Joshua 24 Cross References - LEB

¹ And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem; he summoned the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges, and their officials, and they presented themselves before God. ² And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: '_⌊Long ago_⌋* your ancestors*—Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor—lived beyond the river,* and they served other gods. ³ I took your ancestor* Abraham from beyond the river* and led him through all the land of Canaan, and I increased his offspring; I gave him Isaac, ⁴ and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. ⁵ And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. ⁶ When I brought out your ancestors* from Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued after your ancestors* with chariots* and horsemen to the _⌊Red Sea_⌋.* ⁷ They cried out to Yahweh, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and he brought the sea over them* and covered them; your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you lived in the wilderness for many days. ⁸ And I brought you to the land of the Amorites* who lived beyond the Jordan; they fought you, and I gave them into your hand; you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them _⌊before you_⌋.* ⁹ Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, set out and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam son of Beor to curse you, ¹⁰ but I was not willing to listen to Balaam, and he richly blessed you. So I rescued you from his hand, ¹¹ and you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the citizens of Jericho, the Amorites,* the Perizzites,* the Canaanites,* the Hittites,* the Girgashites,* the Hivites,* and the Jebusites,* fought against you, and I gave them into your hand. ¹² I sent before you the hornet and they drove out before you two kings of the Amorites;* but not by your sword or bow. ¹³ I gave to you a land that you have not labored on, and cities that you have not built, and you live* in them; you eat from vineyards and olive groves that you have not planted.' ¹⁴ "So now, revere Yahweh and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness; remove the gods that your ancestors* served beyond the river* and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. ¹⁵ But if it is bad in your eyes to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you want to serve, whether it is the gods that your ancestors* served beyond the river,* or the gods of the Amorites* in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh." ¹⁶ And the people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we would forsake Yahweh to serve other gods, ¹⁷ for Yahweh our God brought us and our ancestors* from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, and did these great signs before our eyes. He protected us along the entire way that we went, and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. ¹⁸ And Yahweh drove out all the people before us, the Amorites* who live* in the land. We will serve Yahweh, for he is our God." ¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve Yahweh, for he is a holy and jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ²⁰ If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster to you; he will destroy you after he has done good to you." ²¹ And the people said to Joshua, "No, we will serve Yahweh." ²² And Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves to serve Yahweh." And they said, "We are witnesses." ²³ He said, "Remove the foreign gods that are in your midst, and incline your hearts to Yahweh the God of Israel." ²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to his voice." ²⁵ So Joshua _⌊made a covenant_⌋* with the people on that day, and he established for them a statute and a judgment at Shechem. ²⁶ Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which is at the shrine of Yahweh. ²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, "Look, this stone will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh that he spoke with us. It will be as a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God." ²⁸ Then Joshua sent the people away to their inheritance. ²⁹ After these things Joshua son of Nun servant of Yahweh died; _⌊he was one hundred and ten years old_⌋.* ³⁰ They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, at Timnath-Serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. ³¹ Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who lived long after Joshua, and who had known all the work that Yahweh did for Israel.* ³² The bones of Jacob, which the _⌊Israelites_⌋* had brought out from Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in a piece of land that Jacob had bought from the children of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money;* it became an inheritance for the descendants* of Joseph. ³³ And Eleazar son of Aaron died; and they buried him in Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, which had been given to his son Phinehas.

⁶ And Abram traveled through the land up to the place of Shechem, to the Oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites were in the land at that time.

¹⁸ And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem which is in the land of Canaan, _⌊on his way_⌋* from Paddan-Aram. And he camped before the city. ¹⁹ And he bought a piece of land where he pitched his tent for one hundred pieces of money* from the hand of the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem.

⁴ So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their hands, and the ornamental rings that were in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which was near Shechem.

²⁵ And Moses chose men of ability from all Israel, and he appointed them as heads over the people, as commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, and commanders of tens. ²⁶ And they judged the people all the time; the difficult issues* they would bring to Moses, and every minor issue they would judge themselves.

² Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders, heads, judges, and officials, and he said to them, "I am old and _⌊well-advanced in years_⌋,*

¹ And Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem, to the relatives of his mother, and he said to them and to the house of his mother's father, ² "_⌊Speak to_⌋* the lords of Shechem, 'What is better for you, that seventy men all from the sons of Jerub-Baal rule over you, or that one man rules over you?' Remember that I am your bone and your flesh." ³ And his mother's relatives spoke all these words concerning him _⌊to_⌋* all the lords of Shechem; and _⌊they supported Abimelech_⌋,* for they said, "He is our relative."*

¹⁹ But you today have rejected your God who always delivers you from all of your calamities and your distresses. You have said to him, 'No, but you must appoint a king over us!' So then present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans."

¹ Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all of Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

³³ Therefore I sent for you at once, and you _⌊were kind enough to come_⌋.* So now we all are present before God to hear all the things that have been commanded to you by the Lord."

²⁶ When Terah had lived seventy years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

¹⁹ Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole the idols* that belonged to her father.

³⁰ Now, you have surely gone because you desperately longed for the house of your father, but why did you steal my gods?"

³² But with whomever you find your gods, he shall not live. In the presence of your kinsmen now identify what is with me that is yours and take it." Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

⁵³ May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father* judge between us." Then Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

⁵ And _⌊you shall declare_⌋* and you shall say _⌊before_⌋* your God, 'My ancestor* was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt, and there he dwelt as an alien _⌊few in number_⌋,* and there he became a great nation, mighty and numerous.

¹⁵ But if it is bad in your eyes to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you want to serve, whether it is the gods that your ancestors* served beyond the river,* or the gods of the Amorites* in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh."

² Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah; she brought you forth. For I called him _⌊alone_⌋,* but* I blessed him and made him numerous."

³ and you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were from the land of the Canaanites,* your father was an Amorite, and your mother was a Hittite.

¹ And Yahweh said to Abram, "Go out from your land and from your relatives, and from the house of your father, to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great. And you will be a blessing. ³ And I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse. And all families of the earth will be blessed in you." ⁴ And Abram went out as Yahweh had told him, and Lot went with him. Now Abram _⌊was seventy-five years old_⌋* when he went out from Haran.

⁵ And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count them." And he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

² And she conceived, and Sarah bore to Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. ³ And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.

⁷ You are Yahweh, the God who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham. ⁸ You found his heart faithful before you and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite and the Girgashite—to give it to his seed. And you have kept your word because you are righteous.

³ Look, children* are the heritage* of Yahweh; the fruit of the womb is a reward.

² So he said, "Men—brothers and fathers—listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he* was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, ³ and said to him, 'Go out from your land and from your relatives and come to the land that I will show you.'

²⁴ And when her days to give birth were completed,* then—behold—twins were in her womb. ²⁵ And the first came out red, all _⌊his body_⌋* was like a hairy coat, so they called his name Esau. ²⁶ And afterward his brother came out, and his hand grasped the heel of Esau, so his name was called Jacob. And Isaac _⌊was sixty years old_⌋* at their birth.

³ Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother, to the land of Seir, the territory of Edom.

⁸ So Esau dwelled in the hill country of Seir (Esau, that is Edom).

¹ So Israel journeyed with all that he had, and he came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. ² And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here I am." ³ Then he said, "I am the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. ⁴ I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I myself will also bring you up. And Joseph will place his hand over your eyes." ⁵ So Jacob arose from Beersheba. And the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, and their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to transport him. ⁶ And they took their livestock and their possessions that they had acquired in the land of Canaan. And they came to Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, ⁷ his sons and his sons' sons with him, his daughters and his daughters' daughters with him, into Egypt.

⁵ Do not get involved in battle* with them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even _⌊a foot's breadth_⌋* of it; since I have given Mount Seir as a possession for Esau.

²³ Then Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob was a sojourner in the land of Ham.

¹⁵ And Jacob went down to Egypt and died, he and our fathers.

¹⁰ And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and you must bring my people, the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* out from Egypt."

¹² So then go, and I myself will be with your mouth, and I will teach you what you must speak." ¹³ And he said, "Please, Lord, do send _⌊anyone else whom you wish to send_⌋."* ¹⁴ _⌊And Yahweh was angry with_⌋* Moses and said, "Is there not Aaron your brother the Levite? I know that he certainly can speak, and also there he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will rejoice in his heart.

