This book contains the account of the Israeli people possessing the land that God had promised to give them. We call this book

Joshua

1

What Yahweh commanded Joshua

1After Moses, who served Yahweh well, died, Yahweh said to Nun’s son Joshua, who had been Moses’ assistant, 2“You know that my servant Moses is now dead. So now get ready to lead all these Israeli people across the Jordan River. Enter the land that I will soon give to you. 3I will give to you all the land that you walk on, as I promised Moses. 4That land will extend from the desert in the south, to the Lebanon Mountains in the northwest, and to the big Euphrates River in the northeast, and to the Mediterranean Sea on the west. It will include all the land where the descendants of Heth live. 5No group will be able to oppose and defeat you during your life. I will help you as I helped Moses. I will always be with [LIT] you; I will never forsake you.

6Be strong and courageous, because you are the one who will lead these Israeli people and enable them to possess the land that I solemnly promised to their ancestors that I would give them. 7Just be strong and very courageous. Be sure to obey all the laws that my servant Moses gave to you. In order that you may be successful wherever you go, do not stop obeying any of them [IDM]. 8Make sure to habitually read to the people some of the laws that God gave Moses. Meditate on those laws every day and every night. And be sure to obey all those laws. If you do that, you will be successful in everything that you do [DOU]. 9Do not forget [RHQ] that I have commanded you to be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, and do not be discouraged, because I, Yahweh, your God, will ◄be with/help► you wherever you go.”

10Then Joshua commanded the leaders of the people of Israel, 11“Go throughout the camp and tell the people this: ‘Prepare all the food that you will take with you, because the day after tomorrow you will cross this Jordan River, in order to possess the land that Yahweh, our God, is about to give you.’ ”

What Joshua commanded the eastern tribes

12But to the clans that were descendants of Reuben and Gad, and to the half clan that were descendants of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13“Do not forget what Moses, the servant of Yahweh, commanded you: ‘Yahweh, your God, has given you this land in order that you can live here safely/peacefully.’ 14Your wives and your children and your livestock may stay here in this land on the east side of the Jordan River, but all your soldiers must cross the river, ahead of the people of the other tribes. They must take all their weapons with them. You must continue to help your fellow Israelis 15until they are able to live there safely/peacefully, as Yahweh has enabled you to do. You must help them until after they have conquered all the people in the land that Yahweh, your God, is giving them. After that, your soldiers may return to live in this land that Moses gave to you here on the east side of the Jordan River.”

16The people answered Joshua, “We will do everything that you have commanded us to do, and we will go wherever you tell us to go. 17As we obeyed all that Moses told us to do, we will obey all that you tell us to do. We pray that Yahweh will ◄be with/help► you as he ◄was with/helped► Moses. 18Anyone who ◄rejects what you say/opposes you► and does not obey what you command [DOU], we will execute. But we want you to be strong and courageous!”

2

How Rahab helped the Israeli spies

1Then Joshua chose two men from their camp at Acacia. He told them, “Go across the Jordan River and secretly find out all that you can about the land on that side of the river, especially about Jericho city.” So the two men crossed the river and entered Jericho. They entered the house of a prostitute, whose name was Rahab. They stayed in her house that night. 2But someone saw them and told the king of Jericho, “Some Israeli men have come here tonight to spy out the land!” 3So the king sent some messengers to tell Rahab, “Bring out the men who came and entered your house, so that we can kill them, because they have come here to ◄spy out/find out all they can about► this land!” 4She told them that the two men had gone to her house. But she had hidden the two men there. So when the messengers came to her house, she told them, “Two men came here, but I did not know where they had come from. 5At dusk, just before ◄guards closed the city gate/the city gates were closed►, the two men left. I do not know where they went. So, go quickly and search for them! Perhaps you may catch them!” 6But she was lying; she had taken the two men up to the flat roof of her house and had hidden them under the piles of flax that she had laid on the roof. 7The messengers went out of the city to search for the two men. Immediately, the guards shut the city gate. The messengers went along the road that leads down to the place where people can walk across the Jordan River, but they did not find the two men.

8Before the two men lay down to sleep that night, Rahab went up to the roof 9and said to them, “We know that Yahweh is about to give this land to you Israelis, and as a result all the people living in this land are terrified because of you. 10We have heard about how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea for you to cross it when you left Egypt. And we have heard how you killed Sihon and Og, the two kings of the tribe of Amor who lived east of the Jordan River. You Israelis totally destroyed everyone and everything in their kingdom. 11When we heard about those things, we were very dismayed. We no longer have enough courage to fight against you, because we know that Yahweh, the God whom you worship, is helping you. And we know that he rules everything in heaven and here on earth. 12So now I want you to solemnly promise me, and ask Yahweh to punish you if you do not do what you promise. Solemnly promise me that you will act kindly to me and my family, because I have acted kindly to you. 13Do something to prove that you will ◄spare the lives of/not kill► my father and my mother, my brothers and sisters, and all of their families. Promise me that you Israelis will not kill us when you destroy this city.” 14The two men replied, “We desire that God will cause us to die if we do not do as we say! If you do not tell others what we are planning to do, we will act kindly toward you all when Yahweh enables us to possess the land.” 15One of the outside walls of the house where Rahab lived was part of the wall that was around the city. So she fastened a rope outside the window that was in that wall, by which the men could climb down the wall. 16Then she said to them, “When you leave the city, go up into the hills so that the men who are searching for you will not find you. Hide in caves in the hills for three days, until the men who are searching for you return to the city. Then you can return safely to your camp.” 17The two men gave her a red cord, and said to her, “This is what you must do; if you do not do this, we will not be required to do what we have vowed to do. 18You must tie this red cord in the window that has the rope by which we will climb down. You must let the cord hang there. And you must bring your father and your mother and your brothers and all the others in your family inside the house. Then, when our army enters your land, we will see the cord, and we will not kill the people in your house. 19If anyone in your family goes outside this house into the street, our soldiers will kill them, and we will not be guilty [MTY] for doing that. But if anyone who is in this house with you is injured, we will be guilty for causing that. 20But if you tell anyone what we are planning to do, we are not required to do what we have vowed to do.” 21Rahab said, “I agree to do what you say.” So they climbed down the rope and left. And she left the red cord tied in the window. 22When the two men left the city, they went up into the hills. They stayed there for three days, while the men who had been sent by the king continued to search for them. They searched all along the road, but they did not find the two men. So they returned to the city. 23Then the two men started back toward their camp. They went down from the hills, went down to the river, crossed it at the place where people can walk across it, and returned to their camp. They told Joshua everything that had happened to them. 24They said to Joshua, “We are sure that Yahweh is going to enable us to possess everything that is in that land. The people there are terrified [IDM] because of us.”

3

The Israelis crossed the Jordan River

1Joshua and all the other Israelis got up early the next morning. They left their camp at Acacia and went down to the Jordan River. They camped there for two nights. 2Then the leaders went throughout the camp, 3telling the people, “You will see some of the priests, who are descendants of Levi, carrying the chest that contains the Ten Commandments that Yahweh our God gave us. When you see them, leave the places where you are camped and follow them. 4You have not been ◄here/along this road► before, so you must follow the priests. But do not walk close to the chest. Stay ◄1,000 yards/900 meters► from the chest. The chest is sacred, so ◄God will punish you/you will be punished► if you come close to it.”

5Then Joshua told the people, “Perform the ceremonies needed to make yourselves acceptable to Yahweh, because tomorrow he is going to do things for you that will amaze you!”

6Then Joshua said to the priests, “Carry the chest and go in front of the rest of the people.” So they lifted up the chest and went ahead.

7Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “This is the day that I will begin to show all the Israeli people that you are a great leader. Then they will honor you, and know that I am with/helping you as I ◄was with/helped► Moses. 8Tell the priests who are carrying the chest that contains the Ten Commandments, ‘When you come to the edge of the Jordan River, stand in the water.’” 9Then Joshua said to the Israeli people, “Come close to me in order that you can listen to what Yahweh, your God, is saying.” 10When they came near, he said to them, “This is how you will know that God, who is all-powerful, is among you, and that he will expel for you the descendants of Canaan, Heth, Hiv, Periz, Girgash, Amor, and Jebus who are now living in that land. 11Keep in mind that Yahweh is the one who rules over all the earth. The chest belongs to him, and it will be carried into the Jordan River ahead of you. 12So choose twelve men, one from each of the tribes of Israel, and I will tell you later what I want them to do. 13As for the priests who are carrying the chest, as soon as they put their feet into the Jordan River, the water will stop flowing. It will pile up because I will cause it to be blocked upstream.”

14So when the Israeli people packed up their tents in order to cross the river, the priests who were carrying the chest containing the Ten Commandments went in front of them. 15It was springtime, when people harvest their crops, and at that time the river floods over its banks. But as soon as the priests reached the edge of the river and stepped into the water, 16the water stopped flowing. The water piled up far upstream, at a town named Adam, near Zarethan. The water stopped flowing down to the Dead Sea. So the people were able to cross the river near Jericho. 17The priests who were carrying the chest containing the Ten Commandments that Yahweh had given them stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan riverbed, while the rest of the Israeli people crossed the river as though they were crossing dry ground.

4

The Israeli people and Joshua set up memorials

1After all the people of the Israeli nation had finished crossing the Jordan River, Yahweh said to Joshua, 2“When you choose the twelve men, one from each tribe, whom I mentioned previously, tell them to pick up large stones from the middle of the Jordan riverbed, where the priests are still standing. 3Tell them to carry the stones with you and put them down at the place where you will stay tonight.”

4So Joshua chose twelve men, one from each tribe. He called them together, and said to them, 5“Go into the middle of the Jordan riverbed, to where the priests are standing, holding the chest that Yahweh, your God, gave you. Each of you must pick up a large stone, one for each tribe, and carry it on your shoulder to our camp. 6Then pile them up to be a memorial for you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’, 7tell them that the water in the Jordan River was blocked off when the priests were carrying the chest that contained the Ten Commandments that Yahweh gave us. When the chest was carried into the Jordan River, the water was blocked off so that we could cross the riverbed. These stones will be a memorial for the descendants of us Israeli people forever.”

8So those Israeli men did what Joshua told them to do. They went and picked up twelve large stones from the middle of the Jordan riverbed, one stone for each of the tribes, just as Yahweh had told Joshua. They carried the stones to their camp and put them down. 9Then Joshua set up twelve other large stones in a pile, in the middle of the Jordan riverbed, where the priests who carried the chest containing the Ten Commandments were standing. And those stones are still there.

10The priests who carried the chest remained standing in the middle of the Jordan riverbed until the people had finished doing everything that Yahweh had commanded Joshua to tell them to do. Those were the same instructions that Moses had given to Joshua. The Israeli people crossed the riverbed quickly. 11As soon as all of them had crossed, as the people watched, the priests carried the chest the rest of the way across the river. 12The soldiers of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and of half of the soldiers of the tribe of Manasseh, crossed over ahead of the rest of the Israeli people, carrying their weapons, as Moses had commanded. 13As Yahweh was watching, there were about 40,000 of those soldiers, carrying weapons ready for battle, who crossed the riverbed to the plains near Jericho, ready to fight.

