REVIEW OF ISRAEL’S HISTORY

24 Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shecheme and summoned Israel’s elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and they presented themselves before God.f 2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah,g the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the region beyond the Euphrates River, led him throughout the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants.h I gave him Isaac,i 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.j I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau as a possession.k

“ ‘Jacob and his sons, however, went down to Egypt.l 5 I sent Moses and Aaron,m and I defeated Egypt by what I did within it, and afterward I brought you out. 6 When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and you reached the Red Sea,n the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen as far as the sea. 7 Your ancestors cried out to the Lord, so he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea over them, engulfing them. Your own eyes saw what I did to Egypt. After that, you lived in the wilderness a long time.

8 “ ‘Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan.o They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. You possessed their land, and I annihilated them before you. 9 Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab,p set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I would not listen to Balaam. Instead, he repeatedly blessed you, and I rescued you from him.

11 “ ‘You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho.q Jericho’s citizens—as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hethites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites—fought against you, but I handed them over to you. 12 I sent hornetsC,r ahead of you, and they drove out the two Amorite kingss before you. It was not by your sword or bow. 13 I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build,t though you live in them; you are eating from vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’

THE COVENANT RENEWAL

14 “Therefore, fear the Lord and worship him in sincerity and truth.u Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshipedv beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship the Lord. 15 But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship—the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living?w As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.”

16 The people replied, “We will certainly not abandon the Lord to worship other gods! 17 For the Lord our God brought us and our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery,x and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us all along the way we went and among all the peoples whose lands we traveled through. 18 The Lord drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will worship the Lord, because he is our God.”

19 But Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to worship the Lord, because he is a holy God. He is a jealous God;y he will not forgive your transgressions and sins.z 20 If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, he will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroyaa you, after he has been good to you.”

21 “No!” the people answered Joshua. “We will worship the Lord.”

22 Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship the Lord.”

“We are witnesses,” they said.

23 “Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

24 So the people said to Joshua, “We will worship the Lord our God and obey him.”

25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people at Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them. 26 Joshua recorded these things in the book of the law of God;a he also took a large stone and set it up there under the oak at the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone—it will be a witness against us,b for it has heard all the words the Lord said to us, and it will be a witness against you, so that you will not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.

BURIAL OF THREE LEADERS

29 After these things, the Lord’s servant, Joshua son of Nun, died at the age of 110. 30 They buried him in his allotted territory at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraimc north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshuad and who had experienced all the works the Lord had done for Israel.

32 Joseph’s bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt,e were buried at Shechem in the parcel of land Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver.A,f It was an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.

33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah,B which had been given to his son Phinehasg in the hill country of Ephraim.

JUDGES

JUDAH’S LEADERSHIP AGAINST THE CANAANITES

1 After the death of Joshua,a the Israelites inquired of the Lord,b “Who will be the first to fight for us against the Canaanites?”

2 The Lord answered, “Judahc is to go.d I have handed the land over to him.”e

3 Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Come with me to my allotted territory, and let’s fight against the Canaanites. I will also go with you to your allotted territory.” So Simeon went with him.

4 When Judah attacked, the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzitesf over to them. They struck down ten thousand men in Bezek.g 5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, fought against him, and struck down the Canaanites and Perizzites.

6 When Adoni-bezek fled, they pursued him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.h 7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scrapsA under my table. God has repaid me for what I have done.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 The men of Judah fought against Jerusalem, captured it, put it to the sword, and set the city on fire. 9 Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the Judean foothills.B 10 Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebroni (Hebron was formerly named Kiriath-arbaj). They struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.k 11 From there they marched against the residents of Debirl (Debir was formerly named Kiriath-sepher).

12 Calebm said, “Whoever attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher, I will give my daughter Achsahn to him as a wife.” 13 So Othnielo son of Kenaz, Caleb’s youngest brother, captured it, and Caleb gave his daughter Achsah to him as his wife.

14 When she arrived, she persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?” 15 She answered him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me land in the Negev,p give me springs also.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.q

16 The descendants of the Kenite, Moses’s father-in-law,r had gone up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms* s to the Wilderness of Judah, which was in the Negev of Arad.t They went to live among the people.

17 Judah went with his brother Simeon, struck the Canaanites who were living in Zephath, and completely destroyed the town. So they named the town Hormah.u 18 Judah captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory. 19 The Lord was withv Judah and enabled them to take possession of the hill country, but they could not drive outw the people who were living in the plain because those people had iron chariots.x

20 Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had promised.y Then Caleb drove out the three sons of Anakz who lived there.

BENJAMIN’S FAILURE

21 At the same time the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites have lived among the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this day.aa

SUCCESS OF THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH

22 The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the Lord was withab them. 23 They sent spies to Bethel (the town was formerly named Luzac). 24 The spies saw a man coming out of the town and said to him, “Please show us how to get into town, and we will show you kindness.”ad 25 When he showed them the way into the town, they put the town to the sword but released the man and his entire family. 26 Then the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a town, and named it Luz. That is its name still today.

FAILURE OF THE OTHER TRIBES

27 At that time Manasseh failed to take possession of Beth-sheanae and Taanachaf and their surrounding villages, or the residents of Dor,ag Ibleam,ah and Megiddoai and their surrounding villages; the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land.a 28 When Israel became stronger, they made the Canaanites serve as forced labor but never drove them out completely.b

29 At that time Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived among them in Gezer.c

30 Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron or the residents of Nahalol,d so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced labor.