¹ And Yahweh said to Moses, "See, I have made you as a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. ² You will speak all that I will command you, and Aaron your brother will speak to Pharaoh, and he will release the _⌊Israelites_⌋* from his land. ³ And I myself will harden the heart of Pharaoh, and I will make my signs and my wonders numerous in the land of Egypt. ⁴ And Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will put my hand into Egypt and bring out my divisions, my people, the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* from the land of Egypt with great punishments. ⁵ And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I stretch out my hand over Egypt and bring the _⌊Israelites_⌋* out from their midst." ⁶ And Moses and Aaron did it; as Yahweh commanded them, so they did. ⁷ (And Moses was _⌊eighty years old_⌋,* and Aaron was _⌊eighty-three years old_⌋* when they spoke to Pharaoh.) ⁸ And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, saying, ⁹ "When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Do a wonder for yourselves,' you will say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.'" ¹⁰ And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and they did so, as Yahweh had commanded. And Aaron threw his staff before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a snake. ¹¹ And Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did likewise with their secret arts. ¹² Each threw down his staff, and they became snakes, and Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.

³⁷ And the _⌊Israelites_⌋* set out from Rameses to Succoth; the men were about six hundred thousand on foot,* besides dependents.

⁵¹ And it was on exactly this day Yahweh brought the _⌊Israelites_⌋* out from the land of Egypt by their divisions.

⁴³ how he performed* his signs in Egypt and his wonders in the region of Zoan, ⁴⁴ when he turned their rivers* to blood so they could not drink from their streams. ⁴⁵ He sent among them flies that devoured them and frogs that destroyed them. ⁴⁶ And he gave their crop to the locusts and their labor to the locust.* ⁴⁷ He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore trees with sleet.* ⁴⁸ He also handed their cattle over to the hail and their livestock to the lightning bolts. ⁴⁹ He sent against them his fierce anger, rage and indignation and trouble, a band of _⌊destroying_⌋* angels. ⁵⁰ He cleared a path for his anger. He did not spare them* from death but handed their life over to the plague. ⁵¹ And he struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the first of their virility in the tents of Ham.

²⁶ He sent his servant Moses, together with Aaron whom he had chosen. ²⁷ They set before them the words concerning his signs and portents in the land of Ham. ²⁸ He sent darkness and made it dark, and they did not rebel against his words. ²⁹ He turned their waters into blood and it killed their fish. ³⁰ Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings. ³¹ He spoke, and there came flies and gnats throughout all their territory.* ³² He gave hail for their rains and the fire of lightning in their land. ³³ And he struck their vines and fig trees, and shattered the trees of their territory. ³⁴ He spoke and there came locusts and young locusts without number. ³⁵ And they ate up all the vegetation in their land, and they ate up the fruit of their ground. ³⁶ And he struck down all the firstborn in their land, the first of all their virility.

⁸ Who struck the firstborn of Egypt, both of humans* and animals.* ⁹ He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants.

¹⁰ To him who struck Egypt through their firstborn, for his loyal love endures forever.

¹ And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ² "Speak to the _⌊Israelites_⌋* so that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol _⌊and the sea_⌋;* before Baal Zephon, which is opposite it, you will camp by the sea. ³ And Pharaoh will say of the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* 'They are wandering around in the land. The desert has closed in on them.' ⁴ And I will harden the heart of Pharaoh, and he will chase after them, and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and through all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh." And they did so. ⁵ And it was told to the king of Egypt that the people fled, and the heart of Pharaoh was changed and that of his servants toward the people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have released Israel from serving us!" ⁶ And he harnessed his chariot and took with him his people. ⁷ And he took six hundred select chariots and all the chariots of Egypt and officers over all of them. ⁸ And Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and he chased after the _⌊Israelites_⌋.* (Now the _⌊Israelites_⌋* were going out _⌊boldly_⌋.*) ⁹ And the Egyptians chased after them, and they overtook them encamped at the sea—all the horses of the chariots of Pharaoh and his charioteers and his army—at Pi-hahiroth before Baal Zephon. ¹⁰ And Pharaoh approached, and the _⌊Israelites_⌋* lifted their eyes, and there were the Egyptians traveling after them! And they were very afraid, and the _⌊Israelites_⌋* cried out to Yahweh. ¹¹ And they said to Moses, "Because there are no graves in Egypt? Is that why you have taken us to die in the desert? What is this you have done to us by bringing us out from Egypt! ¹² Isn't this the word we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone so that we can serve Egypt!' because serving Egypt is better for us than our dying in the desert." ¹³ And Moses said to the people, "You must not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will accomplish for you today, because the Egyptians whom you see today you will see never again. ¹⁴ Yahweh will fight for you, and you must be quiet." ¹⁵ And Yahweh said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the _⌊Israelites_⌋* so that they set out.*

¹¹ And you divided the sea before them, and they passed through the sea on dry ground, but their pursuers you threw into the depths like a stone into mighty waters.

¹⁵ With your arm you redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah ¹⁶ Waters saw you, O God; waters saw you and they trembled. Surely the deeps shook. ¹⁷ The clouds poured out water. The skies _⌊thundered_⌋.* Your arrows also _⌊flew about_⌋.* ¹⁸ The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind;* lightnings lit the world; the earth shook and quaked. ¹⁹ Your way was through the sea, and your path* through many waters. Yet your footprints were not discerned.* ²⁰ You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

¹³ He split the sea and caused them to go over, and he caused waters to stand like a heap.

¹³ To him who divided the _⌊Red Sea_⌋* in two, for his loyal love endures forever. ¹⁴ And he let Israel cross over through the midst of it, for his loyal love endures forever. ¹⁵ But he tossed Pharaoh and his army into the _⌊Red Sea_⌋,* for his loyal love endures forever.

¹² _⌊who made_⌋* his magnificent arm move _⌊at_⌋* the right hand of Moses, _⌊who divided_⌋* the waters _⌊before them_⌋,* to make an everlasting name for himself, ¹³ _⌊who led_⌋* them through the depths? They did not stumble like a horse in the desert;

⁴ For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and from the house of slavery I redeemed you. And I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before you.

³⁶ This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.

²⁹ By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land; the Egyptians, _⌊when they made the attempt_⌋*, were drowned.

¹⁰ And Pharaoh approached, and the _⌊Israelites_⌋* lifted their eyes, and there were the Egyptians traveling after them! And they were very afraid, and the _⌊Israelites_⌋* cried out to Yahweh.

²⁰ so that it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. And _⌊it was a dark cloud_⌋,* but it gave light to the night,* so that _⌊neither approached the other_⌋* all night.

²⁷ And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned _⌊at daybreak_⌋* to its normal level, and the Egyptians were fleeing _⌊because of it_⌋,* and Yahweh swept the Egyptians into the middle of the sea. ²⁸ And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the charioteers—all the army of Pharaoh coming after them into the sea. Not _⌊even_⌋* one survived among them.

³¹ And Israel saw the great hand* that Yahweh displayed against Egypt, and the people feared Yahweh, and they believed in Yahweh and in Moses his servant.

³³ And your children will be shepherds in the desert forty years,* and you will bear your unfaithfulness until _⌊all your corpses have fallen_⌋* in the desert. ³⁴ According to the number of the days* that you explored the land, forty days,* _⌊a day for each year_⌋,* you will bear your sins forty years,* and you will know my opposition.'

⁴⁶ You stayed in Kadesh many days; such were the days that you stayed there.

³⁴ Or has a god ever attempted to go to take for himself* a nation from the midst of a nation, using trials and signs and wonders and war, with an outstretched arm and with great and awesome deeds, like all that Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

² And Moses summoned all of Israel and said to them, "You saw all that Yahweh did before your eyes in the land of Egypt and to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land;

⁶ For forty years the _⌊Israelites_⌋* traveled in the wilderness until all the nation, the warriors that left Egypt, perished, because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh. To them Yahweh swore that they would not see the land that he* swore to their ancestors* to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey.

¹² You led them by day with a column of cloud and with a column of fire by night, to give them light on the way that they were to go. ¹³ Then you came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right judgments and true teachings, good regulations and commandments. ¹⁴ You made known your holy Sabbath to them and gave them commandments, regulations, and law* by the hand of your servant Moses. ¹⁵ You gave them bread from heaven for their starvation, and you caused water to go out from a rock for their thirst. You told them to go in order to take into possession the land that you have sworn by your hand to give to them. ¹⁶ "But they and our ancestors* acted arrogantly and stiffened their neck and did not listen to your commandments. ¹⁷ They refused to listen and did not remember your wonders that you did among them. They stiffened their neck and in their rebellion _⌊determined_⌋* to return to their slavery. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, _⌊slow to anger_⌋,* abundant in loyal love, so you did not abandon them. ¹⁸ Even when they made for themselves a molten idol of a calf and said, 'This is your God who brought you out from Egypt,' and committed great blasphemies. ¹⁹ But you in your many mercies did not abandon them in the desert. The column of cloud that was over them in the day did not cease to leave them on the way, and the column of fire by night that gave light to them on the way that they went. ²⁰ And you gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. ²¹ Forty years you sustained them in the desert—they were not in need. Their clothing did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

⁹ when your ancestors* tried me. They put me to the test, even though they had seen my work. ¹⁰ For forty years I loathed that generation, and said, 'They are a people whose heart wanders. And my ways they do not know.'

