Joshua 4-21

New American Standard Bible

Memorial Stones from the Jordan

4 Now when the entire nation had finished crossing the ^(A)Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, ² “^(B)Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, ³ and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firmly, and carry them over with you and lay them down in ^(C)the encampment where you will spend the night.’” ⁴ So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; ⁵ and Joshua said to them, “^[a]Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. ^6 [b]This shall be a sign among you; ^(D)when your children ask ^[c]later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ ⁷ then you shall say to them, ‘That the ^(E)waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a ^(F)memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”

⁸ So the sons of Israel did exactly as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to ^(G)the encampment and put them down there. ⁹ Then Joshua set up twelve ^(H)stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day. ¹⁰ For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed; ¹¹ and when all the people had finished crossing, then the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed in front of the people. ^12 (I)The sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle formation before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; ¹³ about forty thousand equipped for war, crossed for battle before the Lord to the desert plains of Jericho.

^14 (J)On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, so that they ^[d]revered him, just as they had ^[e]revered Moses all the days of his life.

¹⁵ Now the Lord said to ^[f]Joshua, ¹⁶ “Command the priests who carry ^(K)the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁷ So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁸ It came about when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were ^[g]lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks as before.

¹⁹ Now the people came up from the Jordan on the ^(L)tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal, on the eastern edge of Jericho. ²⁰ As for ^[h](M)those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set them up ^(N)at Gilgal. ²¹ And he said to the sons of ^[i]Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ ²² then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on ^(O)dry ground.’ ²³ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the Lord your God had done to the ^[j]Red Sea, ^(P)which He dried up before us until we had crossed; ²⁴ so that ^(Q)all the peoples of the earth may know that the ^(R)hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may ^[k](S)fear the Lord your God ^[l]forever.”

Israel Is Circumcised

5 Now it came about when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the ^(T)Canaanites who were by the sea, ^(U)heard how the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel until ^[m]they had crossed, that their hearts melted, and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the sons of Israel.

² At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make for yourself ^(V)flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time.” ³ So Joshua made himself flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at ^[n]Gibeath-haaraloth. ⁴ This is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: ^(W)all the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, died in the wilderness along the way after they came out of Egypt. ⁵ For all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised. ⁶ For the sons of Israel walked ^(X)forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, that is, the men of war who came out of Egypt, ^[o]perished because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord, ^(Y)to whom the Lord had sworn that He would not let them see the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁷ So their children whom He raised up in their place, Joshua ^[p]circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them along the way.

⁸ Now when they had finished circumcising all the nation, they remained in their places in the camp until they recovered. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away ^(Z)the shame of Egypt from you.” So the name of that place is called ^[q]Gilgal to this day.

¹⁰ While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal ^(AA)they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the ^(AB)fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho. ¹¹ Then on the day after the Passover, on ^[r]that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and roasted grain. ¹² And ^(AC)the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year.

¹³ Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, ^(AD)a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” ¹⁴ He said, “No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the Lord.” And Joshua ^(AE)fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” ¹⁵ And the captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “^(AF)Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

The Conquest of Jericho

6 Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. ² But the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, with ^(AG)its king and the valiant warriors. ³ And you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. ⁴ Also seven priests shall carry seven ^(AH)trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵ It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down ^[s]flat, and the people shall go up, everyone ^[t]straight ahead.”

⁶ So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” ⁷ Then ^[u]he said to the people, “Go forward and march around the city, and the armed men shall go on ahead of the ark of the Lord.” ⁸ And it was so, that when Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord went forward and blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. ⁹ And the armed men went ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and ^(AI)the rear guard came after the ark, while they continued to blow the trumpets. ¹⁰ But Joshua commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard, nor let a word proceed from your mouth, until the day I tell you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout!” ¹¹ So he had the ark of the Lord ^[v]taken around the city, circling it once; then they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

¹² Now Joshua got up early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³ Then ^(AJ)the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord went on continually, and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went ahead of them, and ^(AK)the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while they continued to blow the trumpets. ¹⁴ So the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp; they did the same for six days.

¹⁵ Then on the seventh day they got up early at the dawning of the day and marched around the city in the same way seven times; only on that day did they march around the city seven times. ¹⁶ And at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “^(AL)Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. ¹⁷ But the city shall be ^(AM)designated for ^[w]destruction, it and everything that is in it belongs to the Lord; only Rahab the prostitute ^[x]and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. ¹⁸ But as for you, only keep yourselves from the things designated for destruction, so that you do not covet them and ^(AN)take some of the designated things, and turn the camp of Israel into something designated for destruction and bring disaster on it. ^19 (AO)But all the silver and gold, and articles of bronze and iron are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” ²⁰ So the people shouted, and ^[y]the priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the ^(AP)wall fell down ^[z]flat, so that the people went up into the city, everyone straight ^[aa]ahead, and they took the city. ^21 (AQ)They ^[ab]utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

²² And Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “^(AR)Go into the prostitute’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, just as you have sworn to her.” ²³ So the young men who were spies went in and ^(AS)brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives, and placed them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴ Then ^(AT)they burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the ^[ac]house of the Lord. ²⁵ However, ^(AU)Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua ^[ad]spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, because ^(AV)she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

²⁶ Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, “^(AW)Cursed before the Lord is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he will set up its gates.” ²⁷ So ^(AX)the Lord was with Joshua, and his ^(AY)fame was in all the land.

Israel Is Defeated at Ai

7 ^(AZ)But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully regarding the things designated for destruction, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the designated things; therefore the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel.

² Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near ^(BA)Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “^[ae]Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. ³ Then they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up; have only about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai; do not trouble all the people there, for they are few.” ⁴ So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but ^(BB)they fled ^[af]from the men of Ai. ⁵ And the men of Ai struck and killed about thirty-six of their men, and pursued them ^[ag]from the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them on the mountainside; and the ^(BC)hearts of the people melted and became like water.

⁶ Then Joshua ^(BD)tore his clothes and fell to the ground on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and ^(BE)they put dust on their heads. ⁷ And Joshua said, “Oh, Lord ^[ah]God! Why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan, only to hand us over to the Amorites, to eliminate us? If only we had been willing ^[ai]to live beyond the Jordan! ⁸ O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their ^[aj]back before their enemies? ^9 (BF)For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear about it, and they will surround us and eliminate our name from the earth. And what will You do for Your great name?”

¹⁰ So the Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? ¹¹ Israel has sinned, and ^(BG)they have also violated My covenant which I commanded them. And they have even taken some of the things designated for destruction, and have both stolen and kept it a secret. Furthermore, they have also put them among their own things. ¹² Therefore the ^(BH)sons of Israel cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their ^[ak]backs before their enemies, because they have become designated for destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you eliminate from your midst the things designated for destruction. ¹³ Stand up! ^(BI)Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because the Lord, the God of Israel, has said this: “^(BJ)There are things designated for destruction in your midst, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you have removed the designated things from your midst.” ¹⁴ So in the morning you shall come forward by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which ^(BK)the Lord selects by lot shall come forward by families, and the family which the Lord selects shall come forward by households, and the household which the Lord selects shall come forward man by man. ¹⁵ And ^(BL)it shall be that the one who is selected with the things designated for destruction shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has violated the covenant of the Lord, and because he ^(BM)has committed a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”

The Sin of Achan

¹⁶ So Joshua got up early in the morning and brought Israel forward by ^[al]tribes, and the tribe of Judah was selected. ¹⁷ So he brought the family of Judah forward, and he selected the family of the Zerahites; then he brought the family of the Zerahites forward man by man, and Zabdi was selected. ¹⁸ And he brought his household forward man by man; and ^(BN)Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was selected. ¹⁹ Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I implore you, ^(BO)give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me.” ²⁰ So Achan answered Joshua and said, “Truly, I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and ^[am]this is what I did: ²¹ when I saw among the spoils a beautiful robe from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I ^(BP)wanted them and took them; and behold, they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

²² So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath it. ²³ So they took them from inside the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the sons of Israel; and they ^[an]laid them out before the Lord. ²⁴ Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his ^[ao]oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to ^(BQ)the Valley of ^[ap]Achor. ²⁵ And Joshua said, “Why have you ^(BR)brought disaster on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you this day.” And all Israel stoned ^[aq]them with stones; and they burned them with fire ^[ar]after they had stoned them with stones. ²⁶ Then they erected over him a large heap of stones that stands to this day, and the Lord turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called ^(BS)the Valley of ^[as]Achor to this day.

The Conquest of Ai

8 Now the Lord said to Joshua, “^(BT)Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you. Arise, go up to Ai; see, ^(BU)I have handed over to you the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. ² You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king; you shall ^(BV)take only its spoils and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. ^[at]Set an ambush for the city behind it.”

³ So Joshua rose up with all the people of war to go up to Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand men, valiant warriors, and sent them out at night. ⁴ He commanded them, saying, “See, you are ^(BW)going to ambush the city from behind ^[au]it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. ⁵ Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out to meet us as they did the first time, ^(BX)we will flee before them. ⁶ They will come out after us until we have lured them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us just as they did the first time.’ So we will flee before them. ⁷ Then you shall rise from your ambush and take possession of the city, for the Lord your God will hand it over to you. ⁸ Then it will be when you have seized the city, that you shall set the city on fire. You shall do it ^(BY)in accordance with the word of the Lord. See, I have commanded you.” ⁹ So Joshua sent them away, and they went to the place of ambush and remained between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua spent that night among the people.

¹⁰ Now Joshua ^(BZ)got up early in the morning and mustered the people, and he went up with the elders of Israel before the people to Ai. ¹¹ Then all the people of war who were with him went up and approached, and arrived in front of the city; and they camped on the north side of Ai. And there was a valley between him and Ai. ¹² Then he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between ^(CA)Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the ^[av]city. ¹³ So they stationed the people, all the army that was on the north side of the city, and its rear guard on the west side of the city, and Joshua spent that night in the midst of the valley. ¹⁴ And it came about, when the king of Ai saw them, that the men of the city hurried and got up early, and went out to meet Israel in battle, he and all his people at the appointed place before the desert plain. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. ¹⁵ Then Joshua and all Israel ^[aw]pretended to be defeated before them, and fled ^(CB)by the way of the wilderness. ¹⁶ And all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and ^(CC)were lured away from the city. ¹⁷ So not a man was left in Ai or Bethel, ^[ax]but they had all gone out after Israel, and they left the city ^[ay]unguarded and pursued Israel.

¹⁸ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “^(CD)Reach out with the sword that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will hand it over to you.” So Joshua reached out with the sword that was in his hand toward the city. ¹⁹ Then the men in ambush rose quickly from their place, and when he had reached out with his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it, and they quickly set the city on fire. ²⁰ When the men of Ai turned ^[az]back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned against the pursuers. ²¹ When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and ^[ba]killed the men of Ai. ^22 [bb]The others came out from the city to confront them, so that they were trapped in the midst of Israel, ^[bc]some on this side and some on that side; and they ^[bd]killed them until there was not ^(CE)one ^[be]left who escaped or survived. ²³ But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

²⁴ Now when Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the field in the wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed, then all Israel returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. ²⁵ So ^(CF)all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the ^[bf]people of Ai. ²⁶ For Joshua ^(CG)did not withdraw his hand with which he reached out with the sword until he had ^[bg]utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. ^27 (CH)Israel took only the cattle and the spoils of that city as plunder for themselves, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had commanded Joshua. ²⁸ So Joshua burned Ai and made it ^(CI)a refuse heap forever, a desolation until this day. ²⁹ And ^(CJ)he hanged the king of Ai on ^[bh]a tree until evening; but at sunset Joshua gave the command and they took his body down from ^[bi]the tree and threw it at the entrance of the city gate, and erected over it a large heap of stones that stands to this day.

