# verses

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Priests must be holy to their God. They must show respect for God’s name. This is because they present the offerings made by fire to the Lord. This is the food of their God. So they must be holy.


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“‘A priest serves God in a special way. So he must not marry an unclean prostitute or a divorced woman.


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Treat the priest in a special way. Think of him as holy. This is because he offers up the food of your God. I am the Lord. I make you holy. And I am holy.


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“‘If a priest’s daughter makes herself unclean by becoming a prostitute, she shames her father. She must be burned with fire.


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“‘The high priest was chosen from among his brothers. The special olive oil used in appointing people and things to the service of the Lord was poured on his head. He was appointed to wear the priestly clothes. So he must not do things to show his sadness in public. He must not let his hair go uncombed. He must not tear his clothes.


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He must not go into a house where there is a dead body. He must not make himself unclean, even if it is his own father or mother.


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The high priest must not go out of the Holy Place. If he does and becomes unclean, he would make God’s Holy Place unclean. The special oil used in appointing priests was poured on the high priest’s head. This separated him from the rest of the people. I am the Lord.


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He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman or a prostitute. He must marry a virgin from his own people.


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This is so the people will respect his children as his own. I am the Lord. I have set the high priest apart for his special job.’”


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“Tell Aaron: ‘Some of your descendants might have something wrong with them. If they do, they must never offer the special food of their God.


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Anyone who has something wrong with him must not serve as priest. And he must not bring sacrifices to me. These people cannot serve as priests: blind men, crippled men, men with damaged faces, deformed men,


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hunchbacks, dwarfs, men who have something wrong with their eyes, men who have an itching disease or a skin disease or men who have damaged sex glands.


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“‘One of Aaron’s descendants might have something wrong with him. If he does, he cannot make the offerings made by fire to the Lord. He has something wrong with him. He cannot offer the food of his God.


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But he is from the family of priests. So he may eat the most holy food. He may also eat the holy food.


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But he may not go through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. He may not go near the altar. He has something wrong with him. He must not make my Holy Place unfit. I am the Lord. I make these things holy.’”


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“Tell Aaron and his sons: ‘The people of Israel will give offerings to me. These offerings are holy, and they are mine. So you must respect these offerings. This will show that you respect my holy name. I am the Lord.


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The people of Israel made the offerings holy for me. One of your descendants might be unclean and touch the offerings. From now on, anyone who does must be separated from appearing before me. I am the Lord.


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“‘One of Aaron’s descendants might have one of the harmful skin diseases. Or he might discharge a body fluid. He cannot eat the holy offerings until he becomes clean. He can become unclean from touching a dead body or from his own semen.


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He will become unclean if he touches any unclean crawling animal. He will become unclean if he touches an unclean person. It doesn’t matter what made him unclean.


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Anyone who touches those things will become unclean until evening. That person must not eat the holy offerings. But if he washes with water, he may eat the holy offerings.


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He will be clean only after the sun goes down. Then he may eat the holy offerings. The offerings are his food.


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“‘A priest might find an animal that died by itself. Or he might find one that was killed by some other animal. He must not eat that dead animal. If he eats it, he will become unclean. I am the Lord.


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“‘The priests must keep all the rules I have given. That way they will not become guilty. If they are careful, they will not die. I am the Lord. I have made them holy.


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Only people in a priest’s family may eat the holy offerings. A visitor staying with the priest must not eat it. A hired worker must not eat it.


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But the priest might buy a slave with his own money. If he does, that slave may eat the holy offerings. Slaves who were born in the priest’s house may also eat the priest’s food.


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A priest’s daughter might marry a person who is not a priest. If she does, she must not eat any of the holy offerings.


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The husband of a priest’s daughter might die. Or the daughter might become divorced. She might not have children to support her. So she might go back to her father’s house where she lived as a child. If this happens, she may eat some of her father’s food. But only people from a priest’s family may eat this food.


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“‘Someone might eat some of the holy offering by mistake. That person must pay back the priest for that holy food. He must also pay the priest another one-fifth of the price of that food.


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“‘The people of Israel will give offerings to the Lord. These gifts become holy. So the priest must not treat these holy things as though they were not holy.


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The priests might allow someone who is not a priest to eat the holy offerings. If they do, they are treating those offerings as though they were not holy. The person who eats will become guilty. He will have to pay for it. I am the Lord. I make them holy.’”


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“Tell Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel: ‘A citizen of Israel or a foreigner living in Israel might want to bring a whole burnt offering. It might be for some special promise he has made. Or it might be a special gift he wanted to give to the Lord.


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If he does, he must bring a male animal. It must have nothing wrong with it. The gift might be a bull, a sheep or a goat. This is so it might be accepted for him.


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“‘Someone might bring a fellowship offering to the Lord. That offering might be payment for a special promise the person made. Or it may be a special gift the person wanted to give the Lord. It might be a bull or a sheep. But it must be healthy. There must be nothing wrong with it. This is so it might be accepted for him.


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You must not offer to the Lord any animal that is blind. It must not have broken bones or be crippled. It must not have running sores or any sort of skin disease. You must not offer any animals like these on the altar. They cannot be used as an offering by fire to the Lord.


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“‘Sometimes a bull or lamb is smaller than normal. Or it may not be perfectly formed. If someone wants to give that animal as a special gift to the Lord, it will be accepted. But it will not be accepted as payment for a special promise the person made.


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“‘An animal might have bruised, crushed, torn or cut sex glands. If it does, you must not offer that animal to the Lord in your own land.


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You must not take such animals from foreigners as sacrifices to the Lord. This is because the animals have been hurt in some way. They have something wrong with them. They will not be accepted for you.’”


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“When an ox, a sheep or a goat is born, it must stay seven days with its mother. But from the eighth day on, this animal will be accepted as a sacrifice. It may be offered by fire to the Lord.


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But you must not kill the animal and its mother on the same day. This rule is the same for an ox or a sheep.


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“You might want to offer some special offering of thanks to the Lord. But you must do it in a way that pleases the Lord.


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You must eat the whole animal that same day. You must not leave any of the meat for the next morning. I am the Lord.


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Show respect for my holy name. You Israelites must remember that I am holy. I am the Lord. I have made you holy.


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“Tell the people of Israel: ‘You will announce the Lord’s appointed feasts as holy meetings. These are my special feasts.


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The Sabbath “‘There are six days for you to work. But the seventh day will be a special day of rest. It is a day for a holy meeting. You must not do any work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your homes.


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The Passover and Unleavened Bread “‘These are the Lord’s appointed feasts. You will announce the holy meetings at the times set for them.


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The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the fifteenth day of the same month. You will eat bread made without yeast for seven days.


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For seven days you will bring an offering made by fire to the Lord. There will be a holy meeting on the seventh day. And on that day you must not do any regular work.’”


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“Tell the people of Israel: ‘You will enter the land I will give you. You will gather its harvest. At that time you must bring the first bundle of grain from your harvest to the priest.


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The priest will present the bundle before the Lord. Then it will be accepted for you. He will present the bundle on the day after the Sabbath.


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“‘On the day when you present the bundle of grain, offer a male lamb. It must be one year old. There must be nothing wrong with it. It will be a burnt offering to the Lord.


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You must also offer a grain offering. It should be four quarts of fine flour mixed with olive oil. It is an offering made by fire to the Lord. Its smell will be pleasing to the Lord. You must also offer a quart of wine as a drink offering.


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First bring your offering to your God. Until you do this, do not eat the new grain, roasted grain or bread made from the new grain. This law will always continue for people from now on, wherever you live.


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The Feast of Pentecost “‘Count seven weeks from the morning after the Sabbath. (This is the Sabbath that you bring the bundle of grain to present as an offering.)


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On the fiftieth day, you will bring a new grain offering to the Lord. This is the first day after the seventh week.


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On that day bring two loaves of bread from your homes. That bread will be presented as an offering. Use yeast and four quarts of flour to make those loaves of bread. They will be your gift to the Lord from the first wheat of your harvest.


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“‘Offer one bull, two male sheep and seven male lambs. The lambs must be one year old. There must be nothing wrong with them. Offer them with their grain offerings and drink offerings. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord. They will be an offering made by fire. And the smell will be pleasing to the Lord.


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You must also offer one male goat for a sin offering. You must offer two male, one-year-old lambs as a fellowship offering.


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“‘The priest will present the two lambs as an offering. He will present them with the bread from the first wheat of the harvest. They are holy to the Lord. They will belong to the priest.


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On that same day you will call a holy meeting. You must not do any work that day. This law will continue for you from now on, wherever you live.


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“‘You will harvest your crops on your land. But do not harvest all the way to the corners of your field. If grain falls onto the ground, don’t gather it up. Leave it for poor people and foreigners in your country. I am the Lord your God.’”


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“Tell the people of Israel: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you must have a special day of rest. There will be a holy meeting. Blow the trumpet for a special time of remembering.


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“The Day of Cleansing will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. There will be a holy meeting. You will give up eating and bring an offering made by fire to the Lord.


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Do not do any work on that day. This is because it is the Day of Cleansing. On that day the priests will go before the Lord. They will perform the acts to make you clean from sin so you will belong to the Lord.


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It will be a special day of rest for you. And you must not eat. You will start this special day of rest on the evening after the ninth day of the month. It will continue from that evening until the next evening.”


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“Tell the people of Israel: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month is the Feast of Shelters. This feast to the Lord will continue for seven days.


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You will bring an offering made by fire to the Lord each day for seven days. On the eighth day you will have another holy meeting. And you will bring an offering made by fire to the Lord. This will be a holy meeting. Do not do any work.


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(“‘These are the Lord’s special feasts. There will be holy meetings on these feast days. You will bring offerings made by fire to the Lord. They will be whole burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings. You must bring these gifts at the right times.


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You must bring these offerings in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbath days. You must offer them in addition to offerings you give as payment for special promises. They are also in addition to special offerings you want to give to the Lord.)


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“‘So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, celebrate the Lord’s festival for seven days. By then you will have gathered in the crops of the land. You must rest on the first day and the seventh day.


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On the first day you will take good fruit from the fruit trees. And you will take branches from palm, poplars and other leafy trees. You will celebrate before the Lord your God for seven days.


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Celebrate this festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This law will continue from now on. You will celebrate it in the seventh month.


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This is so that all your descendants will know I made Israel live in shelters. It was during the time I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”


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“Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from crushed olives. That oil is for the lamps. These lamps must never go out.


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Aaron will keep the lamps burning in the Meeting Tent. They will burn from evening until morning before the Lord. This will be in front of the curtain of the Ark of the Covenant. This law will continue from now on.


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Put pure incense on each row. This is the memorial portion to take the place of the bread. It is an offering made by fire to the Lord.


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Every Sabbath day Aaron will put the bread in order before the Lord. This agreement with the people of Israel will continue forever.


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That bread will belong to Aaron and his sons. They will eat it in a holy place. This is because it is a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the Lord. That bread is their share forever.”


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The Man Who Cursed God Now there was a son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian father. The son was walking among the Israelites. And a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite.


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The son of the Israelite woman began cursing and speaking against the Lord. So the people took him to Moses. (The mother’s name was Shelomith. She was the daughter of Debri from the family of Dan.)


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“Take the one who spoke against me outside the camp. Then bring together all the people who heard him. They must put their hands on his head. Then all the people must throw stones at him and kill him.


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Anyone who speaks against the Lord must be put to death. All the people must kill him by throwing stones at him. Foreigners must be punished just like the person born in Israel. If someone speaks against the Lord, he must be put to death.


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Someone might kill an animal that belongs to another person. If he does, he must give that person another animal to take its place.


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And someone might cause an injury to his neighbor. If he does, the same kind of injury must be given back to him.


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A broken bone must be paid for a broken bone, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. In the same way someone injures another person, he must be injured in return.


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So anyone who kills another person’s animal must give that person another animal to take its place. But the person who kills another person must be put to death.


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“‘The law will be the same for the foreigner as for those from your own country. I am the Lord your God.’”


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Then Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And they took the person who had cursed outside the camp. Then they killed him with stones. So the people of Israel did as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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“Tell the people of Israel this: ‘I will give you land. When you enter it, let it have a special time of rest. This will be to honor the Lord.


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You may plant seed in your field for six years. You may trim your vineyards for six years and bring in their fruits.


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But during the seventh year, you must let the land rest. This will be a special time to honor the Lord. You must not plant seed in your field or trim your vineyards.


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You must not cut the crops that grow by themselves after harvest. You must not gather the grapes from your vines that are not trimmed. The land will have a year of rest.


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“‘You may eat whatever the land produces during that year of rest. It will be food for your men and women servants. It will be food for your hired workers and the foreigners living in your country.


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It will also be food for your cattle and the wild animals of your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.


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The Year of Jubilee “‘Count off seven groups of 7 years. This will be 49 years. During that time there will be 7 years of rest for the land.


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On the Day of Cleansing, you must blow the horn of a male sheep. This will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. You must blow the horn through the whole country.


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Make the fiftieth year a special year. Announce freedom for all the people living in your country. This time will be called Jubilee. Each of you will go back to his own property. And each of you will go back to his own family and family group.


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The fiftieth year will be a special time for you to celebrate. Don’t plant seeds. Don’t harvest the crops that grow by themselves. Don’t gather grapes from the vines that are not trimmed.


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That year is Jubilee. It will be a holy time for you. You may eat the crops that come from the field.


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“‘Don’t cheat your neighbor when you sell your land to him. And don’t let him cheat you when you buy land from him.


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You might want to buy your neighbor’s land. If you do, count the number of years since the last Jubilee. Use that number to decide the right price. If he sells the land to you, count the number of years left for harvesting crops. Use that number to decide the right price.


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If there are many years, the price will be high. If there are only a few years, lower the price. This is because your neighbor is really selling only a few crops to you. At the next Jubilee the land will again belong to his family.


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The land will give good crops to you. You will eat as much as you want. And you will live safely in the land.


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Don’t worry. I will send you a great blessing during the sixth year. That year the land will produce enough crops for 3 years.


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When you plant in the eighth year, you will still be eating from the old crop. You will eat the old crop until the harvest of the ninth year.


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Property Laws “‘The land really belongs to me. So you can’t sell it forever. You are only foreigners and travelers living for a time on my land.


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A person in your country might become very poor. He might be so poor that he must sell his land. So his close relatives must come and buy it back for him.


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A person might not have a close relative to buy back his land for him. But he might get enough money to buy it back himself.


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He must count the years since the land was sold. He must use that number to decide how much to pay for the land. Then he may buy it back. And the land will be his again.


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But he might not find enough money to buy it back for himself. Then the one who bought it will keep it until the year of Jubilee. But during that celebration, the land will go back to the first owner’s family.


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“‘Someone may sell a home in a walled city. But, for a full year after he sold it, he has the right to buy it back.


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But the owner might not buy back the house before a full year is over. If he doesn’t, the house in the walled city will belong to the one who bought it. It will belong to his future sons. The house will not go back to the first owner at Jubilee.


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But houses in small towns without walls are like open country. They can be bought back. And they must be returned to their first owner at Jubilee.


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Someone might buy a house from a Levite. But that house in the Levites’ city will again belong to the Levites in the Jubilee. This is because houses in Levite cities belong to the people of Levi. The people of Israel gave these cities to the Levites.


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Also the fields and pastures around the Levites’ cities cannot be sold. Those fields belong to the Levites forever.


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Rules for Slave Owners “‘Someone from your country might become too poor to support himself. Help him to live among you as you would a stranger or foreigner.


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Do not charge him any interest on money you loan to him. Respect your God. And let the poor man live among you.


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I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of the land of Egypt. I did it to give the land of Canaan to you and to become your God.


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“‘Someone from your country might become very poor. He might even sell himself as a slave to you. If he does, you must not make him work like a slave.


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Then he may leave you. He may take his children and go back to his family and the land of his ancestors.


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This is because the Israelites are my servants. I brought them out of slavery in Egypt. They must not become slaves again.


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Also you may buy children as slaves. These children must come from the families of foreigners living in your land. These child slaves will belong to you.


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You may even pass these foreign slaves on to your children after you die. You can make them slaves forever. But you must not rule cruelly over your own brothers, the Israelites.


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“‘A foreigner or visitor among you might become rich. And someone in your country might become poor. The poor man might sell himself as a slave to a foreigner living among you. Or he might sell himself to a member of a foreigner’s family.


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The poor man has the right to be bought back and become free. One of his relatives may buy him back.


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His uncle or his uncle’s son may buy him back. One of his close relatives may buy him back. Or if he gets enough money, he may pay the money himself. Then he will be free again.


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“‘How do you decide the price? You must count the years from the time he sold himself to the foreigner. And count up to the next year of Jubilee. Use that number to decide the price. This is because the person really only hired himself out for a certain number of years.


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There might still be many years before the year of Jubilee. If so, the person must pay back a large part of the price.


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There might only be a few years left until Jubilee. If so, the person must pay a small part of the first price.


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But he will live like a hired man with the foreigner every year. Don’t let the foreigner rule cruelly over him.


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“‘That person will become free, even if no one buys him back. At the year of Jubilee, he and his children will become free.


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This is because the people of Israel are my servants. I brought them out of slavery in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.


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Rewards for Obeying God “‘Don’t make idols for yourselves. Don’t set up statues or memorials. Don’t put stone statues in your land to bow down to. This is because I am the Lord your God.


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If you do these things, I will give you rains at the right season. The land will produce crops. And the trees of the field will produce their fruit.


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Your threshing will continue until the grape harvest. And your grape harvest will continue until it is time to plant. Then you will have plenty to eat. You will live safely in your land.


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I will give peace to your country. You will lie down in peace. No one will make you afraid. I will keep harmful animals out of your country. And armies will not pass through your country.


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Five of you will chase 100 men. And 100 of you will chase 10,000 men. You will defeat your enemies and kill them with your sword.


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“‘Then I will show kindness to you. I will let you have many children. I will keep my agreement with you.


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You will have enough crops to last for more than a year. You will harvest the new crops. And you will have to throw out the old crops to make room for the new ones.


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I am the Lord your God. You were slaves in Egypt. You were bent low from the heavy weights you carried as slaves. But I broke the heavy weights that were on your shoulders. I let you walk proudly again.


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If you do that, I will cause terrible things to happen to you. I will cause you to have disease and fever. They will destroy your eyes and kill you. You will not have success when you plant your seed. And your enemy will eat your crops.


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I will be against you, and your enemies will defeat you. These enemies hate you. And they will rule over you. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.


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And I will also break the great cities that make you proud. The skies will not give rain. The earth will not produce crops.


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You will work hard, but it will not help. Your land will not grow any crops. Your trees will not give their fruit.


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“‘If you still turn against me and refuse to obey me, I will beat you seven times harder. The more you sin, the more you will be punished.


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I will send wild animals to attack you. They will take your children away from you. They will destroy your cattle. They will make you so few in number the roads will be empty.


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You broke my agreement, and I will punish you. I will bring armies against you. You will go into your cities for safety. But I will cause diseases to spread among you. Then your enemy will defeat you.


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There will be very little bread to eat. Ten women will be able to cook all your bread in one oven. They will measure each piece of bread. You will eat, but you will still be hungry.


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I will destroy your places where false gods are worshiped. I will cut down your incense altars. I will pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols. I will hate you.


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I will destroy your cities. I will make your holy places empty. I will not smell the pleasing smell of your offerings.


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I will scatter you among the nations. I will pull out my sword and destroy you. Your land will become empty. Your cities will become waste.


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You will be taken to your enemy’s country. So your land will finally get its rest. It will enjoy its time of rest all the time it lies empty.


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During the time the land is empty, it will rest. It will have the rest you should have given it while you lived in it.


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“‘Those who are left alive will lose their courage in the land of their enemies. They will be frightened of everything. They will be frightened by even the sound of a leaf being blown by the wind. They will run as if someone were chasing them with a sword. They will fall even when no one is chasing them.


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They will run as if someone were chasing them with a sword. They will fall over each other, even though no one is chasing them. You will not be strong enough to stand up against your enemies.


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So those who are left alive will rot away in their enemies’ countries. They will rot away because of their sins and their ancestors’ sins.


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There Is Always Hope “‘But maybe the people will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors. Maybe they will admit they turned against me and sinned against me.


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That made me turn against them. So I sent them into the land of their enemies. These disobedient people might be sorry for what they did. They might accept punishment for their sin.


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If they do, I will remember my agreement with Jacob. I will remember my agreement with Isaac and Abraham. And I will remember the land.


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The land will be empty. It will enjoy its time of rest. Then those who are left alive will accept the punishment for their sins. They will learn that they were punished because they hated my laws. And they refused to obey my rules.


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They truly sinned. But if they come to me for help, I will not turn away from them. I will listen to them even in the land of their enemies. I will not completely destroy them. I will not break my agreement with them. This is because I am the Lord their God.


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For their good I will remember the agreement with their ancestors. I brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt. I did it so I could become their God. The other nations saw these things. I am the Lord.’”


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These are the laws, rules and teachings the Lord gave the people of Israel. He gave these laws to the Israelites through Moses. This was at Mount Sinai.


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“Tell the people of Israel: ‘Someone might make a special promise to the Lord. He might promise to give himself or another person as a servant to the Lord. That person will then begin to serve the Lord in a special way. The priest must set a certain price for that person. That is the price that would have to be paid to free the person from his special promise to the Lord.


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The price for a man 20 to 60 years old is about 1¼ pounds of silver. (You must use the measure as set by the Holy Place.)


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The price for a man 5 to 20 years old is about 8 ounces of silver. The price for a woman 5 to 20 years old is about 4 ounces of silver.


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The price for a baby boy 1 month to 5 years old is about 2 ounces of silver. For a baby girl the price is about 1½ ounces of silver.


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The price for a man 60 years old or older is about 6 ounces of silver. The price for a woman 60 years old or older is about 4 ounces of silver.


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“‘A person might be too poor to pay the price. If he is, bring him to the priest. The priest will decide how much money the person can afford to pay.


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Gifts to the Lord “‘Some animals may be used as sacrifices to the Lord. If someone promises to bring one of these animals, it will become holy.


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That person must not try to put another animal in its place. He must not try to exchange it for something else. He must not try to exchange a good animal for a bad animal. And he must not exchange a bad animal for a good animal. If he tries to exchange animals, both animals will become holy.


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“‘Unclean animals cannot be offered as sacrifices to the Lord. Someone might bring one of them to the Lord. If he does, that animal must be brought to the priest.


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The priest will decide a price for the animal. The price will be according to whether the animal is good or bad. If the priest decides a price, that is the price for the animal.


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Value of a House “‘A person might give his house as holy to the Lord. If he does, the priest must decide its value. The price will be according to whether the house is good or bad. If the priest decides a price, that is the price for the house.


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But the person who gives the house might want to buy it back. If he does, he must add an additional one-fifth to the price. Then the house will belong to him again.


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Value of Land “‘A person might give part of his fields to the Lord. The value of those fields will depend on how much seed is needed to plant them. It will cost about one and one-fourth pounds of silver for each six bushels of barley seed needed.


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The person might give his field at the year of Jubilee. Then its value will be what the priest decides.


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But he might give his field after the Jubilee. If he does, the priest must decide the exact price. He must count the number of years to the next year of Jubilee. Then he will use that number to decide the exact price.


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The person who gave the field might want to buy it back. If he does, he must add one-fifth to that price. Then the field will belong to him again.


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“‘If he does not buy back the field, it will always belong to the priest. If it is sold to someone else, the first person cannot buy it back.


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But the person might not buy back the land. If he doesn’t, at the year of Jubilee, it will remain holy to the Lord. It will belong to the priest forever. It will become the property of the priests.


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If he gives a field, the priest must count the years to the next Jubilee. He must decide the price for the land. Then that land will belong to the Lord.


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At the year of Jubilee, the land will go back to its first owner. It will go back to the family who sold the land.


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“‘You must use the measure as set by the Holy Place in paying these prices. It weighs two-fifths of an ounce.


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Value of Animals “‘People may give cattle and sheep to the Lord. But if an animal is the first one born to its parent, it already belongs to the Lord. So people may not give these animals again.


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If the animal is unclean, the person must buy it back. The priest will decide the price of the animal. And the person must add one-fifth to that price. If he does not buy it back, the priest must sell it. He will sell it for the price he had decided.


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“‘There is a special kind of gift that people give to the Lord. It may be a person, animal or field from the family property. That gift cannot be bought back or sold. It is most holy to the Lord.


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“‘If a person is given for the purpose of being destroyed, he cannot be bought back. He must be put to death.


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“‘One-tenth of all crops belongs to the Lord. This includes the crops from fields and the fruit from trees. That one-tenth belongs to the Lord.


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A person might want to get back his tenth. If he does, he must add one-fifth to its price and buy it back.


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“‘The priest will take every tenth animal from a person’s cattle or sheep. It will belong to the Lord.


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The owner should not pick out the good animals from the bad. He should not exchange one animal for another. If he does exchange it, both animals will become holy. They cannot be bought back.’”


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The People of Israel Are Counted The Lord spoke to Moses in the Meeting Tent. This was in the Desert of Sinai. It was on the first day of the second month. This was in the second year after the people of Israel left Egypt. The Lord said to Moses:


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You and Aaron must count all the men of Israel 20 years old or older. They will serve in the army of Israel. List them by their divisions.


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from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph—Elishama son of Ammihud; from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;


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All these men were chosen by the people to be leaders of their tribes. They were the leaders of their family groups.


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And Moses and Aaron called all the people of Israel together. This was the first day of the second month. Then the people were listed by their families and family groups. All the men who were 20 years old or older were listed by name.


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Moses did exactly what the Lord had commanded. Moses listed the people while they were in the Desert of Sinai.


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The tribe of Reuben was counted. Reuben was the first son born to Israel. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were each listed by name with their families and family groups.


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The tribe of Simeon was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were each listed by name with their families and family groups.


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The tribe of Gad was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups.


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The tribe of Judah was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups.


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The tribe of Issachar was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups.


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The tribe of Zebulun was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups.


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The tribe of Ephraim was counted. (Ephraim was a son of Joseph.) All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups.


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The tribe of Manasseh was counted. (Manasseh was also a son of Joseph.) All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups.


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The tribe of Benjamin was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups.


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The tribe of Dan was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups.


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The tribe of Asher was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups.


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The tribe of Naphtali was counted. All the men 20 years old or older who were able to serve in the army were listed. They were listed by name with their families and family groups.


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Moses, Aaron and the 12 leaders of Israel counted these men. There was 1 leader from each of the families.


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Every man of Israel 20 years old or older who was able to serve in the army was counted. Each man was listed with his family.


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But make the Levites responsible for the Holy Tent of the Agreement. They must take care of it and everything that is with it. They must carry the Holy Tent and everything in it. They must take care of it and make their camp around it.


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Any time the Holy Tent is moved, the Levites must take it down. Any time it is set up, the Levites must do it. If anyone else goes near the Holy Tent, he will be put to death.


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But the Levites must make their camp around the Holy Tent of the Agreement. Then I will not be angry with the Israelites. The Levites will take care of the Holy Tent of the Agreement.”


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“The Israelites should make their camps around the Meeting Tent. But they should not camp too close to it. Each person should camp under the flag of his division near the banner of his family group.”


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The camp of Judah will be on the east side, where the sun rises. They will camp by divisions there under their flag. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab.


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Next to them the tribe of Issachar will camp. The leader of the people of Issachar is Nethanel son of Zuar.


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There are a total of 186,400 men in the camp of Judah. They are in their divisions. They will be the first to march out of camp.