¹⁷ The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people during their* stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. ¹⁸ And for a period of time of about forty years, he put up with them in the wilderness.

¹⁷ And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness?

²¹ Israel sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amorites,* saying, ²² "Let us go through your land; we will not turn aside into a field or vineyard; we will not drink well water along the way of the king until we have gone through your territory." ²³ But Sihon did not allow Israel to go through his territory. Sihon gathered all his people and went out to meet Israel; he came to the desert, to Jahaz, and he fought against Israel. ²⁴ But Israel struck him with the edge of the sword, and they took possession of his land from Arnon to Jabbok, until the _⌊Ammonites_⌋,* because the boundary of the _⌊Ammonites_⌋* was strong. ²⁵ Israel took all these cities, and Israel inhabited all the cities of the Amorites,* in Heshbon, and in all its environs.* ²⁶ Because Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites,* who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land from his hand until Arnon. ²⁷ Thus the ones who quote proverbs say,
"Come to Heshbon! Let it be built! And let the city of Sihon be established. ²⁸ Because fire went out from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; it consumed Ar of Moab, the lords of the* high places of Arnon. ²⁹ Woe to you, Moab! You have perished, people of Chemosh. He has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, to the king of the Amorites,* Sihon. ³⁰ We destroyed them; Heshbon has perished up to Dibon; we laid waste up to Nophah, which _⌊reaches_⌋* Medeba." ³¹ Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.* ³² Moses sent to explore Jaazer; they captured _⌊its environs_⌋* and dispossessed the Amorites* who were there. ³³ Then they turned and went up by the way of the Bashan, and Og king of the Bashan and all his people went out to meet them for battle at Edrei. ³⁴ And Yahweh said to Moses, "Do not fear him because I will give him and all his people and all his land into your hand. You will do to him just as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites,* who was living in Heshbon." ³⁵ And so they destroyed him and his sons, and all his people until they had not spared a survivor; and they took possession of his land.

³² Then Sihon and all his people came out to meet us for battle at Jahaz.

¹⁰ and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites,* who reigned in Heshbon up to the border of the _⌊Ammonites_⌋;*

²² And you gave them kingdoms and nations and allotted them a portion. They took into possession the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan.

¹⁰ Who struck many nations and killed mighty kings— ¹¹ Sihon the king of the Amorites, and Og the king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan—

¹⁷ To him who struck great kings, for his loyal love endures forever. ¹⁸ And he killed mighty kings, for his loyal love endures forever. ¹⁹ Sihon the king of the Amorites, for his loyal love endures forever. ²⁰ And Og the king of Bashan, for his loyal love endures forever. ²¹ And he gave their land as an inheritance, for his loyal love endures forever. ²² An inheritance to Israel his servant, for his loyal love endures forever.

² Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel did to the Amorites,*

⁵ He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the river,* in the land of the children of his people, to summon him, saying, "Look! A people went out from Egypt. Look! They cover _⌊the surface of the land_⌋;* they are about to dwell opposite me. ⁶ Now, please go, curse this people for me because they* are stronger than me; perhaps I will be able to strike them* and drive them* out from the land because I know whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you cursed is cursed." ⁷ So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went with a fee for divination in their hand; they came to Balaam and spoke the words of Balak to him. ⁸ He said to them, "Spend the night here, and I will return, and I will return word to you, just as Yahweh speaks to me." So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. ⁹ And God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men with you?" ¹⁰ And Balaam said to God, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent word to me, ¹¹ 'Look! A people went out from Egypt. Look! They cover _⌊the surface of the land_⌋.* Now, go, curse them* for me. Perhaps I will be able to attack them* and drive them* out." ¹² God said to Balaam, "You will not go with them; you will not curse the people, because they* are blessed." ¹³ Balaam got up in the morning, and he said to the princes of Balak, "Go to your land, because Yahweh refused to allow me to go with you." ¹⁴ The princes of Moab got up and went to Balak, and they said, "Balaam refused to come with us." ¹⁵ Balak again sent many princes, who were more honored _⌊than the former_⌋.* ¹⁶ They came to Balaam and said to him, "Thus says Balak son of Zippor, 'Please, let nothing keep you from coming to me ¹⁷ because I will surely honor you greatly, and all that you say to me I will do. Please, come; curse this people for me.'" ¹⁸ Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, "Even though Balak gives to me his house full of silver and gold, I am not able to go beyond _⌊the command of Yahweh_⌋* my God to do a little or a lot. ¹⁹ And now please, _⌊you also stay here_⌋* the night, and _⌊let me find out_⌋* again what Yahweh will say with me." ²⁰ And God came to Balaam at night, and he said to him, "If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them; but only the word that I will speak to you, you will do." ²¹ So Balaam got up in the morning and saddled his donkey, and he went with the princes of Moab.

⁴ _⌊because_⌋* they did not come to meet you with food and with water _⌊when you came out of Egypt_⌋,* and also _⌊because_⌋* they* hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor, in Aram Naharaim* to act against you to curse you. ⁵ But Yahweh your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, and Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because Yahweh your God loved you.

²⁵ So then, are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel, or did he ever make war against them?

⁵ O my people, remember what Balak the king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you might know the righteous acts of Yahweh."

¹¹ 'Look! A people went out from Egypt. Look! They cover _⌊the surface of the land_⌋.* Now, go, curse them* for me. Perhaps I will be able to attack them* and drive them* out." ¹² God said to Balaam, "You will not go with them; you will not curse the people, because they* are blessed."

¹⁸ Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, "Even though Balak gives to me his house full of silver and gold, I am not able to go beyond _⌊the command of Yahweh_⌋* my God to do a little or a lot. ¹⁹ And now please, _⌊you also stay here_⌋* the night, and _⌊let me find out_⌋* again what Yahweh will say with me." ²⁰ And God came to Balaam at night, and he said to him, "If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them; but only the word that I will speak to you, you will do."

³⁵ The angel of Yahweh said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only the word that I will speak to you." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

³ And Balaam said to Balak, "Station yourself at your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell to you." So he went to a barren height. ⁴ And God met with Balaam, and he said to him, "I have arranged seven altars, and I have offered a bull and a ram on the altar." ⁵ Yahweh put a word in the mouth of Balaam and said, "Return to Balak, and you must speak thus." ⁶ So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab. ⁷ And he lifted up his oracle and said,
"From Aram Balak lead me, from the mountains of the east the king of Moab, 'Go for me, curse Jacob, and go, denounce Israel.' ⁸ How can I curse whom God has not cursed, and how can I denounce whom Yahweh has not denounced? ⁹ Because from the top of the rocks I see him, from hilltops I watch him. Behold, a people who dwell alone, they do not consider themselves among the nations. ¹⁰ Who can count the dust of Jacob, or as a number the fourth part of Israel? Let my life die the death of an upright person, and let my end be like his!" ¹¹ And Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have surely blessed them!" ¹² He answered and said, "_⌊Should I not speak_⌋* what Yahweh puts in my mouth?"

¹⁵ Balaam* said to Balak, "Station yourself here at the burnt offering while I myself meet with Yahweh there." ¹⁶ Then Yahweh met with Balaam, and he put a word in his mouth, and he said, "Return to Balak, and you must speak thus." ¹⁷ He came to him, and behold, he was standing at his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, "What has Yahweh spoken?" ¹⁸ Then _⌊he uttered_⌋* his oracle, and said,
"Stand up, Balak, and hear; listen to me, son of Zippor! ¹⁹ God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of humankind, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? And has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? ²⁰ Behold, I have received a command to bless; when he has blessed, I cannot cause it to return. ²¹ He has no regard for evil in Jacob, and he does not see trouble in Israel; Yahweh his God is with him, and a shout* of a king is among them.* ²² God, who brings them out from Egypt, is like the strength* of a wild ox for them.* ²³ Because there is no sorcery against Jacob, and there is no divination against Israel. Now* it will be said to Jacob and Israel, what God has done! ²⁴ Look! the people will rise like the lion; he raises himself and will not lie down until he eats the prey and drinks the blood of the slain." ²⁵ Then Balak said to Balaam, "Do not curse them* at all, nor bless them* at all!" ²⁶ But Balaam answered and said to Balak, "Did I not speak to you, saying, 'Whatever Yahweh speaks I will do'?"

