Joshua 22

Tribes beyond Jordan Return

1 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh,

2 and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lordcommanded you, and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you.

3 You have not forsaken your brothers these many days to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lordyour God.

4 And now the Lordyour God has given rest to your brothers, as He spoke to them; therefore turn now and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lordgave you beyond the Jordan.

5 Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lordcommanded you, to love the Lordyour God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and 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 Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had givena possessionin Bashan, but to the other half Joshua gavea possessionamong their brothers westward beyond the Jordan. So when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them,

8 and said to them, “Return to your tents with great riches and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and with very many clothes; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.”

9 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returnedhomeand departed from the sons of Israel at Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession which they had possessed, according to the command of the Lordthrough Moses.

The Offensive Altar

10 When they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a large altar in appearance.

11 And the sons of Israel hearditsaid, “Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the sidebelonging tothe sons of Israel.”

12 When the sons of Israel heardof it,the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered themselves at Shiloh to go up against them in war.

13 Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben and to the sons 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 chiefs, one chief for each father’s household from each of the tribes of Israel; and each one of themwasthe head of his father’s household among the thousands of Israel.

15 They came to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them saying,

16 “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the Lordthis day, by building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the Lordthis day?

17 Is not the iniquity of Peor enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although a plague came on the congregation of the Lord,

18 that you must turn away this day from following the Lord? If you rebel against the Lordtoday, He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow.

19 If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then cross into the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord’stabernacle stands, and take possession among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord, or rebel against us by building an altar for yourselves, besides the altar of the Lordour God.

20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah act unfaithfully in the things under the ban, and wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.'”

21 Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the heads of the families of Israel.

22 “The Mighty One, God, the Lord, the Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows, and may Israel itself know. Ifit wasin rebellion, or if in an unfaithful act against the Lorddo not save us this day!

23 If we have built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord, or if to offer a burnt offering or grain offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, may the LordHimself require it.

24 But truly we have done this out of concern, for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your sons may say to our sons, “What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel?

25 For the Lordhas made the Jordan a border between us and you,yousons of Reuben and sons of Gad; you have no portion in the Lord.” So your sons may make our sons stop fearing the Lord.’

26 “Therefore we said, ‘Let us build an altar, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice;

27 rather it shall be a witness between us and you and between our generations after us, that we are to perform the service of the Lordbefore Him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices and with our peace offerings, so that your sons will not say to our sons in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”‘

28 Therefore we said, ‘It shall also come about if they saythisto us or to our generations in time to come, then we shall say, “See the copy of the altar of the Lordwhich our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather it is a witness between us and you.”‘

29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lordand turn away from following the Lordthis day, by building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the Lordour God which is before Histabernacle.”

30 So when Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the congregation, even the heads of the families of Israel whowerewith him, heard the words which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them.

31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lordis in our midst, because you have not committed this unfaithful act against the Lord; now you have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand of the Lord.”

32 Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and brought back word to them.

33 The word pleased the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel blessed God; and they did not speak of going up against them in war to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living.

34 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altarWitness;”For,”they said,”it is a witness between us that the Lordis God.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/JOS/22-895fb8962a36fa5b2d9cf66d23becd6e.mp3?version_id=100—

Joshua 23

Joshua’s Farewell Address

1 Now it came about after many days, when the Lordhad given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years,

2 that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years.

3 And you have seen all that the Lordyour God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lordyour God is He who has been fighting for you.

4 See, I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun.

5 The Lordyour God, He will thrust them out from before you and drive them from before you; and you will possess their land, just as the Lordyour God promised you.

6 Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,

7 so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or makeanyoneswearby them,or serve them, or bow down to them.

8 But you are to cling to the Lordyour God, as you have done to this day.

9 For the Lordhas driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.

10 One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lordyour God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you.

11 So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lordyour God.

12 For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you,

13 know with certainty that the Lordyour God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lordyour God has given you.

14 “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lordyour God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.

15 It shall come about that just as all the good words which the Lordyour God spoke to you have come upon you, so the Lordwill bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lordyour God has given you.

16 When you transgress the covenant of the Lordyour God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lordwill burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.”

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/JOS/23-388542792748746c696a69f58852166b.mp3?version_id=100—

Joshua 24

Joshua Reviews Israel’s History

1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God.

