The Conquest of Canaan

1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses, 2 ‘Moses my servant is dead. Come, cross the Jordan here, you and all this people, into the land which I assign to them, to the Israelites. 3 Every foot of ground you tread I assign to you, as I promised Moses. 4 Your frontier will stretch from the desert to Lebanon, from the great River, the river Euphrates, over all the land of the Hittites, to the great Mediterranean Sea westward. 5 No one will be able to hold their own against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will never fail you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong, be brave, for you will put this people in possession of the land which I swore to their ancestors that I would give them. 7 Only be strong and brave, mindful to carry out all your orders from my servant Moses, turning neither to the right nor to the left, so that you may succeed wherever you go. 8 This book of the law you should never cease to have on your lips. You must pore over it day and night, that you may be mindful to carry out all that is written in it, for so will you make your way prosperous, so will you succeed. 9 These are my orders: be firm and brave, never be daunted or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’

10 Then Joshua ordered the officers of the nation 11 to go through the camp and command the people to ‘Prepare food, for within three days you are going to cross the Jordan here and enter into possession of the land which the Lord your God assigns you for your very own.’

12 Joshua also said to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh, 13 ‘Remember what Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you when he told you that the Lord your God would settle you here and give you this region. 14 Your wives, your children, and your cattle can remain in this land which Moses assigned you east of the Jordan, but you must march across under arms in front of your kinsmen, every fighting man among you, to assist them, 15 until the Lord settles your kinsmen like yourselves, until they get possession of the land which the Lord your God assigns to them. Then you can return to your own region and occupy the land assigned you by Moses the servant of the Lord on the eastern bank of the Jordan.’

16 They answered Joshua, ‘Whatever you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 As we obeyed Moses in everything, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses! 18 Whoever rebels against your orders, and will not listen to what you say by way of command, will be put to death. Only be firm and brave.’

2 From Shittim Joshua sent two men secretly as spies to explore the country and especially Jericho. When they arrived they went into the house of a prostitute called Rahab and stayed there. 2 The king of Jericho was told that two men of Israel had come in that night to find out about the country, 3 so he sent a message to Rahab to ‘Bring out the two men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they are here to find out all about the country.’ 4 The woman, who had taken the men and hid them, said, ‘Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they came from, 5 and just about the hour for shutting the town gate, when it was dark, the men went off. Where they went, I do not know. Quick, pursue them, for you will overtake them.’ 6 Now she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under some stalks of flax which she had arranged on the roof. 7 The pursuers went by the road to the Jordan, as far as the fords, and as soon as they left the town the gate was shut. 8 The two men had not lain down before the woman came to them on the roof and said, 9 ‘I know that the Lord has given you this country, and how the terror of you has fallen upon us, until all who live here are trembling before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Reed Sea before you when you left Egypt, and how you treated the two Amorite kings on the east of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you wiped off the earth. 11 As soon as we heard it, our hearts trembled and everyone became utterly dispirited because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 12 Now then, since I have dealt kindly with you, pray swear to me by the Lord that you will deal kindly with my family, and give me a sure sign of it. 13 Swear that you will spare the lives of my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters and all they have, saving us from death.’ 14 The men replied, ‘Our lives for yours – only you must not breathe a word about our errand. Then we will deal kindly and honestly with you when the Lord gives us the country.’ 15 Then she lowered them by a rope out of the window, for her house was on the town wall. She stayed on the town wall. 16 She told them, ‘Get away to the hills, lest the pursuers come across you. Hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return, and then make your way back.’ 17 The men told her, ‘We will not be bound by this oath to you, which you have made us swear, 18 unless, when we enter the country, you tie this cord of scarlet thread outside the window through which you let us down. You must gather your father and mother and brothers and all your family inside your house. 19 Anyone who crosses the door of your house into the street, their blood be on their own head, we are not to blame. But if a hand is laid on anyone inside the house, then that person’s blood be on our head! 20 But remember, if you breathe a word about our errand, we will not be bound by the oath you have made us swear.’ 21 ‘As you say,’ answered the woman, ‘so be it.’ So away they went, while she tied the scarlet cord to the window. 22 They went into the hills and stayed there for three days, until the pursuers returned (the pursuers looked for them all along the road and could not find them). 23 Then the two men came down from the hills and crossed over to Joshua the son of Nun, telling him all that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, ‘The Lord has put all the country into our hands. Everyone who lives in this land is trembling before us!’

3 In the morning Joshua rose, and he and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and reached the Jordan, where they passed the night before they crossed over. 2 Three days afterwards the officers went through the camp 3 and gave this order to the nation: ‘When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the priestly Levites, then set out and follow it, 4 so that you can learn the ford by which you are to cross, because you have never crossed here before. Only, you must not come close to the ark. Between it and you there must be a space kept of two thousand cubits.’ 5 Then Joshua said to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow, the Lord will do wonders among you.’ 6 To the priests he said, ‘Lift the ark of the covenant and go in front of the people.’ So they lifted the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people. 7 And the Lord said to Joshua, ‘This day I begin to exalt you in the sight of Israel, to let them see that as I was with Moses so I will be with you. 8 Order the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant to stand still in the Jordan as soon as they reach the edge of the water. 9 Then Joshua told the Israelites to come and listen to the words of the Lord, their God. 10 Joshua said, ‘This is to let you see that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail evict before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing the Jordan in front of you. 12 Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, a man from each tribe. 13 Whenever the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the water of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be stopped. The waters which are flowing down, they will be dammed up.’ 14 And when the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, headed by the priests who carried the ark of the covenant, 15 as soon as the bearers reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests dipped in the water at the edge (for the Jordan overflows its banks all the time of harvest), 16 the waters that flow down stopped and were dammed up at a distance, at Adam (a town beside Zarethan), while the waters that flow away to the sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea) were cut off and failed. In this way the people crossed, opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood still on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, and all Israel crossed on dry ground until the whole nation had finished crossing.

4 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 ‘Take twelve men from the nation, a man from each tribe, 3 and order them to take twelve stones out of the Jordan from the spot where the feet of the priests stood firm. They must carry these stones across and place them on the spot where you spend the night.’ 4 Joshua called the twelve men of Israel whom he had ready, one from each of the tribes. 5 and said to them, ‘Cross in front of the ark of the Lord your God through the Jordan, each of you taking a stone on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of Israel. 6 They are to be a sign for your nation. When in the future your children ask what these stones mean, 7 tell them it was because the waters of the Jordan were stopped before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, stopped when it crossed the Jordan. These stones will be a memorial for Israel for all time.’ 8 The Israelites followed Joshua’s orders. They lifted twelve stones out of the Jordan, as the Lord had commanded Joshua, one for each of the tribes of Israel, and carried them over along with them to the spot where they spent the night, laying them down there. 9 Joshua also had twelve stones set up in the middle of the Jordan on the spot where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. They are there to this day. 10 For the priests who carried the ark stood in the middle of the Jordan until all was finished that Joshua was told by the Lord to enjoin upon the people, all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people hurried over, 11 and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark passed over, the priests advancing to the front of the people. 12 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh passed across under arms in front of the Israelites, as Moses had ordered them, 13 about forty thousand men equipped for war, crossing under the eyes of the Lord to the plains of Jericho to fight. 14 The Lord exalted Joshua that day in the eyes of all Israel. They stood in awe of him as they had stood in awe of Moses all the days of his life. 15 Then the Lord said to Joshua, 16 ‘Order the priests who carry the ark of the testimony to step up from the Jordan.’ 17 Joshua ordered the priests to step up from the Jordan, 18 and whenever the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the Jordan, whenever the soles of the feet of the priests were lifted on to the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan flowed back into their place and overflowed their banks as before. 19 It was on the tenth day of the first month that the people came up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern side of Jericho. 20 The twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan were set up by Joshua at Gilgal. 21 He said to the Israelites, ‘When in the future your children ask what these stones mean, 22 tell your children that Israel crossed the Jordan here on dry ground, 23 for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had passed across, as the Lord your God had done to the Reed Sea, which he also dried up before us until we passed across it – 24 to let all the nations on earth know how strong is the hand of the Lord, that they may stand in awe of the Lord your God for all time.’

5 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings by the Mediterranean heard how the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of the Israelites until they had got across, their hearts trembled and they were all dispirited, on account of the Israelites.