⁵ How good are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel! ⁶ They are spread out like valleys, like gardens on a river, like aloes planted by Yahweh, like cedars at the waters. ⁷ He will pour water from his buckets, and his offspring will be like many waters; his king will be higher than Agag, and his kingdom will be exalted. ⁸ God, who brings him out from Egypt, is like the strength* of a wild ox for him. He will devour the nations who are his enemies; he will break their bones; he will pierce them with his arrows. ⁹ He crouches, he lies down like a lion, and like a lioness, who will rouse him? They who bless you will be blessed, and they who curse you will be cursed." ¹⁰ Then _⌊Balak became angry with_⌋* Balaam, and he clapped his hands and said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, but look, you have surely blessed them these three times.

⁵ But Yahweh your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, and Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because Yahweh your God loved you.

¹⁷ Every weapon formed against you shall not succeed, and you shall declare guilty every tongue that rises against you for judgment. This is the inheritance of the servants of Yahweh, and their _⌊legal right_⌋* from me,"
_⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh.

²³ When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites* and the Hittites* and the Perizzites* and the Canaanites* and the Hivites* and the Jebusites,* I will wipe them out.

¹ "When Yahweh your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter _⌊into it_⌋* to take possession of it, and he drives* out many nations _⌊before you_⌋,* the Hittites* and the Girgashites* and the Amorites* and the Canaanites* and the Hivites* and the Jebusites,* seven nations mightier and more numerous than you,

¹⁴ And it happened, when the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant were _⌊ahead of the people_⌋.* ¹⁵ When those carrying the ark came up to the Jordan, and the priests carrying the ark dipped their feet in the edge of the water (the Jordan was flowing over its banks during all the days of harvest), ¹⁶ the waters flowing down from above stood still; they stood up in one heap very far from Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while the waters flowing down to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea,* _⌊were completely cut off_⌋;* and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ And the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood firmly on the dry land in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation finished crossing the Jordan.

¹⁰ The priests carrying the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything that Yahweh commanded Joshua to tell the people was finished, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua. And the people hastily crossed over. ¹¹ And it happened, when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of Yahweh and the priests crossed over in front of* the people. ¹² The children of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* as Moses told them.

²³ For Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you, until you had crossed, just as Yahweh your God did to the _⌊Red Sea_⌋,* which he dried up before us until we had crossed over,

¹ Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the presence of the _⌊Israelites_⌋;* no one was going out or coming in. ² And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Look, I am giving Jericho into your hand, its king and the soldiers of the army. ³ You will march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once; you will do so for six days. ⁴ And seven priests will bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you will march around the city seven times, and the priests will blow on the trumpets. ⁵ And when they blow long on the horn of the ram, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people will shout with a great war cry, and the wall of the city will fall flat,* and _⌊the people will charge, each one straight ahead_⌋."* ⁶ So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry the trumpets of the rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh." ⁷ And he said* to the people, "Go forward and march around the city, and let the armed men pass before the ark of Yahweh. ⁸ _⌊And when Joshua spoke_⌋* to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the presence of Yahweh went forward and they blew the trumpets; and the ark of the covenant of Yahweh followed behind them. ⁹ And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while they were blowing the trumpets. ¹⁰ But Joshua commanded the people, saying, "You will not shout, and you will not let your voice be heard; a word will not go out from your mouth until the day I say to you 'Shout!' Then you will shout." ¹¹ And the ark of Yahweh went around the city, _⌊circling once_⌋,* and they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp. ¹² Then Joshua got up early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of Yahweh. ¹³ The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of the rams' horns before the ark of Yahweh went on continually, and they blew on the trumpets. And the armed men went before them, and the rear guard came after the ark of Yahweh, while the trumpets blew continually. ¹⁴ And they marched around the city once on the second day, and they returned to the camp. They did this for six days. ¹⁵ Then on the seventh day they rose early at dawn, and they marched around the city in this manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ And at the seventh time the priests blew on the trumpets, and Joshua said to the people, "Shout! For Yahweh has given you the city. ¹⁷ The city and all that is in it will be devoted to Yahweh; only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in the house will live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. ¹⁸ As for you, keep away from the things* devoted to destruction so that you do not take them and bring about your own destruction, making the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it. ¹⁹ But all of the silver and gold, and the items of bronze and iron, are holy to Yahweh, and they must go to Yahweh's treasury." ²⁰ So the people shouted, and they* blew on the trumpets. And when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell flat. _⌊The people charged, each one straight ahead into the city_⌋,* and they captured it. ²¹ And they utterly destroyed _⌊by the edge of the sword_⌋* all who were in the city, both men and women, young and old, ox, sheep, and donkey. ²² Then Joshua said to the two men who spied on the land, "Go to the prostitute's house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, just as you swore to her." ²³ So the young men who were spies went and brought Rahab and her father and mother, her brothers, and all who were with her. And they brought all her family out and set them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴ And they burned the city and all that was in it with fire; they put only the silver and gold, and the items of copper and iron, into the treasury of the house of Yahweh. ²⁵ But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute _⌊and her family_⌋* and all who were with her, and she has lived in the midst of Israel until this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. ²⁶ And Joshua swore at that time, saying, "Cursed is anyone before Yahweh who gets up and builds Jericho, this city. At the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates." ²⁷ So Yahweh was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.

¹ And it happened that when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua captured Ai and had utterly destroyed it (just as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he did to Ai and its king) and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, ² he* became very afraid because Gibeon was a very large city, _⌊like one of the royal cities_⌋,* and because it was larger than Ai, and all its men were mighty warriors. ³ So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hohman king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, ⁴ "Come up and help me, and let us attack Gibeon, because it has made peace with Joshua and the _⌊Israelites_⌋."* ⁵ And the five kings of the Amorites,* the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they and all their forces, and _⌊they laid siege to Gibeon_⌋* and made war against it. ⁶ And the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, "_⌊Do not abandon_⌋* your servant. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, for all the kings of the Amorites* who dwell in the hill country have gathered against us." ⁷ So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and _⌊all the fighting men_⌋* with him, _⌊all the best warriors_⌋.* ⁸ And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, for I have given them into your hand; _⌊no one will withstand you_⌋.* ⁹ Joshua came upon them suddenly _⌊by marching up_⌋* all night from Gilgal. ¹⁰ And Yahweh threw them into panic before Israel, who* struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and pursued them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ And as they were fleeing from Israel, they were on the slope of Beth-horon, and Yahweh threw huge stones from the heavens on them as far as Azekah; and more died by the hail stones than those whom the _⌊Israelites_⌋* killed by the sword.

²⁴ So the children* went in and took possession of the land. You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites; you gave them into their hand, and their kings and the nations of the land to do with them according to their pleasure. ²⁵ And they captured fortified cities and a fertile land and took possession of houses filled with every good thing: hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, and many fruit trees. They ate and became full, and they became fat and took delight in your great goodness.

⁵⁴ So he brought them to his holy territory,* this mountain his right hand acquired.* ⁵⁵ And he drove out nations before them and allocated them for an inheritance by boundary line, and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁴⁴ And he gave to them the lands of the nations, and they inherited the labor of the peoples,

³ The sea looked and fled; the Jordan turned back.

⁵ What's with you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan, that you turned back?

⁴⁵ and which, after* receiving it* in turn, our fathers brought in with Joshua _⌊when they dispossessed the_⌋* nations that God drove out from the presence of our fathers, until the days of David,

¹⁹ And after* destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave their land to his people* as an inheritance.

²⁸ And I will send the hornet before you, and it will drive out the Hivites,* the Canaanites,* and the Hittites* from before you.

²⁰ And, moreover, Yahweh your God will send the hornets* among them until both the survivors and the fugitives _⌊are destroyed_⌋* _⌊before you_⌋.*

³ For not with their sword did they possess the land, and their arm did not give them victory. Rather it was your right hand and your arm and the light of your presence, because you delighted in them. ⁴ You are my king, O God. Command* victories for Jacob. ⁵ By you we push down our enemies; by your name we tread down those who rise up against us. ⁶ For I do not trust my bow, and my sword cannot give me victory.

¹⁰ "And then it will happen that when Yahweh your God will bring you to the land that he swore to your ancestors,* to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to you large and fine cities that you did not build, ¹¹ and houses full of all sorts of good things* that you did not fill, and hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant, and _⌊you have eaten your fill_⌋,* ¹² then take care for yourself, so that you do not forget Yahweh, who brought you out from the land of Egypt from the house of slavery.

⁷ For Yahweh your God is bringing you to a good land with streams of water, springs and underground water, welling up in the valleys* and in the hills,*

¹³ Israel did not burn the cities standing on their mounds,* except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned.

⁴⁵ And _⌊nothing failed from_⌋* all the good things* that Yahweh promised to the house of Israel; _⌊everything came to pass_⌋.*

²² He who is good will leave an inheritance to _⌊his grandchildren_⌋,* and stored up for the righteous is the wealth of a sinner.

