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LXX Joshua

Septuagint

Septuagint · 2nd Century B.C.E.

The Septuagint translation of Josuha illustrates the effect of revisions on the manuscript tradition. The two main manuscripts are so different in 15.21b—62 and 18.22-19.45 that scholars print both versions side-by-side. Some Hebrew manuscripts from Qumran reveal a text similar to that used by the translator. The LXX omits 20.4—6, but adds several lines at the end of the book, taken from various parts of Judges, apparently making a deliberate link with that book.

1And it happened after the death of Moses that the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, saying, 2 “Moses, my servant, has died. Now then, rise and cross over the Jordan, you and all these people, to the land that I am giving them. 3 Every place you step with the soles of your feet I will give to you, the way I have said to Moses. 4 The wilderness and the Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River, and to the distant sea from the setting sun, these will be your borders. 5 No person will stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, in the same way I will also be with you. I will neither abandon you nor neglect you. 6 Be strong and manly! For you shall divide for this people the land that I promised to give to your ancestors. 7 Be strong, therefore, and manly, to protect and act as Moses my servant commanded you. You must not turn from the commands either to the right or to the left so that you might be together in everything that you do. 8 And the book of this law must not depart from your mouth. You should meditate on it day and night so that you will know how to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous, and he will make your ways prosperous, and then you will be perceptive. 9 Look, I have commanded you: be strong and manly. Do not be cowardly nor fear, because the Lord your God is with you everywhere you go.” 10 And Joshua commanded the scribes of the people, saying, 11 “Go into the middle of the camp of the people and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions because in three days you also will be crossing over this Jordan, entering to occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving to you.’ ” 12 And to Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God has given you rest, and he has given you this land. 14 Let your wives and your children and your livestock dwell in the land that he has given you. But you will cross over the river fully armed for your brothers, every strong man. And so you will be allies with them [1] 15 until the Lord our God gives rest to your brothers as also to you and they also receive a share of the land that the Lord your God is giving to them. And then you will depart, each one to his inheritance that Moses has given you in the area beyond the Jordan at the east.’ ”a 16 And answering Joshua, they said, “Everything, as much as you command to us, we will do, and every place where you send us, we will go. 17 In everything, as much as we obeyed Moses, we will obey you; only may the Lord our God be with you in the way he was with Moses.

2However, the person who should disobey you and whoever will not listen to your words as you might command him, he must die. But be strong and manly.” Spies Sent to Jericho 2 And Joshua son of Nun sent two young men from Shittim to spy, saying, “Go up and see the land and Jericho.” And so, as they were on their way, the two young men entered Jericho, and they went into the house of a woman, a prostitute whose name was Rahab. And they stayed there. 2 But a report came to the king of Jericho that said, “Men from the children of Israel have come here to spy out the land!” 3 And the king of Jericho sent word and said to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have entered into your house during the night, because they have come to spy out the land.” 4 And the woman took the two men to hide them, and she spoke to the men from the king, saying, “The men had come to me. 5 But as the gate closed in the darkness, the men went out. I do not know where they have gone. Go after them if you want to overtake them.” 6 But she had brought them up onto the roof and hid them in her flax bundles on the roof. 7 And the men chased closely after the spies along the road near the Jordan by the river fords. And the gate was closed. 8 And it happened that as the men chasing after them were going out, before the spies could fall asleep, she came up onto the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you the land. Fear of you has fallen upon us. [2] 10 For we have heard that the Lord God dried up the Red Sea before your face when you went out from the land of Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom he cut off. 11 And after we heard about these things, we were stunned in our heart, and our spirit did not continue to stand in any of us before your face because of the Lord your God who is in heaven above and on the earth below. 12 And now you must swear to me, by the Lord God, since I am showing you compassion, so also show compassion with my father’s house 13 and spare my father’s house, my mother, my siblings, and all my house and everything that is with them, and rescue my soul from death. 14 And the men said to her, “Our life in return for yours, unto death.” And she said, “As the Lord should give the city over to you, show me compassion and truth.” [3] 15 And she let them down through the window. 16 And she said to them, “Go to the mountains, so that those who pursue you might not meet you. And you must hide there for three days until those pursuing you return home. And after this, go on your way.” 17 And the men said to her, “We are free of this oath of yours. 18 Look, we will enter part of the city, and you will set a sign: This scarlet thread you will fasten to the window through which you will let us down. Now, your father and your mother and your siblings and everyone in your father’s house, you will gather them to yourself in your home. 19 But anyone who should go out the door of your of house, outside, he is liable to himself, and we are free from this oath of yours. But as many as are with you in your house, we will be liable for them. 20 But if anyone should wrong us or even disclose this word of ours, we will be free from this oath of yours.” 21 And she said to them, “By your word, it will be.” And she sent them away. 22 And so they departed and went into the mountains. They stayed there for three days while their pursuers searched the entire road and did not find them. 23 And the two young men returned and came down from the mountains and crossed over the Jordan to Joshua son of Nun. They described to him in detail everything that happened to them. 24 And they said to Joshua, “The Lord has placed all the land into our hands, and everyone who lives in that land cowers before us.”

3And Joshua rose early in the morning and departed from Shittim and went as far as the Jordan, and he stayed there before the crossing. 2 And this is what happened after three days. The scribes went through the camp. 3 They commanded the people, saying, “When you should see the ark of the covenant of the Lord our God, and our priests and the Levites carrying it, you will depart from your places and go after it. 4 But there must be a distance between us and it, as much as two thousand arm lengths. You must not move. You must not approach it so that you know the direction you are following after it. For you have not gone this way yesterday or the day before.” 5 And Joshua said to the people, “Purify yourselves for tomorrow because tomorrow the Lord will do among us something marvelous.” 6 And Joshua said to the priests, “Lift the ark of the covenant of the Lord and go forward among the people.” And the priests raised the ark of the covenant of the Lord and went before the people. 7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “On this day I will begin to exalt you before all the sons of Israel so that they might know that just as I was with Moses, in the same way I will be also with you. 8 And now, command the priests who carry the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘As you enter at the midst of the water of the Jordan and then in the Jordan, you will stay still.’ ” 9 And Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Come near here and hear the word of the Lord our God. 10 By this you will know that God is alive among you and in destroying, he will destroy from our face the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Amorites and the Girgashites and the Jebusites. 11 Look! The ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over the Jordan. 12 Choose for yourselves twelve men from the sons of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And it will happen that as the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth should stop in the water of the Jordan, the water of the Jordan will come to an end, but the water coming down will stay still.” 14 And the people departed from their tents to cross over the Jordan, but the priests held the ark of the covenant before the people. 15 Now as the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went in the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord dipped in the edge of the water of the Jordan (now the Jordan was full throughout its entire flood plain like the days of the wheat harvest), 16 then they stayed still; the waters coming down from above, a single solid mass, stayed apart at a very, very far distance as far as the side of Kiriath-Jearim, but what came down, went down into the sea of Arabah, the Salt Sea, as far as to the end; it came to an end and the people stood opposite of Jericho. 17 And the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, and all the sons of Israel crossed over through dry ground until all the people finished crossing over the Jordan.

4And when all the people finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Taking men from the people, one from each tribe, 3 organize them; and take from the middle of the Jordan twelve available stones. And carrying these with you, also set them in your camp where you will camp for the night.” 4 And when Joshua had called twelve men of honor from the sons of Israel, one from each tribe, 5 he said to them, “Come in front of me before the face of the Lord, into the middle of the Jordan, and taking from there, each of you must pick up and carry a stone on his shoulders according to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel,[4] 6 so that this might be as a sign to you existing through all time, so that when your sons should ask you tomorrow, saying, ‘What is the significance of these stones for us?’ 7 And you will explain to your son, saying, ‘Because the Jordan River stopped before the face of the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth as it crossed over it, these stones also will be a memory for you for the sons of Israel until eternity.’ ” 8 And the sons of Israel acted in this way just as the Lord had commanded to Joshua, and taking twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord had directed to Joshua after the completion of the crossing of the sons of Israel, they also carried them together for themselves to the camp and laid them down there. 9 Joshua also set another twelve stones among them by the Jordan in the place by the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the stones are there until today. 10 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant stood in the Jordan until Joshua finished everything that the Lord had commanded him to announce to the people. And the people hurried and crossed over. [5] 11 And it happened that as all the people finished crossing over, the ark of the covenant of the Lord crossed over and the stones were in front of them. 12 And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the halftribe of Manasseh crossed over, prepared before the sons of Israel just as Moses had commanded them. 13 Forty thousand, armed for battle, crossed over before the Lord for battle against the city of Jericho. 14 On that day the Lord honored Joshua before the entire family of Israel, and they feared him just as they did Moses through the entire time he was alive. 15 And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 16 “Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the testimony of the Lord to step out from the Jordan.” 17 And so Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Step out from the Jordan.” 18 And it happened that as the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord stepped out from the Jordan, and when they set their feet on the land, the water of the Jordan rushed along the territory and continued just as it did yesterday and the day before throughout the entirety of the flood plain. 19 And the people went up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month, and the sons of Israel camped in Gilgal by the area toward the easta facing Jericho. 20 And these twelve stones that he took from the Jordan, Joshua set them in Gilgal, 21 saying, “When your children should ask you, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 you must inform your children that on dry ground Israel crossed this Jordan, 23 when the Lord our God dried up the water of the Jordan from before them until they all had crossed over just as the Lord our God did to the Red Sea, which the Lord our God dried up before us until we passed through, 24 so that all the nations of the earth might know that the strength of the Lord is strong and that you all might worship the Lord our God for every work.”

