Joshua 15
Judah’s Land
1The lot was drawn for the families of the tribe of Judah. Their territory extends as far south as the territory of Edom and the desert of Zin. 2The southern border starts from the south end of the Dead Sea 3and goes south of the Akrabbim Pass. It then passes Zin and goes up south of Kadesh Barnea. From there it goes to Hezron, up to Addar, around to Karka, 4and on to Azmon. It comes out at the River of Egypt so that the border ends at the Mediterranean Sea. This is the southern border.
5The eastern border is the Dead Sea as far north as the mouth of the Jordan River.
The northern border starts from the north end of the Dead Sea at the mouth of the Jordan 6and goes up to Beth Hoglah. It then passes north to Beth Arabah and goes up to the Rock of Bohan, son of Reuben. 7From the valley of Achor, the border goes up to Debir and turns north to the region that faces the Adummim Pass, south of the valley. Then the border passes the Springs of En Shemesh and ends at En Rogel. 8It continues up the valley of Ben Hinnom to the south slope of the Jebusite city Jerusalem. It then goes to the top of the mountain that overlooks the valley of Hinnom to the west at the north end of the valley of Rephaim. 9From the top of that mountain the border goes around to the spring of Nephtoah. From there it goes to the cities of Mount Ephron and around to Baalah (now called Kiriath Jearim). 10From Baalah the border turns west to Mount Seir and over to the north slope of Mount Jearim (now called Chesalon). Then it goes down to Beth Shemesh and on to Timnah. 11From there the border goes on the north side of Ekron and turns to Shikkeron, on to Mount Baalah, and comes out at Jabneel. The border ends at the Mediterranean Sea.
12The western border is the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. These are the borders around Judah that belong to their families.
13Joshua gave Caleb, son of Jephunneh, a share of land among the people of Judah as the Lord had told them. It was Kiriath Arba (now called Hebron). Arba was the father of Anak. 14Caleb forced out Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, three descendants of Anak from Hebron. 15From there he marched against the people living in Debir. (In the past Debir was called Kiriath Sepher.)
16Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife to anyone who attacks Kiriath Sepher and captures it.” 17Then Othniel, son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz, captured it. So Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. 18When she came to Othniel, she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”
19She answered, “Give me a blessing. Since you’ve given me some dry land, also give me some springs.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
20This is the land inherited by the families of the tribe of Judah.
21On the farthest edge of the Negev, on the border of Edom, they gave the tribe of Judah 29 cities with their villages: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 22Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, 25Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (now called Hazor), 26Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, 28Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, 29Baalah, Iim, Ezem, 30Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, 31Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon.
33In the foothills they gave Judah 14 cities with their villages: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, 36Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim.
37They also gave Judah 16 other cities with their villages: Zenan, Hadashah, Migdalgad, 38Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, 39Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 40Cabbon, Lahmas, Chitlish, 41Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah.
42An additional nine cities with their villages were given to Judah: Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah.
45Judah also received Ekron with its cities and villages. 46This included all the cities with their villages between Ekron and the Mediterranean Sea and alongside Ashdod. 47Added to this were Ashdod and Gaza with their cities and villages as far as the River of Egypt and the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
48In the mountains they gave Judah 11 cities with their villages: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, 49Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (now called Debir), 50Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51Goshen, Holon, and Giloh.
52They also gave Judah nine other cities with their villages: Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 53Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, 54Humtah, Kiriath Arba (now called Hebron), and Zior.
55They also received another ten cities with their villages: Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah.
58Halhul, Bethzur, Gedor, 59Maarath, Bethanoth, and Eltekon were six other cities with their villages that were given to Judah. (Greek adds, “They also gave them 11 cities with their villages: Tekoa, Ephrathah (now called Bethlehem), Peor, Etam, Dulon, Tatam, Sores, Carem, Gallim, Bether, and Manach.”)
60The two cities of Kiriath Baal (now called Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah with their villages ⌞were given to Judah⌟.
61In the desert Judah was given six cities with their villages: Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62Nibshan, Ir Hamelah, and En Gedi.
63However, Judah was not able to force out the people of Jebus who lived in Jerusalem. So they still live with Judah in Jerusalem today.