¹ When* Abram was ninety-nine years old Yahweh appeared to Abram. And he said to him, "I am El-Shaddai;* walk before me and be blameless

⁵ Did not he himself say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' With integrity of my heart and with cleanness of my hands I did this." ⁶ Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes,* I know that in the integrity of your heart you did this, and I also _⌊kept you from sinning_⌋* against me. Therefore, I did not allow you to touch her.

² Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that are in your midst and purify yourselves and change your garments.

³ "There shall be for you no other gods before me. ⁴ "You shall not make for yourself a divine image with any form that is in the heavens above or that is in the earth below or that is in the water below the earth.

⁷ And _⌊they may no longer sacrifice_⌋* their sacrifices to the goat-idols after which they were prostituting. This is _⌊a lasting statute_⌋* for them _⌊throughout_⌋* their generations." '

¹² And now, Israel, what is Yahweh your God asking* from you, except* to revere Yahweh your God, to go* in all his ways and to love him and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul,*

¹³ You must be blameless before Yahweh your God.

² And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: '_⌊Long ago_⌋* your ancestors*—Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor—lived beyond the river,* and they served other gods.

²³ He said, "Remove the foreign gods that are in your midst, and incline your hearts to Yahweh the God of Israel."

²⁴ Only fear Yahweh and serve him faithfully with all of your heart. For consider _⌊what great things he has done for you_⌋.*

³ "O Yahweh, please remember how I went about before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and remember the good that I have done in your eyes." Then Hezekiah _⌊wept bitterly_⌋.*

¹¹ which you commanded by the hand of your servants the prophets saying, 'The land that you are entering to possess is a land of impurity with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their detestable things which they have filled from end to end with their uncleanness.

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose* name was Job. That* man was blameless and upright and God-fearing and turning away from evil.

²⁸ And to the human beings he said, 'Look, the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.'"

¹⁰ The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom; all who do them* have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.

¹ Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of Yahweh.

⁸⁰ May my heart be blameless in your statutes, so that I may not be ashamed.

⁴ But with you is forgiveness, so that you may be feared."

⁷ Then I said to them, 'Let each one throw away the detestable things of his eyes, and you must not make yourselves unclean with the idols of Egypt! I am Yahweh your God.' ⁸ But they rebelled against me, and they were not willing to listen to me; each one _⌊did not throw away_⌋* the detestable things of their eyes; and _⌊they did not abandon_⌋* the idols of Egypt, and I decided to pour out my rage on them, to fully vent my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.

¹⁸ "And I said to their children in the desert, 'You must not go in the statutes of your parents;* you must not keep their regulations, and you must not make yourself unclean with their idols.

³ and they prostituted themselves in Egypt in their childhood; they were prostituting themselves there, and their breasts were fondled, and there they caressed the bosoms of their virginity.

⁵ Afterward the children of Israel will return and seek Yahweh their God and David their king. They will come in fear to Yahweh and to his goodness at the end of days.

²⁵ Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings those forty years in the desert, O house of Israel? ²⁶ And you will take up Sikkuth, your king, and Kaiwan, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves.

¹⁵ But the seed on the good soil—these are the ones who, after* hearing the word, hold fast to it* with a noble and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.

²³ But an hour is coming—and now is here*—when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for indeed the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. ²⁴ God is spirit, and the ones who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

³¹ Then the church throughout all of Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being strengthened. And living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it was increasing in numbers.*

¹² For our reason for boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, in holiness* and purity of motive from God, not* in merely human wisdom, but by the grace of God.

²⁴ Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruptibility.*

¹⁰ so that you may approve what is superior, in order that you may be sincere and blameless in* the day of Christ,

¹⁹ For I have chosen* him, that he will command his children and his household after him that they will keep the way of Yahweh, to do righteousness and justice, so that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham that which he said to him."

²⁴ " 'You will not bow to their gods, and you will not serve them, and you will not act according to their actions, because you will utterly demolish them, and you will utterly break their stone pillars.

³² You will not make a covenant with them and with their gods. ³³ They will not live in your land, lest they cause you to sin against me when you serve their gods, for it will be a snare to you.'"

¹⁵ lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they prostitute themselves after their gods, and they sacrifice to their gods, and they invite you, and you eat their sacrifice,

⁷ from among the gods of the people who are around you, _⌊those near you or those far from you_⌋,* from one end of the earth and up to the other end of the earth,

¹⁸ so that _⌊there is not_⌋* among you a man or a woman or a clan or a tribe _⌊whose heart_⌋* turns _⌊today_⌋* from being with Yahweh our God to go to serve the gods of these nations, so that there is not among you a root sprouting poison and wormwood.

¹⁰ And I said to you, 'I am Yahweh your God; do not fear* the gods of the Amorites,* in whose land you are living.' But you have not listened to my voice."

¹⁵ And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and to her gods. Return after your sister-in-law too." ¹⁶ But Ruth said, "_⌊Do not urge_⌋* me to leave you or to return from _⌊following you_⌋!* For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.

²¹ Elijah approached to all the people and said, "How long will you go limping over two opinions? If Yahweh is God, go after him; but if Baal, go after him." But the people did not answer him a word.

² I will give attention to the way of integrity. When will you come to me? I will walk in the integrity of my heart in the midst of my house.

¹⁰⁶ I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to heed _⌊your righteous ordinances_⌋.*

¹¹¹ I have taken as my own your testimonies forever, for they are the joy of my heart. ¹¹² I have inclined my heart to do your statutes forever, to the end.

³⁹ And you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Let each one go serve his idols now and after, if you are not listening to me, but _⌊my holy name_⌋* you will not profane any longer with your gifts and with your idols.

⁶⁷ So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?"* ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.

²³ who, when he* arrived and saw the grace of God, rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with _⌊devoted hearts_⌋,*

²³ Also, as for me, far be it from me _⌊that I should sin_⌋* against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the good and righteous way.

⁶ May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?

² May it never be! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

³⁸ But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul is not well pleased with him."* ³⁹ But we are not among those who shrink back to destruction, but among those who have faith to the preservation of our souls.

⁴ 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I bore you on eagles' wings and I brought you to me.

¹¹ As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreads out its wings, takes them,* carries them* on its pinions,* ¹² so Yahweh alone guided him,* and _⌊there was no foreign god accompanying him_⌋.*

⁵ And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. ⁶ When I brought out your ancestors* from Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued after your ancestors* with chariots* and horsemen to the _⌊Red Sea_⌋.* ⁷ They cried out to Yahweh, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and he brought the sea over them* and covered them; your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you lived in the wilderness for many days. ⁸ And I brought you to the land of the Amorites* who lived beyond the Jordan; they fought you, and I gave them into your hand; you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them _⌊before you_⌋.* ⁹ Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, set out and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam son of Beor to curse you, ¹⁰ but I was not willing to listen to Balaam, and he richly blessed you. So I rescued you from his hand, ¹¹ and you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the citizens of Jericho, the Amorites,* the Perizzites,* the Canaanites,* the Hittites,* the Girgashites,* the Hivites,* and the Jebusites,* fought against you, and I gave them into your hand. ¹² I sent before you the hornet and they drove out before you two kings of the Amorites;* but not by your sword or bow. ¹³ I gave to you a land that you have not labored on, and cities that you have not built, and you live* in them; you eat from vineyards and olive groves that you have not planted.' ¹⁴ "So now, revere Yahweh and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness; remove the gods that your ancestors* served beyond the river* and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.

⁴ Even* to your old age I am he; even* to your advanced age I myself will support you. I myself have made you, and I myself will carry you, and I myself will support you, and I will save you.

⁷ I will mention the loyal love of Yahweh, the praises of Yahweh, according to all that Yahweh has done for us, and the greatness of goodness to the house of Israel that he has done to them according to his mercy and the abundance of his loyal love. ⁸ And he said, "Surely my people are children; they will not break faith." And he became a Savior to them. ⁹ In all their distress, _⌊there was no distress_⌋,* and the messenger of his _⌊presence_⌋* saved them, in his love and compassion he himself redeemed them, and he lifted them up, and he supported them all the days of old. ¹⁰ But* they _⌊were the ones who_⌋* rebelled, and they grieved _⌊his Holy Spirit_⌋,* so* he _⌊became an enemy to them_⌋;* he himself fought against them. ¹¹ Then* his people remembered the days of old, of Moses. Where is the one who led up them from the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is the one who puts _⌊his Holy Spirit_⌋* inside him, ¹² _⌊who made_⌋* his magnificent arm move _⌊at_⌋* the right hand of Moses, _⌊who divided_⌋* the waters _⌊before them_⌋,* to make an everlasting name for himself, ¹³ _⌊who led_⌋* them through the depths? They did not stumble like a horse in the desert; ¹⁴ like cattle in the valley that goes down, the Spirit of Yahweh _⌊gave him rest_⌋,* so you lead your people to make a magnificent name for yourself.

