1 After the death of Yahweh’s servant Mosheh (Moses), Yahweh spoke to Mosheh’s servant Yehoshua (Joshua) (the son of Nun), saying, 2 “Now that my servant Mosheh is dead, you and all these people should pack up and cross over this River Yordan to go to the land that I am about to give to them—to Yisra’el’s descendants. 3 I’ll give you all every place that the soles of your feet tread on, just like I told Mosheh.[ref] 4 Your territory will extend from the wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, and from the large Euphrates River in the east, and right to the Mediterranean sea in the west, including all of the Hittites’ land. 5 No man will be able to challenge your leadership as long as you live—I’ll be with you just as I was with Mosheh—I won’t fail you or abandon you.[ref] 6 Be strong and be courageous, for you yourself will lead these people to inherit the land that I promised their ancestors that I’d give to them.[ref] 7 Just be strong and very courageous—making sure that you obey everything that my servant Mosheh instructed you. Don’t turn turn away to the right or to the left from it, so that you’ll be wise in every situation that you end up in. 8 That book of the law must always be on your lips and you should meditate on it day and night, so that you’ll be careful to follow everything that’s written in it, because then you’ll make your ways prosperous and then you’ll be wise. 9 Didn’t I order you to be strong and courageous? Don’t tremble or be discouraged because your God Yahweh will be with you wherever you go.”

10 Then Yehoshua instructed the leaders of the people, 11 “Go right through the camp and tell the people: Get everything ready that you’ll all need because in three days we’ll be ready to cross over this river and enter the land that your God Yahweh is about to give to you, and to take control of it.”

12 To the descendants of Reuben and Gad, and to the half-tribe of Menashsheh, Yehoshua said,[ref] 13 “Remember what Yahweh’s servant Mosheh informed you: Your God Yahweh is about give this land to you and to enable you all to settle down. 14 Your women and children and your livestock will stay here in the land that Mosheh allocated to you on this eastern side of the Yordan River. But your soldiers must dress for battle and cross over ahead of your brothers and help them 15 until Yahweh enables your brothers to take over the land that your God Yahweh is about to give them so they can settle like you all have. Then you’ll all be able to return to this land which Yahweh’s servant Mosheh gave you on this eastern side of the Yordan and take full control of it.”

16 “We’ll do everything you’ve told us to,” the people answered, “and we’ll go wherever you send us. 17 We’ll listen to you just like we listened to everything Mosheh said. May your God Yahweh be with you, just like he was with Mosheh. 18 We’ll put anyone to death who rebels against your words or refuses to follow your instructions. Just stay strong and courageous.”

2 Then from there at Acacia Grove, Yehoshua (Nun’s son) secretly sent off two spies, saying, “Go and learn about the land over there, especially around Yericho City.” So they went off, and over there, they entered the house of a woman—a prostitute named Rahab—and they lay down there.[ref] 2 However, someone told Yericho’s king, “Listen, some Israeli men arrived here tonight to check out our land.” 3 So the king sent guards to tell Rahab, “Bring out the men who went to your place and stayed the night, because they’ve come here to check out our land!”

4 However, Rahab had hidden the two men so she answered, “Indeed, the men arrived here, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5 But as the city gate was about to shut last night, the men went out. I don’t know to where they went—if you all hurry, you might be able to catch them.” 6 (But actually she had taken them up onto her flat roof and hidden them in bundles of flax that were drying there.) 7 So the guards hurried out on the road to the fords on the Yordan River and the city gate was kept shut after they had left.

8 Before the Israeli men lay down to sleep that night, Rahab went up them on the roof 9 and told them, “We know that Yahweh has given this land to you all and we’re all terrified of you. Everyone that lives here is trembling at the thought of your coming 10 because we’ve heard that Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea ahead of you all when you left Egypt (Mitsrayim). And we heard what you all did to two of the Amorite kings Sihon and Og over the Yordan there—how you all completely destroyed them.[ref] 11 Yes, we’ve heard the reports and we trembled and lost our courage to fight you all because your God Yahweh, he’s God over the heavens above and the earth below. 12 So now, please promise me by Yahweh that because I’ve been kind to both of you, you all will act kindly towards my father’s household. Give me a guarantee that you’ll do what you promise 13 and spare my parents and my siblings and their families from death.”

14 “Our lives for your lives,” the two men agreed. “If you don’t tell anyone about our agreement, then when Yahweh gives us this land, we’ll show kindness and faithfulness to you.”

15 Then she put a rope out through the window to let them down to escape from the city, because her house where she lived was actually built into the side of the wall. 16 “Go to the hill country,” she told them, “so those searching for you won’t find you, and hide up there for three days. Then once the searchers have returned, you’ll be able to safely return to your camp.”

17 “This promise that you made us make,” the men told her, “won’t apply unless you do this: 18 Take this red cord and when we invade the land, tie it in this window in the wall. Make sure that your parents and your siblings and their households are all here in your house. 19 If any of them leaves the house, their life will then be in their own hands and we’ll be innocent if they’re killed. But if anyone with you in this house gets injured, we’ll be responsible for that. 20 Also, if you tell anyone else about this agreement, then we’ll be released from this promise that you made us make.” 21 “Sure, let it be as you say,” Rahab responded. Then she sent them off, and after they’d gone, she tied the red cord in her window.

22 The two men went up into the hills and stayed there for three days until the search party returned to the city after searching all the roads and not finding them. 23 So the two men went down to the river and crossed over and returned to Yehoshua (Nun’s son), and they told him everything that had happened. 24 “Yahweh has certainly given this land to us,” they told Yehoshua. “The people there won’t be able to resist us because they’re so terrified.”

3 Early the next morning, Yehoshua and the people got up early and set off from Acacia Grove and went as far as the Yordan River and camped there without crossing over. 2 After three days, the leaders went throughout the camp 3 and instructed the people, “As soon as you all see the box containing the agreement with your God Yahweh, and see the Levitical priests carrying it, then you yourselves should move out from your places and follow after it. 4 But keep about nine hundred metres back from it. Don’t go any closer than that so that you all can see the way to go, because we haven’t been this way before.”

5 Then Yehoshua told the people, “Make sure you all do the ritual washing to make yourselves pure, because tomorrow Yahweh will do miracles among us.” 6 And he told the priests, “Lift up the box with the agreement, and walk across here in front of the people.” So they lifted up the sacred chest and went and stood in front of all the people.

7 Then Yahweh told Yehoshua, “Today I’ll begin to make you powerful in the eyes of all Israel so they’ll know that I’m with you just like I was with Mosheh. 8 Tell the priests who’re carrying the sacred chest that as soon as they come to the edge of the river, they should go in just a little and then stop there.”

9 Then Yehoshua told the Israelis, “Gather around here and listen to your God Yahweh’s message.” 10 He told them, “This is how you’ll all know that God, who can do anything, is among you. With your own eyes, you’ll all see how he’ll take away the land from the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Listen, the sacred chest containing the slabs that belongs to the master who owns the whole world, is about to be taken across the Yordan in front of you. 12 So now, select one man from each of your twelve tribes, 13 and as soon as the priests carrying the sacred chest go into the Yordan, as soon as their feet touch the water, the river water on the upstream side will pile up in a heap.”

14 So once the people had packed up their tents ready to cross the river, the priests carrying the sacred box walked ahead in front of them. 15 Then as soon as those priests steeped into the edge of the fast-flowing river (because it overflowed its banks at harvest time in the spring), 16 then the water coming from upstream suddenly stopped flowing. The water far upstream piled up near a town called Adam (near Tsaretan), and the water that normally flowed down towards the Sea of Arabah (also called the Dead Sea or the Salt Sea) stopped flowing, so the people were able to cross what was the Yordan River opposite Yericho. 17 The priests carrying the sacred chest with Yahweh’s agreement in it, stood on firm, dry ground in what had been the middle of the river. All the Israelis crossed over on dry ground until everyone was across.

4 Once all the people had crossed over the Yordan River, Yahweh told Yehoshua, 2 “Take those twelve men that the people selected from each tribe, 3 and give them these instructions: Pick up twelve boulders from here in the middle of the Yordan from near where the priests are standing, and bring them over with you, and put them in the place where you all camp tonight.”

4 So Yehoshua called over the twelve men, one from each tribe, 5 and told them, “Cross back to where your God Yahweh’s box is in the middle of the Yordan and each of you should pick up a rock and carry it back on your shoulder—one stone each on your shoulder to match the number of tribes of Yisra’el’s sons. 6 Those boulders will be a monument for all the people. In the future when your children ask what those boulders mean, 7 then you’ll all be able to tell them that the water in the Yordan River was cut off ahead of the box with Yahweh’s agreement. When it crossed over into the river, the water in the river stopped flowing, and those boulders are a memorial for the Israelis forever.

8 So the Israelis did just what Yehoshua had told them to do, and they picked up twelve boulders from the Yordan, just as Yahweh had instructed Yehoshua, and brought them over to where the people were camping and placed them down there. 9 Then Yehoshua stacked up twelve other boulders in the middle of the Yordan where the feet of the priests carrying the box with the agreement had been, and they remain there until today. 10 The priests carrying the box had stood in the middle of the Yordan until everything that Yahweh had instructed Yehoshua to pass on to the people was done, just as Mosheh had also instructed Yehoshua, and the people had rapidly crossed over.

11 As soon as all the people had crossed over, the priests carrying Yahweh’s box also crossed over in front of the people. 12 The soldiers from the tribes of Reuben, and Gad and the half-tribe of Menashsheh had marched over ahead of the rest of the Israeli, as Mosheh had agreed with them. 13 (There were around forty thousand of them, armed and ready for battle, and they were heading to the plains of Yericho for the battle there.) 14 On that day, Yahweh helped Yehoshua to look powerful in the eyes of the people, and they respected him just as they had respected Mosheh all the days of his[fn] life.