2 It was then that the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites once more.’ 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at the Hill of Foreskins. 4 Joshua circumcised them for this reason: all who had left Egypt, all the male warriors, had died during the journey through the desert after leaving Egypt. 5 These who had left Egypt were circumcised, but none of the people who had been born in the desert after leaving Egypt had been circumcised. 6 For forty years the Israelites had journeyed in the desert until the whole nation of warriors who had left Egypt had perished, because they would not listen to what the Lord said, and because the Lord had sworn to them that he would not let them see the land which the Lord had sworn to their ancestors that he would give us, a land abounding in milk and honey. 7 So their children, whom the Lord raised up instead of them, were circumcised by Joshua, since they had not been circumcised on the journey. 8 After the circumcising was over, the whole nation remained where they were in the camp until they had recovered. 9 Then said the Lord to Joshua, ‘And now I have rolled off you the scorn of the Egyptians.’ Hence the name of the spot was called Gilgal[fn], and is so called to this day.

10 When the Israelites were in camp at Gilgal they kept the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, on the plains of Jericho. 11 The day after the Passover they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and roasted grain. 12 And that very day the manna ceased, once they ate the produce of the land. The Israelites no longer had manna, but ate hereafter the food of the land of Canaan. 13 Joshua was one day near Jericho when he looked up and saw a man standing before him, holding a drawn sword. Joshua went up to him and said, ‘Are you for us, or are you for our enemies?’ 14 ‘Neither,’ he answered, ‘I am here as the captain of the host of the Lord.’ Then Joshua fell on his face to the ground and worshipped, saying, ‘And what has my Lord to say to his servant?’ 15 The captain of the host of the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is sacred.’ Joshua did so.

6 Now Jericho had shut its gates against the Israelites. No one left the town, and no one entered it. 2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘I am putting Jericho into your hands, with its king and all its fighting men. 3 For six days you and all your men at arms must march round the town once a day, 4 with seven priests carrying seven rams” horns as trumpets in front of the ark. On the seventh day march round the town seven times, and the priests must blow a trumpet blast. 5 As soon as they blow a long trumpet blast on the horns, when you hear the sound, then all the people must raise a mighty shout, and the wall of the town will fall down flat, until every man of you can march in, straight in front of him.’ 6 So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and told them to lift the ark of the covenant and let seven priests carry seven rams” horns as trumpets in front of the ark of the Lord. 7 Then he told the people, ‘Forward, march round the town, with the armed men in front of the ark of the Lord. 8 Let the seven priests with the trumpets of rams” horns go ahead in presence of the Lord, blowing the trumpets, and followed by the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 9 Let the armed men go in front of the priests who blow the trumpets, and let the rearguard follow the ark, the trumpets blowing.” 10 To the people Joshua said, ‘You must not shout nor cry, you must not say a word, until I tell you to shout. Then shout.’ 11 He had the ark of the Lord carried round the town, going round it once. Then all retired to the camp and passed the night there. 12 Next morning Joshua rose, the priests lifted the ark of the Lord, 13 and the seven priests carrying the seven rams” horns as trumpets kept on in front of the ark of the Lord, blowing a blast, preceded by the armed men, with the rearguard after the ark, the trumpets blowing as they went. 14 On the second day they marched round the town once, and then retired to the camp. This they did for six days. 15 On the seventh day they rose at dawn and marched round the town seven times. This was the only day they marched seven times round it. 16 The seventh time, when the priests blew their blast, Joshua said to the people, ‘Shout, for the Lord has given you the town. 17 It will be dedicated to the Lord by destruction, the town and all in it. Only Rahab the prostitute will be spared, she and all who are with her in her house, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. 18 As for you, hands off any of the spoil which has been dedicated, lest you desire it and take some of it! That would be the ruin and undoing of the camp of Israel. 19 No, all the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must come to the treasury of the Lord.’ 20 Then the people shouted, at the trumpet blast, and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet blast and raised a mighty shout, down the wall fell flat, until every man could march in, straight in front of him. In they marched and so they took the town, 21 They massacred all in the city, men and women, old and young alike, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, giving no quarter. 22 But Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the country, ‘Go to the prostitute”s house and fetch the woman out, with all she has, as you swore to her.’ 23 So the young spies went and brought Rahab out, with her father and mother and brothers and all she had, all her family. They placed them outside the camp of Israel. 24 The town and all in it they burned up. Only the silver and gold and all the articles of bronze and iron they put into the treasury of the Lord. 25 Rahab the prostitute and her family and all she had, Joshua spared. She lived among the Israelites, as do her descendants to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. 26 Joshua then laid this oath upon the people:

‘Cursed before the Lord be the man

who starts to rebuild this town of Jericho!

At the cost of his oldest son will he lay its foundation,

and at the cost of his youngest son will he erect its gates.’

27 The Lord was with Joshua, and the fame of him spread all over the land.

7 But the Israelites broke faith with regard to the spoil which had been dedicated. Achan the son of Karmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, who belonged to the tribe of Judah, took some of it, and so the anger of the Lord blazed against the Israelites.

2 Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which lies close to Beth-aven on the east of Bethel, ordering them to go up and spy out the land. They went up and spied out Ai 3 and came back to Joshua, saying, ‘All the nation need not go up. Let only about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make all the nation toil up there, for there are few people at Ai.’ 4 So about three thousand men marched up. But they ran away from the men of Ai. 5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, and chased them from their gates as far as Shebarim, killing some others at the descent. The hearts of Israel trembled and became weak as water, 6 and Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the ground upon his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel, with dust upon their heads. 7 ‘Ah, Lord God,’ said Joshua, ‘why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan, only to hand us over to the Amorites to be killed? Would that we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan. 8 O Lord, what can I say, after Israel has run away from its enemies? 9 The Canaanites and all who live in the land will hear of it and surround us and wipe us off the earth. Then what will you do for your great honour?’ 10 ‘Get up,’ said the Lord to Joshua, ‘why are you lying on your face there? 11 Israel has sinned. They have broken my covenant which I commanded them to keep, they have taken some of the spoil which had been dedicated to me, stolen it, acted deceitfully, and hidden it among their own goods. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand up against their enemies and why they run from their enemies, because they have brought themselves under the dedication by destruction! I will never be with you again, unless you remove everything from among you which was dedicated to me. 13 Go and consecrate the people. Tell them to consecrate themselves for tomorrow. Tell them this from the Lord the God of Israel: There is a thing dedicated to me among you, O Israel. You cannot hold your own against your enemies until you put that thing away from you. 14 So in the morning you will be brought before me by your tribes, and the tribe which the Lord takes by lot must come with its clans, and the clan which the Lord takes by lot must come with its families, and the men from the family which the Lord takes by lot must come one by one. 15 Then he who is taken by lot, in possession of the object dedicated to me, must be killed, he and all his family, and their bodies burned, because he has broken the covenant of the Lord, because he has committed a scandal in Israel.’ 16 In the morning Joshua rose and brought Israel before the Lord by their tribes. The tribe of Judah was taken by lot. 17 Then the clans of Judah were brought, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken by lot. The clan of the Zerahites was brought, family by family, and the family of Zabdi was taken by lot. 18 Then Zabdi brought his family man by man, and Achan the son of Karmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, belonging to the tribe of Judah, was taken by lot. 19 Joshua said to Achan, ‘My son, confess to the Lord, the God of Israel, own up to him. Tell me what you have done, do not hide it from me.’ 20 Achan answered, ‘Truly I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I did. 21 When I saw among the spoil a splendid mantle from Shinar and two hundred shekels in silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. The mantle is hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the money under it.’ 22 So Joshua sent messengers, who ran to the tent, and there was the mantle hidden inside the tent, with the money under it! 23 They took them from the tent and brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, who laid them before the Lord. 24 Then Joshua and all the Israelites took Achan the son of Zerah and the silver and the mantle and the bar of gold and his sons and his daughters and his oxen and his donkeys and his sheep and his tent and all that he had. They brought them to the valley of Achor. 25 ‘Why have you undone us?’ said Joshua. ‘The Lord will undo you this day.’ Then all Israel stoned him and his family to death. They burned the bodies with fire and stoned them with stones, 26 and over them they raised a great cairn of stones. It stands there to this day. Then the Lord relented from his fierce anger. So the name of the place is called the Valley of Achor[fn] down to this day.