³⁰ Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on ^(CK)Mount Ebal, ³¹ just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, ^(CL)an altar of uncut stones on which no one had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. ³² And he ^(CM)wrote there on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses, which ^[bj]he had written, in the presence of the sons of Israel. ^33 (CN)And all Israel with their elders, officers, and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of ^(CO)Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at first to bless the people of Israel. ³⁴ Then afterward he read all the words of the Law, the blessing and the curse, according to everything that is written in ^(CP)the Book of the Law. ³⁵ There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel ^(CQ)with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were ^[bk]living among them.

Deception by the Gibeonites

9 Now it came about when ^(CR)all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country, the lowland, and on all the ^(CS)coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, ^(CT)the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard about it, ² that they met together with ^(CU)one ^[bl]purpose, to fight with Joshua and with Israel.

³ The inhabitants of ^(CV)Gibeon also heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, ⁴ but they on their part acted craftily and went and took provisions for a journey, and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins that were worn out, split open, and patched, ⁵ and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbled. ⁶ And they went to Joshua at the ^(CW)camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now then, make a covenant with us.” ⁷ But the men of Israel said to the ^(CX)Hivites, “Perhaps you are living ^[bm]within our land; ^(CY)how then are we to make a covenant with you?” ⁸ So they said to Joshua, “^(CZ)We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?” ⁹ They said to him, “Your servants have come from ^(DA)a very distant country because of the ^[bn]fame of the Lord your God; for ^(DB)we have heard the report about Him and all that He did in Egypt, ¹⁰ and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was in Ashtaroth. ¹¹ So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “^(DC)We are your servants; now then, make a covenant with us.”’ ¹² This bread of ours was hot when we took it for our provisions from our houses on the day that we left to come to you; but now behold, it is dry and has become crumbled. ¹³ And these wineskins which we filled were new, and behold, they are split open; and these clothes of ours and our sandals are worn out from the very long journey.” ¹⁴ So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and ^(DD)did not ask for the ^[bo]counsel of the Lord. ¹⁵ And ^(DE)Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.

¹⁶ However, it came about at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were neighbors and that they were living ^[bp]within their land. ¹⁷ Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were ^(DF)Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. ¹⁸ But the sons of Israel did not ^[bq]attack them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders. ¹⁹ But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. ²⁰ This we will do to them, even let them live, so that wrath will not be on us because of the oath which we swore to them.” ²¹ So the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” And they became ^(DG)gatherers of firewood and ^[br]labor to draw water for the whole congregation, just as the leaders had spoken to them.

²² Then Joshua called for them and spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ ^(DH)when you are living ^[bs]within our land? ²³ Now therefore, you are ^(DI)cursed, and ^[bt]you will never cease to be slaves, both gatherers of firewood and ^[bu]labor to draw water for the house of my God.” ²⁴ So they answered Joshua and said, “^(DJ)Since your servants were fully informed that the Lord your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you, we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and did this thing. ²⁵ And now behold, ^(DK)we are in your hands; do to us as it seems good and right in your sight to do.” ²⁶ This he did to them, and saved them from the hands of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them. ²⁷ But on that day Joshua made them gatherers of firewood and ^[bv]labor to draw water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, ^(DL)in the place which He would choose.

Five Kings Attack Gibeon

10 Now it came about when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had ^[bw]utterly destroyed it (just ^(DM)as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had ^(DN)made peace with Israel and were ^[bx]within their land, ² that ^[by]he ^(DO)feared greatly because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. ³ Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word ^(DP)to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, ⁴ “Come up to me and help me, and let’s ^[bz]attack Gibeon, for it has ^(DQ)made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel.” ⁵ So the five kings of ^(DR)the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it.

⁶ Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Do not ^[ca]abandon your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us.” ⁷ So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and ^(DS)all the people of war with him, and all the valiant warriors. ⁸ And the Lord said to Joshua, “^(DT)Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not ^[cb]one of them will stand against you.” ⁹ So Joshua came upon them suddenly ^[cc]by marching all night from Gilgal. ^10 (DU)And the Lord brought them into confusion before Israel, and He struck them down in a great defeat at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent to Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ And as they fled from Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, ^(DV)the Lord hurled large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died ^[cd]from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

¹² Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord turned the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

Is it not written in ^(DY)the Book of Jashar? And ^(DZ)the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hurry to go down for about a whole day. ¹⁴ There was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man; for ^(EA)the Lord fought for Israel.

¹⁵ Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp ^[ce]at Gilgal.

Victory at Makkedah

¹⁶ Now these ^(EB)five kings had fled and hidden themselves in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷ And it was told to Joshua, saying, “The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” ¹⁸ So Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and post men by it to guard them, ¹⁹ but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies and ^[cf]attack them from behind. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the Lord your God has handed them over to you.” ²⁰ It came about when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them down in a very great defeat, ^(EC)until they were destroyed, and the survivors of them who escaped ^[cg]had entered the fortified cities, ²¹ that all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one ^[ch]uttered a word against any of the sons of Israel.

²² Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave.” ²³ They did so, and ^(ED)brought these five kings out to him from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. ²⁴ When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the leaders of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come forward, ^(EE)put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and put their feet on their necks. ²⁵ Joshua then said to them, “^(EF)Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for the Lord will do this to all your enemies with whom you fight.” ²⁶ So afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he ^(EG)hanged them on five ^[ci]trees; and they were hung on the ^[cj]trees until evening. ²⁷ Then it came about at ^[ck]sunset that Joshua gave the command, and ^(EH)they took them down from the ^[cl]trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and put large stones over the mouth of the cave, to this very day.

²⁸ Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; ^(EI)he ^[cm]utterly destroyed ^[cn]it and every ^[co]person who was in it. He left no survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah ^(EJ)just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Joshua’s Conquest of Southern Canaan

²⁹ Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to ^(EK)Libnah, and fought against Libnah. ³⁰ And the Lord also handed it over to Israel, with its king, and he struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor in it. So he did to its king just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹ And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it. ³² And the Lord handed Lachish over to Israel; and he captured it on the second day, and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah.

³³ Then Horam king of ^(EL)Gezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua ^[cp]defeated him and his people until he had left him no survivor.

³⁴ And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it. ³⁵ They captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and he ^[cq]utterly destroyed on that day every person who was in it, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

³⁶ Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to ^(EM)Hebron, and they fought against it. ³⁷ And they captured it and struck it and its king and all its cities and all the persons who were in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor, according to all that he had done to Eglon. And he ^[cr]utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it.

³⁸ Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to ^(EN)Debir, and they fought against it. ³⁹ He captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and ^[cs]utterly destroyed every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Just as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had also done to Libnah and its king.

⁴⁰ So Joshua struck all the land, ^(EO)the hill country and the ^[ct]Negev and the lowland and the slopes, and ^(EP)all their kings. He left no survivor, but ^(EQ)he ^[cu]utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. ⁴¹ Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of ^(ER)Goshen even as far as Gibeon. ⁴² Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time, because ^(ES)the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. ⁴³ So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp ^[cv]at Gilgal.

Northern Canaan Taken

11 Then it came about, when Jabin king of ^(ET)Hazor heard about it, that he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, ² and to the kings who were of the north in the hill country, and in the ^(EU)Arabah—south of ^[cw]Chinneroth and in the lowland, and on the ^[cx]heights of Dor on the west— ³ to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the hill country, and ^(EV)the Hivite ^[cy]at the foot of ^(EW)Hermon in the land of ^(EX)Mizpeh. ⁴ Then they came out, they and all their armies with them, ^(EY)as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. ⁵ So all of these kings gathered together, and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

⁶ Yet the Lord said to Joshua, “^(EZ)Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I am going to turn all of them over to Israel as good as dead; you shall ^(FA)hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” ⁷ So Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them suddenly at the waters of Merom, and attacked them. ⁸ And the Lord handed them over to Israel, so that they ^[cz]defeated them, and pursued them as far as Great Sidon, and ^(FB)Misrephoth-maim, and the Valley of ^(FC)Mizpeh to the east; and they struck them until no survivor was left to them. ⁹ And Joshua did to them just as the Lord had told him; he ^(FD)hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

¹⁰ Then Joshua turned back at that time and captured ^(FE)Hazor, and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor previously was the head of all these kingdoms. ^11 (FF)They struck every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, ^[da]utterly destroying them; there was no one left who breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. ¹² Joshua captured all the cities of these kings, and all their kings; and he struck them with the edge of the sword and utterly destroyed them, just ^(FG)as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. ¹³ However, Israel did not burn any cities that stood on their mounds, except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned. ¹⁴ And ^(FH)all the spoils of these cities and the cattle, the sons of Israel took as their plunder; but they struck every person with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them. They left no one breathing. ¹⁵ Just as the Lord had commanded His servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁶ So Joshua took all that land: ^(FI)the hill country and all the ^[db]Negev, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, ^(FJ)the Arabah, the hill country of Israel and its lowland ¹⁷ from ^(FK)Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir, even as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon ^[dc]at the foot of Mount Hermon. And he captured ^(FL)all their kings, and struck them and put them to death. ¹⁸ Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings. ¹⁹ There was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except ^(FM)the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle. ^20 (FN)For it was of the Lord to ^[dd]harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might ^(FO)utterly destroy them, that they might ^[de]receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²¹ Then Joshua came at that time and eliminated ^(FP)the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. ²² There were no Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, ^(FQ)Gath, and ^(FR)Ashdod some remained. ²³ So Joshua took the whole land, in accordance with everything that the Lord had spoken to Moses; and ^(FS)Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. ^(FT)So the land was at rest from war.

Kings Defeated by Israel

12 Now these are the ^(FU)kings of the land whom the sons of Israel ^[df]defeated, and they took possession of their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, from the Valley of the Arnon as far as Mount Hermon, and all the Arabah to the east: ² Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon and ruled ^(FV)from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, both the middle of the valley and half of Gilead, even as far as the brook Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon; ³ and the ^(FW)Arabah as far as the Sea of ^[dg]Chinneroth toward the east, and as far as the Sea of the Arabah, that is, the Salt Sea, eastward ^[dh]toward ^(FX)Beth-jeshimoth, and on the south, ^[di]at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah; ⁴ and the territory of Og king of Bashan, one of ^(FY)the remnant of Rephaim, who lived at ^(FZ)Ashtaroth and at Edrei, ⁵ and ruled over Mount Hermon, ^(GA)Salecah, and all Bashan, as far as ^(GB)the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and half of Gilead, as far as the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. ⁶ Moses the servant of the Lord and the sons of Israel ^[dj]defeated them; and ^(GC)Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh as a possession.

