The Bible Part 48

21:23 And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs, 21:24 Aijalon with her suburbs, Gathrimmon with her suburbs; four cities.

21:25 And out of the half tribe of Mana.s.seh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs; two cities.

21:26 All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.

21:27 And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Mana.s.seh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities.

21:28 And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs, 21:29 Jarmuth with her suburbs, Engannim with her suburbs; four cities.

21:30 And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs, 21:31 Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.

21:32 And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.

21:33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

21:34 And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs, 21:35 Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.

21:36 And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs, 21:37 Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.

21:38 And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs, 21:39 Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.

21:40 So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.

21:41 All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.

21:42 These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.

21:43 And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.

21:44 And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.

21:45 There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pa.s.s.

22:1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Mana.s.seh, 22:2 And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you: 22:3 Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your G.o.d.

22:4 And now the LORD your G.o.d hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side Jordan.

22:5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your G.o.d, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

22:6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.

22:7 Now to the one half of the tribe of Mana.s.seh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them, 22:8 And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with bra.s.s, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.

22:9 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Mana.s.seh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of s.h.i.+loh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

22:10 And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Mana.s.seh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.

22:11 And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Mana.s.seh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the pa.s.sage of the children of Israel.

22:12 And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at s.h.i.+loh, to go up to war against them.

22:13 And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Mana.s.seh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 22:14 And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel.

22:15 And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Mana.s.seh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spake with them, saying, 22:16 Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespa.s.s is this that ye have committed against the G.o.d of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD? 22:17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD, 22:18 But that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the LORD, that to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.

22:19 Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pa.s.s ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD's tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the LORD our G.o.d.

22:20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespa.s.s in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.

22:21 Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Mana.s.seh answered, and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel, 22:22 The LORD G.o.d of G.o.ds, the LORD G.o.d of G.o.ds, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,) 22:23 That we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it; 22:24 And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD G.o.d of Israel? 22:25 For the LORD hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD.

22:26 Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice: 22:27 But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD.

22:28 Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.

22:29 G.o.d forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our G.o.d that is before his tabernacle.

22:30 And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Mana.s.seh spake, it pleased them.

22:31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Mana.s.seh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespa.s.s against the LORD: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.

22:32 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.

22:33 And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed G.o.d, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.

22:34 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is G.o.d.

23:1 And it came to pa.s.s a long time after that the LORD had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age.

23:2 And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age: 23:3 And ye have seen all that the LORD your G.o.d hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your G.o.d is he that hath fought for you.

23:4 Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward.

23:5 And the LORD your G.o.d, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the LORD your G.o.d hath promised unto you.

23:6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; 23:7 That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their G.o.ds, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: 23:8 But cleave unto the LORD your G.o.d, as ye have done unto this day.

23:9 For the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day.

23:10 One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your G.o.d, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.

23:11 Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your G.o.d.

23:12 Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you: 23:13 Know for a certainty that the LORD your G.o.d will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your G.o.d hath given you.

23:14 And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your G.o.d spake concerning you; all are come to pa.s.s unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.

23:15 Therefore it shall come to pa.s.s, that as all good things are come upon you, which the LORD your G.o.d promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your G.o.d hath given you.

23:16 When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your G.o.d, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other G.o.ds, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.

24:1 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before G.o.d.

24:2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD G.o.d of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other G.o.ds.

24:3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.

24:4 And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.

24:5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.

24:6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and hors.e.m.e.n unto the Red sea.

24:7 And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.

24:8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.

24:9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you: 24:10 But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.

24:11 And you went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hitt.i.tes, and the Girgas.h.i.+tes, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.

24:12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.

24:13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.

24:14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the G.o.ds which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the G.o.ds which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the G.o.ds of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

24:16 And the people answered and said, G.o.d forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other G.o.ds; 24:17 For the LORD our G.o.d, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we pa.s.sed: 24:18 And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our G.o.d.

24:19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy G.o.d; he is a jealous G.o.d; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

24:20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange G.o.ds, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

24:21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.

24:22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.

24:23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange G.o.ds which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD G.o.d of Israel.

24:24 And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our G.o.d will we serve, and his voice will we obey.

24:25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

24:26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of G.o.d, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.

24:27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your G.o.d.

24:28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.

24:29 And it came to pa.s.s after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

24:30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.

24:31 And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.

24:32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

24:33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.

The Book of Judges 1:1 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pa.s.s, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them? 1:2 And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

1:3 And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.

1:4 And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.

1:5 And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

1:6 But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

1:7 And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so G.o.d hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

1:8 Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

1:9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.

1:10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

1:11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher: 1:12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

1:13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

1:14 And it came to pa.s.s, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her a.s.s; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou? 1:15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.

1:16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

1:17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.

1:18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.

1:19 And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

1:20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.

1:21 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.

1:22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them.