Joshua 1–21

After the death of Moses the aservant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ bassistant, Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. cEvery place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. dFrom the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. eNo man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just fas I was with Moses, so gI will be with you. hI will not leave you or forsake you. iBe strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and jvery courageous, being careful to do according to all the law kthat Moses my servant commanded you. lDo not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success1 wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but myou shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? nBe strong and courageous. oDo not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

10 And Joshua commanded the pofficers of the people, 11 Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, Prepare your provisions, for qwithin three days ryou are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.

12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13 Remember the word that sMoses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land. 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, 15 tuntil the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. uThen you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.

16 And they answered Joshua, All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God vbe with you, as he was with Moses! 18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. wOnly be strong and courageous.

And Joshua the son of Nun xsent2 two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, Go, view the land, especially Jericho. And they went and came into the house of ya prostitute whose name was zRahab and lodged there. And it was told to the king of Jericho, Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land. Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land. But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan aas far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.

Before the men3 lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land, band that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land cmelt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord ddried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and ewhat you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to fSihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.4 11 And gas soon as we heard it, hour hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for ithe Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and jgive me a sure sign 13 that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death. 14 And the men said to her, Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the Lord gives us the land kwe will deal kindly and faithfully with you.

15 Then she llet them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. 16 And she said5 to them, Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way. 17 The men said to her, We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. 18 mBehold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, nand you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. 19 Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, ohis blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. 20 But if you ptell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear. 21 And she said, According to your words, so be it. Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

22 They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing. 23 Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and qpassed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them. 24 And they said to Joshua, Truly rthe Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land smelt away because of us.

Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out tfrom Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. uAt the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by vthe Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. wYet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits6 in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before. Then Joshua said to the people, xConsecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. And Joshua said to the priests, yTake up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people. So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.

The Lord said to Joshua, Today I will begin to zexalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, aas I was with Moses, so I will be with you. And as for you, command bthe priests who bear the ark of the covenant, When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, cyou shall stand still in the Jordan. And Joshua said to the people of Israel, Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 And Joshua said, Here is how you shall know that dthe living God is among you and that he will without fail edrive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of fthe Lord of all the earth7 gis passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore htake twelve men from the tribes of Israel, ifrom each tribe a man. 13 And jwhen the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, fthe Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall kstand in one heap.

14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing lthe ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and mthe feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now nthe Jordan overflows all its banks othroughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside pZarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of qthe Arabah, rthe Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, sand all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

When all the nation had finished passing tover the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, uTake twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, and command them, saying, Take vtwelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place wwhere the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in xthe place where you lodge tonight. Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. And Joshua said to them, Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, that this may be a sign among you. yWhen your children ask in time to come, What do those stones mean to you? then you shall tell them that zthe waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel aa memorial forever.

And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the Lord told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down8 there. And Joshua set up9 twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, bin the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day. 10 For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua.

The people passed over in haste. 11 And when all the people had finished passing over, the ark of the Lord and the priests passed over before the people. 12 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh cpassed over armed before the people of Israel, as Moses had told them. 13 About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14 On that day the Lord dexalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.

15 And the Lord said to Joshua, 16 Command the priests bearing ethe ark of the testimony to come up out of the Jordan. 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, Come up out of the Jordan. 18 And when the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up on dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, fas before.

19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at gGilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And hthose twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, iWhen your children ask their fathers in times to come, What do these stones mean? 22 then you shall let your children know, jIsrael passed over this Jordan on dry ground. 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, kwhich he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 lso that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mmighty, that you may nfear the Lord your God forever.10

As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites owho were by the sea, pheard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts qmelted and rthere was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.

At that time the Lord said to Joshua, Make sflint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time. So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.11 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: tall the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. For the people of Israel walked uforty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord; the Lord vswore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us, wa land flowing with milk and honey. So it was xtheir children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.

When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. And the Lord said to Joshua, Today I have rolled away the yreproach of Egypt from you. And so the name of that place is called zGilgal12 to this day.

10 While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover aon the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. 11 And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 And bthe manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

13 When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, ca man was standing before him dwith his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries? 14 And he said, No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come. And Joshua efell on his face to the earth and worshiped13 and said to him, What does my lord say to his servant? 15 And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, fTake off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so.

Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua, See, gI have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. Seven priests shall bear seven htrumpets of irams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and jthe priests shall blow the trumpets. And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat,14 and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him. So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord. And he said to the people, Go forward. March around the city and let kthe armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.

And just as Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them. The armed men were walking before the priests who were blowing the trumpets, and the lrear guard was walking after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. 10 But Joshua commanded the people, You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout. 11 So he caused the ark of the Lord to circle the city, going about it once. And they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

12 Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and mthe priests took up the ark of the Lord. 13 And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord walked on, and they blew the trumpets continually. And the armed men were walking before them, and the rear guard was walking after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets blew continually. 14 And the second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did for six days.

15 On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. 16 And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. 17 And the city and all that is within it shall be ndevoted to the Lord for destruction.15 Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she ohid the messengers whom we sent. 18 But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel pa thing for destruction and qbring trouble upon it. 19 But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord. 20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and rthe wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. 21 Then they sdevoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.

22 But to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, Go into the prostitute’s house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, tas you swore to her. 23 So the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab and uher father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. And they brought all her relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel. 24 And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it. vOnly the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. 25 But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And wshe has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

26 Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, xCursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho.

At the cost of his firstborn

shall he lay its foundation,

and at the cost of his youngest son

shall he set up its gates.

27 ySo the Lord was with Joshua, and zhis fame was in all the land.

But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for aAchan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.

Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near bBeth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, Go up and spy out the land. And the men went up and spied out Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said to him, Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few. So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And cthey fled before the men of Ai, and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people dmelted and became as water.

Then Joshua etore his clothes and ffell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put gdust on their heads. And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord God, hwhy have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and icut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?

10 The Lord said to Joshua, Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have jtransgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the kdevoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 lTherefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They mturn their backs before their enemies, because they have become ndevoted for destruction.16 I will be with you no more, unless you destroy othe devoted things from among you. 13 Get up! Consecrate the people and say, pConsecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you. 14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought near qby your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man. 15 rAnd he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has stransgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done tan outrageous thing in Israel.

16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the uZerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, My son, vgive glory to the Lord God of Israel and wgive praise17 to him. And xtell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me. 20 And Achan answered Joshua, Truly yI have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels,18 then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 23 And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the Lord. 24 And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the zValley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, Why did you abring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today. And all Israel bstoned him with stones. cThey burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him da great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then ethe Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor.19

And the Lord said to Joshua, fDo not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, gI have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did hto Jericho and its king. Only iits spoil and its livestock you shall take as plunder for yourselves. Lay an ambush against the city, behind it.

So Joshua and all the fighting men arose to go up to Ai. And Joshua chose 30,000 mighty men of valor and sent them out by night. And he commanded them, Behold, jyou shall lie in ambush against the city, behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you remain ready. And I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out against us kjust as before, we shall flee before them. And they will come out after us, until we have ldrawn them away from the city. For they will say, They are fleeing from us, just as before. So we will flee before them. Then you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will give it into your hand. And as soon as you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire. You shall do according to the word of the Lord. mSee, I have commanded you. So Joshua sent them out. And they went to the place of ambush and lay between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai, but Joshua spent that night among the people.

10 Joshua arose early in the morning and mustered the people and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. 11 And nall the fighting men who were with him went up and drew near before the city and encamped on the north side of Ai, with a ravine between them and Ai. 12 He took about 5,000 men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city. 13 So they stationed the forces, the main encampment that was north of the city and its rear guard west of the city. But Joshua spent that night in the valley. 14 And as soon as the king of Ai saw this, he and all his people, the men of the city, hurried and went out early to the appointed place20 toward othe Arabah to meet Israel in battle. pBut he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. 15 And Joshua and all Israel qpretended to be beaten before them and fled in the direction of the wilderness. 16 So all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and as they pursued Joshua they rwere drawn away from the city. 17 Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel.