Joshua 16
Land for Joseph’s Sons
1The lot was drawn for Joseph. The border of Joseph’s territory goes from the Jordan River at Jericho to the springs of Jericho on the east, through the desert that goes up from Jericho, and through the mountains to Bethel. 2From Bethel the border goes to Luz and over to Ataroth at the border of the Archites. 3Then it descends west to the border of Japhlet and Lower Beth Horon, on to Gezer, and ends at the Mediterranean Sea. 4So Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, received this land as their inheritance.
Ephraim’s Land
5This is the territory for the families descended from Ephraim. The eastern border of the land they inherited is from Ataroth Addar to Upper Beth Horon. 6From there the border goes west, with Michmethath on the north. The border then turns east to Taanath Shiloh and passes east to Janoah. 7From Janoah it descends to Ataroth and Naarah, touches Jericho, and ends at the Jordan River. 8At Tappuah the border goes west along the Kanah River and ends at the Mediterranean Sea. This is the land given as an inheritance to the families of the tribe of Ephraim 9with all the cities and their villages selected for Ephraim in Manasseh’s territory. 10However, they did not force out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites still live in Ephraim today, but they are required to do forced labor.
Joshua 17
Manasseh’s Land
1The lot was drawn for the tribe of Manasseh, because Manasseh was Joseph’s firstborn. Machir, Manasseh’s firstborn, the ancestor of the people living in Gilead, had received Gilead and Bashan because he was a soldier. 2The land was given to the rest of the families descended from Manasseh, to the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were the male descendants of Joseph’s son Manasseh listed by their families.
3Zelophehad, son of Hepher, grandson of Gilead, and great-grandson of Machir, whose father was Manasseh, had no sons—only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4They came to the priest Eleazar, Joshua (son of Nun), and the leaders. They said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us some land as an inheritance among our male relatives.” So they gave them an inheritance among their father’s relatives as the Lord had required. 5Ten portions of land went to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan River. 6These portions were distributed because Manasseh’s daughters were given an inheritance along with his sons, while Gilead belonged to Manasseh’s other descendants.
7Manasseh’s border extends from Asher to Michmethath, which faces Shechem. Then the border goes south toward the people who live in En Tappuah. 8(The land of Tappuah belongs to Manasseh, but Tappuah itself, on the border of Manasseh, belongs to Ephraim.) 9The border then descends southward to the Kanah River. These cities belong to Ephraim, although they are among Manasseh’s cities. Manasseh’s ⌞southern⌟ border is the river, which ends at the Mediterranean Sea. 10What is south ⌞of the river⌟ belongs to Ephraim, and what is north ⌞of it⌟ belongs to Manasseh. So the Mediterranean Sea ⌞is its western border⌟, Asher its northern border, and Issachar its eastern border. 11In Issachar and Asher, Manasseh possessed Beth Shean and Ibleam with their villages and the people living in Dor, En Dor, Taanach, and Megiddo and their villages. The last three are on mountain ridges.
12But Manasseh was not able to take possession of these cities since the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land. 13When the Israelites became strong enough, they made the Canaanites do forced labor, since they didn’t force all of them out.
14Joseph’s descendants asked Joshua, “Why did you give us only one region for an inheritance? We have a lot of people because the Lord has blessed us.”
15Joshua replied, “If there are so many of you, go into the forest! Clear ground for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaim if the mountains of Ephraim are too confining for you.”
16Joseph’s descendants responded, “The mountains are not enough for us either. Besides, all the Canaanites living in the valley, in Beth Shean and its villages, and in the valley of Jezreel have chariots made of iron.”
17Then Joshua said to the descendants of Joseph, ⌞the tribes of⌟ Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are an important and very powerful people. One region is really not enough for you. 18The mountain region will be yours as well. It is a forest, so you will have to clear it. All of it will be yours. But you must force out the Canaanites, even though they are strong and have chariots made of iron.”
Joshua 18
The Second Stage in Dividing the Land
1The whole congregation of Israel gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land was under their control.
2There were still seven tribes in Israel who had not yet received any land as their inheritance. 3So Joshua asked the Israelites, “How long are you going to waste time conquering the land which the Lord God of your ancestors has given you? 4Choose three men from each tribe, and I will send them out. They will survey the land and write a description of it which shows ⌞the borders of⌟ their inheritance. Then they will come back to me. 5They will divide the land into seven parts. Judah will stay within its territory in the south, and Joseph’s descendants will stay within their territory in the north. 6You must describe the seven parts of the land and report to me here. I will draw lots for you here in the presence of the Lord our God. 7Levi’s tribe has no separate region among you, because their inheritance is to serve the Lord as priests. The tribes of Gad and Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh have received the inheritance that the Lord’s servant Moses gave them on the east side of the Jordan River.”