⁹ Yet I destroyed the Amorite _⌊before them_⌋,* _⌊who was as tall as_⌋* cedars and was as strong as the oaks. I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. ¹⁰ And I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and I led you in the wilderness forty years to take possession of the land of the Amorite.

² so that you will tell in the ears of your child and _⌊your grandchild_⌋* that I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and so that you will tell about my signs that I have done among them, and so you will know that I am Yahweh."

² Yah* is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation;* this is my God, and I will praise him—the God of my father—and I will exalt him.

¹⁶ Ah, Yahweh, I am indeed your servant; I am your servant, the child of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.

² And many nations will come and say, "Come! Let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, and to the _⌊temple_⌋* of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and that we may walk in his paths," for the law will go out from Zion, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.

²³ Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'In those days ten men from _⌊all the nations of every language_⌋* will take hold of the hem of a Judean man,* saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you!" '"

⁷³ the oath that he swore to Abraham our father, to grant us ⁷⁴ that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, could serve him without fear ⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

⁵ You will not bow down to them, and you will not serve them, because I am Yahweh your God, a jealous God, punishing the guilt of the parents on the children on the third and on the fourth generations* of those hating me,

²¹ Be attentive to him and listen to his voice; do not rebel against him, because he will not forgive your transgression, for my name is in him.

⁷ keeping loyal love to the thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and he does not leave utterly unpunished, punishing the guilt of fathers on sons and on sons of sons on third and fourth generations."

¹⁴ For you will not bow in worship to another god, for 'Yahweh Is Jealous' is his name, he is a jealous God,

³ Therefore* Moses said to Aaron, "This is what Yahweh spoke, saying, 'Among those who are close to me I will show myself holy, and _⌊in the presence of_⌋* all the people I will display my glory.'"* So* Aaron was silent.

² "Speak to all the community of the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* and say to them, 'You* must be holy, because I, Yahweh your* God, am holy.

²⁶ And you shall be holy for me, because I, Yahweh, am holy, and I have singled you out from the nations to be mine.

¹⁵ And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and to her gods. Return after your sister-in-law too."

¹⁴ Therefore I swore to the house of Eli that the iniquity of the house of Eli would not be atoned for* by sacrifice or by offering forever."

²⁰ Then the men of Beth Shemesh asked, "Who is able to stand before Yahweh, this holy God? And to whom shall it* go up from us?"

¹⁶ But they were mocking the messengers of God and despising his words and scoffing at his prophets until the wrath of Yahweh rose against his people until there was no remedy.

⁵ Exalt Yahweh our God, and worship at his footstool. He is holy.

⁹ Exalt Yahweh our God, and worship at his holy mountain, for Yahweh our God is holy.

¹⁶ But Yahweh of hosts is exalted by justice, and the holy God shows himself holy by righteousness.

³ And the one called to the other and said,
"Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of hosts! The _⌊whole earth is full of his glory_⌋."* ⁴ And the pivots of the thresholds shook from the sound of those who called, and the house* was filled with smoke. ⁵ And I said, "Woe to me! For I am destroyed!* For I am a man _⌊of unclean lips_⌋,* and I am living among* a people _⌊of unclean lips_⌋,* for my eyes have seen the king, Yahweh of hosts!"

¹¹ _⌊When its branches are dry_⌋,* they are broken; women are coming and setting light to it.
For it is not a people of understanding;
therefore his maker will not have compassion on him, and his creator will not show him favor.

¹¹ turn aside from the way, turn aside from the path, put an end to the holy one of Israel from our face."

¹⁵ For the Lord Yahweh, the holy one of Israel, said this:
"In returning and rest you shall be saved; your strength shall be in quietness and in trust."
But* you were not willing,

¹³ Your eyes are too pure to see evil, and you are not able to look at wrongdoing.* Why do you look at the treacherous? Why are you silent when the wicked swallows up someone more righteous than him?

²⁴ "No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money.*

²⁵ Now large crowds were going along with him, and he turned around and* said to them, ²⁶ "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and furthermore, even his own life, _⌊he cannot be_⌋* my disciple. ²⁷ Whoever does not carry his own cross and _⌊follow_⌋* me _⌊cannot be_⌋* my disciple. ²⁸ For which of you, wanting to build a tower, does not first sit down and* calculate the cost to see if he has enough* _⌊to complete it_⌋?* ²⁹ _⌊Otherwise_⌋* after* he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish it,* all who see it* will begin to ridicule him, ³⁰ saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish!' ³¹ Or what king, going out to engage another king in battle, does not sit down first and* deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand. ³² But if not, while* the other is still far away, he sends an ambassador and* asks _⌊for terms of_⌋* peace. ³³ In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his own possessions _⌊cannot be_⌋* my disciple.

²⁰ No, but that the things which they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to become sharers with demons. ²¹ You are not able to drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You are not able to share the table of the Lord and the table of demons. ²² Or are we attempting to provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than he is, are we?*

¹² for if indeed you turn back and join these remaining nations _⌊among you_⌋,* and you intermarry with them, _⌊marrying their women and they yours_⌋,* ¹³ know for certain that Yahweh your God _⌊will not continue to drive out_⌋* these nations from before you; they will be for you a snare and a trap, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that Yahweh your God has given to you. ¹⁴ Look! _⌊I am about to die_⌋,* and you know in all your hearts* and souls* that not one thing _⌊failed_⌋* from all the good things that Yahweh your God promised concerning you; everything _⌊has been fulfilled_⌋;* _⌊not one thing failed_⌋.* ¹⁵ But just as all the good things* came to you that Yahweh your God promised, so will Yahweh bring to you all the bad things* until he has destroyed you from this good land that Yahweh your God has given to you.

⁹ "And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind, for Yahweh searches all hearts and understands every plan and all thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.

² And he went out before Asa and said to him, "Hear me, O Asa and all of Judah and Benjamin! Yahweh is with you while you are with him. And if you will seek him he will be found by you. But if you forsake him he will forsake you.

²² For I was ashamed to ask the king for troops and horses to protect us from enemies on the way because we said to the king, "the hand of our God is favorable to all who seek him, but his strength and anger are against all who forsake them."

²⁸ But the destruction of rebels and sinners shall be together, and those who forsake Yahweh will perish.

¹⁰ But* they _⌊were the ones who_⌋* rebelled, and they grieved _⌊his Holy Spirit_⌋,* so* he _⌊became an enemy to them_⌋;* he himself fought against them.

¹¹ But* you _⌊who forsake_⌋* Yahweh, forgetting _⌊my holy mountain_⌋,* who set a table for Fortune, and who _⌊pour out_⌋* a jug of mixed wine for Destiny, ¹² and I will remit you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because I called, but* you did not answer; I spoke, but* you did not listen, but* you did the evil in my eyes, and you chose that in which I do not delight."

¹³ O Yahweh, the hope of Israel, all those who forsake you will be put to shame, and those who turn aside from you in the earth will be recorded, for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, Yahweh.

²⁴ And _⌊when the righteous turns_⌋* from his righteousness, so that* he does injustice, and does all of the detestable things that the wicked do, then* will he live because of all of his righteousness* that he did? Those things will not be remembered because of his infidelity that he displayed, and because of his _⌊sin that he committed_⌋.* Through* them he shall die.

⁴² But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, just as it is written in the book of the prophets:
'You did not bring offerings and sacrifices to me for forty years in the wilderness, did you,* house of Israel?

²⁶ For if* we keep on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that is about to consume the adversaries.

³⁸ But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul is not well pleased with him."*

⁸ And all the people together answered and said, "All that Yahweh has spoken we will do." And Moses brought back the words of the people to Yahweh.

¹⁹ And they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will listen, but let not God speak with us, lest we die."

³ And Moses came, and he told the people all the words of Yahweh and all the regulations. And all the people answered with one voice, and they said, "All the words that Yahweh has spoken we will do."

⁷ And he took the scroll of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, "All that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and we will listen."*

²⁷ You go near and hear _⌊everything_⌋* that Yahweh our God will say; and then you tell us all that Yahweh our God tells you, and we will listen, and we will do it.' ²⁸ "And Yahweh heard the sound of your words _⌊when you spoke to me_⌋,* and Yahweh said to me, 'I have heard the sound of the words of this people that they have spoken to you; they are right with respect to all that they have spoken.

¹⁷ Yahweh you have declared _⌊today_⌋* to be for you as your God, and to go* in his ways and to observe his rules and his commandments and his regulations and to listen to his voice.