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The divisions of the camp of Reuben will be south of the Holy Tent. They will camp under their flag. The leader of the people of Reuben is Elizur son of Shedeur.


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Next to them the tribe of Simeon will camp. The leader of the people of Simeon is Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai.


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There are a total of 151,450 men in the camp of Reuben. They are in their divisions. They will be the second group to march out of camp.


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When the Levites move the Meeting Tent, they will be in between the other camps. The tribes will move in the same order as they camp. Each person will be with his family flag.


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The divisions of the camp of Ephraim will be on the west side. They will camp under their flag. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Ammihud.


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Next to them the tribe of Manasseh will camp. The leader of the people of Manasseh is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.


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Next to them the tribe of Benjamin will camp. The leader of the people of Benjamin is Abidan son of Gideoni.


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There are a total of 108,100 men in the camp of Ephraim. They are in their divisions. They will be the third group to march out of camp.


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The divisions of the camp of Dan will be on the north side. They will camp under their flag. The leader of the people of Dan is Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.


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Next to them the tribe of Asher will camp. The leader of the people of Asher is Pagiel son of Ocran.


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There are 157,600 men in the camp of Dan. They will be the last to march out of camp. They will travel under their own flag.


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These are the Israelites who were counted by families. The total number of Israelites in the camps, counted by divisions, is 603,550.


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Moses did not count the Levites among the other people of Israel. This is what the Lord had commanded.


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So the Israelites obeyed everything the Lord commanded Moses. They camped under their flags. Each person traveled with his family and family group.


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Aaron’s Family, the Priests This is the family history of Aaron and Moses. This was at the time the Lord talked to Moses on Mount Sinai.


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But Nadab and Abihu died when they sinned in the presence of the Lord. They made an offering to the Lord in the Desert of Sinai. But they used the wrong kind of fire. They had no sons. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron.


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They will help him and all the Israelites at the Meeting Tent. They will do the work of the Holy Tent.


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The Levites must take care of everything in the Meeting Tent. They will serve the people of Israel by doing the work in the Holy Tent.


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Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. Of all the Israelites, the Levites are given completely to him.


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Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests. Anyone else who comes near the holy things must be put to death.”


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“I am choosing the Levites from all the Israelites. They will take the place of all the firstborn children of Israel. The Levites will be mine.


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All the firstborn are mine. When you were in Egypt, I killed all the firstborn children of the Egyptians. I took all the firstborn of Israel to be mine. Firstborn animals and children are mine. I am the Lord.”


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The Merarite family groups were Mahli and Mushi. These were the family groups that belonged to the Levites.


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The family groups of Libni and Shimei belonged to Gershon. They were all the Gershonite family groups.


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In the Meeting Tent the Gershonites were responsible for taking care of these things: the Holy Tent, its covering, the curtain at the entrance to the Meeting Tent,


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the curtains in the courtyard, the curtain at the entry to the courtyard around the Holy Tent and the altar, the ropes and all the work connected with these things.


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The family groups of Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel belonged to Kohath. They were all the Kohathite family groups.


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They had 8,600 males one month old or older. They were responsible for taking care of the Holy Place.


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They were responsible for the Ark of the Covenant, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the tools of the holy place, the curtain and all the work connected with these things.


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The main leader of the Levites was Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest. Eleazar was in charge of all those responsible for the Holy Place.


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The leader of the Merari families was Zuriel son of Abihail. They were to camp north of the Holy Tent.


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The Merarites were responsible for the frame of the Holy Tent, the braces, the posts, the bases and all the work connected with these things.


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They were also responsible for the posts in the courtyard around the Holy Tent and their bases, tent pegs and ropes.


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Moses, Aaron and his sons camped east of the Holy Tent. They were in front of the Meeting Tent. They were responsible for the Holy Place. They did this for the Israelites. Anyone else who came near the Holy Place was to be put to death.


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Moses and Aaron counted the Levite men. The Lord commanded this. There were 22,000 males one month old or older.


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Levites Take the Place of the Firstborn Sons The Lord said to Moses, “Count all the firstborn sons in Israel one month old or older. List their names.


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Take the Levites for me instead of the firstborn sons of Israel. Take the animals of the Levites instead of the firstborn animals from the rest of Israel. I am the Lord.”


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“Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn sons of the Israelites. And take the animals of the Levites instead of the animals of the other people. The Levites are mine. I am the Lord.


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So collect two ounces of silver for each of the 273 sons. Use the measure as set by the Holy Place. It weighs two-fifths of an ounce.


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Moses collected the silver from the firstborn of the Israelites. He collected 35 pounds of silver, using the measure set by the Holy Place.


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When the Israelites move, Aaron and his sons must go into the Holy Tent. They are to take down the curtain. Then they must cover the Ark of the Covenant with it.


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Over this they must put a covering made from fine leather. Then they must spread the solid blue cloth over it. And they must put the poles in the rings on the Ark of the Covenant.


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“Then they must spread a blue cloth over the table. This is the table for the bread that shows we are in God’s presence. They must put the plates, spoons, bowls and the jars for drink offerings on the table. They must leave the bread on the table.


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Then they must put a red cloth over all of these things. They must cover everything with fine leather. Then they must put the poles in place.


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“With a blue cloth they must cover the lampstand, its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays. They must cover all the jars for the oil used in the lamps.


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Then they must wrap everything in fine leather. They must put all these things on a frame for carrying them.


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“They must spread a blue cloth over the gold altar. Then they must cover it with fine leather. They must put its poles in place.


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“They must gather everything used for serving in the Holy Place. They must wrap them in a blue cloth. Then they must cover that with fine leather. They must put these things on a frame for carrying them.


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They must gather all the things used for serving at the altar. These are the pans for carrying the fire, meat forks, shovels and bowls. They must put them on the bronze altar. Then they must spread a covering of fine leather over it. They must put the carrying poles in the rings on the altar.


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“When the camp is ready to move, have Aaron and his sons cover all the holy things. Then the Kohathites may go in and carry away those things. This way they won’t touch the holy things and die. It is the Kohathites’ job to carry the things that are in the Meeting Tent.


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“Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, will be responsible for the Holy Tent. And he is responsible for everything in it: the oil for the lamp, the sweet-smelling incense, the continual grain offering and the oil used to appoint priests and things to the Lord’s service.”


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Do this for the Kohathites. Then they may go near the Most Holy Place and not die. Aaron and his sons must go in and show each Kohathite what to do. And they must show each man what to carry.


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The Kohathites must not enter and look at the holy things, even for a second. If they do, they will die.”


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They must carry the pieces of cloth of the Holy Tent and Meeting Tent. They must also carry its covering and the covering made from fine leather. And they must carry the curtains for the entrance to the Meeting Tent.


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They must carry the curtains of the courtyard that goes around the Holy Tent and the altar. They must carry the curtain for the entry to the courtyard and the ropes and all the things used with the curtains. They must do everything connected with these things.


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Aaron and his sons are in charge of what the Gershonites do or carry. You tell them what they are responsible for carrying.


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This is the work of the Gershonite family group at the Meeting Tent. Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest, will direct their work.


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They must also carry the posts that go around the courtyard. They must carry the bases, tent pegs and ropes. And they must carry everything that is used with the poles around the courtyard. Tell each man exactly what to carry.


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This is the work the Merarites will do for the Meeting Tent. Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest, will direct their work.”


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The Levite Families Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted the Kohathites by families and family groups.


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This was the total of the Kohath family group who worked at the Meeting Tent. Moses and Aaron counted them as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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This was the total of the Gershon family group who worked at the Meeting Tent. Moses and Aaron counted them as the Lord had commanded.


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This was the total of the Merari family group. Moses and Aaron counted them as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites. They counted them by families and family groups.


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Each man was counted as the Lord had commanded Moses. Each man was given his work and told what to carry. This was as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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“Command the Israelites to send away from camp anyone with a harmful skin disease. Send away anyone who gives off body fluid. And send away anyone who has touched a dead body.


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Send both men and women away from camp. Then they won’t spread the disease there. I am living among you.”


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“Tell the Israelites: ‘When a man or woman does something wrong to another person, that is really sinning against God. That person is guilty.


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He must tell what he has done wrong. And he must fully pay for the wrong he has done. Then he must add one-fifth to it. And he must give it to the person he wronged.


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But that person may be dead. That person may not have any close relatives to receive the payment. Then the one who did wrong owes the Lord. That person must pay the priest. The priest must sacrifice a male sheep to remove the wrong so that person will belong to God.


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She might commit adultery with another man. Her sin might be kept hidden from her husband. Her husband might not know about the wrong thing she did. Perhaps no one saw it, and she wasn’t caught.


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He then should take her to the priest. The husband must also take an offering for her. This offering will be two quarts of barley flour. He must not pour oil or incense on it. This is a grain offering for jealousy. It is to find out if she is guilty.


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He will take some holy water in a clay jar. Then he will put some dirt from the floor of the Holy Tent into the water.


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The priest will make the woman stand before the Lord. Then he will loosen her hair. And he will hand her the grain offering for jealousy. He will hold the bitter water that brings a curse on her.


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The priest will tell her what the oath says will happen to her. He will ask her, “Has another man committed adultery with you? Have you been unfaithful to your husband? If you haven’t, then this water that brings a curse won’t hurt you.


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But what if you have been unfaithful to your husband? What if you have committed adultery with a man besides your husband?”


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The priest will tell her the curse that the oath will bring. He will say, “If you are guilty, the Lord will make the people curse you. Your stomach will get big, and you will not be able to have another baby.


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This water that brings a curse will go inside you. Your stomach will get big, and you will not be able to have another baby.” “‘The woman must say, “I agree.”


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“‘The priest should write these curses on a scroll. Then he should wash the words off into the water.


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Then he will make the woman drink the water that brings a curse. When she does, it may make her sick.


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Then the priest will take the grain offering for jealousy from her. He will present it before the Lord. Then he will bring it to the altar.


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Then the priest will take a handful of the grain. This is a memorial offering. He will burn it on the altar. After that he will make the woman drink the water.


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He will make her drink it to see if she is not pure. He will know if she has sinned against her husband. When it goes into her, her stomach may get big. And she may not be able to have another baby. Her people will turn against her.


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But if the woman has not sinned, she is pure. She is not guilty. She will be able to have more babies.


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“‘So this is the teaching about jealousy. This is what to do when a woman is unfaithful to her husband.


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It also should be done if the man gets jealous because he suspects his wife. The priest will have her stand before the Lord. Then he will do all these things. This is the teaching.


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“Tell the Israelites: ‘A man or a woman might want to promise to belong to the Lord in a special way. This person will be called a Nazirite.


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During this time, he must not drink wine or beer. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or beer. He must not even drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.


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While he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine. He must not even eat the seeds or the skin.


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“‘During the time he promised to belong to the Lord, he must not cut his hair. He must be holy until this special time is over. He must let his hair grow long.


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Even if his own father, mother, brother or sister dies, he must not touch them. This would make him unclean. He must still keep his promise to belong to God in a special way.


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“‘If he is next to someone who dies suddenly, his hair has been made unclean. It was part of his promise. So he must shave his head seven days later to be clean.


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Then on the eighth day, he must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest. The priest will be at the entrance to the Holy Tent.


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The priest will offer one as a sin offering. He will offer the other as a burnt offering. This removes sin so the man will belong to God. He had sinned because he was near a dead body. That same day he will again promise to let his hair grow for the Lord.


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He must give himself to the Lord for another special time. He must bring a male lamb a year old. It will be a penalty offering. The days of the special time before don’t count. This is because he became unclean during his first special time.


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“‘This is the teaching for a Nazirite. When the promised time is over, he must go to the entrance of the Meeting Tent.


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There he will give his offerings to the Lord. He must offer a year-old male lamb as a burnt offering. It must have nothing wrong with it. He must also offer a year-old female lamb as a sin offering. There must be nothing wrong with it. And he must bring a male sheep for a fellowship offering. There must be nothing wrong with it.


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He must also bring the grain offerings and drink offerings that go with them. And he must bring a basket of bread made without yeast. There must be loaves made with fine flour mixed with oil. And there must be wafers made without yeast spread with oil.


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“‘The priest will give these offerings to the Lord. He will make the sin offering and the burnt offering.


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Then he will kill the male sheep as a fellowship offering to the Lord. Along with it, he will present the basket of bread. He will also make the grain offering and the drink offering along with it.


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“‘The Nazirite must go to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. There he must shave off his hair that he grew for his promise. The hair will be put in the fire that is under the sacrifice on the fellowship offering.


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“‘After the Nazirite cuts off his hair, the priest will give him a boiled shoulder from the male sheep. From the basket he will also give him a loaf and a wafer. Both are made without yeast.


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Then the priest will present them to the Lord. This is an offering presented before the Lord. They are holy and belong to the priest. Also, he is to present the breast and the thigh from the male sheep to the Lord. They also belong to the priest. After that, the Nazirite may drink wine.


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“‘This is the teaching for the Nazirite promise. If a person makes the Nazirite promise, he must give all of these gifts to the Lord. If he promised to do more, he must keep his promise. That is also the teaching of the Nazirite promise.’”


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The Holy Tent When Moses finished setting up the Holy Tent, he gave it for service to the Lord. Moses poured olive oil on the Tent and on everything used in the Tent. He also poured oil on the altar and all its tools. In this way he prepared them for service to the Lord.


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Then the leaders of Israel made offerings. These were the heads of the families and leaders of each tribe. They were the men who counted the people.


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They brought to the Lord 6 covered carts and 12 oxen. Each leader gave an ox. Every two leaders gave a cart. They gave these to the Holy Tent.


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“Accept these gifts from the leaders. Use them in the work of the Meeting Tent. Give them to the Levites as they need them.”


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Then Moses gave 4 carts and 8 oxen to the Merarites. This is what they needed for their work. Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest, directed the work of all of them.


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Moses did not give any oxen or carts to the Kohathites. They were to carry the holy things on their shoulders. This was their job.


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The oil was poured on the altar. Then the leaders brought their offerings to it to give to the Lord’s service.


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The Lord had already told Moses, “Each day one leader must bring his gift. The gifts will make the altar ready for service to me.”


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Each of the 12 leaders brought these gifts. Each leader brought 1 silver plate that weighed about 3¼ pounds. And each one brought 1 silver bowl that weighed about 1¾ pounds. These weights were set by the Holy Place measure. Each bowl and plate were filled with fine flour mixed with oil. This was for a grain offering. Each leader also brought a large gold dish that weighed about 4 ounces. It was filled with incense. Each leader also brought 1 young bull, 1 male sheep and 1 male lamb a year old. These were for a burnt offering. Each leader also brought 1 male goat for a sin offering. Each leader brought 2 oxen, 5 male sheep, 5 male goats and 5 male lambs a year old. All of these were sacrificed for a fellowship offering. On the first day Nahshon son of Amminadab brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Judah. On the second day Nethanel son of Zuar brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Issachar. On the third day Eliab son of Helon brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Zebulun. On the fourth day Elizur son of Shedeur brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Reuben. On the fifth day Shelumiel son of Zurishaddai brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Simeon. On the sixth day Eliasaph son of Deuel brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Gad. On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Ephraim. On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Manasseh. On the ninth day Abidan son of Gideoni brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Benjamin. On the tenth day Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Dan. On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ocran brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Asher. On the twelfth day Ahira son of Enan brought his gifts. He was the leader of the tribe of Naphtali.


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So these were the gifts from the Israelite leaders. Moses poured oil on the altar. And they brought their gifts to give the altar for service to the Lord. They brought 12 silver plates, 12 silver bowls and 12 gold dishes.


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Each silver plate weighed about 3¼ pounds. And each bowl weighed about 1¾ pounds. All the silver plates and silver bowls together weighed about 60 pounds. This weight was set by the Holy Place measure.


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The 12 gold dishes filled with incense weighed 4 ounces each. Together the gold dishes weighed about 3 pounds.


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The total number of animals for the burnt offering was 12 bulls, 12 male sheep and 12 male lambs a year old. There was also a grain offering. And there were 12 male goats for a sin offering.


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The total number of animals for the fellowship offering was 24 bulls, 60 male sheep, 60 male goats and 60 male lambs a year old. All these offerings were for giving the altar to the service of the Lord. This was after Moses had poured oil on it.


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Moses went into the Meeting Tent to speak with the Lord. He heard the Lord speaking to him. The voice was coming from between the two gold creatures with wings. They were above the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. And the Lord spoke with him.


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“Speak to Aaron. Tell him, ‘Put the seven lamps where they can light the area in front of the lampstand.’”


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Aaron did this. He put the lamps so they lighted the area in front of the lampstand. He obeyed the command the Lord gave Moses.


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The lampstand was made from hammered gold. It was gold from its base to the flowers. It was made exactly the way the Lord had showed Moses.


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This is what you should do to make them clean. Sprinkle the cleansing water on them. Have them shave their bodies and wash their clothes. Then they will be clean.


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They must take a young bull and the grain offering that goes with it. The grain offering will be flour mixed with oil. Then take another young bull for a sin offering.


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Aaron will present the Levites before the Lord. They will be like an offering presented from the Israelites. Then the Levites will be ready to do the work of the Lord.


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“The Levites will put their hands on the bulls’ heads. One bull will be a sin offering to the Lord. The other will be a burnt offering. This will remove the sins of the Levites so they will belong to God.


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Make the Levites stand in front of Aaron and his sons. Then present the Levites as an offering to the Lord.


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“So make the Levites pure. And present them as an offering. Then they may come to work at the Meeting Tent.


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They will be given to me from the Israelites. I have taken them for myself. They are mine instead of the firstborn son of every Israelite woman.


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Every firstborn male in Israel—man or animal—is mine. I killed all the firstborn in Egypt. So now I set them aside for myself.


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I have chosen the Levites from all the Israelites. And I have given them to Aaron and his sons. They will serve all the Israelites at the Meeting Tent. They will help remove the Israelites’ sins so they will belong to God. Then no disaster will strike the Israelites when they approach the Holy Place.”


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So Moses, Aaron and all the Israelites obeyed the Lord. They did with the Levites what the Lord commanded Moses.


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The Levites made themselves clean and washed their clothes. Then Aaron presented them as an offering to the Lord. Aaron also removed their sins so they would be pure for the Lord.


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After that, the Levites came to the Meeting Tent to work. Aaron and his sons told them what to do. They did with the Levites what the Lord commanded Moses.


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“This command is for the Levites. Every man 25 years old or older must come to the Meeting Tent. They all have a job to do in the work there.


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He may help his fellow Levites with their work at the Meeting Tent. But he must not do the work himself. This is the way you are to give the Levites their jobs.”


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The Passover The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai. This was in the first month of the second year after the Israelites left Egypt. He said,


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That appointed time is the fourteenth day of this month. They should celebrate it at twilight. They must obey all the rules about it.”


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And so they did. It was in the Desert of Sinai at twilight. This was on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses.


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But some of the people could not celebrate the Passover on that day. They were unclean because of a dead body. So they went to Moses and Aaron that day.


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They said to Moses, “We are unclean because of a dead body. But why should we be kept from offering gifts to the Lord at this appointed time? Why can’t we join the other Israelites?”


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“Tell the Israelites this: ‘You or your descendants might become unclean because of a dead body. Or, you might be away on a trip during the Passover. Still celebrate the Lord’s Passover.


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But celebrate it at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month. Eat the lamb with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast.


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Don’t leave any of it until the next morning. Don’t break any of its bones. When you celebrate the Passover, follow all the rules.


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Anyone who is clean and is not away on a trip must eat the Passover. If he doesn’t, he must be separated from his people. He did not give an offering to the Lord at the appointed time. He must be punished for his sin.


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“‘A foreigner among you may celebrate the Lord’s Passover. But he must follow all the rules. You must have the same rules for foreigners as you have for yourselves.’”


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The Cloud Above the Tent On the day the Holy Tent was set up, a cloud covered it. (The Holy Tent was also called the Tent of the Agreement.) From dusk until dawn the cloud above the Tent looked like fire.


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When the cloud moved from its place over the Tent, the Israelites moved. Wherever the cloud stopped, the Israelites camped.


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So the Israelites moved at the Lord’s command. And they camped at his command. While the cloud stayed over the Tent, they stayed in place.


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Sometimes the cloud stayed over the Tent for a long time. The Israelites obeyed the Lord and did not move.


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Sometimes the cloud was over it only a few days. At the Lord’s command the people camped. And at his command they moved.


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Sometimes the cloud stayed only from dusk until dawn. When the cloud lifted the next morning, the people moved. When the cloud lifted, day or night, the people moved.


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The cloud might stay over the Tent for two days, a month or a year. As long as it stayed, the people would camp. But when the cloud lifted, they moved.


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At the Lord’s command the people camped. And at his command they moved. They obeyed the Lord’s order that he commanded through Moses.


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“Make two trumpets of hammered silver. Use them to call the people together and to march out of camp.


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When both trumpets are blown, the people should gather. They should gather before you at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.


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When you blow them again, the tribes camping on the south should move. The sound will tell them to move.


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“Aaron’s sons, the priests, should blow the trumpets. This is a law for you and your descendants from now on.


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You might be fighting an enemy who attacks you in your own land. Blow the trumpets. The Lord your God will remember you. He will save you from your enemies.


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Also blow your trumpets at happy times. Blow them during your feasts and at New Moon festivals. Blow them over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. They will help you remember your God. I am the Lord your God.”


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The Israelites Move Camp The cloud lifted from the Tent of the Agreement. This was on the twentieth day of the second month of the second year.


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So the Israelites moved from the Desert of Sinai. They moved until the cloud stopped in the Desert of Paran.


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The divisions from the camp of Judah moved first under their flag. Nahshon son of Amminadab was the commander.


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Then came the divisions from the camp of Reuben under their flag. Elizur son of Shedeur was the commander.


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Then came the Kohathites. They carried the holy things. The Holy Tent was to be set up before they arrived.


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Next came the divisions from the camp of Ephraim under their flag. Elishama son of Ammihud was the commander.


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The last ones were the rear guard for all the tribes. These were the divisions from the camp of Dan under their flag. Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai was the commander.


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Hobab was the son of Reuel the Midianite. Reuel, who is also called Jethro, was Moses’ father-in-law. Moses said to Hobab, “We are moving to the land God promised to give us. Come with us. We will be good to you. The Lord has promised good things to Israel.”


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But Moses said, “Please don’t leave us. You know where we can camp in the desert. You can be our guide.


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So they left the mountain of the Lord. The Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went in front of the people. For three days they looked for a place to camp.


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When the Ark of the Covenant left the camp, Moses always said, “Rise up, Lord! Scatter your enemies. Make those who are against you run from you.”


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And when the Ark of the Covenant was set down, Moses always said, “Return, Lord, to the thousands of people of Israel.”


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Fire from the Lord The people complained to the Lord about their troubles. When he heard them, he became angry. Fire from the Lord burned among the people. It burned the edge of the camp.


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So that place was called Taberah. The people named it that because the Lord’s fire had burned among them.


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The 70 Older Leaders Some troublemakers among them wanted better food. Soon all the Israelites began complaining. They said, “We want meat!


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We remember the fish we ate for free in Egypt. We also had cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.


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The people would go to gather it. Then they ground it in handmills. Or they crushed it between stones. They cooked it in a pot or made cakes with it. It tasted like bread baked with olive oil.


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Moses heard every family crying. They stood in the entrances of their tents. The Lord became very angry. And Moses got upset.


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He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought me this trouble? I’m your servant. What have I done wrong? Why did you make me responsible for all these people?


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I am not the father of all these people. I didn’t give birth to them. Why do you make me carry them to the land you promised to our ancestors? Must I carry them in my arms as a nurse carries a baby?


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If you are going to continue doing this to me, then kill me now. If you like me, put me to death. Then I won’t have any more troubles.”


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The Lord said to Moses, “Bring me 70 of Israel’s elders. Pick men you know are leaders among the people. Bring them to the Meeting Tent. Have them stand there with you.


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I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is in you. And I will give it to them. They will help you care for the people. Then you will not have to care for them alone.


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“Tell the people this: ‘Make yourselves holy. Tomorrow you will eat meat. The Lord heard you cry, “We want meat! We were better off in Egypt!” So now the Lord will give you meat to eat.


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You will eat that meat for a whole month. You will eat it until it comes out your nose. You will hate it. This is because you have rejected the Lord. He is here with you. But you have cried to him. You said, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”


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Moses said, “Lord, here are 600,000 men standing around me. And you say, ‘I will give them enough meat to eat for a month!’


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If we killed all the sheep and cattle, that would not be enough. If we caught all the fish in the sea, that would not be enough.”


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So Moses went out to the people. He told them what the Lord had said. Moses gathered 70 of the elders together. He had them stand around the Tent.


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Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. The Lord took some of the Spirit Moses had. And he gave it to the 70 leaders. With the Spirit in them, they prophesied, but just that one time.


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Two men named Eldad and Medad were also listed as leaders. But they did not go to the Tent. They stayed in the camp. The Spirit was given to them. So they prophesied in the camp.


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Joshua son of Nun said, “Moses, my master, stop them!” (Since he was a young boy, Joshua had been Moses’ assistant.)


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But Moses answered, “Are you afraid for me? I wish all the Lord’s people could prophesy. I wish the Lord would give his Spirit to all of them!”


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The Quail Come The Lord sent a strong wind from the sea. It blew quail into the area all around the camp. The quail were about three feet above the ground. There were quail a day’s walk in any direction.


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The people went out and gathered quail. They gathered all that day, that night and the next day. Everyone gathered at least 60 bushels. Then they spread them around the camp.


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But the Lord became very angry. He gave the people a terrible sickness. This came while the meat was still in their mouths.


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So the people named that place Kibroth Hattaavah. They named it that because there they buried those who wanted other food.


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Miriam and Aaron Speak Against Moses’ Wife Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses, who had married a Cushite.


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They said to themselves, “Is Moses the only one the Lord speaks through? Doesn’t he speak through us?” And the Lord heard this.


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So the Lord suddenly spoke to Moses, Aaron and Miriam. He said, “All three of you come to the Meeting Tent now.” So they went.


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The Lord came down in a pillar of cloud. He stood at the entrance to the Tent. He called to Aaron and Miriam, and they both came near.


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He said, “Listen to my words: When a prophet is among you, I, the Lord, will show myself to him in visions. I will speak to him in dreams.


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I speak face to face with him. I speak clearly, not with hidden meanings. He has even seen the form of the Lord. You should be afraid to speak against my servant Moses.”


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The cloud lifted from the Tent. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam. She was as white as snow. She had a harmful skin disease.


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Don’t let her be like a baby who is born dead. (Sometimes a baby is born with half of its flesh eaten away.)”


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The Lord answered Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, she would have been shamed for seven days. So put her outside the camp for seven days. After that, she may come back.”


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So Miriam was shut outside of the camp for seven days. And the people did not move on until she came back.


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“Send men to explore the land of Canaan. I will give that land to the Israelites. Send one leader from each tribe.”


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These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the new name Joshua.)


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Moses sent them to explore Canaan. He said, “Go through southern Canaan and then into the mountains.


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See what the land looks like. Are the people who live there strong or weak? Are there a few or many?


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What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What about the towns they live in—do they have walls, or are they open like camps?


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What about the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees there? Try to bring back some of the fruit from that land.” (It was the season for the first grapes.)


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So they went up and explored the land. They went from the Desert of Zin all the way to Rehob by Lebo Hamath.


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They went through the southern area to Hebron. That is where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai lived. They were the descendants of Anak. (The city of Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)


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In the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch of a grapevine. It had one bunch of grapes on it. They carried that branch on a pole between two of them. They also got some pomegranates and figs.


