Bible (Jewish Publication Society 1917)/Joshua

 

יהושע

JOSHUA

1Now it came to pass after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying: ²'Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. ³Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, to you have I given it, as I spoke unto Moses. ⁴From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border. ⁵There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. ⁶Be strong and of good courage; for thou shalt cause this people to inherit the land which I swore unto their fathers to give them. ⁷Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses My servant commanded thee; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest have good success whithersoever thou goest. ⁸This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy ways prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. ⁹Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.'

¹⁰Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying: ¹¹'Pass through the midst of the camp, and command the people, saying: Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye are to pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.'

¹²And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, spoke Joshua, saying: ¹³'Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, you, saying: The Lord your God giveth you rest, and will give you this land. ¹⁴Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall abide in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan; but ye shall pass over before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and shall help them; ¹⁵until the Lord have given your brethren rest, as unto you, and they also have possessed the land which the Lord your God giveth them; then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and possess it, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising.'

¹⁶And they answered Joshua, saying: 'All that thou hast commanded us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us we will go. ¹⁷According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee; only the Lord thy God be with thee, as He was with Moses. ¹⁸Whosoever he be that shall rebel against thy commandment, and shall not hearken unto thy words in all that thou commandest him, he shall be put to death; only be strong and of good courage.'

2And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two spies secretly, saying: 'Go view the land, and Jericho.' And they went, and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lay there. ²And it was told the king of Jericho, saying: 'Behold, there came men in hither to-night of the children of Israel to search out the land.' ³And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying: 'Bring forth the men that are come to thee, that are entered into thy house; for they are come to search out all the land.' ⁴And the woman took the two men, and hid them; and she said: 'Yea, the men came unto me, but I knew not whence they were; ⁵and it came to pass about the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out; whither the men went I know not; pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.' ⁶But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had spread out upon the roof. ⁷And the men pursued after them the way to the Jordan unto the fords; and as soon as they that pursued after them were gone out, the gate was shut. ⁸And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; ⁹and she said unto the men: 'I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. ¹⁰For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan, unto Sihon and to Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. ¹¹And as soon as we had heard it, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath. ¹²Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that ye also will deal kindly with my father's house—and give me a true token—¹³and save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.' ¹⁴And the men said unto her: 'Our life for yours, if ye tell not this our business; and it shall be, when the Lord giveth us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.' ¹⁵Then she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was upon the side of the wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. ¹⁶And she said unto them: 'Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers light upon you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned; and afterward may ye go your way.' ¹⁷And the men said unto her: 'We will be guiltless of this thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. ¹⁸Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by; and thou shalt gather unto thee into the house thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household. ¹⁹And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless; and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. ²⁰But if thou utter this our business, then we will be guiltless of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.' ²¹And she said: 'According unto your words, so be it.' And she sent them away, and they departed; and she bound the scarlet line in the window. ²²And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned; and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not. ²³Then the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun; and they told him all that had befallen them. ²⁴And they said unto Joshua: 'Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; and moreover all the inhabitants of the land do melt away before us.'

3And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and they removed from Shittim, and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel; and they lodged there before they passed over. ²And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the midst of the camp; ³and they commanded the people, saying: 'When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. ⁴Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure; come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore.'

⁵And Joshua said unto the people: 'Sanctify yourselves; for to-morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.' ⁶And Joshua spoke unto the priests, saying: 'Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on before the people.' And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.

⁷And the Lord said unto Joshua: 'This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. ⁸And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying: When ye are come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, ye shall stand still in the Jordan.'

⁹And Joshua said unto the children of Israel: 'Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.' ¹⁰And Joshua said: 'Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Jebusite. ¹¹Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth on before you over the Jordan. ¹²Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, for every tribe a man. ¹³And it shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, even the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand in one heap.' ¹⁴And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over the Jordan, the priests that bore the ark of the covenant being before the people; ¹⁵and when they that bore the ark were come unto the Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bore the ark were dipped in the brink of the water—for the Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the time of harvest—¹⁶that the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap, a great way off from Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those that went down toward the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off; and the people passed over right against Jericho. ¹⁷And the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, while all Israel passed over on dry ground, until all the nation were passed clean over the Jordan.

4And it came to pass, when all the nation were clean passed over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke unto Joshua, saying: ²'Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, ³and command ye them, saying: Take you hence out of the midst of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood, twelve stones made ready, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging-place, where ye shall lodge this night.'

⁴Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man; ⁵and Joshua said unto them: 'Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; ⁶that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask in time to come, saying: What mean ye by these stones? ⁷then ye shall say unto them: Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off; and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.' ⁸And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord spoke unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. ⁹Joshua also set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests that bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there unto this day. ¹⁰And the priests that bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until every thing was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua; and the people hastened and passed over. ¹¹And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed on, and the priests, before the people. ¹²And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, passed on armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke unto them; ¹³about forty thousand ready armed for war passed on in the presence of the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.

¹⁴On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.

¹⁵And the Lord spoke unto Joshua, saying: ¹⁶'Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan.' ¹⁷Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying: 'Come ye up out of the Jordan.' ¹⁸And it came to pass, as the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up out of the midst of the Jordan, as soon as the soles of the priests' feet were drawn up unto the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned unto their place, and went over all its banks, as aforetime. ¹⁹And the people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, on the east border of Jericho. ²⁰And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, did Joshua set up in Gilgal. ²¹And he spoke unto the children of Israel, saying: 'When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying: What mean these stones? ²²then ye shall let your children know, saying: Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. ²³For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up from before us, until we were passed over, ²⁴that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty; that ye may fear the Lord your God for ever.'

5And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, that were by the sea, heard how that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel, until they were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.

²At that time the Lord said unto Joshua: 'Make thee knives of flint, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.' ³And Joshua made him knives of flint, and circumcised the children of Israel at ^[1]Gibeath-ha-araloth. ⁴And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: all the people that came forth out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came forth out of Egypt. ⁵For all the people that came out were circumcised; but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. ⁶For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the nation, even the men of war that came forth out of Egypt, were consumed, because they hearkened not unto the voice of the Lord; unto whom the Lord swore that He would not let them see the land which the Lord swore unto their fathers that He would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁷And He raised up their children in their stead; them did Joshua circumcise; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised by the way. ⁸And it came to pass, when all the nation were circumcised, every one of them, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.