8 Then said the Lord to Joshua, ‘Don’t be afraid or dismayed. Take all the warriors with you and march up to Ai. I put into your hands the king of Ai with his people and his town and his country. 2 Treat Ai and its king as you treated Jericho and its king, except that you may take the spoils and cattle in it for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the town to the west of it.’ 3 So Joshua and all the warriors started off for Ai. Joshua picked out three thousand veterans and despatched them by night 4 with orders to ‘Lie in ambush to the west of the town at its rear. Do not go too far away but be all ready. 5 I and all the troops who are with me will move against the town, and when they come out against us, as before, we will run off, 6 until we draw them away from the town, for they will think we are running from them as before. Then, as we run away, 7 you must start out of your ambush and seize the town. The Lord your God will put it into your hands. 8 As soon as you have seized the town, set it on fire, and carry out the Lord”s command. These are my orders.’ 9 So Joshua despatched them, and they went to the place of ambush, remaining between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. Joshua spent the night in the camp in the valley.

10 Joshua rose in the morning and mustered the nation. Then he and the elders of Israel led them against Ai. 11 All the nation, that is, the armed men who were with him, marched up close to the town and camped on the north of Ai. Between him and Ai lay a valley, 12 so Joshua took about five thousand men and put them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the town. 13 The main army were thus stationed to the north of the town, with the ambush laid to the west. Joshua passed that night in the middle of the valley. 14 When the king of Ai saw this, he and his men made an early start. In the morning they rose and marched out to fight Israel at the expected place near the Arabah, not knowing that an ambush had been laid behind the town. 15 They beat Joshua and all Israel, who fled in the direction of the desert. 16 All the townsmen of Ai were called out to pursue them. They allowed themselves to be drawn away from the town. 17 Not a man was left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, and in their pursuit of the Israelites they left the town unguarded. 18 Then said the Lord to Joshua, ‘Stretch out the javelin in your hand towards Ai, for I put Ai in your power.’ 19 And as soon as Joshua stretched out the javelin towards the town, the men in ambush rushed into the town and captured it, and hurried to set the town on fire. 20 So that when the men of Ai turned round to look, there was smoke rising from the town! They had no chance to flee this way or that, for the Israelites who were flying towards the desert turned upon their pursuers. 21 Seeing that the men in ambush had captured the town and seeing the smoke rise up from it, Joshua and the Israelites turned and attacked the men of Ai, 22 and the men in ambush rushed from the town to join them, so that the men of Ai were caught between Israelites, some on one side and some on the other. They were slaughtered until not a man escaped or remained alive. 23 The king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua.

24 When the Israelite had finished slaughtering the townsmen of Ai who had run into the desert and when they had cut them down, giving no quarter, all Israel then returned to Ai and sacked it. 25 All the population of Ai fell that day, both men and women, twelve thousand in all. 26 Joshua never withdrew the hand that held his javelin until he had massacred all who lived in Ai. 27 Only the Israelites took the spoils and cattle of the town for themselves, as the Lord had given orders to Joshua. 28 Ai itself Joshua burned, and made it a heap of ruins. To this day it lies desolate. 29 Joshua hung the king of Ai on a tree until evening. At sunset Joshua ordered his body to be taken down from the tree and thrown down at the entrance to the town-gate. They raised a cairn of stones over it, which is there to this day. 30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on mount Ebal, 31 as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites, according to the directions written in the law book of Moses. It was an altar of undressed stones, to which no man had ever taken an iron tool. They sacrificed burnt-offerings to the Lord upon it, and recompense offerings. 32 Also he wrote on the stones there a copy of the law of Moses, writing it in presence of the Israelites. 33 All Israel, both native Israelites and foreigners, with their elders, their officials, and their judges, stood on each side of the ark in presence of the priestly Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Half of them stood in front of mount Gerizim and half in front of mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had previously commanded the people to be blessed. 34 Then Joshua read aloud all the terms of the law, the blessing and the curse, exactly as it was written in the law book. 35 There was not a word of the orders of Moses which Joshua did not read aloud before all the assembled Israelites, with the women, the children, and the foreigners who accompanied them.

9 When this was heard by all the kings west of the Jordan, in the highlands and the lowlands and all along the coast of the Mediterranean as far as Lebanon, then Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, 2 gathered as one to attack Joshua and Israel. 3 When the citizens of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they went to work craftily. They took provisions in old sacks on their donkeys, and old mended wineskins, 5 with old patched sandals on their feet and old clothes on their bodies. The bread they took was all dry and crumbling. 6 They went to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal and said to him and to the Israelites, ‘We have come from a far country. Please make a treaty with us.’ 7 “The Israelites said to these Hivites, ‘Perhaps you live in our country, so why should we make a treaty with you?’ 8 ‘We are at your service,’ they said to Joshua. ‘But who are you,’ Joshua asked, ‘and where do you come from?’ 9 ‘From a country very far away,’ they said, ‘and we have come on account of the Lord, your God, for we have heard of his fame, of all he did in Egypt, 10 and of all he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan who reigned at Ashtaroth. 11 Our elders and all our people told us to take provisions with us for the journey and to go and meet you and say, “We are at your service. Please make a treaty with us.” 12 This bread we took hot out of our houses on the day we started, and there, you see, it is dry and crumbling by this time! 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and you see they are torn. These clothes and shoes of ours are worn out, owing to the long journey.’ 14 So the Israelites tried some of their provisions, never asking the Lord for advice. 15 Joshua made peace with them and made a treaty with them to spare their lives, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them. 16 Three days after they had made the treaty, they heard that the men were neighbours, living in the same country! 17 On the third day, as the Israelites marched forward, they came to their towns, Gibeon, Kefirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. 18 The Israelites did not kill them, because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. The community all grumbled against the leaders, 19 but the leaders all replied, ‘We swore an oath to them by the Lord the God of Israel! We cannot now touch them. 20 We must grant them the favour of their lives, or wrath will come upon us over the oath we took to them. 21 Let them live,’ said the leaders. So they became woodcutters and watercarriers to all the community, as the leaders directed. 22 Then Joshua called for them and asked them, ‘Why have you deceived us by saying you came from far, far away, when you live in the same country as ourselves? 23 A curse on you! You will forever provide us with slaves for the temple of my God, woodcutters and watercarriers.’ 24 They answered Joshua, ‘It was because we, your servants, were assured that the Lord your God had ordered his servant Moses to assign you all the land and to destroy all the people living in it. That put us in terror of our lives before you, and so we did this. 25 Well, we are in your power! Whatever you think right and fair to do to us, do it.’ 26 This then, was how Joshua treated them: he saved them from the Israelites and kept them from being murdered, 27 but he made them that day woodcutters and watercarriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord, wherever the Lord chooses. As they still are.

10 When King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and sacked it, treating Ai and its king as he had treated Jericho and its king, and that the citizens of Gibeon had made terms with Israel, 2 he and his men were in terror. For Gibeon was a large town, like a royal city, larger than Ai, and all its men were stout fighters. 3 So King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent to Hoham the king of Hebron, to Piram the king of Jarmuth, to Japhia the king of Lachish, and to Debir the king of Eglon, saying, 4 ‘Join me and help me to storm Gibeon, for it has made terms with Joshua and the Israelites.’ 5 So the five Amorite kings – the king of Jerusalem and the king of Hebron and the king of Jarmuth and the king of Lachish and the king of Eglon – all mustered and marched up with all their armies to besiege Gibeon and attack it. 6 The Gibeonites sent a message to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, telling him, ‘Don’t abandon your servants! Quick, come up to rescue us, help us, for all the Amorite kings of the highlands have mustered to attack us.’ 7 Joshua marched up from Gilgal with all the troops and all the veterans. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Don’t be afraid of them, for I put them into your hands. Not a man of them will hold his own against you.’ 9 So Joshua made a sudden attack: he made a night march from Gilgal, 10 and the Lord threw them into a panic before the Israelites, until the Israelites routed them with heavy slaughter at Gibeon and then chased them along the road to the ascent of Beth-horon, routing them all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they ran from the Israelites, at the descent from Beth-horon the Lord rained huge hailstones from heaven upon them, all the way to Azekah. They died of these. Indeed, more died by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.