5And it happened that when they heard, both the king of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan and the king of the Phoenicians by the sea, that the Lord God had dried up the Jordan River before the sons of Israel during their crossing, their minds melted and they were astounded, and there was no wisdom in them, none at all before the face of the sons of Israel. Israel Is Circumcised at Gigal 2 But by this time, the Lord said to Joshua, “Make for yourself flint knives from sharp rock and sitting down, circumcise the sons of Israel.” 3 And Joshua made sharp flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel on the place called the Hill of the Foreskins. 4 This way Joshua purified the sons of Israel as many as were born during the journey and as many as were uncircumcised from the coming out from Egypt. 5 All these Joshua circumcised. For forty-two years Israel wandered in the Madbaritite wilderness, 6 thus most of those warriors who came out from the land of Egypt were uncircumcised men, those who disobeyed the commands of God concerning whom also he had determined they would not see the land that the Lord had sworn to give our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 But instead of them, he raised up their children whom Joshua circumcised because they had been uncircumcised along the way. 8 After they were circumcised, they remained there resting, staying in the camp until they recovered. 9 And the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, “On this day I have removed the insult of Egypt from you.” And Joshua called the name of that place Gilgal. 10 And the sons of Israel performed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month from evening, from the sunset at Jericho in the area beyond the Jordan on the plain. 11 And they ate from the grain of the land, unleavened and fresh. [6] 12 On this day the manna came to an end after they ate from the grain of the land, and manna was available no longer to the sons of Israel. They enjoyed the produce of the fleece of the Phoenicians in that year. 13 And it happened as Joshua was at Jericho and looking up with his eyes, he saw a person standing before him and a drawn sword was in his hand; and approaching, Joshua said to him, “Are you an ally or from the enemy?” 14 He said to him, “I, the commander of the army of the Lord, now am here.” And Joshua fell on his face upon the earth and said to him, “Master, what do you command your servant?” 15 And the Lord’s commander said to Joshua, “Untie your sandals from your feet. For the place upon which you are now standing is holy.”

6And Jericho was closed and fortified, and nobody came out from it nor went in. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have placed Jericho into your hand, and its king in it, and the soldiers in its army. 3 But you, you must station the warriors around it, in a circle. 4 And it will be that right when you sound the trumpet, they must shout, all the people together. 5 And when they shout, the walls of the city will collapse spontaneously, and all the people will go in, rushing, each at the face into the city.” 6 And Joshua the son of Nun went in to the priests,[7] 7 and he spoke to them, saying, “Order the people to go around and encircle the city, and the warriors must pass by armed before the Lord. 8 And seven priests holding seven holy trumpets must go by in the same way before the Lord, and they must signal vigorously, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord must follow after them. 9 The warriors must pass by in the front, and the priests who are in the rear behind the ark of the covenant of the Lord playing the trumpets.” 10 Joshua commanded the people, saying, “Do not cry out or let anyone hear your voice until the moment he himself tells you to shout, and then you will shout.” 11 And when the ark of the covenant of God had gone around, immediately it departed to the camp and remained there. 12 And on the second day Joshua rose in the morning, and the priests carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 13 And the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets passed on before the Lord, and the warriors went after them, and the other crowds were behind the ark of the covenant of the Lord. And the priests sounded their trumpets, and the other crowds all circled the city closely. 14 And they went back to the camp. This is how they behaved for six days. 15 And on the seventh day they rose at dawn and went around the city six times. 16 And on the seventh circuit around, the priests sounded their trumpets, and Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Cry out! For the Lord has handed over to you the city! 17 And the city itself will be cursed, and everything, as much as is in it, is for the Lord Sabaoth. Only keep safe Rahab the prostitute, her and whoever is in her house. 18 But you keep very far from the cursed city, lest forming a plan, you yourselves might steal from the cursed city, and you might set up camp with the sons of Israel with an accursed thing, and you will destroy us. 19 And all silver or gold or copper or iron will be holy for the Lord. It will be brought to the treasury of the Lord.” 20 And the priests sounded the trumpets. As soon as the people heard the trumpets, all the people together shouted loudly, making a great and powerfully loud noise. And the entire wall fell all around, and all the people went up into the city. 21 And Joshua focused on destroying it and whatever was in the city from male to female, from young to old, and to the calf and the draft animal, with the edge of his sword. 22 And to the two young men who spied out the area, Joshua said, “Go in to the house of the woman and bring her out from there and whoever is with her.” 23 And the two young men who spied out the city went to the house of the woman, and they brought out Rahab the prostitute and her father and her mother and her brother and her family and everyone, whoever was with her, and they placed her outside Israel’s camp. 24 And the city was set on fire, burning, with everything in it. Only the silver and gold and copper and iron did they set aside to be brought to the treasury of the Lord. 25 And Rahab the prostitute and all her father’s house Joshua spared. And her family has dwelled in Israel until this day. For she hid the spies whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. 26 And Joshua swore on that day before the Lord, saying, “Greatly cursed is the person who will build that city. By his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and by his youngest he will rebuild its gates.” And in this way Ozan from Bethel did: by Abiram his firstborn, he laid its foundation, and by his youngest, though he escaped, he rebuilt its gates. [8] 27 And the Lord was with Joshua, and his name was known throughout all the land.

7And the sons of Israel committed a great sin and took for themselves from the cursed city. Achan son of Carmi, son of Zimri, son of Zerah from the tribe of Judah took from the cursed city, and the Lord became wrathful with anger against the sons of Israel. 2 And Joshua sent men to Ai, which is by Bethel, saying, “Spy out Ai.” 3 And the men went up and closely inspected Ai, and they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but about two or three thousand men should go up and force the city to surrender. Not all the people should go up there, for it is small.” 4 And they went up, about three thousand men, and they fled from the face of the men of Ai. 5 And the men of Ai killed from them up to thirty-six men. And they closely pursued them from the gate and crushed them from the slope. And the heart of the people was terrified and became like water. 6 And Joshua tore his robes, and Joshua fell on the earth on his face before the Lord until evening. He and the elders of Israel, also, they all put dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, “I am praying, Lord. Why has your servant brought this people across the Jordan to hand them over to the Amorites to destroy us? And if only we had stayed and settled by the Jordan. 8 And what will I say since Israel has turned its throat toward its enemy. 9 And after the Canaanites hear and all the inhabitants of the land encircle us, and then they will remove us from the land. And what will you make of your great name?” 10 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Rise. What is this that you fall on your face? 11 The people have sinned and disobeyed the covenant that I established with them, stealing from the cursed city, and took something for their belongings. 12 The sons of Israel shall not be able to stand before the face of their enemies. They turned their throat before their enemies because they have become cursed. I will not continue to be with you if you do not remove the accursed thing from you, yourselves. 13 Rise, sanctify the people and tell them to sanctify themselves for tomorrow. This is what the Lord the God of Israel says, ‘There is a cursed thing among you. You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove the cursed thing from you. 14 And you will gather everyone in the morning according to tribe, and there will be a tribe that the Lord shall make known that you will bring near according to clan. And the clan that the Lord shall make known, you will bring it forward according to household. And the household that the Lord shall make known, you will bring it forward according to man. 15 And whoever the Lord should show, he will be burned by fire and everything that is his, because he disobeyed the covenant of the Lord and committed a sin in Israel.’ ” 16 And Joshua rose early and brought forward the people according to tribe, and the tribe of Judah was revealed. 17 And they were brought forward according to clan, and the clan of the Zerahites was revealed. And so they were brought forward according to man. 18 And Achan son of Zimri, son of Zerah, was revealed. 19 And Joshua said to Achan, “Give glory today to the Lord God of Israel and give thanksgiving. And tell me what you did, and you must not hide it from me.” 20 And Achan replied to Joshua and said, “Truly, I have sinned before the Lord God of Israel; in this way and in this way, I acted. 21 In the plunder I saw an embroidered carpet and two hundred drachmas of silver and one golden tongue of fifty drachmas, and I coveted and took them. And look, they are hidden in my tent, and the silver is hidden under them.” 22 And Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent in the camp. And these things were hidden in the tent, and the silver was under them. 23 And they brought them from the tent and carried them to Joshua and the elders of Israel, and put them in the presence of the Lord. 24 And Joshua took Achan son of Zerah and brought him to the ravine of Achor, as well as his sons and his daughters and his calves and his donkeys and all his sheep and his tent and everything that was his, as well as all the people with him. And he brought him up to the valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said to Achan, “Why have you destroyed us? May the Lord cut you off in the same way even today.” And so they stoned him with stones, all Israel. 26 And they covered him with a large pile of stones. And the Lord ceased his wrathful anger. Because of this, he named it “Valley of Achor” until this day.