8As the men got ready to go, Joshua ordered them to write a description of the land. He said, “Go survey the land. Write a description of it, and return to me. Then I will draw lots for you in the presence of the Lord here in Shiloh.”
9The men surveyed the land. They described it in a book. The land was divided into seven parts according to its cities. Then they returned to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. 10So Joshua drew lots for them in the presence of the Lord in Shiloh. There Joshua divided the land among the tribes of Israel.
Benjamin’s Land
11The lot was drawn for the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Their territory lies between Judah’s and Joseph’s. 12Their northern border starts at the Jordan, goes up the slope north of Jericho, west through the mountains, and ends at the desert of Beth Aven. 13From there the border goes to the south slope of Luz (now called Bethel). Then the border goes down to Ataroth Addar over the mountains south of Lower Beth Horon. 14The border turns and goes around on the west side, south of the mountain that faces Beth Horon, and ends at Kiriath Baal (now called Kiriath Jearim), a city of Judah. 15The southern border begins just outside Kiriath Jearim and goes west, to the springs of Nephtoah. 16Then the border descends to the foot of the mountain that overlooks the valley of Ben Hinnom, in the north end of the valley of Rephaim. It descends to the valley of Hinnom, to the south slope of the city of Jebus, and down to En Rogel. 17Then it turns north and goes to En Shemesh and from there to the region opposite the Adummim Pass. It descends to the Rock of Bohan, son of Reuben. 18Then it continues on to the north side of the slope facing the plains and down into the plains. 19The border continues to the north slope of Beth Hoglah and ends at the northern bay of the Dead Sea at the south end of the Jordan River. This is its southern border. 20The Jordan River is its eastern border. These are the borders surrounding the inheritance given to Benjamin for its families.
21These are the 12 cities with their villages that belong to the tribe of Benjamin for its families: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, 22Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24Chephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba. 25There were 14 other cities with their villages: Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, 27Rekem, Ir Peel, Taralah, 28Zela, Eleph, Jebus (now called Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kiriath. This is Benjamin’s inheritance for its families.
Joshua 19
Simeon’s Land
1The second lot was drawn for the families of the tribe of Simeon. Their inheritance was within Judah. 2In their inheritance they received 13 cities and their villages: Beersheba (Sheba), Moladah, 3Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, 4Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, 6Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen. 7There were four other cities with their villages: Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan. 8All the villages around these cities as far as Baalath Beer and Ramath Negev were also included. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon for its families. 9Simeon’s inheritance was a part of Judah’s because Judah had more land than it needed. So Simeon received its inheritance inside Judah’s borders.
Zebulun’s Land
10The third lot was drawn for the families descended from Zebulun. The border of their inheritance goes as far as Sarid. 11Toward the west the border ascends to Maralah and touches Dabbesheth and the river near Jokneam. 12But from Sarid it turns directly east toward the border of Chisloth Tabor, on to Daberath, and then ascends toward Japhia. 13From there it goes directly east to Gath Hepher, Eth Kazin, and Rimmon, where it turns to Neah. 14There the border turns north to Hannathon and ends at the valley of Iphtah El. 15This also includes Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem. There were 12 cities with their villages. 16These cities with their villages are the inheritance given to the families descended from Zebulun.
Issachar’s Land
17The fourth lot was drawn for the families descended from Issachar. 18Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, 19Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah, and Beth Pazzez. 22The border touches Tabor, Shahazimah, and Beth Shemesh and ends at the Jordan River. There were 16 cities with their villages. 23These cities with their villages are the inheritance for the families of the tribe of Issachar.
