Land Still to Be Taken

13 When Joshua had grown old,^(A) the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.

⁶ “As for all the inhabitants of the mountain regions from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim,^(P) that is, all the Sidonians, I myself will drive them out^(Q) before the Israelites. Be sure to allocate this land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have instructed you,^{(R) 7} and divide it as an inheritance^(S) among the nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh.”

Division of the Land East of the Jordan

⁸ The other half of Manasseh,^[a] the Reubenites and the Gadites had received the inheritance that Moses had given them east of the Jordan, as he, the servant of the Lord, had assigned^(T) it to them.^(U)

¹⁴ But to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance, since the food offerings presented to the Lord, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as he promised them.^(AK)

¹⁵ This is what Moses had given to the tribe of Reuben, according to its clans:

²⁴ This is what Moses had given to the tribe of Gad, according to its clans:

²⁹ This is what Moses had given to the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, to half the family of the descendants of Manasseh, according to its clans:

³² This is the inheritance Moses had given when he was in the plains of Moab^(BV) across the Jordan east of Jericho.^{(BW) 33} But to the tribe of Levi, Moses had given no inheritance;^(BX) the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance,^(BY) as he promised them.^(BZ)

Division of the Land West of the Jordan

14 Now these are the areas the Israelites received as an inheritance^(CA) in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar^(CB) the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel^(CC) allotted^(CD) to them.^{(CE) 2} Their inheritances were assigned by lot^(CF) to the nine and a half tribes,^(CG) as the Lord had commanded through Moses. ³ Moses had granted the two and a half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan^(CH) but had not granted the Levites an inheritance among the rest,^{(CI) 4} for Joseph’s descendants had become two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim.^(CJ) The Levites received no share of the land but only towns to live in, with pasturelands for their flocks and herds.^{(CK) 5} So the Israelites divided the land, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.^(CL)

Allotment for Caleb

⁶ Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal,^(CM) and Caleb son of Jephunneh^(CN) the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God^(CO) at Kadesh Barnea^(CP) about you and me.^{(CQ) 7} I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea^(CR) to explore the land.^(CS) And I brought him back a report according to my convictions,^{(CT) 8} but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear.^(CU) I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.^{(CV) 9} So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance^(CW) and that of your children^(CX) forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’^[c]

¹⁰ “Now then, just as the Lord promised,^(CY) he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved^(CZ) about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old!^{(DA) 11} I am still as strong^(DB) today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous^(DC) to go out to battle now as I was then. ¹² Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day.^(DD) You yourself heard then that the Anakites^(DE) were there and their cities were large and fortified,^(DF) but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

¹³ Then Joshua blessed^(DG) Caleb son of Jephunneh^(DH) and gave him Hebron^(DI) as his inheritance.^{(DJ) 14} So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.^{(DK) 15} (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba^(DL) after Arba,^(DM) who was the greatest man among the Anakites.)

Then the land had rest^(DN) from war.

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.^{(A) 2} He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice^(B) against my adversary.’

⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”^(C)

⁶ And the Lord^(D) said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out^(E) to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man^(F) comes,^(G) will he find faith on the earth?”

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

⁹ To some who were confident of their own righteousness^(H) and looked down on everyone else,^(I) Jesus told this parable: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray,^(J) one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself^(K) and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast^(L) twice a week and give a tenth^(M) of all I get.’

¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast^(N) and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’^(O)

¹⁴ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”^(P)

The Little Children and Jesus^(Q)

¹⁵ People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. ¹⁶ But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷ Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child^(R) will never enter it.”

Psalm 85^[a]

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.