2 Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond theRiver,namely,Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods.

3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac.

4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.

5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out.

6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.

7 But when they cried out to the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

8 Then I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land when I destroyed them before you.

9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.

10 But I was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I delivered you from his hand.

11 You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you,andthe Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus I gave them into your hand.

12 Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you,butnot by your sword or your bow.

13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’

“We Will Serve the Lord”

14 “Now, therefore, fear the Lordand serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.

15 If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lordto serve other gods;

17 for the Lordour God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.

18 The Lorddrove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”

19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins.

20 If you forsake the Lordand serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.”

21 The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.”

22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the Lord, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”

23 “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lordour God and we will obey His voice.”

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

26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lordwhich He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.”

28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.

Joshua’s Death and Burial

29 It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old.

30 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.

31 Israel served the Lordall the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lordwhich He had done for Israel.

32 Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons.

33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gibeah of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/JOS/24-935bca45e2ff22bcd95ae69c353c71dc.mp3?version_id=100—

Deuteronomy 1

Israel’s History after the Exodus

1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab.

2 It is eleven days’journeyfrom Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.

3 In the fortieth year, on the firstdayof the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that the Lordhad commanded himto giveto them,

4 after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei.

5 Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law, saying,

6 “The Lordour God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

7 Turn and set your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in theNegev and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

8 See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lordswore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them.’

9 “I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘I am not able to bearthe burdenof you alone.

10 The Lordyour God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day like the stars of heaven in number.

11 May the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are and bless you, just as He has promised you!

12 How can I alone bear the load and burden of you and your strife?

13 Choose wise and discerning and experienced men from your tribes, and I will appoint them as your heads.’

14 You answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have said to do is good.’

15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and appointed them heads over you, leaders of thousands and of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers for your tribes.

16 “Then I charged your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hearthe casesbetween your fellow countrymen, and judge righteously between a man and his fellow countryman, or the alien who is with him.

17 You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’

18 I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

19 “Then we set out from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as the Lordour God had commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.

20 I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites which the Lordour God is about to give us.

21 See, the Lordyour God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’

22 “Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search out the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we should go up and the cities which we shall enter.’

23 The thing pleased me and I took twelve of your men, one man for each tribe.

24 They turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the valley of Eshcol and spied it out.

25 Then they tooksomeof the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought us back a report and said, ‘It is a good land which the Lordour God is about to give us.’

26 “Yet you were not willing to go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lordyour God;

27 and you grumbled in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lordhates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us.

28 Where can we go up? Our brethren have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified to heaven. And besides, we saw the sons of the Anakim there.”‘

29 Then I said to you, ‘Do not be shocked, nor fear them.

30 The Lordyour God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,

31 and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lordyour God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.’

32 But for all this, you did not trust the Lordyour God,

33 who goes before you onyourway, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go.

34 “Then the Lordheard the sound of your words, and He was angry and took an oath, saying,

35 ‘Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers,

36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and to his sons I will give the land on which he has set foot, because he has followed the Lordfully.’

37 The Lordwas angry with me also on your account, saying, ‘Not even you shall enter there.

38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter there; encourage him, for he will cause Israel to inherit it.

39 Moreover, your little ones who you said would become a prey, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter there, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it.

40 But as for you, turn around and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.’

41 “Then you said to me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord; we will indeed go up and fight, just as the Lordour God commanded us.’ And every man of you girded on his weapons of war, and regarded it as easy to go up into the hill country.

42 And the Lordsaid to me, ‘Say to them, “Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; otherwise you will be defeated before your enemies.”‘

43 So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. Instead you rebelled against the command of the Lord, and acted presumptuously and went up into the hill country.

44 The Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do, and crushed you from Seir to Hormah.

45 Then you returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lorddid not listen to your voice nor give ear to you.

46 So you remained in Kadesh many days, the days that you spentthere.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/DEU/1-d490d27f209d3bdbc95780ae6d580310.mp3?version_id=100—

Deuteronomy 2

Wanderings in the Wilderness

1 “Then we turned and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as the Lordspoke to me, and circled Mount Seir for many days.