15 Then Yahweh told Yehoshua, 16 “Now order the priests carrying the box with the agreement to come up out of what was the Yordan River,” 17 so Yehoshua instructed the priests to come on up from the Yordan. 18 As soon as the priests carrying the box with Yahweh’s agreement came up out of what had been the Yordan River and their feet stepped onto what had been dry land, the river water returned to its place and overflowed it banks as it had been doing for the previous few days.

19 The people had come up from the river valley around the end of March and they camped east of Yericho at Gilgal, 20 which was where they had set up the monument of twelve boulders. 21 Then Yehoshua told the Israelis, “In the future when your descendants ask why these boulders are here, 22 tell them that this is where Israel crossed the Yordan River on dry land. 23 Your God Yahweh dried up the river water ahead of you until you’d all crossed over, just as he had done when he dried up the Red Sea before we crossed over. 24 Yahweh did that so that all the peoples in the world would know that he is powerful, and so that you’ll always all respect him.

5 When all the Amorite kings who were on the west side of the Yordan (towards the ocean) and all the Canaanite kings (beside the ocean) heard how Yahweh had dried up the water in the Yordan River until the Israelis had crossed over, they trembled with fear and lost their nerve to stand against Israel.

2 At that time, Yahweh told Yehoshua, “Make yourself flint knives and again circumcise the male Israelis.” 3 So Yehoshua had flint knives made and the male Israelis were circumcised at a place they named ‘The hill of foreskins’. 4 (This was done because all the men who’d left Egypt and who were old enough to join the army had been circumcised but had died in the wilderness since then,[ref] 5 and because all the boys who’d been born while they were in the wilderness after they’d left Egypt hadn’t been circumcised. 6 The Israelis have spent forty years moving around the wilderness until the last of those men who’d left Egypt but hadn’t listened to Yahweh had died. Yahweh had promised not to let them see the land that he’d promised to their ancestors to give them—a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 It was the sons of those people that Yehoshua had circumcised this time because they hadn’t been circumcised on the way.)

8 After all their males had been circumcised, they remained in that camp until they’d healed up. 9 Then Yahweh told Yehoshua, “Today I’ve rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you,” and that place is named Gilgal[fn] until this day.

10 In the evening of the fourth day that the people had been camped at Gilgal there on the plains near Yericho, they celebrated the ‘pass-over’.[ref]

11 The next day they ate roasted grain that they’d taken from that area, and ate flat bread that same day. 12 The day after they’d eaten some of the produce from that area, there was no manna on the ground to be collected and so it stopped—instead they’d eat the produce from the Canaan region beginning that year.[ref]

13 While Yehoshua was in the Yericho area, he looked up and saw a man in front of him. The man had drawn his sword and was holding it in his hand so Yehoshua approached him and asked, “Are you on our side, or with our enemies?”

14 “No,” the man answered, “but I, the leader of Yahweh’s army, have come now.”

Then Yehoshua fell to his knees and bowed down with his face to the ground, and asked him, “What’s my master going to command to his servant?”

15 “Take off your sandals,” the commander of Yahweh’s army told him, “because the ground that you’re standing is holy.” So Yehoshua took them off.

6 Now Yericho city was shut-up tightly because of the Israelis, so no one was coming out and no one could go in. 2 Then Yahweh told Yehoshua, “Listen, I’ve given you victory over Yericho and its king, and their mighty army warriors. 3 All your soldiers must go around the city once every day for six days 4 with seven priests blowing ram’s horns going ahead of the sacred box. On the seventh day, you all must go around the city seven times while the priests are blowing the horns. 5 Finally, with a long blast of the horn, when you all hear that then all the people must shout loudly and the wall around the city will fall down flat, and all the soldiers should go straight in from where they’re standing.”

6 So Yehoshua summoned the priests and told them, “Carry the box with the agreement, and have seven priests hold up seven rams’ horns ahead of Yahweh’s box.” 7 Then he told the people, “Go across in front and go around the city, with the soldiers going ahead of Yahweh’s box.”

8 After Yehoshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests with their seven rams’ horns went across in front and blew the horns, and the box with Yahweh’s covenant was carried along behind them. 9 The soldiers walked ahead of the priests blowing the horns, with the rear guard walking behind the box. So they were walking and blowing the horns, 10 and Yehoshua told the people, “Don’t shout or even speak or make a noise until the day I tell you all to shout—then you all should shout loudly.”

11 So Yahweh’s box was carried once around the city, then the people went back to the camp and stayed the night there.

12 Yehoshua got up early the next morning, and the priests picked up Yahweh’s box 13 and the seven priests holding the seven rams’ horns went in front of it—blowing the horns as they kept walking. The soldiers walking in front of them, and the rear guard walked behind Yahweh’s box while the horns were being blown. 14 They went once around the city on that second day and then returned to their camp again—doing that for six days.

15 Then on the seventh day they got up early at dawn and went around the city as before, except this day they went around seven times. 16 After that seventh time around, the priests blew a long blast on the rams’ horns and Yehoshua told the people, “Shout, because Yahweh has given you all the city! 17 However, everything in the city is sacred to Yahweh. Only the prostitute Rahab and those who’re in her house will be allowed to live, because she hid the spies that we sent in. 18 But for all of you, everything inside the city is forbidden—if any of you take anything out of the city then our camp would also then be marked for destruction and it would cause a lot of trouble. 19 All the silver and gold, bronze and iron is dedicated to Yahweh and must go into his treasury.

20 So the people shouted when that horn blew—as soon as they heard it the people shouted loudly and the wall fell down on itself and the people went up and over into the city from wherever they were standing and captured the city.[ref] 21 They killed every living thing in the city with their swords, including men and women, young and old, even cattle, sheep, and donkeys.

22 Then Yehoshua commanded the two men who had spied on the area, “Go to the prostitute’s house and bring the woman out of it and all who’re related to her, just as you promised her.” 23 So the young men who’d gone in as spies went in and brought out Rahab and her parents and all her relatives and settled them outside of the camp of the Israelis. 24 Then the warriors set fire to the city and burnt everything that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and bronze and iron were first removed and put into the treasury of Yahweh’s house. 25 But Yehoshua spared the prostitute Rahab and her father’s household and her other relatives because she hid the men that Yehoshua had sent in to spy on Yericho, and she still lives in Israel to this day.[ref]

26 At that time, Yehoshua made the people take an oath, saying,[ref]

“May Yahweh curse anyone who rebuilds this city, Yericho.

When that person lays its foundation, may his oldest son die.

And when he finishes building the city wall and sets up its gates, may his youngest son die.”

27 So Yahweh was with Yehoshua and everyone in that region had heard about him.

7 However the Israelis disobeyed the command about not taking anything. Achan (son of Karmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Yehudah) took something that was prohibited, so Yahweh was angry with the Israelis.

2 Meanwhile, Yehoshua sent some of his men from Yericho to Ay (east of Bethel and near Beyt-Aven) and told them, “Go to Ay and spy out the land.” So the men went and checkout out Ay. 3 When they returned to Yehoshua, they told him, “Don’t send all the warriors—only around two to three thousand men should go and attack them. Don’t bother everyone else because Ay is small.” 4 So around three thousand warriors went to attack Ay, but they were defeated and had to flee back. 5 The men from Ay chased them from the city gate downhill to Shevarim and fought them on the slopes. About thirty-six of them were killed, and the Israelis became very afraid and lost all their courage.

6 Yehoshua and the Israeli elders tore their clothes in grief and fell to their knees in front of Yahweh’s box until evening, throwing dust onto their heads in despair. 7 Then Yehoshua asked, “Yahweh, my master, why did you bring these people across the Yordan and then let us be defeated and killed by the Amorites? If only we’d been content and stayed on the other side of the river. 8 Please, my master, what can I say now that we have had to flee in shame from our enemies? 9 When the Canaanites and the other people living in this land hear about this, they’ll surround us and kill all of us. Then what would you do to defend your honour?

10 But Yahweh told Yehoshua, “Stand up! Why is your face on the ground like that? 11 Israel has sinned and disobeyed my agreement[fn] that I made with them. They’ve also taken prohibited things—stealing, deceiving, and put it with their own possessions. 12 That’s why they were unable to defeat their enemies—they had to flee from them because they took what was prohibited. I won’t be with you all again unless you all destroy what was taken. 13 So get up and tell the people, ‘Purify yourselves for tomorrow, because our God Yahweh says that we took something prohibited and we won’t be able to better our enemies until it’s removed from among us. 14 Tomorrow morning you all must present yourselves by your tribes. Then the tribe that Yahweh singles out, must present yourselves by your clans, and the clan that Yahweh singles out, must present yourselves by household. Then the household that Yahweh singles out, must present yourselves individually. 15 The man who is caught will be destroyed by fire, along with everything that belongs to him, because he’s violated Yahweh’s agreement and committed a disgraceful sin among Israel.”

16 So Yehoshua got up early the next morning and ordered each tribe to come forward singly, and the tribe of Yehudah was singled out. 17 Then each of the clans came forward and the Zerahite clan was singled out, and when their families came forwards, Zabdi’s household was singled out. 18 When everyone in that extended family came forward, Achan (son of Karmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Yehudah) was singled out. 19 Then Yehoshua told Achan, “My son, now honour Yahweh the God of Israel and give thanks to him. And tell me now what you’ve done—don’t hide it from me.”

20 “It’s true,” Achan replied, “I’ve sinned against Yahweh the God of Israel. This is what I did: 21 I saw a beautiful Babylonian cloak and two hundred silver pieces and a tongue-shaped piece of gold (weighing six-hundred grams) there inside Yericho. I wanted them so I took them, and they’re hidden in the ground under my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22 Yehoshua sent some messengers and they ran to the tent, and sure enough, it was all hidden there in the ground with the silver underneath. 23 They took it out of the tent and brought it back to Yehoshua and all the people, and spread it out in front of Yahweh.