14On that day, all the people of Israel saw that Yahweh had caused Joshua to be a great leader. And they honored Joshua for the rest of his life, just as they had honored Moses. 15Yahweh said to Joshua, 16“Now tell the priests who are carrying the chest containing the Ten Commandments to come up from the Jordan riverbed.” 17So Joshua commanded the priests to do that. 18Then the priests, carrying the chest containing the Ten Commandments that Yahweh had given to Moses, came up out of the riverbed. And as soon as they walked up out of the riverbed onto the riverbank, the water of the Jordan River flowed again, and flooded over the river banks as it had done before.

19It was on the tenth day of the first month of that year that the people crossed over the Jordan River and camped at a place called Gilgal, on the east side of the land near Jericho city. 20The men who were carrying the twelve large stones from the Jordan riverbed brought them to Joshua, and he set them up at Gilgal. 21Joshua said to the Israeli people, “In the future, when your children and grandchildren ask, ‘◄What do these stones mean/Why are these stones here►?’, 22tell them, ‘We Israeli people crossed the Jordan River as though we were crossing on dry ground. 23As we were watching, Yahweh, your God, dried up the river until we had all crossed over. Yahweh, the God whom we worship, did to the Jordan River just like he did to the Red Sea, when he caused it to become dry as our parents were watching, until they all crossed over it. 24Yahweh did that in order that all the people-groups of the earth may know that he [MTY] is very powerful, and in order that you may always ◄be in awe of/revere► Yahweh, your God.’”

5

1All the kings of the people-groups to the west of the Jordan River and all the kings of the groups who were descendants of Canaan and who lived close to the Mediterranean Sea heard about how Yahweh had dried up the water of the Jordan River until all we Israeli people had crossed over. So they became very dismayed. They no longer were courageous enough to fight us.

The Israeli males were circumcised at Gilgal

2While they were camped at Gilgal, Yahweh said to Joshua, “The Israeli males who lived in Egypt were circumcised before they left there. Now make knives from flint stones and circumcise all the Israeli males who have been born since then.” 3So Joshua made knives and circumcised the Israeli males at a place that is now called ‘Circumcision Hill’. 4The reason they did that is that all the men who left Egypt, those who were old enough to be soldiers, died in the desert after they left Egypt. 5They had been circumcised in Egypt, but the baby boys who had been born while their parents were camping in the desert after they left Egypt had not been circumcised. 6Our Israeli ancestors traveled around in the desert for 40 years, and all the men who were old enough to be soldiers had died. The women had also died. They had not obeyed Yahweh, so Yahweh said that they would not arrive at the land that he had promised to our ancestors that he would give to us, a land that was very fertile [MTY]. 7The sons of those who had disobeyed Yahweh were the ones whom Joshua circumcised at Gilgal. They were circumcised because they had not been circumcised while they were traveling in the desert. 8After all the Israeli males had been circumcised, they remained in the camp and rested until their wounds were healed. 9Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Because your forefathers were slaves in Egypt, the Egyptians felt a revulsion toward you. But today I have removed the revulsion the Egyptians have had toward you.” Because of that, the people called the place ‘Gilgal’, which sounds like the Hebrew word ‘removed’, and it still has that name.

10In the evening of the fourteenth day of that month, while the Israeli people were camped at Gilgal, on the plain near Jericho city, they celebrated the Passover Festival. 11The next day, they found some barley grain in the fields in that area. So they took that and roasted it and ate it with bread that was made without yeast. 12The next day, God stopped sending manna for the Israeli people to eat. After that, they ate food that was grown in Canaan.

The commander of Yahweh’s army appeared to Joshua.

13One day when Joshua came near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him. The man was holding a sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you going to fight for us or against us?” 14The man replied, “I am not planning to fight with you or against you. Instead, I am the commander of Yahweh’s army in heaven, and I have come down from there to assure you that Yahweh will help you.” Then Joshua bowed down with his face on the ground ◄to show his respect for/to worship► the man, and said to him, “Tell me what you want me to do.” 15The commander of Yahweh’s army replied, “Take off your sandals! I am Yahweh, and the ground on which you are standing is holy because I am here.” So Joshua took off his sandals.

6

The walls of Jericho collapsed and the Israelis captured the city.

1Meanwhile, the guards of Jericho shut the gates of the city tightly, because they were afraid of the Israeli army. No one was allowed to go into the city or go out of it. 2Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Listen to what I say! I am going to enable your army [SYN] to capture/conquer [MTY] Jericho and its king and its soldiers. 3So your army must march around the city for six days, once each day. 4Tell seven priests to march around with them. Each priest must carry a trumpet. Four other priests must carry the sacred chest, and they must walk behind the priests who are carrying the trumpets. On the seventh day, the army must march around the city seven times, and the priests must be blowing the trumpets while they march. 5After they have all marched around the city seven times, the priests must blow their trumpets once, very loudly. When the Israeli people/soldiers hear that, they must shout loudly. Then the wall of the city will collapse, and all the Israeli people/soldiers will go straight into the city.”

6So Joshua summoned the priests and said to them, “Tell four priests to carry the chest that contains the Ten Commandments that Yahweh gave to us. Tell seven other priests to carry trumpets and walk in front of them.” 7And Joshua told the soldiers, “Start marching! March around the city, with several soldiers with weapons marching in front. Behind them will march the seven priests with trumpets, and behind them will march the four priests carrying Yahweh’s sacred chest.”

8After Joshua told that to the army, the seven priests, each carrying a sacred trumpet, started marching, blowing their trumpets. The four priests who were carrying Yahweh’s sacred chest followed them. 9The group of soldiers carrying weapons marched in front of the priests who were blowing their trumpets, and the rest of the soldiers followed the four men carrying the chest. While they were all marching, the seven priests were blowing their trumpets. 10But the rest of the people were silent, because Joshua had commanded them, “Do not make a war cry. Do not yell or say anything until the day when I tell you to shout. On that day, you must shout loudly!” 11So the men carrying Yahweh’s sacred chest and all the others did what Joshua told them to do. They marched around the city once. Then they all returned to their camp and stayed there that night.

12The next morning, Joshua and the priests got up early, and the four priests carried Yahweh’s sacred chest again. 13The seven priests who were carrying trumpets went in front of the men carrying the chest. The seven priests were blowing their trumpets as they marched. The group of soldiers carrying weapons went in front of all the others, and the rest of the army followed all the others. All the time, the seven priests were blowing their trumpets. 14So on that second day they again marched around the city once and then returned to their camp. They did the same thing for six days.

15On the seventh day, they got up at dawn, and they all marched around the city the same way that they had done before, but this time they marched around the city seven times. 16As they were marching around the seventh time, when the priests were about to blow the long/loud blast on their trumpets, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout, because Yahweh will enable you to capture the city! 17Yahweh has declared that you must destroy [IDM] the city and everything in it to show that it belongs to him. You must spare only Rahab the prostitute and the others who are in her house, because she hid the spies whom we sent there. 18And because Yahweh has declared that everything must be destroyed [IDM], you must not take [EUP] any of the things in the city. If you take anything, you will cause Yahweh to destroy our own camp and cause terrible things to happen to us. 19But all the silver and gold and articles made from iron and bronze that you find, you must set apart for Yahweh. You must put those things in his treasury.”

20So they did what Joshua told them to do. When the priests blew a long blast on their trumpets, the people/army shouted loudly, and the wall of the city collapsed! Then the Israeli soldiers rushed in and captured the city. 21They killed [IDM] every living thing in the city—men and women, young people and old people, even cattle and sheep and donkeys.

22Then Joshua said to the two men ◄who had spied on/whom he had sent to learn all they could about► the land, “Go to the prostitute’s house. Bring her out, along with all her family, just as you promised to her.” 23-25So those two spies/men went into Rahab’s house and brought her out. They also brought out her father and mother and her brothers, and all the rest of her family. Joshua’s men spared Rahab the prostitute. They also did not kill all her relatives, because she had hidden and protected the spies/men whom Joshua had sent to Jericho. The two men brought them all out and put them in a place outside the camp of the Israelis. Rahab still lives among us Israeli people. Then the soldiers gathered the articles made from silver, gold, bronze, and iron that they found and they put them all into Yahweh’s treasury. But they burned everything else that was in the city.

26At that time, Joshua warned the people, “Yahweh will curse/punish anyone who tries to rebuild this city, Jericho. When that person lays/builds its foundation, his oldest son will die. And when he finishes building the city wall and sets up its gates, his youngest son will die.”

27Because of what happened that day, it was clear that Yahweh was with/helped Joshua, and Joshua became famous throughout the land.

7

The men of Ai defeated the Israelis

1Yahweh had commanded that all the things that they had captured in Jericho should be destroyed to show that they belong to him. But there was a man from the tribe of Judah named Achan. He was the son of Carmi and grandson of Zabdi and great-grandson of Zerah. He disobeyed what Yahweh had commanded and took for himself some of those things. So Yahweh was very angry with the Israelis.

2Joshua told some of his men to go from Jericho to Ai town, which was east of Bethel city and near Beth-Aven town. He said to them, “Go to Ai and ◄spy out the area/see what the area is like►.” So the men went.

3When they returned to Joshua they said, “There are only a few people in Ai. So we do not need to send all of our soldiers to defeat them. Send 2.000 or 3,000 men to attack them. That will be enough.” 4So about 3,000 Israeli men went to attack Ai. But the men of Ai defeated them badly. 5They killed about 36 Israelis and chased the rest of Israeli men from the city gate to the bottom of the hill. When the other Israelis saw that this had happened, they became very discouraged.

6Joshua and the other Israeli leaders tore their clothes because they were very sad about being defeated. They prostrated themselves on the ground in front of the Sacred Tent in which was the sacred chest. They stayed there until that evening. They also threw dirt on their heads to show that they were very sad about what had happened. 7Then Joshua prayed and said, “Lord God, you brought us Israelis safely across the Jordan River. So why are you now allowing the Amor people-group to defeat us [RHQ]? This would not have happened if we had stayed on the other side of the Jordan River! 8Lord, we Israelis have been defeated by our enemies, so I do not know what to say now [RHQ]. 9The Canaan people-group and all the other people who are living in this land will hear about this. Then they will surround us and kill all of us! Then what will you do ◄to defend your reputation [MTY]/to show that you are a powerful God►?”

10But Yahweh said to Joshua, “Stand up! Stop lying there with your face on the ground [RHQ]! 11You Israelis have sinned! You have disobeyed the commands that I told you to obey. One of your men has taken some of the things that I told you to destroy. He has stolen them and taken them for himself and lied about it. 12That is why you Israelis have been unable to be strong when you went to attack your enemies. That is why you have run away from them. And now you yourselves may be destroyed. If you do not do as I commanded you and destroy everything that you captured in Jericho I will not help you anymore!”

Achan was punished for his sin

13“Now go and tell this to the people: ‘Tomorrow you must perform the rituals that will cause yourselves to become acceptable to Yahweh again. Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship, says that one of you has kept things that he told you to destroy. You will never defeat your enemies until you get rid of those things.

14Tomorrow morning you must present yourselves before Yahweh, tribe by tribe. Then Yahweh will indicate to which tribe the man who took those things belongs. Then Yahweh will indicate to which clan from that tribe the guilty man belongs. Then Yahweh will indicate to which family he belongs. And then he will indicate which person in that family took those things. 15Then the one who has taken some of the things that should have been destroyed will be destroyed in a fire. And everything he owns will be destroyed with him, because he has disobeyed the command that Yahweh gave us and has done something that is disgraceful to us Israeli people.’”

