2 And said to 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: 3 Ye have not left your brethren these many days to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. Before CHRIST, 1444. 4 And now the LORD your God hath given rest to your brethren, as he prom- & Num. 32. ised them therefore now return ye, and 33. go to your tents, and to the land of your possession, a which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of Jordan. 5 But take diligent heed to perform the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave to him, and to serve him with all your heart, and with all your soul. 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away; and they went to their tents. 7 c. 13. 8. b Deut. 10. 12. Now to the one half of the tribe 1 Heb. of Manasseh Moses had given possession house of the in Bashan: but to the other half of it fathers. gave Joshua among their brethren on this side of Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also to their tents, then he blessed them, 8 And he spoke to them, saying, Return with much riches to your tents, and with very many cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren. 9 T And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel. 15 And they came to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, 16 Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have built you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD? 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, 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. 19 Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession is unclean, then pass ye over to the land of the possession of the LORD, in which 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 besides the altar of the LORD our God. 20 d Did not Achan the son Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity. 21 T Then the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the halftribe of Manasseh answered, and said to the heads of the thousands of Israel, 22 The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he from the children of Israel out of Shi-Num. 25. 4. shall know; if it is in rebellion, or if in loh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, of which they were possessed, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,) 23 That we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer on it burnt-offering, or meat-offer 10 And when they came to the bord c. 7. 1. 5.ing, or if to offer peace-offerings on it, ders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to the sight. 11 T And the children of Israel heard it said, Behold, the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the halftribe of Manasseh, have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel. 12 And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled at Shiloh, to go up to war against them. 13 And the children of Israel sent to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 And with him ten princes, of each 1 chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was a head' 2 Heb. To-morrow. let the LORD himself require it; 24 And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, 2 In time to come your children may speak to our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel? 25 For the LORD hath made Jordan a boundary 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. 26 Therefore we said, Let us now preGen. 31. 48. pare to build us an altar, not for burntoffering, nor for sacrifice: c. 24. 27. Ver. 34. 27 But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and 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 time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD. 28 Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they shall so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, 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. 29 Far be it from us 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, besides the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle. Before CHRIST, 1444. 3 Heb. it 4 Heb. then. 30 ¶ And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation, and heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the 5 That is, children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh spoke, 3 it pleased them. A witness. 1 Heb. sess their land, as the LORD your God hath promised to you. 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 from it to the right hand or to the left; 7 That 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 bow yourselves to them: 8 3 But cleave to the LORD your God, as ye have done to this day. 94 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 to this day. 10 d One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you. 11 Take good heed therefore to yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God. 12 Else if ye do in any wise go back, 31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass a Ex. 14. 14. and cleave to the remnant of these naagainst the LORD: 4 now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD. 2 Heb. at 32 And Phinehas the son of Elea- the sun-set. zar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again. 33 And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. 34 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar 5 Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God. CHAP. XXIII. Deut. 5. 32. & 28. 14. • Ps. 16. 4. 3 or, For if 1 Joshua's exhortation before his death, 3 by tions, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and associate with them, and they with you: 13 Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. 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 God spoke concerning you: all are come to pass to you, and not one thing hath failed of it. 15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the LORD your God promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things, until he hath destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. 16 When ye have transgressed the rael from all their enemies on all sides, that Joshua became old and 1 advanced Lev. 26. 8. covenant of the LORD your God, which in age. Deut. 32. 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 to them, I am old and ad-5 Heb. vanced in age: 3 And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done to all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you. your souls. e Ex. 23. 33. 4 Behold, I have divided to you by lot Deut. 7. 16. these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even c. 21. 45. to the great sea 2 westward. 5 And the LORD your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from your sight; and ye shall pos 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. 4 And I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau and I gave to d Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. 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. Before CHRIST, 1427. 17 For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us, and our fathers, out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the a Gen. 11. 31. way in which we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: Gen. 21. 2. Gen. 25. 26. 18 And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, even the Amorites who dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God. 19 And Joshua said to the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is a holy d Gen. 36. 8. God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions, nor your sins. 20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. Gen. 46. 6. Ex. 3. 10. Ex. 12. 37. Ex. 14. 9. 6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red sea. 7 And when they cried to 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. 8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other Num. 22.5. side of Jordan, i 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. 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: 10 But I would not hearken to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand. Num. 21. 33. Deut. 23. 4. Ex. 23. 28. Deut. 7. 20. m c. 23. 15. 11 And ye went over Jordan, and came to Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I deliver- Judg. 2. 9. ed them into your hand. 12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow. 13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labor, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and olive-yards which ye planted not do ye eat. " c. 19. 