⁵ This one will say, 'I belong to Yahweh!' And that one will be called by the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand 'Yahweh's' and _⌊take the name_⌋* of Israel."

⁶ Your mouth condemns you, and not I; and your lips testify against you.

¹¹ In my heart I have hidden your word,* so that I may not sin against you.

¹⁷³ Let your hand be my help,* because I have chosen your precepts.

⁴² But few things are necessary, or only one thing,* for Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."

²² He said to him, '_⌊By your own words_⌋* I will judge you, wicked slave! You knew that I am a severe man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.

² Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that are in your midst and purify yourselves and change your garments. ³ Then let us make ready and let us go up to Bethel, so that I can make an altar there to the God who answered me in the day of my trouble, and who has been with me on the way that I have gone." ⁴ So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their hands, and the ornamental rings that were in their ears. And Jacob buried them under the oak which was near Shechem.

²³ You will not make alongside me gods of silver, and gods of gold you will not make for yourselves.

¹⁴ "So now, revere Yahweh and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness; remove the gods that your ancestors* served beyond the river* and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.

¹⁵ And the _⌊Israelites_⌋* said to Yahweh, "We have sinned; _⌊do to us accordingly as you see fit_⌋;* only please deliver us this day." ¹⁶ So they removed the foreign gods from their midst and served Yahweh; and _⌊he could no longer bear_⌋* the misery of Israel.

³ And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If with all your heart you are turning to Yahweh, remove the foreign gods and Ashtoreths* from your midst. Commit your hearts to Yahweh and serve him alone. Then he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." ⁴ So the _⌊Israelites_⌋* removed the Baals* and the Ashtoreths, and they served Yahweh alone.

⁵⁸ to incline our hearts toward him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his judgments which he commanded our ancestors.*

³⁶ Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to dishonest gain.

⁴ Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked deeds with men who do iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies.

² in order to incline your ear toward wisdom, then you shall apply your heart to understanding.

² Take words with you, and return to Yahweh. Say to him, "Take away all guilt; accept good, and we will offer the fruit* of our lips. ³ Assyria will not save us; we will not ride on horses,* and we will say no more, "Our God," to the work of our hands because in you the fatherless child finds mercy.

⁸ O Ephraim, _⌊what have I to do_⌋* with idols? I myself have answered and looked after you.* I am like a luxuriant cypress; your fruit* comes from me.

¹⁹ Therefore, what am I saying? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? ²⁰ No, but that the things which they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to become sharers with demons. ²¹ You are not able to drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You are not able to share the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

¹⁶ And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said,
"I will live in* them and will walk about among them, and I will be their God and they will be my people."* ¹⁷ Therefore "come out from their midst and be separate," says the Lord, "and do not touch what is unclean,* and I will welcome you,* ¹⁸ and I will be a father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me,"* says the all-powerful Lord.

²⁸ Therefore, since we* are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be thankful, through which let us serve God acceptably, with awe and reverence. ²⁹ For indeed our God is a consuming fire.

²⁷ You go near and hear _⌊everything_⌋* that Yahweh our God will say; and then you tell us all that Yahweh our God tells you, and we will listen, and we will do it.' ²⁸ "And Yahweh heard the sound of your words _⌊when you spoke to me_⌋,* and Yahweh said to me, 'I have heard the sound of the words of this people that they have spoken to you; they are right with respect to all that they have spoken. ²⁹ _⌊If only_⌋* _⌊they had such a mind_⌋';* that is, to fear me and to keep all my commandments _⌊at all times_⌋,* so that _⌊it will go well_⌋* for them and for their children _⌊forever_⌋.*

²⁵ And he cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh showed him a piece of wood, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There he made a rule and regulation for them, and there he tested them.

⁷ And he took the scroll of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, "All that Yahweh has spoken we will do, and we will listen."* ⁸ And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and he said, "Look, the blood of the covenant that Yahweh has made with you in accordance with all these words."

² Yahweh our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. ³ It was not with our ancestors* that Yahweh made this covenant, but with these of us who are here alive today.

¹ * These are the words of the covenant that Yahweh commanded Moses to make with the _⌊Israelites_⌋* in the land of Moab _⌊besides_⌋* the covenant that he made with them at Horeb.

¹⁰ "You are standing _⌊today_⌋,* all of you, _⌊before_⌋* Yahweh your God, your leaders, your tribes, your elders, and your officials, all the men of Israel, ¹¹ your little children, your women and your aliens* who are in the midst of your camp, from the choppers* of your wood to the drawers* of your water, ¹² _⌊in order for you to enter into the covenant of Yahweh your God_⌋,* and into* his oath that Yahweh your God is _⌊making with you_⌋* _⌊today_⌋,* ¹³ in order to establish you _⌊today_⌋* _⌊to himself_⌋* as a people and so that he may be for you as God, just as he _⌊promised_⌋* to you and _⌊just as_⌋* he swore to your ancestors,* to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. ¹⁴ "Now I am not _⌊making this covenant_⌋* and this oath _⌊with you alone_⌋.* ¹⁵ But with _⌊whoever is standing here_⌋* with us _⌊today_⌋* _⌊before_⌋* Yahweh our God, and with _⌊whoever is not standing here_⌋* with us _⌊today_⌋.*

¹ And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem; he summoned the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges, and their officials, and they presented themselves before God.

²⁶ Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which is at the shrine of Yahweh.

¹⁷ Then Jehoiada _⌊made_⌋* a covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people, that the people should be as a people for Yahweh, and also a covenant between the king and the people.

¹² And they entered into a covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,* with all their heart and with all their inmost being,*

¹⁵ And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they swore with all their heart. And they sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and Yahweh gave rest to them all around.

¹⁶ And Jehoiada _⌊made_⌋* a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they should be Yahweh's people.

¹⁰ Now _⌊it is in my heart_⌋* to _⌊make_⌋* a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger might turn away from him.

²⁹ Then they sent word to the king, and he gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. ³⁰ And the king went up to the house of Yahweh with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with the priests and the Levites—all the people from great to small—and they read in their ears all the words of the scroll of the covenant that was found in the house of Yahweh. ³¹ And the king stood at his position. And he made the covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh and to keep his commands and statutes and regulations with all his heart and with all his soul, to do the words of the covenant that were written on this scroll. ³² Then he obligated* all who were found in Jerusalem and in Benjamin, that the inhabitants of Jerusalem would do according to the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.*

³⁸ * "Now because of all of this we make a binding written agreement and are writing on the sealed documents the names of our commanders, our Levites, and our priests."

²⁸ "The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to observe the law* of God—their wives, their sons, their daughters, and all who know and understand— ²⁹ are helping their brothers, their nobles, and entering into a solemn oath to walk in the law* of God which was given by the hand of Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all of the commandments of Yahweh our Lord and his judgments and regulations.

¹⁸ And Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a stone pillar, and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ And he called the name of that place Bethel; however, the name of the city was formerly Luz. ²⁰ And Jacob made a vow* saying, "If God will be with me and protect me on this way that I am going, and gives me food to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ and if I return in peace to the house of my father, then Yahweh will become my God. ²² And this stone that I have set up as a pillar shall be the house of God, and of all that you give to me I will certainly give a tenth to you."

⁸ And Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died. And she was buried below Bethel, under the oak. And its name was called Allon-Bacuth.*

⁴ And Moses wrote all the words of Yahweh, and he rose early in the morning, and he built an altar at the base of the mountain and set up twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁴ _⌊And then when Moses finished writing_⌋* the words of this law on the scroll _⌊until they were complete_⌋,* ²⁵ then Moses commanded the Levites carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, _⌊saying_⌋,* ²⁶ "Take the scroll of this law and put it at the side of the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and it will be there as a witness against you.

³ and command them, saying, 'Take for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you, and set them up in _⌊the place where you will camp tonight_⌋.'"* ⁴ So Joshua summoned the twelve men whom he had appointed from the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* one from each tribe. ⁵ And Joshua said to them, "Cross over before* the ark of Yahweh your God to the middle of the Jordan, and each one of you lift up a stone on your* shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* ⁶ so that this may be a reminder* among you. When your children ask in the future, saying, '_⌊What do these stones mean to you_⌋?'* ⁷ you will say to them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off _⌊from before_⌋* the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones will be as a memorial for the _⌊Israelites_⌋* for eternity." ⁸ Thus the _⌊Israelites_⌋* did as Joshua commanded. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan as Yahweh told Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* and they carried them over with them to _⌊the camp_⌋,* and they put them there. ⁹ Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stood, and they are there to this day.