18 Then the Lord said to Joshua, sStretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand. And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. 19 And the men in the ambush rose quickly out of their place, and as soon as he had stretched out his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it. And they hurried to set the city on fire. 20 So when the men of Ai looked back, behold, the smoke of the city went up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that, for the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers. 21 And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city, and that the smoke of the city went up, then they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. 22 And the others came out from the city against them, so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side. And Israel struck them down, until there was tleft none that survived or escaped. 23 But the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him near to Joshua.

24 When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them to the very last had fallen by the edge of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the edge of the sword. 25 And all who fell that day, both men and women, were 12,000, all the people of Ai. 26 But Joshua did not draw back his hand with which he ustretched out the javelin until he had devoted all the inhabitants of Ai to destruction.21 27 Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as their plunder, according to the word of the Lord that he vcommanded Joshua. 28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it forever a wheap of ruins, as it is to this day. 29 xAnd he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. yAnd at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city and zraised over it a great heap of stones, which stands there to this day.

30 At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, aon Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool. And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on bthe stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. 33 And all Israel, csojourner as well as native born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests dwho carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, ejust as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel. 34 And afterward fhe read all the words of the law, gthe blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, hand the women, and the little ones, and ithe sojourners who lived22 among them.

As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan jin the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast kof the Great Sea toward Lebanon, lthe Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.

But when the inhabitants of mGibeon heard what Joshua had done nto Jericho and oto Ai, they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. And they went to Joshua in pthe camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us. But the men of Israel said to qthe Hivites, Perhaps you live among us; then rhow can we make a covenant with you? They said to Joshua, sWe are your servants. And Joshua said to them, Who are you? And where do you come from? They said to him, tFrom a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. uFor we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 vand all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in wAshtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us. 12 Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey. 14 So the men took some of their provisions, but xdid not ask counsel from the Lord. 15 And Joshua ymade peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.

16 At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors zand that they lived among them. 17 And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. aNow their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the people of Israel did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders. 19 But all the leaders said to all the congregation, We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them: let them live, lest bwrath be upon us, cbecause of the oath that we swore to them. 21 And the leaders said to them, Let them live. So they became dcutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders ehad said of them.

22 Joshua summoned them, and he said to them, Why did you deceive us, saying, fWe are very far from you, when gyou dwell among us? 23 Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, hcutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God. 24 They answered Joshua, Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had icommanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before youso jwe feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. 25 And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it. 26 So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. 27 But Joshua made them that day kcutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, lin the place that he should choose.

As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction,23 mdoing to Ai and its king nas he had done to Jericho and its king, and ohow the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, phe24 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 warriors. So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For qit has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel. Then 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, rgathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it.

And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua sat the camp in Gilgal, saying, Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us. So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and tall the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. And the Lord said to Joshua, uDo not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. vNot a man of them shall stand before you. So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. 10 wAnd the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who25 struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of xthe ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 And as they fled before Israel, while they were xgoing down the ascent of Beth-horon, ythe Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

12 At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

zSun, stand still at Gibeon,

and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.

13  And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,

until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 14 aThere has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for bthe Lord fought for Israel.

15 So cJoshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

16 These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at dMakkedah. 17 And it was told to Joshua, The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah. 18 And Joshua said, Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them, 19 but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; eattack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand. 20 When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow funtil they were wiped out, and when the remnant that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, 21 then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. gNot a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel.

22 Then Joshua said, Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave. 23 And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24 And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings. Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. 25 And Joshua said to them, hDo not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. iFor thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight. 26 And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And jthey hung on the trees until evening. 27 But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and kthey took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.

28 As for lMakkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah mjust as he had done to the king of Jericho.

29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to nLibnah and fought against Libnah. 30 And the Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king mas he had done to the king of Jericho.

31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to oLachish and laid siege to it and fought against it. 32 And the Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.

33 Then Horam king of pGezer came up to help Lachish. And Joshua struck him and his people, until he left none remaining.

34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to qEglon. And they laid siege to it and fought against it. 35 And they captured it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword. And he devoted every person in it to destruction that day, as he had done to Lachish.

36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to rHebron. And they fought against it 37 and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it. He left none remaining, as he had done to Eglon, and devoted it to destruction and every person in it.

