarkon and Rakkon, with the territory opposite Joppa.

⁴⁷The territory of the sons of Dan went beyond these; so the sons of Dan went up to fight against Leshem (Laish) and captured it. Then they struck it with the edge of the sword and took possession of it and settled there [between the tribes of Naphtali and Manasseh]; they renamed Leshem, Dan, after the name of their father (ancestor) Dan.

⁴⁸This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families (clans), these cities with their villages.

⁴⁹When they had finished dividing the land for inheritance by its borders, the Israelites gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun.

⁵⁰According to the command of the LORD they gave him the city for which he asked—Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. So he built the city and settled in it.

⁵¹These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the households of the tribes of the sons of Israel distributed by lot in Shiloh before the LORD at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing the land.

¹The LORD spoke to Joshua, saying,

²"Speak to the Israelites, saying, 'Designate the cities of refuge (asylum), of which I spoke to you through Moses,

³so that the person (manslayer) who kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall be your refuge from the blood avenger.

⁴He shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city; and they shall take him into [the protection of] the city and give him a place [to stay], so that he may live among them.

⁵If the blood avenger pursues him, they shall not hand the offender (manslayer) over to him, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally and without premeditation and did not hate him beforehand.

⁶He shall live in that city until he has stood before the congregation for judgment [and if acquitted of murder he must stay there], until the death of the one who is the high priest in those days. Then the offender (manslayer) shall return to his own city and his own house from which he fled.'"

⁷So they set apart and consecrated Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

⁸Beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.

⁹These were the appointed cities for all the Israelites and for the stranger sojourning (living temporarily) among them, so that whoever killed any person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the blood avenger until he had stood before the congregation [for judgment].

¹Then the heads of the households of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the households of the tribes of the sons of Israel.

²They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, "The LORD commanded Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasture lands for our cattle."

³So the sons of Israel gave the Levites from their inheritance these [forty-eight] cities and their pasture lands, in accordance with the command of the LORD.

⁴The [first] lot (allotment) came out for the families of the Kohathites. So those Levites who were sons (descendants) of Aaron the priest received thirteen cities by lot from the tribe of Judah and from the tribe of Simeon and from the tribe of Benjamin.

⁵The rest of the sons of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim and from the tribe of Dan and from the half-tribe of Manasseh.

⁶The sons of Gershon received thirteen cities by lot from the families of the tribe of Issachar and from the tribe of Asher and from the tribe of Naphtali and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷The sons of Merari according to their families received twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben and from the tribe of Gad and from the tribe of Zebulun.

⁸The sons of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasture lands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

⁹They gave these cities which are mentioned here by name from the tribe of the sons of Judah and from the tribe of the sons of Simeon;

¹⁰and they were for the sons of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, of the sons of Levi, because the lot fell to them first.

¹¹They gave them [the city of] Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah, with its surrounding pasture lands.

¹²But the fields of the city and its villages they had given to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his property.

¹³So to the sons of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for anyone who committed manslaughter, with its pasture lands, and Libnah with its pasture lands,

¹⁴and Jattir with its pasture lands and Eshtemoa with its pasture lands,

¹⁵and Holon with its pasture lands and Debir with its pasture lands,

¹⁶and Ain with its pasture lands and Juttah with its pasture lands and Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands; nine cities from these two tribes (Judah and Simeon).

¹⁷From the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its pasture lands, and Geba with its pasture lands,

¹⁸Anathoth with its pasture lands and Almon with its pasture lands; four cities.

¹⁹All the cities of the sons of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.

²⁰Then the cities from the tribe of Ephraim were allotted to the families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, even to the rest of the sons of Kohath.

²¹They gave them Shechem, the city of refuge for anyone who committed manslaughter, with its pasture lands, in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer with its pasture lands,

²²and Kibzaim with its pasture lands and Beth-horon with its pasture lands; four cities.

²³From the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands,

²⁴Aijalon with its pasture lands, Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; four cities.

²⁵From the half-tribe of Manasseh, they allotted Taanach with its pasture lands and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; two cities.

²⁶All the cities with their pasture lands for the families of the rest of the sons of Kohath totaled ten.

²⁷To the sons of Gershon, one of the families of the Levites, they gave from the other half-tribe of Manasseh, [the city of] Golan in Bashan, the city of refuge for anyone who committed manslaughter, with its pasture lands, and Be-eshterah with its pasture lands; two cities.

²⁸From the tribe of Issachar, they gave Kishion with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands,

²⁹Jarmuth with its pasture lands, and En-gannim with its pasture lands; four cities.

³⁰From the tribe of Asher, they gave Mishal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands,

³¹Helkath with its pasture lands and Rehob with its pasture lands; four cities.

³²From the tribe of Naphtali, they gave Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for anyone who committed manslaughter, with its pasture lands and Hammoth-dor with its pasture lands and Kartan with its pasture lands; three cities.

³³All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.

³⁴To the families of the sons of Merari, the rest of the Levites, they gave from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands and Kartah with its pasture lands,

³⁵Dimnah with its pasture lands and Nahalal with its pasture lands; four cities.

³⁶From the tribe of Reuben, they gave Bezer with its pasture lands and Jahaz with its pasture lands,

³⁷Kedemoth with its pasture lands and Mephaath with its pasture lands; four cities.

³⁸From the tribe of Gad, they gave Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for anyone who committed manslaughter, with its pasture lands and Mahanaim with its pasture lands,

³⁹Heshbon with its pasture lands and Jazer with its pasture lands; four cities in all.

⁴⁰All [these were] the cities of the sons of Merari according to their families, the rest of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities.