⁹And the Lord said unto Joshua: 'This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.' Wherefore the name of that place was called ^[2]Gilgal, unto this day.

¹⁰And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal; and they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. ¹¹And they did eat of the produce of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes and parched corn, in the selfsame day. ¹²And the manna ceased on the morrow, after they had eaten of the produce of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

¹³And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand; and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him: 'Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?' ¹⁴And he said: 'Nay, but I am captain of the host of the Lord; I am now come.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said unto him: 'What saith my lord unto his servant?' ¹⁵And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua: 'Put off thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy.' And Joshua did so.

6Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.—²And the Lord said unto Joshua: 'See, I have given into thy hand Jericho, and the king thereof, even the mighty men of valour. ³And ye shall compass the city, all the men of war, going about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. ⁴And seven priests shall bear seven rams' horns before the ark; and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the horns. ⁵And it shall be, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the horn, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him.' ⁶And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them: 'Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven rams' horns before the ark of the Lord.' ⁷And he said unto the people: 'Pass on, and compass the city, and let the armed body pass on before the ark of the Lord.' ⁸And it was so, that when Joshua had spoken unto the people, the seven priests bearing the seven rams' horns before the Lord passed on, and blew with the horns; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. ⁹And the armed men went before the priests that blew the horns, and the rearward went after the ark, [the priests] blowing with the horns continually. ¹⁰And Joshua commanded the people, saying: 'Ye shall not shout, nor let your voice be heard, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.' ¹¹So he caused the ark of the Lord to compass the city, going about it once; and they came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.

¹²And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³And the seven priests bearing the seven rams' horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew with the horns; and the armed men went before them; and the rearward came after the ark of the Lord, [the priests] blowing with the horns continually. ¹⁴And the second day they compassed the city once, and returned into the camp; so they did six days. ¹⁵And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early at the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times; only on that day they compassed the city seven times. ¹⁶And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the horns, that Joshua said unto the people: 'Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city. ¹⁷And the city shall be devoted, even it and all that is therein, to the Lord; only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. ¹⁸And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the devoted thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed by taking of the devoted thing, so should ye make the camp of Israel accursed, and trouble it. ¹⁹But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are holy unto the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.' ²⁰So the people shouted, and [the priests] blew with the horns. And it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the horn, that the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. ²¹And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. ²²And Joshua said unto the two men that had spied out the land: 'Go into the harlot's house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye swore unto her.' ²³And the young men the spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had, all her kindred also they brought out; and they set them without the camp of Israel. ²⁴And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein; only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. ²⁵But Rahab the harlot, and her father's household, and all that she had, did Joshua save alive; and she dwelt in the midst of Israel, unto this day; because she hid the messengers, whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

²⁶And Joshua charged the people with an oath at that time, saying: 'Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city, even Jericho; with the loss of his first-born shall he lay the foundation thereof, and with the loss of his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.'

²⁷So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land.

7But the children of Israel committed a trespass concerning the devoted thing; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the devoted thing; and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.

²And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spoke unto them, saying: 'Go up and spy out the land.' And the men went up and spied out Ai. ³And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him: 'Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; make not all the people to toil thither; for they are but few.' ⁴So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men; and they fled before the men of Ai. ⁵And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men; and they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them at the descent; and the hearts of the people melted, and became as water. ⁶And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon their heads. ⁷And Joshua said: 'Alas, O Lord God, wherefore hast Thou at all brought this people over the Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to cause us to perish? would that we had been content and dwelt beyond the Jordan! ⁸Oh, Lord, what shall I say, after that Israel hath turned their backs before their enemies! ⁹For when the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land hear of it, they will compass us round, and cut off our name from the earth; and what wilt Thou do for Thy great name?'

¹⁰And the Lord said unto Joshua: 'Get thee up; wherefore, now, art thou fallen upon thy face? ¹¹Israel hath sinned; yea, they have even transgressed My covenant which I commanded them; yea, they have even taken of the devoted thing; and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have even put it among their own stuff. ¹²Therefore the children of Israel cannot stand before their enemies, they turn their backs before their enemies, because they are become accursed; I will not be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you. ¹³Up, sanctify the people, and say: Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow; for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: There is a curse in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. ¹⁴In the morning therefore ye shall draw near by your tribes; and it shall be, that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall come near by families; and the family which the Lord shall take shall come near by households; and the household which the Lord shall take shall come near man by man. ¹⁵And it shall be that he that is taken with the devoted thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath; because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought a wanton deed in Israel.'

¹⁶So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel near by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken. ¹⁷And he brought near the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zerahites. And he brought near the family of the Zerahites man by man; and Zabdi was taken. ¹⁸And he brought near his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. ¹⁹And Joshua said unto Achan: 'My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and make confession unto Him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide nothing from me.' ²⁰And Achan answered Joshua, and said: 'Of a truth I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done. ²¹When I saw among the spoil a goodly ^[3]Shinar mantle, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.' ²²So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. ²³And they took them from the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel; and they laid them down before the Lord. ²⁴And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the mantle, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had; and they brought them up unto the valley of Achor. ²⁵And Joshua said: 'Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day.' And all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire, and stoned them with stones. ²⁶And they raised over him a great heap of stones, unto this day; and the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called The valley of ^[4]Achor, unto this day.

8And the Lord said unto Joshua: 'Fear not, neither be thou dismayed; take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land. ²And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king; only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves; set thee an ambush for the city behind it.' ³So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up to Ai; and Joshua chose out thirty thousand men, the mighty men of valour, and sent them forth by night. ⁴And he commanded them, saying: 'Behold, ye shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city; go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready. ⁵And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city; and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them. ⁶And they will come out after us, till we have drawn them away from the city; for they will say: They flee before us, as at the first; so we will flee before them. ⁷And ye shall rise up from the ambush, and take possession of the city; for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand. ⁸And it shall be, when ye have seized upon the city, that ye shall set the city on fire; according to the word of the Lord shall ye do; see, I have commanded you.' ⁹And Joshua sent them forth; and they went to the ambushment, and abode between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua lodged that night among the people.