8And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear nor be cowardly. Take with you all the military men and get up, go up to Ai. Look, I have given the king of Ai and his land into your hands. 2 And you will do to Ai what you did to Jericho and its king. And the plunder of the livestock you will plunder for yourself. Set now for yourself an ambush against the city in the back.” 3 And so Joshua rose and all the warrior people did also to go up to Ai. Now Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men in the army, and he sent them in the night. 4 And he commanded them, saying, “You must lie in ambush behind the city. Do not be too far from the city, and you all must be ready. 5 And I as well as everyone with me will approach the city, and it will be as if the inhabitants of Ai should come out to meet us just at that moment; then we will flee from their face. 6 And as they should come after us, we will pull them away from the city. And they will say, ‘They are fleeing from our face that way as before.’ 7 But you will rise from the ambush and go into the city. 8 By this word, you must act! Look, I have commanded you.” 9 And Joshua sent them, and they went for the ambush, and they lay between Bethel and Ai from the sea of Ai. 10 And rising early in the morning, Joshua inspected the people, and they and the elders went up before the face of the people at Ai. 11 And all the military people with him went up, and as they went, they came from opposite of the city from the east. 12 And the ambush of the city was from the sea. [9] 14 And it happened when the king of Ai saw this, he hurried and came out to meet them straight on into battle, he and all the people with him. And he did not know that there was an ambush for him behind the city. 15 And Joshua and Israel saw and retreated from their presence. 16 And they closely pursued after the sons of Israel, and they moved away from the city. 17 Nobody was left behind in Ai who did not closely pursue after Israel. And they left behind the open city and pursued after Israel. 18 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Reach out your hand with the javelin in your hand over the city; for into your hands, I have placed it. And the ambush should rise with haste from their place.” And so Joshua reached out his hand with the javelin over the city. 19 And the ambush rose with haste from their place and came out when he reached out his hand. And they came to the city and overtook it, and quickly they burned the city with fire. 20 And the inhabitants of Ai, looking around to what was behind them, they also saw smoke going up from the city into the sky, and they had no longer a place where they could flee, here or there. 21 And Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush took the city and that smoke rose from the city into the sky. And so, changing directions, they struck down the men of Ai. 22 And these men came out from the city to meet them, and these men were between the camp, on this side, and these men were on the other side, and they struck them down until none of them were left behind to survive or escape. 23 And they caught the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua. 24 And when the sons of Israel stopped killing all those in Ai in the plains and in the hill country on the descent where they closely pursued them from the city to the end, Joshua returned to Ai and struck the king with the edge of his sword. 25 And the fallen on that day were, from man to woman, twelve thousand: all the inhabitants of Ai, 27 except the spoils in the city, everything that the sons of Israel plundered for themselves by the command of the Lord, that way the Lord instructed Joshua. 28 And Joshua burned the city with fire. He made it an uninhabitable mound for eternity up to this day. 29 And the king of Ai, he hung on a forked tree, and he was on the tree until evening; and as the sun set, Joshua gave instructions, and they took down his body from the tree and threw him into a pit and placed over him a heap of stones until this day.

9But when they heard about what happened at Ai, the kings of the Amorites, those in the area beyond the Jordan, those in the hill country, and those in the plain, and those along the entire coast of the Great Sea, and those near the Lebanon, as well as the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Amorites and the Girgashites and the Jebusites, 2 gathered together with the same determination for war against Joshua and Israel, all of them together. Joshua Renews the Covenant 3 aThen Joshua built an altar to the Lord the God of Israel on the mountain of Ebal, 4 as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the sons of Israel; as it is written in the law of Moses, an altar of unhewn stones upon which an iron tool has not struck. And he sent up a sacrifice there, an offering of deliverance to the Lord. 5 And Joshua wrote upon the stones the repeated law, the law of Moses, before the sons of Israel. 6 And all Israel and their elders and the judges and their scribes passed by on one side and on another side opposite of the ark; and the priests and the Levites carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, both the sojourner and the native, half of whom were near Mount Gerizim and half of whom were near Mount Ebal, as commanded Moses the servant of the Lord to bless the people in the beginning. 7 And after these things thus Joshua read aloud all the words of this law, the blessings and the curses, according to all the things written in the law of Moses. 8 There was no word from all the things that Moses commanded Joshua that Joshua did not read aloud into the ears of all the assembly of the sons of Israel, to the men, women, children, and the sojourners who attached themselves to Israel. The Gibeonites Deceive Israel 9 The inhabitants of Gibeon heard everything that the Lord did at Jericho and Ai. 10 And indeed they acted with cunning. And going, they furnished themselves with food and prepared themselves, and putting old sackcloth on their shoulders and old wine skins of wine also broken and torn. 11 And the hollows of their sandal straps and their wooden soles were old and patched on their feet, and their robes were worn out on them, and their bread for provision was dry and hard and halfeaten. 12 And they went to Joshua, to the camp of Israel, to Gilgal, and said to Joshua and Israel, “From a land far away, we have come and now establish with us a treaty.” 13 And the sons of Israel said to the Horites, “Look, you are not living with us. How can I establish a treaty with you?” 14 And they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Where are you from and where have you come from?” 15 And they said, “From a land very far away your servants have come, in the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard of his name and everything he did in Egypt 16 and everything he did to the kings of the Amorites who are beyond the Jordan, to the Sihon, King of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, who dwelled in Ashtaroth and in Edrei. 17 And when they heard, our elders and everyone who lives in our land spoke to us, saying, ‘Take for yourselves provisions for the road and go to meet them, and you will say to them, “We are your servants.” ’ And now establish with us a treaty. 18 These loaves, we prepared them warm on the day that we left to come to you. But now they are dried up and have become eaten by mold. 19 And these are the wine skins of wine that we filled when they were new, but these have become torn. And our robes and our sandal straps have become old from the very long journey.” 20 And the rulers took from their provisions, and they did not inquire of the Lord. 21 And Joshua made peace with them, and he established with them a treaty to protect them. And the rulers of the congregation made an oath to them. 22 And it happened three days after the establishment with them of a treaty, they heard that they were from nearby them and that they were living among them. 23 And the sons of Israel departed and went to their cities. But their cities were Gibeon and Chephirah and Beeroth and the cities of Kiriathjearim. 24 And the sons of Israel did not attack them because all the rulers had made an oath with them by the Lord God of Israel. And the entire congregation muttered among themselves about the commanders. 25 And the rulers said to the entire congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord the God of Israel, and now we will not be able to touch them. 26 This we will do to spare them and so we will take them alive, and there will be no anger against us because of the oath that we swore to them. 27 They will live and be woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, just as the rulers told them.” 28 And so Joshua convened with them and said to them, “Why did you deceive me, saying, ‘We are very far away from you?’ But you are from the same country—ones who live among us! 29 And now you are even more cursed! Slaves and woodcutters from among you will never come to an end for me and my God.” 30 And they responded to Joshua, saying, “It was reported to us everything that the Lord your God instructed to Moses his servant: to give you this land and to cut us off and everyone who lived on it from your face. And we were very afraid for our lives from your face, and so we carried out this deed. 31 And now look, we are in your hands as it is pleasing to you and as it seems best to you to do to us.” 32 And they did to them accordingly, and Joshua rescued them on that day from the hands of the sons of Israel and did not take them away. 33 So Joshua appointed them on that day as woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation and the altar of God. Because of this, the inhabitants of Gibeon became woodcutters and water carriers for the altar of God until this very day and lived in the place that the Lord should choose.

10But when Adoni-bezek, king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured Ai and destroyed them, the way they did to Jericho and its king so they did to Ai and its king, and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had deserted to Joshua and Israel, 2 they became very afraid of them. For they knew that Gibeon was a great city like one of the mother states, and all its men were strong. 3 And Adoni-bezek, king of Jerusalem, sent word to Elam, king of Hebron, and to Piram, king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia, king of Lachish, and to Debir, king of Adullam, saying, 4 “Hurry! Come up to me and help me! And prepare for war against Gibeon. For they have deserted to Joshua and the sons of Israel.” 5 And the five kings of the Jebusites went up, the king of Jerusalem, and the king of Hebron, and the king of Jarmuth, and the king of Lachish, and the king of Adullam, they and all their people; and they besieged Gibeon and forced them to surrender. 6 So the inhabitants of Gibeon sent word to Joshua, to the camp of Israel in Gilgal, saying, “May you not release your hands from your servants! Come up to us quickly and rescue us and help us, because all the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country are gathering against us.” 7 And Joshua came up from Gilgal, he and all the military people with him, all the mighty warriors in the army. 8 And the Lord said to Joshua, “You must not fear them. For into your hands I have placed them. Not one will be left remaining among them before you.” 9 And when Joshua suddenly came upon them, he had come in all through the night from Gilgal. 10 And the Lord stunned them before the face of the sons of Israel. And the Lord broke them with great destruction in Gibeon, and they closely pursued them along the road ascending to Beth-horon, and cut them down as far as Azekah, and as far as Makkedah. 11 Now during their flight from the face of the sons of Israel on the descent of Bethhoron, the Lord threw down upon them hail stones from the sky as far as Azekah, and there were as many who died by the hail stones as those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword in battle. 12 Then Joshua spoke to the Lord. On that day, God put the Amorites into the hand of Israel when he broke them at Gibeon, and broke them before the face of the sons of Israel. And Joshua said: “Sun, stand still at Gibeon and moon, at ravine of Aijalon.” 13 And the sun stood still and the moon was in its position until God warded off his enemies. And the sun stood at the middle of the sky. It did not go backward or forward to setting until the end of one day. 14 And there has been no day like this neither before nor since that God would listen to a human; because the Lord joined in war with Israel. The Five Amorite Kings Defeated 16 And these five kings fled and hid in the cave in Makkedah. 17 And it was reported to Joshua, saying, “The five kings were found hiding in the caves in Makkedah.” 18 And Joshua said, “Roll stones over the mouth of the cave and set men to watch over them. 19 But you do not stop pursuing after your enemies and overtake their rear, and you must not allow them to enter into their cities. For the Lord our God put them into our hands.” 20 And it happened when Joshua and every son of Israel finished slaughtering them with a very great slaughter right up to the end, that those who got away escaped into the fortified cities. 21 And all the people returned to Joshua at Makkedah safely. And no one from the sons of Israel grumbled with his tongue. 22 And Joshua said, “Open the cave and bring out these five kings from the cave.” 23 And they brought out the five kings from the cave: the king of Jerusalem and the king of Hebron and the king of Jarmuth and the king of Lachish and the king of Adullam. 24 And when they brought them out to Joshua, Joshua called together all Israel and the chieftains of the battle who went with him, saying to them, “Come forward and place your feet on their necks.” And approaching, they put their feet on their necks. 25 And Joshua said to them, “You must not fear them nor be cowardly. Be courageous and strong because this is what the Lord will do to all your enemies whom you fight.” 26 And Joshua killed them and hung them on five trees, and they stayed hung on the trees until evening. 27 And it happened toward the setting of the sun that Joshua gave the order, and they took them down from the trees and threw them in the cave to which they fled. And they rolled stones in front of the cave which remain until this day. 28 And they captured Makkedah on that day and slayed it by the edge of the dagger and destroyed everything that breathed in it. And no one was left behind among them escaping and fleeing. And they did to the king of Makkedah what action they did to the king of Jericho. 29 And Joshua departed, and all Israel with him, from Makkedah to Libnah and besieged Libnah. 30 And the Lord placed it in the hands of Israel. So they captured it and its king. And they slew it with the edge of the sword and everything that breathed in it. And there was no one left behind in it, anyone escaping and fleeing. And they did to its king what they did to the king of Jericho. 31 And Joshua departed, and all Israel with him, from Libnah to Lachish and camped around it and besieged it. 32 And the Lord placed Lachish into the hands of Israel, and they captured it on the second day. And they slayed it by the edge of the sword and destroyed it the way they did to Libnah. 33 Then Elam, king of Gezer, came up to help Lachish, and Joshua struck him down by the edge of the sword as well as his people until none were left of them to escape and flee. 34 And Joshua departed, and all Israel with him, from Lachish to Adullam and camped around them and besieged it. 35 And the Lord placed them in the hand of Israel, and they captured it on that day. And they slayed in the way they did to Lachish. 36 And Joshua departed, and all Israel with him, to Hebron and besieged it. 37 And he struck it with the edge of his sword, and everything that breathed, as much as was in it, did not escape that action they did to Adullam. They destroyed it, and as much as was in it. 38 And Joshua and all Israel returned to Debir, and surrounding it, 39 they captured it and its king and its villages. And they struck it with the edge of the sword and destroyed it and everything that breathed in it. And they did not leave behind in it anyone for escaping. That action they did to Hebron and its king; likewise did they do to Debir and its king. 40 And Joshua struck the entire land of the hill country, and the Nabai and the plain, and the Asedoth and its kings. They did not leave behind those who escaped. And he destroyed everything that breathed, the way the Lord the God of Israel had commanded, 41 from Kadesh Barnea as far as Gaza, the entirety Goshen as far as Gibeon. 42 And Joshua struck all their kings and their land at once, because the Lord the God of Israel joined in war with Israel.

