Joshua

1

¹ After the death of Moses the servant of Jehovah, Jehovah spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ attendant, saying,
² Moses My servant is dead; now then arise, and cross over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land which I am giving to them, to the children of Israel.
³ Every place on which the sole of your foot treads I have given to you, as I promised Moses.
⁴ From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.
⁵ No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you nor forsake you.
⁶ Be strong and take courage, for you will cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give to them.
⁷ Only be strong and very courageous, being certain to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you. Do not turn away from it to the right or to the left, that you may have success wherever you go.
⁸ This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall muse upon it day and night so that you may be certain to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success.
⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and take courage; do not be afraid or dismayed. For Jehovah your God is with you wherever you go.
¹⁰ Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
¹¹ Go through the midst of the camp, and command the people, saying, Prepare provisions for yourselves, for in three days you are to cross this Jordan to enter and possess the land which Jehovah your God is giving you to possess.
¹² And to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua spoke, saying,
¹³ Remember the word which Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, saying, Jehovah your God has given you rest and will give you this land.
¹⁴ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses has given you beyond the Jordan; but you yourselves shall cross over in battle array before your brothers, all the mighty men of valor; and you shall help them,
¹⁵ Until Jehovah gives rest to your brothers as He has to you, and they also possess the land which Jehovah your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession, and you will possess that which Moses the servant of Jehovah has given you beyond the Jordan toward the rising of the sun.
¹⁶ And they answered Joshua, saying, All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
¹⁷ As in all things we listened to Moses, so we will listen to you. Only may Jehovah your God be with you, as He was with Moses.
¹⁸ Any man who rebels against your command or does not listen to your words in all that you command him, let him be put to death. Only be strong and take courage.

2

¹ Then Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent out from Shittim two men as spies, saying, Go, view the land, especially Jericho. And they went and entered the house of a woman who was a harlot, whose name was Rahab; and they lay down there.
² And the king of Jericho was told, saying, There are some men who have now come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the land.
³ Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, Bring out the men who have come to you and who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.
⁴ And the woman took the two men and hid them. And she said, Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
⁵ And when it was time to shut the gate at dark, the men went out; I do not know where the men have gone. Pursue quickly after them, for you can overtake them.
⁶ But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof.
⁷ So the men pursued after them on the way toward the Jordan as far as the fords. And as soon as those who pursued after them went out, the gate was shut.
⁸ And before the spies lay down, she went up to them on the roof;
⁹ And she said to the men, I know that Jehovah has given you the land, and that the dread of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt before you.
¹⁰ For we have heard how Jehovah dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
¹¹ When we heard, our hearts melted; and there no longer remained any spirit in any man because of you; for Jehovah your God, He is God in heaven above and upon earth beneath.
¹² So now, swear to me by Jehovah, I beg you, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s house; and give me some token of trust,
¹³ That you will preserve my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death.
¹⁴ And the men said to her, Our life for yours! If you do not utter anything of this matter concerning us, then when Jehovah gives the land to us, we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.
¹⁵ Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the wall of the city and she dwelt on the wall.
¹⁶ And she said to them, Go to the mountain, so that your pursuers do not come upon you; and hide yourselves there for three days, until your pursuers return; then afterward you can go on your way.
¹⁷ And the men said to her, We will be released from this oath to you that you made us swear,
¹⁸ Unless, when we enter the land, you tie this line of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s house to you in your house.
¹⁹ And anyone who goes forth from the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be upon his own head, and we will be innocent. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood will be upon our heads if a hand should come upon him.
²⁰ But if you utter anything of this matter concerning us, we will be released from this oath to you that you made us swear.
²¹ And she said, According to your words, so shall it be. Then she sent them away, and they left. And she tied the scarlet line in the window.
²² And they left and came to the mountain, and they remained there for three days, until their pursuers returned. And although their pursuers searched the entire way, they could not find them.
²³ Then the two men returned and came down from the mountain, and they crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun. And they related to him all that had happened to them.
²⁴ And they said to Joshua, Jehovah has indeed given all the land into our hand; moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt before us.

3

¹ Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel; and they stayed there overnight, before they crossed over.
² And at the end of three days the officers went through the midst of the camp,
³ And they commanded the people, saying, When you see the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah your God and the Levitical priests bearing it, you shall set out from your place and go after it.
⁴ But there shall be a space between you and it of about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, so that you may know the way by which you must go; for you have not passed this way before.
⁵ And Joshua said to the people, Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow Jehovah will do wondrous things in your midst.
⁶ Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, Take up the Ark of the Covenant, and cross over before the people. And they took up the Ark of the Covenant and went before the people.
⁷ And Jehovah said to Joshua, On this day I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, I will be with you.
⁸ And you shall command the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant, saying, When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.
⁹ Then Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come here and hear the words of Jehovah your God.
¹⁰ And Joshua said, By this you will know that the living God is in your midst, and that He will most certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites.
¹¹ The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth is now crossing over before you into the Jordan.
¹² Therefore now take twelve men for yourselves out of the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.
¹³ And when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the Ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, come to rest in the waters of the Jordan; the waters of the Jordan, the waters that flow down from upstream, will be cut off, and they will stand in a heap.
¹⁴ And so it happened that when the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were before the people.
¹⁵ And when those who carried the Ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who carried the Ark dipped into the edge of the water (now the Jordan overflowed all its banks throughout all the days of the harvest),
¹⁶ The waters that flowed down from upstream stood and rose up in a heap a great distance away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those that flowed down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people crossed over from opposite Jericho.
¹⁷ And the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel was crossing over on dry ground, until all the nation had completely crossed over the Jordan.

4

¹ And when all the nation had completely crossed over the Jordan, Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying,
² Take for yourselves twelve men from among the people, one man from each tribe;
³ And command them, saying, Take up for yourselves from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones; and bring them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.
⁴ So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from among the children of Israel, one man from each tribe.
⁵ And Joshua said to them, Pass on before the Ark of Jehovah your God into the middle of the Jordan, and every one of you lift up one stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel,
⁶ That this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, saying, What do these stones mean to you?
⁷ You shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. Thus these stones will be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.
⁸ And the children of Israel did as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, as Jehovah told Joshua to do, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel. And they brought them over with them to the place where they were to lodge, and they laid them down there.
⁹ Then Joshua erected twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.
¹⁰ And the priests who carried the Ark stood in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that Jehovah had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed over.
¹¹ And when all the people had completely crossed over, the Ark of Jehovah with the priests crossed over before the people.
¹² And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle array before the children of Israel, as Moses had told them to do;
¹³ About forty thousand equipped for war crossed over before Jehovah into the plains of Jericho for battle.
¹⁴ On that day Jehovah magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they revered him as they had revered Moses all the days of his life.
¹⁵ Then Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying,
¹⁶ Command the priests who carry the Ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan.
¹⁷ And Joshua commanded the priests, saying, Come up out of the Jordan.
¹⁸ And when the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah came up out from the middle of the Jordan, when the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up onto the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and went over all its banks as before.
¹⁹ And the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal, at the eastern edge of Jericho.
²⁰ And those twelve stones, which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua erected in Gilgal.
²¹ And he spoke to the children of Israel, saying, When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What do these stones mean?
²² You shall let your children know, saying, On dry ground Israel crossed over this Jordan.
²³ For Jehovah your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you crossed over, as Jehovah your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we crossed over;
²⁴ That all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of Jehovah, that it is mighty; that you may fear Jehovah your God always.

