Allotment for Ephraim and Manasseh
1The allotment for Joseph began at the Jordan, east of the springs of Jericho, and went up from there through the deserta into the hill country of Bethel.b 2It went on from Bethel (that is, Luzc),1 crossed over to the territory of the Arkitesd in Ataroth,e 3descended westward to the territory of the Japhletites as far as the region of Lower Beth Horonf and on to Gezer,g ending at the Mediterranean Sea.
4So Manasseh and Ephraim, the descendants of Joseph, received their inheritance.h
5This was the territory of Ephraim, according to its clans:
The boundary of their inheritance went from Ataroth Addari in the east to Upper Beth Horonj 6and continued to the Mediterranean Sea. From Mikmethathk on the north it curved eastward to Taanath Shiloh, passing by it to Janoahl on the east. 7Then it went down from Janoahm to Atarothn and Naarah, touched Jericho and came out at the Jordan. 8From Tappuaho the border went west to the Kanah Ravinep and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Ephraimites, according to its clans. 9It also included all the towns and their villages that were set aside for the Ephraimites within the inheritance of the Manassites.q
10They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor.r
1This was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseha as Joseph’s firstborn,b that is, for Makir,c Manasseh’s firstborn. Makir was the ancestor of the Gileadites, who had received Gileadd and Bashane because the Makirites were great soldiers. 2So this allotment was for the rest of the people of Manassehf—the clans of Abiezer,g Helek, Asriel,h Shechem, Hepheri and Shemida.j These are the other male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.
3Now Zelophehad son of Hepher,k the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters,l whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. 4They went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our relatives.” So Joshua gave them an inheritance along with the brothers of their father, according to the LORD’s command.m 5Manasseh’s share consisted of ten tracts of land besides Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan,n 6because the daughters of the tribe of Manasseh received an inheritance among the sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh.
7The territory of Manasseh extended from Ashero to Mikmethathp east of Shechem.q The boundary ran southward from there to include the people living at En Tappuah. 8(Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuahr itself, on the boundary of Manasseh, belonged to the Ephraimites.) 9Then the boundary continued south to the Kanah Ravine.s There were towns belonging to Ephraim lying among the towns of Manasseh, but the boundary of Manasseh was the northern side of the ravine and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. 10On the south the land belonged to Ephraim, on the north to Manasseh. The territory of Manasseh reached the Mediterranean Sea and bordered Ashert on the north and Issacharu on the east.v
11Within Issacharw and Asher, Manasseh also had Beth Shan,x Ibleamy and the people of Dor,z Endor,a Taanachb and Megiddo,c together with their surrounding settlements (the third in the list is Naphoth1).d
12Yet the Manassites were not ablee to occupy these towns, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region. 13However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.f
14The people of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people, and the LORD has blessed us abundantly.”g
15“If you are so numerous,” Joshua answered, “and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the foresth and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzitesi and Rephaites.j”
16The people of Joseph replied, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots fitted with iron,k both those in Beth Shanl and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”m
17But Joshua said to the tribes of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—“You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotmentn 18but the forested hill countryo as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have chariots fitted with ironp and though they are strong, you can drive them out.”
Division of the Rest of the Land
1The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloha and set up the tent of meetingb there. The country was brought under their control, 2but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance. Map: Dividing the Land
3So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you? 4Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it,c according to the inheritance of each.d Then they will return to me. 5You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the southe and the tribes of Joseph in their territory on the north.f 6After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lotsg for you in the presence of the LORD our God. 7The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the LORD is their inheritance.h And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the LORD gave it to them.i”
8As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, “Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it.j Then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here at Shilohk in the presence of the LORD.” 9So the men left and went through the land. They wrote its description on a scroll, town by town, in seven parts, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. 10Joshua then cast lotsl for them in Shiloh in the presencem of the LORD, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions.n
Allotment for Benjamin
11The first lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin according to its clans. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:
12On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan, passed the northern slope of Jericho and headed west into the hill country, coming out at the wildernesso of Beth Aven.p 13From there it crossed to the south slope of Luzq (that is, Bethelr) and went down to Ataroth Addars on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.