11But when Jabin, king of Hazor, heard what happened, he sent word to Jobab, the king of Merom and to the king of Shimron and to the king of Achshaph 2 and to the king by Sidon, the great in the hill country, and to the Arabah opposite Chinneroth and in the plain and in Naphoth-dor, 3 and to the Canaanites along the coast from the east, and to the Amorites along the coast, and Hivites and Jebusites and Perizzites in the hill country, and the Hittites by the wilderness in Mizpah. 4 And they went out and their kings were with them like the sand of the sea in the horde, and there were very many horses and chariots. 5 And all these kings gathered and came upon the same place and camped at the water of Merom to make war against Israel. 6 And the Lord said to Joshua, “You must not fear at their face because tomorrow this time, I will give them over, routed before Israel. Their horses, you will be cutting their hamstrings, and their chariots, you will burn them in fire.” 7 So Joshua came and all the military people upon them at the water of Merom very suddenly. And they fell upon them in the hill country. 8 And the Lord put them in the hands of Israel. And slaughtering them, they closely pursued them as far as Sidon the great and as far as Misrephoth-maim and to the plain of Mizpeh in the east. And they cut them down until none were left behind who escaped them. 9 And Joshua acted to them in that manner the Lord had commanded him. Their horses, he cut their hamstrings, and their chariots, he burned in the fire. 10 And Joshua returned at that moment and captured Hazor and its king. Hazor was the foremost chief city of all these kingdoms. 11 And they killed everything that breathed in it by the sword and destroyed everything. And there was no one left behind in it breathing. And Hazor, they burned with fire. 12 And all the cities of the king and their kings, Joshua captured them and destroyed them by the edge of the sword. And they destroyed them in that manner Moses the servant of the Lord had ordered. 13 But all the cities with fortified embankments, Israel did not burn them; Israel burnt Hazor alone. 14 And all the spoils of it the sons of Israel plundered for themselves. But they destroyed all of them by the edge of the sword, until he destroyed them. They did not leave behind from them even a single one breathing. 15 In that manner the Lord had directed Moses his servant and Moses likewise commanded Joshua, in this way Joshua did. He did not disobey anything from all that Moses had directed him. 16 And Joshua captured the entire land: the hill country and all the Negeb and all the land of Goshen and the plain and toward the west and the hill country of Israel and the low-lying regions, 17 toward the mountain opposite of Mount Halak and what rises to Seir and as far as Baal-gad and the plains of Lebanon near the mountain of Hermon. And all their kings, he captured and destroyed and killed. 18 And over many days Joshua made war against these kings. 19 There was no city that Israel did not capture; all of them they captured in battle. 20 For through the Lord, their heart had the strength to meet Israel in battle so that they might be destroyed, so as not to give them compassion, but so that they might be destroyed in that manner the Lord had said to Moses. 21 And Joshua came at that time and destroyed the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, and from Debir, and from Anab and from all of the ancestry of Israel and from all of the hill country of Judah with their cities; and Joshua destroyed them. 22 Not one of the Anakim was left behind from the sons of Israel, but only in Gaza and in Ashdod were they left behind. 23 And Joshua captured the entire land just as the Lord commanded Moses, and Joshua gave them as an inheritance for Israel in divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from making war.

12And these are the kings of the land whom the sons of Israel killed. They inherited their land beyond the Jordan from the easta from the valley of Arnon as far as Mount Hermon and all the land of Arabah from the east: 2 Sihon, the king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon, being lord from Arnon that is in the valley by the side of the valley, and the half of Gilead as far as Jabbok, the borders of the sons of Ammon; 3 and Arabah as far as the sea of Chinneroth by the east and as far as the sea of Arabah, the sea of salt from the east roadway along Asimoth from Teman by Medoth of Pisgah. 4 And Og, king of Bashan, remained out of the giants who lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, 5 ruler from Mount Hermon and from Salecah and all the Bashan as far as the border of the Gergeshites and the Maacathites, and half of Gilead of the border of Sihon, king of Heshbon. 6 Moses the servant of the Lord and the sons of Israel struck them down, and Moses gave it as an inheritance to Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 7 And these are the kings of the Amorites whom Joshua killed, and the sons of Israel in the area beyond the Jordan by the sea of Baal-gad in the plain of Lebanon, and as far as of the mountain of Halak going up to Seir. And Joshua gave them to the tribes of Israel to be an inheritance according to their share, 8 in the hill country and on the plain, and in Arabah and in Asedoth and in the wilderness and the Negeb. There were the Hittites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; 9 and the king of Jericho and the king of Ai, who was the neighbor of Bethel, 10 the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, 11 the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, 12 the king of Elam, the king of Gezer, 13 the king of Debir, the king of Asei, 14 the king of Hormah, the king of Airath, the king of Arad, 15 the king of Libnah, the king of Adullam, 16 the king of Makkedah, 17 the king of Tappuah, the king of Hepher, 18 the king of Aphek of Sharon, 19 the king of Hazor, 20 the king of Shimron, the king of Mamroth, the king of Achshaph, 21– 22 the king of Kadesh, the king of Zakach, the king of Maredoth, and the king of Jokneam in Carmel, 23 the king of Eldom in Naphath-dor, the king of Geei in Galilee, 24 the king of Tirzah; all these totaled twenty nine kings.

13And Joshua was old, being advanced in years, and so the Lord said to Joshua, “You have become advanced in years, and there is much land remaining to be captured. 2 And this is the land that remains: the borders of the Philistines, the Geshurites, and the Canaanites,[10] 3 from the uninhabited of them near the face of Egypt as far as the border of Ekron from the left of the Canaanites. It is calculated for the five provinces of the Philistines: Gaza and in Ashdod, and in Ashkelon and in Gath and in Ekron, as well as in the Avvim 4 from Teman and all the land of Canaanites before Gaza, and the Sidonians as far as Aphek, as far as the borders of the Amorites, 5 and all the land of Galiath of the Philistines and all the Lebanon from the east,a from Gilgal near Mount Hermon, as far as the road of Hamath, 6 all those living in the hill country from Lebanon as far as Misrephoth-maim, all Sidonians, I will destroy them before the face of Israel. But you must hand them over as an inheritance portion to Israel, the way I commanded you. Canaan Divided Among the Tribes 7 And now divide this land as an inheritance for the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh. From the Jordan as far as the Great Sea by the setting of the sun, you will give it to them. The Great Sea will form the border.” 8 To the tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to Reuben and Gad, Moses gave their inheritance in the region beyond the Jordan. Toward the east, Moses the servant of the Lord had given it to them 9 from Aroer, which is on the bank of the wadi of Arnon, and the town in the middle of the valley and all Mishor from Dibon, 10 all the cities of Sihon, king of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon, as far as the border of the sons of Ammon, 11 and Gilead and the borders of the Geshurites and Maacathites, the entire Mount Hermon and the entire Bashan, as far as Acha. 12 The entire kingdom of Og in Bashan, who ruled in Edrei and in Ashtaroth, this was left behind from among the giants, and Moses struck them down and destroyed him. 13 And the sons of Israel did not destroy the Geshurites and Maacathites and the Canaanites, and the king of the Geshur and Maacath continued living among the sons of Israel until this day. 14 Only the tribe of Levi was not given an inheritance. The Lord the God of Israel, he is their inheritance just as the Lord told them. And this is the division of the land that Moses distributed to the sons of Israel in Araboth of Moab on the other side of the Jordan by Jericho. 15 And Moses gave to the tribe of Reuben according to their clans. 16 And their border was from Aroer, which is by the face of the valley of Arnon and the city in the valley of Arnon and all Mishor, 17 as far as Heshbon and all the cities that are in Mishor and Dibon, and Bamoth Baal and of the house of Meelboth 18 and Basan and Kedemoth and Mephaath 19 and Kiriathaim and Sibmah and Zereth-shahar and Zair on the mountain Enab; 20 and Beth-peor and Asedoth of Pisgah and Beth-jeshimoth 21 and all the cities of Mishor, and the entire kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites whom Moses struck down, as well as the leaders of Midian and Evi and Rhobok and Shur and Hur and Reba, ruler of the spoils of Sihon, and those inhabiting Sihon. 22 And Balaam, the son of Beor, the prophet, they killed at a decisive moment. 23 So it became the borders of Reuben. The Jordan was also a border. This was the inheritance for the sons of Reuben according to their clans, their cities and their villages. 24 Moses gave to the sons of Gad according to their clans. 25 And their borders were Jazer, all the cities of Gilead and half of the land of the sons of Ammon, as far as Araba, which is opposite the face of Arad, 26 and from Heshbon as far as Araboth by Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim and Baan as far as the border of Debir. 27 And Enadom and Othargaei and Bethnimrah and Succoth and Shaphan and the other kingdom of Sihon, king of Heshbon. And the Jordan will divide it as far as part of the sea of Chinneroth, beyond the Jordan from the east. 28 This was the inheritance of the sons of Gad according to their clans: They will turn their necks before their enemies because these were according to their clans, their cities and their villages. 29 And Moses gave the half-tribe of Manasseh their inheritance according to their clans, 30 and their borders were from Mahanaim and all the kingdom of Bashan and all the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and all the villages of Jair, which are in the Bashan, sixty cities total; 31 and half of Gilead and in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, to the Machir, sons of Manasseh and the half sons of Machir, the sons of Manasseh according to their clans. 32 These were the ones whom Moses had given an inheritance to beyond the Jordan in Araboth of Moab on the other side of the Jordan by Jericho toward the east.