5

¹ Now when all the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, who were by the sea, heard that Jehovah had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the children of Israel until they crossed over, their hearts melted, and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the children of Israel.
² At that time Jehovah said to Joshua, Make knives of flint, and circumcise again the children of Israel a second time.
³ And Joshua made knives of flint and circumcised the children of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.
⁴ And this is the reason Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt.
⁵ Although all the people who came out were circumcised, all the people who were born in the wilderness on the way, after the others had come out of Egypt, had not been circumcised.
⁶ For the children of Israel went for forty years through the wilderness until all the nation, the men of war who had come out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not listen to the voice of Jehovah, they to whom Jehovah swore that they would not see the land that Jehovah had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
⁷ And their children, whom He had raised up in place of them, these Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them on the way.
⁸ And when they had finished circumcising the whole nation, they remained in their place at the camp until they recovered.
⁹ Then Jehovah said to Joshua, Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. So the name of that place has been called Gilgal to this day.
¹⁰ And the children of Israel camped in Gilgal; and they held the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho.
¹¹ And on the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain.
¹² And the manna ceased on that day, when they ate of the produce of the land; and there was no longer manna for the children of Israel, but they ate of the yield of the land of Canaan that year.
¹³ Now once, when Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked; and behold, there was a man standing opposite him, and His sword was drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, Are You for us or for our adversaries?
¹⁴ And He said, Neither, but as the Captain of Jehovah’s army have I now come. Then Joshua fell to the ground upon his face and worshipped. And he said to Him, What does my Lord speak to His servant?
¹⁵ And the Captain of Jehovah’s army said to Joshua, Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so.

6

¹ Now Jericho was shut up so tight because of the children of Israel that no one went out and no one went in.
² And Jehovah said to Joshua, See, I have given Jericho and its king and the mighty men of valor into your hand.
³ And you shall circle the city, all the men of valor, going around the city one time. Thus shall you do for six days.
⁴ And seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Ark. Then on the seventh day you shall circle the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
⁵ And when they give off the blast of the ram’s horn and you hear the trumpet sound, all the people shall shout with a great shout. And the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, each straight ahead.
⁶ So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, Take up the Ark of the Covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Ark of Jehovah.
⁷ And he said to the people, Pass on and circle the city, and let the armed men pass on before the Ark of Jehovah.
⁸ Then when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before Jehovah passed on and blew the trumpets; and the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah went after them.
⁹ And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets; and the rearguard went after the Ark, the trumpets continually blowing.
¹⁰ And Joshua commanded the people, saying, You shall not shout, nor let your voice be heard, nor let a word go forth from your mouth, until the day I say to you, Shout! Then you shall shout.
¹¹ So he had the Ark of Jehovah circle the city, going around it one time. And they came into the camp and lodged in the camp.
¹² And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the Ark of Jehovah.
¹³ And the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns went before the Ark of Jehovah, continually blowing the trumpets; and the armed men went before them, and the rearguard went after the Ark of Jehovah, the trumpets continually blowing.
¹⁴ And they circled the city on the second day one time and returned to the camp. This they did for six days.
¹⁵ Then on the seventh day they rose early, at the break of dawn, and circled the city in the same manner seven times. Only on that day did they circle the city seven times.
¹⁶ And at the seventh time the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua said to the people, Shout! For Jehovah has given you the city.
¹⁷ And the city shall be devoted to Jehovah for destruction, it and all that is in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in her house, because she hid the messengers we sent.
¹⁸ But as for you, keep yourselves from what has been devoted to destruction, lest you devote yourselves to destruction by taking of what has been devoted and you make the camp of Israel something devoted to destruction and bring trouble to it.
¹⁹ But all the silver and the gold and the vessels of bronze and iron, these are holy to Jehovah; they shall come into the treasury of Jehovah.
²⁰ So the people shouted and the trumpets were blown; and when the people heard the trumpet sound, the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat. And the people went up into the city, each straight ahead, and they captured the city.
²¹ And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city with the edge of the sword: both men and women, young and old, and oxen and sheep and donkeys.
²² And Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, Go to the house of the harlot, and bring out from there the woman and all that belongs to her, as you swore to her.
²³ And the young men who had been spies went and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all that belonged to her; all her family they brought out and set outside the camp of Israel.
²⁴ And they burned the city with fire and all that was in it; but the silver and the gold and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put in the treasury of the house of Jehovah.
²⁵ And Joshua preserved Rahab the harlot and her father’s house and all that belonged to her, and she has dwelt within Israel to this day; for she hid the messengers whom Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho.
²⁶ Then at that time Joshua charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man before Jehovah who rises up to rebuild this city Jericho! At the cost of his firstborn son shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.
²⁷ So Jehovah was with Joshua, and reports of him were in all the land.

7

¹ But the children of Israel acted unfaithfully in that which was devoted to destruction, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of that which was devoted to destruction; and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the children of Israel.
² Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, east of Bethel; and he spoke to them, saying, Go up and spy out the land. So the men went up and spied out Ai.
³ And they returned to Joshua and said to him, Not all the people need go up; let about two or three thousand men go up and strike Ai. Do not make all the people labor there, for the enemies are few.
⁴ So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled before the men of Ai.
⁵ And the men of Ai struck some of them, about thirty-six men; and they pursued them from before the gate unto Shebarim and struck them on the slope. And the heart of the people melted and became like water.
⁶ And Joshua rent his clothes and fell to the ground upon his face before the Ark of Jehovah until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon their heads.
⁷ And Joshua said, Ah, Lord Jehovah! Why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all? To give us over into the hand of the Amorites and cause us to perish? If only we had been content to dwell across the Jordan!
⁸ O Lord, what can I say after Israel has turned its back before its enemies?
⁹ For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?
¹⁰ Then Jehovah said to Joshua, Rise up! Why have you fallen upon your face?
¹¹ Israel has sinned. Indeed they have trespassed My covenant, which I commanded them; indeed they have taken of that which was devoted to destruction; indeed they have stolen; indeed they have been deceptive; indeed they have put it among their goods.
¹² Thus the children of Israel are not able to stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become something devoted to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy that which was devoted to destruction from among you.
¹³ Rise up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, There is something devoted to destruction among you, O Israel; you will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove that which was devoted to destruction from among you.
¹⁴ Therefore in the morning you shall be brought near by your tribes; and the tribe which Jehovah takes shall draw near family by family; and the family which Jehovah takes shall draw near house by house; and the house which Jehovah takes shall draw near warrior by warrior.
¹⁵ And he who is taken with that which was devoted to destruction shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has trespassed the covenant of Jehovah and because he has committed folly in Israel.
¹⁶ So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken.
¹⁷ And he brought the family of Judah near, and the family of the Zerahites was taken. And he brought the family of the Zerahites near warrior by warrior, and Zabdi was taken.
¹⁸ And he brought the house of Zabdi near warrior by warrior, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
¹⁹ And Joshua said to Achan, My son, give glory to Jehovah the God of Israel, and make confession to Him. And tell me what you have done; do not hide anything from me.
²⁰ Then Achan answered Joshua and said, It is true; I have sinned against Jehovah the God of Israel; and this is what I did:
²¹ When I saw among the spoil a beautiful mantle of Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And now they are hidden in the earth in my tent, with the silver under it.
²² And Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent. And there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it.
²³ And they took the things from within the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and spread them out before Jehovah.
²⁴ Then Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah and the silver and the mantle and the wedge of gold, and his sons and his daughters and his oxen and his donkeys and his sheep and his tent and all that he had; and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor.
²⁵ And Joshua said, Why have you troubled us? Jehovah will trouble you this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire when they had stoned them with stones.
²⁶ Then they erected over him a great heap of stones, which is there to this day; and Jehovah turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.