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They call that place the Valley of Eshcol. That is because the Israelites cut off the bunch of grapes there.


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They came back to Moses and Aaron and all the Israelites at Kadesh. This was in the Desert of Paran. The men reported to them and showed everybody the fruit from the land.


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They told Moses, “We went to the land where you sent us. It is a land where much food grows! Here is some of its fruit.


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But the people who live there are strong. Their cities are walled and large. We even saw some Anakites there.


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The Amalekites live in the southern area. The Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the mountains. The Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan River.”


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Then Caleb told the people near Moses to be quiet. Caleb said, “We should go up and take the land for ourselves. We can do it.”


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But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people. They are stronger than we are.”


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And those men gave the Israelites a bad report about the land they explored. They said, “The land would eat us up. All the people we saw are very tall.


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We saw the Nephilim people there. (The Anakites come from the Nephilim people.) We felt like grasshoppers. And we looked like grasshoppers to them.”


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All the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron. All the people said to them, “We should have died in Egypt. Or we should have died in the desert.


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Why is the Lord bringing us to this land? We will be killed with swords. Our wives and children will be taken away. We would be better off going back to Egypt.”


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Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh were among those who had explored the land. They tore their clothes.


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If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land. He will give us that land where much food grows.


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Don’t turn against the Lord! Don’t be afraid of the people in that land! We will chew them up. They have no protection, but we have the Lord. So don’t be afraid of them.”


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Then all the people talked about killing them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the Meeting Tent to the Israelites.


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The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people ignore me? How long will it be before they believe me? I have done miracles among them.


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I will give them a terrible sickness. I will destroy them. But I will make you into a great nation. It will be stronger than they are.”


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Then Moses said to the Lord, “The Egyptians will hear about it! You brought these people from there by your great power.


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And the Egyptians will tell this to those who live in this land. They have already heard about you, Lord. They know that you are with your people. And they know you were seen face to face. They know your cloud stays over your people. They know you lead your people with that cloud during the day and with fire at night.


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The nations have heard about your power. If you put to death your people all at once, the nations will talk. They will say,


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‘The Lord was not able to bring them into the land he promised them. So he killed them in the desert.’


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‘The Lord doesn’t become angry quickly. The Lord has great love. The Lord forgives sin and law breaking. He has great mercy. But the Lord does not forget to punish guilty people. When parents sin, he will also punish their children. He will punish their grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.’


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Show your great love. Forgive these people’s sin. Forgive them as you have from the time they left Egypt until now.”


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But, as surely as I live, I make this promise. As surely as my glory fills the whole earth, I make this promise.


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All these men saw my glory. They saw the miracles I did in Egypt and in the desert. But they disobeyed me and tested me 10 times.


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So not one will see the land I promised to their ancestors. No one who angered me will see that land.


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But my servant Caleb has a different spirit. He follows me completely. So I will bring him into the land he has already seen. And his children will own that land.


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The Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys. So leave tomorrow and go back. Follow the desert road toward the Gulf of Aqaba.”


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“How long will these evil people complain about me? I have heard these Israelites’ grumbling and complaining.


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So tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says. I heard what you said. As surely as I live, I will do those things to you.


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You will die in this desert. Every one of you who is 20 years old or older and who was counted with the people will die. You complained against me, the Lord.


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Not one of you will enter and live in the land I promised to you. Only Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun will go in.


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You said that your children would be taken away. But I will bring them into the land. They will enjoy what you refused.


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Your children will be shepherds here for 40 years. They will suffer because you were not loyal. They will suffer until you lie dead in the desert.


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For 40 years you will suffer for your sins. That is a year for each of the 40 days you explored the land. You will know me as your enemy.’


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I, the Lord, have spoken. I will certainly do these things to all these evil people. They have come together against me. So they will all die here in this desert.”


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The men Moses had sent to explore the land had returned. They had spread complaints among all the Israelites. They had given a bad report about the land.


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Early the next morning they started to go toward the beginning of the mountains. They said, “We have sinned. We will go where the Lord told us.”


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You will run into the Amalekites and Canaanites. They will kill you with swords. You have turned away from the Lord. He will not be with you.”


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But they were proud. They went toward the beginning of the mountains. But Moses and the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord did not leave the camp.


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The Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those mountains came down. And they attacked the Israelites. They beat them back all the way to Hormah.


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There give the Lord offerings made by fire. These may be from your herds or flocks. And the smell will be pleasing to the Lord. These offerings may be burnt offerings or sacrifices for special promises. They may be offerings which are gifts to the Lord. Or they may be festival offerings.


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And the one who brings his offering shall also give the Lord a grain offering. It should be two quarts of fine flour mixed with one quart of olive oil.


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Each time you offer a lamb as a burnt offering or sacrifice, also prepare a quart of wine. This is a drink offering.


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“‘If you are giving a male sheep, also prepare a grain offering. It should be four quarts of fine flour mixed with one and one-fourth quarts of olive oil.


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Also prepare one and one-fourth quarts of wine. This is a drink offering. Offer it to the Lord. Its smell is pleasing to him.


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“‘You might prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice. This might be for a fellowship offering or for a special promise to the Lord.


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Bring a grain offering with the bull. It should be six quarts of fine flour mixed with two quarts of olive oil.


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Also bring two quarts of wine as a drink offering. This offering is made by fire. And its smell will be pleasing to the Lord.


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“‘All citizens must do these things in this way. And the smell of their offerings by fire will be pleasing to the Lord.


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From now on foreigners will live among you. They will make offerings by fire so the smell will be pleasing to the Lord. They must offer them the same way you do.


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The law is the same for you and for foreigners. It will be a law from now on. You and the foreigners are alike before the Lord.


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Offer a loaf of bread from the first of your grain. That will be your offering from the threshing floor.


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These are the Lord’s commands given to you through Moses. They began the day the Lord gave them to you. And they will continue from now on.


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But you might forget to obey one of these commands. The people might not remember the command. Then all the people must offer a young bull as a burnt offering. Its smell is pleasing to the Lord. By law you must also give the grain offering and the drink offering with it. And you must bring a male goat as a sin offering.


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“‘The priest will remove that sin for all the Israelites so they will belong to God. They are forgiven. They didn’t know they were sinning. For the wrong they did they brought offerings to the Lord. They brought an offering by fire and a sin offering.


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All of the people of Israel and the foreigners living among them will be forgiven. No one meant to do wrong.


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“‘Just one person might sin without meaning to. He must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering.


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The priest will remove the sin of the person who sinned without meaning to. That person will belong to the Lord again. He will be forgiven.


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The same teaching is for everyone who sins without meaning to. It is the same for those born Israelites and for foreigners living among you.


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“‘But anyone who sins on purpose is against the Lord. That person must be separated from his people. It is the same for someone born among you or a foreigner.


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That person has turned against the Lord’s word. He has not obeyed the Lord’s commands. He must surely be separated from the others. He is guilty.’”


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A Man Worked on the Sabbath This happened when the Israelites were still in the desert. They found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.


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Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. All the people must kill him with stones outside the camp.”


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“Speak to the Israelites. Tell them this: ‘Tie several pieces of thread together. And tie them to the corners of your clothes. Put a blue thread in each one of these tassels. Wear them from now on.


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You will have these tassels to look at. They will remind you of the Lord’s commands. Then you will obey them. And you won’t follow what your bodies want and what your eyes wish for.


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Korah, Dathan, Abiram and On Korah, Dathan, Abiram and On turned against Moses. (Korah was the son of Izhar. Izhar was the son of Kohath, and Kohath was the son of Levi. Dathan and Abiram were brothers, the sons of Eliab. And On was the son of Peleth.) Dathan, Abiram and On were from the tribe of Reuben.


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These 4 men gathered 250 other Israelite men and challenged Moses. They were well-known leaders chosen by the community.


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They came as a group to speak to Moses and Aaron. The men said, “You have gone too far. All the people are holy. Every one of them is holy. And the Lord is with them. So why do you put yourselves above all the people?”


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Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who belongs to him. The Lord will bring the one who is holy near to him. The Lord will bring to himself the person he chooses.


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Tomorrow put fire and incense in them. Then take them before the Lord. He will choose the man who is holy. You Levites have gone too far.”


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The God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelites. He brought you near to himself. You do the work in the Lord’s Holy Tent. You stand before all the Israelites and serve them. Isn’t that enough?


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You have brought us out of a land where much food grows. You brought us to the desert to kill us. And now you want to order us around.


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You haven’t brought us into a land where much food grows. You haven’t given us any land with fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? No! We will not come!”


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Then Moses became very angry. He said to the Lord, “Don’t accept their gifts. I have not taken anything from them, not even a donkey. I have not done wrong to any of them.”


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Then Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers must stand before the Lord tomorrow. And Aaron will stand there with you and them.


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Each of you must take your pan and put incense in it. Present these 250 pans before the Lord. You and Aaron must also present your pans.”


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So each man got his pan and put burning incense in it. Then they stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.


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Korah gathered all his followers who were against Moses and Aaron. And they stood at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to everyone.


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But Moses and Aaron bowed facedown. They cried out, “God, you are the God over the spirits of all people. Please don’t be angry with this whole group. Only one man has really sinned.”


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Moses warned the people, “Move away from the tents of these evil men! Don’t touch anything of theirs. If you do, you will be destroyed because of their sins.”


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So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were standing outside their tents with their wives, children and little babies.


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Then Moses said, “Now you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things. It was not my idea.


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But if the Lord does something new, you will know they have insulted the Lord. The earth will open and swallow them. Alive, they will go to where the dead are. And everything that belongs to them will go with them.”


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The earth seemed to open its mouth and swallow them. All their families, all Korah’s men and everything they owned went down.


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They were buried alive, going to where the dead are. And everything they owned went with them. Then the earth closed over them. They died and were gone from the community.


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The people of Israel around them heard their screams. They ran away and said, “The earth will swallow us, too!”


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“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to take all the incense pans out of the fire. Have him scatter the coals. But the incense pans are still holy.


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These men sinned and lost their lives. Take their pans and hammer them into flat sheets. Cover the altar with them. They are holy because they were presented to the Lord. It will be a sign to the Israelites.”


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So Eleazar the priest gathered all the bronze pans. These were the pans brought by the men who were burned up. Eleazar had the pans hammered into flat sheets to put on the altar.


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This is what the Lord had commanded him through Moses. These sheets were to remind the Israelites that only descendants of Aaron should burn incense before the Lord. Anyone else would die like Korah and his followers.


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Aaron Saves the People The next day all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron. They said, “You have killed the Lord’s people.”


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The people gathered to complain against Moses and Aaron. But when they turned toward the Meeting Tent, the cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord appeared.


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“Move away from these people. In a minute I am going to destroy them.” So Moses and Aaron bowed facedown.


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Then Moses said to Aaron, “Get your pan. Put fire from the altar and incense in it. Hurry to the people and remove their sin. The Lord is angry with them. The sickness has already started.”


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So Aaron did as Moses said. He ran to the middle of all the people. The sickness had already started among them. So Aaron offered the incense to remove their sin.


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Then Aaron went back to Moses at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. The terrible sickness had been stopped.


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“Speak to the people of Israel. Get 12 walking sticks from them. Get 1 from the leader of each tribe. Write the name of each man on his stick.


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Put them in the Meeting Tent. Place them in front of the Ark of the Covenant, where I meet with you.


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I will choose one man. His stick will begin to grow leaves. And I will stop the Israelites from always complaining against you.”


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So Moses spoke to the Israelites. Each of the 12 leaders gave him a walking stick. And Aaron’s walking stick was among them.


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The next day Moses entered the Tent. He saw that Aaron’s stick had grown leaves. (It stood for the family of Levi.) It had even budded, blossomed and produced almonds.


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So Moses brought out to the Israelites all the walking sticks from the Lord’s presence. They all looked, and each man took back his stick.


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Then the Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s walking stick back. Put it in front of the Ark of the Covenant. It will be a sign to these people who are always turning against me. This will stop their complaining against me. Now they won’t die.”


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The Work of the Priests and Levites The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons and your family are now responsible for any wrongs done against the Holy Place. You and your sons are responsible for any wrongs done against the priests.


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Bring with you your fellow Levites from your tribe. They will help you and your sons serve in the Tent of the Agreement.


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They are under your control. They will do all the work that needs to be done in the Tent. But they must not go near the things in the Holy Place or near the altar. If they do, both you and they will die.


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They will join you. They will take care of the Meeting Tent. They must do the work at the Tent. No one else may come near you.


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“You must take care of the Holy Place and the altar. Then I won’t become angry with the Israelites again.


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I myself chose your fellow Levites from among the Israelites. They are a gift given for you to the Lord. Their work is at the Meeting Tent.


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But only you and your sons may serve as priests. Only you may serve at the altar or go behind the curtain. I am giving you this gift of serving as a priest. Anyone else who comes near the Holy Place will be put to death.”


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Then the Lord said to Aaron, “I myself make you responsible for the offerings given to me. All the holy offerings that the Israelites give to me, I give to you. They are for you and your sons as your share. They will be your continual portion.


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Your share of the holy offerings is that part which is not burned. The people will bring me gifts as most holy offerings. These are grain or sin or penalty offerings. These will be set apart for you and your sons.


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“I also give you the offerings the Israelites present to me. I give these to you and your sons and daughters. This is your share. Anyone in your family who is clean may eat it.


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“And I give you all the best olive oil and all the best new wine and grain. This is what the Israelites give to me, the Lord. These are the first things they harvest.


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They bring to the Lord all the first things they harvest. They will be yours. Anyone in your family who is clean may eat these things.


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The first one born to any family will be offered to the Lord. This is true for both men and animals. And that will be yours. But you must make a payment for every firstborn son and every firstborn animal that is unclean.


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When they are one month old, you must make a payment for them. The cost will be two ounces of silver as set by the Holy Place measure.


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“But you must not make a payment for the firstborn ox or sheep or goat. Those animals are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat. This is an offering made by fire. The smell is pleasing to the Lord.


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Anything the Israelites present as holy gifts I, the Lord, give to you. It goes to you, your sons and daughters. It is your continual portion. This is a lasting promise before the Lord to you and your children forever.”


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The Lord also said to Aaron, “You will not inherit any of the land. And you will not own any land among the other people. I will be yours. Out of all the Israelites, only you will inherit me.


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“The people of Israel will give a tenth of what they make. I give that tenth to the Levites. This is their payment for the work they do serving at the Meeting Tent.


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But the other Israelites must never go near the Meeting Tent. If they do, they will die for their sin.


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Only the Levites should work in the Meeting Tent. They are responsible for any sins against it. This is a rule from now on. The Levites will not get any land among the other Israelites.


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But the Israelites will give a tenth of everything they make to me. And I will give that tenth to the Levites. That is why I said about the Levites: ‘They will not get any land among the Israelites.’”


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“Speak to the Levites. Tell them: ‘You will receive a tenth of everything the Israelites make. I give that to you. But you must give a tenth of that back to the Lord.


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I will accept your offering just as much as I accept the offerings from others. They give new grain or new wine.


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In this way you will present an offering to the Lord as the other Israelites do. You will receive a tenth from the Israelites. Then you will give a tenth of that to Aaron the priest as the Lord’s share.


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Choose the best and holiest part from what you are given. This is the portion you must give to the Lord.’


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“Say to the Levites: ‘When you present the best it will be accepted as much as the grain and wine from the other people.


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You and your families may eat all that is left anywhere. This is your pay for your work in the Meeting Tent.


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And if you always give the best part to the Lord, you will never be guilty. If you do not sin against the holy offerings of the Israelites, you will not die.’”


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“These are the teachings that the Lord commanded. Tell the Israelites to get a young red cow. It must not have anything wrong with it. It must not have been worked.


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Then Eleazar the priest must put some of the blood on his finger. He must sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Meeting Tent.


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Then the whole cow must be burned while he watches. The skin, the meat, the blood and the intestines must all be burned.


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Then the priest must take a cedar stick, a hyssop branch and a red string. He must throw them onto the burning cow.


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Then the priest must wash himself and his clothes with water. After that, he may come back into the camp. But he will be unclean until evening.


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The man who burns the cow must wash himself and his clothes in water. He will be unclean until evening.


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“Then someone who is clean will collect the ashes from the cow. He will put them in a clean place outside the camp. The Israelites will use these ashes in a special ceremony to cleanse away sin.


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The man who collected the cow’s ashes must wash his clothes. He will be unclean until evening. This is a lasting rule. It is for the Israelites and for the foreigners among them.


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He must wash himself with this water. He must do this on the third day and on the seventh day. Then he will be clean. But if he does not wash himself on the third day and the seventh day, he cannot be clean.


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Whoever touches a dead body is unclean. If he stays unclean and goes to the Lord’s Holy Tent, it becomes unclean. So he must be separated from Israel. If the cleansing water is not sprinkled on him, he will stay unclean.


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“This is the teaching about someone who dies in his tent. Anyone in the tent or who enters it will be unclean for seven days.


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If anyone touches someone who was killed by a sword or who died a natural death, he is unclean. If he touches a human bone or a grave, he is unclean. He will be unclean for seven days.


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“So you must use the ashes from the burnt offering to make that person clean again. Pour fresh water over the ashes into a jar.


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A clean person must take a hyssop branch and dip it into the water. Then he must sprinkle it over the tent and its objects. And he must sprinkle the people who were there. He must sprinkle anyone who touched a bone or the body of someone who was killed. He must sprinkle anyone who touched a dead person or a grave.


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Then someone who is clean must sprinkle this water on the unclean person. He must do this on the third day and on the seventh day. On the seventh day that person becomes clean. He must wash his clothes and take a bath. He will be clean that evening.


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If anyone who is unclean does not become clean, he must be separated from the community. He was not sprinkled with the cleansing water. He stays unclean. He could make the Holy Tent unclean.


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This is a lasting rule. Whoever sprinkles the cleansing water must also wash his clothes. Anyone who touches the water will be unclean until evening.


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Anyone the unclean person touches becomes unclean. And whoever touches him will be unclean until evening.”


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Water from the Rock In the first month all the people of Israel arrived at the Desert of Zin. They stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.


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Why did you bring us from Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain, figs or pomegranates. And there’s no water to drink!”


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So Moses and Aaron left the people. Then they went to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. They bowed facedown. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them.


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“You and your brother Aaron should gather the people. Also take your walking stick. Speak to that rock in front of them. Then water will flow from it. Give that water to the people and their animals.”


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He and Aaron gathered the people in front of the rock. Then Moses said, “Now listen to me, you complainers! Do you want us to bring water out of this rock?”


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Then Moses lifted his hand and hit the rock twice with his stick. Water began pouring out. And the people and their animals drank it.


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But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “You did not believe me. You did not honor me as holy before the people. So you will not lead them into the land I will give them.”


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These are the waters of Meribah. Here the Israelites argued with the Lord. And the Lord showed them he was holy.


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Edom Will Not Let Israel Pass From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom. He said, “Your brothers, the Israelites, say to you: You know about all the troubles we have had.


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Our ancestors went down into Egypt. And we lived there for many years. The people of Egypt were cruel to our ancestors.


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But we cried out to the Lord. He heard us and sent us an angel to bring us out of Egypt. “Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your land.


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Please let us pass through your country. We will not touch any fields of grain or vineyards. We will not drink water from the wells. We will travel only along the king’s road. We will not turn right or left until we have passed through your country.”


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But the king of Edom answered: “You may not pass through here. If you try, I will come and meet you with swords.”


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The Israelites answered: “We will go along the main road. If our animals drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to walk through. That’s all.”


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But he answered: “You may not pass through here.” Then the Edomites went out to meet the Israelites with a large and powerful army.


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“Aaron will die. He will not enter the land that I’m giving to the Israelites. This is because you both acted against my command at the waters of Meribah.


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Take off Aaron’s special clothes and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will die there. He will join his ancestors.”


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Moses took off Aaron’s clothes. He put them on Aaron’s son Eleazar. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain. And Moses and Eleazar came back down the mountain.


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War with the Canaanites The Canaanite king of Arad lived in the southern area. He heard that the Israelites were coming on the road to Atharim. So he attacked them and captured some of them.


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Then the Israelites made this promise to the Lord: “If you will help us defeat these people, we will completely destroy their cities.”


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The Lord listened to the Israelites. And he let them defeat the Canaanites. The Israelites completely destroyed the Canaanites and their cities. So the place was named Hormah.


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The Bronze Snake The Israelites left Mount Hor and went on the road toward the Gulf of Aqaba. They did this to go around the country of Edom. But the people became impatient on the way.


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They grumbled at God and Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? We will die in this desert! There is no bread! There is no water! And we hate this terrible food!”


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The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we grumbled at you and the Lord. Pray that the Lord will take away these snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.


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The Lord said to Moses, “Make a bronze snake. And put it on a pole. If anyone is bitten, he should look at it. Then he will live.”


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So Moses made a bronze snake. And he put it on a pole. Then when a snake bit anyone, he looked at the bronze snake and lived.


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From there they went and camped across the Arnon. This was in the desert just inside the Amorite country. The Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites.


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That is why the Book of the Wars of the Lord says: “. . . and Waheb in Suphah, and the ravines, the Arnon,


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and the slopes of the ravines that lead to the settlement of Ar. These places are at the border of Moab.”


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The Israelites went from there to Beer. A well is there where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people. I will give them water.”


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Princes dug this well. Important men made this hole. With their scepters and poles, they dug it.” The people went from the desert to Mattanah.


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“Let us pass through your country. We will not go through any fields of grain or vineyards. We will not drink water from the wells. We will travel only along the king’s road. We will stay on it until we have passed through your country.”


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But King Sihon would not let the Israelites pass through his country. He gathered his army together. They marched out to meet Israel in the desert. At Jahaz they fought the Israelites.


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Israel killed the king. Then they captured his land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. They took the land as far as the Ammonite border. That border was strongly defended.


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Israel captured all the Amorite cities and lived in them. They took Heshbon and all the towns around it.


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Heshbon was the city where Sihon, the Amorite king, lived. In the past he had fought with the king of Moab. Sihon had taken all the land as far as the Arnon.


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A fire began in Heshbon. Flames came from Sihon’s city. It destroyed Ar in Moab. It burned the Arnon highlands.


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How terrible for you, Moab! The people of Chemosh are ruined. His sons ran away. His daughters were captured by Sihon, king of the Amorites.


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But we defeated those Amorites. We ruined their towns from Heshbon to Dibon. We destroyed them as far as Nophah, near Medeba.”


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Moses sent spies to the town of Jazer. Then they captured the towns around it. They forced out the Amorites who lived there.


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Then the Israelites went up the road toward Bashan. Og, the king of Bashan, and his army marched out to meet the Israelites. They fought at Edrei.


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The Lord said to Moses, “Don’t be afraid of him. I will hand him, his whole army and his land over to you. Do to him what you did to Sihon, the Amorite king who lived in Heshbon.”


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So the Israelites killed Og and his sons and all his army. No one was left alive. And they took his land.


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Balaam and Balak Then the people of Israel went to the plains of Moab. They camped near the Jordan River across from Jericho.


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The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This mob will take everything around us. It will be like an ox eating grass.” Balak son of Zippor was the king of Moab at this time.


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He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor. It was near the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw. Balak said, “A nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the land. They have camped next to me.


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They are too powerful for me. So come and put a curse on them. Maybe then I can defeat them and make them leave the area. I know that if you bless someone, the blessings happen. And if you put a curse on someone, it happens.”


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The elders of Moab and Midian went with payment in their hands. They found Balaam. Then they told him what Balak had said.


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Balaam said to them, “Stay here for the night. I will tell you what the Lord tells me.” So the Moabite leaders stayed with him.


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‘A nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the land. So come and put a curse on them. Then maybe I can fight them and force them out of my land.’”


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But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. Don’t put a curse on those people. I have blessed them.”


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The next morning Balaam awoke and said to Balak’s leaders, “Go back to your own country. The Lord will not let me go with you.”


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They went to Balaam and said, “Balak son of Zippor says this: Please don’t let anything stop you from coming to me.


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But Balaam answered Balak’s servants, “King Balak could give me his palace full of silver and gold. But I cannot disobey the Lord my God in anything, great or small.


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That night God came to Balaam. He said, “These men have come to ask you to go with them. Go. But only do what I tell you.”


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Balaam and His Donkey Balaam got up the next morning. He put a saddle on his donkey. Then he went with the Moabite leaders.


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But God became angry because Balaam went. So the angel of the Lord stood in the road to stop Balaam. Balaam was riding his donkey. And he had two servants with him.


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The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road. The angel had a sword in his hand. So the donkey left the road and went into the field. Balaam hit the donkey to force her back on the road.


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Later, the angel of the Lord stood on a narrow path between two vineyards. There were walls on both sides.


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Again the donkey saw the angel of the Lord. So the donkey walked close to one wall. This crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So he hit her again.


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The angel of the Lord went ahead again. The angel stood at a narrow place. It was too narrow to turn left or right.


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The donkey saw the angel of the Lord. So she lay down under Balaam. Balaam was very angry and hit her with his stick.


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Then the Lord made the donkey talk. She said to Balaam, “What have I done to make you hit me three times?”


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Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made me look foolish! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!”


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But the donkey said to Balaam, “I am your very own donkey. You have ridden me for years. Have I ever done this to you before?” “No,” Balaam said.


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Then the Lord let Balaam see the angel. The angel of the Lord was standing in the road with his sword drawn. Then Balaam bowed facedown on the ground.


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The angel of the Lord asked Balaam, “Why have you hit your donkey three times? I have stood here to stop you. What you are doing is wrong.


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The donkey saw me. She turned away from me three times. If she had not turned away, I would have killed you by now. But I would let her live.”


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Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not know you were standing in the road to stop me. If I am wrong, I will go back.”


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The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with these men. But say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s leaders.


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Balak heard that Balaam was coming. So he went out to meet him at Ar in Moab. It was beside the Arnon, at the edge of his country.


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Balak said to Balaam, “I had asked you before to come quickly. Why didn’t you come to me? I am able to reward you well.”


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But Balaam answered, “I have come to you now. But I can’t say just anything. I can only say what God tells me to say.”


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Balak offered cattle and sheep as a sacrifice. He gave some meat to Balaam and the leaders with him.


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The next morning Balak took Balaam to Bamoth Baal. From there he could see the edge of the Israelite camp.


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Balaam’s First Message Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here. And prepare seven bulls and seven male sheep for me.”


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Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering. I will go. Maybe the Lord will come to me. I will tell you whatever he shows me.” Then Balaam went to a higher place.


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God came to Balaam there. Balaam said to him, “I have prepared seven altars. And I have offered a bull and a male sheep on each altar.”


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The Lord told Balaam what he should say. Then the Lord said, “Go back to Balak and give him this message.”


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So Balaam went back to Balak. Balak and all the leaders of Moab were still standing beside his burnt offering.


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Then Balaam gave them this message: “Balak brought me here from Aram. The king of Moab brought me from the eastern mountains. Balak said, ‘Come, put a curse on the people of Jacob for me. Come, wish evil on the people of Israel.’


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But God has not cursed them. So I cannot curse them. The Lord has not wished evil on them. So I cannot wish evil on them.


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I see them from the mountains. I see them from the hills. I see a people who live alone. They think they are different from other nations.


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No one can number the people of Jacob. No one can count a fourth of Israel. Let me die like good men. Let me end up like them!”


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Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies. But you have only blessed them!”


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Balaam’s Second Message Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place. There you can also see the people. But you can only see part of them, not all of them. Curse them for me from there.”