24 Then Yehoshua took Achan and the silver, the cloak, the gold along with his children and his animals, his tent and everything he owned, and took them to the Akor Valley along with all the people, 25 and he said, “Why did you cause trouble for us? Yahweh will trouble you today.” And the people executed him by throwing rocks at him. Then they threw rocks at them all and burnt the bodies 26 and piled rocks over them which are still there to this day and Yahweh’s anger subsided. That’s why that place is called ‘Akor’ (i.e., ‘Trouble’) Valley to this day.

8 Then Yahweh told Yehoshua, “Don’t be afraid or discouraged. Take all your warriors with you and go to Ay. Listen, I’ve given you victory over Ay’s king and his people and his city and his land. 2 You’ll do to Ay and its king what you did to Yericho and its king,[fn] except that you all can plunder its spoil and its livestock for yourselves. Ambush the city from behind.”

3 So Yehoshua led his warriors towards Ay. He chose thirty thousand of the bravest and strongest warriors and sent them ahead in the darkness 4 and told them, “Listen, you all lie in ambush against the city from close behind it, and make sure you all stay alert and ready to attack. 5 I will bring those warriors who’re with me and we’ll approach the city, then when they come out to attack us like last time, we’ll run back away from them. 6 They’ll think we’re running away from them like we did before, so they’ll chase after us until we’ve drawn them away from the city. 7 Then you’ll all move in from your ambush position and capture the city, and your God Yahweh will give the city to you all. 8 After you capture the city, set fire to it. Do what I’ve ordered you all which in turn has come from Yahweh. 9 So Yehoshua sent them to set up the ambush between Ay and Bethel (so west of Ay). Meanwhile, he stayed overnight at the camp.

10 Yehoshua got up early in the morning and gathered the warriors, then he and the Israeli elders went in front of them to go and attack Ay. 11 They all went close to the city and camped there slightly to the north, with just a valley between them and Ay. 12 (He had sent around five thousand warriors to lie in ambush between Bethel and Ay, west of the city, 13 so the main group was to the north and the rear guard to the west.) That night Yehoshua went down into the valley. 14 When the king of Ay saw the Israelis, he hurriedly got his men ready, and went out early to meet Israel for the battle. The king and his people went to a prepared spot overlooking the Yordan valley, but he didn’t know that another group lay in ambush behind the city. 15 Yehoshua and the Israeli group allowed themselves to be struck by them, then they fled back towards the wilderness 16 and all the men in the city were called out to chase them. So they chased after Yehoshua and were drawn away from the city, 17 and there wasn’t a single man left in Ay or Bethel who didn’t join the chase—they left the city wide open and chased after the Israelis.

18 Then Yahweh told Yehoshua, “Hold your spear out pointing towards Ay, because I will allow you to defeat it.” So Yehoshua held the spear that was in his hand out toward the city. 19 When the warriors in the ambush saw that, they rushed out from their place and entered the city and captured it, and quickly set it on fire. 20 When the men from Ay turned and looked behind them, the smoke from their city was going up into the sky, but they had nowhere to escape to. Then Yehoshua’s men who’d been fleeing towards the wilderness turned back around towards their pursuers 21 and saw that the ambush had captured the city and the smoke was rising. So they continued back towards Ay, killing their men. 22 Meanwhile, their warriors came back out of the city, so the men from Ay ended up in the middle of the two groups, and the Israelis fought until they’d killed them all. 23 However they captured the king of Ay alive and brought him to Yehoshua.

24 Then after the Israelis had finished killing the men of Ay who had chased them towards the wilderness, they returned to Ay and slaughtered the people still in there, 25 so a total of twelve thousand men and women from Ay were killed that day. 26 Yehoshua didn’t lower his spear until everyone who lived in Ay had been completely destroyed. 27 The Israelis only took the livestock and the goods from Ay, just as Yahweh had instructed Yehoshua, 28 then Yehoshua burnt the city and made it a permanent pile of rubble where no one lives to this day. 29 He hanged the king of Ay on a tree, but as the sun was going down, he commanded that the corpse be brought down from the tree. They threw it into the city gateway and piled a big heap of rocks on top of it which is still there today.

30 Then Yehoshua built an altar to Israel’s God, Yahweh on Mt. Eybal[ref] 31 just like Yahweh’s servant Mosheh had instructed them. (It was written in the scroll of the rules from Mosheh that it must be an altar made from whole stones that haven’t been chiselled with iron tools.) Then they offered burnt offerings to Yahweh on it, plus they sacrificed peace offerings,[ref] 32 and while the Israelis watched, Yehoshua inscribed onto the stones there,[fn] a copy of the rules passed on by Mosheh. 33 Then all of Israel and their elders and officials and judges were standing some on each side of the box containing Yahweh’s agreement, facing the priests and the Levites who carried the box. Any resident foreigners were also there. Half of the people stood on the Mt. Gerazim side, and half on the Mt. Eybal side of the valley, just like the way that Yahweh’s servant Mosheh had originally commanded for blessing the people.[ref]

34 Then Yehoshua read all the law, including the blessings and the curses, as per everything that’s written in the book of the law. 35 He read out every single word that Mosheh had written, in front of the entire assembly of Israel, including the women, children, and foreigners living among them.

9 There were several kings who ruled in regions on this west side of the Yordan—the Hittites and Amorites, the Canaanites and Perizzites, the Hivites and the Yebusites. Some were in the hill country, some in the lowlands, and some along the Mediterranean coast south of Lebanon. When they heard about what had happened at Ay, 2 they formed an alliance to fight together against Yehoshua and Israel.

3 However, when the people who live in Gibeon heard what Yehoshua had done to Yericho and Ay, 4 they decided to use cunning instead. They found old, worn-out sacks to throw over their donkeys and old, worn-out wineskins that had been torn and mended, then sent men to act as ambassadors. 5 They found worn-out sandals that had been patched, and wore worn-out clothes. All the food that they took for the journey was already dry and disintegrating into crumbs. 6 They went to Yehoshua in the camp at Gilgal and told him, “We’ve come from a far-off land and want you to make a treaty with us.”

7 An Israeli man asked the Hivite (because Gilead was in the Hivite region), “Perhaps you really live near by? How could we make a treaty with you?”[ref]

8 They addressed Yehoshua, “We are your servants.”

Yehoshua asked them, “Who are you? And where have you come from?”

9 “Your servants have come from a very distant land,” they replied, “because of the reputation of your God, Yahweh. We’ve heard the reports about him and everything that he did in Egypt, 10 and everything that he did to the two Amorite kings on the other side of the Yordan—King Sihon of Heshbon, and King Og of the Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth.[ref] 11 So our elders and all those who live in our area instructed us, ‘Take provisions for the journey and go to meet them, and tell them, “We are your servants. Now make a treaty with us.” ’ 12 This bread of ours was warm from our ovens when we loaded it for our journey, and now, look, it’s all dry and crumbling. 13 And these wineskins were new when we filled them, and look, now they’re all torn. Same with our clothes and our sandals—they’re all worn-out from the very long journey.”

14 The Israeli leaders tasted some of their provisions, but they didn’t ask Yahweh for advice. 15 So Yehoshua agreed to make peace with them, and they made a treaty not to attack their people, and all the Israeli leaders promised that.

16 However, three days after making the treaty, they discovered that those people actually lived quite close to where they were. 17 Then the Israelis went on forward and they arrived at those cities on the third day—the cities of Gibeon, Kefirah, Beerot, and Kiryat-Yearim. 18 But they didn’t attack those cities because their leaders had made a promise by the God of Israel, Yahweh.

All the Israelis grumbled against their leaders for making that treaty, 19 but their leaders told them, “We ourselves have promised them by our God Yahweh so now we can’t touch them. 20 We’re forced now to let them live, otherwise God’s anger would be against us for breaking our promise to them. 21 So we’ll let them live but make them our slaves.” As a result of that, the Gibeonites became woodcutters and water-carriers for all the Israelis.

22 Then Yehoshua summoned them and asked them, “Why did you all deceive us by telling us that you lived far away when really you were very close? 23 Because of that, you’re all cursed and you’ll always be our slaves—you’ll all be the woodcutters and water-carriers for the house of my God.”

24 “Because it was made very clear to your servants,” they answered, “that your God Yahweh had commanded his servant Mosheh to give to you all the land and to destroy everyone who lives in the region. We feared for our lives when you came closer, so that’s what we did. 25 So now we’re in your power—do to us whatever you think is good and right.” 26 So that’s what Yehoshua did and he prevented the Israelis from killing them. 27 Instead he made them move to where he wanted, to become woodcutters and water-carriers for the people and for Yahweh’s altar until this day.

10 Once King Adoni-Tsedek of Yerushalem heard that Yehoshua had captured Ay and completely destroyed it, and that he’d treated the king of Ay the same as he had treated the king of Yericho, and he heard that the Gibeonites had made peace with Israel and were now working for them, 2 the people of Yerushalem were very afraid because Gibeon had been a powerful city, stronger than Ay, and all it’s warriors were powerful. 3 So King Adoni-Tsedek sent to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Yarmut, King Yafia of Lakish, and King Debir of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come here and help me. We’ll attack Gibeon because they’ve made peace with Yehoshua and the Israelis.” 5 So those five Amorite kings (from Yerushalem, Hebron, Yarmut, Lakish, and Eglon) joined together to go to Gibeon and their armies camped there to fight against it.

6 The leaders of Gibeon hurriedly sent to Yehoshua in the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Don’t abandon your servants. Come quickly and help us, and save us because all the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country have combined against us.” 7 So Yehoshua and his warriors and prize fighters headed off from Gilgal, 8 and Yahweh told him, “Don’t be afraid of them, because you’ll have the victory over them—none of them will be able to stand against you.”

9 Yehoshua and his men spent the night moving in, and then surprised the alliance, 10 and Yahweh confused them as the Israelis approached and caused them to be badly defeated at Gibeon. Then they chased them on the road going to Beyt-Horon and killed them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled from the Israelis on the slope down from Beyt-Horon heading towards Azekah, Yahweh hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky and they died—actually more of them died from the hail than were killed with swords by the Israelis.