16Early the next morning, Joshua told all the Israeli people to stand before the Sacred Tent, tribe by tribe. When they did that, Yahweh indicated that a man from the tribe of Judah was the one who had taken the things. 17Then the clans of Judah presented themselves, and Yahweh indicated that someone from the clan of Zerah was the guilty one. Then the families of Zerah’s clan presented themselves, and Yahweh indicated that someone from the family of Zabdi was the guilty one. 18Then Joshua told the men from that family to present themselves. And Yahweh indicated that Achan was guilty.

19Then Joshua said to Achan, “Son, tell the truth [IDM]. Confess to Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship, what you have done. And tell me what you did, and do not try to ◄conceal anything/prevent me from knowing what you did►.”

20Achan replied, “It is true. I have sinned against Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship. 21Among the things in Jericho that I saw was a beautiful coat from Babylonia. I also saw 200 pieces of silver and some gold that weighed as much as 50 pieces of silver. I wanted those things very much for myself, so I took them. I buried them all in the ground under my tent. You will find them there. The silver is buried under the other things.”

22So Joshua sent some men to find those things. They ran to Achan’s tent and found all the things hidden there. 23The men brought them all out of the tent and took them to Joshua and the rest of the Israeli people. Then they spread/laid them out on the ground, where Yahweh could see them.

24Then Joshua and the rest of the people led Achan down to the valley. They also took down there the silver, the coat, the gold, Achan’s wife and sons and daughters, and his cattle and donkeys and sheep, and his tent, and everything else that he owned. 25Joshua said, “◄I do not know why you caused so much trouble for us/You have caused a lot of trouble for us► [RHQ], but now Yahweh will cause trouble for you.” Then all the people threw stones at Achan and his family until they all died. Then the people burned their corpses.

26They piled rocks over the ashes of their corpses, and those rocks are still there. That is why that valley is called Trouble Valley. After that, Yahweh was no longer angry with the Israeli people.

8

The town of Ai is destroyed

1Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of what happened at Ai. Lead all of your soldiers and go there again. I will help you to defeat the king of Ai, his people, and his city, and enable you to take his land. 2Your army will do to the people of Ai and their king like what you did to the people of Jericho and their king. But this time I will permit you to take all their possessions and keep them for yourselves. But first, tell some of your soldiers to hide behind the city and prepare to suddenly attack it.”

3So Joshua led all his army toward Ai. He chose 30,000 of his best fighters/warriors and prepared to send them out during the night. 4He said to them, “Listen carefully. Some of you must hide on the other side of the city. Do not go far from the city. Just be ready to attack. 5I and the men who are with me will march toward the city in the morning. The men in the city will come out to fight us, like they did before. Then we will turn around and start to run away from them. 6They will think that we are running away from them like we did before. So they will chase us away from the city. While we are running away, 7those of you who are hiding come out and rush into the city and capture it. Yahweh your God will enable you to conquer it. 8After you capture the city, burn it. Do what Yahweh has commanded us to do. Those are the orders I am giving to you.”

9Then Joshua prepared to send some of them to hide and wait between Ai and Bethel, which was west of Ai. But Joshua stayed with his other soldiers that night.

10Early the next morning, Joshua gathered his soldiers together. Then he and the other Israeli leaders led them up to Ai. 11They all set up their tents close to Ai, just to the north of the city, where all the people of the city could see them. There was a valley between them and the city. 12Then Joshua chose about 5,000 men and told them to go and hide just west of the city, between Ai and Bethel. 13So those men did that. The main group of soldiers was north of the city, and the others were hiding west of the city. That night Joshua went down into the valley.

14When the king of Ai saw the Israeli army, he and his soldiers got up early the next morning and quickly went out of the city to fight them. They went to a place east of the city, but they did not know that some Israeli soldiers were hiding behind the city. 15Joshua and the Israeli soldiers who were with him allowed the army of Ai to push them back. They ran toward the desert. 16The men in Ai were ordered to chase after Joshua and his men. So they left the city and started to pursue the Israelis. 17All the men of Ai and the men of Bethel pursued the Israeli army. They did not leave even one man in Ai to defend it. The gates of the city were left wide open.

18Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Lift up your spear and point it toward Ai, because I am going to enable your soldiers to capture it!” So Joshua pointed his spear toward Ai. 19When the Israeli men who were hiding saw that, they rushed out from the places where they were hiding and ran into the city. They quickly captured it and set it on fire.

20When the men of Ai looked back, they saw smoke rising from their city. But they could not escape, because the Israeli troops stopped running away. 21Joshua and his men saw that the men who had been hiding had captured the city and were burning it, and they saw the smoke rising. So they turned around and started to attack the men of Ai. 22Meanwhile, the soldiers who had captured the city came out and attacked them from the rear. So the men of Ai were caught between the two groups of Israeli soldiers. None of the men of Ai escaped. The Israelis fought until they killed all of them. Only the king of Ai was still alive. 23Then they seized the king of Ai and brought him to Joshua.

A summary of the battle

24While they were fighting, the Israeli army pursued the men of Ai into the fields and into the desert, and killed all of them. Then they went to Ai and killed everyone who was there. 25They killed 12,000 men and women. 26Joshua continued to point his spear [LIT] toward Ai, until all the people in Ai had been killed. 27The Israeli soldiers took for themselves the animals and the other things that had belonged to the people of Ai, just like Yahweh had told Joshua that they should do.

28Joshua and his soldiers burned Ai city and caused it to become a pile of ruins. It is still like that today. 29Joshua hanged the king of Ai on a tree and left his corpse hanging there until the evening. At sunset Joshua told his men to take the king’s corpse down from the tree and to throw it on the ground at the city gate. After they did that, they piled a lot of rocks on top of the corpse, and that pile of rocks is still there.

Joshua repeated Yahweh’s agreement with the Israeli people

30Joshua told his men to build on Ebal Mountain an altar for Yahweh, the God who is worshiped by the Israeli people. 31They built it just like Moses, the man who served God well, had written previously in the laws that God had given to him. They made it from stones that had not been cut using iron tools. The Israelis then offered sacrifices to Yahweh that were burned completely on the altar. They also offered sacrifices to restore fellowship with Yahweh. 32As the Israelis watched, Joshua wrote on stones the laws that Yahweh had given to Moses previously. 33The Israeli leaders, the officials, the judges, and other Israelis were there, standing nearby. Many people who were not Israelis were also there. Half of the people stood on one side of the valley below Ebal Mountain, and the other half of the people stood on the other side of the valley below Gerizim Mountain. The sacred chest was in the valley between the two groups. That was what Moses had previously commanded that the people should do when Yahweh was about to bless them.

34Then Joshua read to the people all that Moses had written previously. That included what Yahweh had taught them and the ways that he promised to bless them if they obeyed his commands, or to curse them if they disobeyed them. 35All the Israelis gathered together to listen —the men, the women, and the children. The ◄foreigners/people who were not Israelis► who were living among them also listened, while Joshua read all the commands that Moses had written.

9

The Gibeonites tricked the Israelis

1There were several kings who ruled in lands that are on the west side of the Jordan River. They were the kings of the Heth people-group, the Amor people-group, the Canaan people-group, the Periz people-group, the Hiv people-group, and the Jebus people-group. They lived in the hilly area, in the foothills further west, and on the plains along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. They heard about what happened at Ai. 2So they all gathered their armies to fight Joshua and the Israeli army.

3When the people who lived in Gibeon city heard that Joshua’s army had defeated the people of Jericho and Ai, 4they decided to trick the Israelis. They gathered some old sacks and some old leather wine bags that had been mended after they were cracked, and they put these on the backs of their donkeys. 5They put on old sandals that had been patched, and wore old ragged clothes. And they took along bread that was dry and moldy. 6They traveled to where Joshua and the other Israelis had set up their tents near Gilgal. They said to Joshua and the other Israeli leaders, “We have traveled from a distant land. We want you to make a peace agreement with us.”

7The Israeli leaders said to those men from Gilead who were from the Hiv people-group, “We do not know if you truly live far from us. If you live near us, we cannot [RHQ] make a peace agreement with you, because God has commanded us to get rid of the people that are living near us.”

8They replied to Joshua, “If you make a peace agreement with us, we will be your servants.”

But Joshua answered, “What people-group are you? Where do you come from?”

9The men from Gibeon answered, “We want to be your servants. We have come here from a distant land, because we have heard about the great things that your god has done. We have heard about everything that he did in Egypt to help you. 10We have heard that he enabled you to defeat the armies of two kings of the Amor people-group, on the east side of the Jordan River—Sihon, the king who ruled in Heshbon city, and Og, the king who ruled in Ashtaroth in the Bashan area. 11So our leaders and the rest of our people said to us, ‘Take some food and go to talk with the Israelis. Tell them, “We want to be your servants. So make a peace agreement with us.”’ 12Look at our bread. It was fresh and warm from having been baked on the day that we left our area, but now it is dry and moldy. 13Look at our leather wine bags. They were new when we filled them with wine before we left, but now they are cracked and old. Our clothes and our sandals are worn out from traveling on the long road to come here.”

14The Israeli leaders tasted the bread, but they did not ask Yahweh what to do. 15So Joshua agreed to make a peace agreement with the men from Gibeon to not kill them. All the Israeli leaders vowed to do what Joshua said in the agreement. Then the men from Gibeon returned home.

16Three days later the Israelis found out that the men from Gibeon lived nearby. 17So they went to where the men from Gibeon lived. After traveling only three days, they came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-Jearim. 18But the Israelis did not attack the people of those cities, because they had promised to live peacefully with them, and Yahweh had heard them promise to do that.

All the Israeli people grumbled against their leaders for doing that. 19But the leaders answered, “We promised to live peacefully with them, and Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship, heard us promise to do that. So now we cannot attack [EUP] them. 20This is what we will do: We will not kill them. If we kill them, God will be very angry with us and punish us because of not doing what we promised to do. 21So we must allow them to live. But they will cut wood for us, and they will carry water for us.” So the Israeli leaders did what they had promised.

22Then Joshua summoned the men from Gibeon and asked them, “Why did you lie to us? Your land was near to where we had set up our tents, but you told us that you were from a distant land! 23So now you will become our slaves. You will always be forced to cut wood and carry water for us Israeli people who worship in the temple of our God.”

24The men from Gibeon replied, “We lied to you because we were afraid that you would kill us. We heard that Yahweh, your God, declared to his servant Moses that he would enable you to conquer all the people in this land and to kill all the people who lived in it. 25So now you can decide what you will do with us. Do what you think is right.”

26So Joshua saved the lives of the people of Gibeon by not allowing the Israelis to kill them. 27Instead, he forced them to become the Israelis’ slaves. They cut wood and carried water for the Israelis. They also brought the wood and water that was needed for the sacred altar of Yahweh, to whatever place Yahweh decided that they should build one. And the people of Gibeon are still doing that.

10

Joshua’s army defeated the descendants of Amor when God made the sun stand still

1Later, Adonizedek, the king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua’s army had captured Ai town and had destroyed everything in the town. He heard that they had done to the people of Ai and to their king the same thing that they had done to the people of Jericho and their king. He also heard that the people of Gibeon city had made a peace treaty with the Israeli people, and that the people of Gibeon were now living near the Israelis and being protected by them. 2Because of that, he and the people whom he ruled became very afraid, because Gibeon was an important city, like the other cities that had kings. And even though Gibeon was a larger city than Ai and all its soldiers were good fighters, they thought Joshua’s army might defeat them. 3So King Adonizedek sent a message to Hosham the king of Hebron city, to Piram the king of Jarmuth city, to Jarmuth the king of Lachish city, and to Debir the king of Eglon city. 4In the message he said, “Please come up with your armies and help me to attack Gibeon, because the people of Gibeon have made a peace treaty with Joshua and the Israelis.”