²⁰ And those twelve stones that they took from the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. ²¹ And he said to the _⌊Israelites_⌋,* "When your children ask in the future _⌊their parents_⌋,* '_⌊What is the meaning of these stones_⌋?'* ²² you will let your children know by saying, 'Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.' ²³ For Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you, until you had crossed, just as Yahweh your God did to the _⌊Red Sea_⌋,* which he dried up before us until we had crossed over, ²⁴ so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of Yahweh is strong, so that you may fear Yahweh your God _⌊forever_⌋."*

⁶ All the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo gathered, and they went and made Abimelech as king, near the oak* of the pillar that is at Shechem.

⁴⁴ So now, come, let us _⌊make_⌋* a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between me and you." ⁴⁵ And Jacob took a stone and set it up as a stone pillar. ⁴⁶ And Jacob said to his kinsmen, "Gather stones." And they took stones and made a pile of stones, and they ate there by the pile of stones. ⁴⁷ And Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha,* but Jacob called it Galeed.* ⁴⁸ Then Laban said, "This pile of stones is a witness between me and you today." Therefore its name is called Galeed,* ⁴⁹ and Mizpah,* because he said, "Yahweh watch between me and you when _⌊we are out of sight of each other_⌋.* ⁵⁰ If you mistreat my daughters, and if you take wives besides my daughters, when there is no man with us, see—God is a witness between me and you." ⁵¹ And Laban said to Jacob, "See, this pile of stones, and see the pillar that I have set up between me and you. ⁵² This pile of stones is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this pile of stones to you, and that you will not pass beyond this pile of stones and this pillar to me intending harm.

²⁶ I call* to witness against you today the heaven and the earth, that you will perish soon and completely from the land that you are crossing the Jordan into it to take possession of it; _⌊you will not live long on it_⌋,* but you will be completely destroyed.

¹⁹ I invoke as a witness against you _⌊today_⌋* the heaven and the earth: life and death I have set _⌊before you_⌋,* blessing and curse. So choose life, so that you may live, you and your offspring,*

¹⁹ "And so then write this song for yourselves and teach it to the _⌊Israelites_⌋;* put it in their mouth, so that this song may be for me as a witness against the _⌊Israelites_⌋.*

²¹ _⌊And then_⌋* many disasters and troubles will come upon them,* and this song will give evidence before them* as a witness, because it will not be forgotten from out of the mouth of their descendants,* for I know their* inclination that they* are having _⌊today_⌋* before I have brought them* into the land that I swore."

²⁶ "Take the scroll of this law and put it at the side of the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God, and it will be there as a witness against you.

¹ "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

²⁷ instead, it is a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us for performing the serving of Yahweh in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings; so that your children may not say in the future to our children, "You have no portion in Yahweh." ' ²⁸ And we thought, if they say to us and to our children in the future, we can say, 'Look at this replica of the altar of Yahweh, which our ancestors* made, not for burnt offerings* or sacrifices;* rather, it is a witness between us and you.'

³⁴ The descendants* of Reuben and Gad called the altar Witness, "Because," they said, "it is a witness between us that Yahweh is God."

¹² So Samuel took a single stone and put it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it Ebenezer and said, "Up to here Yahweh has helped us."

²³ Indeed, the disaster from God was a dread for me, and _⌊I was powerless_⌋* because of his majesty.

⁹ Or else I will be satisfied and will deny him and say "Who is Yahweh?" Or* I will be poor and will steal and profane the name of my God.

² Hear, heavens, and listen, earth, for Yahweh has spoken: "I reared children and I brought them up, but they rebelled against me.

¹¹ For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the plaster from the wood will answer it.

³³ But whoever denies me before people, I also will deny him before my Father who is in heaven.

⁴⁰ And he answered and* said, "I tell you that* if these keep silent, the stones will cry out!"

¹² if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; ¹³ if we are unfaithful, he remains faithful—_⌊he cannot deny himself_⌋*.*

¹⁶ They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny him, because they* are detestable and disobedient, and unfit for every good deed.

⁸ 'I know your works (behold, I have put before you an opened door that no one is able to shut*) that you have a little strength, and have kept my word, and did not deny my name.

⁶ And Joshua sent the people away, and the _⌊Israelites_⌋* went each to their* own inheritance to take possession of the land.

²² So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and the house of his father. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.

²⁶ So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old. They embalmed him and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

⁵ Then Moses, the servant of Yahweh, died there in the land of Moab _⌊according to the command of Yahweh_⌋.*

⁸ And Joshua son of Nun, servant of Yahweh, died _⌊at the age of one hundred and ten years_⌋.*

¹⁷ The dead do not praise Yah,* nor any descending into silence.

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have completed the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Finally, the crown of righteousness is reserved for me, that the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing.

¹³ And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write:
'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'"
"Yes," says the Spirit, "in order that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow after them."

⁵⁰ _⌊According to the commandment of Yahweh_⌋,* they gave him the city that he requested, Timnath Serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, and he rebuilt the city and settled* in it.

⁹ They buried him within the border of his inheritance in Timnah-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

³⁰ Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai from the wadis of Gaash,

² And you shall realize _⌊today_⌋* that it is not with your children who have not known and who have not seen the discipline of Yahweh your God—his greatness, his strong hand, and his outstretched arm,

⁷ The fact of the matter is, _⌊your own eyes have seen_⌋* all of the great deeds* of Yahweh that he did.

¹³ And then their children,* who have not known, they too may hear, and they may learn to revere Yahweh their God all the days _⌊that you live_⌋* on the land that you are crossing the Jordan _⌊to get there_⌋* to take possession of it."

²⁹ For I know that after my death you will certainly act corruptly, and you will turn aside from the way that I have commanded you, and the disaster in the future days will befall you, because you will do evil* in the eyes of Yahweh, _⌊provoking him with the work of your hands_⌋."*

⁷ And the people served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who saw all the great work Yahweh had done for Israel.

² And Joash did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

¹⁷ Now after the death of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah came and bowed down to the king. Then the king listened to them. ¹⁸ And they forsook the house of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors* and served the Asherahs and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem on account of this guilt.

²⁹ I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

¹² Therefore my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

¹⁹ And he bought a piece of land where he pitched his tent for one hundred pieces of money* from the hand of the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem.

²² And I have given to you one slope of land rather than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorites by my sword and with my bow."

²⁵ Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall bring up my bones from here."

¹⁹ And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph* had made the _⌊Israelites_⌋* solemnly swear an oath, saying, "God will surely attend to you, and you will take up my bones from here with you."

⁵ Now he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the piece of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

¹⁶ And they were brought back to Shechem and buried in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

²² By faith Joseph, as he* was dying, mentioned about the exodus of the sons of Israel and gave instructions about his bones.

²³ And Aaron took Elisheba the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, for himself as a wife, and she bore for him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.

²⁵ And Eleazar the son of Aaron took for himself one from the daughters of Putiel as a wife, and she bore for him Phinehas. These are the heads of the _⌊families_⌋* of the Levites according to their clans.

³² The _⌊chief of the leaders_⌋* of the Levites* was Eleazar son of Aaron the priest who had oversight of those keeping the responsibility of the sanctuary.

²⁶ Strip off Aaron's garments, and put them on Eleazar his son; Aaron will be gathered to his people, and he will die there." ²⁷ So Moses did just as Yahweh commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor before the eyes of all the community. ²⁸ And Moses stripped off Aaron's garments and put them on Eleazar his son. Aaron died there on the top of the mountain; and Moses and Eleazar went down from the mountain.

¹ These are the territories that the _⌊Israelites_⌋* inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of the _⌊Israelites_⌋* gave as an inheritance to them.

¹³ And the _⌊Israelites_⌋* sent to the descendants* of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, Phinehas the priest son of Eleazar,

²⁸ and Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was standing _⌊before it_⌋* to minister in those days), saying, "Should we go out once more to battle against the descendants* of Benjamin our relatives,* or should we stop?" And Yahweh said, "Go up tomorrow; I will give them* into your hand."

²³ Indeed, I know that you will bring me to death and to the house of assembly for all the living.

¹⁰ For he sees that the wise die, together with the fool and brute they perish, and leave their wealth to the next generation.

¹ The righteous one perishes, and there is no one who takes* it to heart. And men of faithfulness are gathered, while there is no one who understands, for the righteous is gathered from the presence of wickedness. ² he enters into peace; they will rest on their beds, walking straight ahead of him.

⁵ "Your ancestors,* where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

³⁶ For David, after* serving the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and _⌊was buried with_⌋* his fathers, and experienced decay.

²⁴ but he, because he continues _⌊forever_⌋*, holds the priesthood permanently.

²⁶ since it would have been necessary for him to suffer many times from the foundation of the world, but now he has appeared once at the end of the ages for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ And _⌊just as_⌋* it is destined for people to die once, and after this, judgment,