14From the hill facing Beth Horont on the south the boundary turned south along the western side and came out at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim),u a town of the people of Judah. This was the western side.
15The southern side began at the outskirts of Kiriath Jearim on the west, and the boundary came out at the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.v 16The boundary went down to the foot of the hill facing the Valley of Ben Hinnom, north of the Valley of Rephaim.w It continued down the Hinnom Valleyx along the southern slope of the Jebusite city and so to En Rogel.y 17It then curved north, went to En Shemesh, continued to Geliloth,z which faces the Pass of Adummim,a and ran down to the Stone of Bohanb son of Reuben. 18It continued to the northern slope of Beth Arabah1c and on down into the Arabah.d 19It then went to the northern slope of Beth Hoglahe and came out at the northern bay of the Dead Sea,f at the mouth of the Jordan in the south. This was the southern boundary.
20The Jordan formed the boundary on the eastern side.
These were the boundaries that marked out the inheritance of the clans of Benjamin on all sides.g
21The tribe of Benjamin, according to its clans, had the following towns:
Jericho, Beth Hoglah,h Emek Keziz, 22Beth Arabah,i Zemaraim,j Bethel,k 23Avvim,l Parah, Ophrah,m 24Kephar Ammoni, Ophni and Geban—twelve towns and their villages.
25Gibeon,o Ramah,p Beeroth,q 26Mizpah,r Kephirah,s Mozah, 27Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28Zelah,t Haeleph, the Jebusite cityu (that is, Jerusalemv), Gibeahw and Kiriath—fourteen towns and their villages.x
This was the inheritance of Benjamin for its clans.y
Allotment for Simeon
19:2-10pp — 1Ch 4:28–33
1The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon according to its clans. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah.a 2It included:
Beershebab (or Sheba),1 Moladah,c 3Hazar Shual,d Balah, Ezem,e 4Eltolad,f Bethul, Hormah,g 5Ziklag,h Beth Markaboth, Hazar Susah, 6Beth Lebaoth and Sharuhen—thirteen towns and their villages;
7Ain, Rimmon,i Ether and Ashanj—four towns and their villages— 8and all the villages around these towns as far as Baalath Beer (Ramah in the Negev).k
This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Simeonites, according to its clans. 9The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the share of Judah,l because Judah’s portion was more than they needed. So the Simeonites received their inheritance within the territory of Judah.m
Allotment for Zebulun
10The third lot came up for Zebulunn according to its clans:
The boundary of their inheritance went as far as Sarid.o 11Going west it ran to Maralah, touched Dabbesheth, and extended to the ravine near Jokneam.p 12It turned east from Saridq toward the sunrise to the territory of Kisloth Tabor and went on to Daberathr and up to Japhia. 13Then it continued eastward to Gath Hephers and Eth Kazin; it came out at Rimmont and turned toward Neah. 14There the boundary went around on the north to Hannathon and ended at the Valley of Iphtah El.u 15Included were Kattath, Nahalal,v Shimron,w Idalah and Bethlehem.x There were twelve towns and their villages.
16These towns and their villages were the inheritance of Zebulun,y according to its clans.z
Allotment for Issachar
17The fourth lot came out for Issachara according to its clans. 18Their territory included:
Jezreel,b Kesulloth, Shunem,c 19Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20Rabbith, Kishion,d Ebez, 21Remeth, En Gannim,e En Haddah and Beth Pazzez. 22The boundary touched Tabor,f Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh,g and ended at the Jordan. There were sixteen towns and their villages.