¹⁰And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. ¹¹And all the people, even the men of war that were with him, went up, and drew nigh, and came before the city, and pitched on the north side of Ai—now there was a valley between him and Ai. ¹²And he took about five thousand men, and set them in ambush between Beth-el and Ai, on the west side of Ai. ¹³So the people set themselves in array, even all the host that was on the north of the city, their rear lying in wait on the west of the city; and Joshua went that night into the midst of the vale. ¹⁴And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that the men of the city hastened and rose up early and went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed, in front of the Arabah; but he knew not that there was an ambush against him behind the city. ¹⁵And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. ¹⁶And all the people that were in Ai were called together to pursue after them; and they pursued after Joshua, and were drawn away from the city. ¹⁷And there was not a man left in Ai or Beth-el, that went not out after Israel; and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel.

¹⁸And the Lord said unto Joshua: 'Stretch out the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai; for I will give it into thy hand.' And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. ¹⁹And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and entered into the city, and took it; and they hastened and set the city on fire. ²⁰And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way; and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers. ²¹And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned back, and slew the men of Ai. ²²And the other came forth out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side; and they smote them, so that they let none of them remain or escape. ²³And the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.

²⁴And it came to pass, when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, even in the wilderness wherein they pursued them, and they were all fallen by the edge of the sword, until they were consumed, that all Israel returned unto Ai, and smote it with the edge of the sword. ²⁵And all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai. ²⁶For Joshua drew not back his hand, wherewith he stretched out the javelin, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. ²⁷Only the cattle and the spoil of that city Israel took for a prey unto themselves, according unto the word of the Lord which He commanded Joshua. ²⁸So Joshua burnt Ai, and made it a heap for ever, even a desolation, unto this day. ²⁹And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until the eventide; and at the going down of the sun Joshua commanded, and they took his carcass down from the tree, and cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raised thereon a great heap of stones, unto this day.

³⁰Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord, the God of Israel, in mount Ebal, ³¹as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of unhewn stones, upon which no man had lifted up any iron; and they offered thereon burnt-offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace-offerings. ³²And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote before the children of Israel. ³³And all Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, that bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as well the stranger as the home-born; half of them in front of mount Gerizim and half of them in front of mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel. ³⁴And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. ³⁵There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that walked among them.

9And it came to pass, when all the kings that were beyond the Jordan, in the hill-country, and in the Lowland, and on all the shore of the Great Sea in front of Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof, ²that they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.

³But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, ⁴they also did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine skins, worn and rent and patched up; ⁵and worn shoes and clouted upon their feet, and worn garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and was become crumbs. ⁶And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel: 'We are come from a far country; now therefore make ye a covenant with us.' ⁷And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites: 'Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a covenant with you?' ⁸And they said unto Joshua: 'We are thy servants.' And Joshua said unto them: 'Who are ye? and from whence come ye?' ⁹And they said unto him: 'From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God; for we have heard the fame of Him, and all that He did in Egypt, ¹⁰and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. ¹¹And our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying: Take provision in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them: We are your servants; and now make ye a covenant with us. ¹²This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and is become crumbs. ¹³And these wine-skins, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they are rent. And these our garments and our shoes are worn by reason of the very long journey.' ¹⁴And the men took of their provision, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. ¹⁵And Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the princes of the congregation swore unto them.

¹⁶And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. ¹⁷And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. ¹⁸And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord, the God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. ¹⁹But all the princes said unto all the congregation: 'We have sworn unto them by the Lord, the God of Israel; now therefore we may not touch them. ²⁰This we will do to them, and let them live; lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we swore unto them.' ²¹And the princes said concerning them: 'Let them live'; so they became hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation, as the princes had spoken concerning them. ²²And Joshua called for them, and he spoke unto them, saying: 'Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying: We are very far from you, when ye dwell among us? ²³Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall never fail to be of you bondmen, both hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.' ²⁴And they answered Joshua, and said: 'Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the Lord thy God commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore we were sore afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. ²⁵And now, behold, we are in thy hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do.' ²⁶And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. ²⁷And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Lord, unto this day, in the place which He should choose.

10Now it came to pass, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; ²that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty. ³Wherefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying: ⁴'Come up unto me, and help me, and let us smite Gibeon; for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.' ⁵Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped against Gibeon, and made war against it. ⁶And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying: 'Slack not thy hands from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us; for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill-country are gathered together against us.' ⁷So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour.

⁸And the Lord said unto Joshua: 'Fear them not; for I have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand against thee.' ⁹Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly; for he went up from Gilgal all the night. ¹⁰And the Lord discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon; and they chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. ¹¹And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died; they were more who died with the hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.

¹²Then spoke Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of Israel:

'Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon;

And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.'

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

Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies.

Is not this written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. ¹⁴And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.

¹⁵And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.

¹⁶And these five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷And it was told Joshua, saying: 'The five kings are found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.' ¹⁸And Joshua said: 'Roll great stones unto the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to keep them; ¹⁹but stay not ye; pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities; for the Lord your God hath delivered them into your hand.' ²⁰And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, and the remnant which remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, ²¹that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace; none whetted his tongue against any of the children of Israel. ²²Then said Joshua: 'Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forth those five kings unto me out of the cave.' ²³And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon. ²⁴And it came to pass, when they brought forth those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the chiefs of the men of war that went with him: 'Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings.' And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. ²⁵And Joshua said unto them: 'Fear not, nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage; for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.' ²⁶And afterward Joshua smote them, and put them to death, and hanged them on five trees; and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening. ²⁷And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had hidden themselves, and laid great stones on the mouth of the cave, unto this very day.

²⁸And Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof; he utterly destroyed them and all the souls that were therein, he left none remaining; and he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done unto the king of Jericho.