12 It was on the day when the Lord handed over the Amorites to the Israelites that Joshua said to the Lord before Israel,

‘Sun: stand over Gibeon!

Move not, moon, from Aijalon vale!’

13 And the sun stood still, the moon moved not,

until the nation had taken vengeance on their enemies,

(Is not the song written in the book of Jashar?) The sun stood still in the middle of the sky, and was in no hurry to set for nearly a day. 14 Never was there a day like that, before or since, when the Lord listened to the cry of a mortal man. For the Lord was fighting for Israel. 15 Then Joshua returned with all the Israelites to the camp at Gilgal.

16 The five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. 17 When Joshua was told that the five kings had been discovered, hiding in the cave at Makkedah, 18 he said, ‘Roll some large stones at the mouth of the cave and post men to guard it, 19 but you must not stop pursuing your enemies. Strike down their rear, let none of them get into their towns, for the Lord has put them into your power.’ 20 When Joshua and the Israelites had finished slaughtering them, until they were wiped out, and the survivors had got away into the fortified towns, 21 the army all safely returned to Joshua at the camp at Makkedah. And no one from that area dared say a word against any of the Israelites. 22 Then Joshua ordered the mouth of the cave to be opened and the five kings brought out to him. 23 This was done. The five kings were brought out, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24 When these kings had been brought before Joshua, he called for all the men of Israel and told the army commanders present to come forward and put their feet on the necks of the kings. They came forward and did put their feet on the necks of the kings. 25 Don’t be afraid,’ said Joshua, ‘neither be dismayed. Be firm and brave, for so will the Lord treat all the enemies against whom you fight.’ 26 Then Joshua struck them and killed them. He hung their bodies on five trees, and on the trees they remained hanging until evening. 27 At sunset Joshua ordered the kings’ bodies to be taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave where they had hidden themselves. Some large stones were laid at the mouth of the cave, and are there to this day. 28 The same day Joshua stormed and sacked Makkedah, killing its king and utterly destroying it and all it contained, until not a single person was left. He treated the king of Makkedah as he had treated the king of Jericho, 29 From Makkedah Joshua and all Israel passed on to Libnah. They attacked Libnah, 30 and the Lord put Libnah and its king also into the hands of Israel. Joshua sacked the place and massacred all within it, leaving not a single person alive. He treated the king of Libnah as he had treated the king of Jericho. 31 From Libnah, Joshua and the Israelites went on to Lachish, besieged it and attacked it. 32 The Lord put Lachish and its king also into their hands, and on the second day Joshua captured it, sacking it and massacring all within it, as he had done to Libnah. 33 King Horam of Gezer came up to the relief Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army until not a survivor was left to him. 34 From Lachish Joshua and all the Israelites continued on to Eglon, besieged it and attacked it, 35 and captured it the same day. They sacked the place and massacred everyone within it, exactly as he had done to Lachish. 36 From Eglon Joshua and the Israelite army passed on to Hebron and attacked it. 37 They captured it and sacked it, killed the king, destroyed the townships and every living person in them, leaving not one alive, exactly as at Eglon. He wiped the place out and everyone within it. 38 Then Joshua and the Israelites wheeled round to Debir and attacked it. 39 He captured it with its king and all its townships, sacking. them all and massacring every living person, until not one remained. As he had treated Hebron, so he treated Debir and its king, just as he had treated Libnah and its king.

40 Thus Joshua captured the whole country, the highlands, the Negeb, the lowlands, and the slopes, with all their kings. He left no one alive, but massacred every living creature, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua routed them all from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, with all the land of Goshen, as far as Gibeon. 42 All these kings and their country Joshua captured in a single campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua and the Israelites returned to camp at Gilgal.

11 When Jabin the king of Hazor heard this, he sent to King Jobab of Madon and to the kings of Shimron and Achshaph 2 and to the kings in the north, in the highlands, in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, in the lowlands, and in Naphoth-Dor to the west, 3 to the Canaanites on the east and on the west, to the Amorites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the highlands, and to the Hittites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah. 4 They all sallied out, with all their forces, a huge host, as numerous as the sand on the seashore, with a multitude of horses and chariots. 5 All these kings joined forces and went to encamp at the waters of Merom, to attack Israel. 6 But the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Tomorrow about this time I will hand them over to Israel all dead men. You will hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.’ 7 Joshua and all his troops made a sudden attack upon them beside the waters of Merom. They made an onset, 8 and the Lord put them into the hands of Israel, who routed them, chasing them to Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim and the valley of Mizpeh eastward. They routed them and left not one alive. 9 Joshua treated them as the Lord instructed him. He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots. 10 Joshua then wheeled round and captured Hazor, cutting down the king of the place (for Hazor was formerly the most powerful of these realms). 11 They massacred everyone in the place, wiping them out, until not a living person was left, and Hazor was burned to the ground. 12 All the towns of these kings and all the kings themselves Joshua captured and massacred, wiping them all out, as Moses the servant of the Lord had ordered. 13 (Towns standing on their own mounds of earth, however, the Israelites did not burn, except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned.) 14 All the spoil and cattle of these towns the Israelites took for themselves. But they massacred all the people until they were wiped out, and not a living person was left. 15 As the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses had commanded Joshua, and Joshua obeyed. Of all that the Lord had commanded Moses, Joshua left not a thing undone. 16 In this way Joshua captured all that country, the highlands, all the Negeb, all the land of Goshen, the lowlands, the Arabah, the highlands and the lowlands of Israel, 17 from Mount Halak that rises to Seir, as far as to Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all the kings and put them to death. 18 Joshua was a long time warring with all these kings. 19 Not a single town would make peace with the Israelites, except the Hivites who inhabited Gibeon. All the rest had to be captured by fighting. 20 It was the Lord who made their hearts stubborn enough to battle with Israel, so they were all wiped out, destroyed without mercy as the Lord had commanded Moses. 21 It was then that Joshua went and wiped out the Anakim from the hills, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and all the highlands of Israel and of Judah. Joshua massacred them and sacked their towns. 22 None of the Anakim was left in the land of Israel. It was only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod, that some still lived. 23 In this way Joshua captured the whole country, as the Lord had told Moses. Joshua assigned it to the tribes of Israel by their divisions as their own property. And so the land had rest from war.

12 The following are the kings of the country who were routed by the Israelites and whose land was seized east of the Jordan from the Arnon Gorge east to Mount Hermon, with all the Arabah eastward: 2 King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon and ruled from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge and over half of Giliad – down the gorge as far as the Jabbok River, which is the frontier of the Ammonites, 3 and over the Arabah as far east as the lake of Chinneroth, as far as the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, in the direction of Beth-jeshimoth, his southern frontier running under the slopes of Pisgah, 4 There was also the territory of Og, the king of Bashan and one of the survivors of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and Edrei, 5 reigning over Mount Hermon, Salecah, and all Bashan, as far as the frontier of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and over the half of Gilead as far as the frontier of King Sihon of Heshbon. 6 These kings were routed by Moses the servant of the Lord and the Israelites. Moses the servant of the Lord assigned their land to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh as their holding. 7 The following are the kings whom Joshua and the Israelites routed west of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak that rises to Seir. Joshua assigned their land to the tribes of Israel as their holding, according to their divisions, 8 in the highlands, the lowlands, the Arabah, the slopes, the desert, and the Negeb, the country of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: 9 There was the king of Jericho, the king of Ai, beside Bethel, 10 the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, 11 the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, 12 the king of Eglon, the king of Gezer, 13 the king of Debir, the king of Geder, 14 the king of Hormah, the king of Arad, 15 the king of Libnah, the king of Adullam, 16 the king of Makkedah, the king of Bethel, 17 the king of Tappuah, the king of Hepher, 18 the king of Aphek, the king of Lasharon, 19 the king of Madon, the king of Hazor, 20 the king of Shimron-meron, the king of Achshaph, 21 the king of Taanach, the king of Megiddo, 22 the king of Kedesh, the king of Jokneam in Carmel, 23 the king of Dor in Naphath-dor, the king of Golim in Gilgal, 24 the king of Tirzah – thirty-one kings in all.