38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to sDebir and fought against it 39 and he captured it with its king and all its towns. And they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. Just as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and to its king.

40 So Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland tand the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, ubut devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded. 41 And Joshua struck them from vKadesh-barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of wGoshen, as far as Gibeon. 42 And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, xbecause the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. 43 yThen Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he zsent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the aArabah south of bChinneroth, and in the lowland, and cin Naphoth-dor on the dwest, to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the eJebusites in the hill country, and the fHivites under gHermon in the land of hMizpah. And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number ilike the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

And the Lord said to Joshua, jDo not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall khamstring their horses and burn their lchariots with fire. So Joshua and all his warriors came msuddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. And the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as nGreat Sidon and oMisrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of pMizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. And Joshua did to them qjust as the Lord said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

10 And Joshua turned back at that time and captured rHazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms. 11 And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction;26 sthere was none left that breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. 12 And all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua captured, and struck them with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction, tjust as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. 13 But none of the cities that stood on mounds did Israel burn, except Hazor alone; that Joshua burned. 14 And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the people of Israel took for their plunder. But every person they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed. 15 uJust as the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, vso Moses commanded Joshua, wand so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

16 So Joshua took all that land, xthe hill country and all the Negeb and yall the land of Goshen zand the lowland zand the Arabah aand the hill country of Israel and its lowland 17 bfrom Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as cBaal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon below dMount Hermon. And he captured eall their kings and struck them and put them to death. 18 Joshua made war fa long time with all those kings. 19 There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except gthe Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. 20 For it was the Lord’s doing hto harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, ijust as the Lord commanded Moses.

21 And Joshua came at that time and cut off jthe Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. 22 There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, kin Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, laccording to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. mAnd Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel naccording to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.

Now these are the kings of the land whom the people of Israel defeated and took possession of their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, from othe Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon, with all pthe Arabah eastward: qSihon king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and rfrom the middle of the valley as far as the sriver Jabbok, the boundary of the Ammonites, that is, half of Gilead, and pthe Arabah tto the Sea of Chinneroth eastward, and in the direction of Beth-jeshimoth, to the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, southward to the foot of uthe slopes of Pisgah; and vOg27 king of Bashan, one of the remnant of wthe Rephaim, xwho lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei and ruled over yMount Hermon and zSalecah and all Bashan ato the boundary of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and over half of Gilead to the boundary of Sihon king of Heshbon. bMoses, the servant of the Lord, and the people of Israel defeated them. And Moses the servant of the Lord cgave their land for a possession to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to dMount Halak, that rises toward Seir (and Joshua gave their land to the tribes of Israel as a possession eaccording to their allotments, fin the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the Negeb, the land of gthe Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites): hthe king of Jericho, one; ithe king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; 10 jthe king of Jerusalem, one; jthe king of Hebron, one; 11 jthe king of Jarmuth, one; jthe king of Lachish, one; 12 jthe king of Eglon, one; kthe king of Gezer, one; 13 lthe king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; 14 the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; 15 mthe king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; 16 nthe king of Makkedah, one; othe king of Bethel, one; 17 the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one; 18 the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one; 19 pthe king of Madon, one; qthe king of Hazor, one; 20 pthe king of Shimron-meron, one; pthe king of Achshaph, one; 21 rthe king of Taanach, one; rthe king of Megiddo, one; 22 the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; 23 rthe king of Dor in sNaphath-dor, one; the king of Goiim in Galilee,28 one; 24 the king of Tirzah, one: in all, thirty-one kings.

Now Joshua twas old and advanced in years, and the Lord said to him, You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land uto possess. vThis is the land that yet remains: all the wregions of the Philistines, and all those of the Geshurites (from the xShihor, which is east of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron, it is counted as Canaanite; ythere are five rulers of the Philistines, those of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron), and those of zthe Avvim, in the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, to Aphek, to the boundary of athe Amorites, and the land of the bGebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from cBaal-gad below Mount Hermon to dLebo-hamath, all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to eMisrephoth-maim, even all the Sidonians. I myself will drive fthem out from before the people of Israel. Only gallot the land to Israel hfor an inheritance, as I have commanded you. Now therefore idivide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.