8

¹ Then Jehovah said to Joshua, Do not be afraid or dismayed. Take all the people of war with you, and rise and go up to Ai. See, I have given the king of Ai and his people and his city and his land into your hand.
² And you shall do to Ai and to its king as you did to Jericho and to its king; except its spoil and its cattle you shall take for your plunder. Set an ambush for the city behind it.
³ So Joshua rose up with all the people of war to go up to Ai. And Joshua chose thirty thousand men, mighty men of valor, and sent them out by night.
⁴ And he commanded them, saying, See, you shall lie in ambush for the city behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, and all of you be ready.
⁵ And I and all the people who are with me will draw near to the city. Then when they come forth to meet us, as it was the first time, we will flee before them.
⁶ And they will come out after us until we have drawn them out from the city, for they will say, They are fleeing before us as they did the first time. Thus we will flee before them.
⁷ Then you shall rise up from the ambush and take possession of the city, for Jehovah your God will give it into your hand.
⁸ And when you capture the city, you shall set the city on fire. You shall do according to the word of Jehovah. See, I have commanded you.
⁹ Then Joshua sent them forth; and they went to the place of ambush, and they stayed between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. And Joshua spent that night among the people.
¹⁰ And Joshua rose early in the morning and mustered the people; and he and the elders of Israel went up before the people to Ai.
¹¹ And all the people of war who were with him went up and drew near and came before the city. And they camped to the north of Ai, so that the valley was between them and Ai.
¹² Now he had taken about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the city.
¹³ So they set the people, the whole camp, which was north of the city, and the rearguard to the west of the city. And Joshua went into the valley that night.
¹⁴ Now when the king of Ai saw this, the men of the city hurried and rose up early and went to meet Israel in battle, he and all his people, at the assigned place, facing the Arabah; for he did not know that there was an ambush set for him behind the city.
¹⁵ And Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them, and they fled by the way of the wilderness.
¹⁶ Then all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue after them; and they pursued after Joshua and thus were drawn out of the city.
¹⁷ And not a man was left in Ai or in Bethel who did not go forth after Israel, but they abandoned the city, leaving it open, and pursued after Israel.
¹⁸ Then Jehovah said to Joshua, Stretch 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 ambush rose up quickly from their place and ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and they entered the city and captured it; and they hurried and set the city on fire.
²⁰ And when the men of Ai turned to see behind them, they looked, and there it was — the smoke of the city going up to heaven; and they had no way to flee this way or that way when the people who had fled into the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.
²¹ When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city was rising, they turned and slew the men of Ai.
²² And the others came out from the city to meet them, so that they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side. And they struck them, so that no one was left to survive or escape.
²³ But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
²⁴ And when Israel had finished slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they had pursued them, and all of them had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword.
²⁵ And all those who fell that day, both of men and of women, were twelve thousand, all the people of Ai.
²⁶ And Joshua did not withdraw his hand with which he stretched out the javelin until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai.
²⁷ Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for themselves as plunder, according to the word of Jehovah, which He commanded Joshua.
²⁸ So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever; it is a desolation to this day.
²⁹ And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening time. And when the sun set, Joshua commanded, and they took his corpse down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and they erected over him a great heap of stones, which is there to this day.
³⁰ Then Joshua built an altar to Jehovah the God of Israel on Mount Ebal,
³¹ As Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of unhewn stones upon which no one had lifted up an iron tool. And they offered upon it burnt offerings to Jehovah, and they sacrificed peace offerings.
³² And there he wrote upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written in the presence of the children of Israel.
³³ And all Israel and their elders and their officers and their judges stood on either side of the Ark in front of the Levitical priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah, both sojourner and native alike: half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of Jehovah had first commanded, to bless the people of Israel.
³⁴ And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that was written in the book of the law.
³⁵ There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read before all the congregation of Israel and the women and the little ones and the sojourners who went among them.

9

¹ And when all the kings who were across the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland and on all the shore of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this,
² They gathered themselves together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one accord.
³ But the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,
⁴ And so they too acted craftily. And they went out as though they were envoys; and they took old sacks upon their donkeys, and old torn up and bound up wineskins,
⁵ And old patched sandals on their feet, and old garments upon themselves; and all the bread of their provisions was dry and had become moldy.
⁶ And they went to Joshua at the camp of Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, From a faraway land we have come; now therefore make a covenant with us.
⁷ And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Perhaps you dwell among us. How then can we make a covenant with you?
⁸ And they said to Joshua, We will be your servants. And Joshua said to them, Who are you, and where are you coming from?
⁹ And they said to him, From a very far land your servants have come because of the name of Jehovah your God, for we have heard reports of Him and all that He did in Egypt
¹⁰ And all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were across the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon and to Og the king of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth.
¹¹ So our elders and all the inhabitants of our land spoke to us, saying, Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them; and you shall say to them, We will be your servants; make then a covenant with us.
¹² This bread of ours was hot when we took it for our provisions from our houses on the day we went forth to come to you; and here it now is: it is dry and has become moldy.
¹³ And these wineskins, which we filled, were new; and here they are: they are torn up. And these clothes and sandals of ours have become old because of the very long journey.
¹⁴ And the men took some of their provisions, but they did not ask for the counsel of Jehovah.
¹⁵ And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly swore an oath to them.
¹⁶ Then at the end of three days, after they had made the covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and that they dwelt among them.
¹⁷ And the children of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon and Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
¹⁸ And the children of Israel did not strike them, for the leaders of the assembly had sworn to them by Jehovah the God of Israel; and all the assembly murmured against the leaders.
¹⁹ Then all the leaders said to all the assembly, We have sworn to them by Jehovah the God of Israel; therefore now we cannot touch them.
²⁰ This we will do with them and let them live, so that wrath does not come upon us because of the oath that we swore to them.
²¹ And the leaders said to them, Let them live. So they became woodcutters and drawers of water for all the assembly, as the leaders had said concerning them.
²² Then Joshua called for them and spoke to them, saying, Why have you deceived us, saying, We are very far from you; when you dwell among us?
²³ Now therefore you shall be cursed; and there shall never fail to be slaves from among you, woodcutters and drawers of water for the house of my God.
²⁴ And they answered Joshua and said, Because it had been told to your servants for certain that Jehovah your God had commanded Moses His servant to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you. Therefore we were very afraid for our lives because of you, and we did this thing.
²⁵ And now here we are in your hand: Do as it seems good and upright in your sight to do to us.
²⁶ And he did so to them and delivered them from the hand of the children of Israel, and they did not slay them.
²⁷ And that day Joshua made them woodcutters and drawers of water for the assembly and for the altar of Jehovah, as they are to this day, in the place that He would choose.

10

¹ And when Adoni-zedek the king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it (as he had done to Jericho and its king, so did he do to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them,
² They were very afraid, 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 men.
³ So Adoni-zedek the king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham the king of Hebron and Piram the king of Jarmuth and Japhia the king of Lachish and Debir the king of Eglon, saying,
⁴ Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon; for they have made peace with Joshua and the children of Israel.
⁵ Therefore 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 and all their camps; and they camped against Gibeon and fought against it.
⁶ And the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, Do not let your hand fail your servants. Come up to us quickly; and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who inhabit the hill country are gathered against us.
⁷ So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him and all the mighty men of valor.
⁸ And Jehovah said to Joshua, Do not be afraid of them, for I have given them into your hand. No man among them will stand before you.
⁹ So Joshua came upon them suddenly, for he journeyed from Gilgal all night long.
¹⁰ And Jehovah threw them into a panic before Israel, and He struck them with a great stroke at Gibeon; and He pursued them on the way toward the ascent of Beth-horon; and He struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
¹¹ And while they fled from before Israel, when they were on the descent of Beth-horon, Jehovah sent large stones upon them from heaven as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the children of Israel slew with the sword.
¹² Then Joshua spoke to Jehovah on the day when Jehovah delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, be still over Gibeon; / And you, Moon, over the valley of Aijalon!
¹³ And the sun was still, / And the moon stayed, / Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the middle of the heavens, and it did not hurry to set for about a whole day.
¹⁴ And there was never a day like that day, before it or after it, when Jehovah listened to the voice of a man; for Jehovah fought for Israel.
¹⁵ Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.
¹⁶ And these five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.
¹⁷ And it was told to Joshua, saying, The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.
¹⁸ And Joshua said, Roll large stones over the mouth of the cave, and station men by it in order to keep them.
¹⁹ But you, do not stay here; pursue after your enemies, and attack them from behind. Do not allow them to go to their cities, for Jehovah your God has given them into your hand.
²⁰ And when Joshua and the children of Israel finished striking them with a very great stroke until they were consumed, though there were some survivors of them who survived and went into the fortified cities,
²¹ All the people returned to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah, in peace. No one spoke against any of the children of Israel.
²² Then Joshua said, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings out of the cave to me.
²³ And they did so; and they brought those 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.
²⁴ And when they brought out those five kings to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel; and he said to the chiefs of the men of war who went with him, Come near; put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near and put their feet upon their necks.
²⁵ And Joshua said to them, Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and take courage, for thus will Jehovah do to all your enemies against whom you fight.
²⁶ And Joshua struck them after that and put them to death, and he hung them on five trees; and they hung upon the trees until evening.
²⁷ And when the sun set, Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden; and they put large stones over the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.
²⁸ And Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and he struck it and its king with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed them and every soul that was in it; he left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
²⁹ Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah, and he fought with Libnah.
³⁰ And Jehovah delivered it also with its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, as well as every soul that was in it; he left no survivors in it. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
³¹ Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and he camped against it and fought against it.
³² And Jehovah delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword as well as every soul that was in it, just as he had done to Libnah.
³³ Then Horam the king of Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua struck him and his people, so that he left him no survivor.
³⁴ Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped against it and fought against it.
³⁵ And they captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and every soul that was in it he utterly destroyed on that day, just as he had done to Lachish.
³⁶ Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron, and they fought against it.
³⁷ And they captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword as well as its king and all its cities and every soul that was in it. He left no survivor, just as he had done to Eglon; but he utterly destroyed it and every soul that was in it.
³⁸ Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to Debir, and he fought against it.
³⁹ And he captured it and its king and all its cities; and they struck them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed every soul that was in it; he left no survivor. As he had done to Hebron, and as he had done to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and its king.
⁴⁰ Thus Joshua struck the whole land: the hill country and the Negev and the lowland and the slopes and all their kings; he left no survivor but utterly destroyed everything that breathed, as Jehovah the God of Israel had commanded.
⁴¹ And Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza, and all the land of Goshen even unto Gibeon.
⁴² Now all these kings and their lands Joshua took at one time, for Jehovah the God of Israel fought for Israel.
⁴³ Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.