The Division of the Land Among the Tribes of Israel

13 When Joshua was old, well advanced in years, the Lord said to him, ‘You are old, well advanced in years, and yet much land still remains to be occupied. 2 This is the land still left to be occupied: all the Philistine districts and all the Geshurite territory 3 from Shibor east of Egypt to the northern frontier of Ekron (which is counted Canaanite), the five Philistine capitals, Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, also the territory of the Avim 4 to the south, all the Canaanite country from Mearah (which is Sideonian) as far as Aphek on the Amorite frontier, 5 the land of the Gebalites and all that borders on the eastern Lebanon, from Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath, 6 with everyone who lives in the highlands from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians, whom I will evict before the Israelites, while you must allot this country to Israel as its inheritance, as I command you. 7 Now, then, divide up this land of Canaan among the nine tribes and the half tribe of Manasseh as their inheritance.’ 8 The other half of the tribe of Manasseh, the Reubenites, and the Gadites, had already received their inheritance from Moses to the east of the Jordan, as assigned by Moses the servant of the Lord, 9 stretching from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge and the town in the middle of the gorge, all the tableland of Medeba as far as Dibon, 10 with all the towns of King Sihon of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the frontier of the Ammonites, 11 with Gilead, the territory of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, all Mount Hermon and all Bashan as far as Salecah, 12 all the realm of King Og of Bashan who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (a survivor of the Rephaim) – these kings Moses defeated and drove out, 13 though the Israelites never expelled the Geshurites or the Maacathites, who live among the Israelites to this day. 14 Only the tribe of Levi were assigned no property, for the Levites” inheritance is the sacrificial offerings made by fire to the Lord God of Israel, as he told Moses. 15 Moses assigned land to the tribe of Reuben by their clans. 16 Their frontier ran from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge and the town in the middle of the gorge, covering all the tableland near Medeba, 17 Heshbon, and all its townships on the tableland, Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, 18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, 20 Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth-jeshimoth, 21 that is, all the towns on the tableland, all the realm of Sihon, the Amorite king who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses along with the Midianite leaders Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, Sihon”s princes throughout the land. 22 Balaam the son of Beor, who used magic to divine the future, was also slaughtered by the Israelites among the rest of the slain. 23 The bank of the Jordan formed the western frontier of the Reubenites. Such was their allotted country, with its towns and villages, according to their clans. 24 Moses also assigned land to the tribe of Gad according to their clans. 25 Their territory was Jazer, all the towns of Gilead, and half the country of the Ammonites, as far as Aroer east of Rabbah. 26 It reached from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, from Mahanaim to the district of Lidebir, 27 with Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon in the valley, the rest of the realm of King Sihon of Heshbon, the frontier being the line of the Jordan to the south end of the lake of Chinnereth on the east of the Jordan. 28 Such was the allotted territory of the Gadites, with its towns and villages, according to their clans. 29 Moses also assigned land to the half tribe of Manasseh, according to its clans. 30 Their territory covered Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the realm of King Og of Bashan, all Havvoth-jair in Bashan (sixty towns in all), 31 half of Gilead, with Ashtaroth and Edrei, the towns of King Og of Bashan. All this was for the descendants of Machir, who was the son of Manasseh, for the half tribe of the Machirites by their clans. 32 Such were the properties allotted by Moses in the plains of Moab to the east of the Jordan, opposite Jericho. 33 Only to the tribe of Levi he assigned no property, for the Lord, the God of Israel, is Levi”s inheritance, as he told Moses.

14 And these are the properties occupied in Canaan by the Israelites, and assigned to them by lot as their own, by Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the households in the tribes of Israel, 2 as the Lord had commanded by Moses, for the nine and a half tribes. 3 Moses had assigned the other two and a half tribes their property and inheritance to the east of the Jordan, and assigned nothing to the Levites. 4 The two tribes of the Josephites were Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites received no share of the land, except some towns to live in, with their pastures for cattle and livestock. 5 The Israelites, in dividing up the land, acted according to the orders given by the Lord to Moses. 6 The Judahites came before Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, ‘You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God about me and yourself at Kadesh-barnea. 7 1 was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the country, and I reported to him as best I could. 8 My kinsmen and companions made the heart of the people tremble, but I was devoted to the Lord my God, 9 and Moses swore that day that the land my feet had trodden should belong to me and to my children for all time, because I had been devoted to the Lord my God. 10 Well now, the Lord has kept me alive as he promised, all these forty-five years, ever since the Lord said that word to Moses, all the time of Israel”s wandering in the desert. Today I am eighty-five, 11 11 and I am as strong today as I was when Moses sent me on that mission. As my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war or any enterprise. 12 So let me have this hill country of which the Lord spoke that day. As you heard that day, the Anakim are there with great, fortified towns. But perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will evict them, as he promised.’ 13 So Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his property. 14 Hebron became the property of Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and still is in his family – for he was devoted to the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 Hebron was formerly called Kiriath-arba, or the city of Arba, Arba being the greatest among the Anakim. So the land had rest from war.

15 The land allotted to the tribe of Judah, by clans, reached to the frontier of Edom, far south to the desert of Zin. 2 The southern frontier ran from the foot of the Dead Sea, from the bay facing south. 3 It went south of the Ascent of Akrabbim, right along to Zin, then up to the south of Kadesh-barnea as far as Hezron, up to Adar, round to Karka, 4 and on to Azmon, ending at the Stream of Egypt. Their southern frontier thus ended at the sea. 5 To the east their frontier was the Dead Sea up to the mouth of the Jordan. The northern frontier ran from the bay at the mouth of the Jordan 6 up to Beth-hoglah and north of Beth-arabah, on to the Stone of Bohan, who was Reuben’s son, 7 then to Debir from the valley of Achor and so north in the direction of Gilgal opposite the ascent to Adummim on the south side of the river, then along to the waters of En-shemesh, ending at En-rogel. 8 Then the frontier ran by the valley of Ben-Hinnom to the southern side of the Jebusite ridge (that is, Jerusalem), westward to the top of the hill that lies in front of the valley of Ben-Hinnom at the northern end of the valley of Rephaim. 9 From the top of this hill it ran to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah and on to the towns of Mount Ephron. It also extended to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim) 10 and west of Baalah round to Mount Seir, going on to the north of the ridge of Mount Jeadrim (that is, Chesalon), down to Beth-shemesh, and on to Timnah. 11 It ran on to the ridge of Ekron on the north, extending to Shikkeron and on to Mount Baalah, ending at Jabneel. Thus the frontier ended at the sea. 12 The western frontier was the Mediterranean. Such were the entire frontiers of the Judahites, by their clans. 13 He allotted Caleb the son of Jephunneh a share among the Judahites, by order of the Lord. It was Kiriath-arba or the city of Arba (Arba being the father of Anak), otherwise Hebron. 14 Caleb drove out the three groups of of Anakites, the Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, who were the descendants of Anak. 15 Then he marched against the people living in Debir (formerly called Kiriath-sepher). 16 Caleb declared, ‘Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him my daughter Achsah in marriage.’ 17 Othniel, the son of Caleb”s brother Kenaz, captured it. So Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage. 18 On the wedding day, Othniel induced her[fn] to ask her father for a tract of land as her dowry. So she alighted from her donkey, and when Caleb asked her what she wanted, 19 she said to him, ‘Give me a parting present. As you have settled me in the dry south country, let me have some springs of water.’ Then Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

20 Here is the inheritance of the tribe of the Judahites according to their clans: 21 The towns to the south in the Negeb, towards the frontier of Edom, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 Ziph, Telem, Bedloth, 25 Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (or, Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27 Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, 28 Hazar-shual, Beer-sheba, Biziothiah, 29 Baalah, Iim, Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, 31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon, twenty-nine towns in all with their villages. 33 In the lowlands, Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, 36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim, fourteen towns with their villages. 37 Also Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, 38 Dilan, Mizpeh, Jokthe-el, 39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 40 Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah, sixteen towns with their villages. 42 Also Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah, nine towns with their villages. 45 There was Ekron with its townships and villages 46 from Ekron to the sea, all that lay alongside of Ashdod, 47 Ashdod with its townships and villages, and Gaza with its townships and villages, to the Stream of Egypt, The western frontier was the Mediterranean coast. 48 In the highlands Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, 49 Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (which is Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh, eleven towns with their villages. 52 Also Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 53 Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, Kiriath-arba (which is Hebron), and Zior, nine towns with their villages. 55 Also Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah, ten towns with their villages. 58 Also Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon, six towns with their villages. 60 Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jedrim) and Rabbah, two towns with their villages. 61 In the desert, Beth-arabah, Middin, Sekakah, 62 Nibshan, Salt City, and En-gedi, six towns with their villages. 63 But the Judites could not evict the Jebusites, who inhabited Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live there in Jerusalem among the people of Judah to this day.