⁷ Now these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the sons of Israel ^[dk]defeated beyond the Jordan toward the west, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon even as far as ^(GD)Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir; and Joshua gave it to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions, ⁸ in ^(GE)the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, on the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the ^[dl]Negev; the Hittite, the Amorite and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: ⁹ the ^(GF)king of Jericho, one; the ^(GG)king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; ¹⁰ the ^(GH)king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; ¹¹ the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; ¹² the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one; ¹³ the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; ¹⁴ the king of Hormah, one; the king of ^(GI)Arad, one; ¹⁵ the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; ¹⁶ the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one; ¹⁷ the king of Tappuah, one; the ^(GJ)king of Hepher, one; ¹⁸ the king of ^(GK)Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one; ¹⁹ the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one; ²⁰ the king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; ²¹ the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; ²² the king of ^(GL)Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; ²³ the king of Dor in the ^[dm]heights of Dor, one; the king of ^(GM)Goiim in Gilgal, one; ²⁴ the king of Tirzah, one: ^(GN)in all, thirty-one kings.

Canaan Divided among the Tribes

13 Now ^(GO)Joshua was old and advanced in years when the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and a very large amount of the land remains to be possessed. ² This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and all those of the ^(GP)Geshurites; ³ from the Shihor which is ^[dn]east of Egypt, even as far as the border of Ekron to the north (it is counted as Canaanite); the ^(GQ)five governors of the Philistines: the Gazite, the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, the Ekronite; and the Avvite ^4 [do]to the south, all the land of the Canaanite, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, as far as ^(GR)Aphek, to the border of the ^(GS)Amorite; ⁵ and the land of the ^(GT)Gebalite, and all of Lebanon, toward the ^[dp]east, ^(GU)from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon as far as ^[dq]Lebo-hamath. ⁶ All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon as far as ^(GV)Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians, I will ^[dr]drive out from the sons of Israel; ^(GW)only allot it to Israel as an inheritance as I have commanded you. ⁷ Now therefore, apportion this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

⁸ With ^[ds]the other half-tribe, the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance which Moses gave them ^(GX)beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the Lord gave to them; ⁹ from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley, and all the plain of Medeba, as far as Dibon; ¹⁰ and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the sons of Ammon; ¹¹ and ^(GY)Gilead, and the ^[dt]territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah; ¹² all the kingdom of ^(GZ)Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); for Moses ^(HA)struck them and ^[du]drove them out. ¹³ But the sons of Israel did not ^[dv]drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites; instead, Geshur and Maacath live among Israel to this day. ^14 (HB)Only to the tribe of Levi he did not give an inheritance; the offerings by fire to the Lord, the God of Israel, are ^[dw]their inheritance, as He spoke to him.

¹⁵ So Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the sons of Reuben according to their families. ¹⁶ Their ^[dx]territory was ^(HC)from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley and all the plain by Medeba; ¹⁷ Heshbon and all its cities which are on the plain: Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, ^18 (HD)Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ^19 (HE)Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, ²⁰ Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth-jeshimoth, ²¹ even all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses struck with the leaders of Midian, ^(HF)Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the leaders of Sihon, who lived in the land. ²² The sons of Israel also killed ^(HG)Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner, with the sword among the rest of their dead. ²³ The border of the sons of Reuben was the ^[dy]Jordan. This was the inheritance of the sons of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages.

²⁴ Moses also gave an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the sons of Gad according to their families. ²⁵ Their territory was ^(HH)Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the sons of Ammon, as far as Aroer which is opposite Rabbah; ²⁶ and from Heshbon as far as Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim as far as the border of ^[dz]Debir; ²⁷ and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, with the Jordan ^[ea]as a border, as far as the lower end of the Sea of ^[eb](HI)Chinnereth beyond the Jordan to the east. ²⁸ This is the inheritance of the sons of Gad according to their families, the cities and their villages.

²⁹ Moses also gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh; and it was for the half-tribe of the sons of Manasseh according to their families. ³⁰ Their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all ^(HJ)the ^[ec]towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities; ³¹ also half of Gilead, with ^(HK)Ashtaroth and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the sons of Machir according to their families.

³² These are the territories which Moses apportioned as an inheritance in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho to the east. ³³ But ^(HL)to the tribe of Levi, Moses did not give an inheritance; the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He had ^[ed]promised to them.

Caleb’s Request

14 Now these are the territories which the sons of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which ^(HM)Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel apportioned to them as inheritances, ² by the ^(HN)lot of their inheritance, just as the Lord commanded ^[ee]through Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. ³ For ^(HO)Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Jordan; but ^(HP)he did not give an inheritance to the Levites among them. ⁴ For the sons of Joseph were two tribes, ^(HQ)Manasseh and Ephraim, and they did not give a portion to the Levites in the land, except cities to live in, with their pasture lands for their livestock and for their property. ⁵ The sons of Israel did exactly ^(HR)as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.

⁶ Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and ^(HS)Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses the man of God on account of ^[ef]you and me in Kadesh-barnea. ⁷ I was forty years old when ^(HT)Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart. ⁸ Nevertheless my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people ^[eg]melt with fear; but ^(HU)I followed the Lord my God fully. ⁹ So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘^(HV)The land on which your foot has walked shall certainly be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully.’ ¹⁰ And now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today. ^11 (HW)I am still as strong today as I was on the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for ^(HX)going out and coming in. ¹² Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that ^(HY)Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will ^[eh]drive them out just as the Lord has spoken.”

¹³ So Joshua ^(HZ)blessed him and ^(IA)gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. ¹⁴ Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he followed the Lord God of Israel fully. ¹⁵ Now the name of Hebron was previously ^[ei]Kiriath-arba; for Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. ^(IB)Then the land was at rest from war.