2 And the Lordspoke to me, saying,

3 ‘You have circled this mountain long enough.Nowturn north,

4 and command the people, saying, “You will pass through the territory of your brothers the sons of Esau who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful;

5 do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, evenas little asa footstep because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.

6 You shall buy food from them with money so that you may eat, and you shall also purchase water from them with money so that you may drink.

7 For the Lordyour God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lordyour God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.”‘

8 “So we passed beyond our brothers the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the Arabah road, away from Elath and from Ezion-geber. And we turned and passed through by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

9 Then the Lordsaid to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.’

10 (The Emim lived there formerly, a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim.

11 Like the Anakim, they are also regarded as Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim.

12 The Horites formerly lived in Seir, but the sons of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the Lordgave to them.)

13 ‘Now arise and cross over the brook Zered yourselves.’ So we crossed over the brook Zered.

14 Now the time that it took for us to come from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war perished from within the camp, as the Lordhad sworn to them.

15 Moreover the hand of the Lordwas against them, to destroy them from within the camp until they all perished.

16 “So it came about when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people,

17 that the Lordspoke to me, saying,

18 ‘Today you shall cross over Ar, the border of Moab.

19 When you come opposite the sons of Ammon, do not harass them nor provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession.’

20 (It is also regarded as the land of the Rephaim,forRephaim formerly lived in it, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummin,

21 a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakim, but the Lorddestroyed them before them. And they dispossessed them and settled in their place,

22 just as He did for the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites from before them; they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day.

23 And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, theCaphtorim who came fromCaphtor, destroyed them and lived in their place.)

24 ‘Arise, set out, and pass through the valley of Arnon. Look! I have given Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land into your hand; begin to take possession and contend with him in battle.

25 This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the peoples everywhere under the heavens, who, when they hear the report of you, will tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

26 “So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,

27 ‘Let me pass through your land, I will travel only on the highway; I will not turn aside to the right or to the left.

28 You will sell me food for money so that I may eat, and give me water for money so that I may drink, only let me pass through on foot,

29 just as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I cross over the Jordan into the land which the Lordour God is giving to us.’

30 But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land; for the Lordyour God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to deliver him into your hand, ashe istoday.

31 The Lordsaid to me, ‘See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to occupy, that you may possess his land.’

32 “Then Sihon with all his people came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz.

33 The Lordour God delivered him over to us, and we defeated him with his sons and all his people.

34 So we captured all his cities at that time and utterly destroyed the men, women and children of every city. We left no survivor.

35 We took only the animals as our booty and the spoil of the cities which we had captured.

36 From Aroer which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon andfromthe city which is in the valley, even to Gilead, there was no city that was too high for us; the Lordour God delivered all over to us.

37 Only you did not go near to the land of the sons of Ammon, all along the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, and wherever the Lordour God had commanded us.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/DEU/2-0cbc087364d13ab2ec8ea96125fdef69.mp3?version_id=100—

Deuteronomy 3

Conquests Recounted

1 “Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og, king of Bashan, with all his people came out to meet us in battle at Edrei.

2 But the Lordsaid to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; and you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’

3 So the Lordour God delivered Og also, king of Bashan, with all his people into our hand, and we smote them until no survivor was left.

4 We captured all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

5 All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates and bars, besides a great many unwalled towns.

6 We utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women and children of every city.

7 But all the animals and the spoil of the cities we took as our booty.

8 “Thus we took the land at that time from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of Arnon to Mount Hermon

9 (Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir):

10 all the cities of the plateau and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

11 (For only Og king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bedstead was an iron bedstead; it is in Rabbah of the sons of Ammon. Its length was nine cubits and its width four cubits by ordinary cubit.)

12 “So we took possession of this land at that time. From Aroer, which is by the valley of Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead and its cities I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites.

13 The rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh, all the region of Argob (concerning all Bashan, it is called the land of Rephaim.

14 Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called it,that is,Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth-jair,as it isto this day.)

15 To Machir I gave Gilead.

16 To the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even as far as the valley of Arnon, the middle of the valley as a border and as far as the river Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon;

17 the Arabah also, with the Jordan asaborder, fromChinnereth even as far as the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

18 “Then I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The Lordyour God has given you this land to possess it; all you valiant men shall cross over armed before your brothers, the sons of Israel.