50. their days Heb. pro longed after Joshua. 14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, Ex. 13. 19. and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. 15 And if it seemeth evil to you to serve the LORD, choose you this day • Gen. 50. 25. 21 And the people said to Joshua, No; but we will serve the LORD. 22 And Joshua said to the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. 23 Now therefore put away (said he) the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel. 24 And the people said to Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 ¶ And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spoke to us, it shall be therefore a witness to you, lest ye deny your God. 28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man to his inheritance. 29 ¶ And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun the servant of the LORD died, being a hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in " Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash. 31 And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that 1 outlived Joshua, and who had known all the works of the LORD that he had done for Israel. 32 And the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel brought out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in a par whom ye will serve, whether the gods Gen. 33.19. cel of ground which Jacob bought of which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred 2 pieces of silver; and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron 16 And the people answered, and said, 2 or, lambs. died; and they buried him in a hill that Be it far from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim. T JUDGES. 4 And Judah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Periz- Josh. 15. zites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men. 5 And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. d Num. 21. 3. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, seventy kings, having 1 their thumbs and their great toes cut off, 2 gathered their food under my table; as I have done, so God 4 or, he pos hath requited me. And they brought sessed the him to Jerusalem, and there he died. 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.) 9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites that dwelt on the mountain, and in the south, and in the 3 valley. mountain. • Num. 14. Josh. 14. 13. ƒ Gen. 28. 10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the 19. name of Hebron before was & Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. 14 And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said to her, What wilt thou? 15 And she said to 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. 16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses's 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. 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. 18 Also Judah took Gaza with its border, and Askelon with its border, and Ekron with its border. 19 And the LORD was with Judah; and 4 he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. 20. And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak. 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 to this day. 22 T And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el: and the LORD was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph sent to explore Beth-el. Now the name of the city before was ƒ Luz. 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will show thee mercy. 25 And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword: but they let go the man and all his family. 26 And the man went into the land of 11 And from thence he went against Josh. 2. 14. the Hittites, and built a city, and called the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher: 12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter for a wife. 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. A Josh. 17. the name of it Luz: which is its name to this day. 27 T Neither did Manasseh expel the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its towns, nor Tanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. 28 And it came to pass when Israel was strong, that they subjected the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly expel them. Before CHRIST, 1425. 10. 29 ¶ Neither did Ephraim expel the Josh. 16. Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. 30 Neither did Zebulun expel the 5 Heb. was inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries. heavy. 6 or, Maaleh-akrab. bim. 31 Neither did Asher expel the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, or, mesnor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Re-sengerhob: 32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not expel them. 33 Neither did Naphtali expel the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributaries to them. 34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan to the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley: 35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Ajalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph 5 prevailed, so that they became tributaries. 36 And the border of the Amorites was from 6 the ascent to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward. CHAP. II. 1 An angel rebuketh the people at Bochim. 10 The wickedness of the new generation after Joshua. 14 God's anger and pity towards them. 20 The Canaanites are left to prove Israel. ND an angel of the LORD came up A from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to depart from Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 3 Deut. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being a hundred and ten years old. 9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in ƒ Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. 10 And also all that generation were gathered to their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. 11 ¶ And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: 12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other 7.2.gods, of the gods of the people that were around them, and bowed themselves to them, and provoked the LORD to anger. Deut. 12. 3. Josh. 23. 13. Ex. 23. 33. & 34. 12. 2 That is, weepers. Josh. 24. 31. Heb. prolonged days after Joshua. Josh.24.30. Ps. 44. 12. Is. 50. 1. 2 Anda ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall Lev. 26. throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? 4 Deut. 28. Heb.saved. 3 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a d snare to you. 4 And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted c. 3. 12. up their voice, and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place 2 Bochim: and they sacrificed there to the LORD. 5 or, were 6 And when Joshua had let the peo- corrupt. ple go, the children of Israel went every man to his inheritance to possess the land. 7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days 6 Heb. they of the elders that 3 outlived Joshua, who let nothing had seen all the great works of the LORD, fall of their. that he did for Israel. 13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth. 14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies around, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. 15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and ▲ as the LORD had sworn to them: and they were greatly distressed. 16 Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, who 4 delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. 17 And yet they would not hearken to their judges, but they went astray after other gods, and bowed themselves to them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. 18 And when the LORD raised up judges for them, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: (for the LORD repented because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and burdened them.) 19 And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and 5 corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. 20 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened to my voice; 21 I also will not henceforth drive out from before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died: 22 That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk in it, as their fathers kept it, or not. |