16 The land allotted to the Josephites had a frontier starting from the Jordan at Jericho, east of the Waters of Jericho, near the desert, extending from Jericho up through the highlands to Bethel, 2 then from Bethel to Luz, and along to Ataroth on the frontier of the Archites, 3 from which it came down west to the frontier of the Japhletites, the frontier of Lower Beth-horon and Gezer, ending at the sea. 4 Such was the property received by the Josephites, that is Manasseh and Ephraim, as their inheritance.

5 The territory of the Ephraimites, according to their clans, had a frontier to the east running from Ashtaroth to Upper Beth-horon. 6 westward the frontier ran to Michmethath on the north, then round east to Taanath-shiloh, and on to the east of Janoah, 7 down to Ataroth and Naarah, and as far as Jericho, ending at the Jordan, 8 westward the frontier ran from Tappuah to the Kanah Valley, ending at the sea. Such was the property inherited by the tribe of Ephraim, according to their clans, 9 together with the towns set aside for the Ephraimites in the territory of the Manassites, all these towns and their villages. 10 They did not evict the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. The Canaanites lived among the Ephraimites, as they do to this day, though they have had to slave for them.

17 The tribe of Manasseh received its share. Manasseh was the eldest son of Joseph, and as Machir the eldest son of Manasseh and the father of Gilead was a famous soldier, he was allotted Gilead and Bashan. 2 The rest of the Manassites, according to their clans, were the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida, the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph. 3 However, Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters. His daughters were called Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They came before Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the chiefs, urging that the Lord had told Moses to grant them an inheritance along with their male relatives. So, as the Lord had ordered, Joshua gave them an inheritance among the relatives of their father. 5 Ten shares fell to Manasseh, apart from the land of Gilead and Bashan on the east of the Jordan 6 (because the daughters of Manasseh inherited along with their male relatives, and the rest of the descendants of Manasseh held the land of Gilead). 7 The frontier of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethah east of Shechem, then south to the people living in En-tappuah 8 (the land of Tappuah belonging to Manasseh, but Tappuah on the frontier of Manasseh belonging to Ephraim). 9 The frontier went down to the south of the Kanah Valley these towns belonged to Ephraim among the towns of Manasseh, then ran along the north side of the valley as far as the sea, 10 the land to the south being Ephraim”s and the land to the north belonging to Manasseh, with the sea as the frontier to the west. They stretched to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. 11 In Issachar and Asher Manasseh held Beth-shean and its townships, Ibleam and its townships, the people living in Dor and its townships (the three heights of Dor), the people living in En-dor and its townships, the people living in Taanach and its townships, the people living in Megiddo and its townships[fn]. 12 But the Manassites could not evict the people of these towns. The Canaanites clung to this country. 13 When Israel became a power, they forced the Canaanites to slave for them. They never evicted them entirely.

14 Then the Josephites complained to Joshua, ‘Why have you allotted us only one part as our inheritance, when we are a large tribe, since the Lord has been prospering us?’ 15 Joshua replied, ‘If there are so many of you, go up to the Forest and clear land for yourselves there, among the Perizzites and the Rephaim, if the highlands of Ephraim are too small for you.’ 16 ‘The highlands are not large enough for us,’ said the Josephites, ‘and all the Canaanites who live in the valley country have iron chariots, both the people of Beth-shean and its townships and those who live in the valley of Jezreel.’ 17 Then Joshua said to the Josephites, to Ephraim and Manasseh, ‘You are a numerous tribe, and a powerful tribe, so you will have more than one part allotted to you. 18 The hill country of Gilead will be yours, for though it is a Forest you will clear it and hold it to its full extent. For you will evict the Canaanites, though they do have iron chariots and though they are strong.’

18 Then the whole community of the Israelites, having subdued the country, met at Shilo and set up the Tent of Meeting there. 2 As there were still seven tribes of Israel which had not yet divided their inheritance, 3 Joshua said to the Israelites, ‘How long will you delay to enter and occupy the land which the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? 4 Appoint three men from each tribe, and I will send them to make a survey of the land showing the proposed areas for their inheritance before they come back to me. 5 They must divide it into seven parts, with Judah in the southern territory and Joseph in the northern. 6 Mark out the land into seven divisions and bring me the plan. Then I will draw lots for you here before the Lord our God. 7 The Levites do not share with you. Their share is the priesthood of the Lord. Gad and Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east of the Jordan, assigned them by Moses the servant of the Lord.’ 8 Then the men started, ordered by Joshua to travel through the land and map it out before they returned to him. Then he would draw lots for them before the Lord at Shilo. 9 The men went and traversed the country, mapping it out by towns into seven parts, and brought their written report to Joshua at the camp in Shilo. 10 Joshua then drew lots for them at Shilo before the Lord, where he divided the land for the Israelites according to their divisions.

11 When the lot was drawn for the tribe of the Benjamites according to their clans, the territory allotted to them was to lie between the Judahites and the Josephites. 12 Their frontier on the north stretched from the Jordan to the north of Jericho right through the highlands westward, ending at the desert of Beth-aven. 13 Then the frontier ran to Luz, passing below Luz (which is Bethel) to the south, down to Ataroth-addar near the hill that lies south of Lower Beth-horon. 14 The frontier then turned from the hill south of Lower Beth-horon and passed on to the south along the west, ending at Kiriath-baal (which is Kiriath-jearim), a Judahite town. This was the western frontier. 15 The southern stretched from the end of Kiriath-jearim westward on to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, 16 going down to the end of the hill which lies in front of the valley of Ben-Hinnom at the north end of the valley of Rephaim, then down through the valley of Hinnom to the south of the Jebusite ridge as far as En-rogel, 17 where it turned north and ran to En-shemesh, passing to Geliloth opposite the ascent to Adummim, from which it ran to the Stone of Bohan (who was Reuben’s son) 18 and on to the ridge along the north of the Arabah right down to the Arabah 19 and on to the north of the ridge of Beth-hoglah, ending at the northern bay of the Dead Sea at the southern end of the Jordan. This was the southern frontier. 20 The Jordan was the eastern frontier. Such was the inheritance of the Benjamites according to their clans, frontier by frontier. 21 Their towns were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba, twelve towns with their villages. 25 Also Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chefirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zelah, Eleph, the Jebusite capital (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kiriath, fourteen towns with their villages. Such was the inheritance of the Benjamites according to their clans.

19 The second lot fell to the tribe of the Simeonites by their clans. Their inheritance lay inside the inheritance of the Judahites. 2 They held as their inheritance Beer-sheba (or Sheba), Moladah, 3 Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, 6 Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen, thirteen towns with their villages. 7 Also Ain, Rimmon, Ether, Ashan, four towns with their villages, 8 and all the villages around these towns down to Baalath-beer, Ramah in the south. Such was the inheritance of the tribe of the Simeonites. 9 As the inheritance of the Judahites was too large for them, the Simeonites held their inheritance within the Judahite territory.

10 The third lot fell to the Zebulunites according to their clans. Their frontier reached as far as Sarid, 11 then westward to Maralah, stretching to Dabbesheth and to the valley east of Jokneam. 12 From Sarid it turned eastward to the frontier of Chisloth-tabor, on to Daberath, and to Japhia 13 and then it continued eastward to Hepher and Eth-kazin, Rimmon and turning towards Neah. 14 The northern frontier wheeled round to Hannathon, ending at the valley of Iphtah-el. 15 There were Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, Bethlehem – twelve towns with their villages. 16 Such was the inheritance of the Zebulunites according to their clans, these towns with their villages.

17 The fourth lot fell to the Issacharites according to their clans. 18 Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez, 22 their frontier touching Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and ending at the Jordan. Sixteen towns they had with their villages. 23 Such was the inheritance of the tribe of the Issacharites according to their clans, these towns with their villages.