19 But your wives and your little ones and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in your cities which I have given you,

20 until the Lordgives rest to your fellow countrymen as to you, and they also possess the land which the Lordyour God will give them beyond the Jordan. Then you may return every man to his possession which I have given you.’

21 I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lordyour God has done to these two kings; so the Lordshall do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross.

22 Do not fear them, for the Lordyour God is the one fighting for you.’

23 “I also pleaded with the Lordat that time, saying,

24 ‘O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours?

25 Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’

26 But the Lordwas angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me; and the Lordsaid to me, ‘Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter.

27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes to the west and north and south and east, and seeitwith your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan.

28 But charge Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, for he shall go across at the head of this people, and he will give them as an inheritance the land which you will see.’

29 So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/DEU/3-a3722f75d69f4b937532ca2b4dbc9c8f.mp3?version_id=100—

Deuteronomy 4

Israel Urged to Obey God’s Law

1 “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.

2 You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lordyour God which I command you.

3 Your eyes have seen what the Lordhas done in the case of Baal-peor, for all the men who followed Baal-peor, the Lordyour God has destroyed them from among you.

4 But you who held fast to the Lordyour God are alive today, every one of you.

5 “See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lordmy God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it.

6 So keep and dothem,for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lordour God whenever we call on Him?

8 Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which I am setting before you today?

9 “Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.

10 Rememberthe day you stood before the Lordyour God at Horeb, when the Lordsaid to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn tofear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’

11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to theveryheart of the heavens: darkness, cloud and thick gloom.

12 Then the Lordspoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form-only a voice.

13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform,that is,the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.

14 The Lordcommanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might perform them in the land where you are going over to possess it.

15 “So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the Lordspoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire,

16 so that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky,

18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth.

19 Andbewarenot to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the Lordyour God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.

20 But the Lordhas taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own possession, as today.

21 “Now the Lordwas angry with me on your account, and swore that I would not cross the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the Lordyour God is giving you as an inheritance.

22 For I will die in this land, I shall not cross the Jordan, but you shall cross and take possession of this good land.

23 So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the Lordyour God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anythingagainstwhich the Lordyour God has commanded you.

24 For the Lordyour God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

25 “When you become the father of children and children’s children and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the Lordyour Godso asto provoke Him to anger,

26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed.

27 The Lordwill scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lorddrives you.

28 There you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.

29 But from there you will seek the Lordyour God, and you will findHimif you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.

30 When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the Lordyour God and listen to His voice.

31 For the Lordyour God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.

32 “Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, andinquirefrom one end of the heavens to the other. Hasanythingbeen done like this great thing, or hasanythingbeen heard like it?

33 Hasanypeople heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heardit,and survived?

34 Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from withinanothernation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the Lordyour God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

35 To you it was shown that you might know that the Lord, He is God; there is no other besides Him.

36 Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire.

37 Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power,

38 driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you inandto give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today.

39 Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.

40 So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may live long on the land which the Lordyour God is giving you for all time.”

41 Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordan to the east,

42 that a manslayer might flee there, who unintentionally slew his neighbor without having enmity toward him in time past; and by fleeing to one of these cities he might live:

43 Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau for the Reubenites, and Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

44 Now this is the law which Moses set before the sons of Israel;

45 these are the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances which Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, when they came out from Egypt,

46 across the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel defeated when they came out from Egypt.

47 They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites,who wereacross the Jordan to the east,

48 from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, even as far as Mount Sion (that is, Hermon),

49 with all the Arabah across the Jordan to the east, even as far as the sea of the Arabah, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/DEU/4-0f0ce7683495f1d930bebdf89603e4e2.mp3?version_id=100—

Deuteronomy 5

The Ten Commandments Repeated

1 Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them:

“Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully.

2 The Lordour God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

3 The Lorddid not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us,withall those of us alive here today.

4 The Lordspoke to you face to face at the mountain from the midst of the fire,

5 whileI was standing between the Lordand you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain. He said,

6 ‘I am the Lordyour God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

7 ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.

8 ‘You shall not make for yourself an idol,orany likenessofwhat is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

9 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lordyour God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourthgenerationsof those who hate Me,

10 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

11 ‘You shall not take the name of the Lordyour God in vain, for the Lordwill not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

12 ‘Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lordyour God commanded you.