With the other half of the tribe of Manasseh29 the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, jwhich Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of the Lord gave them: kfrom Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and lall the tableland of Medeba as far as Dibon; 10 mand all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the boundary of the Ammonites; 11 and Gilead, and the nregion of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and nall Bashan to Salecah; 12 nall the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of nthe remnant of the Rephaim); othese Moses had struck and driven out. 13 pYet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day.

14 qTo the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him.

15 And Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the people of Reuben according to their clans. 16 So their territory was from Aroer, rwhich is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the tableland by sMedeba; 17 with Heshbon, and all its cities that are in the tableland; sDibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon, 18 tand Jahaz, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, 19 and uKiriathaim, and uSibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, 20 and vBeth-peor, and wthe slopes of Pisgah, and wBeth-jeshimoth, 21 that is, xall the cities of the tableland, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, ywhom Moses defeated with zthe leaders of Midian, Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land. 22 zBalaam also, the son of Beor, the one who practiced divination, was killed with the sword by the people of Israel among the rest of their slain. 23 And the border of the people of Reuben was the Jordan as a boundary. This was the inheritance of the people of Reuben, according to their clans with their cities and villages.

24 Moses gave an inheritance also to the tribe of Gad, to the people of Gad, according to their clans. 25 aTheir territory was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites, to Aroer, which is east of bRabbah, 26 and from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from cMahanaim to the territory of Debir,30 27 and in the valley Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, dSuccoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, having the Jordan as a boundary, to the lower end of the Sea of eChinnereth, eastward beyond the Jordan. 28 This is the inheritance of the people of Gad according to their clans, with their cities and villages.

29 And Moses gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh. It was allotted to the half-tribe of the people of Manasseh according to their clans. 30 Their region extended from fMahanaim, through all Bashan, the whole kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all gthe towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities, 31 and half Gilead, and hAshtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. These were allotted to the people of iMachir the son of Manasseh for the half of the people of Machir according to their clans.

32 These are the inheritances that Moses distributed jin the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan east of Jericho. 33 kBut to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the Lord God of Israel is their inheritance, kjust as he said to them.

These are the inheritances that the people of Israel received in the land of Canaan, which lEleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel gave them to inherit. Their inheritance was mby lot, just as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses for the nine and one-half tribes. nFor Moses had given an inheritance to the two and one-half tribes beyond the Jordan, obut to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. For pthe people of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in, with their pasturelands for their livestock and their substance. The people of Israel did qas the Lord commanded Moses; they allotted the land.

Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the rKenizzite said to him, You know swhat the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord tsent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. But umy brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, vSurely the land won which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God. 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, xjust as he said, these yforty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day yeighty-five years old. 11 zI am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and afor going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the bAnakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.

13 Then Joshua cblessed him, and he gave dHebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. 14 Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, ebecause he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 fNow the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba.31 (Arba32 was the greatest man among the Anakim.) gAnd the land had rest from war.

The allotment for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans reached southward hto the boundary of Edom, to ithe wilderness of Zin at the farthest south. And their south boundary ran from the end of the hSalt Sea, from the bay that faces southward. It goes out southward of jthe ascent of Akrabbim, passes along to Zin, and goes up south of Kadesh-barnea, along by Hezron, up to Addar, turns about to Karka, passes along to Azmon, goes out by kthe Brook of Egypt, and comes to its end at the sea. This shall be your south boundary. And the east boundary is the hSalt Sea, to the mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary goes up to lBeth-hoglah and passes along north of mBeth-arabah. And the boundary goes up to nthe stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. And the boundary goes up to Debir from othe Valley of Achor, and so northward, turning toward Gilgal, which is opposite pthe ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley. And the boundary passes along to the waters of pEn-shemesh and ends at qEn-rogel. Then the boundary goes up by rthe Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the southern shoulder of the Jebusite (sthat is, Jerusalem). And the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the Valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the Valley tof Rephaim. Then the boundary extends from the top of the mountain uto the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and from there to the cities of Mount Ephron. Then the boundary bends around to Baalah (vthat is, Kiriath-jearim). 10 And the boundary circles west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passes along to the northern shoulder of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), and goes down to wBeth-shemesh and passes along by xTimnah. 11 The boundary goes out yto the shoulder of the hill north of Ekron, then the boundary bends around to Shikkeron and passes along to Mount zBaalah and goes out to Jabneel. Then the boundary comes to an end at the sea. 12 And the west boundary was athe Great Sea with its coastline. This is the boundary around the people of Judah according to their clans.