²⁹And Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah. ³⁰And the Lord delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining in it; and he did unto the king thereof as he had done unto the king of Jericho.

³¹And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it. ³²And the Lord delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah.

³³Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining.

³⁴And Joshua passed from Lachish, and all Israel with him, unto Eglon; and they encamped against it, and fought against it. ³⁵And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

³⁶And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it. ³⁷And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but he utterly destroyed it, and all the souls that were therein.

³⁸And Joshua turned back, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it. ³⁹And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining; as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to the king thereof.

⁴⁰So Joshua smote all the land, the hill-country, and the South, and the Lowland, and the slopes, and all their kings; he left none remaining; but he utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded. ⁴¹And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon. ⁴²And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. ⁴³And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.

11And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor heard thereof, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, ²and to the kings that were on the north, in the hill-country and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the Lowland, and in the regions of Dor on the west, ³to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the hill-country, and the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. ⁴And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many. ⁵And all these kings met together, and they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight with Israel.

⁶And the Lord said unto Joshua: 'Be not afraid because of them; for to-morrow at this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel; thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.' ⁷So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly, and fell upon them. ⁸And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, and they smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-maim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining. ⁹And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him; he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.

¹⁰And Joshua turned back at that time, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword; for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms. ¹¹And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them; there was none left that breathed; and he burnt Hazor with fire. ¹²And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and he smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed them; as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. ¹³But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only—that did Joshua burn. ¹⁴And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any that breathed. ¹⁵As the Lord commanded Moses His servant, so did Moses command Joshua; and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.

¹⁶So Joshua took all that land, the hill-country, and all the South, and all the land of Goshen, and the Lowland, and the Arabah, and the hill-country of Israel, and the Lowland of the same; ¹⁷from the bare mountain, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon; and all their kings he took, and smote them, and put them to death. ¹⁸Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. ¹⁹There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon; they took all in battle. ²⁰For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, to come against Israel in battle, that they might be utterly destroyed, that they might have no favour, but that they might be destroyed, as the Lord commanded Moses.

²¹And Joshua came at that time, and cut off the Anakim from the hill-country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill-country of Judah, and from all the hill-country of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. ²²There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the children of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, did some remain. ²³So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord spoke unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land had rest from war.

12Now these are the kings of the land, whom the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising, from the valley of Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the Arabah eastward: ²Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, and the middle of the valley, and half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, the border of the children of Ammon; ³and the Arabah unto the sea of Chinneroth, eastward, and unto the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, eastward, the way to Beth-jeshimoth; and on the south, under the slopes of Pisgah; ⁴and the border of Og king of Bashan, of the remnant of the Rephaim, who dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, ⁵and ruled in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and half Gilead, even unto the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. ⁶Moses the servant of the Lord and the children of Israel smote them; and Moses the servant of the Lord gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

⁷And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the children of Israel smote beyond the Jordan westward, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the bare mountain, that goeth up to Seir; and Joshua gave it unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions; ⁸in the hill-country, and in the Lowland, and in the Arabah, and in the slopes, and in the wilderness, and in the South; the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:

⁹the king of Jericho, one;

the king of Ai, which is beside Beth-el, one;

¹⁰the king of Jerusalem, one;

the king of Hebron, one;

¹¹the king of Jarmuth, one;

the king of Lachish, one;

¹²the king of Eglon, one;

the king of Gezer, one;

¹³the king of Debir, one;

the king of Geder, one;

¹⁴the king of Hormah, one;

the king of Arad, one;

¹⁵the king of Libnah, one;

the king of Adullam, one;

¹⁶the king of Makkedah, one;

the king of Beth-el, one;

¹⁷the king of Tappuah, one;

the king of Hepher, one;

¹⁸the king of Aphek, one;

the king of the Sharon, one;

¹⁹the king of Madon, one;

the king of Hazor, one;

²⁰the king of Shimron-meron, one;

the king of Achshaph, one;

²¹the king of Taanach, one;

the king of Megiddo, one;

²²the king of Kedesh, one;

the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one;

²³the king of Dor in the region of Dor, one;

the king of Goiim in the Gilgal, one;

²⁴the king of Tirzah, one.

All the kings thirty and one.

13Now Joshua was old and well stricken in years; and the Lord said unto him: 'Thou art old and well stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. ²This is the land that yet remaineth: all the regions of the Philistines, and all the Geshurites; ³from the Shihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the border of Ekron northward—which is counted to the Canaanites; the five lords of the Philistines: the Gazite, and the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, and the Ekronite; also the Avvim ⁴on the south; all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongeth to the Zidonians, unto Aphek, to the border of the Amorites; ⁵and the land of the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baal-gad under mount Hermon unto the entrance of Hamath; ⁶all the inhabitants of the hill-country from Lebanon unto Misrephoth-maim, even all the Zidonians; them will I drive out from before the children of Israel; only allot thou it unto Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee. ⁷Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.' ⁸With him the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the Lord gave them; ⁹from Aroer, that is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the table-land from Medeba unto Dibon; ¹⁰and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, unto the border of the children of Ammon; ¹¹and Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all mount Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salcah; ¹²all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei—the same was left of the remnant of the Rephaim—for these did Moses smite, and drove them out. ¹³Nevertheless the children of Israel drove not out the Geshurites, nor the Maacathites; but Geshur and Maacath dwelt in the midst of Israel unto this day. ¹⁴Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance; the offerings of the Lord, the God of Israel, made by fire are his inheritance, as He spoke unto him.

¹⁵And Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their families. ¹⁶And their border was from Aroer, that is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the table-land by Medeba; ¹⁷Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the table-land; Dibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon; ¹⁸and Jahaz, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath; ¹⁹and Kiriathaim, and Sibmah, and Zerethshahar in the mount of the valley; ²⁰and Beth-peor, and the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth; ²¹and all the cities of the table-land, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the chiefs of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the princes of Sihon, that dwelt in the land. ²²Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among the rest of their slain. ²³And as for the border of the children of Reuben, the Jordan was their border. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and the villages thereof.