12 Then Yehoshua spoke to Yahweh on the day that he gave them victory over the Amorites, and in front of the Israelis he said,

“Sun, stay still over Gibeon,

≈and moon, over the Ayyalon Valley.

13 Then the sun stood still and the moon stood still until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. (Isn’t that written about in the Jashar scroll? The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and it didn’t hurry to go around for almost a whole day.[ref] 14 There had never before been a day like that, and nothing like it since then, when Yahweh listened to a man’s voice, because he was fighting for Israel.)

15 Then Yehoshua and all Israel returned to their camp at Gilgal.

16 Meanwhile those five kings had fled away and hidden at Makkedah in a cave, 17 and Yehoshua was told, “The five kings have been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 Yehoshua said, “Roll large rocks across the mouth of the cave and assign men to guard them there, 19 but the rest of you, don’t stay there. Chase after your enemies and attack them from behind. Don’t let them get into their cities, because your God Yahweh wants you all to defeat them. 20 So Yehoshua and the Israelis finished most of them off, although some did manage to escape and get back into their fortified cities. 21 Then all the people returned to Yehoshua in the camp at Makkedah. After that, no one dared to criticise the Israelis.

22 Then Yehoshua said, “Open up the cave and bring those five kings to me.” 23 They did it and brought the five kings out from the cave—the kings of Yerushalem, Hebron, Yarmut, Lakish, and Eglon. 24 When they took them to Yehoshua, he summoned all the warriors and told the commanders, “Come over here. Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” 25 Then he told them, “Don’t be afraid and don’t be dismayed. Be strong and courageous, because this is what Yahweh will do to all your enemies—including the ones that you all still have to fight.” 26 Then Yehoshua executed the five kings and hanged them on five trees, where their bodies were left until evening. 27 As the sun was going down, he commanded that the bodies be brought down and thrown into the cave where they had hidden, and they placed large rocks over the cave entrance again, which are still there to this day.

28 Then Yehoshua captured Makkedah that same day. They killed the king and everyone else in the city, leaving no survivors, and Yehoshua did the same to the king of Makkedah as he’d done to the king of Yericho.[fn]

29 Then Yehoshua and all Israel went southwest from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against it. 30 Yahweh also allowed Israel to conquer it and its king, and Yehoshua again killed everyone in the city, leaving no survivors, and he did the same to the king of Libnah as he’d done to the king of Yericho.

31 Then Yehoshua and all Israel went south from Libnah to Lakish, where they took a position against the city and fought against it. 32 On the second day of the battle, Yahweh helped Israel defeat Lakish, and they captured it and killed everyone in the city like they had done to Libnah. 33 King Horam of Gezer arrived to help Lakish, but Yehoshua defeated him and his men, leaving no survivors.

34 Then Yehoshua and the Israelis went west from Lakish to Eglon, where they took a position against the city and fought against it. 35 That day they captured it and killed everyone in the city like they had done to Lakish.

36 Then Yehoshua and the Israelis went west from Eglon up into the hills to Hebron, and fought against it. 37 They captured it and killed the king and everyone in all their towns, leaving no survivors the same as Eglon.

38 Then Yehoshua and and the Israelis went to the city of Debir and fought against it. 39 They captured the city and its king and all their towns, killing everyone and leaving no survivors. They treated Debir and its king just like they had to Libnah and Hebron and their kings.

40 So Yehoshua attacked and conquered the entire region—the hill country and the Negev, the lowlands and the slopes, and all their kings. He didn’t leave any survivors but destroyed everything living, just as Israel’s God Yahweh had commanded. 41 Yehoshua attacked and conquered them from Kadesh-Barnea and as far as Gaza, all the land of Goshen and as far as Gibeon. 42 In one swoop, Yehoshua captured all those kings and their land, because Israel’s God Yahweh had fought for Israel. 43 Then Yehoshua and his warriors returned to their camp at Gilgal.

11 Now when King Yabin of Hatsor heard about all that, he sent to King Yovav of Madon and the kings of Shimron and Akshaf, 2 as well as the kings from the hill country in the north and in the rift valley plains south of Lake Galilee, and in the lowlands and in the heights of Dor in the west, 3 and the kings of the Canaanites both east and west, and the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and the Yebusites who lived in the hill country, and to the Hivites by Mt. Hermon in the Mitspah region. 4 So they all came out with their warriors—so many people that they were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore, along with many horses and chariots. 5 All those kings gathered together at the time they’d specified and took up positions at the Merom stream to fight against Israel.

6 But Yahweh told Yehoshua, “Don’t be afraid that they look overwhelming, because tomorrow at this time, I’ll ensure that they’re all slain by Israel. You’ll hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.” 7 Then Yehoshua and all his warriors went to Merom and attacked them without warning 8 and Yahweh enabled them to defeat them. 9 Then Yehoshua did what Yahweh had instructed him—he crippled their horses and set fire to their chariots.

10 After that, Yehoshua returned to Hatsor city and captured it and killed the king—in the past it had been the head of all those kingdoms. 11 They killed everything in the city—not leaving anything that breathes—and then set fire to it.

12 So Yehoshua had captured all those kings and their cities, and completely destroyed them and their people just as Yahweh’s servant Mosheh had commanded. 13 However, other than Hatsor, they didn’t burn any of the other more defensible cities built up on mounds. 14 The Israelis took any valuables and any livestock from those cities, but they killed everyone and everything else. 15 Yehoshua did everything exactly as Yahweh had instructed his servant Mosheh (and as Mosheh had then instructed him), not forgetting or ignoring anything.

16 Yehoshua conquered the whole region—the hill country and all the Negev, all of the Goshen region, the lowlands and the rift valley plains, the hill country of Israel and its lowlands 17 from Mt. Halak downhill towards Seir, and as far as Baal-Gad in the Lebanon valley below Mt. Hermon. He attacked and captured all their kings and executed them. 18 Yehoshua had spent quite some time battling with those kings. 19 No city made peace with the Israelis except for the Hivites who lived in Gibeon—all the rest were taken in battle 20 because it was Yahweh who’d made them stubborn so they’d fight against Israel and be completely destroyed without any mercy. Yes, they were annihilated just as Yahweh had instructed Mosheh.[ref]

21 At that time, Yehoshua also went and exterminated the Anakites from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and all the hill country of Yehudah and Israel. He completely destroyed them from their cities. 22 No descendants of Anak were left in the land of Israel, except that some remained in Gaza, in Gat, and in Ashdod.

23 Yehoshua captured the entire region, just as Yahweh had told Mosheh, and Yehoshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel, divided into portions according to their tribes, and then the region was peaceful.

12 These are the kings in the region who the Israelis defeated on the eastern side of the Yordan river and took possession of their land from the Arnon riverbed in the south to Mt. Hermon in the north, including all of the eastern rift valley plains:[ref] 2 King Sihon of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon and ruled over Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon riverbed) and over half of Gilead up to the Yabbok riverbed which formed the border with the Ammonites, 3 as well as the eastern rift valley plains down to Lake Galilee and to the Sea of Arabah (also called the Dead Sea or the Salt Sea), the road to Beyt-Yeshimot and the area southward below the slopes of Mt. Pisgah.

4 The Israelis also defeated King Og from Bashan, one of the few remaining Refa’ites, who lived in Ashtarot and at Edrei, 5 and ruled over Mt. Hermon, Salekah, all of Bashan to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, as well as half of Gilead to the border with King Sihon from Heshbon.

6 Yahweh’s servant Mosheh and the Israelis had defeated them and Mosheh had given that region as a possession to the descendants of Reuben and Gad and to the half-tribe of Menashsheh.[ref]

7 These are the kings in the region that Yehoshua and the Israelis defeated on the western side of the Yordan river from Baal-Gad in the Lebanon valley to Mt. Halak which goes up toward Seir (Edom). Yehoshua divided up that region as a possession to the various tribes of Israel, 8 as well as the hill country, the lowlands, the rift valley, the slopes, the wilderness and the Negev—the land of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and the Yebusites: 9 the king of Yericho, the king of Ay (near Bethel), 10 the king of Yerushalem, the king of Hebron, 11 the king of Yarmut, the king of Lakish, 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 Libhah, the king of Adullam, 16 the king of Makkedah, the king of Bethel, 17 the king of Tappuah, the king of Hefer, 18 the king of Afek, the king of Lasharon, 19 the king of Madon, the king of Hatsor, 20 the king of Shimron Meron, the king of Akshaf, 21 the king of Taanach, the king of Megiddo, 22 the king of Kedesh, the king of Yokneam in Karmel, 23 the king of Dor of Nafoth Dor, the king of Goyim in Gilgal, 24 and the king of Tirzah—a total of thirty-one kings.

13 Now the years had passed and Yehoshua had grown old, and Yahweh said to him, “You’re old now and there’s still a lot of land that needs to be captured. 2 This is the remaining land: all the territories of the Philistines, and all of the Geshurites, 3 from Shihor (east of Egypt) and as far as the border of Ekron to the north (it’s considered to be Canaanite), the five rulers of the Philistines (in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gat, and Ekron), and the Avvites. 4 In the south: all the land of the Canaanites, and a Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, as far as Afek, as far as the border of the Amorites, 5 plus the land of the Gebalites, all Lebanon towards the east, from Baal-Gad below Mt. Hermon as far as Lebo-Hamath. 6 I myself will drive out all those who live in the hill country from Lebanon as far as Misrefot-Maim, and all the Sidonians. Make sure that it’s given to the Israelis as an inheritance, just as I instructed you.[ref] 7 All that land should be divided up as an inheritance for the nine tribes plus half of the half-tribe of Menashsheh.

8 Along with the other half of the half-tribe of Menashsheh, the tribes of Reuben and Gad had taken their inheritance on the other (eastern) side of the Yordan as approved by Yahweh’s servant Mosheh,[ref] 9 from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Arnon riverbed, and the city that’s in the middle of the valley, and all the plateau near Medeba, to Dibon. 10 Also, all the cities of King Sihon of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon, as far as the border with the Ammonites, 11 and Gilead, and the territory of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and all Mt. Hermon, and all the Bashan as far as Salekah, 12 all the kingdom of Og in the Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (what remained from the remnant of the Refa’ites). Mosheh had attacked them and captured their lands. 13 But the Israelis didn’t capture the land of the Geshurites or the Maacathites and so those peoples live among the Israelis to this day.