Asher’s Land
24The fifth lot was drawn for the families of the tribe of Asher. 25Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, 26Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. The border touches Carmel and Shihor Libnath in the west. 27Then it turns east to Beth Dagon and touches Zebulun and the valley of Iphtah El in the north and goes to Beth Emek and Neiel. From there it goes northward to Cabul, 28Abdon, (Some Hebrew manuscripts, Joshua 21:30; 1 Chronicles 6:59; other Hebrew manuscripts “Ebron.”) Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, and as far as Great Sidon. 29Then it turns at Ramah and goes on to the fortified city of Tyre. The border then turns to Hosah and ends at the Mediterranean Sea. The territory includes Meheleb, Achzib, 30Umma, Acco, Aphek, and Rehob. There were 22 cities with their villages. 31These cities with their villages are the inheritance for the families of the tribe of Asher.
Naphtali’s Land
32The sixth lot was drawn for the families descended from the tribe of Naphtali. 33Their border starts from Heleph at the oak tree at Zaanannim. It continues to Adami Nekeb, Jabneel, to Lakkum, and ends at the Jordan River. 34The border turns west to Aznoth Tabor, and from there to Hukok. It touches Zebulun in the south, Asher in the west, and Judah in the east at the Jordan. 35The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, 36Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, 38Yiron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemeth. There were 19 cities with their villages. 39These cities with their villages are the inheritance for the families of the tribe of Naphtali.
Dan’s Land
40The seventh lot was drawn for the families of the tribe of Dan. 41The territory of their inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, 42Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, 46Me Jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border passing in front of Joppa. 47The border of Dan extended beyond them. Dan’s descendants went up and attacked Leshem, captured it, and killed everyone there. They took it, settled there, and renamed the city Dan after their ancestor Dan. 48These cities with their villages are the inheritance for the families of the tribe of Dan.
Special Land for Joshua
49When they all had finally received the land they were to inherit, the people of Israel also gave land within their territory as an inheritance to Joshua, son of Nun. 50They gave him the city he asked for, as the Lord had instructed them to do. It was Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim. He rebuilt the city and lived there.
51This is the land that the tribes of Israel drew by lot. The priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the families divided the land by drawing lots. They did this in Shiloh in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.
Joshua 20
Six Cities of Refuge
1The Lord said to Joshua, 2“Tell the people of Israel, ‘Now choose for yourselves the cities of refuge about which I spoke to you through Moses. 3Choose them so that anyone who unintentionally kills someone may run to them. They will be a place of refuge from any relative who can avenge the death.
4“ ‘A person who kills someone accidentally can run to one of these cities. There he will stand at the entrance to the city, where court is held, and present his case to the leaders of that city. Then they will take him into their city and give him a place to live with them.
5“ ‘If the relative who can avenge the death pursues him, the leaders must not hand him over to the relative because he didn’t intend to kill the other person. He didn’t even hate the person he killed. 6The accused person may remain in that city until he can stand trial in front of the congregation or until whoever is chief priest at that time dies. Then he may go back to his home in the city from which he ran away.’ ”
7Kedesh in Galilee in the mountains of Naphtali, Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (now called Hebron) in the mountains of Judah were chosen as cities of refuge. 8Bezer on the desert plateau from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh were chosen as cities of refuge on the east side of the Jordan River, east of Jericho.
9These are the cities chosen as cities of refuge for all Israelites, including the foreigners living among them. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may escape to these cities. Then he will not be handed over to the relative who can avenge a death before he stands trial in front of the congregation.
Joshua 21
Cities for the Tribe of Levi
1Then the leaders of the families of Levi came to the priest Eleazar, to Joshua (son of Nun), and to the leaders of the families of the other Israelite tribes 2at Shiloh in Canaan. They said to them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that we should receive cities to live in and pasturelands for our livestock.” 3So, as the Lord had instructed, Levi’s descendants were given the following cities with pasturelands from the Israelites’ inheritance.
4These are the cities for the families of Kohath that were chosen by drawing lots. These descendants of the priest Aaron the Levite received 13 cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5The rest of Kohath’s descendants received 10 cities from the families of the tribes of Ephraim and Dan and half of the tribe of Manasseh.