²⁴And Moses gave unto the tribe of Gad, unto the children of Gad, according to their families. ²⁵And their border was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah; ²⁶and from Heshbon unto Ramath-mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border of Lidbir; ²⁷and in the valley, Beth-haram, and Beth-nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, the Jordan being the border thereof, unto the uttermost part of the sea of Chinnereth beyond the Jordan eastward. ²⁸This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities and the villages thereof.

²⁹And Moses gave inheritance unto the half-tribe of Manasseh; and it was for the half-tribe of the children of Manasseh according to their families. ³⁰And their border was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the villages of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore cities; ³¹and half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even for the half of the children of Machir according to their families.

³²These are the inheritances which Moses distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho, eastward. ³³But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He spoke unto them.

14And these are the inheritances which the children of Israel took in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed unto them, ²by the lot of their inheritance, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half-tribe.—³For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Jordan; but unto the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. ⁴For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim; and they gave no portion unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with the open land about them for their cattle and for their substance.—⁵As the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land.

⁶Then the children of Judah drew nigh unto Joshua in Gilgal; and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said unto him: 'Thou knowest the thing that the Lord spoke unto Moses the man of God concerning me and concerning thee in Kadesh-barnea. ⁷Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land; and I brought him back word as it was in my heart. ⁸Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt; but I wholly followed the Lord my God. ⁹And Moses swore on that day, saying: Surely the land whereon thy foot hath trodden shall be an inheritance to thee and to thy children for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God. ¹⁰And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as He spoke, these forty and five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word unto Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness; and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. ¹¹As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me; as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, and to go out and to come in. ¹²Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spoke in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakim were there, and cities great and fortified; it may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out, as the Lord spoke.' ¹³And Joshua blessed him; and he gave Hebron unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. ¹⁴Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, unto this day; because that he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵Now the name of Hebron beforetime was ^[5]Kiriath-arba, which Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. And the land had rest from war.

15And the lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was unto the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south. ²And their south border was from the uttermost part of the Salt Sea, from the bay that looked southward. ³And it went out southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and went up by the south of Kadesh-barnea, and passed along by Hezron, and went up to Addar, and turned about to Karka. ⁴And it passed along to Azmon, and went out at the Brook of Egypt; and the goings out of the border were at the sea; this shall be your south border. ⁵And the east border was the Salt Sea, even unto the end of the Jordan. And the border of the north side was from the bay of the sea at the end of the Jordan. ⁶And the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and passed along by the north of Beth-arabah; and the border went up to the Stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. ⁷And the border went up to Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is over against the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the brook; and the border passed along to the waters of En-shemesh, and the goings out thereof were at En-rogel. ⁸And the border went up by the Valley of the son of Hinnom unto the side of the Jebusite southward—the same is Jerusalem—and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the Valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the uttermost part of the vale of Rephaim northward. ⁹And the border was drawn from the top of the mountain unto the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah—the same is Kiriath-jearim. ¹⁰And the border turned about from Baalah westward unto mount Seir, and passed along unto the side of mount Jearim on the north—the same is Chesalon—and went down to Beth-shemesh, and passed along by Timnah. ¹¹And the border went out unto the side of Ekron northward; and the border was drawn to Shikkeron, and passed along to mount Baalah, and went out at Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea. ¹²And as for the west border, the Great Sea was the border thereof. This is the border of the children of Judah round about according to their families.

¹³And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, even Kiriath-arba, which Arba was the father of Anak—the same is Hebron. ¹⁴And Caleb drove out thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. ¹⁵And he went up thence against the inhabitants of Debir—now the name of Debir beforetime was Kiriath-sepher. ¹⁶And Caleb said: 'He that smiteth Kiriath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.' ¹⁷And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. ¹⁸And it came to pass, when she came unto him, that she persuaded him to ask of her father a field; and she alighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her: 'What wouldest thou?' ¹⁹And she said: 'Give me a blessing; for that thou hast set me in the ^[6]Southland, give me therefore springs of water.' And he gave her the Upper Springs and the Nether Springs.

²⁰This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families.

²¹And the cities at the uttermost part of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the border of Edom in the South were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur; ²²and Kinah, and Dimonah, and Adadah; ²³and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan; ²⁴Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth; ²⁵and Hazor, and Hadattah, and Kerioth, and Hezron—the same is Hazor; ²⁶Amam, and Shema, and Moladah; ²⁷and Hazar-gaddah, and Heshmon, and Beth-pelet; ²⁸and Hazar-shual, and Beer-sheba, and Biziothiah; ²⁹Baalah, and Iim, and Ezem; ³⁰and Eltolad, and Chesil, and Hormah; ³¹and Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah; ³²and Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, and Rimmon; all the cities are twenty and nine, with their villages.

³³In the Lowland: Eshtaol, and Zorah, and Ashnah; ³⁴and Zanoah, and En-gannim, Tappuah, and Enam; ³⁵Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah; ³⁶and Shaaraim, and Adithaim, and Gederah, with Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages.

³⁷Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdalgad; ³⁸and Dilan, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel; ³⁹Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon; ⁴⁰and Cabbon, and Lahmas, and Chithlish; ⁴¹and Gederoth, Beth-dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.

⁴²Libnah, and Ether, and Ashan; ⁴³and Iphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib; ⁴⁴and Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages.

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

⁴⁷Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; unto the Brook of Egypt, the Great Sea being the border thereof.

⁴⁸And in the hill-country: Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh; ⁴⁹and Dannah, and Kiriath-sannah—the same is Debir; ⁵⁰and Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim; ⁵¹and Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.

⁵²Arab, and Rumah, and Eshan; ⁵³and Janum, and Beth-tappuah, and Aphekah; ⁵⁴and Humtah, and Kiriath-arba—the same is Hebron, and Zior; nine cities with their villages.

⁵⁵Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Juttah; ⁵⁶and Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah; ⁵⁷Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.

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

⁶⁰Kiriath-baal—the same is Kiriath-jearim, and Rabbah; two cities with their villages.

⁶¹In the wilderness: Beth-arabah, Middin, and Secacah; ⁶²and Nibshan, and the City of Salt, and En-gedi; six cities with their villages.