31 Asher failed to drive out the residents of Acco or of Sidon, or Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, because they failed to drive them out.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the residents of Beth-shemesh or the residents of Beth-anath. They lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, but the residents of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served as their forced labor.

34 The Amoritese forced the Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to go down into the valley. 35 The Amorites were determined to stay in Har-heres, Aijalon,f and Shaalbim. When the house of Joseph got the upper hand, the Amorites were made to serve as forced labor. 36 The territory of the Amorites extended from the Scorpions’ Ascent,g that is from Selah upward.

PATTERN OF SIN AND JUDGMENT

2 The angel of the Lordi went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the landj I had promised to your ancestors.k I also said: I will never break my covenant with you. 2 You are not to make a covenantl with the inhabitants of this land. You are to tear down their altars.m But you have not obeyed me. What have you done? 3 Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you.n They will be thornsA in your sides,o and their gods will be a trap for you.”p 4 When the angel of the Lord had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly. 5 So they named that place BochimB and offered sacrifices there to the Lord.

JOSHUA’S DEATH

6 Previously, when Joshua had sent the people away, the Israelites had gone to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance.q 7 The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua. They had seen all the Lord’s great worksr he had done for Israel.

8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. 9 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim,s north of Mount Gaash. 10 That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lordt or the works he had done for Israel.

11 The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.u They worshiped the Baalsv 12 and abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed other gods from the surrounding peoplesw and bowed down to them. They angered the Lord,x 13 for they abandoned him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.y

14 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he handed them over to marauders who raided them. He soldz them to the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies. 15 Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord was against themaa and brought disaster on them, just as he had promised and sworn to them.ab So they suffered greatly.

16 The Lord raised upac judges, who saved them from the power of their marauders, 17 but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostitutedad themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the wayae of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands. They did not do as their ancestors did. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for the Israelites, the Lord was withaf him and saved the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive. The Lord was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them. 19 Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more corruptlyag than their ancestors, following other gods to serve them and bow in worship to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinateah ways.

20 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he declared, “Because this nation has violated my covenanta that I made with their ancestorsb and disobeyed me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua leftc when he died.d 22 I did this to test Israel and to see whether or not they would keep the Lord’s waye by walking in it, as their ancestors had.”f 23 The Lord left these nations and did not drive them out immediately. He did not hand them over to Joshua.

THE LORD TESTS ISRAEL

3 These are the nations the Lord left in order to test all those in Israel who had experienced none of the wars in Canaan.g 2 This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before. 3 These nations included the five rulersh of the Philistinesi and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians,j and the Hivitesk who lived in the Lebanese mountains from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.A 4 The Lord left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the Lord’s commands he had given their ancestors through Moses.l 5 But they settled among the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 6 The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.m

OTHNIEL, THE FIRST JUDGE

7 The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; they forgot the Lord their Godn and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he sold them to King Cushan-rishathaimB of Aram-naharaim,C,o and the Israelites served him eight years.

9 The Israelites cried out to the Lord.p So the Lord raised up Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s youngest brother,q as a delivererr to save the Israelites. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came on him, and he judged Israel. Othniel went out to battle, and the Lord handed over King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram to him, so that Othniel overpowered him. 11 Then the land had peace fors forty years, and Othniel son of Kenaz died.

EHUD

12 The Israelites again did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He gave King Eglon of Moabt power over Israel, because they had done what was evil in the Lord’s sight. 13 After Eglon convinced the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join forces with him, he attacked and defeated Israel and took possession of the City of Palms.* u 14 The Israelites served King Eglon of Moab eighteen years.

15 Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handedv Benjaminite,E as a deliverer for them. The Israelites sent him with the tributew for King Eglon of Moab.

16 Ehud made himself a double-edged sword eighteen inches long.F He strapped it to his right thigh under his clothes 17 and brought the tribute to King Eglon of Moab, who was an extremely fat man. 18 When Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the people who had carried it. 19 At the carved images near Gilgal he returned and said, “King Eglon, I have a secret message for you.” The king said, “Silence!” and all his attendants left him. 20 Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in his upstairs room where it was cool. Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you,” and the king stood up from his throne. 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly. 22 Even the handle went in after the blade, and Eglon’s fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And the waste came out.A 23 Ehud escaped by way of the porch, closing and locking the doors of the upstairs room behind him.

24 Ehud was gone when Eglon’s servants came in. They looked and found the doors of the upstairs room locked and thought he was relieving himselfB in the cool room. 25 The servants waited until they became embarrassed and saw that he had still not opened the doors of the upstairs room. So they took the key and opened the doors—and there was their lord lying dead on the floor!

26 Ehud escaped while the servants waited. He passed the Jordan near the carved images and reached Seirah. 27 After he arrived, he sounded the trumpet throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hill country, and he became their leader. 28 He told them, “Follow me, because the Lord has handed over your enemies, the Moabites, to you.” So they followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.a 29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all stout and able-bodied men. Not one of them escaped. 30 Moab became subject to Israel that day, and the land had peace for eighty years.

SHAMGAR

31 After Ehud, Shamgar son of Anath became judge. He also delivered Israel, striking down six hundred Philistines with a cattle prod.