of the LOKD: What treachery is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, to rebel this day against the LORD? 17Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves unto this day, although there came a plague upon the congregation of the LORD, 18that 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. 19Howbeit, if the land of your possession be unclean', then pass ^ ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD'S tab- ernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us; but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in build- ing you an altar besides the altar of the LORD our God. 20Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass concerning the devoted thing, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.'
^Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke unto the heads of the thousands of Israel: 22'God, God, the LORD, God, God, the LORD, He knpweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in re- bellion, or if in treachery against the LORD — save Thou us not this day — ^that we have built us an altar to turn away from following the LORD; or if to offer thereon burnt-offering or meal-offering, or if to offer sacrifices of peace-offerings thereon, let the liORD Himself require it; Mand if we lave not rather out of anxiety about a matter done this, saying: In time to come your children might JOSHUA speak unto our children, saying: What have ye to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? 25for the LOBD hath made the Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no portion in the LORD; so might your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD. 26Therefore we said: Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; 27but it shall be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we may 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 tune to come: Ye have no portion in the LORD. 28There- fore said we: It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say: Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, aot for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you. 29Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn away this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt- offering, for meal-offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the LORD our God that is before His tabernacle/ s°And when Phmehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation, even the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them well. 31And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh: 'This day we know that the LORD is in the midst of us, because ye have not committed this treachery against the LORD; now have ye delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD/ 32And 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 back word. ^And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and spoke no more of going up against them to war, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and the children of Gad dwelt, nd the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar —: 'for it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.'
O O And it came to pass after many days, when the LORD had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, and Joshua was old and well stricken in years; Hhat Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and for their heads, and for their judges and for their officers, and said unto them: 'I am old and well stricken in years. 3And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God, He it is that hath fought for you. be- hold, I have allotted unto you for an inheritance, according to your tribes, these nations that remain, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun. 6And the LORD your God, He shall thrust them out from before you, and drive them from out of your sight, and ye shall possess their land, as the LORD your God spoke unto you. therefore be ye very courageous to keep and to do all that is written JOSHUA JOSHUA in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; 7that ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor worship them; 8but cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day; therefore the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and mighty; but as for you, no man hath against you unto this day.
man of you hath chased a thousand; for the LORD your God, He it is that fought for you, as He spoke unto you. "Take good heed therefore stood l°0ne that ye love the if ye do in unto yourselves, LORD your God.
any wise go back, and cleave"unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you; 13know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap unto you, and a scourge in your sides, and pricks in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. 14And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth; consider ye therefore in all your heart and in all your soul, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, not one thing hath failed thereof. "And it shall come to pass, that as all the good things are come upon you of which the LORD your God spoke unto you, so shall the LORD bring upon you all the evil things, until He have destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. 16When ye transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which He com- manded you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quick- ly from off the good land which He hath given unto you.'
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 God. 2And Joshua said unto all the people: 'Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor; and they served other gods. 3And I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout ^ all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. 4A.nd I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau; and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; and Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. 5And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did in the midst thereof; and afterward I brought you out. I brought your fathers out of and ye came unto the sea; an< Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen unto the Red Sea. 7And when they cried out unto the LORD, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt; and ye dwelt in the wilderness many days. 8And [ brought you into the land of ;he Amorites, that dwelt beyond the Jordan; and they fought with you; JOSHUA and I gave them Into your hand, and ye possessed their land; and I de- stroyed them from before you. 9Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel; and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. "But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he even blessed you; so I delivered you out of his hand. uAnd ye went over the Jordan, and came unto Jericho; and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand. 12And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. 13And I gave you a land whereon thou hadst not laboured, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell therein; of vineyards and olive- yards which ye planted not do ye eat. 14Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. 15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.'
16And the people answered and said: ' Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; 17for the LORD our God, He it is that brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and that did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the peoples through the midst of whom we passed; 18and the LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites that dwelt in the land; therefore we also "will serve the LORD; for He is our God.'