⁴¹All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the property of the sons of Israel were forty-eight cities with their pasture lands.

⁴²These cities each had its surrounding pasture lands; so it was with all these cities.

⁴³So the LORD gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers (ancestors), and they took possession of it and lived in it.

⁴⁴The LORD gave them rest [from conflict] on every side, in accordance with everything that He had sworn to their fathers, and not one of all their enemies stood before them [in battle]; the LORD handed over all their enemies to them.

⁴⁵Not one of the good promises which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel failed; all had come to pass.

¹Then Joshua called the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh,

²and said to them, "You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have listened to and obeyed my voice in everything that I commanded you.

³You have not deserted your brothers these many days to this day, but have [carefully] kept the obligation of the commandment of the LORD your God.

⁴And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brothers, as He has promised them; so turn now and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the [east side of the] Jordan.

⁵Only be very careful and diligently observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD has commanded you to love the LORD your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul [your very life]."

⁶So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

⁷Now to the one-half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua gave a possession on the west side of the Jordan among their brothers. So when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them,

⁸and he said to them, "Return to your tents with great riches and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers (fellow tribesmen)."

⁹So the sons (descendants) of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home and departed from the [other] sons (western tribes) of Israel at Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their own which they had possessed, in accordance with the command of the LORD through Moses.

¹⁰When they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, an altar that was great to behold.

¹¹And the [other] sons of Israel heard it said, "Look, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the edge of the land of Canaan, in the region [west] of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the sons of Israel."

¹²When the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh to make war against them.

¹³Then the sons of Israel sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest to the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead,

¹⁴and with him ten leaders, one leader from each father's household from each of the tribes of Israel; and each one was the head of his father's household among the thousands of Israel.

¹⁵They came to the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them,

¹⁶"This is what the entire congregation of the LORD says, 'What is this disloyal and unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, so as to turn away from following the LORD this day, by building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the LORD this day?

¹⁷Is the wrongdoing (idolatry) of Peor not enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, even though the affliction [in which twenty-four thousand died] came on the congregation of the LORD,

¹⁸that you would turn away this day from following the LORD? If you rebel against the LORD today, He will be angry with the entire congregation of Israel tomorrow.

¹⁹If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then cross into the land of the possession of the LORD, where the Lord's tabernacle is situated, and settle down among us. But do not rebel against the LORD, or rebel against us by building an altar for yourselves, besides the altar of the LORD our God [at Shiloh].

²⁰Did not Achan the son of Zerah act unfaithfully in the things under the ban, and [as a result God's] wrath came on the entire congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his wrongdoing.'"

²¹Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the families of Israel,

²²"The Mighty One, God, the LORD, the Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows, and may Israel itself know. If it was in rebellion, or if in an unfaithful act against the LORD, do not save us this day!

²³If we have built an altar for ourselves to turn away from following the LORD, or if [we did so] to offer a burnt offering or grain offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, may the LORD Himself require it [of us and hold us responsible].

²⁴But in truth we have done this out of concern, for a reason, saying, 'In time to come your sons (descendants) may say to our sons, "What claim do you have to the LORD, the God of Israel?

²⁵For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you sons of Reuben and sons of Gad; you have no part in the LORD." So your sons (descendants) may cause our sons to stop fearing the LORD.'

²⁶"So we said, 'Let us prepare and build an altar, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice,

²⁷but to be a witness between us and you and between the generations after us, that we are to perform the service of the LORD before Him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices and with our peace offerings, so that your sons (descendants) will not say to our sons in time to come, "You have no part in the LORD."'

²⁸"So we said, 'If your descendants should say this to us or to our descendants in time to come, then we can reply, "See the copy of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice, but rather it is a witness between us and you."'

²⁹Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD and turn away from following the LORD this day, by building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the LORD our God which is before His tabernacle [in Shiloh]."

³⁰So when Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the congregation and heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them.

³¹Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh, "Today we know that the LORD is among us, because you have not committed this unfaithful act against the LORD; indeed you have saved Israel from the hand of the LORD."

³²Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and brought back word to them.

³³The report pleased the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel blessed God; and they said no more about going to battle against them to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living.

³⁴The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Witness; "For it is a witness between us that the LORD is God."

¹A long time after that, when the LORD had given Israel rest from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua had grown old and advanced in years,

²that Joshua called all Israel, their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, "I am old and advanced in years.

³And you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake; for the LORD your God is He who has been fighting for you.

⁴See, I have allotted to you these nations that remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan [on the east] to the Great [Mediterranean] Sea toward the setting sun.

⁵The LORD your God will push them away from before you and drive them out of your sight and you will take possession of their land, just as the LORD your God promised you.

⁶Be steadfast and very determined to keep and to do everything that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, so that you do not turn aside from it to the right or the left,

⁷so that you do not associate with these nations which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear [an oath by them], or serve them, or bow down to them.

⁸But you are to cling to the LORD your God, just as you have done to this day.

⁹For the LORD has driven out great and mighty nations from before you; and as for you, no man has been able to stand [in opposition] before you to this day.

¹⁰One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who is fighting for you, just as He promised you.

¹¹So be very careful and watchful of yourselves to love the LORD your God.

¹²For if you ever turn back and cling to the rest of these nations, these that are left among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,

¹³know and understand with certainty that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.

¹⁴"Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God has promised concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.

¹⁵It shall come about that just as every good word which the LORD your God spoke and promised to you has been fulfilled for you, so the LORD will bring upon you every bad thing [about which He warned you], until He has destroyed and eliminated you from this good land which the LORD your God has given you.

¹⁶When you transgress (violate) the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you [to follow], and you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you."