6Gershon’s descendants received 13 cities from the families of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and half of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7Merari’s descendants received 12 cities for their families from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 8The Israelites gave these cities with pasturelands to Levi’s descendants by drawing lots, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
Cities for Kohath’s Descendants
9These are the names of the cities from the tribes of Judah and Simeon 10that they gave Aaron’s descendants who were from the families of Kohath in the tribe of Levi. Their lot was the first one drawn. 11They gave them Kiriath Arba (Arba was Anak’s father) and the pastureland around it. This is the city of Hebron located in the mountains of Judah. 12But they gave its fields and villages to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, as his possession. 13So they gave the following cities with pasturelands to the descendants of Aaron, the priest. The nine cities from those two tribes were Hebron (a city of refuge for murderers), Libnah, 14Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15Holon, Debir, 16Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh. 17The tribe of Benjamin also gave them four cities: Gibeon, Geba, 18Anathoth, and Almon. 19In all, 13 cities with pasturelands were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
20Cities were chosen by lot from the tribe of Ephraim to give to the rest of Levi’s descendants who were from the families of Kohath. 21These four cities with pasturelands were Shechem (a city of refuge for murderers) in the mountains of Ephraim, Gezer, 22Kibzaim, and Beth Horon. 23The tribe of Dan gave them four cities: Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon. 25Half of the tribe of Manasseh gave them two cities with pasturelands: Taanach and Gath Rimmon. 26In all, ten cities with pasturelands were given to the rest of the families of Kohath.
Cities for Gershon’s Descendants
27They gave the families of Gershon’s descendants, who were in the tribe of Levi, two cities with pasturelands from half of the tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for murderers) and Ashtaroth. 28Four cities with pasturelands were also given to them from the tribe of Issachar: Kishion, Daberath, 29Jarmuth, and En Gannim. 30Another four cities with pasturelands were given to them from the tribe of Asher: Mishal, Abdon, 31Helkath, and Rehob. 32Also three cities with pasturelands were given to them from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for murderers), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan. 33In all, 13 cities with pasturelands were given to Gershon’s families.
Cities for Merari’s Descendants
34To the families of Merari, who were from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of Zebulun gave four cities with pasturelands: Jokneam, Kartah, 35Dimnah, and Nahalal. 36The tribe of Reuben also gave them four cities with pasturelands: Bezer, Jahaz, 37Kedemoth, and Mephaath. 38The tribe of Gad also gave them four cities with pasturelands: Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for murderers), Mahanaim, 39Heshbon, and Jazer. 40All these cities belonged to the families of Merari. They were the last of the families of Levi. These 12 cities were chosen by lot.
41Within the territory owned by the Israelites there were 48 cities in all for Levi’s descendants. 42Each of these cities had its own pastureland around it.
43So the Lord gave Israel the whole land he had sworn to give their ancestors. They took possession of it and settled there. 44The Lord allowed them to have peace on every side, as he had sworn with an oath to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies stood up to them. The Lord handed all their enemies over to them. 45Every single good promise that the Lord had given the nation of Israel came true.
Joshua 22
Joshua Blesses the Tribes That Live East of the Jordan River
1Joshua summoned the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. 2He said to them, “You have done everything the Lord’s servant Moses commanded you. You have also obeyed me in everything I commanded you. 3All this time, to this day, you have never deserted your relatives. You have carefully kept the commands of the Lord your God.
4“Now the Lord your God has given your relatives peace, as he promised them. So return home, to the land that is your own possession. It is the land that the Lord’s servant Moses gave you east of the Jordan River. 5Carefully follow the commands and teachings that the Lord’s servant Moses gave you. Love the Lord your God, follow his directions, and keep his commands. Be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and soul.” 6Then Joshua blessed them. He sent them on their way, and they went to their homes.
7Moses had given land in Bashan as an inheritance to half of Manasseh, and Joshua had given the other half of the tribe their land with their relatives west of the Jordan. When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them. 8He also said to them, “Return to your homes with your vast wealth, large herds of livestock, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and loads of clothing. Divide the loot from your enemies with your relatives.”
An Altar for the LORD Is Built East of the Jordan River
9So the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh left the rest of the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan. They returned to Gilead. This was their own possession which they had captured as the Lord had instructed them through Moses. 10Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh came to the region of the Jordan that was still in Canaan. They built an altar by the Jordan River. The altar was very large and highly visible. 11The rest of the Israelites heard about it and said, “See there! Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the border of Canaan. It’s in the region near the Jordan River on Israel’s side.” 12When the people of Israel heard about it, the whole congregation of Israel gathered at Shiloh. They intended to wage war against them.