14And these were the inheritors of the sons of Israel in the land of Canaan, to whom Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the rulers of the families of the tribes of the sons of Israel gave an inheritance. 2 According to their shares they inherited the land in that manner the Lord had commanded by the hand of Joshua for the nine tribes and the half-tribe 3 from the other side of the Jordan. And the Levites, he did not give them a share among them. 4 For the sons of Joseph were two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim. And an inheritance portion was not given in the land for the Levites, rather they received cities to live in and their areas marked off for livestock, and their livestock. 5 The way the Lord had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel did, and they divided the land. Hebron Given to Caleb 6 And the sons of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the word that the Lord spoke to Moses, a man of God, about me and you in Kadesh Barnea. 7 For I was forty years old when Moses the servant of God sent me from Kadesh Barnea, to spy out the land and report to him an account according to his mind. 8 Now my brothers who went up with me led away the heart of the people, but I proceeded to follow the Lord my God. 9 And Moses made an oath on that day, saying, “The land on which you step will be among your inheritance and your children’s for eternity because you continued to follow after the Lord our God.” 10 And now the Lord has sustained me the way he said he would. This is my forty-fifth year from when the Lord spoke this word to Moses and Israel went in the wilderness. And now look, I today am eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as when Moses sent me, just so I am strong now to enter and to go out into battle. 12 And now I ask you for this mountain the way the Lord said on that day. For you heard this word on that day. Now the Anakim are there, cities fortified and powerful. Therefore, if the Lord should be with me, I will destroy them just as the Lord spoke to me.” 13 And so Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the son of Kenaz, as his share. 14 Because of this, Hebron was Caleb’s, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as his share until this day because he followed the command of the Lord God of Israel. 15 The name of Hebron was previously the city of Arba. This is the mother city of the Anakim. And the land rested from war.

15And the borders of the tribe of Judah were according to their clans: from the borders of Judah from the wilderness of Zin, as far as Kadesh toward the southwest. 2 And their border from the southwest went as far as part of the Salt Sea from the ridge stretching near the southwest. 3 And they go through opposite of the ascent of Akrabbim and cross by Zin, and go up toward the southwest near Kadesh Barnea, and go out from Hezron and up into Addar, and go out by the west of Karka, 4 and go out onward to Azmon, and pass through as far as the valley of Egypt, and its outlet of borders will be at the sea. These are their borders from the southwest. 5 And the borders from the east were all the Salt Sea as far as the Jordan. And their borders from the north were both from the ridge of the sea and from part of the Jordan; 6 the borders go down by Beth-hoglah and pass from the north by Beth-arabah, and the borders go up near the stone of Bohan, son of Reuben. 7 And the borders go up by the fourth part of the valley of Achor and come down by Taagad, which is in front of the approach of Adummim, which is down by the southwest valley; and they go out by the water of the fountain of the sun. And its outlet will be the spring of En-rogel. 8 And the borders go up to the valley of Hinnom near the south of Jebusites from the southwest. This is of Jerusalem. And the borders cast out upon the mountaintop that is facing the valley of Hinnom toward the sea that is from the side of the land of the Rephaim by the north. 9 And the border goes through from the mountaintop by the spring of water of Nephtoah, and it goes through toward the mountain of Ephron, and the border will lead to Iebaal. This is the city of Kiriath-jearim. 10 And the border will go around from Baal by the sea and go by to Mount Seir on ridge the city of Kiriath-jearim from the north. This is Chislon. And it will come down near the City of the Sun and go along the southwest. 11 And the border will go through by the ridge of Ekron in the north. And the border will go through toward Succoth and go by the border upon the southwest and go by Lemna. And the outlet of the border will be by sea. 12 And as for their borders from the sea, the Great Sea will be a boundary. These are the borders for the sons of Judah going around according to their clans. Caleb Captures Hebron 13 And to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, he gave a share among the sons of Judah from the command of God. And Joshua gave him the city of Kiriath-arba, capital of the Anak. This is Hebron. 14 And Caleb son of Jephunneh destroyed from there the three sons of Anak: Susi and Thoalmei and Ahiman. 15 And Caleb went down from there by those who lived in Debir. Now the name of Debir was previously the City of Letters. 16 And Caleb said, “Whoever should capture and destroy the City of Letters and gain power over it, I will give him Achsah, my daughter, as his wife.” 17 And Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, captured it. And so he gave him Achsah his daughter as his wife. 18 And it happened that she was going out and she advised him, saying, “I will ask my father for a field.” And so she cried out from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What is it you want?” 19 And she said to him, “Give me a blessing because in the land of the Negeb you have established me. Give me Boththaneis.” And he gave her Gonaithlan the Upper and Gonaithlan the Lower. The Cities of Judah 20 This is the inheritance of the tribe for the sons of Judah. 21 Now their cities were the cities belonging to the tribe of the sons of Judah near the borders of Edom, near the wilderness of Kabzeel and Eder and Hazor 22 and Kinah and Raamah and Adadah 23 and Kadesh and Hazor and Mainam 24 and Bealoth and their villages, 25 and the city of Keriothhezron (this is Hazor), 26 and Amam and Shema and Moladah 27 and Hazar-gaddah and Beth-pelet 28 and Hazar-shual and Beer-sheba, and their towns and their villages 29 Baalah and Bakok and Ezem 30 and Eltolad and Bethel and Hormah 31 and Ziklag and Madmannah and Sansannah 32 and Lebaoth and Shilhim and Ain, twenty-nine cities and their villages. 33 In the plain: Eshtaol and Zorah and Ashnah 34 and Ramen and Tavoh and Elouthoth and Maiani 35 and Jarmuth and Adullam and Membrah and Socoh and Azeka 36 and Shaaraim and Gederah and their villages, fourteen cities and their towns. 37 Zin and Hadashah and Magada Gad 38 and Dilan and Mizpeh and Jokthe-el 39 and Maches and Bozkath and Eglon 40 and Cabbon and Lahmam and Chitlish 41 and Gederoth and Beth-dagon and Naamah and Makkedah, sixteen cities and their villages. 42 Libnah and Ether and Anoch 43 and Ashnah and Nasib 44 and Keilah and Akiezi and Kezib and Mareshah and Elon, ten cities and their villages. 45 Ekron and its towns and their villages, 46 from Ekron of Gemna and all as many as are neighbors of Asedoth and their villages. 47 Ashdod and their towns and their villages, Gaza and their towns and their villages as far as the Wadi of Egypt, and the Great Sea determines their boundary. 48 And in the hill country Shamir and Jether and Socoh 49 and Dannah and the City of Letters (this is Debir) 50 and Anab and Eshtemoh and Anim 51 and Goshen and Holon and Giloh, eleven cities and their villages. 52 Arab and Dumah and Eshan 53 and Janim and Beth-tappuah and Aphekah 54 and Humtah and the city of Kiriath-arba (this is Hebron) and Zior, nine cities and their folds. 55 Maon and Carmel and Ziph and Juttah 56 and Jezreel and Jokdeam and Zanoah 57 and Gibeah and Timnah, nine cities and their villages. 58 Halhul and Bethzur and Gedor 59 and Maarath and Beth-anoth and Eltekon, six cities and their villages. 59a Theco and Ophrah (this is Bethlehem) and Phagor and Aitan and Koulon and Tatam and Eobes and Karem and Galem and Thether and Manocho, eleven cities and their villages. 60 Kiriath-baal (this is the city of Kiriath-jearim) and Sothebah, two cities and their folds. 61 And Beth-arabah and Middin and Secacah 62 and Aichioza and Nibshan and the cities of Sadom and En-gedi, seven cities and their villages. 63 And the Jebusites continued living in Jerusalem. And the sons of Judah were not able to destroy them, and so the Jebusites dwelled in Jerusalem until that day.