5So those five kings who ruled all the groups who were descendants of Amor—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Debir—came up with all of their soldiers and surrounded the city. Then they prepared to attack it.

6So the people of Gibeon sent a message to Joshua while he was in the camp at Gilgal. They said, “We are your servants. So do not forsake us. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because the kings of all of the groups descended from Amor and their armies have joined their forces and have come from the hilly area to attack us!”

7So Joshua and all his army, including the soldiers who were his best fighting men, marched up from Gilgal. 8Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of those armies! I will enable your army to defeat them [IDM]. None of them will be able to ◄resist/fight and defeat► your army.”

9Joshua’s army marched all night and arrived very early in the morning. 10They attacked their enemies before anyone knew that they had come. Yahweh caused their enemies to ◄become very confused/start running in all directions► when they saw the Israeli army. As a result, the Israeli army defeated them very severely at Gibeon and killed many of them. The rest of them fled along the road that goes up to Beth-Horon. But the Israeli army pursued them and killed them all along the road that goes to Azekah and Makkedah towns. 11As they fled in front of the Israeli army, Yahweh threw down huge hailstones from the sky. As a result, more of them died from hailstones falling on them than died as a result of the Israeli army killing them with swords.

12On the day that Yahweh enabled the Israeli army to defeat the groups who were descendants of Amor, Joshua said to Yahweh while the Israeli people were listening, “Yahweh, cause the sun to stand still over Gibeon, and cause the moon to not move when it is over Aijalon Valley.” 13And that is what happened. The sun stood still, and the moon did not move, until the Israeli army defeated their enemies. That is what has been written in the book that Jashar wrote. The sun stopped while it was in the middle of the sky, and did not ◄set/go down► for about a whole day. 14On that day Yahweh did a great miracle that someone asked him to do. There was never a day like that previously, and there has never been a day like that since. Yahweh was certainly fighting for the Israeli people!

15After Joshua’s army defeated their enemies, they all returned to their camp at Gilgal.

Joshua’s army defeated the armies of five kings

16While the enemy soldiers were fleeing from Joshua’s army, their five kings also fled and hid in a cave at Makkedah town. 17Then someone told Joshua, “We found those five kings, hiding in a cave at Makkedah!” 18When Joshua heard that, he said, “Roll some very large rocks to the entrance of the cave so that the kings cannot escape, and leave some soldiers there to guard it. 19But do not stay there! Pursue our enemies! Attack them from behind! Do not allow them to escape to their cities, because Yahweh, our God, will enable you to defeat/kill them. [IDM]”

20So Joshua’s army did what he told them to do. They killed almost all of the enemy soldiers, but a few of them were able to reach their cities and be safe inside the walls of the cities. 21Then Joshua’s army returned to Joshua, who was still in their camp at Makkedah. No one in the land dared to criticize [MTY] the Israelis.

22Then Joshua said, “Open the entrance of the cave, and bring out to me those five kings!” 23So the soldiers brought those five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 24When they brought those kings to Joshua and forced them to lie on the ground, he summoned all the Israeli soldiers, and then he said to the army commanders, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings!” So the commanders did that. 25Then Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid of any of our enemies! Never be discouraged! Be strong and courageous. This is what Yahweh will do to all the enemies you will fight!” 26Then Joshua killed each of the five kings with his sword, and told his soldiers to hang the bodies of the five kings on trees. So they did that, and they left the bodies hanging on the trees until sunset. 27At sunset, Joshua told them to take the bodies down from the trees and throw them into the cave where they had been hiding. So the soldiers did that, and then they put those large rocks at the entrance of the cave again. Those rocks are still there.

28That is how Joshua’s army attacked and captured Makkedah. They killed the king and everyone else in the town. They did not leave anyone alive. They did to the king of Makkedah the same thing that they had done to the king of Jericho.

They conquered the southern cities

29That same day, Joshua and his Israeli army went southwest from Makkedah to Libnah city and attacked it. 30Yahweh enabled the Israelis to conquer [MTY] that city and its king. They killed everyone in the city; they did not ◄spare anyone/allow anyone to remain alive►. They killed the king of Libnah just like they had killed the king of Jericho.

31Then Joshua and his army went south from Libnah to Lachish city. They surrounded the city and attacked it. 32On the second day of the battle, Yahweh enabled the Israelis to conquer [MTY] the city. And like they had done at Libnah, they killed everyone [DOU] in the city. 33King Horam from Gezer city and his army came to help the soldiers of Lachish, but Joshua’s army defeated Horam and his army, and did not allow any of them to remain alive.

34Then Joshua and his army went west from Lachish to Eglon city. They surrounded the city and attacked it. 35On that day, they captured the city and killed [MTY] everyone in it [DOU], just like they had done at Lachish.

36Then Joshua and his army went west from Eglon up into the hills to Hebron city. They attacked the city 37and captured it. They killed the king and everyone else, just like they had done at Eglon. They did not allow anyone to remain alive.

38Then Joshua and his army turned south and went to Debir city and attacked it. 39They captured the city and its king, and also captured the nearby towns. Then they killed everyone [DOU]; they did to the people there the same thing that they had done at Hebron and Libnah.

40That is how Joshua and his army conquered the entire southern part of Canaan. They defeated the kings who ruled the hilly area, the dry southern area, the western foothills, and the eastern slopes. They killed everyone [DOU] in those areas; they did not allow anyone to remain alive. 41Joshua’s soldiers captured all the cities from Kadesh-Barnea city in the far south to Gaza city near the coast, including all the Goshen area, and north to Gibeon city. 42At that one time, Joshua’s army conquered all the kings and captured all the territory that they ruled. They were able to do that because Yahweh, the God whom the Israeli people worship, was fighting for them.

43Then Joshua and his army returned to their camp at Gilgal.

11

Joshua’s army captured towns in the north

1When King Jabin of Hazor city heard about all those things that had happened, he sent messages to Jobab, the king of Madon city, to the king of Shimron city, and to the king of Acshaph city, requesting them to send their armies to come and help him fight against the Israelis. 2He also sent messages to the kings in the northern hilly area and to the kings in the Jordan River Valley, south of Galilee Lake and in the western hills. He sent a message to the king of Naphoth-Dor in the west3and to the kings of the Canaan people-group in the eastern and western parts of the land. He sent messages to the Amor people-group and the Heth people-group and the Periz people-group and the Jebus people-group who lived in the hilly area. He also sent a message to the Hiv people-group who lived below Hermon Mountain in the Mizpah area. 4So the armies of all those kings gathered together, bringing their horses and chariots. There seemed to be [HYP] as many soldiers as grains of sand on the seashore. 5All of those kings and their armies gathered together at Merom Pond, and they set up their tents there. Then they made plans to fight against the Israelis.

6Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, because at this time tomorrow I will enable your men to defeat them. Your men must also cripple their horses and burn their chariots.”

7So Joshua and his army traveled to Merom Pond and attacked their enemies ◄by surprise/before they were ready to fight►. 8Yahweh enabled the Israelis to defeat them. They pursued them to Sidon city in the far north, and to Misrephoth-Maim in the northwest, and to Mizpah Valley in the northeast. The Israelis fought them until ◄they were all dead/there were no survivors►. 9Then Joshua and his men did what Yahweh told them to do: They crippled their enemies’ horses and burned their chariots.

10The king of Hazor had ruled the people of all the kingdoms whose armies had fought against the Israelis. So Joshua’s army went back to Hazor and captured that city and killed their king. 11They killed everyone in Hazor; ◄they did not spare anyone/no one was left alive► [DOU]. Then they burned the city.

12Joshua’s army captured all of those cities and killed all of their kings. They did that like Moses, the man who served Yahweh well, had commanded them to do. 13Joshua’s men burned Hazor city, but they did not burn any of the other cities that were built on small hills. 14The Israelis took for themselves the animals that they found in those cities and everything else that was valuable [DOU]. But they killed all the people. 15Many years before, Yahweh had told Moses to do that, and then Moses told Joshua to do it. So Joshua did everything that Yahweh had commanded Moses to do.

16Joshua’s army defeated all the people who were living in that land. They took control over the hilly area and the area in the southern part of Canaan, all the area of Goshen, the western foothills, and the Jordan River Valley. They took control over all the mountains in Israel and all the hills near the mountains. 17They took control of all the land from Halak Mountain in the south up to the Seir hilly area as far as Baal-Gaal in Lebanon Valley in the north, at the bottom of Hermon Mountain. They captured all the kings of those areas and killed them. 18Joshua’s men fought against those groups for many years. 19There was only one group that made a peace agreement with the Israelis; they were the people of the Hiv people-group who lived in Gibeon. The Israelis captured all the other towns in battles. 20Yahweh caused the people in all those other groups to be stubborn [IDM], with the result that they fought against the Israeli army, and the Israelis killed them all. They were not merciful to any of them. That is what Yahweh had commanded Moses to do.

21Joshua’s army also fought the Anak people-group who lived in the hills near Hebron, Debir, and Anah cities. They also fought against the people who lived in the hilly area of Judah and Israel, and they killed all of those people and destroyed their cities. 22As a result, there were no descendants of Anak who remained alive in Israel. Only a few remained alive in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod cities. 23Joshua’s army took control of all the land, just as Yahweh long ago had told Moses to do. Yahweh gave the land to the Israelis, because he had promised to give it to them. Then Joshua divided the land among the Israeli tribes. After that, there was ◄peace/no more battles► in the land.

12

The kings defeated by the Israelis

1The Israelis took control of the land that was east of the Jordan River, from the Arnon River gorge in the south to Hermon Mountain in the north, including all the land on the eastern side of the Jordan River Valley. That land previously belonged to the two kings whose armies the Israelis defeated.

2One of them was Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group. He lived in Heshbon city and ruled over the area from Aroer town along the Arnon River Gorge, north to the Jabbok River. His land started in the middle of the gorge, which was the border between his land and the land of the Ammon people-group. Sihon also ruled over the southern half of the Gilead region, 3and over the land on the eastern side of the Jordan River Valley, from Galilee Lake south to the Dead Sea. He also ruled over the land east of the Dead Sea from Beth-Jeshimoth south to the side of Pisgah Mountain.

4The other king whom the Israeli army defeated was Og, the king of the Bashan region. He was the last of the descendants of the giant Rapha. He ruled that land, living alternately in Ashtaroth and Edrei cities. 5He ruled over the area from Hermon Mountain and Salecah in the north, and over all the Bashan area in the east, and to the borders of the kingdoms of Geshur and Maacah to the west. Og ruled the northern half of the Gilead region, as far as the border of the land ruled by King Sihon.

6Moses, the man who served Yahweh well, and all the Israeli army defeated the armies of those kings. Then Moses gave that land to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh.

7Joshua and the Israeli army also defeated kings who ruled over the land on the west side of the Jordan River. He gave that land to the Israeli people, dividing it among the other tribes. That land was between Baal-Gad city in the Lebanon Valley in the far north all the way south to Halak Mountain, which is near the land of the Edom people-group. 8That land included the mountains, the western hilly area, the Jordan River Valley, the western slopes of the mountains, the desert in Judea, and the Negev desert in the south. That whole area was the land where the Heth, Amor, Canaan, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus people-groups lived. The Israeli army defeated the armies of the kings of each of these cities: 9Jericho, Ai (which was near Bethel), 10Jerusalem, Hebron, 11Jarmuth, Lachish, 12Eglon, Gezer, 13Debir, Geder, 14Hormah, Arad, 15Libnah, Adullam, 16Makkedah, Bethel, 17Tappuah, Hepher, 18Aphek, Lasharon, 19Madon, Hazor, 20Shimron Meron, Acshaph, 21Taanach, Megiddo, 22Kedesh, Jokneam in the Carmel area, 23Dor in the Naphoth-Dor area, Goyim in the Gilgal area, 24and Tirzah.