⁶³And as for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out; but the Jebusites dwelt with the children of Judah at Jerusalem, unto this day.

16And the lot for the children of Joseph went out from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, going up from Jericho through the hill-country to the wilderness, even to Beth-el. ²And it went out from Beth-el-luz, and passed along unto the border of the Archites to Ataroth. ³And it went down westward to the border of the Japhletites, unto the border of Beth-horon the nether, even unto Gezer; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. ⁴And the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance. ⁵And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus; even the border of their inheritance eastward was Atroth-addar, unto Beth-horon the upper. ⁶And the border went out westward, Michmethath being on the north; and the border turned about eastward unto Taanath-shiloh, and passed along it on the east of Janoah. ⁷And it went down from Janoah to Ataroth, and to Naarah, and reached unto Jericho, and went out at the Jordan. ⁸From Tappuah the border went along westward to the brook of Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families; ⁹together with the cities which were separated for the children of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. ¹⁰And they drove not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in the midst of Ephraim, unto this day, and became servants to do taskwork.

17And this was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the first-born of Joseph. As for Machir the first-born of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. ²And the lot was for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida; these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families. ³But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying: 'The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren'; therefore according to the commandment of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father. ⁵And there fell ten parts to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan; ⁶because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons; and the land of Gilead belonged unto the rest of the sons of Manasseh.

⁷And the border of Manasseh was, beginning from Asher, Michmethath, which is before Shechem; and the border went along to the right hand, unto the inhabitants of En-tappuah.—⁸The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh; but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim.—⁹And the border went down unto the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook, by cities which belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh; but the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook; and the goings out thereof were at the sea: ¹⁰southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea was his border; and they reached to Asher on the north, and to Issachar on the east.

¹¹And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth-shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, even the three regions. ¹²Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites were resolved to dwell in that land. ¹³And it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to taskwork, but did not utterly drive them out.

¹⁴And the children of Joseph spoke unto Joshua, saying: 'Why hast thou given me but one lot and one part for an inheritance, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the Lord hath blessed me thus?' ¹⁵And Joshua said unto them: 'If thou be a great people, get thee up to the forest, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim; since the hill-country of Ephraim is too narrow for thee.' ¹⁶And the children of Joseph said: 'The hill-country will not be enough for us; and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are in Beth-shean and its towns, and they who are in the valley of Jezreel.' ¹⁷And Joshua spoke unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying: 'Thou art a great people, and hast great power; thou shalt not have one lot only; ¹⁸but the hill-country shall be thine; for though it is a forest, thou shalt cut it down, and the goings out thereof shall be thine; for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they be strong.'

18And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; and the land was subdued before them. ²And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance. ³And Joshua said unto the children of Israel: 'How long are ye slack to go in to possess the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, hath given you? ⁴Appoint for you three men for each tribe; and I will send them, and they shall arise, and walk through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance; and they shall come unto me. ⁵And they shall divide it into seven portions: Judah shall abide in his border on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their border on the north. ⁶And ye shall describe the land into seven portions, and bring the description hither to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. ⁷For the Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance; and Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.'

⁸And the men arose, and went; and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying: 'Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come back to me, and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.' ⁹And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven portions in a book, and they came to Joshua unto the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord; and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions.

¹¹And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families; and the border of their lot went out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. ¹²And their border on the north side was from the Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill-country westward; and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Beth-aven. ¹³And the border passed along from thence to Luz, to the side of Luz—the same is Beth-el—southward; and the border went down to Atroth-addar, by the mountain that lieth on the south of Beth-horon the nether. ¹⁴And the border was drawn and turned about on the west side southward, from the mountain that lieth before Beth-horon southward; and the goings out thereof were at Kiriath-baal—the same is Kiriath-jearim—a city of the children of Judah; this was the west side. ¹⁵And the south side was from the uttermost part of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went out westward, and went out to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶And the border went down to the uttermost part of the mountain that lieth before the Valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the vale of Rephaim northward; and it went down to the Valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel. ¹⁷And it was drawn on the north, and went out at En-shemesh, and went out to Geliloth, which is over against the ascent of Adummim; and it went down to the Stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. ¹⁸And it passed along to the side over against the Arabah northward, and went down unto the Arabah. ¹⁹And the border passed along to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the goings out of the border were at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan; this was the south border. ²⁰And the Jordan was to be the border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the borders thereof round about, according to their families.

²¹Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Beth-hoglah, and Emek-keziz; ²²and Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el; ²³and Avvim, and Parah, and Ophrah; ²⁴and Chephar-ammonah, and Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities with their villages: ²⁵Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth; ²⁶and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah; ²⁷and Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah; ²⁸and Zela, Eleph, and the Jebusite—the same is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.

19And the second lot came out for Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families; and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Judah. ²And they had for their inheritance Beer-sheba with Sheba, and Moladah; ³and Hazar-shual, and Balah, and Ezem; ⁴and Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah; ⁵and Ziklag, and Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susah; ⁶and Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities with their villages: ⁷Ain, Rimmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities with their villages; ⁸and all the villages that were round about these cities to Baalath-beer, as far as Ramah of the South. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. ⁹Out of the allotment of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon, for the portion of the children of Judah was too much for them; therefore the children of Simeon had inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.

¹⁰And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families; and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid. ¹¹And their border went up westward, even to Maralah, and reached to Dabbesheth; and it reached to the brook that is before Jokneam. ¹²And it turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chisloth-tabor; and it went out to Dobrath, and went up to Japhia. ¹³And from thence it passed along eastward to Gath-hepher, to Ethkazin; and it went out at Rimmon-methoar unto Neah. ¹⁴And the border turned about it on the north to Hannathon; and the goings out thereof were at the valley of Iphtahel; ¹⁵and Kattath, and Nahalal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Beth-lehem; twelve cities with their villages. ¹⁶This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

¹⁷The fourth lot came out for Issachar, even for the children of Issachar according to their families. ¹⁸And their border was Jezreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem; ¹⁹and Hapharaim, and Shion, and Anaharath; ²⁰and Rabbith, and Kishion, and Ebez; ²¹and Remeth, and En-gannim, and En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez; ²²and the border reached to Tabor, and Shahazim, and Beth-shemesh; and the goings out of their border were at the Jordan; sixteen cities with their villages. ²³This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.