14 The only tribe that didn’t receive an inheritance was the tribe of Levi because the offerings given to Israel’s God Yahweh are their inheritance, just like he’d told them.[ref]

15 This was the land that Mosheh gave to the tribe of Reuben, according to their clans: 16 The area from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon riverbed) along to the town in the middle of the valley, to the plateau near Medeba, 17 Heshbon and all it’s cities on the plateau, including Dibon, Bamot-Baal, Beyt-Baal-Meon, 18 Yahaz, Kedemot, Mefaat, 19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, and Zeret-Shahar on the hill within the valley. 20 It also includes Beyt-Peor, the slopes of the Pisgah, Beyt-Yeshimot, 21 and all the cities on the plateau, and all the kingdom of Sihon (the king of the Amorites who had reigned in Heshbon) who Mosheh had defeated, he and the leaders of Midian: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba (the princes of Sihon who had lived in the land). 22 The Israelis also killed Balaam (Beor’s son who practiced divination) along with others. 23 The border for Rueben’s descendants was the Yordan River. So that was the inheritance of Rueben’s descendants—all the cities and their villages allocated to their clans.

24 This was the land that Mosheh gave to the tribe of Gad, according to their clans: 25 It included Yazer and all the cities of Gilead and half of the land where the Ammonites had lived as far as Aroer opposite Rabbah, 26 then from Heshbon to Ramat-Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the Debir border. 27 Also in the valley, Beyt-Haram, Beyt-Nimrah, Succot, Zafon, and the rest of the kingdom of Sihon (the king of Heshbon), with the Yordan and the border, as far as the end of Lake Galilee, eastward beyond the Yordan River. 28 So that was the inheritance of Gad’s descendants—all the cities and their villages allocated to their clans.

29 This was the land that Mosheh gave to half of the half-tribe of Menashsheh, according to their clans: 30 It went from Mahanaim, all the Bashan, all the kingdom of Og (the king of the Bashan), and all the towns of Yair, which are in the Bashan—sixty cities. 31 Also half of the Gilead, plus Ashtaroth and Edrei (cities of the kingdom of Og in the Bashan). So that was for half of Machir’s sons (he was one of Menashsheh’s sons) allocated to their clans.

32 This was the land that Mosheh gave as an inheritance in the plains of Moab on the eastern side of the Yordan River opposite Yericho. 33 However, Mosheh didn’t give any inheritance of land to Levi’s descendants because Israel’s God Yahweh is their inheritance just as he told them.[ref]

14 These are what the Israelis inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest and Yehoshua (Nun’s son) and the leaders of the Israelis gave them as an inheritance. 2 Their allocations were made by casting lots for the nine and a half tribes, just as Yahweh had commanded through Mosheh.[ref] 3 (Mosheh had given the other two and a half tribes their inheritance on the other side of the river, but the Levites weren’t given land as an inheritance[ref]— 4 instead of land they were given cities to live in, along with the surrounding fields for their livestock. Yosef’s two sons Menashsheh and Efraim were considered as two tribes.) 5 The Israelis did just as Yahweh had commanded Mosheh—they allocated blocks of the land as permanent possessions.

6 Leaders from the tribe of Yehudah approached Yehoshua at Gilgal and Caleb (son of Yefunneh the Kenizzite) said to him, “You yourself know what Yahweh told the man of God Mosheh at Kadesh-Barnea about me and you.[ref] 7 I was forty years old when Yahweh’s servant Mosheh sent me from Kadesh-Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back an honest report.[ref] 8 The other men who went made the people terrified, but I remained loyal to my God Yahweh. 9 Mosheh promised me that day, saying, ‘The land that you walked on will certainly be for an inheritance for you and your sons forever, because you were completely loyal to my God Yahweh.’[ref] 10 Now, listen. Yahweh has kept me alive these forty-five years since Yahweh said that to Mosheh, back when Israel was walking in the wilderness. Yes, believe it or not, I’m now eighty-five. 11 I’m still as strong today as I was on the day that Mosheh sent me. Just like I could fight back then, I can still fight or travel just the same. 12 So now, please give me that hill country that Yahweh promised that day, because you yourself heard me say that the Anakim lived there in fortified cities. So now, perhaps Yahweh will help me to take them over just as he said.”

13 So Yehoshua blessed Yefunneh’s son Caleb and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 Because of that, Hebron belongs to Caleb (Yefunneh the Kenizzite’s son) as an inheritance until this day, because he was completely loyal to Israel’s God Yahweh. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriat-Arba—Arba had been a brave warrior among the Anakim.)

Then there was a time of no more war in that region.

15 This was the land that was assigned to Yehudah’s descendants according to their clans:

It went from the Zin wilderness in the south to the border with Edom, 2 and their southern border was the south-facing bay at the end of the Dead Sea (also called the Salt Sea). 3 From there it went south of the Scorpion Pass, across to Zin, climbed up to Kadesh-Barnea, crossed to Hezron, went to Addar, and around to Karka. 4 Then it crosses to Azmon and out to the Egyptian riverbed and finishes at the Mediterranean sea. That will be their southern border.

5 The eastern border was the Dead Sea as far as the end of the Yordan.

The northern border starts at the top of the Dead Sea where the Yordan river enters it 6 then to Beyt-Hoglah and further north to Beyt-Arabah to the Stone of Bohan (Reuben’s son). 7 Then the border went to Debir from the Akor Valley, and to the north, turning to the Gilgal, which is in front of the Adummim pass which is from the south of the riverbed, then the border passed over to the waters of En-Shemesh and its ends at En-Rogel. 8 From there the border went up the valley of Ben Hinnom to the edge of the Yebusite region from the south (that is Yerushalem). Then the border went to the head of the hill opposite the Hinnom valley to the west, which is at the end of the valley of the Refa’ites to the north. 9 From there the border turned from the head of the hill to the Neftoah spring and went out to the cities of Mt. Efron, then the border turned to Ba’alah (now called Kiriat-Yearim). 10 Then the border went around from Ba’alah to the west to Mt. Seir, and passed over to the shoulder of Mt. Yearim from the north (also called Kesalon), and went down to Beyt-Shemesh, and passed over to Timnah. 11 From there the border went out to the shoulder of Ekron to the north, then turned toward Shikkeron and passed over to Mt. Baalah, and went out to Yabneel, then the border ended at the sea. 12 The western border was the Mediterranean Sea. Those were the borders of the land given to Yehudah’s descendants to be allocated to their clans.

13 Yahweh had instructed Yehoshua to give this block of land to Caleb (Yefunneh’s son): Kiriat-Arba (now called Hebron—Arba was Anak’s father).[ref] 14 Caleb captured the land from Anak’s three sons—Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, 15 then from there, he battled against Debir (formerly called Kiriat-Sefer) 16 and he said, “I’ll give my daughter Aksah to marry to the man who attacks Kiriat-Sefer and captures it.” 17 Then Othniel (Kenaz’s son and Caleb’s brother) captured the city, so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him for a wife. 18 Then when she married him, she encouraged him to ask her father for a field, so she got down off her donkey and Caleb asked, “What are you up to?” 19 “Give me a blessing,” she answered, “because you’ve given me land in the Negev desert region, so now give me some springs as well for water.” So he gave her both the upper and the lower springs.

20 This is Yehudah’s inheritance according to their clans: 21 The cities at the edge of Yehudah’s block toward the border with Edom in Negev were Kabzeel, Eder, Yagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hatsor, Ithnan, 24 Zif, Telem, Bealot, 25 Hatsor-Hadattah, Keriot-Hezron (also called Hatsor), 26 Amam, Shema, Molodah, 27 Hazar-Gaddah, Heshmon, Beyt-Pelet, 28 Hazar-Shual, Beersheba, and Biziothiah, 29 Baalah, Iyim, Etsem, 30 Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, 31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32 Lebaot, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—a total of twenty-nine cities as well as their villages.

33 Then down in the lowlands were Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En-Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35 Yarmut, Adullam, Sokoh, Azekah, 36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (also called Gederothaim)—a total of fourteen cities as well as their surrounding villages.

37 Also Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-Gad, 38 Dilean, Mizpah, Yoktheel, 39 Lachish, Bozkat, Eglon, 40 Kabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish, 41 Gederot, Beyt-Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah—sixteen cities as well as their villages.

42 Also Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Yiftah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 Keilah, Akzib, and Maresha—nine cities as well as their villages.

45 Also Ekron with its towns and villages 46 from Ekron to the Mediterranean—those near Ashdod and their villages.

47 Also Ashdod and its towns and its villages, Gaza and its towns and its villages, as far as the riverbed of Egypt and the Mediterranean sea and the border.

48 Also in the hill country: Shamir, Yattir, Socoh, 49 Dannah, Kiriat-Sannah (also called Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—eleven cities as well as their villages.

52 Also Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 53 Yanim, Beyt-Tappuah, Afekah, 54 Humtah, and Kiriat-Arba (also called Hebron) and Zior—nine cities as well as their villages.

55 Also Maon, Karmel, Zif, Yuttah, 56 Yezreel, Yokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah—ten cities as well as their villages.

58 Also Halhul, Beyt-Zur, Gedor, 59 Maarat, Beyt-Anot, and Eltekon—six cities as well as their villages.

60 Also Kiriat-Baal (also called Kiriat-Yearim) and Rabbah—two cities as well as their villages.

61 In the wilderness, Beyt-Arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-Gedi—six cities as well as their villages.