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So Balak took Balaam to the field of Zophim. This was on top of Mount Pisgah. There Balak built seven altars. And he offered a bull and a male sheep on each altar.


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So the Lord came to Balaam. He told Balaam what to say. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and say such and such.”


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So Balaam went to Balak. Balak and the leaders of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?”


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God is not a man. He will not lie. God is not a human being. He does not change his mind. What he says he will do, he does. What he promises, he keeps.


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He has found no wrong in the people of Jacob. He saw no fault in Israel. The Lord their God is with them. They praise their King.


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No tricks will work on the people of Jacob. No magic works against Israel. People now say this about them, ‘Look what God has done!’


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The people are strong like a lioness. They get up like a lion. Lions don’t rest until they have eaten. They drink their enemies’ blood.”


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Balaam’s Third Message Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, I will take you to another place. Maybe God will be pleased. He may let you curse them from there.”


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Balaam told Balak, “Build me seven altars here. Then prepare for me seven bulls and seven male sheep.”


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Balaam saw that the Lord wanted to bless Israel. So Balaam did not try to use any magic. He looked toward the desert.


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And Balaam gave this message: “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor. This is the message of a man who sees clearly.


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This is the message of a man who heard the words of God. I see a vision from the All-Powerful One. My eyes are open as I fall before him.


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Your tents spread out like valleys. They are like gardens beside a river. They are like spices planted by the Lord. They are like cedar trees growing by the water.


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Israel’s water buckets will always be full. Their crops will have plenty of water. Their king will be greater than Agag. Their kingdom will be very great.


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God brought them out of Egypt. They are as strong as a wild ox. They will defeat their enemies. They will break their enemies’ bones. They will shoot them with arrows.


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Like a lion, they lie waiting to attack. No one would wake a sleeping lion. Anyone who blesses you will be blessed. And anyone who curses you will be cursed.”


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Then Balak was angry with Balaam. Balak pounded his fist. He said to Balaam, “I called you here to curse my enemies. But you have blessed them three times.


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‘Balak could give me his palace filled with silver and gold. But I still cannot go against the Lord’s commands. I could not do anything, good or bad, on my own. I must say what the Lord says.’


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Now I am going back to my own people. But I will tell you what these people will do to your people in the future.”


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Balaam’s Final Message Then Balaam gave this message: “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor. This is the message of a man who sees clearly.


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This is the message of a man who hears the words of God. I know the Most High God. I see a vision from the All-Powerful One. My eyes are open as I fall before him.


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I see someone who will come some day. I see someone who will come, but not soon. A star will come from Jacob. A ruler will rise from Israel. He will crush the heads of the Moabites. He will smash the skulls of the sons of Sheth.


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Then Balaam saw Amalek and gave this message: “Amalek was the most important nation. But Amalek will be destroyed at last.”


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Then Balaam saw the Kenites and gave this message: “Your home is safe. It is like a nest on a cliff.


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Ships will sail from the shores of Cyprus. They will defeat Assyria and Eber. But they will also be destroyed.”


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Israel at Peor The people of Israel were still camped at Acacia. The men began sinning sexually with Moabite women.


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The women invited them to their sacrifices to their false gods. The Israelites ate food there and worshiped these gods.


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The Lord said to Moses, “Get all the leaders of the people. Then kill them in open daylight in the presence of the Lord. Then the Lord will not be angry with the people of Israel.”


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So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death your men who have become worshipers of Baal of Peor.”


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Moses and the Israelites were gathered at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. They were crying there. Then an Israelite man brought a Midianite woman to his brothers. This was in plain sight of Moses and all the people.


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Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this. So he left the meeting and got his spear.


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He followed the Israelite into his tent. And he drove his spear through both the Israelite man and the Midianite woman. Then the terrible sickness among the Israelites stopped.


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“Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has saved the Israelites from my anger. He is like I am in his concern for the people. He tried to save my honor among them. So I will not kill them.


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He and all his descendants will have an agreement. They will always be priests. This is because he had great concern for the honor of his God. He removed the sins of the Israelites so they would belong to God.”


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The Israelite man who was killed with the Midianite woman was named Zimri son of Salu. He was the leader of a family in the tribe of Simeon.


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And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Cozbi daughter of Zur. Zur was the chief of a Midianite family.


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They have already made you their enemies. They tricked you at Peor. Then there was Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader. She was the woman who was killed when the sickness came. It came because the people were worshiping the false god at Peor.”


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The People Are Counted After the great sickness, the Lord spoke to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest. He said,


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“Count all the people of Israel by families. Count all the men who are 20 years old or older. They will serve in the army of Israel.”


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Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke to the people. They were on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River, across from Jericho. They said,


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“Count the men 20 years old or older. This is what the Lord commanded Moses.” Here are the Israelites who came out of Egypt:


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The tribe of Reuben was counted. Reuben was the first son born to Israel. From Hanoch came the Hanochite family group. From Pallu came the Palluite family group.


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Eliab’s sons were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were the leaders who turned against Moses and Aaron. They followed Korah when he turned against the Lord.


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The earth opened up and swallowed them and Korah. They died when the fire burned up the 250 men. This was a warning.


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These were the family groups in the tribe of Simeon. From Nemuel came the Nemuelite family group. From Jamin came the Jaminite family group. From Jakin came the Jakinite family group.


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These were the family groups in the tribe of Gad. From Zephon came the Zephonite family group. From Haggi came the Haggite family group. From Shuni came the Shunite family group.


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These were the family groups in the tribe of Judah. From Shelah came the Shelanite family group. From Perez came the Perezite family group. From Zerah came the Zerahite family group.


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These were the family groups from Perez. From Hezron came the Hezronite family group. From Hamul came the Hamulite family group.


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These were the family groups in the tribe of Issachar. From Tola came the Tolaite family group. From Puah came the Puite family group.


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These were the family groups in the tribe of Zebulun. From Sered came the Seredite family group. From Elon came the Elonite family group. From Jahleel came the Jahleelite family group.


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These were the family groups of Manasseh. From Makir came the Makirite family group. (Makir was the father of Gilead.) From Gilead came the Gileadite family group.


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These were the family groups that came from Gilead. From Iezer came the Iezerite family group. From Helek came the Helekite family group.


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(Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons. He had only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.)


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These were the family groups in the tribe of Ephraim. From Shuthelah came the Shuthelahite family group. From Beker came the Bekerite family group. From Tahan came the Tahanite family group.


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These were the family groups of Ephraim. The total number of men was 32,500. These are the family groups that came from Joseph.


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These were the family groups in the tribe of Benjamin. From Bela came the Belaite family group. From Ashbel came the Ashbelite family group. From Ahiram came the Ahiramite family group.


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These were the family groups from Bela through Ard and Naaman. From Ard came the Ardite family group. From Naaman came the Naamite family group.


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This was the family group in the tribe of Dan. From Shuham came the Shuhamite family group. That was the family of Dan.


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These were the family groups in the tribe of Asher. From Imnah came the Imnite family group. From Ishvi came the Ishvite family group. From Beriah came the Beriite family group.


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These were the family groups that came from Beriah. From Heber came the Heberite family group. From Malkiel came the Malkielite family group.


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These were the family groups in the tribe of Naphtali. From Jahzeel came the Jahzeelite family group. From Guni came the Gunite family group.


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A large tribe will get more land. And a small tribe will get less land. The amount of land each tribe gets will depend on the number of its people.


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The tribe of Levi was also counted. These were the family groups of Levi. From Gershon came the Gershonite family group. From Kohath came the Kohathite family group. From Merari came the Merarite family group.


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These also were Levite family groups: the Libnite family group, the Hebronite family group, the Mahlite family group, the Mushite family group and the Korahite family group. (Kohath was the ancestor of Amram.


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Amram’s wife was named Jochebed. She was from the tribe of Levi. She was born in Egypt. She and Amram had two sons, Aaron and Moses, and their sister Miriam.


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But Nadab and Abihu died. They died because they made an offering before the Lord with the wrong kind of fire.)


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The total number of male Levites one month old or older was 23,000. But these men were not counted with the other Israelites. They did not receive any of the land that the Lord gave the other Israelites.


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Moses and Eleazar the priest counted all these people. They counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho.


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Moses and Aaron the priest had counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. But no one Moses counted on the plains of Moab was in the first counting.


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The Lord had told the Israelites they would all die in the desert. The only two left were Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.


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Zelophehad’s Daughters Zelophehad was the son of Hepher. Hepher was the son of Gilead. Gilead was the son of Makir. Makir was the son of Manasseh. Zelophehad’s daughters belonged to the family groups of Manasseh son of Joseph. The daughters’ names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.


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They went to the entrance of the Meeting Tent. There they stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and all the people. They said,


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“Our father died in the desert. He was not one of Korah’s followers who came against the Lord. Our father died because of his own sin. But he had no sons.


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Our father’s name will die out because he had no sons. Give us property among our father’s relatives.”


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“The daughters of Zelophehad are right. They should get what their father owned. Give them property among their father’s relatives.


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“Tell the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then everything he owned should go to his daughter.


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If his father had no brothers, then everything he owned should go to the nearest relative in his family group. This should be a rule among the people of Israel as the Lord has given this command to Moses.’”


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Joshua Is the New Leader Then the Lord said to Moses, “Climb this mountain in the Abarim Mountains. Look at the land I have given to the Israelites.


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You both acted against my command in the Desert of Zin. You did not honor me as holy before the people at the waters of Meribah.” (This was at Meribah in Kadesh in the Desert of Zin.)


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He must go in and out before them. He must lead them out like sheep and bring them in. The Lord’s people must not be like sheep without a shepherd.”


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Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the people. Then give him his orders as they watch.


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He must stand before Eleazar the priest. And Eleazar will get advice from the Lord by using the Urim. At his command all the Israelites will go out. At his command they will all come in.”


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Moses did what the Lord told him. Moses had Joshua stand before Eleazar the priest and all the people.


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“Give this command to the Israelites. Tell them: ‘Bring me food offerings made by fire. The smell is pleasing to me. Be sure to bring them at the right time.’


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Say to them: ‘These are the offerings you must bring to the Lord. Bring two year-old lambs as a burnt offering each day. They must have nothing wrong with them.


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Also bring a grain offering of two quarts of fine flour. It must be mixed with one quart of oil from pressed olives.


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Offer one quart of wine with each lamb as a drink offering. Pour it out to the Lord at the Holy Place.


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Offer the second lamb at twilight. As in the morning, also give a grain offering and a drink offering. This offering is made by fire. Its smell is pleasing to the Lord.


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Sabbath Offerings “‘On the Sabbath day you must give two year-old lambs. They must have nothing wrong with them. Also give a drink offering and a grain offering. The grain offering must be four quarts of fine flour mixed with olive oil.


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This is the burnt offering for the Sabbath. It is in addition to the daily burnt offering and drink offering.


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Monthly Offerings “‘On the first day of each month bring a burnt offering to the Lord. This will be two young bulls, one male sheep and seven male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them.


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Give a grain offering with each bull. It must be six quarts of fine flour mixed with olive oil. Also give a grain offering with the male sheep. It must be four quarts of fine flour mixed with olive oil.


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Also give a grain offering with each lamb. It must be two quarts of fine flour mixed with olive oil. This is a burnt offering. And its smell is pleasing to the Lord.


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The drink offering with each bull will be two quarts of wine. With the male sheep it will be one and one-half quarts. And with each lamb it will be one quart of wine. This is the burnt offering that must be offered each month of the year.


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Besides the daily burnt offerings and drink offerings, bring a sin offering to the Lord. It must be one male goat.


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The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the fifteenth day of that month. It lasts for seven days. You may eat only bread made without yeast.


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Bring these burnt offerings to the Lord: two young bulls, one male sheep and seven male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them.


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Also give a grain offering with each bull. It must be six quarts of fine flour mixed with olive oil. Give a grain offering with the male sheep. It must be four quarts of fine flour mixed with oil.


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Give a grain offering with each of the seven lambs. It must be two quarts of fine flour mixed with oil.


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So bring food offerings each day for seven days. The offering is made by fire. And its smell is pleasing to the Lord. Do it in addition to the daily burnt offering and its drink offering.


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Feast of Weeks “‘On the day of firstfruits offer new grain to the Lord. This is during the Feast of Weeks. Have a holy meeting. Don’t work that day.


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Give this burnt offering to the Lord: two young bulls, one male sheep and seven male lambs a year old. This smell is pleasing to the Lord.


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Also give a grain offering with each bull. It must be six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil. With the male sheep, it must be four quarts of flour.


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Bring these offerings and their drink offerings. These are in addition to the daily burnt offering and its grain offering. The animals must have nothing wrong with them.


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Feast of Trumpets “‘Have a holy meeting on the first day of the seventh month. Don’t work on that day. That is the day you blow the trumpets.


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Bring these burnt offerings to the Lord: one young bull, one male sheep and seven male year-old lambs. They all must have nothing wrong with them. Their smell will be pleasing to the Lord.


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Give a grain offering with the bull. It must be six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil. With the male sheep offer four quarts.


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These offerings are in addition to the monthly and daily burnt offerings. Their grain offerings and drink offerings must be done as you have been told. These offerings are made by fire to the Lord. And their smell is pleasing to him.


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The Day of Cleansing “‘Have a holy meeting on the tenth day of the seventh month. On that day do not eat and do not work.


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Bring these burnt offerings to the Lord: one young bull, one male sheep and seven male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them. The smell will be pleasing to the Lord.


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Give a grain offering with the bull. It must be six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil. With the male sheep it must be four quarts.


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Offer one male goat as a sin offering. This will be in addition to the sin offering which removes your sins. It will also be in addition to the daily burnt offering with its grain offering and the drink offerings.


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Feast of Shelters “‘Have a holy meeting on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. Do not work on that day. Celebrate a festival to the Lord for seven days.


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Give these burnt offerings to the Lord: 13 young bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them. The smell is pleasing to the Lord.


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Also offer a grain offering with each of the 13 bulls. It must be six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil. With each of the 2 male sheep it must be four quarts.


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Offer 1 male goat as a sin offering. This must be in addition to the daily burnt offering with its grain and drink offerings.


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“‘On the second day of this festival give an offering. Offer 12 bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them.


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“‘On the third day offer 11 bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them.


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“‘On the fourth day offer 10 bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them.


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“‘On the fifth day offer 9 bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them.


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“‘On the sixth day offer 8 bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them.


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“‘On the seventh day offer 7 bulls, 2 male sheep and 14 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them.


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Bring a burnt offering. Its smell will be pleasing to the Lord. Offer 1 bull, 1 male sheep and 7 male lambs a year old. They all must have nothing wrong with them.


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“‘At your festivals you should bring these to the Lord: your burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings and fellowship offerings. These are in addition to other promised offerings and special gifts you want to give to the Lord.’”


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Special Promises Moses spoke with the leaders of the Israelite tribes. He told them these commands from the Lord.


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“A person might make a promise to the Lord. He might promise to do something special. If he does, he must keep his promise. He must do what he said.


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A young woman still living at home might make a promise to the Lord. She might pledge to do something special.


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Her father might hear about the promise or pledge and say nothing. Then she must do what she promised. She must keep her pledge.


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But when her father hears about the promise or pledge, he might not allow it. Then the promise or pledge does not have to be kept. Her father would not allow them. So the Lord will free her from her promise.


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Her husband might hear about it and say nothing. Then she must keep her promise or the pledge she made.


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But when her husband hears about it, he might not allow it. He cancels her pledge or the careless promise she made. The Lord will free her from keeping it.


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When her husband hears about it, he might say nothing. He might not stop her. Then she must keep her promise or pledge.


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But when her husband hears about it, he might cancel it. Then she does not have to do what she said. Her husband has canceled it. The Lord will free her from it.


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But her husband might say nothing to her about it for several days. Then she must keep her promises. If he hears about them and says nothing, she must keep her promises.


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But he might cancel them long after he heard about them. Then he is responsible if she breaks her promise.”


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These are commands that the Lord gave to Moses. They are for husbands and wives. And they are for fathers with daughters living at home.


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So Moses said to the people, “Get some men ready for war. The Lord will use them to pay back the Midianites.


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Moses sent those 1,000 men from each tribe to war. Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest was with them. He took with him the holy things and the trumpets.


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Among those they killed were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba. They were the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with a sword.


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The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children. They also took all their flocks, herds and goods.


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Then they went back to Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the Israelites. They brought back the captives, the animals and the goods. The camp was on the plains of Moab near the Jordan River. This was across from Jericho.


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Moses was angry with the army officers who returned from war. He was angry with those commanders over 1,000 men and those over 100 men.


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They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice. They turned the Israelites from the Lord at Peor. Then a terrible sickness struck the Lord’s people.


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“All you men who killed anyone or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp for seven days. On the third and seventh days you and your captives must make yourselves clean.


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Then Eleazar the priest spoke to the soldiers who had gone to war. He said, “These are the teachings that the Lord gave to Moses.


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Put into the fire anything that will not burn. Then wash those things with the cleansing water. Then they will be clean. If something cannot stand the fire, wash it with the water.


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On the seventh day wash your clothes. Then you will be clean. After that you may come into the camp.”


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“You, Eleazar the priest and the leaders should take a count. Count the goods, the men and the animals that were taken.


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Tax the soldiers who went to war. The Lord’s share is 1 thing out of every 500 things. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep or goats.


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And from the people’s half, take 1 thing out of every 50. This includes people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats or other animals. Give that to the Levites. They take care of the Lord’s Holy Tent.”


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From the people’s half Moses took 1 thing out of every 50 for the Lord. This included the animals and the people. Then he gave them to the Levites. They took care of the Lord’s Holy Tent. This was what the Lord had commanded Moses.


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Then the officers of the army came to Moses. They were the commanders of 1,000 men and commanders of 100 men.


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They told Moses, “We, your servants, have counted our soldiers under our command. Not one of them is missing.


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So we have brought the Lord a gift. We have brought the gold things that each of us found: arm bands, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces. These are to remove our sins so we will belong to the Lord.”


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The commanders of 1,000 men and the commanders of 100 men gave the Lord the gold. All of it together weighed about 420 pounds.


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Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the commanders of 1,000 men and the commanders of 100 men. Then they put it in the Meeting Tent. It was a memorial before the Lord for the people of Israel.


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The Tribes East of the Jordan The people of Reuben and Gad had many cattle. They saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were good for cattle.


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They said, “We, your servants, have many cattle. The Lord has captured for the Israelites a land that is good for cattle. This is the land around Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon.


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If it pleases you, we would like this land to be given to us. Don’t make us cross the Jordan River.”


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You will discourage the Israelites. They will not want to go over to the land the Lord has given them.


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They went as far as the Valley of Eshcol. They saw the land. And they discouraged the Israelites from going into the land the Lord had given them.


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‘None of the people who came from Egypt and who are 20 years old or older will see this land. I promised it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But these people have not followed me completely.


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“The Lord was very angry with Israel. So he made them wander in the desert for 40 years. Finally all the people who had sinned against him had died.


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And now you are acting just like your fathers! You sinful people are making the Lord even more angry with Israel.


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If you quit following the Lord, it will add to their stay in the desert. So you will destroy all these people.”


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But the Reubenites and Gadites came up to Moses. They said, “We will build pens for our animals. And we will build cities for our wives and children here.


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Then our families will be in strong, walled cities. They will be safe from the people who live in this land. Then we will prepare for war. We will help the other Israelites get their land.


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We won’t take any of the land west of the Jordan River. Our part of the land is east of the Jordan.”


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After the Lord helps us take the land, you may return home. You will have done your duty to the Lord and Israel. Then you may have this land as your own.


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“But if you don’t do these things, you will be sinning against the Lord. And know for sure that you will be punished for your sin.


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Build cities for your wives and children and pens for your animals. But then you must do what you promised.”


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The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, “We are your servants. We will do what you, our master, command.


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But we, your servants, will prepare for battle. We will go over and fight for the Lord, as you have said.”


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So Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest. And he gave them to Joshua son of Nun and the leaders of the tribes of Israel.


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Moses said to them, “The Gadites and Reubenites will prepare for battle. They will cross the Jordan River with you. They will go before the Lord and help you take the land. If they do that, give them the land of Gilead for their own.


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We will cross over into Canaan. We will go before the Lord ready for battle. But our land will be east of the Jordan River.”


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So Moses gave that land to the Gadites, Reubenites and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. (Manasseh was Joseph’s son.) That land had been the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites. And it included the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan. It also included all the cities and the land around them.


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The descendants of Makir son of Manasseh went and captured Gilead. They forced out the Amorites who were there.


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Israel’s Journey from Egypt These are the places the Israelites went as Moses and Aaron led them out of Egypt in divisions.


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On the fifteenth day of the first month, they left Rameses. That was the day after the Passover. The Israelites marched out boldly in front of all the Egyptians.


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The Egyptians were burying their firstborn sons. The Lord had killed them. He showed that the gods of Egypt were false.


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They left Etham and went back to Pi Hahiroth. This was east of Baal Zephon. They camped near Migdol.


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They left Pi Hahiroth. They walked through the sea into the desert. After going three days through the Desert of Etham, they camped at Marah.


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They left Marah and went to Elim. There were 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees where they camped.


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Aaron the priest obeyed the Lord and went up Mount Hor. There he died. He died on the first day of the fifth month. This was in the fortieth year after the Israelites left Egypt.


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They left the mountains of Abarim and camped on the plains of Moab. This was near the Jordan River across from Jericho.


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They camped along the Jordan on the plains of Moab. Their camp went from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Acacia.


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Force out the people who live there. Destroy all of their carved statues. Destroy their metal idols. Wreck all of their places of worship.


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Throw lots to divide up the land by family groups. Give larger portions to larger family groups. Give smaller portions to smaller family groups. The land will be given as the lots decide. Each tribe will get its own land.


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“‘But if you don’t force those people out of the land, they will bring you trouble. They will be like sharp hooks in your eyes. They will be like thorns in your sides. They will bring trouble to the land where you live.


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“Give this command to the people of Israel: ‘You will soon enter Canaan. It will be yours. These shall be the borders.


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On the south you will get part of the Desert of Zin. This is near the border of Edom. On the east side your southern border will start at the south end of the Dead Sea.


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It will cross south of Scorpion Pass. It will go through the Desert of Zin and south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon.


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From Shepham the border will go east of Ain to Riblah. It will go along the hills east of Lake Galilee.


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Then the border will go down along the Jordan River. It will end at the Dead Sea. “‘These are the borders around your country.’”


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So Moses gave this command to the Israelites: “This is the land you will receive. Throw lots to divide it among the nine and a half tribes. The Lord commanded that it should be theirs.


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The tribes of Reuben and Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their land.


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The Levites’ Towns The Lord spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab. This was across from Jericho by the Jordan River. He said,


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“Command the Israelites to give the Levites cities to live in. These will be cities in the land they receive. Also give the Levites the pastureland around these cities.


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Then the Levites will have cities where they may live. And they will have pastureland for their cattle, sheep and other animals.


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Also measure 3,000 feet in each direction from the city wall. Measure 3,000 feet east of the city. Measure 3,000 feet south of the city. Measure 3,000 feet west of the city. And measure 3,000 feet north of the city. The city will be in the center. This will be pastureland for the Levites’ cities.


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Cities of Safety “Six of the cities you give the Levites will be cities of safety. A person might accidentally kill someone. If he does, he may run to one of those cities for safety. You must also give 42 other cities to the Levites.


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The larger tribes of Israel must give more cities. The smaller tribes must give fewer cities. Each tribe must give some of its cities to the Levites. The number of cities they give will depend on the size of their land.”


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You must choose cities to be cities of safety. If a person accidentally kills someone, he may run to them for safety.


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There he will be safe from the dead person’s relative who has the duty of punishing the killer. He will not die before he is judged in court.


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These six cities will be places of safety for citizens of Israel. And they will be for foreigners and other people living with you. Any of these people may run to one of these cities if he accidentally kills someone.


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A person might take a rock that could kill someone. If he kills a person with it, he is a murderer. He must be put to death.


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A person might pick up a piece of wood that could kill someone. If he kills someone with it, he is a murderer. He must be put to death.


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A relative of the dead person must put the murderer to death. When he finds the murderer, he must kill him.


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Or he might hit someone with his hand and kill him. If he did that from hate, he is a murderer. He must be put to death. A relative of the dead person must kill the murderer when he finds him.


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“‘But a person might suddenly shove someone. He did not hate the person. Or he might accidentally throw something and hit someone.


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Or he might drop a rock that could kill someone. It might fall on someone he did not see. And it might kill that person. He didn’t plan to hurt anyone. He didn’t hate the person he killed.


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If that happens, the community must decide what to do. They must decide between the relative of the dead person and the killer. Here are the rules.


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They must protect the killer from the dead person’s relative. They must send the killer back to the city of safety that he ran to. He must stay there until the high priest dies. The high priest had the holy oil poured on him.


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If a relative of the dead person finds him outside the city, the relative may kill him. He will not be guilty of murder.


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The killer must stay in his city of safety until the high priest dies. After the high priest dies, he may go back to his own land.


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“‘A killer may be put to death only if he is a murderer. And there must be witnesses. No one may be put to death with only one witness.


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“‘A person might run to a city of safety. Don’t take money to let him go back home before the high priest dies.


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“‘Don’t let murder spoil your land. There is only one way to remove the sin of killing an innocent person. The murderer must be put to death.


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I am the Lord. I live among the Israelites. I live in that land with you. So do not spoil it with murder.’”


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Land for Zelophehad’s Daughters The leaders of Gilead’s family group went to talk to Moses and the leaders of the families of Israel. (Gilead was the son of Makir. Makir was Manasseh’s son, and Manasseh was Joseph’s son.)


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They said, “The Lord commanded you, our master, to give the land to the Israelites by throwing lots. And the Lord commanded you to give the land of Zelophehad, our brother, to his daughters.


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His daughters may marry men from other tribes of Israel. Then that land will leave our family. The people of the other tribes will get that land. So we will lose some of our land.


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The time of Jubilee will come for the Israelites. Then their land will go to other tribes. It will go to the tribes of the people they marry. So their land will be taken away from us. And that was land we received from our fathers.”


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Then Moses gave the Israelites this command from the Lord: “These men from the tribe of Joseph are right.


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This is the Lord’s command to Zelophehad’s daughters: You may marry anyone you wish from your own tribe.


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In this way the Israelites’ land will not pass from tribe to tribe. Each Israelite will keep the land in the tribe that belonged to his ancestors.


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A woman who inherits her father’s land may marry. But she must marry someone from her own tribe. In this way every Israelite will keep the land that belonged to his ancestors.


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The land must not pass from tribe to tribe. Each Israelite tribe will keep the land it received from its ancestors.”


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So Zelophehad’s daughters—Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah—married their cousins. These were their father’s relatives.


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Their husbands were from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph. So their land stayed in their father’s family group and tribe.


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These were the laws and commands that the Lord gave to the Israelites. He gave them through Moses. The Israelites were on the plains of Moab by the Jordan River, across from Jericho.


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Moses Talks to the Israelites This is the message Moses gave the people of Israel. They were in the desert east of the Jordan River. They were in the Jordan Valley near Suph, between Paran and the towns of Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab.


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But it was now 40 years after the Israelites had left Egypt. On the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people. He told them everything the Lord had commanded him to tell them.


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This was after the Lord had defeated Sihon and Og. Sihon was king of the Amorite people and lived in Heshbon. Og was king of Bashan and lived in Ashteroth and Edrei.


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Now the Israelites were east of the Jordan River in the land of Moab. There Moses began to explain what God had commanded. Moses said:


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The Lord our God spoke to us at Mount Sinai. He said, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain.