16And the borders of the sons of Joseph were from the Jordan near Jericho from the east, and they will go down from Jericho to the hill country, the wilderness in Bethel of Luz. 2 And it will go to Bethel and pass near the borders of the Archites. 3 And it will go along the lake beside the borders of the Japhletites as far as the borders of Lower Beth-horon, and its outlet will be by the lake. 4 And the sons of Joseph received an inheritance, Ephraim and Manasseh. 5 And the borders of the sons of Ephraim were according to their clans. And the borders of their inheritance were from the east of Astaroth and Erech as far as Upper Beth-horon and Gazara. 6 And the borders will go near the lake to Michmethath from north of Therma, around to the east to Thenasa and Sellesa, and they will pass by from the east to Janoah 7 and to Macho and Astaroth and their villages. And it will go by Jericho and go through along the Jordan. 8 And from Tappuah the borders will go along the sea by Wadi Kanah, and their outlet will be by the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Ephraim according to their clans, 9 and the cities marked off for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all their cities and villages. 10 And Ephraim did not destroy the Canaanites living in Gezer. So the Canaanites continued living in Ephraim until this day, until Pharaoh the king of Egypt came up and captured it and burned it with fire. As for the Canaanites and the Perizzites and those who lived in Gezer, they massacred them. And Pharaoh gave the land as a dowry to his daughter.

17And the borders of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh were, because he was the firstborn from Joseph, to Machir, Manasseh’s firstborn, the father of Gilead, for he was a military man in Gilead and in Bashan. 2 And for the other sons of Manasseh it was according to their clans; to the sons of Abiezer and the sons of Helek and the sons of Asriel and the sons of Shechem and the sons of Shemida and the sons of Hepher, these were the males, according to their clans. 3 And Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons but instead daughters. And these are the names of the daughters of Zelophehad: Mahlah and Noah and Hoglah and Milcah and Tirzah. 4 And they stood before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua and before the rulers, saying, “God gave the command by the hand of Moses to give us an inheritance in the midst of our brothers.” And so it was given to them by the command of the Lord: a share among the brothers of their father. 5 And their portion of land fell from Manasseh and the plain of Labek, from Gilead, which is beyond the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of the sons of Manasseh inherited a share in the midst of their brothers. But the land of Gilead was for the remaining sons of Manasseh. 7 And the borders for the sons of Manasseh were Delanath, which is opposite the face of the sons of Anath, and it goes by the borders near Jamin and Jassib by the spring of En-tappuah. 8 It will be for Manasseh and Tappuah near the borders of Manasseh to the sons of Ephraim. 9 And the borders will come down along the valley of Kanah by the southwest down the valley of Jezreel; the terebinth tree for Ephraim is by the middle of the city of Manasseh, and the border of Manasseh by the north goes toward the wadi, and its outlet will be the sea. 10 From the southwest is for Ephraim and along the north is Manasseh’s. And the sea will be the border for them, and by Iaseb they will reach along the north and by Issachar from the east. 11 And Manasseh will be in Issachar and in Asher Kaithoan and their villages, and the inhabitants of Dor and their villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and their villages, and the third part of Mapheta and its villages. 12 And the sons of Manasseh were not able to destroy these cities, and the Canaanites living in this land were ruled by them. 13 And it came about even when the sons of Israel grew strong, they made the Canaanites subjects; but destroying them, they did not destroy them. An Additional Inheritance for Joseph’s Descendants 14 But the sons of Joseph opposed Joshua, saying, “Why did you bequeath us a single share and one portion? I am a numerous people, and God has blessed me!” 15 And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest and clear it for yourself, if Mount Ephraim is too restricted for you.” 16 And they said, “Mount Ephraim does not please us. And there are excellent horses and iron for the Canaanites who live in Beth-shan and in its villages in the valley of Israel.” 17 And Joshua said to the sons of Joseph, “If you are a numerous people and have great strength, there will not be only a single share for you. 18 For the forest will be yours because there is a forest and you will clear it, and it will be yours also when you destroy the Canaanites because there are excellent horses for them. For you are stronger than they.”

18And the entire congregation of the sons of Israel assembled in Shiloh, and they pitched there the tent of testimony, and the land was subdued by them. 2 And there remained the sons of Israel who had not inherited anything, seven tribes. 3 And Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “How long will you be lazy in taking possession of the land that the Lord our God gave? 4 Appoint from among you three men from your tribe, and rising they must go through the land and mark it out before me just as it will be necessary to go through it.” And they went through to him. 5 And he divided for them seven parts: “Judah will stand for them as a border from the southwest, and the sons of Joseph will stand for them from the north. 6 Now you, divide the land in seven parts and report to me here and I will distribute for you a share before the Lord our God. 7 For there is no portion for the sons of Levi among you. The priesthood of the Lord is their portion, and Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan at the east, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave to them.” 8 And rising, the men went, and Joshua commanded the men who went to survey the land, saying, “Go and survey the land. Then return to me, and here I will distribute to you all the share before the Lord at Shiloh.” 9 And they went and surveyed the land, and they viewed it and wrote about it according to the cities, seven parts, on a document and brought it to Joshua. 10 So Joshua cast a lot for them in Shiloh before the Lord. The Inheritance of Benjamin 11 And the share of Benjamin came out first according to their clans, and the borders of their share went out between Judah and the sons of Joseph. 12 And their borders were from the north: from the Jordan the border will go up by the ridge of Jericho from the north and will go up by the mountain by the sea, and its outlet will be Madbaritis Beth-aven. 13 And the borders will go through Luz from there at the rear of Luz from the southwest of it. This is Bethel. And the borders will go down to Ataroth-addar by the hill country, that is to the southwest of Beth-horon the Lower. 14 And the borders will go through and come near the mountain looking over the sea from the southwest, from the mountain opposite the face of Beth-horon southwestward. And its outlet will be in Kiriathbaal. This is Kiriath-jearim, a city of the sons of Judah. This is the part toward the sea. 15 And the part toward the southwest is from the part of Kiriath-baal, and the borders will go through to Gasin by the spring of water of Nephtoah, 16 and the borders will go down near this part opposite the face of the wooded valley Sonnam, which is from part of Rephaim from the north, and it will go down to Hinnom by the south of the Jebusites, from the south it will go down by the spring of Enrogel, 17 and it will go through along the spring of Bethshemesh and pass by at Geliloth, which is opposite toward the ascent of Adummim, and it will go down by the stone of Bohan, of the sons of Reuben, 18 and it will go through along the ridge of Beth-arabah from the north and go down 19 along the borders at the open seaa from the north. And the outlet of the borders will be by the ridge of the Salt Sea by the north toward part of the Jordan from the south. These are the borders from the south. 20 And the Jordan will act as a boundary from the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin, its borders going around according to their clans. 21 And the cities of the sons of Benjamin according to their clans were Jericho and Beth-hoglah and Emek-keziz 22 and Beth-arabah and Sarai and Bethel 23 and Avvim and Purah and Ephratha 24 and Chephar-ammoni and Chephirah and Moni and Geba, twelve cities and their villages. 25 Gibeon and Ramah and Beeroth 26 and Mizpeh and Chephirah and Mozah 27 and Phira and Kaphan and Nakan and Selekan and Taralah 28 and Jebus (this is Jerusalem) and the cities and Gibeah of Benjamin according to their clans.

19And the second share of the sons of Simeon went out, and their inheritance was among the shares of the sons of Judah. 2 And their share was Beer-sheba and Shimea and Moladah 3 and Hazar-shual and Balah and Iason 4 and Eltolad and Bethul and Hormah 5 and Ziklag and Beth-marcaboth and Hazar-susah 6 and Beth-lebaoth and their fields, thirteen cities and their villages; 7 Ain and Thalcha and Jether and Ashan, four cities and their villages, 8 around their cities as far as Baalath-beer going to Ramah of the Negeb by the south. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their clans. 9 The inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Simeon was from the share of Judah because the portion of the sons of Judah was larger than theirs, and so the sons of Simeon received their inheritance among the midst of their share. The Inheritance of Zebulun 10 And the third share went out to Zebulun according to their clans. The borders of their inheritance will be Sarid. Their border is 11 the sea and Maralah, and it will reach to Dabbesheth in the ravine that is opposite the face of Jokneam. 12 And it returns from Sarid opposite from the eastb of Bethshemesh by the borders of Chisloth-tabor, and it will go through by Daberath and go up by Japhia, 13 and from there it will go around from opposite the east by Gebere by the city of Eth-kazin and go through along Rimmon Amathar Neah; 14 and the borders will go around by the north by Hannathon, and their outlet will be by Gephael 15 and Kattath and Nahalal and Shimron and Jericho and Bethlehem. 16 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun according to their clans, cities and their villages. The Inheritance of Issachar 17 And to Issachar, the fourth share came out. 18 And their borders were Jezreel and Chesulloth and Shunem 19 and Agin and Shion and Reeroth and Anaharath 20 and Rabbith and Kishon and Ebez 21 and Remeth and Jeon and Tomman and En-haddah and Beth-pazzez 22 and the borders will reach beside Tabor and Salim by the sea and Beth-shemesh; and the outlet of their border will be the Jordan. 23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Issachar according to their clans, the cities and their villages. The Inheritance of Asher 24 And the fifth share went out to Asher. 25 And their borders were from Helkath and Hali and Beten and Achshaph 26 and Allammelech and of Ammiel and Mishal. And it will reach Carmel by the sea and Zion and Labanath. 27 And it will return from the easta and Beth-dagon and will reach Zebulun and from Ai and Iphtah-el by the north, and the borders will go in Sapthebethme and Neiel and go through toward Chobamasomel 28 and Ebron and Rahab and Hammon and Kanah as far as Sidon the Great. 29 Then the borders will turn toward Ramah as far as the spring of Masphassat and Tyre, and then the borders will turn near Hosah. And their outlet will be the sea and from Leb and Achzib 30 and Archob and Aphek and Rehob. 31 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their clans, cities and their villages. The Inheritance of Naphtali 32 And to Naphtali the sixth share went out. 33 And their borders were Heleph and Mola and Besemiin and Arme and Nabok and Jabneel as far as Lakkum. And their outlet was the Jordan. 34 And the borders return upon the sea of Enath of Tabor and go through from there to Hukkok, and it will reach Zebulun from the south, and Asher; it will reach along the sea and the Jordan from the east. 35 And the fortified cities of the Tyres, Tyre and Hammath, Rakkath and Chinnereth 36 and Adamah and Ramah and Hazor 37 and Kedesh and Edrei and the spring of En-hazor 38 and Iron and Migdal-el, Horem and Beth-anath and Beth-shemesh. 39 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali. The Inheritance of Dan 40 And to Dan the seventh share went out. 41 And their borders were Zorah and Asa, the cities of 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 Azor and Bene-berak and Gath-rimmon; 46 and from the sea of Me-jarkon the border is beside Joppa.b 48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Dan, according to their clans, their cities and their villages; 48a and the sons of Dan did not force out the Amorites who afflicted them in the mountains. And the Amorites did not allow them to go down to the valley. And they reduced the border of their portion from them. 47 And the sons of Judah went and made war against Lachish and overtook them and struck them down with the edge of the sword. And they inhabited it and called its name, Leshem. 47a And the Amorites continued to live in Elon and in Salamin, and the hand of Ephraim weighed down on them, and they became as a tribute for them. 49 And they proceeded to come into possession of the land according to their border. And the sons of Israel gave a share to Joshua the son of Nun among them, 50 by the command of God. And so they gave him the city that he requested, Timnath-serah, which is in Mount Ephraim. And he built the city and lived in it. 51 These are the divisions that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the rulers of the families gave as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel according to their shares at Shiloh before the Lord, before the doors of the tent of the testimony. And they proceeded to come into possession of the land.