11

¹ And when Jabin the king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab the king of Madon and to the king of Shimron and to the king of Achshaph
² And to the kings who were on the north in the hill country and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth and in the lowland and in the highland of Dor on the west;
³ To the Canaanites on the east and on the west; and the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country; and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
⁴ And they went out, they and all their camps with them, a people as great as the sand on the seashore in number, and very many horses and chariots.
⁵ And all these kings met together, and they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight with Israel.
⁶ Then Jehovah said to Joshua, Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I will deliver all of them up slain before Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.
⁷ So Joshua and all the people of war with him went against them at the waters of Merom suddenly, and they fell on them.
⁸ And Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Israel, and they struck them and pursued them to Great Sidon and to Misrephoth-maim and to the valley of Mizpeh eastward. And they struck them until no survivor was left to them.
⁹ So Joshua did to them according to what Jehovah had spoken to him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
¹⁰ Then Joshua returned at that time and took Hazor, and he struck its king with the sword; for Hazor had formerly been the head of all these kingdoms.
¹¹ And they struck every soul that was in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it; nothing that breathed was left. And he burned Hazor with fire.
¹² And all the cities of these kings with all their kings, Joshua took; and he struck them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of Jehovah had commanded.
¹³ However as for all the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of them except Hazor alone; Joshua burned it.
¹⁴ And all the spoil of these cities and the cattle, the children of Israel took as their plunder; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them; they left nothing that breathed.
¹⁵ As Jehovah had commanded Moses His servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that Jehovah had commanded Moses.
¹⁶ So Joshua took all that land, the hill country and all the Negev and all the land of Goshen and the lowland and the Arabah and the hill country of Israel and its lowland;
¹⁷ From Mount Halak, which goes up to Seir, unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon. And he took all their kings and struck them and put them to death.
¹⁸ Joshua made war with all these kings a long time.
¹⁹ There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon; they took all in battle.
²⁰ For it was of Jehovah to harden their heart to meet Israel in battle so that He might utterly destroy them and that they might not receive mercy but be destroyed as Jehovah commanded Moses.
²¹ And Joshua went 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.
²² None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod did some remain.
²³ So Joshua took the whole land according to all that Jehovah had spoken to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land had rest from war.

12

¹ Now these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel struck and whose land they possessed across the Jordan toward the rising of the sun from the river Arnon to Mount Hermon and all the eastern Arabah:
² Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the river Arnon, and from the city in the middle of the river valley, that is, half of Gilead even unto the river Jabbok, the border of the children of Ammon;
³ And the eastern Arabah unto the Sea of Chinneroth, even unto the eastern side of the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, toward Beth-jeshimoth, that is, southward to the foot of the slopes of Pisgah;
⁴ And the territory of Og the king of Bashan, one of the remnant of the Rephaim, who dwelt in Ashtaroth and Edrei,
⁵ And ruled over Mount Hermon and Salecah and all Bashan to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, that is, half of Gilead, to the border of Sihon the king of Heshbon.
⁶ Moses the servant of Jehovah and the children of Israel struck them. And Moses the servant of Jehovah gave this land as a possession to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
⁷ And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the children of Israel struck across the Jordan on the west, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon unto Mount Halak, which goes up to Seir; and Joshua gave this land to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions,
⁸ The land that is in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Arabah and on the slopes and in the wilderness and in the Negev — the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites; the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
⁹ The king of Jericho, one; / The king of Ai, which is by Bethel, one;
¹⁰ The king of Jerusalem, one; / The king of Hebron, one;
¹¹ The king of Jarmuth, one; / The king of Lachish, one;
¹² The king of Eglon, one; / The king of Gezer, one;
¹³ The king of Debir, one; / The king of Geder, one;
¹⁴ The king of Hormah, one; / The king of Arad, one;
¹⁵ The king of Libnah, one; / The king of Adullam, one;
¹⁶ The king of Makkedah, one; / The 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 The king of Madon, one; / The king of Hazor, one;
²⁰ The king of Shimron-meron, one; / The king of Achshaph, one;
²¹ The king of Taanach, one; / The king of Megiddo, one;
²² The king of Kedesh, one; / The king of Jokneam in Carmel, one;
²³ The king of Dor in the highland of Dor, one; / The king of Goiim of Gilgal, one;
²⁴ The king of Tirzah, one. / Thirty-one kings in all.

13

¹ Now Joshua was old and advanced in age; and Jehovah said to him, You are old and advanced in age, and very much of the land remains to be possessed.
² This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and all that of the Geshurites,
³ From the Shihor, which is before Egypt, unto the border of Ekron on the north (this is considered to be Canaanite), with five lords of the Philistines: the Gazite and the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, and the Ekronite; and that of the Avvim
⁴ In the south; all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah, which belongs to the Sidonians, unto Aphek at the border of the Amorites;
⁵ And the land of the Gebalites and all Lebanon toward the rising of the sun, from Baal-gad under Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamath;
⁶ All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians. I Myself will drive them out before the children of Israel; nevertheless allot it to Israel as an inheritance as I have commanded you.
⁷ And now divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
⁸ With the other half-tribe of Manasseh the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses gave to them across the Jordan on the east, as Moses the servant of Jehovah gave to them:
⁹ From Aroer, which is on the edge of the river Arnon, and from the city, which is in the middle of the river valley, and all the tableland from Medeba to Dibon;
¹⁰ And all the cities of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, unto the border of the children of Ammon;
¹¹ And Gilead with the territory of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon and all Bashan unto Salecah;
¹² All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); and Moses struck them and dispossessed them.
¹³ Yet the children of Israel did not dispossess the Geshurites and the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day.
¹⁴ However to the tribe of Levi he did not give an inheritance; the offerings of Jehovah the God of Israel by fire are their inheritance, as He had spoken to him.
¹⁵ And Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their families.
¹⁶ And for them the border was from Aroer, which is on the edge of the river Arnon, and from the city, which is in the middle of the river valley, and all the tableland by Medeba;
¹⁷ Heshbon and all its cities which are in the tableland: Dibon and Bamoth-baal and Beth-baal-meon
¹⁸ And Jahaz and Kedemoth and Mephaath
¹⁹ And Kiriathaim and Sibmah and Zereth-shahar on the mountain of the valley
²⁰ And Beth-peor and the slopes of Pisgah and Beth-jeshimoth;
²¹ That is, all the cities of the tableland and all the kingdom of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and whom Moses struck with the leaders of Midian: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon who inhabited the land.
²² And Balaam the son of Beor, who practiced divination, the children of Israel slew with the sword with those of them who were already slain.
²³ And the border of the children of Reuben was the Jordan and its border. This is the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities with their villages.
²⁴ And Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad, according to their families.
²⁵ And for them the border was Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon to Aroer, which is before Rabbah;
²⁶ And from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim; and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir;
²⁷ And in the valley Beth-haram and Beth-nimrah and Succoth and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon the king of Heshbon; the Jordan and its border to the end of the Sea of Chinnereth, across the Jordan on the east.
²⁸ This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities with their villages.
²⁹ And Moses gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh; and it was for the half-tribe of the children of Manasseh according to their families.
³⁰ And their border was from Mahanaim and all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og the king of Bashan, and all the tent villages of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities;
³¹ And half of Gilead, and Ashtaroth and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the children of Machir, according to their families.
³² These are what Moses gave as inheritances in the plains of Moab across the Jordan at Jericho to the east.
³³ But to the tribe of Levi Moses did not give an inheritance; Jehovah the God of Israel is their inheritance, as He had spoken to them.