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Get ready. Go to the mountain country of the Amorites. Go to all the places around there—the Jordan Valley, the mountains, the western slopes, the southern area, the seacoast, the land of Canaan and Lebanon. Go as far as the great river, the Euphrates.


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See, I have given you this land. Go in and take it for yourselves. The Lord promised it to your ancestors—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants.”


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The Lord your God has made you grow in number. There are as many of you as there are stars in the sky.


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I pray that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, will give you a thousand times more people. That’s what he promised.


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So choose some men from each tribe. Choose wise men who have understanding and experience. I will make them leaders over you.”


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So I took the wise and experienced leaders of your tribes. And I made them your leaders. I appointed commanders over 1,000 people, over 100 people, over 50 people and over 10 people. I made them officers over your tribes.


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Then I told your judges, “Listen to the arguments between your people. Judge fairly between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner.


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When you judge, be fair to everyone. Don’t act as if one person is more important than another. Don’t be afraid of anyone, because your decision comes from God. Bring the hard cases to me. I will judge them.”


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Spies Enter the Land Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we left Mount Sinai. We went toward the mountain country of the Amorite people. We went through that large and terrible desert you saw. Then we came to Kadesh Barnea.


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Then I said to you, “You have now come to the mountain country of the Amorites. The Lord our God will give us this land.


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Look, there it is! Go up. Take it. The Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you to do this. So don’t be afraid. Don’t worry.”


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Then all of you came to me. You said, “Let’s send men before us to spy out the land. They can come back and tell us the way we should go. They can tell us about the cities we will find.”


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They took some of the fruit from that land. And they brought it down to us. They said, “It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.”


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You grumbled in your tents. You said, “The Lord hates us. He brought us out of Egypt just to give us to the Amorites. They will destroy us.


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Where can we go now? The spies we sent have made us afraid. They said, ‘The people there are bigger and taller than we are. The cities are big. They have walls up to the sky. And we saw the Anakites there!’”


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The Lord your God will go ahead of you. He will fight for you as he did in Egypt. You saw him do it.


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And in the desert you saw how the Lord your God carried you. He was like a man carrying his son. And he has brought you safely all the way to this place.”


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As you moved, he went before you. He found places for you to camp. He went before you in a fire at night and in a cloud during the day. He showed you which way to go.


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Only Caleb son of Jephunneh will see it. I will give him and his descendants the land he walked on. I will do this because he followed me completely.”


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But your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will go there. Encourage Joshua, because he will lead Israel to take the land for their own.”


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The Lord said to us, “You said your babies would be captured. But they will go into the land. They are too young to know right from wrong. So I will give the land to them. And they will take it for their own.


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Then you said to me, “We have sinned against the Lord. But now we will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us.” Then all of you put on weapons. You thought it would be easy to go into the mountains.


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But the Lord said to me, “Tell them not to go up there and fight. I will not be with them. Their enemies will defeat them.”


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So I told you, but you would not listen. You would not obey the Lord’s command. You were proud. So you went on up into the mountains.


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The Amorites who lived there came out and fought you. They chased you like bees. They defeated you from Edom to Hormah.


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Israel Wanders in the Desert Then we turned around. And we traveled on the desert road toward the Gulf of Aqaba. That is what the Lord had told me to do. We traveled through the mountains of Edom for many days.


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Tell the people this: ‘You will soon go through the land of Edom. This land belongs to your relatives, the descendants of Esau. They will be afraid of you. But be very careful.


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Don’t go to war against them. I am not giving you any of their land—not even a foot of it. I have given the mountains of Edom to Esau as his own.


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The Lord your God has blessed everything you have done. He has protected you while you traveled through this large desert. The Lord your God has been with you for these 40 years. You have had everything you needed.


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So we passed by our relatives, the people of Esau who lived in Edom. We turned off the Jordan Valley road. It comes from the towns of Elath and Ezion Geber. And we traveled along the desert road of Moab.


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The Land of Ar Then the Lord said to me, “Don’t bother the people of Moab. Don’t go to war against them. I am not giving you any of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot.”


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(The Emites lived in Ar before. They were strong people, and there were many of them. They were very tall, like the Anakites.


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The Emites were thought to be Rephaites, like the Anakites. But the Moabite people called them Emites.


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The Horites also lived in Edom before. But the people of Esau forced them out. They destroyed the Horites and took their place. That is also what Israel did in the land the Lord gave them as their own.)


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It had been 38 years since we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, all the fighting men from that time had died. This is what the Lord had promised would happen.


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When you come near the people of Ammon, don’t bother them. Don’t go to war against them. I am not giving you their land. I have given that land to the descendants of Lot.”


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(That land was also thought to be a land of Rephaites. Those people used to live there. But the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.


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They were strong people, and there were many of them. They were very tall, like the Anakites. The Lord went before the Ammonites and destroyed the Zamzummites. The Ammonites forced them out of the land and took their place.


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The Lord did the same thing for the descendants of Esau. They lived in Edom. He destroyed the Horites. The Edomites forced them out of the land and took their place. And they live there to this day.


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The Caphtorite people came from Crete. They destroyed the Avvites. The Avvites lived in towns all the way to Gaza. But the Caphtorites destroyed them and took their place.)


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Fighting the Amorites The Lord said, “Get up. Cross the Arnon Ravine. See, I am giving you the power to defeat Sihon the Amorite. He is king of Heshbon. I am giving you his land. So fight against him and begin taking his land.


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Today I will begin to make all the people in the world afraid of you. They will hear reports about you. And they will shake with fear. They will be terrified of you.”


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I sent messengers from the desert of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon. They offered him peace. They said,


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We will pay you in silver for any food we eat or water we drink. We only want to walk through your country.


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The descendants of Esau in Edom let us go through their land. So did the Moabites in Ar. We want to cross the Jordan River into the land the Lord our God has given us.”


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But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass. The Lord your God had made him stubborn. The Lord wanted you to defeat Sihon. And now this has happened.


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The Lord said to me, “See, I have begun to give Sihon and his country to you. Begin taking the land as your own.”


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We captured all his cities. We completely destroyed them, the men, women and children. We left no one alive.


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We defeated Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Ravine. And we defeated the town in the ravine, and even Gilead. No town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave us all of them.


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But you did not go near the land of the Ammonites. You did not go near the shores of the Jabbok River. You did not go near the towns in the mountains. This was what the Lord our God had commanded.


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The Battle at Bashan Then we turned and went up the road toward Bashan. Og king of Bashan and all his army came out to fight us at Edrei.


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The Lord said to me, “Don’t be afraid of Og. I will hand him, his whole army and his land over to you. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.”


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So the Lord our God gave us Og king of Bashan and all his army. We defeated them and left no one alive.


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Then we captured all of Og’s cities. We captured all 60 of them. We took the whole area of Argob, Og’s kingdom in Bashan.


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All these were strong cities. They had high walls and gates with bars. And there were also many small towns with no walls.


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We completely destroyed them. We destroyed them just like the cities of Sihon king of Heshbon. We killed all the men, women and children.


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So at that time we took the land east of the Jordan River. We took it from these two Amorite kings. It went from the Arnon Ravine to Mount Hermon.


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We captured all the cities on the high plain and all of Gilead. We took all of Bashan as far as Salecah and Edrei. These were towns in Og’s kingdom of Bashan.


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(Only Og king of Bashan was left of the few Rephaites. His bed was made of iron. It was more than 13 feet long and 6 feet wide! It is still in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.)


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The Land Is Divided At that time we took this land to be our own. I gave the people of Reuben and Gad the land from Aroer by the Arnon Ravine. And I gave them half of the mountain country of Gilead and the cities in it.


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To the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh I gave the rest of Gilead. And I gave them all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og. (The area of Argob in Bashan was called the land of the Rephaites.


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Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole area of Argob. It went to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. That land was named for Jair. So even today Bashan is called the Towns of Jair.)


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I gave the Reubenites and the Gadites the land that begins at Gilead. It goes from the Arnon Ravine to the Jabbok River. (The middle of the Arnon is the border.) The Jabbok River is the Ammonite border.


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The border on the west was the Jordan River in the Jordan Valley. It goes from Lake Galilee to the Dead Sea west of Mount Pisgah.


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At that time I gave you this command: “The Lord your God has given you this land as your own. Now your fighting men must take their weapons. And you must lead the other Israelites across the river.


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Your wives, your young children and your cattle may stay here. I know you have many cattle. They may stay here in the cities I have given you.


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Some day your Israelite relatives will also have a place to rest. They will receive the land the Lord your God has given them. It is on the other side of the Jordan River. After that, you may each return to the land I have given you.”


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Then I gave this command to Joshua: “You have seen for yourself what the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same thing to all the kingdoms where you are going.


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“Lord God, you have begun to show me, your servant, how great you are. You have great strength. No other god in heaven or earth can do the powerful things you do. There is no other god like you.


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But the Lord was angry with me because of you. He would not listen to me. The Lord said to me, “That’s enough. Don’t talk to me anymore about it.


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Climb to the top of Mount Pisgah. Look west, north, south and east. You can look at the land. But you will not cross the Jordan River.


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Appoint Joshua. Help him be brave and strong. He will lead the people across the river. He will give them the land that they are to inherit. You can only look at it.”


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Moses Tells Israel to Obey Now, Israel, listen to the laws and commands I will teach you. Obey them so you will live. Then you will go over and take the land. The Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving it to you.


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Don’t add to these commands. And don’t leave anything out. But obey the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.


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You have seen for yourselves what the Lord did at Baal Peor. The Lord your God destroyed everyone among you who followed Baal in Peor.


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Look, I have taught you the laws and rules the Lord my God commanded me. Now you can obey the laws in the land you are entering. It is the land you will own.


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Obey these laws carefully. This will show the other nations that you have wisdom and understanding. They will hear about these laws. And they will say, “This great nation of Israel is wise and understanding.”


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No other nation is as great as we are. Their gods do not come near them. But the Lord our God comes near when we pray to him.


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But be careful! Watch out. Don’t forget the things that you have seen. Don’t forget them as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.


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Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai. He said to me, “Bring the people together to listen to what I say. Then they will respect me as long as they live in the land. And they will teach these things to their children.”


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Then you came and stood at the bottom of the mountain. It blazed with fire that reached to the sky. Black clouds made it very dark.


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Then the Lord spoke to you from the fire. You heard the sound of words. But you did not see him. There was only a voice.


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The Lord told you about his agreement. It was the Ten Commandments. And he told you to obey them. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets.


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Then the Lord commanded me to teach you the laws and rules. You must obey them in the land you will own when you cross the Jordan River.


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Laws About Idols The Lord spoke to you from the fire at Mount Sinai. But you did not see him. So watch yourselves carefully!


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Don’t make statues of anything that crawls on the ground. Don’t make statues of fish in the water below.


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When you look up at the sky, you see the sun, moon and stars. You can see everything in the sky. But don’t bow down and worship them. The Lord your God has made these things for all people everywhere.


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Egypt tested you like a furnace for melting iron. The Lord brought you out of Egypt. And he made you his very own people, as you are now.


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The Lord was angry with me because of you. He made a strong promise that I would not cross the Jordan River. I could not go into the good land the Lord your God is giving you to own.


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I will die here in this land. I will not cross the Jordan. But you will soon go across and take that good land.


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Be careful. Don’t forget the agreement of the Lord your God that he made with you. Don’t make any idols for yourselves. The Lord your God has commanded you not to do that.


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You will live in the land a long time. You will have children and grandchildren. Even after that, don’t do evil things. Don’t make any kind of idol. Don’t do what the Lord says is evil. That will make him angry.


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I will ask heaven and earth to speak against you that day. Then you will quickly be removed from this land. You are crossing the Jordan River to take the land. But you will not live there long after that. You will be completely destroyed.


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The Lord will scatter you among the other nations. Only a few of you will be left alive. And those few will be in other nations where the Lord will send you.


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There you will worship gods made by men. They will be made of wood and stone. They cannot see, hear, eat or smell.


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But even there you can look for the Lord your God. And you will find him if you look. But you must look for him with your whole being.


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It will be hard when all these things happen to you. But after that you will come back to the Lord your God. You will obey him.


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The Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you. He will not forget the agreement he made with your ancestors. He made that agreement sure with his strong promise.


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The Lord Is Great Nothing like this has ever happened before! Look at the past, long before you were even born. Go all the way back to when God made man on the earth. Look from one end of heaven to the other. Nothing like this has ever been heard of!


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No other god has ever taken for himself one nation out of another. But the Lord your God did this for you in Egypt. He did it right before your own eyes. He did it with tests, signs, miracles, war and great sights. He did it by his great power and strength.


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He spoke to you from heaven to teach you. He showed you his great fire on earth. And you heard him speak from the fire.


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The Lord loved your ancestors. That is why he chose you, their descendants. He brought you out of Egypt himself by his great strength.


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He forced nations out of their land ahead of you. And these nations were bigger and stronger than you were. But the Lord brought you into their land and gave it to you to own. And this land is yours today.


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Know and believe today that the Lord is God. He is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other god!


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Obey his laws and commands, which I am giving you today. Obey them so that things will go well for you and your children. Then you will live a long time in this land. The Lord your God is giving it to you forever.


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A person who killed someone accidentally could go there. He did not hate the person he killed. So he could save his life by running to one of these cities.


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These were the cities: Bezer in the desert high plain was for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead was for the Gadites; Golan in Bashan was for the Manassites.


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They were in the valley near Beth Peor. That is east of the Jordan River in the land of Sihon. Sihon was king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon. He was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt.


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The Israelites captured his land. They also took the land of Og king of Bashan. These were the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River.


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It included all the Jordan Valley east of the Jordan River. And it went as far as the Dead Sea below Mount Pisgah.


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The Ten Commandments Moses called all the people of Israel together and said: Listen, Israel, to the commands and laws I give you today. Learn them and obey them carefully.


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He did not make this agreement with our ancestors. He made it with us. He made it with all of us who are alive here today.


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(At that time I stood between you and the Lord. I told you what the Lord said. You were afraid of the fire. So you would not go up on the mountain.) The Lord said:


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But the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God. On that day no one may do any work: not you, your son or daughter, or your men or women slaves. Neither your ox, your donkey nor any of your animals may work. The foreigners living in your cities may not work. That way your servants may rest as you do.


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Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. The Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by his great power and strength. So the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day.


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“Honor your father and your mother. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. Then you will live a long time. And things will go well for you in the land. The Lord your God is going to give you this land.


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“You must not want to take your neighbor’s wife. You must not want to take your neighbor’s house or land. You must not want to take his men or women slaves. You must not want to take his ox or his donkey. You must not want to take anything that belongs to your neighbor.”


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The Lord gave these commands to all of you on the mountain. He spoke them in a loud voice out of the fire. He spoke from the cloud and the deep darkness. He did not say anything else. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets. And he gave them to me.


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You heard the voice from the darkness. The mountain was blazing with fire. Then all the leaders of your tribes and your elders came to me.


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And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us his glory and majesty. We have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks to him.


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But now, we will die! This great fire will burn us up. And we will die if we hear the Lord our God speak anymore.


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Moses, you go near and listen to everything the Lord our God says. Then you tell us what the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”


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The Lord heard what you said to me. And he said to me, “I have heard what the people said to you. Everything they said was good.


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I wish their hearts would always respect me. I wish they would always obey my commands. Then things would go well for them and their children forever!


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But you stay here with me. I will give you all the commands, rules and laws. Teach the people to obey them in the land I am giving them to own.”


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Live the way the Lord your God has commanded you. Then you will live and be successful. You will live a long time in the land you will own.


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The Command to Love God These are the commands, rules and laws of the Lord your God. He told me to teach them to you. Obey them in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to own.


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You, your children and grandchildren must respect the Lord your God. You must do this as long as you live. Obey all his rules and commands I give you. Then you will live a long time.


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Listen, Israel, and carefully obey these laws. Then all will go well for you. You will become a great nation in a land where much food grows. The Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised it to you.


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Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up.


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The Lord your God will bring you into the land. He promised it to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He will give it to you. The land has large, growing cities you did not build.


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The houses there are full of good things that you did not buy. They have wells you did not dig. There are vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. You will eat as much as you want.


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But be careful! Do not forget the Lord. He brought you out of the land of Egypt where you were slaves.


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The Lord your God is a jealous God. He is present with you. If you worship other gods, he will become angry with you. And he will destroy you from the earth.


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Do what the Lord says is good and right. Then things will go well for you. Then you may go in and take the good land the Lord promised to your ancestors.


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In the future your son will ask you, “What do the laws, commands and rules the Lord our God gave us mean?”


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Tell him, “We were slaves to the king of Egypt. But the Lord brought us out of Egypt by his great power.


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The Lord showed us great and terrible signs and miracles. He did them to Egypt, the king and his whole family.


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The Lord brought us out of Egypt. He led us here. And he will give us the land he promised our ancestors.


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The Lord ordered us to obey all these commands. And we must respect the Lord our God. Then we will always do well and stay alive as we are today.


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The right thing for us to do is this: Obey all these rules in the presence of the Lord our God. He has commanded it.”


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God’s People The Lord your God will bring you into the land. You are entering that land to own it. As you go in, he will force out these nations: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. These seven nations are stronger than you.


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The Lord your God will hand these nations over to you. You will defeat them. You must destroy them completely. Do not make a peace treaty with them. Do not show them any mercy.


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Do not marry any of them. Don’t let your daughters marry their sons. And don’t let your sons marry their daughters.


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Those people will turn your children away from me. Your children will begin serving other gods. The Lord will be very angry with you. And he will quickly destroy you.


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This is what you must do to those people: Tear down their altars. Smash their holy stone pillars. Cut down their Asherah idols and burn their idols in the fire.


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You are holy people. You belong to the Lord your God. He has chosen you from all the people on earth. You are his very own.


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The Lord did not care for you and choose you because there were many of you. You are the smallest nation of all.


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But the Lord chose you because he loved you. And he kept his promise to your ancestors. So he brought you out of Egypt by his great power. He brought you back from the land of slavery. He bought you back from the power of the king of Egypt.


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So know that the Lord your God is God. He is the faithful God. He will keep his agreement of love for a thousand lifetimes. He does this for people who love him and obey his commands.


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But he will pay back those people who hate him. He will destroy them. And he will not be slow to pay back those who hate him.


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Pay attention to these laws. Obey them carefully. Then the Lord your God will keep his agreement and show his love to you. He promised your ancestors he would.


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He will love and bless you. He will make the number of your people grow. He will bless you with children. He will bless your fields with good crops. He will give you grain, new wine and oil. He will bless your cows with calves and your sheep with lambs. This is the way it will be in the land he promised your ancestors he would give you.


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You will be blessed more than any other people. Every husband and wife will have children. All your cattle will have calves.


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The Lord will take away all disease from you. You will not have the terrible diseases that were in Egypt. But he will give them to your enemies.


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You must destroy all the people the Lord your God hands over to you. Do not feel sorry for them. Do not worship their gods. They will trap you.


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You saw for yourselves the troubles, signs and miracles he did. You saw how the Lord’s great power and strength brought you out of Egypt. The Lord your God will do the same thing to all the nations you now fear.


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The Lord your God will also send hornets to attack them. Even those who are alive and hiding from you will die.


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Don’t be afraid of them. The Lord your God is with you. He is a great God and people are afraid of him.


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The Lord your God will force those nations out of the land. They will leave little by little ahead of you. Don’t destroy them all at once. Otherwise, the wild animals will grow too many in number.


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But the Lord your God will hand those nations over to you. He will confuse them until they are destroyed.


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The Lord will help you defeat their kings. The world will forget who they were. No one will be able to stop you. You will destroy them all.


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Burn up their idols in the fire. Do not wish for the silver and gold on them. Don’t take it for yourselves, or you will be trapped by it. The Lord your God hates it.


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Do not bring one of those hated things into your house. If you do, you will be completely destroyed along with it. Hate and reject those things. They must be completely destroyed.


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Remember the Lord Carefully obey every command I give you today. Then you will live and grow in number. And you will enter and own the land the Lord promised your ancestors.


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Remember how the Lord your God has led you in the desert for these 40 years. He took away your pride. He tested you. He wanted to know what was in your heart. He wanted to know if you would obey his commands.


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He took away your pride. He let you get hungry. Then he fed you with manna. Manna was something neither you nor your ancestors had ever seen. This was to teach you that a person does not live only by eating bread. But a person lives by everything the Lord says.


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The Lord your God is bringing you into a good land. The land has rivers and pools of water. Springs flow in the valleys and hills.


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It is a land where you will have plenty of food. You will have everything you need there. The rocks are iron. You can dig copper out of the hills.


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Be careful not to forget the Lord your God. Do not fail to obey his commands, laws and rules. I am giving them to you today.


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Your herds of cattle and flocks of sheep will grow large. Your silver and gold will grow. You will have more of everything.


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Then your heart will become proud. You will forget the Lord your God. He brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you were slaves.


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He led you through the large and terrible desert. It was dry and had no water. It had poisonous snakes and stinging insects. He gave you water from a solid rock.


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He gave you manna to eat in the desert. Manna was something your ancestors had never seen. He did this to take away your pride and to test you. He did it so things would go well for you in the end.


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But remember the Lord your God! It is he who gives you the power to become rich. He keeps the agreement he promised to your ancestors. So it is today.


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Never forget the Lord your God. Do not follow other gods. Do not worship them. Do not bow down to them. If you do, I warn you today that you will be destroyed.


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The Lord destroyed the other nations for you. And you can be destroyed the same way if you do not obey the Lord your God.


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The Lord Will Be with Israel Listen, Israel. You will soon cross the Jordan River. You will go in to force out nations that are bigger and stronger than you. They have large cities with walls up to the sky.


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The people there are Anakites. They are strong and tall. You know about them. You have heard it said: “No one can stop the Anakites.”


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But today remember that the Lord your God goes in before you. He will destroy them like a fire that burns things up. He will defeat them ahead of you. And you will force them out. You will destroy them quickly. It will happen just as the Lord has said.


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The Lord your God will force those nations out ahead of you. After that, don’t say to yourself, “The Lord brought me here. I own this land because I am so good.” No! It is because these nations are evil. That is why the Lord will force them out ahead of you.


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You are going in to own the land. But it is not because you are good and honest. It is because these nations are evil. That is why the Lord your God will force them out ahead of you. The Lord will keep his promise to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.


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The Lord your God is giving you this good land to own. But know this: It is not because you are good. You are a stubborn people.


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Remember the Lord’s Anger Remember this. Do not forget it. You made the Lord your God angry in the desert. You would not obey the Lord from the day you left Egypt until you arrived here.


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I went up on the mountain to receive the stone tablets. The tablets were the agreement the Lord had made with you. I stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. I did not eat bread or drink water.


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The Lord gave me two stone tablets. God had written on them with his own finger. On them were all the commands of the Lord. He gave them to you on the mountain out of the fire. This was on the day you were gathered there.


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Then the 40 days and 40 nights were over. And the Lord gave me the two stone tablets. Those tablets had the agreement on them.


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Then the Lord told me, “Get up. Go down quickly from here. The people you brought out from Egypt are ruining themselves. They have quickly turned away from what I commanded. They have made an idol for themselves.”


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Get away. I will destroy them. I will make the whole world forget who they are. Then I will make another nation from you. It will be bigger and stronger than they are.”


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So I turned and came down the mountain. The mountain was burning with fire. And the two stone tablets with the agreement were in my hands.


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When I looked, I saw you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made an idol in the shape of a calf. You had quickly turned away from what the Lord had told you to do.


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So I took the two stone tablets and threw them down. I broke them into pieces right in front of you.


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Then I again bowed facedown on the ground before the Lord. I did this for 40 days and 40 nights. I did not eat bread or drink water. You had sinned by doing what the Lord said was evil. You made him angry.


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I was afraid of the Lord’s anger and rage. He was angry enough with you to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me again.


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I took that sinful calf idol you had made. And I burned it in the fire. I crushed it into a powder like dust. And I threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.


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Then the Lord sent you away from Kadesh Barnea. He said, “Go up and take the land I have given you.” But you would not obey the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust him or obey him.


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The Lord had said he would destroy you. So I threw myself down in front of him for those 40 days and 40 nights.


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I prayed to the Lord. I said, “Lord God, do not destroy your people. They are your own people. You freed them and brought them out of Egypt by your great power and strength.


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Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Don’t look at how stubborn these people are. Don’t look at their sin and evil.


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Otherwise, Egypt will say, ‘The Lord was not able to take his people into the land he promised them. He hated them. So he took them into the desert to kill them.’


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But they are your people, Lord. They are your own people. You brought them out of Egypt with your great power and strength.”


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New Stone Tablets At that time the Lord said to me, “Cut two stone tablets like the first ones. Then come up to me on the mountain. Also make a wooden ark.


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I will write on the tablets the same words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Put the new tablets in the ark.”


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So I made the ark out of acacia wood. And I cut out two stone tablets like the first ones. Then I went up on the mountain. I had the two tablets in my hands.


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The Lord wrote the same things on these tablets he had written before. He wrote the Ten Commandments. He had told them to you on the mountain from the fire. This was on the day you were gathered there. And the Lord gave them to me.


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Then I turned and came down the mountain. I put the tablets in the ark I had made. That is what the Lord had commanded. The tablets are still there in the ark.


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(The people of Israel went from the wells of the Jaakanites to Moserah. There Aaron died and was buried. Aaron’s son Eleazar became priest in Aaron’s place.


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From Moserah they went to Gudgodah. From Gudgodah they went to Jotbathah, a place with streams of water.


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At that time the Lord chose the tribe of Levi. They were to carry the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. They were to serve the Lord. They were to bless the people in the Lord’s name. They still do this today.


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That is why the Levites did not receive any land to own. Instead, they received the Lord himself as their gift. This is what the Lord your God told them.)


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I stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights just like the first time. And the Lord listened to me this time also. He did not want to destroy you.


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The Lord said to me, “Go. Lead the people. They will go in and take the land I promised their ancestors.”


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What the Lord Wants You to Do Now, Israel, this is what the Lord wants you to do. Respect the Lord your God. Do what he has told you to do. Love him. Serve the Lord your God with your whole being.


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But the Lord cared for and loved your ancestors. And he chose you, their descendants. He chose you over all the other nations. And it is this way today.


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The Lord your God is God of all gods. He is the Lord of all lords. He is the great God. He is strong and wonderful. He does not take sides. And he will not be talked into doing evil.


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You should praise him. He is your God. He has done great and wonderful things for you. You have seen them with your own eyes.


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There were only 70 of your ancestors when they went down to Egypt. Now the Lord your God has made you as many as the stars in the sky.


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Remember today it was not your children who saw and felt the correction of the Lord your God. They did not see his majesty, his power and his strength.


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They did not see what he did to the Egyptian army, its horses and chariots. He drowned them in the Red Sea when they were chasing you. The Lord ruined them forever.


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They did not see what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite. The ground opened up and swallowed them, their families and their tents. And it swallowed up everyone who stood with them in Israel.


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So obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will be strong. Then you can go in and take the land you are going to own.


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Then you will live a long time in that land. The Lord promised to give it to your ancestors and their descendants. It is a land where much food grows.


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The land you are going to take is not like Egypt, where you were. There you had to plant your seed. Then you had to water it, like a vegetable garden, by using your feet.


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But you will soon cross the Jordan River and take the land. It is a land of hills and valleys. It drinks rain from heaven.


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It is a land the Lord your God loves. His eyes are on it continually. He watches it from the beginning of the year to the end.


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Carefully obey the commands I am giving you today. Love the Lord your God. Serve him with your whole being.