There was a total of 31 kings that the Israeli army defeated.

13

The areas that the Israelis had not yet captured

1When Joshua was very old, Yahweh said to him, “Joshua, you are now an old man, but there is still a lot of land for your army to capture. 2Here is a list of the land that remains: The Geshur region and all the area where the Philistia people-group live; 3the area where the Canaan people-group live, from the Shihor River in the south at the eastern border of Egypt, to Ekron city in the north; the rulers of the five cities of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron; the area where the Avva people-group live, 4which is south of the area where the Canaan people-group live; 5the area where the Gebal people-group live; and all the Lebanon area east of Baal-Gad city at the bottom of Hermon Mountain, as far as Lebo-Hamath.

6All the people of the Sidon people-group live in the hilly area from Lebanon to Misrephoth-Maim, but I will force them to leave that area before you Israelis arrive there. Be sure to give that area to the Israeli people when you divide the land among them, like I told you to do. 7Divide all that land among the nine Israeli tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh, the tribes that do not have land on the east side of the Jordan River.”

The land east of the Jordan River

8Half of the tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Reuben and Gad had already been told what land they would receive, because Moses, the man who served Yahweh well, had already assigned to them the land on the east side of the Jordan River. 9Their land extended from Aroer town at the Arnon River gorge to the town in the middle of the gorge. It included the whole plain from Medeba town south to Dibon town. 10All the towns ruled by King Sihon were in that area. The land extended to where the Ammon people-group lived. 11The Gilead area was also there, and the regions where the people of the Geshur and Maacah people-groups lived, and all of Hermon Mountain and all the Bashan region south to Salecah. 12All the land ruled by Og, the king who ruled the Bashan region, was in that land. Og was one of the last descendants of Repha; previously he had ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei cities, but the armies of Moses had defeated their armies and had taken their land from them. 13But the Israelis did not force the people of the Geshur and Maacah people-groups to leave their land, so they still live among the Israeli people.

14The tribe of Levi was the only tribe that did not get any land. Instead, just like Yahweh promised, they continued to receive food from the sacrifices that were given to Yahweh, the God whom the Israelis worship, the sacrifices that were burned on the sacred altar.

15Moses had allotted land to each clan in the tribe of Reuben. 16Their land extended from Aroer town near the Arnon River gorge to Medeba town. That included all of the plain that is near Medeba and the town in the middle of the gorge. 17It also included Heshbon city and all the nearby towns on the plain—Dibon, Bamioth-Baal, Beth-Baal-Meon, 18Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-Shahar on the hill overlooking the valley, 20Beth-Peor, the hills in the Pisgah area, and Beth-Jeshimoth. 21That land included all the towns on the plain and all the area that King Sihon had previously ruled. But the army of Moses had defeated him and the rulers of the Midian people-group: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. The armies of all those rulers fought battles along with the army of Sihon, and they lived in that country. 22The Israeli army killed many people during those battles, including Balaam, the prophet from Beor, who tried to use magic to predict/tell what would happen in the future. 23The western boundary of the land that was allotted to the clans of the tribe of Reuben was the Jordan River.

24Moses also allotted some land to each clan in the tribe of Gad. 25Their land included the Jazer area and all the towns of the Gilead area; half of the land where the Ammon people-group lived, as far as Aroer town which is near Rabbah town; 26the area from Heshbon city to Ramath-Mizpah and Betonim towns; the area from Mahanaim town to the Debir region; 27Beth-Haram, Beth-Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon cities in the valley; and the other area that King Sihon had ruled on the east side of the Jordan River. That area extended north to the southern end of Galilee Lake. 28All this land, including the towns and villages, was allotted to the tribe of Gad.

29Moses also had allotted some of the land on the east side of the Jordan River to half of the tribe of Manasseh. 30Their land extended north from Mahanaim city. It included all the Bashan region, all the land that King Og had ruled, and all the towns in the Jair area in Bashan. Altogether that area included 60 towns. 31Their area also included half of the Gilead region, and the cities of Ashtaroth and Edrei where King Og had ruled. All that area was allotted to the clans descended from Manasseh’s son Makir.

32Moses had allotted to those tribes the land that was on the plain of the Moab region, on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 33But Moses did not allot any land to the tribe of Levi because Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship, promised that he himself would always provide for them.

14

The land west of the Jordan River

1Eleazar the Supreme Priest, Joshua, and the leaders of the twelve tribes repeated what land would be allotted to each of the Israeli tribes in Canaan. 2-5Yahweh had told Moses many years previously in what way he wanted the division of the land to be decided. Moses had already declared that two and a half tribes would be allotted land on the east side of the Jordan River. Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Half of the tribe descended from Manasseh was allotted land on the east side of the Jordan, along with the tribes of Reuben and Gad. The people belonging to the nine and a half other tribes on the west side of the Jordan River threw ◄lots/stones that had been marked► to decide which land each tribe would receive. The tribe of Levi was not allotted any land. They received only towns that already existed, towns in which to live, and ◄pastures/fields of grass► for their animals.

Land for Caleb

6One day some men from the tribe of Judah went to Joshua while he and all the Israelis were at Gilgal. Among those men was Jephunneh’s son Caleb. He said to Joshua, “I am sure that you remember what Yahweh said to the prophet Moses about you and me when we were at Kadesh-Barnea. 7I was 40 years old at that time. Moses sent me and you and some other men to explore this land. When we returned, I gave to Moses a true report [IDM] about what we had seen. 8The other men who went with us gave a report that caused the people to be afraid [IDM]. But I fully/completely believed that Yahweh would enable us to take the land from the people who lived there. 9So on that day, Moses solemnly promised me, ‘Some of the land on which you walked will become yours. It will belong to your descendants forever. I am giving it to you because you fully trusted in Yahweh, my God.’

10Now Yahweh has done for me what he promised. Forty-five years have passed since Moses said that to me during the time that we were wandering around in the desert. And just like Yahweh promised, he has kept me alive and well all during that time. Now I am eighty-five years old. 11I am as strong today as I was on the day that Moses sent me to explore this land. I am as ready to fight now as I was then. 12So please give me the hilly area that Yahweh promised to give to me at that time long ago. At that time, you heard me say that the Amalek people-group lived there. You heard me say that their cities were large, and they had walls around them to protect them from attacks by their enemies. But now, Yahweh will help me, and as a result I will force them to leave, just like Yahweh said would happen.”

13So Joshua asked God to bless Caleb, and he gave to Caleb the city of Hebron. 14-15Previously that city was called Kiriath-Arba, because Arba was the greatest man among the Amalek people-group. Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb, because Caleb completely/fully trusted in Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship, and obeyed him.

After that happened, there was ◄peace/no battles► in Canaan land for many years.

15

Land for the tribe of Judah

1The land that was allotted to the tribe of Judah was divided among its clans. That land extended south along the border of the Edom region, as far as the Zin Desert, .

2The southern border of the land that was allotted to the tribe of Judah started at the south end of the Dead Sea and extended west. 3It extended south of Scorpion Pass to Zin Desert, and from there west to a place south of Kadesh-Barnea, past Hezron town, to Addar town, and from there it turned northwest to Karka town. 4From there it continued to Azmon, and from there to the dry riverbed on the border of Egypt, and from there west to the Mediterranean Sea. That was the southern border.

5The eastern border of the land of the tribe of Judah was the Dead Sea, and it extended north to where the Jordan River ends at the Dead Sea.

6The northern border started where the Jordan River ends at the Dead Sea. It extended north to Beth-Hoglah town, and from there it extended north of Beth-Arabah town to the big stone set up by Reuben’s son Bohan. 7From there the border continued west through Achor Valley to Debir city. From there it turned north to Gilgal city. Gilgal is north of the road that goes through Adummim Pass, on the south side of the valley. From Gilgal the border extended west to the springs at En-Shemesh, and from there to En-Rogel. 8From there it extended through Ben-Hinnom Valley, south of the city where the Jebus people-group lived. (That city is now named Jerusalem.) From there the border extended to the top of the hill on the west side of Hinnom Valley, at the northern end of the valley where the Repha giants lived. 9From there the border extended northwest to Nephtoah Spring, and from there to the cities near Ephron Mountain. From there the border extended west toward Baalah, which is now named Kiriath-Jearim. 10Then the border extended further west to Seir Mountain. Then it continued southwest along the north side of Jearim Mountain, which is also named Kesalon, to Beth-Shemesh city. From there it extended northwest past Timnah city, 11to the hill north of Ekron city. From there it extended west to Shikkeron town and past Baalah Mountain to Jabneel town, then northwest to the Mediterranean Sea.

12The western border of the land that was allotted to the tribe of Judah was the Mediterranean Sea. All the clans of Judah lived inside those borders.

13Yahweh commanded Joshua to give part of the land for the tribe of Judah to Caleb. So he gave to Caleb Kiriath-Arba city, which is now named Hebron. (Arba was the ancestor of the Anak people-group.) 14Caleb forced the three clans of the Anak people-group to leave Hebron. Those were the Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai clans. 15Then Caleb left there and went to fight against the people living in Debir city, which was previously named Kiriath-Sepher. 16Caleb said, “If someone attacks the people in Kiriath-Sepher and captures their city, I will give my daughter Acsah to him to be his wife.” 17Othniel, the son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz, captured the city. So Caleb gave his daughter to him.

18When Caleb’s daughter married Othniel, she told him to ask her father to give her a field. Then Acsah went to talk with her father Caleb. As she got down from her donkey, Caleb asked her, “Do you want something?”

19Acsah replied, “Yes, I want you to do something for me. You have given me some land in the southern part of Canaan, but there is no water there. So please give me some land that has springs.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs near Hebron.

20Here is a list of the towns in the land that God had promised to give to the tribe of Judah. Each clan was allotted some of the land.

21The tribe of Judah was allotted all these towns in the southern desert area of Canaan, near the border of the Edom region:

Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 22Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, 25Hazor-Hadattah, Kerioth-Hezron (which is also named Hazor), 26Amam, Shema, Molodah, 27Hazar-Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-Pelet, 28Hazar-Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, 29Baalah, Iim, Ezem, 30Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, 31Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon. There were 29 towns altogether and their surrounding villages.

33The tribe of Judah was allotted these towns in the northern part of the western foothills: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah,

34Zanoah, En-Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, 36Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (which is also named Gederothaim). Altogether there were 14 towns and their surrounding villages.

37The tribe of Judah was also allotted these towns in the southern part of the western foothills: Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-Gad, 38Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, 39Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 40Cabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish, 41Gederoth, Beth-Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah.

There were 16 towns altogether and their surrounding villages.

42The tribe of Judah was also allotted these towns in the central part of the western foothills: Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44Keilah, Aczib, and Mareshah. There were nine towns altogether, with their surrounding villages.

45-47The tribe of Judah was also allotted these towns close to the Mediterranean Sea with their surrounding villages: Ekron and the towns between Ekron and the coast, Ashdod, and Gaza. The area extended south to the dry riverbed on the border of Egypt.