14

¹ And these are what the children of Israel received as inheritances in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel gave to them as inheritances,
² By the lot of their inheritance, as Jehovah commanded through Moses for the nine tribes and the half-tribe.
³ For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe across the Jordan; but to the Levites he did not give an inheritance among them.
⁴ For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim; and they gave no portion to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in with their pasture lands for their cattle and their substance.
⁵ As Jehovah had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did; thus they divided the land.
⁶ Then the children of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal; and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, You know the word that Jehovah spoke to Moses the man of God concerning me and concerning you in Kadesh-barnea.
⁷ I was forty years old when Moses the servant of Jehovah sent me out from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land; and I returned such a word to him as was genuinely upon my heart.
⁸ However my brothers who went up with me made the people’s heart melt, but I fully followed Jehovah my God.
⁹ And Moses swore on that day, saying, Surely the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, for you have fully followed Jehovah my God.
¹⁰ And now, look, Jehovah has kept me alive, as He said, for these forty-five years, since the time Jehovah spoke this word to Moses while Israel walked through the wilderness. And now, look, today I am eighty-five years old.
¹¹ Today I am still as strong as I was on the day Moses sent me out; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for battle and for going out and coming in.
¹² Now therefore give me this hill country, of which Jehovah spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that the Anakim were there with great fortified cities. It may be that Jehovah will be with me, and I will dispossess them, as Jehovah said.
¹³ So Joshua blessed him; and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.
¹⁴ Therefore Hebron has become the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day because he fully followed Jehovah the God of Israel.
¹⁵ And the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba. (This Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.) And the land had rest from war.

15

¹ And the lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was unto the border of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin at the south; this was the southern extreme.
² And their southern border was from the end of the Salt Sea, from the tongue-shaped bay that faces south;
³ And it went southward to the ascent of Akrabbim, and passed on to Zin, and went up south of Kadesh-barnea, and passed on to Hezron, and went up to Addar, and went around Karka,
⁴ And passed on to Azmon, and went out to the brook of Egypt; and the end of the border was at the sea. This shall be your southern border.
⁵ And the eastern border was the Salt Sea to the end of the Jordan. And the border on the northern side was from the bay of the sea at the end of the Jordan.
⁶ And the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and passed on to the north of Beth-arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben;
⁷ And the border went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and turned northward toward Gilgal, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is south of the river valley; and the border passed on to the waters of En-shemesh; and its end was at En-rogel;
⁸ Then the border went up by the Valley of Ben-hinnom to the south of the Jebusite slope (this is Jerusalem); and the border went to the top of the mountain that is before the Valley of Hinnom on the west, which is the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim;
⁹ And the border turned from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and went to the cities of Mount Ephron; then the border turned toward Baalah (this is Kiriath-jearim);
¹⁰ And the border went around west of Baalah to Mount Seir, and passed by the northern slope of Mount Jearim (this is Chesalon), and went down to Beth-shemesh, and passed on to Timnah;
¹¹ And the border went to the slope of Ekron northward; and the border turned toward Shikkeron, and passed by Mount Baalah, and went to Jabneel; and the end of the border was at the sea.
¹² And the western border was the Great Sea and its coast. This is the border of the children of Judah all around according to their families.
¹³ And to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion in the midst of the children of Judah according to the commandment of Jehovah to Joshua, that is, Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak); this is Hebron.
¹⁴ And Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak from there: Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the children of Anak.
¹⁵ And he went up from there to the inhabitants of Debir. (Now the name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher.)
¹⁶ And Caleb said, Whoever strikes Kiriath-sepher and takes it, I will give to him Achsah my daughter as wife.
¹⁷ Then Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.
¹⁸ And when she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she alighted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, What do you want?
¹⁹ And she said, Give me a blessing, for you have given me land in the Negev; give me also springs of water. So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
²⁰ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families.
²¹ And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the border of Edom on the south were Kabzeel and Eder and Jagur
²² And Kinah and Dimonah and Adadah
²³ And Kedesh and Hazor and Ithnan;
²⁴ Ziph and Telem and Bealoth
²⁵ And Hazor-hadattah and Kerioth-hezron (this is Hazor);
²⁶ Amam and Shema and Moladah
²⁷ And Hazar-gaddah and Heshmon and Beth-pelet
²⁸ And Hazar-shual and Beer-sheba and Biziothiah;
²⁹ Baalah and Iim and Ezem
³⁰ And Eltolad and Chesil and Hormah
³¹ And Ziklag and Madmannah and Sansannah
³² And Lebaoth and Shilhim and Ain and Rimmon: in all twenty-nine cities with their villages.
³³ In the lowland: Eshtaol and Zorah and Ashnah
³⁴ And Zanoah and En-gannim; Tappuah and Enam;
³⁵ Jarmuth and Adullam; Socoh and Azekah
³⁶ And Shaaraim and Adithaim and Gederah and Gederothaim: fourteen cities with their villages.
³⁷ Zenan and Hadashah and Migdal-gad
³⁸ And Dilean and Mizpeh and Joktheel;
³⁹ Lachish and Bozkath and Eglon
⁴⁰ And Cabbon and Lahmas and Chitlish
⁴¹ And Gederoth; Beth-dagon and Naamah and Makkedah: sixteen cities with their villages.
⁴² Libnah and Ether and Ashan
⁴³ And Iphtah and Ashnah and Nezib
⁴⁴ And Keilah and Achzib and Mareshah: nine cities with their villages.
⁴⁵ Ekron, with its towns and its villages;
⁴⁶ From Ekron even to the sea, all that were near Ashdod, with their villages.
⁴⁷ Ashdod, with its towns and its villages; Gaza, with its towns and its villages, unto the brook of Egypt and the Great Sea and its border.
⁴⁸ And in the hill country: Shamir and Jattir and Socoh
⁴⁹ And Dannah and Kiriath-sannah (this is Debir)
⁵⁰ And Anab and Eshtemoh and Anim
⁵¹ And Goshen and Holon and Giloh: eleven cities with their villages.
⁵² Arab and Dumah and Eshan
⁵³ And Janum and Beth-tappuah and Aphekah
⁵⁴ And Humtah and Kiriath-arba (this is Hebron) and Zior: nine cities with their villages.
⁵⁵ Maon, Carmel, and Ziph; and Juttah
⁵⁶ And Jezreel and Jokdeam and Zanoah;
⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten cities with their villages.
⁵⁸ Halhul, Beth-zur, and Gedor;
⁵⁹ And Maarath and Beth-anoth and Eltekon: six cities with their villages.
⁶⁰ Kiriath-baal (this is Kiriath-jearim) and Rabbah: two cities with their villages.
⁶¹ In the wilderness: Beth-arabah, Middin, and Secacah;
⁶² And Nibshan and the City of Salt and En-gedi: six cities with their villages.
⁶³ But as for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not dispossess them; thus the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.