"And Joshua said unto the people: 'Ye cannot serve the LORD; for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression nor your sins. 20If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then He will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after that He hath done you good/ 21And the people said unto Joshua: 'Nay; but we wjll serve the LORD/ 22And 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/ — ^Now therefore put away the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD, the God of Israel/ ^And the people said unto Joshua: 'The LORD our God will we serve, and unto His voice will we hearken/ 25So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27And Joshua said unto all the people: 'Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke unto us; it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest ye deny your God/ 28So Joshua sent the people away, every man unto his inheritance.
29And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being a JOSHUA hundred and ten years old. 30And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. 3lAnd Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of the LORD, that He had wrought for Israel, the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces ^of money; and they became the in- heritance of the children of Joseph. 33And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in the Hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.
JUDGES JUDGES 1 AND it came to pass after the x death of Joshua, that the children of Israel asked of the LORD, saying: 'Who shall go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?' 2And the LORD said: 'Judah shall go up; behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.' 3And Judah said unto Simeon his brother: 'Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites j and I like- wise will go with thee into thy lot.' So Simeon went with him. 4And Judah w6nt up; and the LORD de- livered the Canaanites and the Periz- zites into their hand; and they smote of them m Bezek ten thousand men. 6And they found Adoni-bezek in Be- zek; and they fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught turn, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. 7And Adoni-bezek said: "Threescore and ten kings, hav- ing their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered fopd under my table; as I have done, so God hath requited me.' And they brought' him to Jeru- salem, and he died there.
8And tl^e children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. 9And after- ward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites that dwelt in the hill-country, and in the South, and in the Lowland. 10And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron — now the name of Hebron beforetime was Kiriath-arba — and they smote She- shai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. uAnd from thence he went against the in- habitants of Debir— now the name of Debir beforetime was Kiriath- sepher. ^And Caleb said: 'He that smiteth Eriath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daugh- ter to wife/ 13And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daugh- ter to wife. 14And it came to pass, when she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field; and she alighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her: 'What wpuldest thou?' 15And she said unto him: ' Give me a blessing; for that thou hast set me in the Southland, give me therefore springs of water.' And Caleb gave her the Upper Springs and the Nether Springs.
16And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm-trees with the chil- dren of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt with the people, 17And Judah went with Sim- eon his brother, and they smote the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah. 18Also" Judah took Gaza with the bor- der thereof, and Ashkelon with the border thereof, and Ekron with the border thereof. 19And the LORD was JUDGES with Judah; and he drove out the inhabitants of the hill-country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. 20And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses had spoken; and he drove out thence the three sons of Anak.^ ^And the children of Benja- min did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwelt with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem, unto this day.
^And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el; and the LORD was with them. ^And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Beth-el — now the name of the city before- time was Luz. ^And the watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him: 'Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with thee.; 28And he showed them the entrance into the city, and they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family. 26And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz, which is the name thereof unto this day.
27And Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its towns, nor of Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the in- habitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites were resolved to dwell in that land. 28And it came to pass, when Israel was waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to task- work, but did in no wise drive them out.
29And Ephraim drove not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
30Zebulun drove not out the in- habitants of Kitron, nor the inhabit- ants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became trib- utary.
31Asher drove not out the inhabit- ants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob; ^but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. - ^Naphtali drove not out the in- habitants of Beth-sheme.sh, nor the in- habitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; nevertheless the inhabit- ants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth- anath became tributary unto them.
34And the Amorites forced the chil- dren of Dan into the hill-country; for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley. 85But the Amor- ites were resolved to dwell in Har- heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became trib- utary. 36And the border of the Amor- ites was from the ascent of Akrab- bim, from Sela, and upward. O And the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said: '...I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I swore unto your fathers; and I said: I will never break My covenant with you; 2and ye shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall break down their altars; but ye have not hearkened unto My voice; what is this ye have done? 3Wherefore I also said: I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be unto you as snares, and their gods shall be a trap unto you.' 4And it JUDGES came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spoke these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. 6Ajad they called the name of that place aBochim; and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.