48The tribe of Judah was also allotted these towns in the southwest part of the hilly region: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, 49Dannah, Kiriath-Sannah (which is now named Debir), 50Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51Goshen, Holon, and Giloh. There were eleven towns with their surrounding villages.

52The tribe of Judah was also allotted these towns in the south-central part of the hilly region: Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 53Janim, Beth-Tappuah, Aphekah, 54Humtah, Kiriath-Arba (which is now named Hebron), and Zior. There were nine towns altogether with their surrounding villages.

55The tribe of Judah was also allotted these towns in the southeastern part of the hilly region: Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah. There were ten towns altogether with their surrounding villages.

58The tribe of Judah was also allotted these towns in the central part of the hilly region: Halhul, Beth-Zur, Gedor, 59Maarath, Beth-Anoth, and Eltekon. There were six towns altogether with their surrounding villages.

60The tribe of Judah was also allotted two towns in the northern part of the hilly region, Rabbah and Kiriath-Baal (which is also named Kiriath-Jearim).

61The tribe of Judah was also allotted these towns in the desert near the Dead Sea: Beth-Arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62Nibshan, Salt city, and En-Gedi. There were six towns altogether with their surrounding villages.

63The army of the tribe of Judah was not able to force the people of the Jebus people-group to leave Jerusalem. So the people of that group are still living among the tribe of Judah.

16

Land for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh

1The land that was allotted to the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh that were descended from Joseph started at the Jordan River, east of the springs at Jericho. 2It extended west from Jericho to the hilly area near Bethel, which is also called Luz. It extended as far as Ataroth, at the border of the land where the Arki people-group lived. 3From there it extended west to the border of the land where the Japhleti people-group lived, and then it extended west to the area near Lower Beth-Horon. From there it extended west to Gezer city and from there to the Mediterranean Sea.

4That is the land that the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were allotted.

5The border of the land that was allotted to the clans of the tribe of Ephraim started at Ataroth-Addar city in the east. It extended to Upper Beth-Horon 6and from there to the Mediterranean Sea. 7From Michmethath on the north it extended east to Taanath and from there on to Janoah. From there it extended south to Ataroth city and to Naarah town. From there it extended to Jericho and from there to the Jordan River. 8The northern border extended from Tappuah west to Kanah Ravine, and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. That was the land that was allotted to the tribe of Ephraim. 9Many of those towns were really within the area allotted to the tribe of Manasseh.

10The people of the tribe of Ephraim could not force the Canaan people-group to leave Gezer, so the Canaan people-group still live among the people of the tribe of Ephraim, but the Israelis forced the people of the Canaan people-group to become their slaves.

17

1This is a list of the land that was allotted to the tribe of Manasseh. Manasseh’s oldest son was Makir and his grandson was Gilead. Makir’s descendants were great warriors, so the lands in the Gilead and Bashan regions were allotted to their clan. 2Land was also allotted to the other clans of the tribe of Manasseh: The clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida.

3Hepher’s son Zelophehad had no sons, but he had five daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4They went to Eleazar the Supreme Priest, and to Joshua and to the other Israeli leaders. They said, “We want you to give us some land, because Yahweh told Moses that he should give to us some land, just like you gave to the men.” So Eleazar did what Yahweh had commanded, and he allotted to them some land, just like he allotted to their uncles. 5So the tribe of Manasseh eventually had ten sections of land west of the Jordan River and two sections, Gilead and Bashan, on the east side of the Jordan River. 6So those female descendants of Manasseh also were allotted land on the west side of the river just like the men were allotted. The other parts of the Gilead area were allotted to the male descendants of Manasseh.

7The land allotted to the tribe of Manasseh was between the land where the tribe of Asher lives and Michmethath town, near Shechem city. The border extended south to the Tappuah Spring. 8The land near the Tappuah area belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah, which was at the border of the land that was allotted to the tribe of Manasseh, was allotted to the tribe of Ephraim. 9The border of the land allotted to the tribe of Manasseh extended south to Kanah Gorge. From there it extended west along the north side of the gorge and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. 10The land on the south side of the gorge belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, and the land on the north side belonged to the tribe of Manasseh. The western border of the land allotted to the tribe of Manasseh was the Mediterranean Sea. To the north, the border of their land extended from the land allotted to the tribe of Asher at the northwest to the land allotted to the tribe of Issachar at the northeast.

11But there are cities inside the area allotted to the tribes of Issachar and Asher. Those cities, along with their surrounding villages, were allotted to people from the tribe of Manasseh. These cities are Beth-Shan, Ibleam, Dor (which is also named Naphoth-Dor,) Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo.

12The men of the tribe of Manasseh were not able to force the people who lived in those cities to leave, so the people of the Canaan people-group continued to live in those cities. 13But years later when the Israelis became better warriors, they forced the Canaan people-group to work for them as slaves, although they did not force them to leave the land.

14The people of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh said to Joshua, “You allotted to us only one area of land, but there are a lot of us. Yahweh has blessed us very much with the result that our tribe has grown very large. So why did you give us only a small part of the land [RHQ]?”

15Joshua replied to them, “I agree that you do not have enough land in the hilly area of the tribe of Ephraim. So, since you have a lot of people, I will allot more land to you, in the hilly region. But you will have to cut down the trees in the forest and make a place for yourselves in the land where the Periz and Repha people-groups live.”

16The people of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh replied, “It is true that the land in the hilly area is not big enough for us, but the Canaan people-group who live in the lowlands, in Beth-Shan and the surrounding villages in that area, and in the Jezreel Valley, have iron chariots, so we will not be able to defeat them!”

17Joshua replied to them, “Your tribe is very numerous and very powerful. So I will allot more land for you in the hilly area, 18but you will have to cut down the trees in order to make a place for you to live. It is true that the Canaan people-group are strong and have iron chariots, but you will be able to force them to leave that valley.”

18

The rest of the land was allotted

1-2The Israeli people captured all the land that they were able to, but there were still seven tribes that had not been allotted any land. The Israeli people all gathered at Shiloh, and they set up the Sacred Tent there. 3Joshua said to them, “Why are you waiting a long time to take control of the rest of the land that Yahweh, the God whom your ancestors worshiped, has promised to give to you [RHQ]?

4Choose three men from each of your seven tribes. Then I will send them to explore the parts of the land which you have not occupied yet. When they finish exploring it, they must write a report, in which they will ◄make a map/show the boundaries► of the land that each tribe wants to receive. 5They will divide the remaining land into seven parts. The tribe of Judah will keep its land in the south, and the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh will keep their land in the north. 6But in their report, the men from the seven tribes should describe the seven parts of the remaining land that they wish to receive, and bring the report to me. While Yahweh is watching, I will ◄cast lots/throw marked stones► to decide which land should be allotted to each tribe. 7But the tribe of Levi will not be allotted any land, because their reward is that they will be Yahweh’s priests. The tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already been allotted their land on the east side of the Jordan River, just as Moses, the man who served God well, decided, so they will not get any more land.”

8When the men who were chosen got ready to leave, Joshua told them, “Go and explore the land. Then write a report of what you have seen, and bring it back to me. Then while Yahweh is watching, I will ◄cast lots/throw marked stones► here at Shiloh, to determine what area each tribe will receive.” 9So the men left and walked through the area. Then they described in a scroll each town that was in the seven parts into which they had divided the land. Then they returned to Joshua, who was still at Shiloh. 10After Joshua read their report, while Yahweh was watching, he ◄cast lots/threw marked stones► to choose which land would be allotted to each of the seven Israeli tribes.

The land for the tribe of Benjamin

11The first tribe that was allotted land was the tribe of Benjamin. Each clan in that tribe was allotted some of the land that was between the area that was allotted to the tribe of Judah and the area that was allotted to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

12The northern border started at the Jordan River and extended west along the northern side of Jericho, into the hilly area. From there the border extended west to the desert near Beth-Aven town. 13From there it extended southwest to Luz (which is now named Bethel). From there it extended southwest to Ataroth-Addar town, which is on the hill south of Lower Beth-Horon city.

14At the hill south of Beth-Horon, the border turned and extended south to Kiriath-Baal town, which is also named Kiriath-Jearim. That is a town where people of the tribe of Judah live. That was the western border of the land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin.

15The southern border of their land started near Kiriath-Jearim and extended west to Nephtoah Springs. 16From there it extended south to the bottom of the hill, near Ben-Hinnom Valley, on the north side of Repha Valley. The border extended south along the Hinnom Valley, south of the city where the Jebus people-group lived, to En-Rogel. 17From there the border extended west to En-Shemesh, and continued to Geliloth near Adummim Pass. Then it extended to the great stone of Reuben’s son Bohan. 18From there the border extended to the northern edge of Beth-Arabah town and down into the Jordan River Valley. 19From there it extended east to the northern edge of Beth-Hoglah town and ended at the north end of the Dead Sea, where the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea. That was the southern boundary of the land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin.

20The Jordan River was the eastern boundary of the land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin. Those were the boundaries of the land allotted to them.

21The cities in the land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin were Jericho, Beth-Hoglah, Emek-Keziz, 22Beth-Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24Kephar-Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba. Altogether there were fourteen towns and the surrounding villages.

25The tribe of Benjamin also had the towns of Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, 27Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28Zelah, Haeleph, the city where the Jebus people-group lived (which is now named Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath. Altogether there were 14 towns and the surrounding villages. All that area was allotted to the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.

19

Land for the tribe of Simeon

1The second/next tribe that was allotted land was the tribe of Simeon. Each clan in that tribe was allotted some land that was inside the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Judah.

2Their land included the towns of Beersheba (which is also named Sheba), Moladah, 3Hazar-Shual, Balah, Ezem, 4Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5Ziklag, Beth-Marcaboth. Hazar-Susah, 6Beth-Lebaoth, and Sharuhen. Altogether there were 13 towns and the surrounding villages.

7The land allotted to them also included the four cities of Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan, and their surrounding villages. 8They were also allotted some very small villages in an area that extended south to Baalath-Beer (which is also named Ramah, in the southern desert). That was the land allotted to the clans of the tribe of Simeon.

9The tribe of Judah had been allotted much more land than they needed, so part of their land was given to the tribe of Simeon.

Land for the tribe of Zebulun

10The third/next tribe that was allotted land was the tribe of Zebulun. Each clan of that tribe was allotted some of the land.

The southern border started at Sarid city. 11It extended west to Maralah city and on to Dabbesheth city, and on to the brook just north of Jokneam city. 12The border extended east from Sarid to the area near Kisloth-Tabor city and on to Daberath town and on to Japhia town. 13From there it extended east to Gath-Hepher city and Eth-Kazin town, and north to Rimmon city. From there the border extended west to Neah town. 14From Neah it extended south to Hannathon city and from there to Iphtah-El Valley. 15Their area included the towns of Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem. Altogether there were twelve towns and the surrounding villages.

16That was the land that was allotted to the clans of the tribe of Zebulun.

Land for the tribe of Issachar

17The fourth/next tribe that was allotted land was the tribe of Issachar. Each of the clans of that tribe was allotted some of the land. 18Their land included the cities of Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, 19Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21Remeth, En-Gannim, En-Haddah, and Beth-Pazzez. 22The border of the area that was allotted to the tribe of Issachar was close to Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-Shemesh cities, and ended in the east at the Jordan River. Altogether there were 16 cities and the surrounding villages.

23Those cities and villages were in the land allotted to the clans of the tribe of Issachar.