63 But Yehudah’s descendants weren’t able to defeat the Yebusites who lived in Yerushalem, so they have lived among the tribe of Yehudah to this day.[ref]

16 The block for Yosef’s descendants[fn] went from the Yordan at Yericho (east of the springs), through the wilderness into the hill country of Bethel. 2 It went out from Bethel to Luz then along the border with the Arkites at Atarot. 3 Then it went west to the border with the Yafletites as far as the border with Lower Beyt-Horon and as far as Gezer, then out to the Mediterranean.

4 So Yosef’s sons Manashsheh and Efraim received an inheritance.

5 The allotment for Efraim’s descendants according to their clans was at Atarot-Addar in the east, going as far as Upper Beyt-Horon 6 and out to the Mediterranean. From Mikmetat in the north, the border went eastward toward Taanat-Shiloh then further east to Yanoah. 7 From Yanoah it went to Atarot and Naarah, reached Yericho then came out at the Yordan. 8 The northern border went from Tappuah to the Kanah riverbed and then out to the Mediterranean. That was the inheritance of Efraim’s descendants according to their clans, 9 although some of the cities with their villages for Efraim’s descendants were actually inside the territory assigned to Manashsheh’s descendants. 10 But they didn’t capture the land of the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so they’ve lived within Efraim to this day and were forced to serve as labourers.[ref]

17 The allotment for Manashsheh’s descendants (Yosef’s eldest son) included a special allotment for (Gilead’s father) Makir—he was given Gilead and Bashan because he was a powerful warrior. 2 The other Manashsheh clans that were allocated land were the Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shekem, Hefer, and Shemida clans. (They were the sons of Yosef’s son Manashsheh who led their own clans.) 3 But Zelofehad (son of Hefer, son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manashsheh) had no sons—only daughters who were named Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah. 4 They approached the priest Eleazar and Yehoshua and the other leaders and said, “Yahweh told Mosheh to give us an inheritance along with our brothers.” So he[fn] gave them an inheritance (like he’d given their uncles), as Yahweh had instructed them.[ref] 5 So ten blocks were allocated to Manashsheh tribe as well as Gilead and Bashan which were across the Yordan 6 because Manashsheh’s daughters received inheritances along with his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of Manashsheh’s sons.

7 The border for Manashsheh went from Asher to Mikmetat opposite Shekem, then went south towards the spring at Tappuah. 8 (The Tappuah land was for Manashsheh, but Tappuah town was for Efraim.) 9 Then the border went south to the Kanah riverbed—the cities there belonged to Efraim even though they were inside Manashsheh’s land—then the border stayed on the north side of the riverbed and extended to the Mediterranean. 10 So the south was for Efraim and the north was for Manashsheh, and the sea was the western border, meeting Asher from the north and Yissashkar from the east. 11 Manashsheh was allocated cities inside both Yissashkar’s and Asher’s territories: Beyt-Shan, Ibleam, Dor, Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo along with their surrounding towns.[fn] 12 But Manashsheh’s descendants weren’t able to take possession of those cities, so the Canaanites continued to live in the region.[ref] 13 When the Israelis strengthened their position, they were able to force those Canaanites to work for them, but they weren’t able to drive them out.

14 Then the two half-tribes of Efraim and Manashsheh asked Yehoshua, “Why have you only given to us one measured allocation as an inheritance when we’re very numerous because Yahweh has already blessed us?”

15 “If there’s so many of you,” Yehoshua answered, “and if Efraim’s hill-country is too small for you, go into the forested area of the Perizzites and the Refaites and clear some land for yourselves there.”

16 “The hill country certainly isn’t big enough for all of us,” they responded, “plus the Canaanites living in the Yezreel valley and in Beyt-Shan and the surrounding towns have iron chariots.”

17 So Yehoshua told the half-tribes of Efraim and Manashsheh, “Yes, there’s a lot of you and you’re very powerful. One land allotment wouldn’t be enough for you 18 so the hill country will be yours as well. However, it’s a forest and you’ll have to clear it to the borders. You’ll need to drive out the Canaanites even if they are strong and with iron chariots.”

18 Then all the Israelis assembled at Shiloh and set-up the sacred tent there. The battles over the land had stopped 2 but seven of their tribes hadn’t had their inheritances assigned yet. 3 Yehoshua asked the Israelis, “How much longer are you all going to put off capturing the land that your ancestors’ God Yahweh has given you? 4 Choose three men from each of those seven[fn] tribes and I’ll send them out to scout around and inspect the land and write descriptions of it in terms of potential allocations and bring it to me. 5 They can divide that land into seven parts. (Yehudah will maintain their territory in the south, and Yosef’s tribes in the north.) 6 You all should write descriptions of the seven parts and bring them here to me, and in front of our God Yahweh, I’ll throw dice for you to allocate them to the seven tribes. 7 However, the Levites don’t receive a portion, because their inheritance is Yahweh’s priesthood. Gad and Rueben and the Manashsheh half-tribe have already received their inheritance that Yahweh’s servant Mosheh allocated to them on the eastern side of the Yordan.

8 So the chosen men got ready to leave and Yehoshua instructed them, “Go and walk around that land and write a report and bring it back to me. Then I’ll throw dice for you all in front of Yahweh here in Shiloh.” 9 Then the men left and walked through the area, writing down their recommendations for dividing the seven portions according to the cities in the area, then they returned back to Yehoshua at the camp at Shiloh. 10 So Yehoshua threw dice for them at Shiloh in front of Yahweh, and so that land was allocated to those remaining seven tribes.

11 The tribe of Benyamin won the first draw and the area for their clans was between the land assigned to Yehudah and that assigned to Efraim and Manashsheh. 12 Their northern border went from the Yordan then to the northern side of Yericho and up into the hill country to the west, coming out in the wilderness at Beyt-Aven. 13 Then it went across towards Luz (now called Bethel) to the southern edge then downhill towards Atarot-Addar beside the hill south of lower Beyt-Horon. 14 Then the western border turned from that hill and went south, coming out at Kiriat-Baal (also called Kiriat-Yearim—a town belonging to Yehudah) thus forming the western side. 15 The southern border went west from Kiriat-Yearim to the spring at Neftoah, 16 then downhill to the Ben-Hinnon valley (in the valley of the Refaites to the north) then downhill to Hinnon valley to the edge of the Yebusites and downhill to En-Rogel. 17 Then it turned northward and went west to En-Shemesh and across to Gelilot opposite the Adummim pass, before going downhill to to the Stone of Bohan (Reuben’s son). 18 It extended over to the northern slope of the Yordan valley and then downhill into the actual valley. 19 It then went east to the northern slope of Beyt-Hoglah before coming out at the north end of the Dead Sea (also called the Salt Sea) where the Yordan river flows into it. That was the southern boundary 20 and the Yordan borders it on the east. Those were the borders of Benyamin’s descendants’ inheritance according to their clans.

21 The cities allocated to Benyamin’s descendants and their clans were: Yericho, Beyt-Hoglah, Emek-Keziz, 22 Beyt-Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ofrah, 24 Kefar-Ammoni, Ofni, and Geba—a total of twelve cities as well as their surrounding villages. 25 Also Gibeon, Ramah, Beerot, 26 Mizpah, Kefirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zelah, Haelef, Yebus (now called Yerushalem), Gibeah, and Kiriat—a total of fourteen cities as well as their surrounding villages. Those were Benyamin’s descendants’ inheritance according to their clans.

19 The second draw went to Shim’on’s (Simeon’s) descendants and the land for their clans was in the middle of Yehudah’s territory. 2 Shim’on’s inheritance included: Beer-Sheba,[fn] Moladah,[ref] 3 Hazarshual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Betul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beyt-Markabot. Hatsarsusah, 6 Beyt-Lebaot, and Sharuhen—thirteen cities as well as their surrounding villages.

7 Also Ain, Rimmon, Eter, and Asha—four cities as well as their surrounding villages, 8 and all the further villages around those cities as far as Baalat-Beer (also called Ramah of the Negev). That was Shim’on’s descendants’ inheritance according to their clans. 9 This took away some of Yehudah’s inheritance and gave it to Shim’ons descendants because Yehudah’s initial area was more than they needed.

10 The third draw went to Zebulun’s descendants according to their clans. The southern border for their inheritance started at Sarid 11 and went west to Maralah and Dabbeshet then to the riverbed facing Yokneam. 12 Also from Sarid it went toward the east beside the border with Kislot-Tabor and then on to Daberat and then to Yafia. 13 From there it extended east to Gittah-Hefer and Ittah-Katsin and north to Rimmon before turning to Neah. 14 Then it passed north of Hannaton ending at Yiftah-El valley. 15 It included the cities of Kattat, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—a total of twelve cities as well as their surrounding villages. 16 That was Zebulun’s descendants’ inheritance according to their clans, including those cities as well as their surrounding villages.

17 The fourth draw went to Yissashkar’s descendants according to their clans. 18 Their land included the cities of Yezreel, Kesulot, Shunem, 19 Hafaraim, Shion, Anaharat, 20 Rabbit, Kishion, Ebets, 21 Remet, En-Gannim, En-Haddah, and Beyt-Pazzets. 22 The border of their allotment met with Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beyt-Shemesh, coming out in the east at the Yordan—a total of sixteen cities as well as their surrounding villages. 23 That was Yissashkar’s descendants’ inheritance according to their clans, including those cities as well as their surrounding villages.

24 The fifth draw went to Asher’s descendants according to their clans. 25 Their land included the cities of Helkat, Hali, Beten, Akshaf, 26 Allammelek, Amad, and Mishal. Their western border started at Mount Karmel and Shihorlibnat 27 and turned back to the east to Beyt-Dagon and the border with Zebulun and the Yiftah-El valley to the north. Then it went to Beyt-Emek and Neiel and north to Kabul, 28 Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon. 29 The border then turned back to Ramah and to the fortified city of Tsor (commonly known as Tyre) and turns west to Hosah coming out at the Mediterranean near Akzib. 30 It also included Ummah, Afek, and Rehob—a total of twenty-two cities as well as their surrounding villages. 31 That was Asher’s descendants’ inheritance according to their clans, including those cities as well as their surrounding villages.