23These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar,h according to its clans.i
Allotment for Asher
24The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asherj according to its clans. 25Their territory included:
Helkath, Hali, Beten, Akshaph,k 26Allammelek, Amad and Mishal.l On the west the boundary touched Carmelm and Shihor Libnath. 27It then turned east toward Beth Dagon,n touched Zebuluno and the Valley of Iphtah El,p and went north to Beth Emek and Neiel, passing Kabulq on the left. 28It went to Abdon,2r Rehob,s Hammont and Kanah,u as far as Greater Sidon.v 29The boundary then turned back toward Ramahw and went to the fortified city of Tyre,x turned toward Hosah and came out at the Mediterranean Seay in the region of Akzib,z 30Ummah, Apheka and Rehob.b There were twenty-two towns and their villages.
31These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Asher,c according to its clans.
Allotment for Naphtali
32The sixth lot came out for Naphtali according to its clans:
33Their boundary went from Heleph and the large tree in Zaanannim,d passing Adami Nekeb and Jabneele to Lakkum and ending at the Jordan. 34The boundary ran west through Aznoth Tabor and came out at Hukkok.f It touched Zebulung on the south, Asher on the west and the Jordan3 on the east. 35The fortified towns were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath,h Rakkath, Kinnereth,i 36Adamah, Ramah,j Hazor,k 37Kedesh,l Edrei,m En Hazor, 38Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anathn and Beth Shemesh.o There were nineteen towns and their villages.
39These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali, according to its clans.p
Allotment for Dan
40The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan according to its clans. 41The territory of their inheritance included:
Zorah, Eshtaol,q Ir Shemesh, 42Shaalabbin, Aijalon,r Ithlah, 43Elon, Timnah,s Ekron,t 44Eltekeh, Gibbethon,u Baalath,v 45Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon,w 46Me Jarkon and Rakkon, with the area facing Joppa.x
47(When the territory of the Danites was lost to them,y they went up and attacked Leshemz, took it, put it to the sword and occupied it. They settled in Leshem and nameda it Dan after their ancestor.)b
48These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Dan,c according to its clans.
Allotment for Joshua
49When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, 50as the LORD had commanded. They gave him the town he asked for—Timnath Serah4d in the hill country of Ephraim. And he built up the town and settled there.
51These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel assigned by lot at Shiloh in the presence of the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And so they finished dividinge the land.f
Cities of Refuge
20:1-9Ref — Nu 35:9–34; Dt 4:41–43; 19:1–14
1Then the LORD said to Joshua: 2“Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, 3so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionallya may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.b 4When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gatec and state their case before the eldersd of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them. 5If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbor unintentionally and without malice aforethought. 6They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assemblye and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled.”
7So they set apart Kedeshf in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechemg in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arbah (that is, Hebroni) in the hill country of Judah.j 8East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) they designated Bezerk in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gileadl in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashanm in the tribe of Manasseh. 9Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentallyn could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.o
Towns for the Levites
21:4-39pp — 1Ch 6:54–80
1Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israela 2at Shilohb in Canaan and said to them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that you give us townsc to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock.”d 3So, as the LORD had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:
4The first lot came out for the Kohathites,e according to their clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin.f 5The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.g
6The descendants of Gershonh were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar,i Asher,j Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7The descendants of Merari,k according to their clans, received twelvel towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.m
8So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
9From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they allotted the following towns by name 10(these towns were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them):
11They gave them Kiriath Arban (that is, Hebrono), with its surrounding pastureland, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) 12But the fields and villages around the city they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.p
13So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (a city of refugeq for one accused of murder), Libnah,r 14Jattir,s Eshtemoa,t 15Holon,u Debir,v 16Ain,w Juttahx and Beth Shemesh,y together with their pasturelands—nine towns from these two tribes.
17And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon,z Geba,a 18Anathothb and Almon, together with their pasturelands—four towns.
19The total number of townsc for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.d
20The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim:
21In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shecheme (a city of refuge for one accused of murder) and Gezer,f 22Kibzaim and Beth Horon,g together with their pasturelands—four towns.h
23Also from the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon,i 24Aijalonj and Gath Rimmon,k together with their pasturelands—four towns.