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Then he will send rain on your land at the right time, in the fall and spring. You will be able to gather your grain, new wine and oil.


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If you do, the Lord will become angry with you. He will shut the heavens so it will not rain. Then the land will not grow crops. And you will soon die in the good land the Lord is giving you.


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Remember my words in your hearts and souls. Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your foreheads to remind you.


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Teach them well to your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up.


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Then both you and your children will live a long time in the land. This is the land the Lord promised your ancestors. You will live there for as long as the skies are above the earth.


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Be careful to obey every command I am giving you to follow. Love the Lord your God. Do what he has told you to do. And be loyal to him.


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Then the Lord will force all those nations out of the land ahead of you. And you will take the land from nations that are bigger and stronger than you.


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Everywhere you step will be yours. Your land will go from the desert to Lebanon. And it will go from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea.


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No one will be able to stop you. The Lord your God will do what he promised. He will make the people afraid everywhere you go.


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But you will be cursed if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God. So do not disobey the commands I am giving you today. Do not worship other gods you do not know.


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The Lord your God will bring you into the land you will own. Then you are to announce the blessings from Mount Gerizim. Announce the curses from Mount Ebal.


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These mountains are on the other side of the Jordan River. They are west, toward the sunset. They are near the great trees of Moreh. They are in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Jordan Valley opposite Gilgal.


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You will soon cross the Jordan River. You will enter and take the land the Lord your God is giving you. You will take it over and live there.


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The Place for Worship These are the commands and laws you must carefully obey in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Obey them as long as you live in the land.


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You will inherit the lands of these nations. You must completely destroy all the places where they serve their gods. These places are on high mountains and hills and under every green tree.


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Tear down their altars. Smash their holy stone pillars. Burn their Asherah idols. Cut down their idols. Destroy their names from those places.


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But look for the place the Lord your God will choose. He will choose a place among your tribes where he is to be worshiped. Go there.


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Bring to that place your burnt offerings and sacrifices. Bring a tenth of what you gain and your special gifts. Bring what you have promised and the special gifts you want to give the Lord. And bring the first animals born to your herds and flocks.


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There you will be together with the Lord your God. There you and your families will eat. And you will enjoy all the good things for which you have worked. The Lord your God has blessed you.


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But you will soon cross the Jordan River. And you will live in the land the Lord your God is giving you to own. And he will give you rest from all your enemies. You will live in safety.


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Then the Lord your God will choose a place where he is to be worshiped. To that place you must bring everything I tell you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your offerings of a tenth of what you gain, your special gifts and all your best things you promised to the Lord.


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There rejoice before the Lord your God. Everyone should rejoice: you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns, who have no land of their own.


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Offer them only in the place the Lord will choose. He will choose a place in one of your tribes. And there you must do everything I am commanding you.


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But you may kill your animals in any of your towns. And you may eat as much of the meat as you want. Eat it as if it were a deer or a gazelle. This is the blessing the Lord your God is giving you. Anyone, clean or unclean, may eat this meat.


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Do not eat in your own towns what belongs to the Lord: one-tenth of your grain, new wine or oil; the first animals born to your herds or flocks; whatever you have promised to give; the special gifts you want to give to the Lord, or any other gifts.


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Eat these things when you are together with the Lord. Eat them in the place the Lord your God chooses to be worshiped. Everyone must do this: you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns. Rejoice in the Lord’s presence about the things you have worked for.


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The Lord your God will enlarge your country as he has promised. And you will want some meat. You will say, “I want some meat.” Eat as much meat as you want.


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The Lord your God will choose a place where he is to be worshiped. But it may be too far away from you. If it is, you may kill animals from your herds and flocks. The Lord has given them to you. I have commanded that you may do this. You may eat as much of them as you want in your own towns.


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Don’t eat it. Then things will go well for you and your children. You will be doing what the Lord says is right.


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Take your holy things and the things you have promised to give. And go to the place the Lord will choose.


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Present your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God. Offer both the meat and the blood. The blood of your sacrifices should be poured beside the altar. But you may eat the meat.


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Be careful to obey all the rules I am giving you. Then things will always go well for you and your children. You will be doing what the Lord your God says is good and right.


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You will enter the land and take it away from the nations there. The Lord your God will destroy those nations ahead of you. You will force them out and live in their land.


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They will be destroyed for you. Be careful not to be trapped by asking about their gods. Don’t say, “How do these nations worship? I will do the same.”


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Don’t worship the Lord your God that way. The Lord hates the evil ways they worship their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods!


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Be sure to do everything I have commanded you. Do not add anything to it. And do not take anything away from it.


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False Prophets A prophet or someone who tells the future with dreams might come to you. He might say he will show you a miracle or a sign.


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The miracle or sign might even happen. Then he might say, “Let’s serve other gods.” (These are gods you have not known.) “And let’s worship them.”


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But you must not listen to that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you. He is finding out if you love him with your whole being.


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Serve only the Lord your God. Respect him. Keep his commands and obey him. Serve him and be loyal to him.


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That prophet or dreamer must be killed. He said you should turn against the Lord your God. The Lord brought you out of Egypt. He saved you from the land where you were slaves. That prophet tried to turn you from doing what the Lord your God commanded you to do. You must get rid of the evil among you.


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Some relative might try to lead you to serve other gods. It might be your brother, your son or daughter or the wife you love. Or it might be a close friend. He might say, “Let’s go and worship other gods.” (These are gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known.


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They are gods of the people who live around you. Some are nearby, and some are far away. They are from one end of the land to the other.)


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Do not give in to him. Do not listen. Do not feel sorry for him. Do not let him go free or protect him.


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You must put him to death. You must be the first one to start to kill him. Then everyone else must join in.


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You must throw stones at him until he dies. He tried to turn you away from the Lord your God. The Lord brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you were slaves.


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Then everyone in Israel will hear about this. And they will be afraid. No one among you will ever do such an evil thing again.


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Cities to Destroy The Lord your God is giving you cities in which to live. You might hear something about one of them. Someone might say


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that evil men have moved in among you. And they might lead the people of that city away from God. They might say, “Let’s go and worship other gods.” (These are gods you have not known.)


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Then you must ask about it. Look into the matter and check carefully. It might be true. It may be proved that a terrible thing has happened among you.


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If it has, then you must kill with a sword everyone who lives in that city. Destroy the city completely. Kill everyone in it, as well as the animals, with a sword.


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Gather up everything those people owned. Put it in the middle of the city square. Then completely burn the city and everything they owned. It will be a burnt offering to the Lord your God. That city should never be rebuilt. Let it be ruined forever.


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Don’t keep any of the things found in that city for yourselves. Then the Lord will not be angry anymore. He will give you mercy. He will feel sorry for you. And he will make your nation grow larger. He promised this to your ancestors.


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You will have obeyed the Lord your God. You will be keeping all his commands. I am giving them to you today. And you will be doing what the Lord says is right.


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God’s Special People You are the children of the Lord your God. When someone dies, do not cut yourselves or shave your heads to show your sadness.


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You are holy people. You belong to the Lord your God. He has chosen you from all the people on earth to be his very own.


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But you may not eat camels, rabbits or rock badgers. These animals chew the cud, but their feet are not divided. So they are unclean for you.


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Pigs are also unclean for you. They have split hooves, but they do not chew the cud. Do not eat their meat or touch their dead bodies.


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Do not eat anything you find that is already dead. You may give it to a foreigner living in your town. He may eat it. Or you may sell it to a foreigner. But you are holy people. You belong to the Lord your God. Do not cook a baby goat in its mother’s milk.


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Take it to the place the Lord your God will choose where he is to be worshiped. There you will be together with the Lord. There eat the tenth of your grain, new wine and oil. And eat the animals born first to your herds and flocks. Then you will learn to respect the Lord your God always.


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But the place the Lord will choose to be worshiped might be too far away. And he may have blessed you so much you cannot carry a tenth.


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If so, exchange your one-tenth for silver. Then take the silver with you to the place the Lord your God shall choose.


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Use the silver to buy anything you wish. You may buy cattle, sheep, wine, beer or anything you wish. Then you and your family will eat and celebrate there before the Lord your God.


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At the end of every third year, everyone should bring one-tenth of that year’s crop. Store it in your towns.


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This is for the Levites so they may eat and be full. (They have no land of their own among you.) It is also for strangers, orphans and widows who live in your towns. All of them may eat and be full. Then the Lord your God will bless you and all the work you do.


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The Special Seventh Year At the end of every seven years, you must forget about collecting what people owe you.


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This is how you must do it: Everyone who has loaned money must forget the loan. He must not make his neighbor or brother pay it back. This is the Lord’s time for canceling what people owe.


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But there should be no poor people among you. The Lord your God will richly bless you in the land he is giving you to own.


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He will bless you if you obey him completely. But you must be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today.


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The Lord your God will bless you as he promised. You will lend to other nations. But you will not need to borrow from them. You will rule over many nations. But none will rule over you.


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There might be a poor man among you. He might be in one of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you. Do not be selfish or greedy toward your poor brother.


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Beware of evil thoughts. Don’t think, “The seventh year is near. It’s the year to forget what people owe.” You might be mean to your needy brother. You might not give him anything. Then he will complain to the Lord about you. And the Lord will find you guilty of sin.


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Give freely to the poor person. Do not wish that you didn’t have to give. The Lord your God will bless your work and everything you touch.


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There will always be poor people in the land. So I command you to give freely to your brothers. Give freely to the poor and needy in your land.


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Letting Slaves Go Free One of your own people might sell himself to you as a slave. It may be a Hebrew man or woman. That person will serve you for six years. The seventh year you must let him go free.


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Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. And the Lord your God saved you. That is why I am commanding this to you today.


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But your slave might say to you, “I don’t want to leave you.” He might love you and your family. He might have a good life with you.


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If he does this, stick an awl through his ear into the door. He will be your slave for life. Also do this to a woman slave.


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Do not think of it as a hard thing when you let your slave go free. After all, he served you six years. You paid him only half what a hired person would cost. The Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.


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Rules About Firstborn Animals Save all the first male animals born to your herds and flocks. They are for the Lord your God. Do not work the first calf born to your oxen. And do not cut off the wool from the first lamb born to your sheep.


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Each year you and your family are to eat these animals. Eat them in the presence of the Lord your God. Eat them in the place he will choose to be worshiped.


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An animal might have something wrong with it. It might be crippled or blind. It might have some other thing wrong with it. Do not sacrifice it to the Lord your God.


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But you may eat that animal in your own town. Both clean and unclean people may eat it. It would be like eating a gazelle or a deer.


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The Passover Celebrate the Passover of the Lord your God during the month of Abib. It was during Abib that he brought you out of Egypt at night.


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Offer a sacrifice for the Passover to the Lord your God. It should be an animal from your flock or herd. Offer it at the place the Lord will choose to be worshiped.


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Do not eat it with bread made with yeast. But for seven days eat bread made without yeast. This is the bread of suffering because you left Egypt in a hurry. So all your life you will remember the time you left Egypt.


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There must be no yeast anywhere in your land for seven days. Offer the sacrifice on the evening of the first day. Eat all the meat before morning. Do not leave it overnight.


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Offer it in the place he will choose to be worshiped. Offer it in the evening as the sun goes down. That is when you left Egypt.


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Roast the meat. Then eat it at the place the Lord your God will choose. The next morning go back to your tents.


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Eat bread made without yeast for six days. On the seventh day have a special meeting for the Lord your God. Do not work that day.


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Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks for the Lord your God. Bring him an offering as a special gift to him. Give to him just as he has blessed you.


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Rejoice before the Lord your God. Rejoice at the place he will choose to be worshiped. Everybody should rejoice: you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites in your town, the strangers, orphans and widows living among you.


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Feast of Shelters Celebrate the Feast of Shelters for seven days. Do it after you have gathered your harvest from the threshing floor and winepress.


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Everybody should rejoice at your Feast: you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites and strangers who live in your towns, orphans and widows in your towns.


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Celebrate the Feast to the Lord your God for seven days. Celebrate it at the place he will choose. The Lord your God will bless all your harvest. He will bless all the work you do. And you will be completely happy.


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All your men must come before the Lord three times a year. They must come to the place he will choose. They must come at these times: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Shelters. No man should come before the Lord without a gift.


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Judges for the People Appoint judges and officers for your tribes. Appoint them in every town the Lord your God is giving you. And they must judge the people fairly.


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Do not judge unfairly or take sides. Do not let people pay you to make wrong decisions. That kind of payment makes wise people seem blind. And it changes the words of good people.


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God Hates Idols Do not set up a wooden Asherah idol next to the altar you build for the Lord your God.


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An ox or sheep might have something wrong with it. Do not offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord your God. He would hate that.


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A man or woman might be found doing something evil in one of the towns the Lord gave you. That man or woman is breaking his agreement.


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That person may have served other gods. He may have bowed down to them, to the sun or moon or stars of the sky. I have commanded that should not be done.


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If someone has told you about it, you must look into the matter. It might be true. A terrible thing may have happened in Israel.


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If it is true, take the man or woman who has done the evil thing to the city gate. Throw stones at that person until he dies.


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There must be two or three witnesses that he did it. Then the person should be put to death. But if there is only one witness, the person should not be put to death.


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The witnesses must be the first to throw stones at the person. Then everyone else will follow. You must get rid of the evil among you.


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Courts of Law Some cases that come before you may be too difficult to judge. It may be a case of murder, quarreling or attack. Take these cases to the place the Lord your God will choose.


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Go to the priests who are Levites. And go to the judge who is on duty at that time. Ask them about the case, and they will decide.


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You must follow the decision they give you. They will be at the place the Lord your God will choose. Be careful to do everything they tell you.


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The person who does not show respect for the judge or priest must be put to death. They are there serving the Lord your God. You must get rid of that evil from Israel.


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Choosing a King You will enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. You will take it as your own and live in it. Then you will say, “Let’s appoint a king over us like the nations all around us.”


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Be sure to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. He must be one of your own people. Do not appoint a foreigner as your king. He is not a fellow Israelite.


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The king must not have too many horses for himself. He must not send people to Egypt to get more horses. The Lord has told you, “Don’t return that way again.”


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The king must not have many wives. If he does, his heart will be led away from God. He must not have too much silver and gold.


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When he becomes king, he should write a copy of the teachings on a scroll for himself. He should copy it from the priests and Levites.


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He should keep it with him all the time. He should read from it every day of his life. Then he will learn to respect the Lord his God. And he will obey all the teachings and commands.


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He should not think he is better than his brothers. He must not stop obeying the law in any way. Then he and his descendants will rule the kingdom for a long time.


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Shares for Priests and Levites The priests are from the tribe of Levi. That tribe will not receive a share of the land with the Israelites. They will eat the offerings made to the Lord by fire. That is their share.


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They will not inherit any of the land like their brothers. They will inherit the Lord himself. This is what he promised them.


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When you offer a bull or sheep as a sacrifice, you must share with the priests. Give them the shoulder, the cheeks and the inner organs.


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Give them the first of your grain, new wine and oil. Give them the first wool you cut from your sheep.


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The Lord your God has chosen the priests and their descendants out of all your tribes. They are to stand and serve the Lord always.


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A Levite might move from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he lives. He is sincere and comes to the place the Lord will choose.


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They all will have an equal share of the food. This is separate from what he has received from the sale of family possessions.


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Do Not Follow Other Nations You will enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. But don’t learn to do the terrible things the other nations do.


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Don’t let anyone among you offer his son or daughter as a sacrifice in the fire. Don’t let anyone use magic or witchcraft. No one should try to explain the meaning of signs.


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Don’t let anyone try to control others with magic. Don’t let them be mediums or try to talk with the spirits of dead people.


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The Lord hates anyone who does these things. The other nations do these things. That is why the Lord your God will force them out of the land ahead of you.


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The Lord’s Special Prophet The nations you will force out listen to people who use magic and witchcraft. But the Lord your God will not let you do those things.


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The Lord your God will give you a prophet like me. He will be one of your own people. Listen to him.


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This is what you asked the Lord your God to do. You were gathered at Mount Sinai. You said, “Don’t make us listen to the voice of the Lord our God again. Don’t make us look at this terrible fire anymore. We will die.”


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So I will give them a prophet like you. He will be one of their own people. I will tell him what to say. And he will tell them everything I command.


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But a prophet might say something I did not tell him to say. And he might say he is speaking for me. Or a prophet might speak in the name of other gods. That prophet must be killed.”


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What a prophet says in the name of the Lord might not happen. If it doesn’t, it is not the Lord’s message. That prophet was speaking his own ideas. Don’t be afraid of him.


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Cities of Safety The Lord your God is giving you land that belongs to other nations. He will destroy those nations. You will force them out and live in their cities and houses.


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Then choose three cities. They must be in the middle of the land the Lord your God is giving you to own.


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Build roads to those cities. And divide the land the Lord is giving you into three parts. Then someone who kills another person may run to these cities.


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This is the rule for someone who kills another person. He may run to one of these cities to save his life. But he must have killed his neighbor without meaning to kill him. He did not hate his neighbor.


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A man might go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood. The man swings his ax to cut down a tree. But the ax head flies off the handle. It hits his neighbor and kills him. The man who killed him may run to one of these cities to save his life.


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Otherwise, the dead man’s relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer might be angry and chase him. And the relative might catch him if the city is far away. The relative might kill the man. But the man should not be killed because he did not mean to kill his neighbor.


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Carefully obey all these laws I’m giving you today. Love the Lord your God. Always do what he wants you to do. Then the Lord your God will enlarge your land as he promised your ancestors. He will give you the whole land he promised to them. After that, choose three more cities of safety.


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This is so that innocent people will not be killed in your land. The Lord your God is giving it to you to own. By doing this you will not be guilty of murder.


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But a person might hate his neighbor. And he might hide and wait for him. He might attack and kill him and then run to one of these cities for safety.


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The elders of his own city should send for him. They should bring him back from the city of safety. And they should hand him over to the relative who has the duty of punishing the murderer.


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Give him no mercy. You must remove from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people. Then things will go well for you.


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Do not move the stone that marks the border of your neighbor’s land. People long ago set them in place. They mark what you inherit in the land the Lord your God is giving you to own.


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Rules About Witnesses One witness is not enough to accuse a man of a crime or sin. A case must be proved by two or three witnesses.


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The two people who are arguing must stand before the Lord. They must stand before the priests and judges who are on duty.


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The judges must check the matter carefully. The witness might be a liar. He might be lying about his fellow Israelite.


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If so, he must be punished as he wanted his brother punished. You must get rid of the evil among you.


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The rest of the people will hear about this and be afraid. No one among you will ever do such an evil thing again.


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Give him no mercy. A life must be paid for a life. It must be an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot.


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Laws for War When you go to war against your enemies, you might see horses and chariots. Their army might be bigger than yours. But don’t be afraid of them. The Lord your God will be with you. He brought you out of Egypt.


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He should say, “Listen, Israel! Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Don’t lose your courage or be afraid. Don’t panic or be frightened.


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The officers should say to the army, “Has anyone built a new house but not given it to God? He may go home. He might die in battle. Then someone else would get to give his house to God.


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Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? He may go home. He might die in battle. Then someone else would enjoy his vineyard.


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Is any man engaged to a woman and not yet married to her? He may go home. He might die in battle. Then someone else would marry her.”


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Then the officers should also say, “Is anyone here afraid? Has anyone lost his courage? He may go home. Then he will not cause others to lose their courage, too.”


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They might accept your offer and open their gates to you. If that happens, all the people of that city will become your slaves. They will work for you.


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But they might not make peace with you. They might fight you in battle. Then you should surround that city.


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You may take everything else in the city for yourselves. Take the women and children and animals. And you may use these things the Lord your God gives you from your enemies.


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But leave nothing alive in the cities of the land. This is the land the Lord your God is giving you.


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Completely destroy these people: the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this.


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Otherwise, they will teach you what they do for their gods. And if you do these terrible things, you will sin against the Lord your God.


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You might surround and attack a city for a long time, trying to capture it. But do not destroy its trees with an ax. You can eat the fruit from the trees. Do not cut them down. These trees are not the enemy. So don’t make war against them.


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But you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees. You may use them to build devices to attack the city walls. You may do this until the city is captured.


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A Person Found Murdered Someone might be found murdered. He might be lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to own. And no one knows who killed him.


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Your elders and judges should go to where he was found. And they should measure how far it is to the nearby cities.


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The elders of the city nearest the body are responsible. They must take a young cow that has never worked or worn a yoke.


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And they must lead her down to a valley. It must never have been plowed or planted. It must have a stream flowing through it. There they must break the young cow’s neck.


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The priests should come forward. They are the sons of Levi. They have been chosen by the Lord your God. They are to serve and give blessings in the Lord’s name. And they are to decide cases of quarreling and attacks.


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Then all the elders of the city nearest the murdered man should wash their hands. They should do it over the young cow whose neck was broken in the valley.


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Lord, remove this sin of your people Israel. You have saved them. Don’t blame your people, the Israelites, for this innocent man’s murder.” And so the murder will be paid for.


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Then you will have removed from yourselves the guilt of murdering an innocent person. You will be doing what the Lord says is right.


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Captive Women as Wives You will go to war against your enemies. The Lord will help you defeat them. You will take them captive.


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You might see a beautiful woman among the captives. And you might be attracted to her. You may take her as your wife.


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She must change out of the clothes she was wearing when you captured her. And she must live in your house and cry for her parents for a month. After that, you may marry her. You will be her husband, and she will be your wife.


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But you might not be pleased with her. Then let her go anywhere she wants. You must not sell her for money. You must not make her a slave. You have taken away her honor.


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The Oldest Son A man may have two wives. He might love one wife but not the other. Both wives might have sons by him. But the older son might be the son of the wife he does not love.


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Someday that man must will his property to his sons. But he must not give the son of the wife he loves what belongs to the older son. The older son is the son of the wife the man does not love.


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He must agree to give the older son two shares of everything he owns. The older son is from the wife he does not love. That son was the first to prove his father could have children. So he has the rights that belong to the older son.


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Sons Who Refuse to Obey A man might have a son who is stubborn. The son turns against his father and mother and doesn’t obey them. He will not listen when they correct him.


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They will say to the leaders, “Our son is stubborn and turns against us. He will not obey us. He eats too much. And he is always drunk.”


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Then all the men in his town must throw stones at him until he dies. Get rid of the evil among you. All the people of Israel will hear about this and be afraid.


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Other Laws A man might be guilty of a sin worthy of death. He must be put to death and his body displayed on a tree.


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But don’t leave his body hanging on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day. Anyone whose body is displayed on a tree is cursed by God. You must not ruin the land the Lord your God is giving you to own.


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You might see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep wandering away. Don’t ignore it. Take it back to its owner.


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The owner might not live close to you. Or you might not know who he is. Then take the animal home with you. Keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then give it back to him.


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You might see your fellow Israelite’s donkey or ox fallen on the road. Don’t ignore it. Help him get it up.


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A woman must not wear men’s clothes. And a man must not wear women’s clothes. The Lord your God hates anyone who does that.


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You might find a bird’s nest by the road. It might be in a tree or on the ground. And the mother bird might be sitting on the young birds or eggs. Do not take the mother bird with the young birds.


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You may take the young birds. But you must let the mother bird go free. Then things will go well for you. And you will live a long time.


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When you build a new house, build a wall around the roof. Then you will not be guilty of murder if someone falls off the roof.


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Marriage Laws A man might marry a girl and have intimate relations with her. But he might decide that he does not like her.


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So he might lie about her and give her a bad name. He might say, “I married this woman. But when I had intimate relations with her, I did not find that she was a virgin.”


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Then the girl’s parents must bring proof that she was a virgin. They must bring it to the elders at the city gate.


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The girl’s father will say to the leaders, “I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife. But now he does not want her.


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This man has told lies about my daughter. He has said, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.’ But here is the proof that my daughter was a virgin.” Then her parents are to show the sheet to the city leaders.


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They must make him pay about two and a half pounds of silver. The silver will go to the girl’s father. This is because the man has given an Israelite girl a bad name. The girl must continue to be the man’s wife. And he may not divorce her as long as he lives.


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But the things the husband said about his wife might be true. And there might be no proof that she was a virgin.


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If so, the girl must be brought to the door of her father’s house. Then the men of the town must put her to death by throwing stones at her. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel. She had physical relations before she was married. You must get rid of the evil among you.


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A man might be found committing adultery with another man’s wife. Both the woman and the man who committed adultery with her must die. Get rid of this evil from Israel.


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A man might meet a virgin in a city and have physical relations with her. But she might be engaged to another man.


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You must take both of them to the city gate. Put them both to death by throwing stones at them. Kill the girl because she was in a city and did not scream for help. And kill the man for having physical relations with another man’s wife. You must get rid of the evil among you.


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But a man might meet a girl out in the country. He might force her to have physical relations with him. But she might be engaged to another man. Only the man who forced her to have physical relations with her must be put to death.


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Don’t do anything to the girl. She has not done a sin worthy of death. This is like the person who attacks and murders his neighbor.


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A man might meet a virgin who is not engaged to be married. He might force her to have physical relations with him. And people might find out about it.


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The man must pay the girl’s father about one and one-fourth pounds of silver. He must also marry the girl because he has dishonored her. And he may never divorce her for as long as he lives.


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The Lord’s People No man who has had part of his sex organ cut off may come into the worship meeting of the Lord’s people.


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No one born to parents who were forbidden by law to marry may come into the meeting to worship the Lord. His descendants for ten generations may not come in either.


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No Ammonite or Moabite may come into the meeting to worship the Lord. And none of their descendants for ten generations may come in.


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This is because the Ammonites and Moabites did not give you bread and water when you came out of Egypt. And they hired Balaam to put a curse on you. He was the son of Beor from Pethor in Northwest Mesopotamia.


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But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam. He turned the curse into a blessing for you. The Lord your God loves you.


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Don’t hate Edomites. They are your relatives. Don’t hate Egyptians, because you were foreigners in their country.


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A man might become unclean during the night. If he does, he must go outside the camp and not come back.


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The Lord your God moves around through your camp. He will protect you. He will help you defeat your enemies. So the camp must be holy. The Lord must not see anything unclean among you. Then he will not leave you.


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Let the slave live with you anywhere he likes. He may live in any town he chooses. Do not mistreat him.


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Do not bring a male or female prostitute’s pay to the Temple of the Lord your God to pay what you have promised to the Lord. The Lord your God hates prostitution.


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You may loan your fellow Israelite money or food or anything else. But don’t make him pay back more than what you loaned him.


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You may charge a foreigner, but not a fellow Israelite. Then the Lord your God will bless everything you do. He will bless you in the land you are entering to take as your own.


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You might make a promise to give something to the Lord your God. Do not be slow to pay it. The Lord your God demands it from you. Do not be guilty of sin.


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You might go into your neighbor’s vineyard. You may eat as many grapes as you wish. But do not fill your basket with his grapes.


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You might go into your neighbor’s grainfield. You may pick grain with your hands. But you must not cut down his grain with your sickle.


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A man might marry a woman. But he might decide she doesn’t please him. He has found something bad about her. He writes out divorce papers for her. He gives them to her and sends her away from his house.


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But her second husband does not like her either. So he writes out divorce papers for her. He gives them to her and sends her away from his house. Or the second husband might die.


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In either case, her first husband who divorced her must not marry her again. She has become unclean. The Lord would hate this. Don’t bring this sin into the land the Lord your God is giving you to own.


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A man who has just married must not be sent to war. And he must not be given any other duty. He should be free to stay home for a year to make his new wife happy.