16

¹ And the lot for the children of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, to the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel,
² And went from Bethel to Luz, and passed on to the border of the Archites at Ataroth,
³ And went down westward to the border of the Japhletites, to the border of Lower Beth-horon and to Gezer; and its end was the sea.
⁴ And the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.
⁵ And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: The border for their inheritance on the east was from Ataroth-addar to Upper Beth-horon;
⁶ And the border went to the sea. On the north was Michmethath, and the border went around eastward to Taanath-shiloh, and passed by it to the east of Janoah,
⁷ And went down from Janoah to Ataroth, then to Naarah, and reached Jericho, and went to the Jordan.
⁸ From Tappuah the border went westward to the brook of Kanah; and its end was the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families,
⁹ Together with the cities that were set apart for the children of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.
¹⁰ Yet they did not dispossess the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer, but the Canaanites dwell in the midst of Ephraim to this day and have become forced labor.

17

¹ And this was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was Joseph’s firstborn. To Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, Gilead and Bashan had been given, since he was a man of war.
² Therefore the lot was for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: for the children of Abiezer and for the children of Helek and for the children of Asriel and for the children of Shechem and for the children of Hepher and for the children of Shemida; these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.
³ But Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters. And these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
⁴ And they came before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua the son of Nun and before the leaders, saying, Jehovah commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers. Therefore he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers according to the commandment of Jehovah.
⁵ And ten portions fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is across the Jordan,
⁶ Because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the children of Manasseh.
⁷ And the border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which was opposite Shechem; and the border went south to the inhabitants of En-tappuah.
⁸ The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah, on the border of Manasseh, belonged to the children of Ephraim.
⁹ And the border went down to the brook of Kanah. These cities to the south of the brook belonged to Ephraim, among the cities of Manasseh; and the border of Manasseh was to the north of the brook, and its end was the sea.
¹⁰ To the south was Ephraim’s, and to the north was Manasseh’s, and the sea was his border. And they touched Asher on the north and Issachar on the east.
¹¹ And to Manasseh there belonged in Issachar and Asher, 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).
¹² Yet the children of Manasseh could not dispossess these cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in this land.
¹³ And when the children of Israel became strong, they made the Canaanites forced labor; but they did not utterly dispossess them.
¹⁴ Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, Why have you given me an inheritance of only one lot and one portion, although I am still a numerous people, whom Jehovah has thus far blessed?
¹⁵ And Joshua said to them, If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest, and cut out land there for yourself in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim; since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.
¹⁶ And the children of Joseph said, The hill country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those of Beth-shean and its towns and those in the valley of Jezreel.
¹⁷ And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, You are a numerous people, and you have great strength; you shall not have one lot only,
¹⁸ But the hill country shall be yours. Though it is a forest, you shall cut it down, and its end will be yours; for you shall dispossess the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron and though they are strong.

18

¹ And the whole assembly of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh, and they set up the Tent of Meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.
² And among the children of Israel there remained seven tribes whose inheritance had not been divided to them.
³ And Joshua said to the children of Israel, How long will you be slack about going to take possession of the land that Jehovah, the God of your fathers, has given you?
⁴ Appoint three men for each tribe, and I will send them out. And they shall rise up and go through the land, and write a description of it with a view to its being their inheritance; and they shall come to me.
⁵ And they shall divide it into seven portions: Judah shall stay at his border on the south, and the house of Joseph shall stay at their border on the north.
⁶ And you shall describe the land in seven portions and bring the description here to me; then I will cast lots for you here before Jehovah our God.
⁷ But the Levites shall have no portion among you, for the priesthood of Jehovah is their inheritance. And Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh received their inheritance across the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of Jehovah had given to them.
⁸ And the men rose up and went; and Joshua commanded those who went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it; then return to me, and I will cast lots for you before Jehovah here in Shiloh.
⁹ So the men went, and they passed through the land and described it by cities into seven portions in a book. Then they came to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh.
¹⁰ And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before Jehovah. And there Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.
¹¹ And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came out, according to their families. And the border of their lot went between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.
¹² And their border on the northern side was from the Jordan, and the border went up alongside Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward, and its end was at the wilderness of Beth-aven.
¹³ And from there the border passed to Luz, on the southern side of Luz (this is Bethel); and the border went down to Ataroth-addar, at the mountain which is south of Lower Beth-horon.
¹⁴ And the border turned from there and went around the west side southward, from the mountain that is to the south of Beth-horon; and its end was at Kiriath-baal (this is Kiriath-jearim), a city of the children of Judah. This was the west side.
¹⁵ The south side was from the limit of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went from the west and went to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah;
¹⁶ And the border went down to the limit of the mountain that is before the Valley of Ben-hinnom, which is north of the valley of the Rephaim; and it went down into the Valley of Hinnom, to the southern side of the Jebusite slope, and went down to En-rogel,
¹⁷ And turned north, and went to En-shemesh, and went to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim; and it went down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben;
¹⁸ And it passed by the side before the Arabah northward, and went down to the Arabah;
¹⁹ And the border passed by the northern side of Beth-hoglah, and the end of the border was at the northern bay of the Salt Sea at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.
²⁰ And the Jordan borders it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families, according to its borders all around.
²¹ And the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho and Beth-hoglah and Emek-keziz
²² And Beth-arabah and Zemaraim and Bethel
²³ And Avvim and Parah and Ophrah
²⁴ And Chephar-ammoni and Ophni and Geba: twelve cities with their villages.
²⁵ Gibeon and Ramah and Beeroth
²⁶ And Mizpeh and Chephirah and Mozah
²⁷ And Rekem and Irpeel and Taralah
²⁸ And Zelah, Haeleph, and that of the Jebusite (this is Jerusalem), Gibeath, Kiriath: fourteen cities with their villages. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.