Land for the tribe of Asher

24The fifth/next tribe that was allotted land was the tribe of Asher. Each of the clans in that tribe was allotted some of the land.

25Their land included the towns of Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, 26Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. The western border started at Carmel Mountain and Shihor-Libnath. 27From there it extended southeast to Beth-Dagon town, and then to the area that was allotted to the tribe of Zebulun and Iphtah-El Valley. From there the border extended east and then north to Beth-Emek town and Neiel and Cabul towns. 28From there it extended west to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah cities, and continued to Sidon, which is a big city. 29From there the border extended south toward Ramah and to the big city of Tyre that had strong walls around it. From there the border extended west to Hosah town and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. Within their area were the towns of Aczib, 30Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob. Altogether there were 22 towns and their surrounding villages.

31Those cities and villages were within the land that was allotted to the clans of the tribe of Asher.

Land for the tribe of Naphtali

32The sixth/next tribe that was allotted land was the tribe of Naphtali. Each of the clans in that tribe was allotted some of the land.

33The border of their land started in the west at the huge oak tree at Zaanannim, near Heleph town. It extended east through Adami-Nekeb city and Jabneel, and then to Lakkum, and ended at the Jordan River. 34The western boundary extended through Aznoth-Tabor as far as Hukkok city. It extended to the borders of the tribe of Zebulun at the south, to the border of the tribe of Asher on the west, and the Jordan River at the east. 35Within their land were several cities with strong walls around them. They were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, 36Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37Kedesh, Edrei, En-Hazor, 38Iron, Migdal-El, Horem, Beth-Anath, and Beth-Shemesh. Altogether there were 19 cities and the surrounding villages.

39Those cities and surrounding villages were in the land that was allotted to the clans of the tribe of Naphtali.

Land for the tribe of Dan

40The seventh/last tribe that was allotted land was the tribe of Dan. Each of the clans in that tribe was allotted some of the land. 41Their land included the towns of Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-Shemesh, 42Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45Jehud, Bene-Berak, Gath-Rimmon, 46Me-Jarkon, Rakkon, and the area near Joppa.

47But the people of the tribe of Dan were unable to take control of the land that had been allotted to them. So they went northeast and fought against the people in Leshem city. They defeated and killed all the people who lived there. Then they began to live in Leshem, and changed the name of the city to Dan, the man from whom their tribe descended.

48All of those towns and surrounding villages were in the land that was allotted to the clans in the tribe of Dan.

Land for Joshua

49After the Israeli leaders divided the land among the tribes, they allotted some land to Joshua. 50They allotted to him Timnath-Serah. Yahweh had said that he could have whatever city he wanted, and that was the city that he chose. It was in the hilly region which was allotted to the tribe of Ephraim. Joshua rebuilt the city and lived there.

51Those were the areas that were allotted to the various tribes of Israel. Eleazar the Supreme Priest and Joshua and the leaders of each tribe divided up the land while they were all at Shiloh, by ◄casting lots/throwing marked stones► to decide which area each tribe would receive. They did that while Yahweh was watching, at the entrance of the Sacred Tent. In that way they completed dividing up the land.

20

Cities of refuge

1Then Yahweh said to Joshua, 2“Tell the Israeli people that they should choose some cities to which people can run in order to be safe/protected, like I told Moses that they should do. 3If someone kills another person accidentally, not intending to kill that person, the one who killed that person may run/escape to one of these cities and be safe/protected from someone trying to get revenge for that person’s death [MTY].

4When the one who killed someone arrives at the gate of one of those cities, he must stop there and tell the leaders of the city what happened. If they believe him, they must allow him to enter the city, and they must give him a place to live among them. 5If some relative of the one who was killed comes to that city to get revenge, the leaders of that city must not allow the relative to take the killer, because what happened was accidental. He did not hate that person and as a result deliberately kill him. 6But the person who killed someone else must stay in that city until the city judges put him on trial. Only if the judges decide that the person who has run/escaped to their city did not deliberately kill the other person will they allow him to stay in that city, and he must stay there until the Supreme Priest dies. Then he may safely go back to his own town, because the death of the Supreme Priest will be considered to atone/pay for the death of the person who was killed.”

7So the Israelis chose these cities to be cities to which people could run to be safe/protected: Kedesh in the Galilee district in the hilly area where the tribe of Naphtali lived; Shechem in the hilly area where the tribe of Ephraim lived; Kiriath-Arba (which is now named Hebron) in the hilly area where the tribe of Judah lived; 8Bezer, on the east side of the Jordan River near Jericho, in the flat land in the desert where the tribe of Reuben lived; Ramoth in the Gilead region in the land where the tribe of Gad lived; and Golan in the Bashan region where the tribe of Manasseh lived. 9Any Israeli or any foreigner who lived among us, anyone who killed someone ◄accidentally/without planning to do it►, was allowed to run to one of those cities, and be safe/protected from some relative of the person who died coming there and killing him to get revenge. He could stay in that city until there was a trial there to decide whether he was telling the truth or not when he said that he did not plan to kill that person.

21

Towns for the Levites

1-2While Eleazar the Supreme Priest and Joshua and the leaders of all the Israeli tribes were at Shiloh, the leaders of the clans of the tribe of Levi went to them and said, “Yahweh commanded Moses that you should give us towns where we can have pasture/fields/grassland for our animals, but you have not done these things yet.” 3So the Israeli leaders obeyed this command from Yahweh. They agreed to give towns and pasturelands to the tribe of Levi.

4First they allotted some cities to the Kohath clans, who belonged to the tribe of Levi. To those who were descendants of the first Supreme Priest Aaron, they allotted 13 towns in the areas that had been allotted to the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5To the other members of the Kohath clan they allotted ten cities in the areas that had been allotted to the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the part of the tribe of Manasseh that lives on the west side of the Jordan River.

6The people from the Gershon clans were allotted 13 cities in the areas that had been allotted to the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the part of the tribe of Manasseh that lives on the east side of the Jordan River.

7The people from the Merari clans were allotted twelve cities in the areas that had been allotted to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

8So the Israeli leaders gave cities and pastureland to the tribe of Levi, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses that they should do.

9These are the names of the cities and surrounding pasturelands that were allotted to them, that were in the areas where the tribes of Judah and Simeon lived.

10First, they allotted cities to the members of the Kohath clans.

11They allotted to them Kiriath-Arba (which is now named Hebron), in the hilly area of Judah. Arba received its name because Arba was the ancestor of the giants of the Anak people-group. 12But the fields and villages surrounding Arba had already been allotted to Caleb.

13They allotted to them Hebron, which was one of the cities to which people could run/escape to be safe/protected. They also allotted to the Kohath clan the cities of Libnah, 14Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15Holon, Debir, 16Ain, Juttah, and Beth-Shemesh. Altogether they were allotted those nine cities which were located in the areas that had been allotted to the tribes of Judah and Simeon.

17The Kohath clan was also allotted these four cities: Gibeon, Geba, 18Anathoth, and Almon. Those cities were in the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Benjamin.

19Altogether those 13 towns and surrounding pastureland were allotted to the priests who were descended from Aaron.

20The other members the Kohath clan were allotted four cities and the surrounding pastureland in the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Ephraim.

21Those cities were Shechem (which was one of the cities to which people could run/escape to be safe/protected), Gezer, 22Kibzaim, and Beth-Horon.

23They were also allotted four cities and surrounding pastureland in the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Dan. Those cities were Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 24Aijalon, and Gath-Rimmon.

25They were also allotted two towns and surrounding pastureland that had been allotted to the part of the tribe of Manasseh that lived on the west side of the Jordan River. Those cities were Taanach and Gath-Rimmon.

26Those were the ten cities and surrounding pastureland that were allotted to the other members of the Kohath clan.

27They also allotted towns and the surrounding pastureland to the Gershon clans. Those clans were also descended from Levi.

They were allotted two cities from the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Manasseh that is on the east side of the Jordan River. Those cities were Golan in the Bashan region, which was one of the cities to which people could run/escape to be safe/protected, and Be-Eshtarah.

28From the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Issachar they were allotted four cities. Those cities were Kishion, Daberath, 29Jarmuth, and En-Gannim.

30From the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Asher they were allotted four cities. Those cities were Mishal, Abdon, 31Helkath, and Rehob.

32From the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Naphtali they were allotted three cities. Those cities were Kedesh in the Galilee region (it was one of the cities to which people could run/escape to be safe/protected,) Hammoth-Dor, and Kartan.

33So altogether the Gershon clans were allotted 13 cities and the surrounding pasturelands.

34The other descendants of Levi, the ones who belonged to the Merari clans, were also allotted towns and their surrounding pasturelands.

From the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Zebulun they were allotted four cities. They were Jokneam, Kartah, 35Dimnah, and Nahalal.

36From the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Reuben they were allotted four cities. They were Bezer, Jahaz, 37Kedemoth, and Mephaath.

38From the area that had been allotted to the tribe of Gad they were allotted four cities. They were Ramoth, which was one of the cities in the Gilead region to which people could run/escape to be safe/protected, Mahanaim, 39Heshbon, and Jazer.

40Altogether twelve cities were allotted to the Merari clans.

41So altogether 48 cities were allotted to the tribe of Levi, 42and each city had surrounding pastureland.

43In that way Yahweh allotted to the Israeli people all the land that he had promised to give to their/our ancestors. The Israeli people took control of most of those areas and started to live there. 44Just like he had promised our ancestors, Yahweh allowed them/us to have peace with the enemies that surrounded them/us. Yahweh enabled the Israelis/us to defeat their/our enemies. 45Yahweh did all the things that he had promised to the Israeli people/us. Everything that he said would happen did happen.

22

The tribes east of the Jordan went home

1Joshua then summoned the leaders of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh. 2He said to them, “You have done everything that Moses, who served Yahweh well, told you to do. You have also done what I told you to do. 3For a long time you have helped the other tribes to defeat their enemies. You have obeyed everything that Yahweh your God commanded you to do. 4He promised to give peace to us Israelis, and he has done what he promised. So now you may go back to your homes, to the land that Moses gave to you, on the east side of the Jordan River. 5Moses also commanded you to love Yahweh your God and to obey his commands, and to continue to worship him and serve him by everything that you think and everything that you do.”

6Then Joshua blessed them and said goodbye to them, and they prepared to leave and return to their homes on the east side of the Jordan River. 7Moses had given the Bashan region to half the tribe of Manasseh, and land on the west side of the Jordan River to the other half of the tribe. Before they left, he asked God to bless them. 8He said, “Go back to your homes and to all the things that you have taken from your enemies—the many animals and silver and gold and things made of bronze and iron, and many beautiful clothes. But you should share some of those things with other people of your tribe.”

9So the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh left the other Israelis at Shiloh in Canaan land, to return to their homes in the Gilead region. That was the area that belonged to them. It had been allotted to them by Moses as Yahweh had commanded.

10The people from those three tribes arrived near the western side of the Jordan River, at a town called Geliloth. There they built a large altar. Then they crossed the Jordan River to the Gilead region. 11But the other Israelis who were still at Shiloh heard about the altar that those men had built. 12They became very angry with the men of those tribes, so they decided to fight them.

13The Israelis sent Phinehas, who was the son of Eleazar the Supreme Priest, to talk with the people of those three tribes. 14They also sent one leader from each of the ten tribes that were still at Shiloh. Each of them was a leader of his clan.