13 According to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the people of Judah, bKiriath-arba, that is, bHebron (Arba was the father of Anak). 14 And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, cSheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the descendants of Anak. 15 And he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir. dNow the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher. 16 And Caleb said, He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter as wife. 17 eAnd Othniel the son of Kenaz, fthe brother of Caleb, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. 18 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, What do you want? 19 She said to him, Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans. 21 The cities belonging to the tribe of the people of Judah in the extreme south, toward the boundary of Edom, were Kabzeel, gEder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 hZiph, Telem, Bealoth, 25 Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27 Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, 28 Hazar-shual, iBeersheba, Biziothiah, 29 Baalah, Iim, Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, 31 jZiklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon: in all, twenty-nine cities with their villages.

33 And in the lowland, kEshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35 lJarmuth, mAdullam, nSocoh, nAzekah, 36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, Gederothaim: fourteen cities with their villages.

37 Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, 38 Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel, 39 oLachish, Bozkath, pEglon, 40 Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and qMakkedah: sixteen cities with their villages.

42 rLibnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 sKeilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine cities with their villages.

45 tEkron, with its towns and its villages; 46 from Ekron to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod, with their villages.

47 tAshdod, its towns and its villages; tGaza, its towns and its villages; to uthe Brook of Egypt, and vthe Great Sea with its coastline.

48 And in the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, 49 Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (wthat is, Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 xGoshen, Holon, and yGiloh: eleven cities with their villages.

52 Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 53 Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, zKiriath-arba (that is, zHebron), and Zior: nine cities with their villages.

55 aMaon, aCarmel, bZiph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and cTimnah: ten cities with their villages.

58 Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon: six cities with their villages.

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

61 In the wilderness, eBeth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and fEngedi: six cities with their villages.

63 But the gJebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, hthe people of Judah could not drive out, hso the Jebusites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

The allotment of the people of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, iinto the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel. Then jgoing from Bethel to Luz, it passes along to Ataroth, the territory of the Archites. Then it goes down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of Lower kBeth-horon, then to lGezer, and it ends at the sea.

mThe people of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.

The territory of the people of Ephraim by their clans was as follows: the boundary of their inheritance on the east was nAtaroth-addar as far as Upper Beth-horon, and the boundary goes from there to the sea. On the north is oMichmethath. Then on the east the boundary turns around toward Taanath-shiloh and passes along beyond it on the east to Janoah, then it goes down from Janoah to Ataroth and pto Naarah, and touches Jericho, ending at the Jordan. From qTappuah the boundary goes westward to the brook Kanah and ends at the sea. Such is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Ephraim by their clans, together with qthe towns that were set apart for the people of Ephraim within the inheritance of the Manassites, all those towns with their villages. 10 However, rthey did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made sto do forced labor.

Then allotment was made to the people of Manasseh, for he was tthe firstborn of Joseph. To uMachir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, vwere allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. And allotments were made wto the rest of the people of Manasseh by their clans, Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph, by their clans.

Now xZelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters, and these are the names of his daughters: xMahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They approached yEleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the leaders and said, zThe Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brothers. So according to the mouth of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father. Thus there fell to Manasseh ten portions, besides athe land of Gilead and Bashan, which is on the other side of the Jordan, because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance along with his sons. The land of Gilead was allotted to the rest of the people of Manasseh.