19

¹ And the second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the children of Simeon, according to their families. And their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Judah.
² And they had for their inheritance Beer-sheba, or Sheba, and Moladah
³ And Hazar-shual and Balah and Ezem
⁴ And Eltolad and Bethul and Hormah
⁵ And Ziklag and Beth-marcaboth and Hazar-susah
⁶ And Beth-lebaoth and Sharuhen: thirteen cities with their villages.
⁷ Ain, Rimmon, and Ether, and Ashan: four cities with their villages.
⁸ And all the villages which were around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, that is, Ramah of the Negev. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.
⁹ Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon because the portion of the children of Judah was too large for them; thus the children of Simeon received an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.
¹⁰ And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families. And the border of their inheritance was as far as Sarid;
¹¹ And their border went up to the west, even to Maralah, and reached Dabbesheth; and it reached the brook that is before Jokneam.
¹² And it turned from Sarid eastward toward the rising of the sun to the border of Chisloth-tabor, and went to Daberath and up to Japhia;
¹³ And from there it passed eastward toward the rising of the sun to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and went to Rimmon, where it turned to Neah;
¹⁴ And the border went around from the north to Hannathon; and its end was the valley of Iphtahel,
¹⁵ With Kattath and Nahalal and Shimron and Idalah and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.
¹⁶ This was the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.
¹⁷ For Issachar the fourth lot came out, for the children of Issachar according to their families.
¹⁸ And their territory was Jezreel and Chesulloth and Shunem
¹⁹ And Hapharaim and Shion and Anaharath
²⁰ And Rabbith and Kishion and Ebez
²¹ And Remeth and En-gannim and En-haddah and Beth-pazzez;
²² And the border reached Tabor and Shahazumah and Beth-shemesh; and the end of their border was at the Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages.
²³ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.
²⁴ And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.
²⁵ And their territory was Helkath and Hali and Beten and Achshaph
²⁶ And Allammelech and Amad and Mishal; and it reached Carmel on the west and Shihor-libnath;
²⁷ And it turned toward the rising of the sun to Beth-dagon, and reached Zebulun and the valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel, and went to Cabul on the north
²⁸ And Ebron and Rehob and Hammon and Kanah as far as Great Sidon;
²⁹ And the border turned to Ramah and as far as the fortified city of Tyre; and the border turned to Hosah; and its end was at the sea at the region of Achzib;
³⁰ And Ummah and Aphek and Rehob: twenty-two cities with their villages.
³¹ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.
³² For the children of Naphtali the sixth lot came out, for the children of Naphtali according to their families.
³³ And their border was from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, and Adami-nekeb and Jabneel unto Lakkum; and its end was the Jordan;
³⁴ And the border turned westward to Aznoth-tabor, and went from there to Hukkok, and reached Zebulun on the south, and reached Asher on the west and Judah at the Jordan toward the rising of the sun;
³⁵ And the fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, and Hammath, Rakkath and Chinnereth
³⁶ And Adamah and Ramah and Hazor
³⁷ And Kedesh and Edrei and En-hazor
³⁸ And Iron and Migdal-el, Horem and Beth-anath and Beth-shemesh: nineteen cities with their villages.
³⁹ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities with their villages.
⁴⁰ The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.
⁴¹ And the territory of their inheritance was Zorah and Eshtaol and Ir-shemesh
⁴² And Shaalabbin and Aijalon and Ithlah
⁴³ And Elon and Timnah and Ekron
⁴⁴ And Eltekeh and Gibbethon and Baalath
⁴⁵ And Jehud and Bene-berak and Gath-rimmon
⁴⁶ And Me-jarkon and Rakkon with the border opposite Japho.
⁴⁷ When the territory of the children of Dan was lost to them, the children of Dan went up and fought against Leshem; and they took it and struck it with the edge of the sword; and they took possession of it and inhabited it; and they called Leshem Dan, according to the name of Dan their father.
⁴⁸ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
⁴⁹ So they finished distributing the land as inheritances according to its borders. And the children of Israel gave Joshua the son of Nun an inheritance in the midst of them;
⁵⁰ According to the commandment of Jehovah they gave him the city that he asked for, that is, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he built up the city and dwelt in it.
⁵¹ These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel gave as inheritances by lot in Shiloh before Jehovah at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing the land.

20

¹ Then Jehovah spoke to Joshua, saying,
² Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Designate the cities of refuge, concerning which I spoke to you through Moses,
³ So that the manslayer who kills a person by mistake and unwittingly may flee there. And they will be to you as a refuge from the avenger of blood.
⁴ And he shall flee to one of these cities and stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city. And they shall take him into the city to themselves and give him a place; and he shall dwell among them.
⁵ And if the avenger of blood pursues after him, they shall not deliver the manslayer into his hand, for he struck his neighbor unwittingly and had not hated him previously.
⁶ And he shall dwell in that city until he can stand before the assembly for a judgment, until the death of the high priest who is at that time; then the manslayer shall return and enter into his own city and into his own house, into the city from which he fled.
⁷ And they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and Kiriath-arba (this is Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
⁸ And across the Jordan at Jericho, to the east, they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain out of the tribe of Reuben and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.
⁹ These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel and for the sojourner who sojourned among them, so that anyone who killed a person by mistake might flee there and not die at the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the assembly.

21

¹ Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel,
² And they spoke to them in Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, Jehovah commanded through Moses that we be given cities to dwell in with their pasture lands for our cattle.
³ So the children of Israel gave the Levites, according to the commandment of Jehovah, these cities with their pasture lands out of their inheritance:
⁴ And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And to the children of Aaron the priest who were of the Levites there went by lot thirteen cities out of the tribe of Judah and out of the tribe of the Simeonites and out of the tribe of Benjamin.
⁵ And to the rest of the children of Kohath there went by lot ten cities out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim and out of the tribe of Dan and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh.
⁶ And to the children of Gershon there went by lot thirteen cities out of the families of the tribe of Issachar and out of the tribe of Asher and out of the tribe of Naphtali and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
⁷ To the children of Merari according to their families there went twelve cities out of the tribe of Reuben and out of the tribe of Gad and out of the tribe of Zebulun.
⁸ So the children of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasture lands, as Jehovah had commanded through Moses.
⁹ And out of the tribe of the children of Judah and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon they gave these cities, which are here mentioned by name;
¹⁰ And they went to the children of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, of the children of Levi; for the first lot was theirs.
¹¹ And they gave them Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak), which is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with its pasture lands around it.
¹² But the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
¹³ And to the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the manslayer; and Libnah with its pasture lands
¹⁴ And Jattir with its pasture lands and Eshtemoa with its pasture lands
¹⁵ And Holon with its pasture lands and Debir with its pasture lands
¹⁶ And Ain with its pasture lands and Juttah with its pasture lands and Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands: nine cities out of those two tribes.
¹⁷ And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba with its pasture lands,
¹⁸ Anathoth with its pasture lands, and Almon with its pasture lands: four cities.
¹⁹ All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.
²⁰ And as for the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites who remained of the children of Kohath, the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim were given.
²¹ And they gave them Shechem with its pasture lands in the hill country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the manslayer; and Gezer with its pasture lands
²² And Kibzaim with its pasture lands and Beth-horon with its pasture lands: four cities.
²³ And out of the tribe of Dan: Eltekeh with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands,
²⁴ Aijalon with its pasture lands, Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands: four cities.
²⁵ And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh: Taanach with its pasture lands and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands: two cities.
²⁶ All the cities for the families of the children of Kohath who remained were ten, with their pasture lands.
²⁷ And to the children of Gershon, one of the families of the Levites, they gave, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the manslayer; and Be-eshterah with its pasture lands: two cities.
²⁸ And out of the tribe of Issachar: Kishion with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands,
²⁹ Jarmuth with its pasture lands, En-gannim with its pasture lands: four cities.
³⁰ And out of the tribe of Asher: Mishal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands,
³¹ Helkath with its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture lands: four cities.
³² And out of the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the manslayer; and Hammoth-dor with its pasture lands and Kartan with its pasture lands: three cities.
³³ All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities, with their pasture lands.
³⁴ And to the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, they gave Jokneam with its pasture lands and Kartah with its pasture lands,
³⁵ Dimnah with its pasture lands, Nahalal with its pasture lands: four cities.
³⁶ And out of the tribe of Reuben: Bezer with its pasture lands and Jahaz with its pasture lands,
³⁷ Kedemoth with its pasture lands and Mephaath with its pasture lands: four cities.
³⁸ And out of the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the manslayer; and Mahanaim with its pasture lands,
³⁹ Heshbon with its pasture lands, Jazer with its pasture lands: four cities in all.
⁴⁰ These were all the cities for the children of Merari according to their families, which remained of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities.
⁴¹ All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their pasture lands.
⁴² Each of these cities had its pasture lands around it; so it was with all these cities.
⁴³ So Jehovah gave Israel all the land that He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and dwelt in it.
⁴⁴ And Jehovah gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And no one among all their enemies could stand before them; Jehovah delivered all their enemies into their hand.
⁴⁵ Not a word failed of all the good things that Jehovah had spoken to the house of Israel; all came to pass.