13The Israelites sent Phinehas, son of the priest Eleazar, to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh in Gilead. 14Ten leaders, one from each tribe in Israel, went with him. Each man was a leader of a household and head of a family division in Israel. 15When they arrived these leaders said to the people of Gilead, 16“All of the Lord’s congregation is asking, ‘What is this faithless act you have committed against the God of Israel?’ Today you have turned away from following the Lord by building an altar for yourselves. Today you have rebelled against the Lord! 17Does the sin we committed at Peor mean nothing to us anymore? Didn’t we cleanse ourselves from it? Because of that sin there was a plague on the Lord’s congregation! 18You have turned away from following the Lord! Today you rebel against the Lord, and tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. 19If your land is unclean, (“Unclean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.) come over here to the Lord’s land. The Lord’s tent is standing here. Take some property for yourselves among us. Don’t rebel against the Lord or against us by building an altar for yourselves in addition to the altar of the Lord our God. 20Didn’t Achan, son of Zerah, act faithlessly with the things claimed by the Lord? Didn’t the Lord become angry with the whole congregation of Israel? Achan wasn’t the only one who died because of his sin.”
21Then the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh answered the heads of the divisions of Israel. 22They said, “The Lord is ⌞the only true⌟ God! The Lord is ⌞the only true⌟ God! He knows, so let Israel know! If our act is rebellious or unfaithful to the Lord, 23don’t spare us today. If we built an altar with the intention of no longer following him, and if we built it for making burnt offerings, grain offerings, or fellowship offerings, let the Lord punish us.
24“We were worried because of the situation we’re in. We thought sometime in the future your children might say to our children, ‘What relationship do you have with the Lord God of Israel? 25The Lord has made the Jordan River a dividing line between us and you, the descendants of Reuben and Gad. You have no connection with the Lord!’ So your descendants would stop our descendants from worshiping the Lord. 26Then we said, ‘Let’s build an altar for ourselves. It will not be for burnt offerings or sacrifices, 27but it will stand as a witness between us for generations to come. It will stand as a witness that we may worship in the presence of the Lord with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings.’ Then your descendants cannot say to our descendants, ‘You have no connection with the Lord!’ 28So we thought, if this statement is made to us or to our descendants in the future, we will answer, ‘Look at the model of the Lord’s altar our ancestors made. They didn’t make it for burnt offerings or sacrifices but to stand as a witness between us.’ 29It would be unthinkable for us to rebel against the Lord or to turn back today from following the Lord by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices in addition to the altar of the Lord our God that is in front of his tent.”
30When the priest Phinehas, the leaders of the congregation, and the heads of the divisions of Israel heard what the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh said, they were satisfied. 31Then Phinehas, son of the priest Eleazar, said to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know the Lord is among us, because you did not commit an unfaithful act against the Lord. Now you have rescued the people of Israel from the Lord’s punishment.”
32Then Phinehas (son of the priest Eleazar) and the leaders returned from Reuben and Gad in Gilead to Israel in Canaan and gave them the report. 33The people of Israel were satisfied with the report. So they praised God and didn’t talk anymore about going to war against Reuben and Gad and destroying the land where they were living.
34The tribes of Reuben and Gad gave the altar a name: Witness Between Us That the Lord Is ⌞the Only True⌟ God.
Joshua 23
A Reminder to Follow Moses’ Teachings
1A long time afterward, the Lord gave the Israelites peace with all their enemies around them. Joshua was old, near the end of his life. 2So he called all the leaders, chiefs, judges, and officers of Israel together. He said to them, “I am old, near the end of my life. 3You have seen for yourselves everything the Lord your God did to all those nations. The Lord your God fought for you! 4I have given you the territory of the nations that still remain as an inheritance for your tribes. This includes the territory of all the nations I have already destroyed from the Jordan River westward to the Mediterranean Sea. 5The Lord your God will expel them right in front of your eyes and force them out of your way. You will take their land as the Lord your God told you. 6Now you must be very strong to keep and to do everything written in the Book of Moses’ Teachings. Don’t turn away from them. 7Don’t get mixed up with the nations left in your territory. Don’t ever mention the names of their gods or swear an oath to them. Don’t ever serve their gods or bow down to them. 8But you must be loyal to the Lord your God, as you have been until now. 9The Lord has forced important and powerful nations out of your way. Not one person has ever been able to stand up to you. 10One of you used to chase a thousand. That was because the Lord your God was fighting for you, as he had promised you. 11Be very careful to love the Lord your God.