24 The fifth lot fell to the tribe of the Asherites according to their clans. 25 Their territory held Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amal, and Mishal. Their frontier reached Carmel on the west and Shihor-libnath. 27 It turned east to Beth-dagon, reaching Zebulun and the valley of Iphtah-el on the north, Beth-emek, and Neiel. It kept on north to Cabul, 28 Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as Sidon the Great, 29 then turned to Ramah and the fortified city of Tyre, then to Hosah and so to the sea. Mahalab, Achzib, 30 Ummmah, Aphek, Rehob: twenty-two towns with their villages, 31 these were the inheritance of the tribe of the Asherites according to their clans.

32 The sixth lot fell to the Naphtalites according to their clans. 33 Their frontier stretched from Heleph, from the sacred oak at Zaanannim (from Adami-nekeb and Jabneel) to Lakkum, ending at the Jordan. 34 It turned westward to Aznoth-tabor and on to Hukkok, touching Zebulun on the south and Asher on the west and Judah at the Jordan on the east. 35 The fortified towns were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, 38 Iron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh, nineteen towns with their villages. 39 Such was the inheritance of the tribe of the Naphtalites according to their clans, these towns with their villages.

40 The seventh lot fell to the tribe of the Danites according to their clans. 41 Their territory held Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Ajalon, Ithiah, 43 Elon, Timmah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, 46 Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the territory opposite Joppa. 47 As the territory of the Danites was too small for them, they marched out and attacked Leshem, captured it, sacked it, took possession of it, and lived there, renaming it Dan after their ancestor Dan. 48 Such was the inheritance of the tribe of the Danites according to their clans, these towns with their villages.

49 When the Israelites had finished distributing the various territories of the country, they gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun within their territory. 50 By order of the Lord they gave him the town he asked, Timnath-serah in the highlands of Ephraim. He fortified the town and lived there. 51 Such were the inheritances which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the tribes of Israel distributed by lot at Shilo before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. They finished dividing up the country.

20 Then the Lord told Joshua 2 to tell the Israelites to ‘Assign the towns of refuge of which I spoke to you by Moses, 3 so that anyone who kills another person by mistake, by accident, may run into one of them. They will serve as a refuge from the vengeance of the dead person’s next of kin. 4 The killer will flee to one of these towns and stand at the entry of the town gate, telling their case to the elders of that town. The elders must let the killer have a place to stay among them, 5 and if the next of kin comes in pursuit, they must not hand the killer over, because they killed their neighbour by accident, having had no feud with them previously. 6 The killer must stay in that town until they appear before the community for trial, and then until the death of the then high priest. After that the killer may return to their own town and their own home, from which they ran away.’

7 So they consecrated Kedesh in Galilee, in the highlands of Naphtali, Shechem in the highlands of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the highlands of Judah. 8 On the eastern side of the Jordan they assigned Bezer in the desert, on the tableland belonging to the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. 9 These were the fixed towns for all the Israelites and also for any foreigners resident among them, so that anyone who killed a person by mistake might flee there and not die by the avenging hand of the dead person’s next of kin, until they appeared before the community.

21 Then the heads of the Levites appeared before Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the tribes of Israel 2 at Shilo in the land of Canaan, pleading, ‘The Lord gave orders by Moses that we were to receive towns to live in, with the pasture lands of the towns for our cattle.’ 3 So the Israelites gave the Levites, as the Lord had commanded, the following towns and pasture lands out of their inheritance. 4 Thirteen towns fell by lot to the Kohathite families the sons of Aaron the priest, who were Levites, from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. 5 The rest of the Kohathites were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe of Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh. 6 The Gershonites had thirteen towns allotted to them from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 7 The Merarites had twelve towns allotted to them according to their clans, from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun. 8 These towns and their pastures were allotted to the Levites by the Israelites, as the Lord had given orders by Moses. 9 The following towns were given from the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Simeon, 10 to the descendants of Aaron, the Kohathite families, who were Levites, since the lot fell to them first. 11 They gave them Kiriath-arba, the town of Arba (the father of Anak) or Hebron, in the highlands of Judah, with the surrounding pastures. 12 But the fields of that town and the villages were given to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his property.

13 To the sons of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron and its pastures, the town of refuge for a person who commits manslaughter, Libnah and its pastures, 14 Jattir and its pastures, Eshtemoa and its pastures, 15 Holon and its pastures, Debir and its pastures, 16 Ain and its pastures, Juttah and its pastures, Beth-shemesh and its pastures, nine towns out of these two tribes. 17 Then, from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon and its pastures, Geba and its pastures, 18 Andthoth and its pastures, and Almon and its pastures, four towns, 19 making thirteen towns in all with their pastures for the sons of Aaron the priests.

20 The Kohathite families of the Levites, that is, the Kohathite families who were Levites, had towns allotted to them from the tribe of Ephraim, 21 Shechem and its pastures in the highlands of Ephraim (the town of refuge for those who commit manslaughter), Gezer with its pastures, 22 Kibzaim with its pastures, and Beth-horon with its pastures, four towns. 23 From the tribe of Dan they got Elteke with its pastures, Gibbethon with its pastures, 24 Aijalon with its pastures, and Gath-rimmon with its pastures, four towns, 25 and from the half tribe of Manasseh Taanach with its pastures and Gath-rimmon with its pastures, two towns. 26 The rest of the Kohathite families had ten towns with their pastures.

27 The Gershonites among the Levites received Golan in Bashan with its pastures (the town of refuge for a person who commits manslaughter) from the half tribe of Manasseh, and Beeshterah with its pastures, two towns. 28 From the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its pastures, Daberath with its pastures, 29 Jarmuth with its pastures, and En-gannim with its pastures, four towns. 30 From the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its pastures, Abdon with its pastures, 31 Helkath with its pastures, and Rehob with its pastures, four towns. 32 From the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its pastures (the town of refuge for a person who commits manslaughter), Hammoth-dor with its pastures, and Kartan with its pastures, three towns. 33 The Gershonite families received thirteen towns in all with their pastures.

34 The Merarite families, the rest of the Levites, received from the tribe of Zebulun Jokneam with its pastures, Kartah with its pastures, 35 Dimnah with its pastures, and Nahalal with its pastures, four towns. 36 [fn] From the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its pastures, Jahaz with its pastures, 37 Kedemoth with its pastures, and Mephaath with its pastures, four towns. 38 From the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pastures (the town of refuge for a person who commits manslaughter), Mahanaim with its pastures, 39 Heshbon with its pastures, and Jazer with its pastures, four towns in all. 40 All the towns allotted to the Merarite families, the rest of the Levites, numbered twelve.

41 These towns of the Levites within the holdings of the Israelites numbered in all forty-eight, with their pastures. 42 Every town had its own pastures round it, every one.

43 In this way the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give to their ancestors. They occupied it and settled in it, 44 and the Lord gave them security on every side, exactly as he had sworn to their ancestors. 44 Not one of their enemies could hold their own against them, for the Lord put all their enemies into their power. 45 Not one of the good promises made by the Lord to the people of Israel failed. All were fulfilled.

Epilogue

22 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. 2 He said to them, ‘You have obeyed everything that Moses the servant of the Lord ordered you, and listened to what I have said by way of command to you. 3 You have not abandoned your fellow Israelites all this time, but have obeyed the injunctions laid down for you by the Lord your God. 4 Now that the Lord your God has granted rest to your fellow Israelites, as he promised, you may go home to your tents in the land of your holdings, assigned to you by Moses the servant of the Lord on the east of the Jordan. 5 Only be most careful to obey the commands and laws laid down for you by Moses the servant of the Lord, mindful to love the Lord your God, always to live his life, to obey his commands, to be loyal to him, and to serve him with all your heart and mind.’ 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away home.

7 To the one half tribe of Manasseh Moses had assigned territory in Bashan, but Joshua assigned the other half territory near the fellow Israelites to the west of the Jordan. When Joshua sent them home he blessed them, 8 and they returned home to their tents with great wealth, rich in cattle, silver and gold, bronze, iron, and a lot of clothing, the plunder of their enemies which they divided among their relatives.

9 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh went home, leaving the Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, and returning to the land of Gilead which was their holding, assigned them by Moses under orders from the Lord. 10 When they reached the region near the Jordon, inside the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh set up an altar there beside the Jordan, a large conspicuous altar. 11 The Israelites were told that the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh had set up an altar at Gilgal, on the western bank belonging to Israel, 12 and on hearing this the whole community of Israel mustered at Shilo to make war upon them.