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A man might owe you something. But do not take his two stones for grinding grain—not even the upper one—in place of what he owes. This is how he makes his living.


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A man might kidnap a fellow Israelite. He might make him a slave or sell him. The kidnapper must be killed. You must get rid of the evil among you.


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Be careful when someone has a harmful skin disease. Do exactly what the priests, the Levites, teach you. Be careful to do what I have commanded them.


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You might make a loan to your neighbor. But don’t go into his house to get something in place of it.


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A poor man might give you his coat to show he will pay the loan back. But don’t keep his coat overnight.


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Give his coat back to him at sunset. He needs his coat to sleep in. He will thank you. And the Lord your God will see that you have done a good thing.


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Don’t cheat a hired servant who is poor and needy. He might be a fellow Israelite. Or he might be a foreigner living in one of your towns.


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Pay him each day before sunset. He is poor and needs the money. Otherwise, he may complain to the Lord about you. And you will be guilty of sin.


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Fathers must not be put to death when their children do wrong. And children must not be put to death when their fathers do wrong. Each person must die for his own sin.


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Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. And the Lord your God saved you from there. That is why I am commanding you to do this.


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You might be gathering your harvest in the field. You might not see a bundle of grain. Don’t go back and get it. Leave it there for foreigners, orphans and widows. Then the Lord your God can bless everything you do.


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You may beat your olive trees to knock the olives off. But don’t beat the trees a second time. Leave what is left for foreigners, orphans and widows.


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You may harvest the grapes in your vineyard. But don’t pick the vines a second time. Leave what is left for foreigners, orphans and widows.


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Two people may have an argument. They should go to the court. And the judges will decide the case. They will declare one person to be right. And they will punish the one who is guilty.


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The guilty person might have to be punished with a beating. If so, the judge will make him lie down. They will beat him in front of the judge. The number of lashes should match the crime.


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But don’t hit him more than 40 times. If he is beaten more than that, it would disgrace him before others.


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Two brothers might be living together. One of them might die without having a son. His widow must not marry someone outside her husband’s family. Her husband’s brother must marry her. This is his duty for her as a brother-in-law.


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The first son she has must be named for the dead brother. Then his name will not be forgotten in Israel.


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But a man might not want to marry his brother’s widow. Then she should go to the elders at the town gate. And she should say, “My brother-in-law will not carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He refuses to do his duty for me.”


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Then the elders of the town must call for the man and talk to him. But he might be stubborn and say, “I don’t want to marry her.”


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If he does, the woman must go up to him in front of the elders. She must take off one of his sandals. She must spit in his face and say, “This is for the man who won’t continue his brother’s family!”


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Two men might be fighting. And one man’s wife comes to save her husband from his attacker. And she grabs the attacker by his sex organs.


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You must have true and honest weights and measures. Then you will live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving you.


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You were tired and worn out. And they met you on the road. They killed all those lagging behind. They were not afraid of God.


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The Lord your God will give you rest from all the enemies around you. It will be in the land he is giving you to own. Then you shall destroy any memory of the Amalekites on the earth. Do not forget!


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The First Harvest Soon you will go into the land the Lord your God is giving you to own. You will take it over and live in it.


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Then you must take some of the first harvest of crops. It will grow from the land the Lord your God is giving you. Put the food in a basket. Then go to the place where the Lord your God will choose to be worshiped.


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Say to the priest on duty at that time, “Today I declare this before the Lord your God. I have come into the land the Lord promised to give us. He promised this to our ancestors.”


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Then you shall announce before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt. He stayed there with only a few people. But they became a great, powerful and large nation there.


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So we prayed to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard us. He saw our trouble, hard work and suffering.


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Then the Lord brought us out of Egypt. He did it with his great power and strength. He used great terrors, signs and miracles.


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Now I bring you part of the first harvest from this land. Lord, you have given me this land.” Then place the basket before the Lord your God. And bow down before him.


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Then you and the Levites and foreigners among you should rejoice. The Lord your God has given good things to you and your family.


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Bring a tenth of all your harvest the third year. This is the year to give a tenth of your harvest. Give it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows. Then they may eat in your towns and be full.


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Then say to the Lord your God, “I have taken out of my house the part of my harvest that belongs to God. I have given it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows. I have done everything you commanded me. I have not broken your commands. And I have not forgotten any of them.


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I have not eaten any of the holy part while I was in sorrow. I have not removed any of it while I was unclean. I have not offered it for dead people. I have obeyed you, the Lord my God. I have done everything you commanded me.


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So look down from heaven, your holy home. Bless your people Israel. And bless the land you have given us. You promised it to our ancestors. It is a land where much food grows.”


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Obey the Lord’s Commands Today the Lord your God commands you to obey all these rules and laws. Be careful to do them with your whole being.


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Today you have said that the Lord is your God. You have promised to do what he wants you to do. You have promised to keep his rules, commands and laws. You have said you will obey him.


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And today the Lord has said that you are his very own people. He has promised it. But you must obey his commands.


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The Lord will make you greater than all the other nations he made. He will give you praise, fame and honor. And you will be a holy people to the Lord your God. This is what he said.


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The Law Written on Stones Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people. They said, “Keep all the commands I have given you today.


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Soon you will cross the Jordan River. You will go into the land the Lord your God is giving you. On that day set up some large stones. Cover them with plaster.


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When you cross over, write all the words of these teachings on them. Then you may enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. It is a land where much food grows. It is just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised.


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After you have crossed the Jordan River, set up these stones. Set them on Mount Ebal as I command you today. And cover them with plaster.


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Build the altar of the Lord your God with stones from the field. Offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God.


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Curses of the Law Then Moses and the Levites, who are the priests, spoke to all Israel. They said, “Be quiet, Israel. Listen! Today you have become the people of the Lord your God.


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You will cross the Jordan River. Then these tribes must stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin.


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And these tribes must stand on Mount Ebal to announce the curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.


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“Anyone will be cursed who makes an idol or statue and secretly sets it up. The Lord hates idols made by man.” Then all the people will say, “Amen!”


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“Anyone will be cursed who dishonors his father or his mother.” Then all the people will say, “Amen!”


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“Anyone will be cursed who moves the stone that marks his neighbor’s border.” Then all the people will say, “Amen!”


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“Anyone will be cursed who leads a blind person away from the road.” Then all the people will say, “Amen!”


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“Anyone will be cursed who is unfair to foreigners, orphans or widows.” Then all the people will say, “Amen!”


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“A man will be cursed who has physical relations with his father’s wife. It is a dishonor to his father.” Then all the people will say, “Amen!”


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“Anyone will be cursed who has unnatural physical relations with an animal.” Then all the people will say, “Amen!”


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“A man will be cursed who has physical relations with his sister. She may be his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter.” Then all the people will say, “Amen!”


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“A man will be cursed who has physical relations with his mother-in-law.” Then all the people will say, “Amen!”


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“Anyone will be cursed who takes money to murder an innocent person.” Then all the people will say, “Amen!”


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“Anyone will be cursed who does not agree with the words of these teachings and does not obey them.” Then all the people will say, “Amen!”


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Blessings for Obeying You must completely obey the Lord your God. And you must carefully follow all his commands I am giving you today. Then the Lord your God will make you greater than any other nation on earth.


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Your children will be blessed. Your crops will be blessed. Your cattle will be blessed with calves and your sheep with lambs.


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The Lord will let you defeat the enemies that come to fight you. They will attack you from one direction. But they will run from you in seven directions.


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The Lord your God will bless you with full barns. He will bless everything you do. He will bless the land he is giving you.


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The Lord will make you his holy people, as he promised. But you must obey his commands. You must do what he wants you to do.


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The Lord will make you rich. You will have many children. Your cattle will have many calves. Your land will give good crops. It is the land that the Lord promised your ancestors he would give to you.


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The Lord will open up his storehouse. The skies will send rain on your land at the right time. And he will bless everything you do. You will lend to other nations. But you will not need to borrow from them.


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The Lord will make you like the head and not like the tail. You will be on top and not on bottom. But you must obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. Be careful to keep them.


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Do not disobey anything I command you today. Do exactly as I command. Do not follow other gods or serve them.


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Curses for Disobeying But you might not obey the Lord your God. You might not carefully follow all his commands and laws I am giving you today. Then all these curses will come upon you and stay:


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Your children will be cursed. Your crops will be cursed. The calves of your cattle will be cursed. And the lambs of your flocks will be cursed.


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The Lord will send you curses, confusion and punishment in everything you do. You will be destroyed. You will suddenly be ruined. You did wrong when you left him.


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The Lord will punish you with disease, fever, swelling, heat, no rain, plant diseases and mildew. Then you will die.


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The Lord will turn the rain into dust and sand. It will fall from the skies until you are destroyed.


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The Lord will let your enemies defeat you. You will attack them from one direction. But you will run from them in seven directions. And you will become a thing of horror among all the kingdoms on earth.


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Your dead bodies will be food for all the birds and wild animals. There will be no one to scare them away.


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The Lord will punish you with boils like those the Egyptians had. You will have bad growths, sores and itches that can’t be cured.


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You will have to feel around in the daylight like a blind man. You will fail in everything you do. People will hurt you and steal from you every day. There will be no one to save you.


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You will be engaged to a woman. But another man will rape her. You will build a house. But you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard. But you will not get its grapes.


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Your ox will be killed before your eyes. But you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away from you. And it will not be brought back. Your sheep will be given to your enemies. And no one will rescue them.


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Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation. You will grow tired looking for them every day. But there is nothing you can do.


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People you don’t know will eat the crops your land and hard work have produced. You will be mistreated and abused all your life.


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The Lord will give you sore boils on your knees and legs. They cannot be cured. They will go from the soles of your feet to the tops of your heads.


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The Lord will send you and your king away to a nation you do not know. There you will serve other gods made of wood and stone.


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You will become a hated thing to the nations where the Lord sends you. They will laugh at you and make fun of you.


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You will plant vineyards and work hard in them. But you will not pick the grapes or drink the wine. The worms will eat them.


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You will have olive trees in all your land. But you will not get any olive oil. The olives will drop off the trees.


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You will have sons and daughters. But you will not be able to keep them. They will be taken captive.


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The foreigners who live among you will get stronger and stronger. And you will get weaker and weaker.


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Foreigners will lend money to you. But you will not be able to lend to them. They will be like the head. And you will be like the tail.


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All these curses will come upon you. They will chase you and catch you and destroy you. This will happen because you did not obey the Lord your God. You did not keep the commands and laws he gave you.


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So you will serve the enemies the Lord sends against you. You will be hungry, thirsty, naked and poor. The Lord will put a load on you until he has destroyed you.


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The Curse of an Enemy Nation The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away. It will be from the end of the world. The nation will swoop down like an eagle. You won’t understand their language.


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They will eat the calves from your cattle and the harvest of your field. And you will be destroyed. They will not leave you any grain, new wine or oil. They will not leave you any calves from your herds or lambs from your flocks. You will be ruined.


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That nation will surround and attack all your cities. You trust in your high, strong walls. But they will fall down. That nation will surround all your cities everywhere in the land the Lord your God is giving you.


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Your enemy will surround you. Those people will make you starve. You will eat your own babies. You will eat the bodies of the sons and daughters the Lord gave you.


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Even the most gentle and kind man among you will become cruel. He will be cruel to his brother, his wife whom he loves and his children who are still alive.


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He will not even give them any of the flesh of his children he is eating. It will be all he has left. Your enemy will surround you. Those people will make you starve in all your cities.


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The most gentle and kind woman among you will become cruel. She is so gentle and kind she would hardly even walk on the ground. But she will be cruel to her husband whom she loves. And she will be cruel to her son and daughter.


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She will give birth to a baby. But she will plan to eat the baby and what comes after the birth itself. She will eat them while the enemy surrounds the city. Those people will make you starve in all your cities.


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Be careful to obey everything in these teachings. They are written in this book. You must respect the glorious and wonderful name of the Lord your God.


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The Lord will give terrible diseases to you and your descendants. You will have long and serious diseases. You will have long and miserable sicknesses.


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And the Lord will give you all the diseases of Egypt that you dread. And the diseases will stay with you.


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The Lord will also give you every disease and sickness not written in this Book of the Teachings. Then you will be destroyed.


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You people may have outnumbered the stars. But only a few of you will be left. You did not obey the Lord your God.


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Once the Lord was happy with you. He gave you good things. He made you grow in number. But now the Lord will be happy to ruin and destroy you. You will be removed from the land you are entering to own.


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Then the Lord will scatter you among the nations. He will scatter you from one end of the earth to the other. There you will serve other gods of wood and stone. They are gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known.


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You will have no rest among those nations. You will have no place that is yours. The Lord will make your mind worried, your sight weak and your soul sad.


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You will live with danger. You will be afraid night and day. You will not be sure that you will live.


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In the morning you will say, “I wish it were evening.” And in the evening you will say, “I wish it were morning.” Terror will be in your heart because of the things you have seen.


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The Lord will send you back to Egypt in ships. I, Moses, said you would never go back to Egypt. And there you will try to sell yourselves as slaves to your enemies. But no one will buy you.


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The Agreement in Moab The Lord commanded Moses to make an agreement with the Israelites in Moab. This agreement was in addition to the agreement he had made with them at Mount Sinai.


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Moses called all the Israelites together. And he said to them: You have seen everything the Lord did to the king of Egypt. You saw what he did to the king’s leaders and to the whole country.


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But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands. You don’t really understand what you see with your eyes or hear with your ears.


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The Lord led you through the desert for 40 years. During that time neither your clothes nor sandals wore out.


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You ate no bread. You drank no wine or beer. This was so you would understand that he is the Lord your God.


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You came to this place. Then Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out to fight us. But we defeated them.


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We captured their land. And we gave it to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh to own.


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Today you are all standing here before the Lord your God. Here are your leaders and important men. Your elders, officers and all the other men of Israel are here.


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Here are your wives and children and the foreigners who live among you. They chop your wood and carry your water.


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You are all here to enter into an agreement and a promise with the Lord your God. The Lord is making this agreement with you today.


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This will make you today the Lord’s own people. He will be your God. This is what he told you. He promised it to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.


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You are standing here before the Lord your God today. But he is also making it with those who are not here today.


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Make sure no man, woman, family group or tribe among you leaves the Lord. Don’t let them go and serve the gods of those nations. That would be like a plant that grows bitter, poisonous fruit.


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That kind of person might hear these curses. But he blesses himself. And he thinks, “I will be safe. I will continue doing what I want to do.” That person might destroy all of your land, both wet and dry.


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The Lord will not forgive that person. His anger will be like a burning fire against that man. All the curses written in this book will come on him. And the Lord will destroy any memory of him on the earth.


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The Lord will separate him from all the tribes of Israel for punishment. All the curses of the agreement will happen to him. They are written in this Book of the Teachings.


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Your children who will come after you will see this. And foreigners from faraway lands will see this. They will see the disasters that come to this land. And they will see the diseases the Lord will send on it. They will say,


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“The land is nothing but burning cinders and salt. Nothing is planted. Nothing grows. Nothing blooms. It is like Sodom and Gomorrah, and Admah and Zeboiim. The Lord destroyed them because he was very angry.”


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And the answer will be, “It is because the people broke the agreement of the Lord, the God of their ancestors. He made it with them when he brought them out of Egypt.


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They went and served other gods. They bowed down to gods they did not even know. The Lord did not allow that.


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So the Lord became very angry at the land. And he brought all the curses on it that are written in this book.


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The Lord became angry and furious with them. So he took them out of their land. And he put them in another land where they are today.”


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There are some things the Lord our God has kept secret. But there are some things he has let us know. These things belong to us and our children forever. It is so we will do everything in these teachings.


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The Israelites Will Return All these blessings and curses I have said will happen to you. The Lord your God will send you away to other nations. There you will think about these things.


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Then you and your children will return to the Lord your God. And you will obey him with your whole being. You will obey everything I command you today.


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Then the Lord your God will give you back your riches. He will feel sorry for you. And he will bring you back again from the nations where he sent you.


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He may send you to the ends of the earth. But he will gather you. He will bring you back from there.


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He will bring you back to the land that belonged to your ancestors. It will be yours. He will give you success. And there will be more of you than there were of your ancestors.


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The Lord your God will prepare you and your descendants to serve him. You will love him with your whole being. Then you will live.


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The Lord your God will make you successful in everything you do. You will have many children. Your cattle will have many calves. Your fields will produce good crops. He will again be happy with you, just as he was with your ancestors.


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But you must obey the Lord your God. You must obey his commands and rules that are written in this Book of the Teachings. You must follow the Lord your God with your whole being.


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Life or Death This command I give you today is not too hard for you. It is not beyond what you can do.


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It is not up in heaven. You do not have to ask, “Who will go up to heaven and get it for us? Then we can obey it and keep it.”


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It is not on the other side of the sea. You do not have to ask, “Who will go across the sea and get it? Who will tell it to us? Then we can keep it.”


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I command you today to love the Lord your God. Do what he wants you to do. Keep his commands, his rules and his laws. Then you will live and grow in number. And the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are going to take as your own.


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But you might turn away from the Lord. You might not obey him. You might be led to bowing down and serving other gods.


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I tell you today that you will be destroyed. And you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to enter and own.


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Today I ask heaven and earth to be witnesses. I am offering you life or death, blessings or curses. Now, choose life! Then you and your children may live.


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Love the Lord your God. Obey him. Stay close to him. He is your life. And he will let you live many years in the land. This is the land he promised to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.


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“I am now 120 years old. I cannot lead you anymore. The Lord told me I would not cross the Jordan River.


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The Lord your God will lead you across himself. He will destroy those nations for you. You will take over their land. Joshua will also lead you across. This is what the Lord has said.


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The Lord will do to these nations what he did to Sihon and Og. They were the kings of the Amorites. He destroyed them and their land.


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Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid of them. Don’t be frightened. The Lord your God will go with you. He will not leave you or forget you.”


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Then Moses called Joshua and spoke to him in front of the people. Moses said, “Be strong and brave. Lead these people into the land the Lord promised to give their ancestors. Help the people take it as their own.


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The Lord himself will go before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forget you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t worry.”


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Moses Writes the Teachings So Moses wrote down the teachings. He gave them to the priests and all the elders of Israel. The priests are the sons of Levi. They carried the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord.


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Then Moses commanded them: “Read these teachings for all Israel to hear. Do it at the end of every seven years. That is the year to forget what people owe. Do it during the Feast of Shelters. All the Israelites will come to appear before the Lord your God. They will stand at the place the Lord will choose.


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Gather all the people: the men, women, children and foreigners living in your towns. Then they can listen and learn to respect the Lord your God. Then they can carefully obey everything in this law.


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Their children do not know this law. They must hear it. They must learn to respect the Lord your God for as long as they live in the land. It is the land you are crossing the Jordan River to own.”


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The Lord Calls Moses and Joshua The Lord said to Moses, “Soon you will die. Get Joshua and come to the Meeting Tent. I will command him.” So Moses and Joshua went to the Meeting Tent.


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And the Lord said to Moses, “You will soon die. Then these people will not be loyal to me. They will worship the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will leave me. And they will break the agreement I made with them.


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Then I will become very angry at them. I will leave them. I will turn away from them. And they will be destroyed. Many terrible things will happen to them. Then they will say, ‘God is not with us. That is why these terrible things are happening.’


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“Now write down this song. And teach it to the Israelites. Then have them sing it. It will testify against them.


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I will bring them into the land I promised to their ancestors. It is a land where much food grows. They will eat as much as they want and get fat. But then they will turn to other gods and serve them. They will reject me and break my agreement.


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Then many troubles and terrible things will happen to them. And this song will testify against them. The song will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they plan to do, even before I take them into the land I promised them.”


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Then the Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and brave. Lead the people of Israel to the land I promised them. And I will be with you.”


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He said, “Take this Book of the Teachings. Put it beside the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord your God. It must stay there as a witness against you.


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I know how stubborn and disobedient you are. You have disobeyed the Lord while I am alive and with you. You will disobey even more after I die!


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Gather all the older leaders of your tribes and all your officers. I will say these things for them to hear. And I will ask heaven and earth to testify against them.


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I know that after I die you will become completely evil. You will turn away from the commands I have given you. Then terrible things will happen to you in the future. You will do what the Lord says is evil. You will make him angry with the idols you have made.”


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My teaching will drop like rain. My words will fall like dew. They will be like showers on the grass. They will pour down like rain on young plants.


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He is like a rock. What he does is perfect. He is always fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong. He is right and fair.


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They have done evil against him. To their shame they are no longer his children. They are an evil and lying people.


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This is not the way to repay the Lord. You are foolish and unwise. He is your Father and Maker. He made you and formed you.


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Remember the old days. Think of the years already passed. Ask your father. He will tell you. Ask your elders. They will inform you.


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The Most High God gave the nations their lands. He divided up the human race. He set up borders for the people. He even numbered the Israelites.


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He found them in a desert. It was a windy, empty land. He surrounded them and brought them up. He guarded them as those he loved very much.


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He was like an eagle building its nest. It flutters over its young. It spreads its wings to catch them. It carries them on its feathers.


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The Lord brought them to the heights of the land. He fed them the fruit of the fields. He gave them honey from the rocks. He brought oil from the solid rock.


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There were milk curds from the cows and milk from the sheep. There were fat sheep and goats. There were sheep and goats from Bashan. There was the best of the wheat. You drank the juice of grapes.


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Israel grew fat and kicked. They were fat and full and firm. They left the God who made them. They rejected the Rock who saved them.


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They made sacrifices to demons, not God. They were gods they had never known. They were new gods from nearby. Your ancestors did not fear them.


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He said, “I will turn away from them. I will see what will happen to them. They are evil people. They are unfaithful children.


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They used things that are not gods to make me jealous. They used worthless idols to make me angry. So I will use those who are not a nation to make them jealous. I will use a nation that does not understand to make them angry.


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My anger has started a fire. It burns down to where the dead are. It will burn up the ground and its crops. And it will set fire to the mountains.


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They will be starved and sick. They will be destroyed by terrible diseases. I will send them vicious animals and gliding, poisonous snakes.


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In the streets the sword will kill. In their homes there will be terror. Young men and women will die. So will babies and gray-haired men.


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But I didn’t want their enemy to brag. Their enemy might misunderstand. They might say, ‘We have won! The Lord has done none of this.’”


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One person cannot chase 1,000 people. And 2 people cannot fight 10,000. This only happens if the Lord has sold them. Their Rock would have to give them up.


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Their vine comes from Sodom. Their fields are like Gomorrah. Their grapes are full of poison. Their bunches of grapes are bitter.


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I will punish those who do wrong. I will repay them. Sometime their foot will slip. Their day of trouble is near. And their punishment will come quickly.”


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The Lord will defend his people. He will have mercy on his servants. He will see that their strength is gone. He will see that nobody is left, slaves or free.


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Who ate the fat from their sacrifices? Who drank the wine of their drink offering? Let those gods come to help you! Let them protect you!


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“Now you will see that I am the one God! There is no god but me. I send life and death. I can hurt, and I can heal. No one can escape from me.


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I will sharpen my flashing sword. And I will take it in my hand to judge. I will punish my enemies. I will pay back those who hate me.


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My arrows will be covered with their blood. My sword will eat their flesh. The blood will flow from those who are killed and the captives. The heads of the enemy leaders will be cut off.”


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Be happy, nations, with his people. He will repay you for the blood of his servants. He will punish his enemies. And he will remove the sin of his land and people.


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Moses came with Joshua son of Nun. And they spoke all the words of this song for the people to hear.


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he said to them: “Pay attention to all the words I have said to you today. Command your children to obey carefully everything in these teachings.


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These should not be unimportant words for you. They mean life for you! By these words you will live a long time in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to own.”


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“Go up the Abarim Mountains. Go to Mount Nebo in the country of Moab. It is across from Jericho. Look at the land of Canaan. I am giving it to the Israelites to own.


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You both sinned against me at the waters of Meribah Kadesh. That is in the Desert of Zin. You did not honor me as holy there among the Israelites.


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So now you will only look at the land from far away. You will not enter the land I am giving the people of Israel.”


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Moses Blesses the People Moses, the man of God, gave this blessing to the Israelites before he died.


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He said: “The Lord came from Mount Sinai. He rose like the sun from Edom. He showed his greatness from Mount Paran. He came with thousands of angels. He came from the southern mountains.


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The Lord surely loves his people. He takes care of all those who belong to him. They bow down at his feet. And they are taught by him.


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The Lord became king of Israel. The leaders of the people gathered then. The tribes of Israel came together.


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Moses said this about the people of Judah: “Lord, listen to Judah’s prayer. Bring them back to their people. They defend themselves with their hands. Help them fight their enemies!”


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Moses said this about the people of Levi: “Lord, your Thummim and Urim belong to Levi whom you love. Lord, you tested him at Massah. You argued with him at the waters of Meribah.


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He said about his father and mother, ‘I don’t care about them.’ He did not recognize his brothers. He did not know his children. But he protected your word. And he guarded your agreement.


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He teaches your laws to the people of Jacob and your teachings to the people of Israel. He burns incense before you. And he makes whole burnt offerings on your altar.


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Lord, make them strong. Be pleased with the work they do. Defeat those who attack them. Don’t let their enemies rise up again.”


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Moses said this about the people of Benjamin: “The Lord’s loved ones will lie down in safety. The Lord protects them all day long. The ones the Lord loves rest with him.”


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Moses said this about the people of Joseph: “May the Lord bless their land with the best fruits. Send rain from heaven above. And bring the water from the springs below.


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Let the full earth give the best fruits. Let the Lord who lived in the burning bush be pleased. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph. May they rest on the forehead of the one who was separated from his brothers.


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Joseph has the majesty of a firstborn bull. He is as strong as a wild ox. He will stab other nations, even those nations far away. These are the ten thousands of Ephraim. And these are the thousands of Manasseh.”


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Moses said this about the people of Zebulun: “Be happy when you go out, Zebulun. And be happy in your tents, Issachar.


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They will call the people to the mountain. And there they will offer the right sacrifices. They will do well from all that is in the sea. And they will do well from the treasures hidden in the sand on the shore.”


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Moses said this about the people of Gad: “Praise God who gives Gad more land! Gad lives there like a lion. He tears off arms and heads.


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They chose the best land for themselves. They received a large share, like that given to an officer. When the leaders of the people gathered, the people of Gad did what the Lord said was right. And they judged Israel fairly.”


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Moses said this about the people of Naphtali: “Naphtali enjoys the Lord’s special kindnesses. They are full of his blessings. Their land goes south to Lake Galilee.”


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Moses said this about the people of Asher: “Asher is the most blessed of the sons. He should be his brothers’ favorite. Let him bathe his feet in olive oil.


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“There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides through the skies to help you. He rides on the clouds in his majesty.


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The everlasting God is your place of safety. His arms will hold you up forever. He will force your enemy out ahead of you. He will say, ‘Destroy the enemy!’


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The people of Israel will lie down in safety. Jacob’s spring is theirs alone. Theirs is a land full of grain and wine. There the skies drop their dew.


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Israel, you are blessed! No one else is like you. You are a people saved by the Lord. He is your shield and helper. He is your glorious sword. Your enemies will be afraid of you. You will walk all over their holy places.”


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Moses Dies Then Moses climbed up Mount Nebo. He went from the plains of Moab to the top of Mount Pisgah. It is across from Jericho. From there the Lord showed him all the land. He could see from Gilead to Dan.


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He could see all of Naphtali and the lands of Ephraim and Manasseh. He could see all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea.


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He could see the southern desert and the whole Valley of Jericho up to Zoar. Jericho is called the city of palm trees.