6Now when Joshua had sent the people away, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. 7And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that out- lived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the LORD, that He had wrought for Israel. 8And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being a hundred and ten years old. 9And they buried him in the bor- der of his inheritance in Timnath- heres, in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. 10And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers; and there arose another generation after them, that knew not the LORD, nor yet the work which He had wrought for Israel.
uAnd the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baalim. "And they forsook the LORD, the God of "their f athers^who brought them out of the land of gods, of the », and followed other of the peoples that were 'round libout them, and wor- shipped them; and they provoked the LORD. 13And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and the Ash- taroth. 14And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and He gave them over into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. "Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD, was against them for evil, as the LORD had spoken, and as the LORD had sworn unto them; and they were sore distressed. 16And the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. 17And yet they heark- ened not unto their judges, for they went astray after other gods, and worshipped them; they turned aside quickly out of the way wherein their fathers walked, obeying the com- mandments of the LORD; they did not so. 18And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it repented the LORD because of their groaning by reason of them that oppressed them and crushed them. 19But it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to worship them; they left nothing undone of their practices, nor of their stubborn way. 20And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel; and He said: ' Because this nation have trans- gressed My covenant which I com- manded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto My voice; 21I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations that Joshua left when he died; 22that by them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not/ ^So the LORD left those nations, without driving them put hastily; neither delivered He them into the hand of Joshua. Q Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many as had not known all the wars of Canaan; 2only that the generations of the children of Israel * That is, Weepers, JUDGES might know, to teach, them war, a the least such as beforetime knew nothing thereof; 3namely, the five lords of the Philistines, and all th Canaanites, and the Zidonians, anc the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon unto the entrance of Hamath. 4And they were there, to prove Israel by them, to know whether they woulc hearken unto the commandments o: the LORD, which He commanded their fathers^ by the hand of Moses. 5And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites; 6and they took then* daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to then- sons, and served their gods.
7And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baalim and the Ashe- roth. therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He gave them over into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram- naharaim; and the children of Is- rael served Cushan-rishathaim eight years* 9And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a saviour to the children of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. 10And the spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel; and he went out to war, and the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Cushan-rishathaim. "And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
12 And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD strength- ened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done that which was evil in thesightpf the LORD. 13And he gathered unto him the chil- dren of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and smote Israel, and they pos- sessed the city of palm-trees. 14And the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. "But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a saviour, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a man left-handed; and the children of Israel sent a present by him unto Eglon the king of Moab. 16And Ehud made him a sword which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he girded it under his raiment upon his right thigh. "And he offered the present unto Eglon king of Moab — now Eglon was a very fat man. 18And when he had made an end of offering the present, he sent away the people that bore the present. 19But he him- self turned back from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said: 'I have a secret errand unto thee, O king.' And he said: 'Keep silence/ And all that stood by him went out from him. 20And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting by himself alone in his cool upper chamber. And Ehud said: 'I have a message from Grod unto thee.' And he arose out of ais seat. 21And Ehud put forth his .eft hand, and took the sword from us right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, for he drew not the sword, out of his belly; and it came out behind. 23Then Ehud went forth nto the porch, and shut the doors of the upper chamber upon him, and ocked them. ^Now when he was *one out, his servants came; and they aw, and, behold, the doors of the upper chamber were locked; and they JUDGES said: 'Surely he is covering his feet in the cabinet of the cool chamber/ 2bAnd they tarried till they were ashamed; and, behold, he opened not the doors of the upper chamber; there- fore they took the key, and opened them; and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth. 26And Ehud escaped while they lingered, having passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirah. 27And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a horn in the hill-country of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the hill- country, and he before them. 28And he said unto them: ' Follow af ter me; for the LORD hath delivered your en- emies the Moabites into your hand.' And they went down after him, and took the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and suffered not a man to pass over. 29And they smote of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, every lusty man, and every man of valour; and there escaped not a man. 30So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.