20And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Establish the cities for places of refuge that I spoke to you through Moses, 3 a place of refuge for the slayer who struck down a life unintentionally. And the cities will be for you a place of refuge, and the slayer will not be killed by the next of kin by blood until he might stand before the congregation for judgment.’ ”a 7 And he set apart Kadesh in Galilee in the mountainous region of Naphtali, and Shechem in the mountainous region of Ephraim, and the city of Kiriath-arba (this is Hebron) in the mountainous region of Judah. 8 And in the region beyond the Jordan, he gave them Bezer in the wilderness in the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in the Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. 9 These are the cities designated for the sons of Israel and for the traveler residing among them, to flee for refuge there, for all who strike down a life unintentionally, so that he might not die in the hand of the relatives by blood until he can stand before the congregation for judgment.

21And the leaders of the families of the sons of Levi approached Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the leaders of the families from the tribes of Israel. 2 And they spoke to them in Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to live in and the surrounding lands for our livestock.” 3 And the sons of Israel gave the Levites, during the giving of the inheritance by the command of the Lord, the cities and their surrounding lands. 4 And the share went out to the clan of Kohath, and there were for the sons of Aaron the priest, the Levites, from the tribe of Judah and from the tribe of Simeon and from the tribe of Benjamin, according to lot, thirteen cities. 5 And for the sons of Kohath, remaining from the tribe of Ephraim and from the tribe of Dan and from the half-tribe of Manasseh, there were according to lot, ten cities. 6 And for the sons of the Gershonites from the tribe of Issachar and from the tribe of Asher and from the tribe of Naphtali and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in the Bashan, thirteen cities. 7 And among the sons of the Merarites according to their clans, from the tribe of Reuben and from the tribe of Gad and from the tribe of Zebulun according to lot, there were twelve cities. 8 And the sons of Israel gave the Levites the cities and their surrounding lands in that manner the Lord commanded Moses, according to lots. 9 And the tribe of the sons of Judah and the tribe of the sons of Simeon and some from the tribe of the sons of Benjamin gave these cities, and they were assigned 10 to the sons of Aaron from the clan of Kohath of the sons of Levi because this was the share. 11 And he gave them Kiriatharba, the capital city of the Anak (this is Hebron) in the mountains of Judah and the surrounding lands. 12 And the fields of the city and its villages, Joshua gave to the sons of Caleb, son of Jephunneh, for a possession. 13 And to the sons of Aaron he gave a city, a place of refuge for those who kill— Hebron—and the lands marked off with it, and Libnah and the lands marked off by it, 14 and Ailom and the lands marked off for it, and Eshtemoa and the lands marked off for it, 15 and Holon and the lands marked off for it, and Debir and the lands marked off for it, 16 and Asa and the lands marked off for it, and Juttah and the lands marked off for it, and Beth-shemesh and the lands marked off for it—nine cities from these two tribes. 17 And from the tribe of Benjamin was Gibeon and the lands marked off for it, and Geba and the lands marked off for it, 18 and Anathoth and the lands marked off for it, and Almon and the lands marked off for it—four cities. 19 All the cities of the sons of Aaron the priest: thirteen. 20 And to the clan, the sons of Kohath, the Levites, who remained from the sons of Kohath, there was also a city for their priests from the tribe of Ephraim. 21 And they gave them the city for a place of refuge for the one who kills, Shechem and the lands marked off for it, and Gazara and the lands beside it and the lands marked off for it, 22 and Beth-horon and the lands marked off for it—four cities. 23 And from the tribe of Dan, Elteke and the lands marked off for it, and Gibbethon and the lands marked off for it, 24 and Elon and the lands marked off for it, and Gathrimmon and the lands marked off for it—four cities. 25 And from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach and the lands marked off for it, and Jebatha and the lands marked off for it— two cities. 26 In all there were ten cities as well as the lands marked off by it to them for the clan of the sons of Kohath who remained. 27 And for the sons of Gershonites, the Levites from the half-tribe of Manasseh, the cities marked off for the person who kills were Golan in Bashan and the lands marked off for it, and Beeshterah and the lands marked off for it—two cities. 28 And from the tribe of Issachar was Kishion and the lands marked off for it, and Daberath and the lands marked off for it, 29 and Jarmuth and the lands marked off for it, and the Spring of Letters and the lands marked off for it—four cities. 30 And from the tribe of Asher was Mishal and the lands marked off for it, and Abdon and the lands marked off for it, 31 and Helkath and the lands marked off for it, and Rahab and the lands marked off for it—four cities. 32 And from the tribe of Naphtali were the cities marked off for those who kill, Kedesh in Galilee and the lands marked off for it, and Nemmath and the lands marked off for it, and Themmon and the lands marked off for it—three cities. 33 All the cities of Gershon according to their clans: thirteen cities. 34 And for the clan of the sons of Merarite, for the Levites remaining, from the tribe of Zebulun there was Maon and its surrounding lands, and Kadesh and its surrounding lands, 35 and Zillah and its surrounding lands—three cities. 36 And beyond the Jordan by Jericho from the tribe of Reuben, the cities for refuge for the one who kills were Bezer in the wilderness, Mishor and its surrounding lands, and Jahzah and its surrounding lands, 37 and Kedemoth and its surrounding lands, and Mephaath and its surrounding lands—four cities. 38 And from the tribe of Gad, the city for refuge for the one who kills was Ramoth in Gilead and its surrounding lands, Mahanaim and its surrounding lands, 39 and Heshbon and its surrounding lands, and Jazer and its surrounding lands. In total, there were four cities. 40 All the cities for the sons of Merari, according to their clans of those who remained from the tribe of Levi, and the borders were the twelve cities. 41 All cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel totaled forty-eight cities and their surrounding lands, 42 around these cities, a city and the surrounding lands around the cities, for all these cities. 42a And Joshua finished distributing the land in their boundaries. 42b And the sons of Israel gave a portion to Joshua according to the command of the Lord; they gave to him the city for which he asked; they gave to him Timnathserah in the mountain of Ephraim. 42c And Joshua built the city, and he lived in it. 42d And Joshua took the swords of stone by which he circumcised the sons of Israel who were on the way in the desert, and he placed them in Timnath-serah. 43 And so the Lord gave Israel all the land that he swore to give to their ancestors, and they inherited it and settled in it. 44 And the Lord made them rest all around, just as he swore to their ancestors. No one rose up against them from all their enemies. All their enemies, the Lord handed over into their hands. 45 Not one promise failed from all the good words that the Lord spoke to the sons of Israel. All of them happened.