22

¹ Then Joshua called the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
² And he said to them, You have kept all that Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, and you have listened to my voice in all that I have commanded you.
³ You have not forsaken your brothers these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of Jehovah your God.
⁴ And now Jehovah your God has given your brothers rest as He promised them. And now turn and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Jehovah gave you across the Jordan.
⁵ However be very careful to perform the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, to love Jehovah your God and to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and to cling to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
⁶ And Joshua blessed them and sent them away; and they went to their tents.
⁷ Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given an inheritance in Bashan, and to the other half of it Joshua gave an inheritance with their brothers across the Jordan on the west. Furthermore, when Joshua sent them away to their tents and blessed them,
⁸ He spoke to them, saying, Return with many riches to your tents and with very many cattle, with silver and with gold and with bronze and with iron and with very much clothing; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.
⁹ So the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh went; and they departed from among the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which was in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had taken possession of according to the commandment of Jehovah through Moses.
¹⁰ And when they came into the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there at the Jordan, an altar great in appearance.
¹¹ And the children of Israel heard the report, which said, Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar out in front of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side of the children of Israel.
¹² And when the children of Israel heard this, all the assembly of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go up in battle against them.
¹³ And the children of Israel sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead,
¹⁴ And with him ten leaders, one leader each to a fathers’ house of all the tribes of Israel; and they were each the head of their fathers’ houses among the thousands of Israel.
¹⁵ And they went to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and spoke to them, saying,
¹⁶ Thus says all the assembly of Jehovah, What is this trespass that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning this day from following after Jehovah by building yourselves an altar to rebel against Jehovah this day?
¹⁷ Was the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves unto this day, though there was a plague upon the assembly of Jehovah,
¹⁸ That you have turned this day from following after Jehovah? And now, if you rebel against Jehovah this day, tomorrow He will be angry with the whole assembly of Israel.
¹⁹ But if the land of your possession is unclean, cross over into the land of the possession of Jehovah, where Jehovah’s tabernacle dwells, and take a possession in the midst of us. But do not rebel against Jehovah, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of Jehovah our God.
²⁰ Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the matter of the devoted thing? But there was wrath upon the whole assembly of Israel, and that one man did not perish alone for his iniquity.
²¹ Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the thousands of Israel,
²² The Mighty One, God Jehovah; the Mighty One, God Jehovah; He knows, and may Israel itself know, whether it was in rebellion, or whether it was in trespass against Jehovah — may You not save us today —
²³ That we built an altar for ourselves to turn away from following after Jehovah; or if we did so to offer burnt offerings and meal offerings upon it or to make sacrifices of peace offerings upon it, may Jehovah Himself require it.
²⁴ But truly we have done this for a reason and out of a concern that in the future your children might speak to our children, saying, What have you to do with Jehovah the God of Israel?
²⁵ For Jehovah has made the Jordan a border between us and you, O children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no portion in Jehovah. Thus your children would cause our children to cease fearing Jehovah.
²⁶ Therefore we said, Let us now take action to build the altar, though not for burnt offering or for sacrifice;
²⁷ But it will be a witness between us and between you, and between our generations after us, that we may do the service of Jehovah before Him with our burnt offerings and our sacrifices and our peace offerings, and that your children may not say in the future to our children, You have no portion in Jehovah.
²⁸ And we said, When they say this to us and to our generations in the future, we will say, Look at the copy of the altar of Jehovah that our fathers made, though not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you.
²⁹ Far be it from us that we would rebel against Jehovah and turn away today from following after Jehovah by building an altar for burnt offering, for meal offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of Jehovah our God, which is before His tabernacle!
³⁰ And when Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the assembly and the heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it seemed good in their sight.
³¹ And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh, Today we know that Jehovah is in the midst of us, because you have not committed this trespass against Jehovah. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah.
³² So Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel; and they brought back word to them.
³³ And the matter seemed good in the sight of the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God and never spoke again of going up in battle against them to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad dwelt.
³⁴ And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad named the altar; for, they said, it is a witness between us that Jehovah is God.

23

¹ And many days after Jehovah had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them and Joshua was old and advanced in age,
² Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers; and he said to them, I am old and advanced in age;
³ And you have seen all that Jehovah your God has done to all these nations because of you, for it was Jehovah your God who fought for you.
⁴ See, I have allotted to you all these nations that remain as an inheritance for your tribes, as well as all the nations that I cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun.
⁵ And Jehovah your God, He will thrust them out before you and dispossess them out of your sight; and you will possess their land, as Jehovah your God spoke to you.
⁶ Therefore be very strong to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, not turning away from it to the right or to the left,
⁷ And not going unto these nations, these that remain with you; neither shall you make mention of the names of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them, nor serve them, nor bow down to them;
⁸ But you shall cling to Jehovah your God, as you have done to this day.
⁹ For Jehovah has dispossessed great and strong nations because of you; but as for you, no one has stood before you to this day.
¹⁰ One man of you chases a thousand, for it is Jehovah your God who fights for you, as He has spoken to you.
¹¹ Be very careful therefore for yourselves, that you love Jehovah your God.
¹² But if you do indeed turn back and cling to the remainder of these nations, these that remain with you, and marry into them, and go among them and they among you;
¹³ Know for certain that Jehovah your God will no longer dispossess these nations out of your sight, but they will become a snare and a trap to you, and a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that Jehovah your God has given you.
¹⁴ And now today I am going the way of all the earth; and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not a word has failed of all the good things that Jehovah your God spoke concerning you. All has come to pass for you; not one word of it has failed.
¹⁵ But just as all the good things that Jehovah your God spoke concerning you have come upon you, so will Jehovah cause all the evil things to come upon you, until He has destroyed you from this good land that Jehovah your God has given you.
¹⁶ When you transgress the covenant of Jehovah your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow down to them, the anger of Jehovah will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from the good land that He has given you.

24

¹ Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem; and he called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and for their judges and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
² And Joshua said to all the people, Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt across the River long ago, Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor; and they served other gods.
³ And I took your father Abraham from across the River and brought him throughout all the land of Canaan; and I multiplied his seed and gave him Isaac.
⁴ And I gave Jacob and Esau to Isaac. And I gave Mount Seir to Esau, that he might possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt.
⁵ And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by what I did in the midst of it; and afterward I brought you out.
⁶ And I brought your fathers out from Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen unto the Red Sea.
⁷ And when they cried out to Jehovah, He put deep darkness between you and the Egyptians; and He brought the sea upon them and covered them. And your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. And you dwelt in the wilderness for many days.
⁸ And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you. And I gave them into your hand, and you possessed their land; and I destroyed them before you.
⁹ Then Balak the son of Zippor, the king of Moab, rose up and fought against Israel; and he sent men and called for Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.
¹⁰ But I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he altogether blessed you, and I delivered you out of his hand.
¹¹ And you crossed over the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the lords of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I gave them into your hand.
¹² And I sent the hornet before you, and it drove them out from before you, that is, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow.
¹³ And I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.
¹⁴ Now therefore fear Jehovah, and serve Him in sincerity and faithfulness; and put away the gods whom your fathers served across the River and in Egypt, and serve Jehovah.
¹⁵ And if it seems wrong in your sight to serve Jehovah, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve, either the gods from across the River, whom your fathers served, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.
¹⁶ And the people answered and said, Far be it from us that we would forsake Jehovah to serve other gods;
¹⁷ For Jehovah our God is the One who brought us and our fathers out from the land of Egypt, from the slave house, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed;
¹⁸ And Jehovah drove out all the peoples from before us, that is, the Amorites who inhabit the land. We also will serve Jehovah, for He is our God.
¹⁹ Then Joshua said to the people, You are not able to serve Jehovah, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins.
²⁰ If you forsake Jehovah and serve foreign gods, He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.
²¹ And the people said to Joshua, No; but we will serve Jehovah.
²² Then Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen Jehovah on your own, to serve Him. And they said, We are witnesses.
²³ Now therefore put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to Jehovah the God of Israel.
²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, Jehovah our God we will serve, and to His voice we will listen.
²⁵ So Joshua made a covenant for the people that day, and he made a statute and an ordinance for them in Shechem.
²⁶ And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and he took a great stone and erected it there under the terebinth that was at the sanctuary of Jehovah.
²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, This stone here shall be as a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of Jehovah, which He has spoken to us; and it shall be as a witness against you, lest you act deceptively against your God.
²⁸ Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.
²⁹ And after these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died at the age of one hundred and ten years.
³⁰ And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
³¹ And Israel served Jehovah throughout all the days of Joshua and throughout all the days of the elders whose days extended after Joshua’s and who knew all the work of Jehovah that He had done for Israel.
³² And Joseph’s bones, which the children of Israel had brought up from Egypt, were buried in Shechem, in the portion of the field that Jacob had bought from the children of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money; and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
³³ And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which had been given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.