12“But if you turn away and go along with the other nations within your ⌞borders⌟, if you intermarry with them or associate with them, 13then you should know that the Lord your God will never again force these people out of your way. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap for you, a whip laid to your sides, and thorns in your eyes until none of you are left in this good land that the Lord your God has given you.
14“Pay attention, because I will soon die like everyone else. You know with all your heart and soul that not one single promise which the Lord your God has given you has ever failed to come true. Every single word has come true.
15“Every good word the Lord your God has promised you has come true for you. In the same way the Lord will bring about every evil curse until he has destroyed you from this good land that he has given you. 16When you ignore the conditions (Or “covenant.”) placed on you by the Lord your God and follow other gods, serve them and bow down to them, the Lord will be angry with you. Then you will quickly disappear from the good land he has given you.”
Joshua 24
Joshua Adds an Agreement to the Book of God’s Teachings
1Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called together Israel’s leaders, chiefs, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves to God.
2Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: Long ago your ancestors, Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor, lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and served other gods. 3But I took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the Euphrates River. I led him through all of Canaan and gave him many descendants. I also gave him Isaac. 4To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the mountains in Seir as his own. However, Jacob and his sons went to Egypt.
5“Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with plagues. Later I led you out. 6When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, you came to the sea. The Egyptians with their chariots and horsemen chased your ancestors to the Red Sea. 7When your ancestors cried out to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians. He made the sea flow back and cover them. You saw for yourselves what I did to Egypt. Then you lived in the desert for a long time.
8“After that I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived on the east side of the Jordan River. They fought you. However, I handed them over to you. So you took their land, and I destroyed them in front of you. 9Then Balak, son of King Zippor of Moab, fought Israel. He summoned Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you. 10But I refused to listen to Balaam. All he could do was bless you. So I saved you from his power.
11“Then you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho, the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites fought you. But I handed them over to you. 12I sent hornets ahead of you to force out the two kings of the Amorites ahead of you. These things didn’t happen because of your battle skills or fighting ability. 13So I gave you a land that you hadn’t farmed, cities to live in that you hadn’t built, vineyards and olive groves that you hadn’t planted. So you ate all you wanted!
14“Fear the Lord, and serve him with integrity and faithfulness. Get rid of the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve only the Lord. 15But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Even if you choose the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live, my family and I will still serve the Lord.”
16The people responded, “It would be unthinkable for us to abandon the Lord to serve other gods. 17The Lord our God brought us and our ancestors out of slavery in Egypt. He did these spectacular signs right before our eyes. He guarded us wherever we went, especially as we passed through other nations. 18The Lord forced out all the people ahead of us, including the Amorites who lived in this land. We, too, will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”
19But Joshua answered the people, “Since the Lord is a holy God, you can’t possibly serve him. He is a God who does not tolerate rivals. He will not forgive your rebellious acts and sins. 20If you abandon the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you. He will destroy you, although he has been so good to you.”
21The people answered Joshua, “No! We will ⌞only⌟ serve the Lord!”
22Joshua said to the people, “You have testified that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”
They answered, “Yes, we have!”
23“Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Turn yourselves entirely over to the Lord God of Israel.”
24The people replied to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.”
25That day Joshua made an agreement for the people and set up laws and rules for them at Shechem. 26Joshua wrote these things in the Book of God’s Teachings. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree at the Lord’s holy place. 27Joshua told all the people, “This stone will stand as a witness for us. It has heard all the words which the Lord spoke to us. It will stand as a witness for you. You cannot deceive your God.” 28Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own property.
The Deaths of Joshua and Eleazar
29After these events, the Lord’s servant Joshua, son of Nun, died. He was 110 years old. 30He was buried on his own land at Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.
31Israel served the Lord as long as Joshua and the older leaders, who outlived him and who knew everything the Lord had done for Israel, were alive.
32Joseph’s bones, which the people of Israel had brought from Egypt, were buried at Shechem. They were placed in the plot of ground Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver. The plot was inherited by Joseph’s descendants.
33Aaron’s son Eleazar also died. He was buried on the hill that had been given to his son Phinehas in the mountains of Ephraim.