22Then Joshua called together the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and he said to them, “You have heard everything, as much as Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you, and you paid attention to my voice, according to everything, as much as he commanded you. 3 You have not abandoned your brothers these many days until the present day. You kept the command of the Lord your God. 4 And now the Lord our God has brought rest to our brothers the way he told them. Now, therefore, in returning depart to your homes and to the land of your possession that Moses gave to you in the region of them beyond the Jordan. 5 But you must take very much care to do the commands and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded us to do: to love the Lord our God, to go by all his ways, to keep his commands, and to hold fast to him, and to serve him with your whole mind and with your whole soul.” 6 And then Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their homes. 7 And to the half-tribe of Manasseh, Moses gave an inheritance in Bashan and to the half Joshua gave an inheritance with its brothers in the region of them beyond the Jordan by the sea. And when Joshua sent away them to their homes and blessed them, 8 and with much wealth they departed to their homes and very much livestock and silver and gold and iron and much clothing, and they divided the plunder of the enemies with their brothers. The Eastern Tribes Build an Altar 9 And so the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of the descendants of Manasseh went from the sons of Israel in Shiloh in the land of Canaan to depart to the land of Gilead to the land of their possession that they inherited by the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses. 10 And they came to Gilgal along the Jordan, which is in the land of Canaan, and the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar along the Jordan, a great altar upon which to look. 11 And the sons of Israel heard, saying, “Look, the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar at the border of the land of Canaan by Gilead along the Jordan in the region beside the sons of Israel.” 12 And all the sons of Israel assembled at Shiloh to go up to prepare for war against them. 13 And the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben and to the descendants of Gad and to the sons of the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the high priest, 14 and twelve of the rulers with him, one ruler from each ancestral house from all the tribes of Israel. They were rulers of the ancestral houses, commanders of thousands in Israel. 15 And they came to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh in the region of Gilead, and they spoke to them, saying, 16 “This is what the entire congregation of the Lord says, ‘What is this sin that you committed before the God of Israel to turn back today from the Lord, building for you, yourselves, an altar that you should become rebels from the Lord? 17 Is the sin of Peor small to you that we have not been clean from him until this day and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord? 18 And you, did you turn away today from the Lord? And it will be, if you should depart today from the Lord, tomorrow upon all Israel there will be anger. 19 And now, if the land of your possession is too small, cross over to the land of the Lord’s possession, there where the tent of the Lord resides, and you will receive an inheritance among us; and do not become rebels from God and do not depart from the Lord by building your altar separate from the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Look, did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a sin from the cursed thing and upon the whole congregation of Israel there was anger? And did he himself alone die for his own sin?’ ” 21 And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh responded and spoke to the commanders of thousands of Israel, saying, 22 “God, the Lord is God, and God, God himself knows, and Israel itself will know; if we have committed sin in rebellion before the Lord, may he never deliver us in this! 23 And if we build an altar for ourselves so as to depart from the Lord our God, so as to offer on it a sacrifice of a burnt offering, so as to do upon it a sacrifice of deliverance, the Lord will demand an account of us. 24 But because of discretion about the matter, we did this, saying, ‘So that in the future your children might not say to our children, “What is the Lord God of Israel to you?” ’ 25 And the Lord set boundaries between us and you, the Jordan, and there is no portion of the Lord for you. And your sons will alienate our sons so that they will not worship the Lord. 26 And we said that we would act in this way, to build this altar not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifice, 27 but that this would be a testimony between us and you and between our sons with you to serve in service to the Lord before you in our burnt offerings and in our sacrifices and in sacrifices of deliverance. And your children will not say to our children, tomorrow, ‘There is no portion of the Lord for you.’ 28 And we said, ‘If it should happen at any time, and they should speak to us and our sons tomorrow and say, “See, the likeness of an altar of the Lord that our ancestors built neither for burnt offerings nor for sacrifice, but it is a testimony between you and us and between our sons.” ’ 29 May it never be, therefore, that we turn back from the Lord on the present day to depart from the Lord so as that we build an altar for the burnt offerings and the sacrifice of salameina and the sacrifice of deliverance, except the altar of the Lord that is before his tent.” 30 And Phinehas the priest and all the rulers of the congregation of Israel who were with him heard the words that the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh spoke, and it pleased them. 31 And Phinehas the priest said to the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, “Today we have seen that the Lord is with us because you did not commit sin before the Lord and that you have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand of the Lord.” 32 And Phinehas the priest as well as the rulers returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad and from the half-tribe of Manasseh, from Gilead to the land of Canaan to the sons of Israel; and they reported the words to them. 33 And it pleased the sons of Israel; and they spoke to the sons of Israel, and they blessed the God of the sons of Israel and said, “No longer will we go up to them in battle to destroy the land of the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh.” And they settled on it. 34 And Joshua named the altar of the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh and said, “It is a witness between them that the Lord is their God.”

23And it happened that after many days after the Lord brought rest to Israel from all their enemies all around, that Joshua was old, advanced in age. 2 So Joshua convened all the sons of Israel and their council and their rulers and their scribes and their judges, and he said to them, “I have grown old and have become advanced in age. 3 Now you have seen as much as the Lord our God did to all these nations from before us because it was the Lord our God who made war with us. 4 See that whatever I said to you, the nations are being left behind for you, these are among the shares for your tribes from the Jordan all the nations, also some I destroyed, and from the Great Sea. It will be a boundary at the setting of the sun. 5 The Lord our God, he will destroy them from before us until they should be destroyed and he will send against them wild animals until he should destroy them and their kings from your face, and you will receive their land just as the Lord our God told you. 6 Therefore, be very strong to keep and do all that is written in the document of the law of Moses so that you might turn neither to the right nor the left, 7 so that you might not go to these nations left behind, and the names of their gods will not be named among you. Neither shall you in any way bow down to them nor serve them, 8 but to the Lord our God you will hold fast just as you have done until this day. 9 And the Lord will utterly destroy them from your face, nations great and strong, and no one stood before us until this day. 10 One of you has pursued thousands because the Lord our God made war with us just as he said to us. 11 “And take very much care to love the Lord our God. 12 For if you should turn back and join these nations that remain with you and make marriages with them and integrate with them and they with you, 13 know that the Lord will not continue to destroy these nations from our face, and they will become to you as a snare and as a stumbling block and as nails in your heels and as arrows in your eyes until you should be destroyed from this good land that the Lord your God gave you. 14 But I am departing on the way, just as also everyone in the land, and you will know in your heart and your soul, not one word from all the words that the Lord our God said to everything that belongs to us fell to the ground; not one is lost from them. 15 And it will be the way all the good words that the Lord spoke to us have come to us, so the Lord God will bring upon you all the evil words until he removes you from this good land that the Lord gave you, 16 when you disobey the covenant of the Lord our God that he commanded us, by leaving that you might serve other gods and bow to them.”

24And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shiloh and convened their elders and their scribes and their judges, and he set them in front of their God. [11] 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord the God of Israel says, ‘Beyond the river your ancestors settled from the beginning, Terah, Abraham’s father and the father of Nahor, and served other gods. 3 And I took your father Abraham from beyond the river and led him in all the land and multiplied his seed and gave him Isaac, 4 and Isaac, Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the mountain of Seir for him to inherit, and Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt and became there as a great nation, many and strong, and the Egyptians afflicted them. 5 And he struck Egypt by what he did to them, and after this he brought [12] 6 our fathers out from Egypt. And you went into the Red Sea, and the Egyptians closely pursued after our fathers in chariots and on horses into the Red Sea. 7 And we cried out to the Lord, and he appointed a cloud and darkness between us and the Egyptians and brought upon them the sea and covered them. And your eyes saw as much as the Lord did in the land of Egypt. And you were in the wilderness many days. 8 And he brought us into the land of the Amorites who live beyond the Jordan, and the Lord delivered them into our hands, and you inherited their land and removed them from your face. 9 And Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, stood and prepared for battle against Israel; and sending for him, he invited Balaam to curse us. 10 And the Lord your God did not want to destroy you, and he blessed us with a blessing, and rescued us from their hands, and delivered them. 11 And you crossed over the Jordan and arrived in Jericho, and they made war against us, the inhabitants of Jericho: the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites and the Hittites and the Girgashites; and the Lord put them in our hands. 12 And he sent the hornet ahead of us, and he sent out from before us twelve kings of the Amorites neither by your sword nor by your bow. 13 And he gave you land upon which you did not toil and cities which you did not build, and you settled in them, and vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant you will eat from. 14 And now, fear the Lord and serve him in uprightness and in righteousness, and put away the foreign gods that our fathers served in the region beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if it is not pleasing to you to serve the Lord, choose for you yourselves today whom you will serve, whether the gods of your fathers in the region of them beyond the river or the gods of the Amorites among whom you live upon their land. I and my household will serve the Lord because he is holy.’ ” 16 And in response, the people said, “May it never happen to us that we should depart from the Lord to serve other gods. 17 The Lord our God, he is God. He brought us up, and our fathers, from Egypt and protected us on the whole way that we went on it, and among all the nations that we passed by. 18 And the Lord drove out the Amorites and all the nations dwelling in the land from our face, but we also will serve the Lord for he is our God.” 19 And Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord because he is a holy God and he is zealous. He will not forgive your sins and your transgressions. 20 When you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, then coming upon you, he will afflict you and consume you because he did good for you.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No. Rather we will serve the Lord.” 22 And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves because you have chosen the Lord, to serve him. 23 And now remove the other gods among you and direct your heart to the Lord God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord we serve, and his voice we listen to.” 25 And Joshua established a covenant with the people on that day, and he gave them law and judgment in Shiloh before the tent of the God of Israel. 26 And he wrote these words in the document of the law of God and took a large stone, and Joshua set it by the terebinth tree in front of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to the people, “Look, this stone is among you to be evidence because it has heard everything that was said to it by the Lord, whatever he spoke to us today, and this will be among you to be a witness at the last day when you should deal falsely with the Lord my God.” [13] 28 And Joshua sent the people away, and they went, each to his home. 29 And it happened after that and Joshua son of Nun, servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and twelve years. 30 And they buried him at the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah in Mount Ephraim from the north of the mount of Gilead. There they put with him as a memorial, at the place that they buried him there, the flint swords by which he circumcised the sons of Israel at Gilgal when he brought them out from Egypt just as the Lord directed them. And there they remain until this very day. 31 And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders as many as had experienced the time with Joshua and as many as had seen all the deeds of the Lord, as many as he did for Israel. [14] 32 And the bones of Joseph the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt. And they buried them in Shechem in the part of the field that Jacob had acquired from the Amorites who lived by Shechem for one hundred lambs. 33 And it happened with these events that Eleazar, son of Aaron the high priest, passed away and was buried in Gibeah of Phinehas his son, which he gave him on Mount Ephraim. 33a On that day, when the sons of Israel took the ark of God, they carried it around among themselves, and Phinehas served as the priest in place of Eleazar his father until he died and was buried in Gibeah, in his own place. 33b But the sons of Israel departed, each to his home and to their own city. And the sons of Israel worshipped Astarte and Ashtaroth and the gods of the nations surrounding them. And so the Lord put them into the hands of Eglon the king of Moab, and he ruled over them eighteen years.[15]