13 The Israelites sent a mission to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, namely, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 and ten chieftains, each a chieftain of his tribe, a leader of his family among the clans of Israel. 15 They went to Gilead and said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, 16 ‘The whole community of the Lord asks what you mean by breaking faith with the God of Israel and ceasing now to follow him by setting up an altar for yourselves? This is rebellion against the Lord. 17 Was it not enough to sin at Peor? A sin from which we have not even yet cleansed ourselves, though a plague fell upon the community of the Lord then! 18 And here you cease to follow the Lord now! You rebel today against the Lord, and tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel. 19 If the land you hold is unclean, then cross over to the land which the Lord himself holds, where his dwelling stands, and occupy a holding among us. But do not rebel against the Lord, do not make us rebels against the Lord, by setting up for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Wasn’t Achan the son of Zerah guilty of a breach of faith in the matter of the spoil which was dedicated to God, until God”s anger fell upon the whole community? He was not the only one to die for his crime.’

21 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh replied to the leaders of Israel: 22 ‘The Mighty One, God, the Lord, the Mighty One, God, the Lord, knows well, and Israel will know, if we were rebels or broke faith (if we did, do not spare us!) 23 when we set up an altar for ourselves, if we meant to cease following the Lord, or to sacrifice burnt offerings, cereal offerings, and recompense offerings. 24 Let the Lord himself punish us, if we did not do this in the fear that, later, descendants might say to our descendants, “What relationship do you have with the Lord the God of Israel? 25 The Lord made the Jordan the boundary between us and you, you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no share in the Lord.” Your descendants would make descendants give up the religion of the Lord. 26 So we thought we would prepare to build an altar for ourselves, not to sacrifice burnt offerings or any sacrifice at all, 27 but to stand as a witness between us and you, and between our descendants and yours, attesting that we are to worship before the Lord with our burnt offerings and recompense offerings, so that your descendants may never claim in time to come that we have no share in the Lord. 28 If ever that is claimed to us or to our descendants in time to come, we thought the answer would be, “There is the replica of the altar of the Lord, the replica made by our ancestors, though not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice. It stands as a witness between us and you!” 29 Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord and cease now to follow him by setting up any altar for burnt offerings, cereal offerings, or any sacrifice, apart from the altar of the Lord our God in front of his own Tent.’

30 When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community, the chieftains of the clans of Israel who were with him, heard what the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the Manassites said, they were quite satisfied. 31 Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the Manassites, ‘Now we know that the Lord is among us, since you have not broken faith here with the Lord. You have delivered the Israelites from the hand of the Lord.’ 32 Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the chieftains left the Reubenites and the Gadites in the land of Gilead and returned to the land of Canaan, and reported the news to the Israelites. 33 The Israelites were satisfied. They blessed God and said no more about waging war against them and destroying the land where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived. 34 The Reubenites and the Gadites named the altar, saying ‘it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.’

23 A long time afterwards, when the Lord had given Israel rest from all its surrounding enemies, and when Joshua was old, far advanced in years, 2 he summoned all Israel, their elders, their leaders, their judges, and their officers. ‘I am an old man,’ he said, ‘well advanced in years. 3 You have seen all that the Lord your God has done for your sake to all these nations. It is the Lord your God who has been fighting for you. 4 I have allotted you to the remaining nations, after those which I have wiped out, and you will hold the land of these nations from the Jordan to the Mediterranean in the west. 5 The Lord your God will drive them out before you and evict them out of your sight, until you occupy their land, as the Lord your God promised you. 6 Be resolute, then, in carrying out and obeying all that is written in the law book of Moses, never swerving from it to the right or to the left, 7 never mixing with those nations that remain beside you, never mentioning the names of their gods, never swearing by them nor serving them nor bowing down to them. 8 Be loyal to the Lord your God as you have been up until now. 9 The Lord has evicted great, powerful nations in front of you. To this day, no one has been able to hold their own against you. 10 One of you routs a thousand men, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you, as he promised you. 11 Be careful, then, always to love the Lord your God. 12 Otherwise, if you turn to ally yourselves with the remnant of nations left beside you, and intermarry with them, and join with them and they with you, 13 be sure of this, that the Lord your God will no longer evict these nations before your eyes. They will be a danger to you, they will entrap you, they will be a scourge for your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish off this fine country which the Lord your God has assigned you. 14 I am now going the way of all the earth. But you know in your own hearts and minds, all of you, that not one good promise made by the Lord about you has ever failed. All have been fulfilled, and not one has failed. 15 Well, as all the good promises have been fulfilled to you, of which the Lord your God told you, so will the Lord fulfil all his threats to you until he wipes you off this fine country which the Lord your God has given you. 16 Whenever you break the covenant of the Lord your God, which he has laid upon you, and go to serve other gods, bowing down to them, then will the anger of the Lord blaze against you, until you perish quickly off the fine country which he has given you.’

24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, summoning the elders of Israel and their leaders, their judges, and their officers. They presented themselves before God, 2 and Joshua said to all the people, ‘This is the message of the Lord the God of Israel: In days of old your ancestors lived east of the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, worshipping other gods. 3 But I took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the Euphrates, I led him through all the land of Canaan, multiplying his family, and giving him Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave Mount Seir as his holding, while Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 Later I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with wonders which I wrought among them. Afterwards I brought you out, 6 I brought out your ancestors from Egypt, and when you reached the sea the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and cavalry as far as the Reed Sea. 7 But when your ancestors cried to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea over them. You saw with your own eyes what I did in Egypt. You lived many days in the desert, 8 but I brought you to the land of the Amorites on the eastern side of the Jordan, and when they fought you I put them into your hands and you occupied their land, until I destroyed them before you. 9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, made an attack upon Israel. He sent for Balaam the son of Beer to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam. He had to bless you instead, and so I saved you from him. 11 You crossed the Jordan and reached Jericho, where the men of Jericho fought you, as did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I put them all into your hands. 12 I sent panic[fn] before you to drive out these nations, even the two kings of the Amorites. It was not your sword nor your bow that beat them. 13 I gave you a land on which you had never laboured, you live in towns you never built, and you now eat from vineyards and olive groves that you never planted. 14 So revere the Lord and serve him honestly and loyally, put away the gods your ancestors served on the east of the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the Lord yourselves. 15 If you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve, either the gods your ancestors served on the east of the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ 16 The people replied, ‘Far be it from us to forsake the Lord and serve other gods! 17 It is the Lord our God who has brought us and our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, out of that slave-pen, who wrought these great portents before our eyes, who preserved us wherever we went and among all the nations through whom we passed. 18 The Lord drove out all the nations before us, all the Amorites who lived in the land. So we will serve the Lord, for he is our God.’ 19 Joshua said to the people, ‘You may not be able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God, a jealous God, he will not forgive any sinful disloyalty of yours. 20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn to do evil to you and consume you after he has been doing you good.’ 21 ‘No,’ said the people, ‘we will serve the Lord.’ 22 So Joshua said to the people, ‘You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord to serve him.’ ‘Yes, we are!’ they responded. 23 ‘Then here and now,’ he said, ‘put away the foreign gods which are among you and give your hearts to the Lord the God of Israel.’ 24 The people answered, ‘The Lord our God will we serve, and we will listen to his voice.’ 25 So Joshua made a covenant that day with the people, fixing rules and laws for them at Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these terms in the law book of God. He took a large boulder and set it up there under the sacred oak in the sanctuary of the Lord, 27 saying to all the people, ‘This stone will be a witness against us, for it has heard all that the Lord has said to us. So will it be a witness against you, lest you deny your God.’ 28 Then Joshua sent the people away home, every man to his own inheritance. 29 After this Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, at the age of a hundred and ten. 30 They buried him in his own estate at Timnath-serah in the highlands of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

31 Israel served the Lord during all the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who survived Joshua and who had known all the deeds done by the Lord for Israel.

32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought for a hundred silver pieces from the sons of Hamer, the father of Shechem, and presented to the descendants of Joseph as their own.

33 Eleazar the son of Aaron died also, and they buried him at Gibeath, which had been given to his son Phinehas, in the highlands of Ephraim.