²⁴And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families. ²⁵And their border was Helkath, and Hali, and Beten, and Achshaph; ²⁶and Allammelech, and Amad, and Mishal; and it reached to Carmel westward, and to Shihor-libnath. ²⁷And it turned toward the sunrising to Beth-dagon, and reached to Zebulun and to the valley of Iphtahel northward at Beth-emek and Neiel; and it went out to Cabul on the left hand, ²⁸and Ebron, and Rehob, and Hammon, and Kanah, even unto great Zidon. ²⁹And the border turned to Ramah, and to the fortified city of Tyre; and the border turned to Hosah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea from Hebel to Achzib; ³⁰Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob; twenty and two cities with their villages. ³¹This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.

³²The sixth lot came out for the children of Naphtali, even for the children of Naphtali according to their families. ³³And their border was from Heleph, from Elon-bezaanannim, and Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, unto Lakkum; and the goings out thereof were at the Jordan. ³⁴And the border turned westward to Aznoth-tabor, and went out from thence to Hukok; and it reached to Zebulun on the south, and reached to Asher on the west, and to Judah at the Jordan toward the sunrising. ³⁵And the fortified cities were Ziddim-zer, and Hammath, and Rakkath, and Chinnereth; ³⁶and Adamah, and Ramah, and Hazor; ³⁷and Kedesh, and Edrei, and En-hazor; ³⁸and Iron, and Migdal-el, and Horem, and Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages. ³⁹This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities with their villages.

⁴⁰The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families. ⁴¹And the border of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh; ⁴²and Shaalabbin, and Aijalon, and Ithlah; ⁴³and Elon, and Timnah, and Ekron; ⁴⁴and Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath; ⁴⁵and Jehud, and Bene-berak, and Gath-rimmon; ⁴⁶and Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border over against Joppa. ⁴⁷And the border of the children of Dan was too strait for them; so the children of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father. ⁴⁸This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.

⁴⁹When they had made an end of distributing the land for inheritance by the borders thereof, the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun in the midst of them; ⁵⁰according to the commandment of the Lord they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnath-serah in the hill-country of Ephraim; and he built the city, and dwelt therein.

⁵¹These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the Lord, at the door of the tent of meeting. So they made an end of dividing the land.

20And the Lord spoke unto Joshua, saying: ²'Speak to the children of Israel, saying: Assign you the cities of refuge, whereof I spoke unto you by the hand of Moses; ³that the manslayer that killeth any person through error and unawares may flee thither; and they shall be unto you for a refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴And he shall flee unto one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. ⁵And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver up the manslayer into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unawares, and hated him not beforetime. ⁶And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days; then may the manslayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.'

⁷And they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill-country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba—the same is Hebron—in the hill-country of Judah. ⁸And beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness in the table-land out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person through error might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.

21Then came near the heads of fathers' houses of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel; ²and they spoke unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying: 'The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the open land thereabout for our cattle.' ³And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of the Lord, these cities with the open land about them.

⁴And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites; and the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.

⁵And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.

⁶And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

⁷The children of Merari according to their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

⁸And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with the open land about them, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.

⁹And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are here mentioned by name. ¹⁰And they were for the children of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for theirs was the first lot. ¹¹And they gave them Kiriath-arba, which Arba was the father of ^[7]Anak—the same is Hebron—in the hill-country of Judah, with the open land round about it. ¹²But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

¹³And unto the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with the open land about it, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Libnah with the open land about it; ¹⁴and Jattir with the open land about it, and Eshtemoa with the open land about it; ¹⁵and Holon with the open land about it, and Debir with the open land about it; ¹⁶and Ain with the open land about it, and Juttah with the open land about it, and Beth-shemesh with the open land about it; nine cities out of those two tribes. ¹⁷And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with the open land about it, Geba with the open land about it; ¹⁸Anathoth with the open land about it, and Almon with the open land about it; four cities. ¹⁹All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with the open land about them.

²⁰And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the rest of the children of Kohath, they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim. ²¹And they gave them Shechem with the open land about it in the hill-country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Gezer with the open land about it; ²²and Kibzaim with the open land about it, and Beth-horon with the open land about it; four cities. ²³And out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with the open land about it, Gibbethon with the open land about it; ²⁴Aijalon with the open land about it, Gath-rimmon with the open land about it; four cities. ²⁵And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with the open land about it, and Gath-rimmon with the open land about it; two cities. ²⁶All the cities of the families of the rest of the children of Kohath were ten with the open land about them.

²⁷And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with the open land about it, the city of refuge for the manslayer; and Beeshterah with the open land about it; two cities. ²⁸And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with the open land about it, Dobrath with the open land about it; ²⁹Jarmuth with the open land about it, En-gannim with the open land about it; four cities. ³⁰And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with the open land about it, Abdon with the open land about it; ³¹Helkath with the open land about it, and Rehob with the open land about it; four cities. ³²And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with the open land about it, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Hammoth-dor with the open land about it, and Kartan with the open land about it; three cities. ³³All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with the open land about them.

³⁴And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with the open land about it, and Kartah with the open land about it; ³⁵Dimnah with the open land about it, Nahalal with the open land about it; four cities. [^[8]36And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with the open land about it, and Jahaz with the open land about it; ³⁷Kedemoth with the open land about it, and Mephaath with the open land about it; four cities.] ³⁸And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with the open land about it, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Mahanaim with the open land about it; ³⁹Heshbon with the open land about it, Jazer with the open land about it; four cities in all. ⁴⁰All these were the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities.

⁴¹All the cities of the Levites—forty and eight cities with the open land about them—shall be in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel, ⁴²even these cities, every one with the open land round about it; thus it shall be with all these cities.