Territory of Judah

15 Now ^(IC)the lot for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families ^[ej]reached the ^(ID)border of Edom, southward to the ^(IE)wilderness of Zin at the extreme south. ² Their southern border was from the lower end of the Salt Sea, from the bay that turns to the south. ³ Then it proceeded southward to the ascent of Akrabbim and continued to Zin, then went up by the south of Kadesh-barnea and continued to Hezron, and went up to Addar and turned to Karka. ⁴ It ^(IF)continued to Azmon and proceeded to the ^[ek](IG)brook of Egypt, and the ^[el]border ended at the sea. This shall be your southern border. ⁵ The ^(IH)eastern border was the Salt Sea, as far as the ^[em]mouth of the Jordan. And the ^(II)border of the north side was from the bay of the sea at the ^[en]mouth of the Jordan. ⁶ Then the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and continued on the north of Beth-arabah, and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. ⁷ And the border went up to Debir from ^(IJ)the Valley of Achor, and turned northward toward Gilgal which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south of the valley; and the border continued to the waters of En-shemesh and ^[eo]it ended at En-rogel. ⁸ Then the border went up the Valley of Ben-hinnom to the slope of the ^(IK)Jebusite on the south (that is, Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain which is opposite the Valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the Valley of Rephaim toward the north. ⁹ And from the top of the mountain the border turned to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, then the border turned to ^(IL)Baalah (that is, ^(IM)Kiriath-jearim). ¹⁰ The border turned from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and continued to the slope of Mount Jearim on the north (that is, Chesalon), and went down to Beth-shemesh and continued through ^(IN)Timnah. ¹¹ Then the border proceeded to the side of Ekron northward. And the border turned to Shikkeron and continued to Mount Baalah and proceeded to Jabneel, and the ^[ep]border ended at the sea. ¹² The western border was ^(IO)at the Great Sea, even its ^[eq]coastline. This is the border around the sons of Judah according to their families.

¹³ Now ^(IP)he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion ^(IQ)among the sons of Judah, in accordance with the ^[er]command of the Lord to Joshua, namely, ^[es]Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron). ¹⁴ And ^(IR)Caleb ^[et]drove out from there the three ^(IS)sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. ¹⁵ Then ^(IT)he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir previously was Kiriath-sepher. ¹⁶ And Caleb said, “The one who ^[eu]attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, ^[ev]I will give him Achsah my daughter as a wife.” ^17 (IU)Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it; so he gave him Achsah his daughter as a wife. ^18 (IV)And it happened that when she came to him, she incited him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” ¹⁹ Then she said, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me the land of the ^[ew]Negev, give me springs of water also.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

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

²¹ Now the cities at the extremity of the tribe of the sons of Judah toward the border of Edom in the south were Kabzeel, ^(IW)Eder, and Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, and Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, and Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, and Bealoth, ²⁵ Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, and Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, and Beth-pelet, ²⁸ Hazar-shual, ^(IX)Beersheba, and Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah, Iim, and Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Chesil, and Hormah, ^31 (IY)Ziklag, Madmannah, and Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon; in all, twenty-nine cities with their villages.

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

³⁷ Zenan, Hadashah, and Migdal-gad, ³⁸ Dilean, Mizpeh, and Joktheel, ^39 (JB)Lachish, Bozkath, and Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmas, and Chitlish, ⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.

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

⁴⁵ Ekron, with its towns and its villages; ⁴⁶ from Ekron even to the sea, all that were by the ^[ex]side of Ashdod, with their villages.

⁴⁷ Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages, as far as ^(JC)the ^[ey]brook of Egypt and the Great Sea, even its ^[ez]coastline.

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

⁵² Arab, Dumah, and Eshan, ⁵³ Janum, Beth-tappuah, and Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.

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

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

⁶⁰ Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah; two cities with their villages.

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

⁶³ Now as for the ^(JD)Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the sons of Judah could not ^[fa]drive them out; so the Jebusites live with the sons of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.

Territory of Ephraim

16 Then the lot for the sons of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east into ^(JE)the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. ² It went from Bethel to Luz, and ^(JF)continued to the border of the Archites at Ataroth. ³ Then it went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of lower ^(JG)Beth-horon even to ^(JH)Gezer, and ^[fb]it ended at the sea.

⁴ The ^(JI)sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. ⁵ Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was ^(JJ)Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. ⁶ Then the border went westward at ^(JK)Michmethath on the north, and the border turned eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. ⁷ Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to ^(JL)Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. ⁸ From ^(JM)Tappuah the border continued westward to the ^[fc]brook of Kanah, and ^[fd]it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families, ⁹ together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. ^10 (JN)But they did not ^[fe]drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so ^(JO)the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.

Territory of Manasseh

17 Now this was the lot for the tribe of ^(JP)Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, ^[ff]were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. ² So the lot was made for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their families: for the sons of Abiezer, the sons of Helek, the sons of Asriel, the sons of Shechem, the sons of Hepher, and the sons of Shemida; these were the male ^[fg]descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.

³ However, ^(JQ)Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So ^(JR)in accordance with the ^[fh]command of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. ⁵ So ten portions fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan, ⁶ because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the ^(JS)land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.

⁷ The border of Manasseh ^[fi]ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went ^[fj]southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸ The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but ^(JT)Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim. ⁹ And the ^(JU)border went down to the ^[fk]brook of Kanah, southward of the ^[fl]brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh), and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the ^[fm]brook, and ^[fn]it ended at the sea. ¹⁰ The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the sea was ^[fo]their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. ¹¹ In Issachar and in Asher, ^(JV)Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; the third is ^(JW)Napheth. ^12 (JX)But the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites persisted in living in this land. ¹³ And it came about when the sons of Israel became strong, ^(JY)they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not ^[fp]drive them out completely.