25From half the tribe of Manasseh they received Taanachl and Gath Rimmon, together with their pasturelands—two towns.
26All these ten towns and their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.m
27The Levite clans of the Gershonites were given:
from the half-tribe of Manasseh,
Golan in Bashann (a city of refuge for one accused of murdero) and Be Eshterah, together with their pasturelands—two towns;
28from the tribe of Issachar,p
30from the tribe of Asher,u
32from the tribe of Naphtali,
Kedeshy in Galilee (a city of refuge for one accused of murderz), Hammoth Dor and Kartan, together with their pasturelands—three towns.
33The total number of towns of the Gershonitea clans came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands.
34The Merarite clans (the rest of the Levites) were given:
from the tribe of Zebulun,b
Jokneam,c Kartah, 35Dimnah and Nahalal,d together with their pasturelands—four towns;
36from the tribe of Reuben,
38from the tribe of Gad,
Ramothh in Gileadi (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), Mahanaim,j 39Heshbon and Jazer,k together with their pasturelands—four towns in all.
40The total number of towns allotted to the Merarite clans, who were the rest of the Levites, came to twelve.l
41The towns of the Levites in the territory held by the Israelites were forty-eight in all, together with their pasturelands.m 42Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it; this was true for all these towns.
43So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors,n and they took possessiono of it and settled there.p 44The LORD gave them restq on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemiesr withstood them; the LORD gave all their enemiess into their hands.t 45Not one of all the LORD’s good promisesu to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
Eastern Tribes Return Home
1Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh 2and said to them, “You have done all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded,a and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. 3For a long time now—to this very day—you have not deserted your fellow Israelites but have carried out the mission the LORD your God gave you. 4Now that the LORD your God has given them restb as he promised, return to your homesc in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan.d 5But be very careful to keep the commandmente and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORDf your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands,g to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.h”
6Then Joshua blessedi them and sent them away, and they went to their homes. 7(To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan,j and to the other half of the tribe Joshua gave land on the west sidek of the Jordan along with their fellow Israelites.) When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them,l 8saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth—with large herds of livestock,m with silver, gold, bronze and iron,n and a great quantity of clothing—and divideo the plunderp from your enemies with your fellow Israelites.”
9So the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shilohq in Canaan to return to Gilead,r their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the LORD through Moses.
10When they came to Geliloths near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altart there by the Jordan. 11And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, 12the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shilohu to go to war against them.
13So the Israelites sent Phinehasv son of Eleazar,w the priest, to the land of Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 14With him they sent ten of the chief men, one from each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans.x
15When they went to Gilead—to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh—they said to them: 16“The whole assembly of the LORD says: ‘How could you break faithy with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the LORD and build yourselves an altar in rebellionz against him now? 17Was not the sin of Peora enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the LORD! 18And are you now turning away from the LORD?
“ ‘If you rebel against the LORD today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole communityb of Israel. 19If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the LORD’s land, where the LORD’s tabernaclec stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the LORD or against us by building an altard for yourselves, other than the altar of the LORD our God. 20When Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful in regard to the devoted things,1e did not wrathf come on the whole communityg of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.’ ”h
21Then Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the clans of Israel: 22“The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God,i the LORD!j He knows!k And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the LORD, do not spare us this day. 23If we have built our own altar to turn away from the LORD and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings,l or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the LORD himself call us to account.m
24“No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, ‘What do you have to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? 25The LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you—you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the LORD.’ So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the LORD.
26“That is why we said, ‘Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.’ 27On the contrary, it is to be a witnessn between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings.o Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no share in the LORD.’
28“And we said, ‘If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the LORD’s altar, which our ancestors built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witnessp between us and you.’
29“Far be it from us to rebelq against the LORD and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the LORD our God that stands before his tabernacle.r”
30When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of the Israelites—heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. 31And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, “Today we know that the LORD is with us,s because you have not been unfaithful to the LORD in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the LORD’s hand.”
32Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders returned to Canaan from their meeting with the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and reported to the Israelites.t 33They were glad to hear the report and praised God.u And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived.
34And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witnessv Between Us—that the LORD is God.
Joshua’s Farewell to the Leaders
1After a long time had passed and the LORD had given Israel resta from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man,b 2summoned all Israel—their elders,c leaders, judges and officialsd—and said to them: “I am very old.e 3You yourselves have seen everything the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the LORD your God who fought for you.f 4Remember how I have allottedg as an inheritanceh for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Seai in the west. 5The LORD your God himself will push them outj for your sake. He will drive them outk before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you.l
6“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Lawm of Moses, without turning asiden to the right or to the left.o 7Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swearp by them. You must not serve them or bow downq to them. 8But you are to hold fast to the LORDr your God, as you have until now.
9“The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful nations;s to this day no one has been able to withstand you.t 10One of you routs a thousand,u because the LORD your God fights for you,v just as he promised. 11So be very carefulw to love the LORDx your God.
12“But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with themy and associate with them,z 13then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive outa these nations before you. Instead, they will become snaresb and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes,c until you perish from this good land,d which the LORD your God has given you.
14“Now I am about to go the way of all the earth.e You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promisef has been fulfilled; not one has failed.g 15But just as all the good thingsh the LORD your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil thingsi he has threatened, until the LORD your God has destroyed youj from this good land he has given you.k 16If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.l”
The Covenant Renewed at Shechem
1Then Joshua assembleda all the tribes of Israel at Shechem.b He summonedc the elders,d leaders, judges and officials of Israel,e and they presented themselves before God.
2Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor,f lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods.g 3But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaanh and gave him many descendants.i I gave him Isaac,j 4and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.k I assigned the hill country of Seirl to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.m
5“ ‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron,n and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out.o 6When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea,p and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen1q as far as the Red Sea.2r 7But they crieds to the LORD for help, and he put darknesst between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them.u You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians.v Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.w
8“ ‘I brought you to the land of the Amoritesx who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land.y 9When Balak son of Zippor,z the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beora to put a curse on you.b 10But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed youc again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.
11“ ‘Then you crossed the Jordand and came to Jericho.e The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites,f Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites,g but I gave them into your hands.h 12I sent the horneti ahead of you, which drove them outj before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow.k 13So I gave you a landl on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’m
14“Now fear the LORDn and serve him with all faithfulness.o Throw away the godsp your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt,q and serve the LORD. 15But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites,r in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,s we will serve the LORD.”t
16Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsakeu the LORD to serve other gods! 17It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery,v and performed those great signsw before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18And the LORD drove outx before us all the nations,y including the Amorites, who lived in the land.z We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.a”
19Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God;b he is a jealous God.c He will not forgived your rebellione and your sins. 20If you forsake the LORDf and serve foreign gods, he will turng and bring disasterh on you and make an end of you,i after he has been good to you.”
21But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.”
22Then Joshua said, “You are witnessesj against yourselves that you have chosenk to serve the LORD.”
“Yes, we are witnesses,l” they replied.
23“Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign godsm that are among you and yield your heartsn to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
24And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.”o
25On that day Joshua made a covenantp for the people, and there at Shechemq he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws.r 26And Joshua recordeds these things in the Book of the Law of God.t Then he took a large stoneu and set it up there under the oakv near the holy place of the LORD.
27“See!” he said to all the people. “This stonew will be a witnessx against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untruey to your God.”z
28Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.a
Buried in the Promised Land
24:29-31pp — Jdg 2:6–9
29After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, diedb at the age of a hundred and ten.c 30And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah3d in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.e
31Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the eldersf who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel.
32And Joseph’s bones,g which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt,h were buried at Shechem in the tract of landi that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver4 from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants.
33And Eleazar son of Aaronj died and was buried at Gibeah,k which had been allotted to his son Phinehasl in the hill countrym of Ephraim.