32 The sixth draw went to Naftali’s descendants according to their clans. 33 Their border started in Helef (where there was an oak tree at Zaanannim) then Adami-Nekeb and Yabneel and on to Lakkum before exiting at the Yordan. 34 Then it turned west to Aznot-Tabor and from there to Hukkok, meeting the border with Zebulun on the south, the border with Asher on the west, and the border with Yehudah on the east. 35 The fortified cities were Tsiddim, Tser, Hammat, Rakkat, Kinneret, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hatsor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, En-Hatsor, 38 Yiron, Migdal-El, Horem, Beyt-Anat, and Beyt-Shemesh—a total of nineteen cities as well as their surrounding villages. 39 That was Naftali’s descendants’ inheritance according to their clans, including those cities as well as their surrounding villages.

40 The final seventh draw went to Dan’s descendants according to their clans. 41 Their land included the cities of Tsorah, Eshtaol, Ir-Shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Ayyalon, and Yitlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbeton, Baalat, 45 Yehud, Bene-Berak, Gat-Rimmon, 46 Meyarkon, Rakkon, and the area opposite Yafo (Joppa). 47 Dan’s border went out from them.[fn] Then Dan’s descendants battled against Leshem and captured it and slaughtered their inhabitants. So they took it over and settled in Leshem but they renamed it to ‘Dan’ after their ancestor.[ref] 48 That was Dan’s descendants’ inheritance according to their clans, including those cities as well as their surrounding villages.

49 After the allocation of the blocks of land to the various tribes, the Israelis gave Yehoshua (Nun’s son) his own inheritance among them.

50 Following Yahweh’s instructions to give Yehoshua whatever city he asked for, he was given Timnat-Serah in the hill country of Efraim and he built up that city and lived in it.

51 Those were the allotments that Eleazar the priest and Yehoshua (Nun’s son) gave to the leaders of the Israeli tribes as their inheritances. It was done by throwing dice there in Shiloh in front of Yahweh at the opening of the sacred tent, and so the land division was completed.

20 Then Yahweh told Yehoshua,[ref] 2 “Tell the Israelis to select some cities that people can flee to in order to be safe, just as I instructed you through Mosheh, 3 so that if someone accidentally kills someone else, they can escape there and be safe from the dead person’s family. 4 When that person flees to one of these cities, they must stand at the city gate and tell the elders there what happened. Then they should bring the person into the city and give them a place there to live in. 5 Now if a relative of the deceased comes to avenge the death, the city elders won’t hand over the killer because the death was accidental and didn’t happen because of hate or premeditation. 6 So then that person must stay in the city until they’re brought before the panel of judges. If they decide that the death wasn’t deliberate, the person must remain in that city until the death of the high priest, then they can freely return to their own city and own home.”

7 So the Israelis chose Kedesh (in the Galilee region in the hill country of Naftali) and Shekem (in the hill country of Efraim) and Kiriat-Arba (now called Hebron, in the hill country of Yehudah). 8 On the other side of the Yordan river, they chose Betser (in the wilderness on the plateau from the tribe of Reuben), Ramot (in the Gilead from the tribe of Gad), and Golan (in the Bashan from the tribe of Manashsheh). 9 Those were the appointed cities for both Israelis and foreigners living among them, so that anyone who accidentally killed someone could flee there and be safe from being avenged by the deceased’s relatives until they could receive a proper trial.

21 Then the leaders of the Levites went to Eleazar the priest and to Yehoshua (Nun’s son) and to the Israeli elders[ref] 2 at Shiloh (in the Canaan region) and told them, “Yahweh said through Mosheh that we should be given cities to live in, along with their surrounding fields for our livestock.” 3 So the Israeli leaders gave these cities and the fields around them to the Levites for their inheritance as Yahweh had instructed:

4 The first draw went to those of the Kohat clans who were descendants of Aharon the priest (from the Levites). They were allocated thirteen cities in the regions occupied by Yehudah, Shim’on, and Benyamin. 5 The remaining Kohat clans were allocated ten cities in the regions occupied by Efraim, Dan, and the Manashsheh half-tribe.

6 The Gereshon clans were allocated thirteen cities in the regions occupied by Yissashkar, Asher, Naftali, and by the Manashsheh half-tribe in the Bashan region.

7 The Merari clans were allocated twelve cities in the regions occupied by Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

8 So the Israeli leaders gave those cities and their surrounding fields to the Levites, just as Yahweh had instructed through Mosheh.

9 These are the names of the cities allocated by the Israeli leaders (from the regions occupied by Yehudah and Shim’on) 10 that were given to the Levite Kohat clans since they were selected first in the draw: 11 Kiriat-Arba and the surrounding fields (now called Hebron—Arba was the father of Anak) in Yehudah’s hill country 12 (although the surrounding countryside and villages had already been given to Yefunneh’s son Caleb). 13 So Hebron was given to the descendants of Aharon the priest and assigned as a refuge city (for anyone who accidentally kills someone) along with the surrounding fields, along with Libnah, 14 Yattir, Eshtemoa, 15 Holon, Debir, 16 Ain, Yuttah, and Beyt-Shemesh, all with their surrounding fields—a total of nine cities from within Yehudah and Shim’on’s territories. 17 From Benyamin’s territories, the Israeli leaders assigned Gibeon, Geba, 18 Anatot, and Almon—four cities and their surrounding fields. 19 Thus the descendants of Aharon the priests received thirteen cities with their surrounding fields.

20 The other Levite Kohat clans were allocated cities from within Efraim’s territory: 21 Shekem (which was assigned as a refuge city for anyone who accidentally kills someone), Gezer, 22 Kibzaim, and Beyt-Horon—four cities with their surrounding fields. 23 From Dan’s territory, they were allocated Elteke, Gibbeton, 24 Ayyalon, and Gat-Rimmon—four cities with their surrounding fields. 25 From the Manashsheh half-tribe’s territory, they were allocated Taanak and Gat-Rimmon—two cities with their surrounding fields. 26 Thus the other Levite Kohat clans received ten cities with their surrounding fields.

27 The Levite Gereshon clans were allocated cities from within the Manashsheh half-tribe’s territory: Golan in the Bashan (which was assigned as a refuge city for anyone who accidentally kills someone) and Be’eshtarah—two cities with their surrounding fields. 28 From Yissashkar’s territory, they were allocated Kishyon, Daberat, 29 Yarmut, and En-Gannim—four cities with their surrounding fields. 30 From Asher’s territory, they were allocated Mishal, Abdon, 31 Helkat, and Rehob—four cities with their surrounding fields. 32 From Naftali’s territory, they were allocated Kedesh in the Galilee (which was assigned as a refuge city for anyone who accidentally kills someone), Hammot-Dor, and Kartan—three cities with their surrounding fields. 33 Thus the Levite Gereshon clan received thirteen cities with their surrounding fields.

34 The remaining Levite Merari clans were allocated cities from within Zebulun’s territory: Yokneam, Kartah, 35 Dimnah, and Nahalal—four cities with their surrounding fields. 36 From Reuben’s territory, they were allocated Bezer, Yahaz, 37 Kedemot, and Mephaat—four cities with their surrounding fields. 38 From Gad’s territory, they were allocated Ramot in the Gilead (which was assigned as a refuge city for anyone who accidentally kills someone), Mahanaim, 39 Heshbon, and Yazer—four cities with their surrounding fields. 40 Thus the Levite Merari clan received twelve cities in the draw, along with their surrounding fields.

41 So altogether the Levites received forty-eight cities and their surrounding fields from with the territories of the other tribes— 42 each of those cities had fields around them for their livestock to graze on.

43 Thus Yahweh gave the Israelis all the land that he’d promised their ancestors would be given and so the people moved into those regions and lived there. 44 Yahweh gave them peace as he’d promised their ancestors—none of their enemies could stand against them because Yahweh helped them defeat any enemies. 45 Yahweh kept every promise that he’d made to the Israelis—it all happened just like he’d said.

22 Then Yehoshua summoned the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the Manashsheh half-tribe 2 and told them, “You yourselves have obeyed everything that Yahweh’s servant Mosheh instructed you to do. In addition, you’ve all followed everything that I told you.[ref] 3 You’ve all supported your fellow tribes all this time and fulfilled what your God Yahweh requested of you all, 4 and now he has enabled these other tribes to rest from battle just like he told them he would. So now, you all may go back to your homes that Yahweh’s servant Mosheh gave you on the other side of the river. 5 Only do take care to continue to obey the instructions and the law that Yahweh’s servant Mosheh gave you: to love your God Yahweh, to follow him and his instructions, to stay close to him, and to serve him with all your hearts and your inner selves.” 6 Then Yehoshua blessed them and sent them on their way to return to their homes. 7 (Mosheh had given the Bashan to the half of the Manashsheh half-tribe, and Yehoshua had given land on the western side of the Yordan to the other half.) When he’d blessed them 8 he’d said, “Go back to your homes with many riches: plenty of livestock, and with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with lots of clothing. Share the plunder from your enemies with those who remained behind.” 9 So the warriors from the tribes of Rueben, Gad, and the Manashsheh half-tribe left the others there at Shiloh in the Canaan region, and went back to their own land in Gilead across the river which they had taken for themselves with the agreement of Yahweh given through Mosheh.

10 The warriors from the tribes of Rueben, Gad, and the Manashsheh half-tribe arrived at the Yordan river (still on the Canaan side) and they built a very large and noticeable altar there before crossing over to go home. 11 When the other Israelis heard about it, they said, “Look, the men from the tribes of Rueben, Gad, and the Manashsheh half-tribe have built the altar at the entrance to this Canaan region down at the Yordan on our side.”