13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

14 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lordyour God;in ityou shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.

15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lordyour God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lordyour God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

16 ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lordyour God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lordyour God gives you.

17 ‘You shall not murder.

18 ‘You shall not commit adultery.

19 ‘You shall not steal.

20 ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

21 ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’

Moses Interceded

22 “These words the Lordspoke to all your assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire,ofthe cloud andofthe thick gloom, with a great voice, and He added no more. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.

23 And when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders.

24 You said, ‘Behold, the Lordour God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives.

25 Now then why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lordour God any longer, then we will die.

26 For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as wehave,and lived?

27 Go near and hear all that the Lordour God says; then speak to us all that the Lordour God speaks to you, and we will hear and doit.’

28 “The Lordheard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lordsaid to me, ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken.

29 Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!

30 Go, say to them, “Return to your tents.”

31 But as for you, stand here by Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments and the statutes and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observethemin the land which I give them to possess.’

32 So you shall observe to do just as the Lordyour God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right or to the left.

33 You shall walk in all the way which the Lordyour God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolongyourdays in the land which you will possess.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/DEU/5-7c27d0c7e6a38b4e9a0f954612b2f99b.mp3?version_id=100—

Deuteronomy 6

Obey God and Prosper

1 “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the Lordyour God has commandedmeto teach you, that you might dothemin the land where you are going over to possess it,

2 so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lordyour God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.

3 O Israel, you should listen and be careful to doit,that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you,ina land flowing with milk and honey.

4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lordis our God, the Lordis one!

5 You shall love the Lordyour God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.

7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.

8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.

9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

10 “Then it shall come about when the Lordyour God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build,

11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied,

12 then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lordwho brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

13 You shallfearonlythe Lordyour God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.

14 You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you,

15 for the Lordyour God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the Lordyour God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.

16 “You shall not put the Lordyour God to the test, as you testedHimat Massah.

17 You should diligently keep the commandments of the Lordyour God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you.

18 You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which the Lordswore togiveyour fathers,

19 by driving out all your enemies from before you, as the Lordhas spoken.

20 “When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘Whatdothe testimonies and the statutes and the judgmentsmeanwhich the Lordour God commanded you?’

21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lordbrought us from Egypt with a mighty hand.

22 Moreover, the Lordshowed great and distressing signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household;

23 He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.’

24 So the Lordcommanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lordour God for our good always and for our survival, asit istoday.

25 It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all this commandment before the Lordour God, just as He commanded us.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/DEU/6-4ffac352d31eb58e2f0e3bebec739e18.mp3?version_id=100—

Deuteronomy 7

Warnings

1 “When the Lordyour God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you,

2 and when the Lordyour God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them.

3 Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons.

4 For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lordwill be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you.

5 But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash theirsacredpillars, and hew down theirAsherim, and burn their graven images with fire.

6 For you are a holy people to the Lordyour God; the Lordyour God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

7 “The Lorddid not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,

8 but because the Lordloved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lordbrought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

9 Know therefore that the Lordyour God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

10 but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face.

11 Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them.

Promises of God

12 “Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lordyour God will keep with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers.

13 He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you.

14 You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle.

15 The Lordwill remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you.

16 You shall consume all the peoples whom the Lordyour God will deliver to you; your eye shall not pity them, nor shall you serve their gods, for thatwould bea snare to you.

17 “If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’

18 you shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what the Lordyour God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt:

19 the great trials which your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lordyour God brought you out. So shall the Lordyour God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.

20 Moreover, the Lordyour God will send the hornet against them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you perish.

21 You shall not dread them, for the Lordyour God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.

22 The Lordyour God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you.

23 But the Lordyour God will deliver them before you, and will throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed.

24 He will deliver their kings into your hand so that you will make their name perish from under heaven; no man will be able to stand before you until you have destroyed them.

25 The graven images of their gods you are to burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, or you will be snared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lordyour God.

26 You shall not bring an abomination into your house, and like it come under the ban; you shall utterly detest it and you shall utterly abhor it, for it is something banned.

—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/80/32k/DEU/7-419aee4de314c3d34025a8aaa330f248.mp3?version_id=100—