15Those leaders went to the Gilead region to talk to the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. They said, 16“All the other Israelis are asking, ‘Why have you rebelled against the God whom we Israelis worship by building an altar for yourselves? 17Have you forgotten what happened at Peor, when some Israelis sinned by worshiping the god that the Moab people-group worship? Many Israelis became very sick and died because of that sin, and we are still suffering because of their sin. 18Are you now turning away from obeying Yahweh and refusing to do what he wants? If you do not stop rebelling against Yahweh today, he will be angry with all of us Israelis tomorrow.’

19If you think that Yahweh considers that your land here is not suitable for worshiping him, come back to our land where Yahweh’s Sacred Tent is. We can share our land with you. But do not rebel against Yahweh and against us by building another altar for Yahweh our God. 20Do you remember what happened when Zerah’s son Achan refused to obey Yahweh’s command to destroy everything in Jericho? That one man disobeyed God’s command, but many [HYP] other Israelis were punished. Achan died because of his sin, but other Israelis also died.”

21The leaders of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh replied, 22“Yahweh, the Almighty God, knows why we did that, and we want you to know, too. If we have done something wrong against Yahweh, you may kill us. 23If we have disobeyed one of Yahweh’s laws, we request that he should punish us. We did not build that new altar to completely burn animals as sacrifices to Yahweh, or to offer on it sacrifices of grain or sacrifices to maintain fellowship with God.

24This is the reason that we built that altar: We were afraid/worried that some day your descendants would say that our descendants are not true Israelis. We were afraid that then they would say, ‘You are not allowed to worship Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship. 25Yahweh caused the Jordan River to be a boundary between us and you people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad. So you are not allowed to worship Yahweh. We were worried that your descendants would force our descendants to stop worshiping Yahweh.

26That is the reason that we decided to build that new altar. But it is not an altar for completely burning sacrifices of animals and burning other sacrifices. 27We built that new altar to prove/show to you and to us and to all of our descendants that we worship Yahweh by completely burning animal sacrifices and offerings of grain and offerings to maintain fellowship with Yahweh only at the place Yahweh chooses. We do not want your descendants to say to our descendants, ‘You do not belong to Yahweh.’

28In the future, if your descendants say that, our descendants can say, ‘Look at the altar that our ancestors made! It is exactly like Yahweh’s altar that our ancestors built, but we do not burn sacrifices on it. It only shows that we are Israelis!’ 29We certainly do not want to rebel against Yahweh or stop doing what he desires, by building an altar for completely burning some sacrifices and burning grain offerings and making other sacrifices. We know that there is only one true altar for Yahweh our God, and it is in front of the Sacred Tent at Shiloh.”

30When Phinehas the priest and the other ten leaders heard what they said, they were pleased. 31So Phinehas said to them, “Now we know that Yahweh is with all of us Israelis, and that you were not rebelling against him when you built that altar. And we know that Yahweh will not punish us Israelis because of your having done that.”

32Then Phinehas and the Israeli leaders left the people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad in the Gilead region, and returned to Canaan. There they told the other Israelis what had happened. 33They were pleased, and they thanked God. And they did not talk anymore about fighting against the people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and destroying everything in their land.

34The people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad named their new altar ‘A reminder to us all that Yahweh is God’.

23

Joshua’s final speech

1Yahweh enabled the Israelis to live peacefully for many years with the people-groups that were around them.

2Joshua was now very old. One day he summoned the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the leaders of the clans, the judges, and other officials. He said to them, “I am now very old. 3You people have seen what Yahweh our God has done to help you defeat the people-groups that lived in this land. Yahweh our God has fought for you. 4But do not forget that he has given to you all this land, from the Jordan River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, all this land that I have allotted to you. 5Yahweh our God will compel the people who are still living there to leave. He will push them out as you advance. Then the land will be yours, as Yahweh has promised you.

6Be sure that you obey all the laws that are in the book that Moses wrote. Do not disobey any part of it [IDM]. 7Do not associate with the people who live among us who are not Israelis and who worship other gods. Do not mention the names of their gods, and do not use the names of their gods when you promise to do something. Do not serve their gods or worship them. 8You must continue to do what Yahweh our God wants us to do, as you have been doing.

9Yahweh has forced many very powerful people-groups to leave as you advanced. No people-group has been able to defeat you. 10Each of you will be able to cause 1,000 of them to run away, because Yahweh your God will fight for you, just like he promised to do. 11So be sure that you continue to love Yahweh our God.

12If you turn away from doing what Yahweh desires and you associate with the people who are not Israelis, and if you marry them, 13then you can be sure that Yahweh our God will not help you to expel those people-groups from your land. They will be like traps [DOU, MET] that will catch you. They will be like whips that strike your backs, and like thorns that will scratch your eyes. As a result, none of you will be left in this good land that Yahweh our God is giving to you.

14It is almost time for me to die, like everyone does [EUP]. You know in your hearts [DOU] that Yahweh has done for you [LIT] everything that he promised to do. 15He has given to you all the good things that he promised. In the same way, the other things that he promised, things that are not good, will also happen. He said that if you do what is evil, he will get rid of you and send you away from this good land that he has given to you. 16That will happen if you do not obey the commands that Yahweh our God told you to obey. If you serve other gods and worship them, Yahweh will become very angry with you. Very quickly he will expel you from this good land that he has given to you, and none of you will be left here.”

24

Joshua encouraged the Israeli people to worship only Yahweh

1Many years later, Joshua summoned representatives of all the tribes of Israel. He gathered together the elders, the leaders, the judges, and the other officials at Shechem city. He told them to listen to what God wanted to tell them. 2Joshua said to all of them, “This is what Yahweh, the God we Israeli people worship, is saying: ‘Long ago, your ancestors, including Abraham’s father Terah and Abraham’s younger brother Nahor, lived on the east side of the Euphrates River. 3But I took your ancestor Abraham from that land east of the Euphrates River, and I led him as he lived in various places in this land of Canaan, and I enabled him to have many descendants. First, I enabled him to have a son, Isaac. 4When Isaac grew up, I enabled him to have twin sons, Jacob and Esau. I enabled Esau to live in the hilly area in Seir region, but many years later Jacob and his sons and their families went down to live in Egypt.

5Many years later, I sent Moses and his older brother Aaron to help your peoeple, and I caused the people of Egypt to suffer very much because of what I did there. Then I enabled your ancestors to leave Egypt. 6When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, they came to the Red Sea. The Egyptian army pursued them, some riding in chariots and others on horses, and they also arrived at the Red Sea. 7Then your ancestors pleaded with me to help them. So he caused ◄darkness/a very dark cloud► to come between your ancestors and the Egyptian army, so that the Egyptian army could not see your ancestors. I separated the water in the Red Sea so that your ancestors could cross it, but when the Egyptian army tried to cross in the same way to pursue them, I caused the water to come back and cover them, and the Egyptian soldiers all drowned, as your ancestors watched and were amazed [IDM]. But after that, you lived in the desert for many years.

8Then I brought your ancestors to the area where the groups who were descendants of Amor lived, east of the Jordan River. They fought against you, but I enabled you to defeat them [IDM]. I enabled you to destroy them so that you could live in their land [IDM]. 9Then, Zippor’s son Balak, the King of Moab, ◄decided that his army would fight against/opposed► the Israelis. He summoned Beor’s son Balaam and asked him to curse you. 10But I would not do what Balaam asked, so he ◄blessed/said that I would do great things for► you four times, and I did not enable the army of Moab to defeat you [IDM].

11Then you all crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho prepared to fight against you, and the armies of the descendants of Amor, Periz, Canaan, Heth, Girgash, Hiv, and Jebus all prepared to do the same thing, but I enabled you to defeat [IDM] them all. 12I am the one who caused them to panic as you advanced and enabled you to defeat them, as I had enabled you to do earlier to the two kings of the groups who were descendants of Amor. You did not defeat them by using your own bows and arrows and swords; it was I who defeated them. 13So I gave you a land that you had not tilled/planted, and I gave you cities that you did not build. Now you live in those cities and you eat the grapes from the grapevines that you did not plant, and you eat olives from trees that you did not plant.’ ”

14Then Joshua said to the people, “Because of all that Yahweh has done for you, revere him, and serve/worship him very faithfully. Throw away the idols that your ancestors worshiped on the east/other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve only Yahweh. 15But if you do not want to serve/worship Yahweh, you should decide today what gods you will serve/worship. You should decide whether you will serve/worship the gods that your ancestors who lived on the other/east side of the Euphrates River served, or whether you will serve/worship the gods that the descendants of Amor, who previously lived in the land where you are now living, serve/worship. But as for me and my family [MTY], we will serve/worship Yahweh!”

16The Israeli people answered, “We will never quit serving/worshiping Yahweh! We would never think of [IDM] serving/worshiping other gods! 17It was our God, Yahweh, who brought our parents and grandparents up out of Egypt. He rescued them from that land where they were slaves. As he rescued them, they saw him perform great miracles. He protected them all the time when they were traveling. He protected them from all the people-groups through whose territory they traveled. 18As our forefathers advanced, Yahweh expelled the descendants of Amor and the other people-groups who lived in this land. Yahweh is our God, so we are saying that we also will serve/worship him.”

19Joshua replied to the people, “I think that you are not able to serve/worship Yahweh, because he is a holy God. He will not forgive your sinning and rebelling against him. He demands that you serve/worship only him [IDM]. 20He has been good to you in the past*, but if you turn away from him and serve/worship foreign/other gods, he will turn against you and he will cause you to experience disasters. He will punish [IDM] you severely!” 21But the people replied to Joshua, “No, we will not turn away from worshiping/serving Yahweh We will serve/worship Yahweh!”

22Then Joshua said, “You yourselves are saying that you have decided to serve/worship Yahweh.” They replied, “Yes, we are saying that.” 23Then Joshua said, “Since you have decided that, you must throw away all the other gods/idols that you have among you. You must also promise that you will wholeheartedly give yourselves to Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis serve/worship.” 24The people replied, “We will serve/worship Yahweh, our God, and obey him.”

25That day, Joshua established an agreement between the people and Yahweh. He wrote for them all the laws that they were required to obey. 26He wrote all those laws on a scroll. He called it ‘The laws of God’. Then he told some men to set up a large stone there at Shechem, under the large oak tree near the place where they worshiped Yahweh. 27He said to all the people, “Look! It is as though this stone has heard everything that Yahweh said to you and that you promised Yahweh. It will serve as a witness against you if you rebel against your God!”

28Then Joshua sent the people away, and all of them returned to their own areas/homes.

Joshua died

29Some time after that, Nun’s son Joshua, the faithful servant of Yahweh, died. He was 110 years old when he died. 30The Israeli people buried his body on his own property in Timnath-Serah town town. It is north of Gaash Mountain in the hilly area of the tribe who were descendants of Ephraim. 31The Israeli people served/worshiped Yahweh as long as Joshua was alive. After Joshua died, they continued serving/worshiping Yahweh while the elders who had experienced everything that Yahweh had done for the Israeli people were still alive. 32Joseph’s bones, which the Israeli people had brought with them from Egypt, were also buried at Shechem. The people buried them in the piece of land that Jacob had bought long ago for 100 pieces of silver from Hamor, the father of Shechem. That piece of land was in the area that was given to the people who were descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s sons. 33Eleazar, the Supreme Priest, the son of Aaron, also died. They buried his body at Gibeah, in the area that had been given to Eleazar’s son Phinehas, in the hilly area that belonged to the people who were descendants of Ephraim.