12 Hearing that, those from the western side of the Yordan assembled at Shiloh to go to battle with the two and a half tribes on the eastern side. 13 Meanwhile, they sent the priest Finehas (Eleazar’s son) across into the Gilead region to talk with the leaders from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the Manashsheh half-tribe. 14 Finehas took ten leaders with him—important leaders from each of the Israeli tribes from the western side. 15 They crossed over to the Gilead region to talk to the leaders from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the Manashsheh half-tribe. They said, 16 “Yahweh’s people are asking, ‘What’s this unfaithfulness that you all have done unfaithfully against Israel’s God—turning away from Yahweh when you built an altar for yourselves today in rebellion against Yahweh?[ref] 17 Wasn’t our disobedience at Peor[ref] bad enough for you? We haven’t gotten over it to this day. Plus there was a plague among Yahweh’s people. 18 But all of you—are you turning away from Yahweh today? If you all rebel against Yahweh today, tomorrow he’ll be furious at all of us. 19 But if it’s because you all think this land here is defiled, then cross back over to Yahweh’s own land where he lives in his sacred tent. Either way don’t rebel against Yahweh by building this other altar for yourselves that’s distinct from our God Yahweh’s altar. 20 Didn’t Akan act unfaithfully taking something that was forbidden[ref] and all of us suffered as a result of it? It wasn’t just him alone that died because of that.’ ”

21 The leaders from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the Manashsheh half-tribe answered the other leaders, 22 “Yahweh is the God of gods. Yahweh is the God of gods. He knows, and as for the Israeli people, let them know also—if it was in rebellion or in unfaithfulness against Yahweh, don’t bother trying to save us today. 23 If we’d aimed to build an altar for ourselves to turn away from following Yahweh, or if it was to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings on it, or if to make the sacrifices of peace offerings on it, Yahweh himself will handle it. 24 But no, we did it because we foresaw a potential problem: what if in the future, your descendants ask our descendants over here on this side of the river, ‘What do you lot have to do with Israel’s God Yahweh? 25 Yahweh has given this Yordan river as a border between us, and you descendants of Reuben and Gad. You all don’t have any part in Yahweh.’ Then your descendants might make our descendants stop worshipping Yahweh. 26 So we decided to build the altar—not to be used for burnt offerings or for sacrifices, 27 but as a symbol to remind our future descendants and yours, that we all truly worship Yahweh with our burnt offerings, our sacrifices, and our peace offerings, so your descendants can’t tell our future descendants that we have no business worshipping Yahweh. 28 If they do say anything like that, then our descendants will be able to reply, ‘See that copy of Yahweh’s altar which isn’t used for burnt offerings or sacrifices, our ancestors built that as a reminder for both you all and us.’ 29 May any idea of rebelling against Yahweh stay far from us. Same with any idea of building any altar apart from our God Yahweh’s genuine altar for burnt offerings, or grain offerings, or other sacrifices.”

30 So Finehas the priest and the other community and clan leaders with him, listened to what the descendants of Rueben, Gad, and Manashsheh told them, and it sounded sensible to them, 31 so Finehas (the late Eleazar’s son) told them, “Today we realise that Yahweh is among us and that you all haven’t acted unfaithfully against him, so therefore you’ve prevented Yahweh from needing to punish us.”

32 Then Finehas and the other leaders left Gilead and returned back across the Yordan to the Canaan region where most of the Israelis resided, taking back a good report. 33 The people were pleased with that news, and they thanked God and stopped talking about going to war with Rueben and Gad across the river and destroying them.

34 The descendants of Rueben and Gad named the altar ‘Reminder’ because it was a reminder between them that Yahweh is God.

23 A long time passed and Yahweh had given Israel peace without attacks from their enemies all around, and Yehoshua was now in his old age, 2 so he summoned all the Israeli elders and leaders, along with the judges and officials. He told them, “Now I’m in my old age, 3 but you all have seen what Yahweh did to all those kingdoms ahead of you, because he’s the one who fights for you all. 4 I’ve allocated the remaining kingdoms that you all will defeat as an inheritance for your tribes, alongside those that I conquered from the Yordan to the Mediterranean in the west 5 Your God Yahweh will push them out ahead of you all and capture their lands for you to possess, just as he told you he would. 6 Take great care to obey and do everything that Mosheh wrote down—don’t deviate from it in any way. 7 Don’t enter those remaining kingdoms, and don’t mention the name of their gods or make an oath using their names and don’t worship or bow down to them. 8 Instead you all should cling to your God Yahweh, just as you’ve done until now. 9 Yes, Yahweh has driven away many great kingdoms ahead of you all, and until this day, none of them have stood against you. 10 Just one of you can make a thousand men flee, because Yahweh is your God—he’s the one who fights for you just like he said he would.[ref] 11 Make a great effort to guard yourselves that you all continue to love your God Yahweh. 12 Yes, if you all ever turn away from him and instead cling to those remaining kingdoms or remaining people, and if you intermarry with them or associate with them, 13 you all will certainly soon find out that your God Yahweh will not continue to drive out these nations ahead of you. Then they will end up trapping and snaring you all, and be like a whip on your sides and like thorns in your eyes, until you all perish from on this good land that Yahweh your God has given you.

14 Listen, today I’m about to go the way that everyone has to go and you all know with all your heart and with all your soul that not one thing has failed to come true from all the good things that your God Yahweh said about you. Everything has happened as said—down to the very last word. 15 And just like all those good things came true, so too Yahweh will send all the punishments he promised you all if you disobey him, even if it means that he destroys you all from this good land that he’s given you. 16 If you ignore the agreement with your God Yahweh and disobey his commands and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then his anger will flare up against you all and you’ll quickly be wiped out from the good land that he has given you.”

24 Then Yehoshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shekem. He summoned their elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves before God, 2 and Yehoshua told all the people, “Yahweh, the God of Israel says: Your ancestors including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates river from long ago, but they worshipped other gods.[ref] 3 Then I took your ancestor Abraham from beyond the river and brought him across all the land of Canaan, and I multiplied his descendants, including giving him Isaac.[ref] 4 Then I gave Yacob and Esau to Isaac, and I gave Esau the hill country of Seir but Yacob and his sons went down to Egypt.[ref] 5 I sent Mosheh and Aharon and I damaged Egypt internally, and then I brought you all out again.[ref] 6 I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you all came to the edge of the Red Sea. The Egyptians chased after them with chariots and horsemen[ref] 7 and the people cried out to Yahweh, and he placed darkness between you and the Egyptians. After bringing you all through the sea, he brought the sea over the Egyptian army and drowned them. Your own eyes saw what I did to Egypt. Then you all lived a long time in the wilderness.

8 “After that, I brought you to the region of the Amorites who lived on the eastern side of the Yordan, and they battled against you all, but I gave you victory over them and I destroyed them from ahead of you and you all took over their land.[ref] 9 Then (Zippor’s son) King Balak of Moab prepared his warriors and fought against you all and he summoned (Beor’s son) Balaam to curse you.[ref] 10 But I wasn’t willing to listen to Balaam, so instead, he blessed you all repeatedly and I rescued you from King Balak. 11 Then you crossed over the Yordan river and arrived at Yericho. The men of Yericho fought against you all, as did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Yebusites but I helped you all to defeat them.[ref] 12 I sent hornets[fn] ahead of you all and they drove out the two Amorite kings—it wasn’t your swords or bows that did it.[ref] 13 So I gave you all a land which you didn’t earn yourselves and cities to live in that you all didn’t build yourselves. You all are benefitting from vineyards and olive groves that you didn’t plant.”[ref]

14 The Yehoshua continued, “Now you all must respect Yahweh and faithfully serve him with your complete beings. And you all must remove the idols that your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and only serve Yahweh. 15 But if you all dislike serving Yahweh, then choose for yourselves today who you will serve: perhaps the gods your fathers once served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorite people in whose land you are now living. But as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh.”

16 “We’d never even consider leaving Yahweh to serve other gods,” the people responded, 17 “because Yahweh is our God. He is the one who brought us and our ancestors out from slavery in the land of Egypt, and who did those great miracles right in front of our eyes. Also, he looked after us on our entire journey and among all the people groups that we passed by. 18 Yahweh drove all the peoples out ahead of us, even the Amorites who lived in that region. So we too we will serve Yahweh because he is our God.”

19 “You all won’t be able to serve Yahweh,” warned Yehoshua, “because he’s a God who cannot mix with sin. He’s a jealous God—he won’t forgive your rebellion and disobedience. 20 If you forsake Yahweh and serve the gods of other nations, then he’ll turn and do harm to you all and destroy you, even if he’s previously been good to you all.”

21 But the people answered Yehoshua, “No, we will worship Yahweh.” 22 Then Yehoshua cautioned the people, “You all are witnesses against yourselves, that you yourselves have chosen to serve Yahweh.”

“We are witnesses,” they confirmed.

23 “Then you all go right now and remove the foreign gods that you already have, and turn your hearts towards Yahweh, the God of Israel,” said Yehoshua.

24 “We will serve our God Yahweh, and we will listen to his voice,” the people replied.

25 So Yehoshua made a formal agreement with the people in Shekem on that day, establishing rules and laws for them. 26 He wrote them in the book of God’s law. Then he took a large stone and set it up there beneath the oak tree that was by Yahweh’s sacred tent. 27 “Look at this stone,” Yehoshua said to all the people. “It will be for a witness against us, because it has heard everything that Yahweh has instructed us, and it will be for a witness against you all, in case you act deceptively against your God.” 28 Then Yehoshua sent all the people off to go to their allotted regions.

29 After all that, Nun’s son and Yahweh’s servant Yehoshua died at the age of 110. 30 They buried him in his alloted property at Timnat-Serah which is in the Efraim hill country north of Mt. Ga’ash.[ref]

31 The Israelis had served Yahweh all through Yehoshua’s lifetime and throughout the lifetimes of the elders who lived longer than Yehoshua and who had experienced everything that Yahweh had done for Israel.

32 They buried Yosef’s bones (that they had carried out from Egypt) in Shekem—in the portion of the field that Yacob had bought from the sons of Hamor (Shekem’s father) for a hundred coins, and that land became the inheritance of Yosef’s descendants.[ref]

33 Aharon’s son Eleazar also died and was buried at Gibeah—the city that belonged to his son Finehas in the Efraim hill country.