¹⁴ Then the ^(JZ)sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me only one lot and one portion as an inheritance, though I am a numerous people whom the Lord has blessed up to this point?” ¹⁵ And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go ^[fq]up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” ¹⁶ The sons of Joseph then said, “The hill country is not enough for us, but all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have ^(KA)iron chariots, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the Valley of Jezreel.” ¹⁷ But Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, “You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, ¹⁸ but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it, and to its ^[fr]farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall ^[fs]drive out the Canaanites, even though they have ^(KB)iron chariots and though they are strong.”

Rest of the Land Divided

18 Then the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled at ^(KC)Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.

² But there remained among the sons of Israel seven tribes who had not divided their inheritance. ³ So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “^(KD)How long will you ^[ft]put off entering to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴ Provide for yourselves three men from ^[fu]each tribe so that I may send them, and that they may arise and walk through the land and write a description of it according to their inheritance; then they shall ^[fv]return to me. ⁵ And they shall divide it into seven portions; ^(KE)Judah shall stay in its territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall stay in their territory on the north. ⁶ And you shall write a description of the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me. ^(KF)Then I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. ⁷ For ^(KG)the Levites have no portion among you, because the priesthood of the Lord is ^[fw]their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh also have received their inheritance eastward beyond the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

⁸ Then the men arose and went, and Joshua commanded those who went to write a description of the land, saying, “Go and walk through the land and write a description of it, and return to me; then I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in ^(KH)Shiloh.” ⁹ So the men went and passed through the land, and wrote a description of it by cities in seven divisions in a book; and they came to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. ^10 (KI)Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land for the sons of Israel according to their divisions.

The Territory of Benjamin

¹¹ Now the lot of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot ^[fx]lay between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph. ^12 (KJ)Their border on the north side was from the Jordan, then the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward, and ^[fy]it ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven. ¹³ Then from there the border continued to ^(KK)Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel) southward; and the border went down to Ataroth-addar, near the hill which lies on the south of ^(KL)lower Beth-horon. ¹⁴ And the border changed direction from there and turned around on the west side southward, from the hill which lies opposite Beth-horon southward; and ^[fz]it ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the west side. ¹⁵ Then the ^(KM)south side was from the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went westward and went to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then the border went down to the edge of the hill which is ^[ga]in the ^(KN)Valley of Ben-hinnom, which is in the Valley of Rephaim northward; and it went down to the Valley of Hinnom, to the slope of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel. ¹⁷ Then it turned northward and went to En-shemesh, and went to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and it went down to the ^(KO)stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. ¹⁸ And it continued to the side in front of the Arabah northward, and went down to the Arabah. ¹⁹ Then the border continued to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the ^[gb]border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border. ²⁰ Moreover, the Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin according to their families, and according to its borders all around.

²¹ Now the cities of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, and Emek-keziz, ²² Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, and Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, and Ophrah, ²⁴ Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and ^(KP)Geba; twelve cities with their villages. ²⁵ Gibeon, Ramah, and Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, and Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, and Taralah, ^28 (KQ)Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the ^(KR)sons of Benjamin according to their families.

Territory of Simeon

19 Then the second lot went to Simeon, to the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families; and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Judah. ² So they had in their inheritance Beersheba or ^[gc]Sheba and Moladah, ³ Hazar-shual, Balah, and Ezem, ⁴ Eltolad, Bethul, and Hormah, ⁵ Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susah, ⁶ Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities with their villages; ⁷ Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan; four cities with their villages; ⁸ and all the villages which were around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the ^[gd]Negev. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families. ⁹ The inheritance of the sons of Simeon was taken from the portion of the sons of Judah, because the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; so the sons of Simeon received an inheritance in the midst of ^[ge]Judah’s inheritance.

Territory of Zebulun

¹⁰ Now the third lot came up for the sons of Zebulun according to their families. And the territory of their inheritance was as far as Sarid. ¹¹ Then their border went up to the west and to Maralah, and it reached Dabbesheth and reached to the ^[gf]brook that is opposite Jokneam. ¹² Then it turned from Sarid to the east toward the sunrise as far as the border of Chisloth-tabor, and it proceeded to Daberath and ^[gg]up to Japhia. ¹³ From there it continued eastward toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and it proceeded to Rimmon ^[gh]which stretches to Neah. ¹⁴ Then the border circled around it on the north to Hannathon, and ^[gi]it ended at the Valley of Iphtahel. ¹⁵ Included also were Kattah, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem; twelve cities with their villages. ¹⁶ This was the inheritance of the sons of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

Territory of Issachar

¹⁷ The fourth lot went to Issachar, to the sons of Issachar according to their families. ¹⁸ Their territory was to Jezreel and included Chesulloth, ^(KS)Shunem, ¹⁹ Hapharaim, Shion, and Anaharath, ²⁰ Rabbith, Kishion, and Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez. ²² The border reached to ^(KT)Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and ^[gj]their border ended at the Jordan; sixteen cities with their villages. ²³ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.

Territory of Asher

²⁴ Now the fifth lot went to the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families. ²⁵ Their territory was Helkath, Hali, Beten, and Achshaph, ²⁶ Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal; and it reached to Carmel on the west and Shihor-libnath. ²⁷ It turned toward the ^[gk]east to Beth-dagon and reached Zebulun, and to the Valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel; then it proceeded on ^[gl]north to ^(KU)Cabul, ²⁸ Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as Great ^(KV)Sidon. ²⁹ The border turned to Ramah and to the fortified city of Tyre; then the border turned to Hosah, and ^[gm]it ended at the sea by the region of ^(KW)Achzib. ³⁰ Included also were Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob; twenty-two cities with their villages. ³¹ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.