The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to bMichmethath, which is east of Shechem. Then the boundary goes along southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. The land of cTappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah on the boundary of Manasseh belonged to the people of Ephraim. cThen the boundary went down to the brook Kanah. These cities, to the south of the brook, among the cities of Manasseh, belong to Ephraim. Then the boundary of Manasseh goes on the north side of the brook and ends at the sea, 10 the land to the south being Ephraim’s and that to the north being Manasseh’s, with the sea forming its boundary. On the north Asher is reached, and on the east Issachar. 11 Also in Issachar and in Asher dManasseh had Beth-shean and its villages, and Ibleam and its villages, and the inhabitants of dDor and its villages, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of dTaanach and its villages, and the inhabitants of dMegiddo and its villages; ethe third is Naphath.33 12 fYet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 13 Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites gto forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

14 Then hthe people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, Why have you given me but ione lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am ja numerous people, since all along the Lord has blessed me? 15 And Joshua said to them, If you are a numerous people, go up by yourselves to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and kthe Rephaim, since lthe hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you. 16 The people of Joseph said, The hill country is not enough for us. Yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have mchariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in nthe Valley of Jezreel. 17 Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, You are a numerous people and have great power. You shall not have one allotment only, 18 but 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, othough they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.

Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at pShiloh and set up qthe tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.

There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. So Joshua said to the people of Israel, rHow long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. They shall divide it into seven portions. sJudah shall continue in his territory on the south, tand the house of Joseph shall continue in their territory on the north. And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. uAnd I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. vThe Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage. wAnd Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.

So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh. So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, 10 and Joshua xcast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, yto each his portion.

11 The lot of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to its clans came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the people of Judah and the people of Joseph. 12 zOn the north side their boundary began at the Jordan. aThen the boundary goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward, and it ends at the wilderness of bBeth-aven. 13 From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of cLuz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to dAtaroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower eBeth-horon. 14 Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the fwestern side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal (gthat is, Kiriath-jearim), a city belonging to the people of Judah. This forms the western side. 15 And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. And the boundary goes from there to Ephron,34 gto the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. 16 Then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks hthe Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of iRephaim. And it then goes down the hValley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and downward to jEn-rogel. 17 Then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim. Then it goes down to kthe stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, 18 and passing on to the north of lthe shoulder of Beth-arabah35 it goes down to lthe Arabah. 19 Then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of kBeth-hoglah. And the boundary ends at the northern bay of mthe Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border. 20 The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, according to their clans, boundary by boundary all around.

21 Now the cities of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to their clans were nJericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, Gebatwelve cities with their villages: 25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zela, Haeleph, oJebus36 (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah37 and Kiriath-jearim38fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin according to its clans.

The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the people of Simeon, according to their clans, pand their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the people of Judah. qAnd they had for their inheritance Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhenthirteen cities with their villages; Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashanfour cities with their villages, together with all the villages around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negeb. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Simeon according to their clans. rThe inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah. Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.

10 The third lot came up for the people of Zebulun, according to their clans. And the territory of their inheritance reached as far as Sarid. 11 Then their boundary goes up swestward and on to Mareal and touches Dabbesheth, then the brook that is east of tJokneam. 12 From Sarid it goes in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise to the boundary of Chisloth-tabor. From there it goes to Daberath, then up to Japhia. 13 From there it passes along on the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and going on to Rimmon it bends toward Neah, 14 then on the north the boundary turns about to Hannathon, and it ends at the Valley of Iphtahel; 15 and Kattath, Nahalal, uShimron, Idalah, and Bethlehemtwelve cities with their villages. 16 This is the inheritance of the people of Zebulun, according to their clansthese cities with their villages.

17 The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the people of Issachar, according to their clans. 18 Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, vShunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, Beth-pazzez. 22 The boundary also touches Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and its boundary ends at the Jordansixteen cities with their villages. 23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Issachar, according to their clansthe cities with their villages.

24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the people of Asher according to their clans. 25 Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west it touches wCarmel and Shihor-libnath, 27 then it turns eastward, it goes to Beth-dagon, and touches Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel. Then it continues in the north to xCabul, 28 Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, as far as ySidon the Great. 29 Then the boundary turns to Ramah, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre. Then the boundary turns to Hosah, and it ends at the sea; Mahalab,39 Achzib, 30 Ummah, Aphek and Rehobtwenty-two cities with their villages.

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2 View All Leviticus 19:27