⁴³So the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which He swore to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. ⁴⁴And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that He swore unto their fathers; and there stood not a man of all their enemies against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. ⁴⁵There failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

22Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ²and said unto them: 'Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have hearkened unto my voice in all that I commanded you; ³ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God. ⁴And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as He spoke unto them; therefore now turn ye, and get you unto your tents, unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan. ⁵Only take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to cleave unto Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.' ⁶So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away; and they went unto their tents.

⁷Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given inheritance in Bashan; but unto the other half gave Joshua among their brethren beyond the Jordan westward. Moreover when Joshua sent them away unto their tents, he blessed them, ⁸and spoke unto them, saying: 'Return with much wealth unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.'

⁹And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses. ¹⁰And when they came unto the region about the Jordan, that is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, a great altar to look upon. ¹¹And the children of Israel heard say: 'Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar in the forefront of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that pertaineth to the children of Israel.' ¹²And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war.

¹³And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest; ¹⁴and with him ten princes, one prince of a fathers' house for each of the tribes of Israel; and they were every one of them head of their fathers' houses among the thousands of Israel. ¹⁵And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying: ¹⁶'Thus saith the whole congregation of the Lord: What treachery is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that ye have builded you an altar, to rebel this day against the Lord? ¹⁷Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves unto this day, although there came a plague upon the congregation of the Lord, ¹⁸that ye must turn away this day from following the Lord? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to-day against the Lord, that to-morrow He will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel. ¹⁹Howbeit, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the Lord, wherein the Lord's tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us; but rebel not against the Lord, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar besides the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass concerning the devoted thing, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.'

²¹Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke unto the heads of the thousands of Israel: ²²'God, God, the Lord, God, God, the Lord, He knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in treachery against the Lord—save Thou us not this day—²³that we have built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord; or if to offer thereon burnt-offering or meal-offering, or if to offer sacrifices of peace-offerings thereon, let the Lord Himself require it; ²⁴and if we have not rather out of anxiety about a matter done this, saying: In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying: What have ye to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵for the Lord hath made the Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no portion in the Lord; so might your children make our children cease from fearing the Lord. ²⁶Therefore we said: Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; ²⁷but it shall be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we may do the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come: Ye have no portion in the Lord. ²⁸Therefore said we: It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say: Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you. ²⁹Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn away this day from following the Lord, to build an altar for burnt-offering, for meal-offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the Lord our God that is before His tabernacle.'

³⁰And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation, even the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them well. ³¹And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh: 'This day we know that the Lord is in the midst of us, because ye have not committed this treachery against the Lord; now have ye delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord.' ³²And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them back word. ³³And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and spoke no more of going up against them to war, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and the children of Gad dwelt. ³⁴And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar—: 'for it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.'

23And it came to pass after many days, when the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, and Joshua was old and well stricken in years; ²that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and for their heads, and for their judges and for their officers, and said unto them: 'I am old and well stricken in years. ³And ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord your God, He it is that hath fought for you. ⁴Behold, I have allotted unto you for an inheritance, according to your tribes, these nations that remain, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun. ⁵And the Lord your God, He shall thrust them out from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord your God spoke unto you. ⁶Therefore be ye very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; ⁷that ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor worship them; ⁸but cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day; ⁹wherefore the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and mighty; but as for you, no man hath stood against you unto this day. ¹⁰One man of you hath chased a thousand; for the Lord your God, He it is that fought for you, as He spoke unto you. ¹¹Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God. ¹²Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you; ¹³know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap unto you, and a scourge in your sides, and pricks in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you. ¹⁴And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth; consider ye therefore in all your heart and in all your soul, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, not one thing hath failed thereof. ¹⁵And it shall come to pass, that as all the good things are come upon you of which the Lord your God spoke unto you, so shall the Lord bring upon you all the evil things, until He have destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you. ¹⁶When ye transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which He hath given unto you.'

24And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. ²And Joshua said unto all the people: 'Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor; and they served other gods. ³And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. ⁴And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau; and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; and Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. ⁵And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did in the midst thereof; and afterward I brought you out. ⁶And I brought your fathers out of Egypt; and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen unto the Red Sea. ⁷And when they cried out unto the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt; and ye dwelt in the wilderness many days. ⁸And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that dwelt beyond the Jordan; and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and ye possessed their land; and I destroyed them from before you. ⁹Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel; and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. ¹⁰But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he even blessed you; so I delivered you out of his hand. ¹¹And ye went over the Jordan, and came unto Jericho; and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand. ¹²And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. ¹³And I gave you a land whereon thou hadst not laboured, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell therein; of vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat. ¹⁴Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. ¹⁵And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.'

¹⁶And the people answered and said: 'Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; ¹⁷for the Lord our God, He it is that brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and that did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the peoples through the midst of whom we passed; ¹⁸and the Lord drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites that dwelt in the land; therefore we also will serve the Lord; for He is our God.'

¹⁹And Joshua said unto the people: 'Ye cannot serve the Lord; for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression nor your sins. ²⁰If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then He will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after that He hath done you good.'

²¹And the people said unto Joshua: 'Nay; but we will serve the Lord.' ²²And Joshua said unto the people: 'Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve Him.—And they said: 'We are witnesses.'—²³Now therefore put away the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord, the God of Israel.' ²⁴And the people said unto Joshua: 'The Lord our God will we serve, and unto His voice will we hearken.'

²⁵So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. ²⁶And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. ²⁷And Joshua said unto all the people: 'Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke unto us; it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest ye deny your God.' ²⁸So Joshua sent the people away, every man unto his inheritance.

²⁹And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being a hundred and ten years old. ³⁰And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. ³¹And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of the Lord, that He had wrought for Israel. ³²And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. ³³And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in the Hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.

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1. That is, The hill of the foreskins.
2. That is, Rolling.
3. That is, Babylonish.
4. That is, Troubling.
5. That is, The city of Arba.
6. Heb. Land of Negeb, that is, a dry land.
7. Heb. Anok.
8. These two verses, taken from I Chron. vi 63-64, are excluded from the text in authoritative codices and placed in the margin.