Territory of Naphtali

³² The sixth lot went to the sons of Naphtali; to the sons of Naphtali according to their families. ³³ Their border was from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, and Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and ^[gn]it ended at the Jordan. ³⁴ Then the border turned westward to Aznoth-tabor and proceeded from there to Hukkok; and it reached Zebulun on the south and reached Asher on the west, and Judah at the Jordan toward the ^[go]east. ³⁵ The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, ^(KX)Hammath, Rakkath, and ^(KY)Chinnereth, ³⁶ Adamah, Ramah, and Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Edrei, and En-hazor, ³⁸ Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages. ³⁹ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali according to their families, the cities with their villages.

Territory of Dan

⁴⁰ The seventh lot went to the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families. ⁴¹ The territory of their inheritance was Zorah, Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh, ⁴² Shaalabbin, Aijalon, and Ithlah, ⁴³ Elon, Timnah, and Ekron, ⁴⁴ Eltekeh, Gibbethon, and Baalath, ⁴⁵ Jehud, Bene-berak, and Gath-rimmon, ⁴⁶ Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the territory opposite ^[gp]Joppa. ⁴⁷ The territory of the ^(KZ)sons of Dan proceeded ^[gq]beyond them; for the sons of Dan went up and fought with Leshem and captured it. Then they struck it with the edge of the sword and took possession of it and ^[gr]settled in it; and they named ^[gs](LA)Leshem Dan after the name of their father Dan. ⁴⁸ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.

⁴⁹ When they finished apportioning the land for inheritance by its borders, the sons of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. ⁵⁰ In accordance with the ^[gt]command of the Lord, they gave him the city for which he asked, ^(LB)Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. So he built the city and ^[gu]settled in it.

^51 (LC)These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel apportioned by lot in Shiloh before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.

Six Cities of Refuge

20 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘^[gv]Designate ^(LD)the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you ^[gw]through Moses, ³ so that one who commits manslaughter by ^[gx]killing a person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴ Then he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the ^(LE)gate of the city, and state his case in the ^[gy]presence of the elders of that city; and they shall ^[gz]receive him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may remain among them. ⁵ Now ^(LF)if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they are not to hand the one who committed manslaughter over to him, since he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him previously. ⁶ And he shall remain in that city ^(LG)until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then ^[ha]he shall ^[hb]return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.’”

⁷ So they ^[hc]set apart ^(LH)Kedesh in ^[hd]Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in ^(LI)the hill country of Judah. ⁸ And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they ^[he]designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. ^9 (LJ)These were the designated cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who resides among them, so that whoever ^[hf]kills a person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.

Forty-eight Cities of the Levites

21 Then the heads of fathers’ households of ^(LK)the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel. ² And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “^(LL)The Lord commanded ^[hg]through Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasture lands for our cattle.” ³ So the sons of Israel gave the Levites from their inheritance these cities with their pasture lands, in accordance with the ^[hh]command of the Lord. ⁴ Then the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And to the sons of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, thirteen cities were given by lot from the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of the Simeonites, and from the tribe of Benjamin.

⁵ And to the rest of the sons of Kohath ten cities were given by lot from the families of the tribe of Ephraim, from the tribe of Dan, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh.

⁶ And to the sons of Gershon thirteen cities were given by lot from the families of the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷ To the sons of Merari according to their families twelve cities were given from the tribe of Reuben, from the tribe of Gad, and from the tribe of Zebulun.

⁸ Now the ^(LM)sons of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasture lands, as the Lord had commanded ^[hi]through Moses.

⁹ They gave these cities which are mentioned here by name from the tribe of the sons of Judah and from the tribe of the sons of Simeon; ¹⁰ and they were for the sons of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, of the sons of Levi, because the lot was theirs first. ¹¹ So ^(LN)they gave them Kiriath-arba (Arba being the ^(LO)father of Anak), that is, Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with its surrounding pasture lands. ¹² But the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession.

¹³ So ^(LP)to the sons of Aaron the priest they gave ^(LQ)Hebron, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, ^(LR)Libnah with its pasture lands, ^14 (LS)Jattir with its pasture lands, ^(LT)Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, ^15 [hj]Holon with its pasture lands, ^(LU)Debir with its pasture lands, ^16 [hk]Ain with its pasture lands, ^(LV)Juttah with its pasture lands, and ^(LW)Beth-shemesh with its pasture lands; nine cities from these two tribes. ¹⁷ From the tribe of Benjamin, ^(LX)Gibeon with its pasture lands, ^(LY)Geba with its pasture lands, ¹⁸ Anathoth with its pasture lands, and ^[hl]Almon with its pasture lands; four cities. ¹⁹ All the cities of the sons of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.

²⁰ Then the cities from the tribe of Ephraim were allotted to the ^(LZ)families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, that is, to the rest of the sons of Kohath. ²¹ They gave them ^(MA)Shechem, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer with its pasture lands, ²² and Kibzaim with its pasture lands, and Beth-horon with its pasture lands; four cities. ²³ And from the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands, ²⁴ Aijalon with its pasture lands, Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; four cities. ²⁵ From the half-tribe of Manasseh, they allotted Taanach with its pasture lands and Gath-rimmon with its pasture lands; two cities. ²⁶ All the cities with their pasture lands for the families of the rest of the sons of Kohath were ten.

²⁷ And ^(MB)to the sons of Gershon, one of the families of the Levites, from the half-tribe of Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasture lands, and Be-eshterah with its pasture lands; two cities. ²⁸ And from the tribe of Issachar they gave Kishion with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands, ²⁹ Jarmuth with its pasture lands, and En-gannim with its pasture lands; four cities.