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Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I said to them, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ I have let you look at it, Moses. But you will not cross over there.”


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The Lord buried Moses in Moab in the valley opposite Beth Peor. But even today no one knows where his grave is.


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The Israelites cried for Moses for 30 days. They stayed in the plains of Moab until the time of sadness was over.


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Joshua son of Nun was then filled with wisdom. Moses had put his hands on Joshua. So the Israelites listened to Joshua. And they did what the Lord had commanded Moses.


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The Lord sent Moses to do signs and miracles in Egypt. He did them to the king, to all his officers and to the whole land of Egypt.


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God’s Command to Joshua Moses was the servant of the Lord. Joshua son of Nun was Moses’ assistant. After Moses died, the Lord said to Joshua:


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“My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people go across the Jordan River. Go into the land I am giving to the people of Israel.


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All the land from the desert in the south to Lebanon in the north will be yours. All the land from the great river, the Euphrates, in the east, to the Mediterranean Sea in the west will be yours. This includes the land of the Hittites.


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Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. No one will be able to stop you all your life. I will not leave you. I will never leave you alone.


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“Joshua, be strong and brave! You must lead these people so they can take their land. This is the land I promised their fathers I would give them.


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Be strong and brave. Be sure to obey all the teachings my servant Moses gave you. If you follow them exactly, you will be successful in everything you do.


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Always remember what is written in the Book of the Teachings. Study it day and night. Then you will be sure to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything.


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Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. So don’t be afraid. The Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go.”


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“Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan River. You will go and take the land the Lord your God is giving you.’”


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“Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, told you. He said the Lord your God would give you rest. And he said the Lord would give you this land.


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Now the Lord has given you this land east of the Jordan River. Your wives, your children and your animals may stay here. But your fighting men must dress for war and cross the Jordan River ahead of your brothers. You must help your brothers.


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The Lord has given you a place to rest. He will do the same for your brothers. But you must help them until they take the land. This is the land the Lord their God is giving them. Then you may return to your own land east of the Jordan River. That is the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you.”


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Then the people answered Joshua, “Anything you command us to do, we will do. Any place you send us, we will go.


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Just as we fully obeyed Moses, we will obey you. We ask only that the Lord your God be with you just as he was with Moses.


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Then, if anyone refuses to obey your commands or turns against you, he will be put to death. Just be strong and brave!”


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Spies Sent to Jericho Joshua son of Nun secretly sent out two spies from Acacia. Joshua said to them, “Go and look at the land. Look closely at the city of Jericho.” So the men went to Jericho. They went to the house of a prostitute and stayed there. This woman’s name was Rahab.


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Someone told the king of Jericho, “Some men from Israel have come here tonight. They are spying out the land.”


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So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house. They have come to spy out our whole land.”


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Now the woman had hidden the two men. She said, “They did come here. But I didn’t know where they came from.


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In the evening, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know where they went. Go quickly. Maybe you can catch them.”


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(But the woman had taken the men up to the roof. She had hidden them there under stalks of flax. She had spread the flax out there to dry.)


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So the king’s men went out looking for the spies from Israel. They went to the places where people cross the Jordan River. The city gate was closed just after the king’s men left the city.


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She said, “I know the Lord has given this land to your people. You frighten us very much. Everyone living in this land is terribly afraid of you.


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We are afraid because we have heard how the Lord helped you. We heard how he dried up the Red Sea when you came out of Egypt. We heard how you destroyed Sihon and Og. They were the two Amorite kings who lived east of the Jordan.


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When we heard this, we became very frightened. Now our men are afraid to fight you. This is because the Lord your God rules the heavens above and the earth below!


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So now, make me a promise before the Lord. Promise that you will show kindness to my family just as I showed you kindness. Give me some proof that you will do this.


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Promise me you will allow my family to live. Save my father, mother, brothers, sisters and all of their families from death.”


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The men agreed. They said, “We will trade our lives for your lives. Don’t tell anyone what we are doing. When the Lord gives us our land, we will be kind to you. You may trust us.”


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The house Rahab lived in was built on the city wall. So she used a rope to let the men down through a window.


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She said to them, “Go into the hills. The king’s men will not find you there. Hide there for three days. After the king’s men return, you may go on your way.”


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The men said to her, “You must do as we say. If not, we cannot be responsible for keeping our promise.


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You are using a red rope to help us escape. When we return to this land, you must tie it in the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers and all your family into your house.


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We can keep everyone safe who stays in this house. If anyone in your house is hurt, we will be responsible. If anyone goes out of your house and is killed, it is his own fault. We cannot be responsible for him.


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Rahab answered, “I agree to this.” So she sent them away, and they left. Then she tied the red rope in the window.


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The men left and went into the hills. There they stayed for three days. The king’s men looked for them all along the road. But after three days, the king’s men returned to the city without finding them.


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Then the two men started back to Joshua. They left the hills and crossed the river. They went to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them.


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They said to Joshua, “The Lord surely has given us all of the land. All the people in that land are terribly afraid of us.”


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Crossing the Jordan Early the next morning Joshua and all the people of Israel left Acacia. They traveled to the Jordan River and camped there before crossing it.


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They gave orders to the people. They said, “You will see the priests and Levites carrying the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord your God. Then you should leave where you are and follow it.


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That way you will know which way to go. You have never traveled this way before. But do not follow too closely. Stay about a thousand yards behind the Ark of the Covenant.”


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Then Joshua told the people, “Make yourselves holy for the Lord. Tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”


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Joshua said to the priests, “Take the Ark of the Covenant. Cross over the river ahead of the people.” So the priests lifted the Ark of the Covenant and carried it ahead of the people.


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Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great man to all the Israelites. So the people will know I am with you just as I was with Moses.


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The priests will carry the Ark of the Covenant. Tell them this: ‘Go to the edge of the Jordan River and stand in the water.’”


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Here is proof that the living God is with you. Here is proof that he will drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and the Jebusites.


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This is the proof: The Ark of the Covenant will go ahead of you into the Jordan River. It is the Agreement with the Lord of the whole world.


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The priests will carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, the Master of the whole world. They will carry it into the Jordan ahead of you. When they enter the water, the river will stop flowing. The water will be stopped. It will stand up in a heap as if a dam were there.”


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So the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant. And the people left the place where they had camped. Then they started across the Jordan River.


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During harvest the Jordan is flooded. So the river was at its fullest. The priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant came to the edge of the river. And they stepped into the water.


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Just at that moment, the water stopped flowing. It stood up in a heap a great distance away at Adam. This is a town near Zarethan. The water flowing down to the Sea of Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed the river near Jericho.


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The ground there became dry. The priests carried the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord to the middle of the river and stopped. They waited there while all the people of Israel walked across. They crossed the Jordan River on dry land.


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Rocks to Remind the People All the people finished crossing the Jordan. Then the Lord said to Joshua,


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Tell the men to get 12 large rocks from the middle of the river. Take them from where the priests stood. Carry the rocks and put them down where you stay tonight.”


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He said to them, “Go out into the river where the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God is. Each of you should find 1 large rock. There will be 1 rock for each tribe of Israel. Carry the rock on your shoulder.


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They will be a sign among you. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these rocks mean?’


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Tell them the Lord stopped the water from flowing in the Jordan. When the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord crossed the river, the water was stopped. These rocks will help the Israelites remember this forever.”


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So the Israelites obeyed Joshua. They carried 12 rocks from the middle of the Jordan River. There was 1 rock for each of the 12 tribes of Israel. They did this the way the Lord had commanded Joshua. They carried the rocks with them. And they put them down where they made their camp.


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Joshua also put 12 rocks in the middle of the Jordan River. He put them where the priests had stood while carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. These rocks are still there today.


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The Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people what to do. It was what Moses had said Joshua must do. So the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant continued standing in the middle of the river until everything was done. And the people hurried across the river.


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The people finished crossing the river. Then the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to the other side. As they carried it, the people watched.


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The men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh obeyed what Moses had told them. They were prepared for war. So they crossed the river ahead of the other people.


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About 40,000 soldiers were prepared for war. They passed before the Lord as they marched across the river. Then they went toward the plains of Jericho to go to war.


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That day the Lord made Joshua a great man to all the Israelites. They respected Joshua all his life, just as they had respected Moses.


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So the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord out of the river. As soon as their feet touched dry land, the water began flowing again. The river again overflowed its banks. It was just as it had been before they crossed.


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The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month. They camped at Gilgal, east of Jericho.


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Then he spoke to the Israelites. He said, “In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these rocks mean?’


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The Lord your God caused the water to stop flowing. The river was dry until the people finished crossing it. The Lord did the same thing for us at the Jordan that he did for the people at the Red Sea. Remember that he stopped the water at the Red Sea so we could cross.


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The Lord did this so all people would know he has great power. Then they will always respect the Lord your God.’”


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So the Lord dried up the Jordan River until the Israelites had crossed it. Now all the kings of the Amorites west of the Jordan heard about it. And the Canaanite kings living by the Mediterranean Sea heard about it. They were very scared. After that they were too afraid to face the Israelites.


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The Israelites Are Circumcised At that time the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “Make knives from flint stones. Circumcise the Israelites again.”


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This is why Joshua circumcised the men: After the Israelites left Egypt, all the men old enough to serve in the army died. They died in the desert on the way out of Egypt.


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The men who had come out of Egypt had been circumcised. But many were born in the desert on the trip from Egypt. They had not been circumcised.


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The Israelites had moved about in the desert for 40 years. During that time all the fighting men who had left Egypt had died. This was because they had not obeyed the Lord. So the Lord swore they would not see the land. This was the land he had promised their ancestors to give them. It was a land where much food grows.


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So their sons took their places. But none of the sons born on the trip from Egypt had been circumcised. So Joshua circumcised them.


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Then the Lord said to Joshua, “As slaves in Egypt you were ashamed. But today I have removed that shame.” So Joshua named that place Gilgal. And it is still named Gilgal today.


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The people of Israel were still camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho. It was there, on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, they celebrated the Passover Feast.


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The next day after the Passover, the people ate some of the food grown on that land: bread made without yeast and roasted grain.


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The day they ate this food, the manna stopped coming. The Israelites no longer got the manna from heaven. They ate the food grown in the land of Canaan that year.


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Joshua was near Jericho. He looked up and saw a man standing in front of him. The man had a sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and asked, “Are you a friend or an enemy?”


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The man answered, “I am neither one. I have come as the commander of the Lord’s army.” Then Joshua bowed facedown on the ground. He asked, “Does my master have a command for me, his servant?”


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The commander of the Lord’s army answered, “Take off your sandals. The place where you are standing is holy.” So Joshua did.


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The Fall of Jericho Now the people of Jericho were afraid because the Israelites were near. So they closed the city gates and guarded them. No one went into the city. And no one came out.


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Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “Look, I have given you Jericho, its king and all its fighting men.


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Have seven priests carry trumpets made from horns of male sheep. Tell them to march in front of the Ark of the Covenant. On the seventh day march around the city seven times. On that day tell the priests to blow the trumpets as they march.


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They will make one long blast on the trumpets. When you hear that sound, have all the people give a loud shout. Then the walls of the city will fall. And the people will go straight into the city.”


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So Joshua son of Nun called the priests together. He said to them, “Carry the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. Tell seven priests to carry trumpets and march in front of it.”


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Then Joshua ordered the people, “Now go! March around the city. The soldiers with weapons should march in front of the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord.”


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So Joshua finished speaking to the people. Then the seven priests began marching before the Lord. They carried the seven trumpets and blew them as they marched. The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord followed them.


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The soldiers with weapons marched in front of the priests. And armed men walked behind the Ark of the Covenant. They were blowing their trumpets.


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But Joshua had told the people not to give a war cry. He said, “Don’t shout. Don’t say a word until the day I tell you. Then shout!”


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So Joshua had the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord carried around the city one time. Then they went back to camp for the night.


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Early the next morning Joshua got up. And the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord again.


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The seven priests carried the seven trumpets. They marched in front of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, blowing their trumpets. The soldiers with weapons marched in front of them. Other soldiers walked behind the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. All this time the priests were blowing their trumpets.


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So on the second day they marched around the city one time. Then they went back to camp. They did this every day for six days.


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On the seventh day they got up at dawn. They marched around the city seven times. They marched just as they had on the days before. But on that day they marched around the city seven times.


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The seventh time around the priests blew their trumpets. Then Joshua gave the command: “Now, shout! The Lord has given you this city!


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The city and everything in it are to be destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone in her house should remain alive. They must not be killed. This is because Rahab hid the two spies we sent out.


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Don’t take any of the things that are to be destroyed as an offering to the Lord. If you take them and bring them into our camp, then you yourselves will be destroyed. You will also bring trouble to all of Israel.


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All the silver and gold and things made from bronze and iron belong to the Lord. They must be saved for him.”


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When the priests blew the trumpets, the people shouted. At the sound of the trumpets and the people’s shout, the walls fell. And everyone ran straight into the city. So the Israelites defeated that city.


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They completely destroyed every living thing in the city. They killed men and women, young and old. They killed cattle, sheep and donkeys.


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Joshua spoke to the two men who had spied out the land. Joshua said, “Go into the prostitute’s house. Bring her out. And bring out all the people who are with her. Do this because of the promise you made to her.”


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So the two men went into the house and brought out Rahab. They also brought out her father, mother, brothers and all those with her. They put all of her family in a safe place outside the camp of Israel.


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Then Israel burned the whole city and everything in it. But they did not burn the things made from silver, gold, bronze and iron. These were saved for the Lord.


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Joshua saved Rahab the prostitute, her family and all who were with her. He let them live. This was because Rahab had helped the men he had sent to spy out Jericho. Rahab still lives among the Israelites today.


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Then Joshua made this important promise. He said: “Anyone who tries to rebuild this city of Jericho will be punished by a curse from the Lord. The man who lays the foundation of this city will lose his oldest son. The man who sets up the gates will lose his youngest son.”


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The Sin of Achan But the people of Israel did not obey the Lord. There was a man from the tribe of Judah named Achan. (He was the son of Carmi and grandson of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah.) Achan kept some of the things that were to be given to the Lord. So the Lord became very angry at the Israelites.


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Joshua sent some men from Jericho to Ai. (Ai was near Beth Aven, east of Bethel.) He told them, “Go to Ai and spy out the area.” So the men went to spy on Ai.


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Later they came back to Joshua. They said, “There are only a few men in Ai to fight against us. So we will not need all our people to defeat them. Send 2,000 or 3,000 men to fight there. There is no need to send all of our people.”


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The people of Ai chased the Israelites. They chased them from the city gate all the way to where stones were cut from the ground. They killed about 36 Israelites as they went down the hill. When the Israelites saw this, they became very afraid.


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Then Joshua tore his clothes to show how upset he was. He bowed facedown on the ground before the Box of the Lord. And he stayed there until evening. The leaders of Israel did the same thing. They also threw dirt on their heads to show they were upset.


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Then Joshua said, “Lord God, you brought our people across the Jordan River. Why did you bring us this far and then let the Amorites destroy us? We should have been happy to stay on the other side of the Jordan.


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The Canaanites and all the other people in this country will hear about this. They will surround and kill all of us! Then what will you do for your own great name?”


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The Israelites have sinned. They have broken the agreement I commanded them to obey. They took some of the things I commanded them to destroy. They have stolen from me. They have lied. They have taken those things for themselves.


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That is why the Israelites cannot face their enemies. They turn away from the fight and run. I have commanded that they be destroyed. You must destroy everything I commanded you to destroy. I will not help you anymore unless you do this.


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“Now go! Have the people make themselves holy for me. Tell them, ‘Set yourselves apart to the Lord for tomorrow. The Lord, the God of Israel, says some of you are keeping things he commanded you to destroy. You will never defeat your enemies until you throw away those things.


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“‘Tomorrow morning you must all stand before the Lord. All the tribes will stand before him. The Lord will choose one tribe. And that tribe must stand alone before him. Then the Lord will choose one family group from that tribe. And that family group must stand alone before him. Then the Lord will choose one family from that family group. And it must stand alone before him. Then the Lord will look at that family man by man.


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The man who is keeping what should have been destroyed will himself be destroyed by fire. And everything he owns will be destroyed with him. He has broken the agreement with the Lord. He has done a disgraceful thing among the people of Israel!’”


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Early the next morning Joshua led all of Israel before the Lord. All of the tribes stood before him. And the Lord chose the tribe of Judah.


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So all the family groups of Judah stood before the Lord. The Lord then chose the family group of Zerah. And all the families of Zerah stood before the Lord. Then the family of Zimri was chosen.


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And Joshua told all the men in that family to come before the Lord. The Lord chose Achan son of Carmi. (Carmi was the son of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah.)


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Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, you should tell the truth. Confess to the Lord, the God of Israel. Tell me what you did. Don’t try to hide anything from me.”


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Among the things I saw was a beautiful coat from Babylonia. And I saw about five pounds of silver and more than one and one-quarter pounds of gold. I wanted these things very much for myself. So I took them. You will find them buried in the ground under my tent. The silver is under the coat.”


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So Joshua sent some men to the tent. They ran to the tent and found the things hidden there. The silver was under the coat.


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The men brought them out of the tent. Then they took them to Joshua and all the Israelites. They spread them out on the ground before the Lord.


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Then Joshua and all the people led Achan son of Zerah to the Valley of Trouble. They also took the silver, the coat and the gold. They took Achan’s sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, tent and everything he owned.


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Joshua said, “I don’t know why you caused so much trouble for us. But now the Lord will bring trouble to you.” Then all the people threw stones at Achan until he died. They also killed his family with stones. Then the people burned them.


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They piled rocks over Achan’s body. And those rocks are still there today. That is why it is called the Valley of Trouble. After this the Lord was no longer angry.


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Ai Is Destroyed Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid. Don’t give up. Lead all your fighting men to Ai. I will help you defeat the king of Ai. I am giving you his people, his city and his land.


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You will do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king. Only this time you may take all the wealth. You may keep it for yourselves. Now tell some of your soldiers to set up an ambush behind the city.”


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So Joshua led his whole army toward Ai. Then he chose 30,000 of his best fighting men. He sent these men out at night.


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Joshua gave them these orders: “Listen carefully. You must set up an ambush behind the city. Don’t go far from it. Continue to watch and be ready.


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I and the men who are with me will march toward the city. The men in the city will come out to fight us. Then we will turn and run away from them as we did before.


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They will chase us away from the city. They will think we are running away from them as we did before. When we run away,


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Then Joshua sent them to their place of ambush to wait. They went to a place between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But Joshua stayed the night with his people.


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Early the next morning Joshua gathered his men together. He and the older leaders of Israel led them to Ai.


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All of the soldiers who were with Joshua marched to Ai. They stopped in front of the city and made camp north of Ai. There was a valley between them and the city.


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Then Joshua chose about 5,000 men. He set them in ambush in the area west of the city between Bethel and Ai.


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So the people took their positions. The main camp was north of the city. The other men were hiding to the west. That night Joshua went down into the valley.


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Now the king of Ai saw the army of Israel. So he and his people got up early the next morning and hurried out to fight them. They went out to a place east of the city. The king did not know soldiers were waiting in ambush behind the city.


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Joshua and all the men of Israel let the army of Ai push them back. Then they ran east toward the desert.


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All the men of Ai and Bethel chased the army of Israel. The city was left open. Not a man stayed to protect it.


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Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Hold your spear toward Ai. I will give you that city.” So Joshua held his spear toward the city of Ai.


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The men of Israel who were in ambush saw this. They quickly came out of their hiding place and hurried toward the city. They entered the city and took control of it. Then they quickly set it on fire.


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When the men of Ai looked back, they saw smoke rising from their city. At the same time the men of Israel stopped running. They turned against the men of Ai. The men of Ai could not escape in any direction.


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Joshua and all his men saw that the army had taken control of the city. They saw the smoke rising from it. So they stopped running and turned to fight the men of Ai.


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The men who were in ambush also came out of the city to help with the fight. The men of Ai were caught between the armies of Israel. The Israelites fought until not one of the men of Ai was left alive. None of the enemy escaped.


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A Review of the Fighting During the fighting the army of Israel chased the men of Ai into the fields and desert. So the Israelites killed all of them in the fields and desert. Then they went back to Ai and killed everyone there.


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Joshua had held his spear toward Ai. It was a sign to his people to destroy the city. And Joshua held out his spear until all the people of Ai were destroyed.


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The people of Israel kept the animals for themselves. They also kept the other things the people of Ai had owned. This is what the Lord told them to do when he gave Joshua the commands.


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Then Joshua burned the city of Ai. It became an empty pile of ruins. And it is still like that today.


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Joshua hung the king of Ai on a tree. He left him hanging there until evening. At sunset Joshua told his men to take the king’s body down from the tree. He told them to throw it down at the city gate. Then they covered it with rocks. That pile of rocks is still there today.


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Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. Joshua built the altar as it was explained in the Book of the Teachings of Moses. The altar was made from stones that were not cut. No tool was ever used on them. The Israelites offered burnt offerings to the Lord on that altar. They also offered fellowship offerings.


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There Joshua wrote the teachings of Moses on stones. He did this for all the people of Israel to see.


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The elders, officers, judges and all the Israelites were there. They were standing around the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. They stood before the priests, the Levites who had carried the Ark of the Covenant. Israelites and non-Israelites were all standing there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Ebal. The other half stood in front of Mount Gerizim. This was the way the Lord’s servant Moses had earlier commanded the people to be blessed.


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Then Joshua read all the words of the teachings. He read the blessings and the curses. He read it exactly as they were written in the Book of the Teachings.


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All the Israelites were gathered together. All the women and children were there. All the non-Israelites living with the Israelites were there. Joshua read every command that Moses had given.


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The Gibeonite Trickery All the kings west of the Jordan River heard about these things. These were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. They lived in the mountains and on the western mountain slopes. They also lived along the whole Mediterranean Sea coast.


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So they decided to trick the Israelites. They gathered old leather wine bags that were cracked and mended. They put them on the backs of their donkeys. They also put old sacks on their donkeys.


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Then they went to Joshua in the camp near Gilgal. The men spoke to Joshua and the men of Israel. They said, “We have traveled from a faraway country. Make a peace agreement with us.”


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The men of Israel said to these Hivites, “Maybe you live near us. How can we make a peace agreement with you?”


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The Hivites said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” But Joshua asked, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”


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The men answered, “We are your servants. We have come from a far country. We came because we heard of the fame of the Lord your God. We heard about what he has done. We heard about everything he did in Egypt.


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We heard that he defeated the two kings of the Amorites. They were from the east side of the Jordan River: Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan who was king in Ashtaroth.


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So our elders and our people spoke to us. They said, ‘Take food for your journey. Go and meet the Israelites. Tell them, “We are your servants. Make a peace agreement with us.”’


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Look at our leather winebags. When we left home they were new and filled with wine. Now they are cracked and old. Look at our clothes and sandals. The long journey has almost destroyed them.”


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So Joshua agreed to make peace with the Gibeonites. He agreed to let them live. The leaders of the Israelites made a promise to keep the agreement.


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So the Israelites went to where they lived. On the third day the Israelites came to their cities. The cities were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim.


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But the Israelites did not attack those cities. They had made a promise to them before the Lord, the God of Israel. All the Israelites grumbled against the leaders who had made the agreement.


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But the leaders answered, “We have given our promise before the Lord, the God of Israel. We cannot attack them now.


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This is what we must do. We must let them live. We cannot hurt them, or God’s anger will be against us. We would be breaking the promise we made to them.


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So let them live. But they will cut wood and carry water for our people.” So the leaders kept their promise of peace to them.


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Joshua called for the Gibeonites. He said, “Why did you lie to us? Your land was near our camp. But you told us you were from a far country.


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Now, you will be placed under a curse. You will be our slaves. You will have to cut wood and carry water for the people of the house of God.”


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The Gibeonites answered Joshua, “We lied to you because we were afraid you would kill us. We heard that God commanded his servant Moses to give you all of this land. And God told you to kill all the people who lived in the land. That is why we did this.


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But Joshua made the Gibeonites slaves to the Israelites. They cut wood and carried water for the Israelites. And they did it for the altar of the Lord—wherever he chose it to be. They are still doing this today.


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The Sun Stands Still At this time Adoni-Zedek was the king of Jerusalem. He heard that Joshua had defeated Ai and completely destroyed it. He learned that Joshua had done the same thing to Jericho and its king. The king also learned that the Gibeonites had made a peace agreement with Israel. And they lived very near Jerusalem.


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So Adoni-Zedek and his people were very afraid because of this. Gibeon was not a little town like Ai. It was a large city. It was as big as a city that had a king. All its men were good fighters.


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So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent a message to Hoham king of Hebron. He also sent it to Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon. The king of Jerusalem begged these men,


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“Come with me and help me attack Gibeon. Gibeon has made a peace agreement with Joshua and the Israelites.”


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Then these five Amorite kings joined their armies. They were the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. These armies went to Gibeon, surrounded it and attacked it.


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The Gibeonites sent a message to Joshua in his camp at Gilgal. The message said: “We are your servants. Don’t let us be destroyed. Come quickly and help us! Save us! All the Amorite kings from the mountains have joined their armies. They are fighting against us.”


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The Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of those armies. I will allow you to defeat them. None of them will be able to defeat you.”


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The Lord confused those armies when Israel attacked. So Israel defeated them in a great victory. They chased them from Gibeon on the road going to Beth Horon. The army of Israel killed men all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.


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They chased the enemy down the road from Beth Horon to Azekah. While they were chasing them, the Lord threw large hailstones on them from the sky. Many of the enemy were killed by the hailstones. More men were killed by the hailstones than the Israelites killed with their swords.


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That day the Lord allowed the Israelites to defeat the Amorites. And that day Joshua stood before all the people of Israel and said to the Lord: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon. Moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.”


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So the sun stood still. And the moon stopped until the people defeated their enemies. These words are written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky. It waited to go down for a full day.


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That has never happened at any time before that day or since. That was the day the Lord listened to a man. Truly the Lord was fighting for Israel!


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But don’t stay there yourselves. Continue chasing the enemy. Continue attacking them from behind. Don’t let them get to their cities safely. The Lord your God has given you the victory over them.”


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So Joshua and the Israelites killed the enemy. But a few were able to get back to their strong, walled cities.


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After the fighting, Joshua’s men came back safely to him at Makkedah. No one was brave enough to say a word against the Israelites.


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Joshua said, “Move the rocks that are covering the opening to the cave. Bring those five kings out to me.”


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So Joshua’s men brought the five kings out of the cave. They were the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon.


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They brought the five kings out to Joshua. He called all his men to come to that place. He said to the commanders of his army, “Come here! Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came close and put their feet on their necks.


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Then Joshua said to his men, “Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid. I will show you what the Lord will do to the enemies you will fight in the future.”


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Then Joshua killed the five kings. He hung their bodies on five trees. And he left them hanging on the trees until evening.


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At sunset Joshua told his men to take the bodies down from the trees. Then they threw their bodies into the same cave where they had been hiding. They covered the opening to the cave with large rocks. They are still there today.


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That day Joshua defeated Makkedah. He killed the king and completely destroyed all the people in that city. He killed them as an offering to the Lord. There was no one left alive. He did the same thing to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.


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Defeating Southern Cities Then Joshua and all the Israelites traveled from Makkedah. They went to Libnah and attacked it.


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The Lord allowed them to defeat it and its king. They killed every person in the city. No one was left alive. And they did the same thing to that king as they had done to the king of Jericho.


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Then Joshua and all the Israelites left Libnah and went to Lachish. They camped around Lachish and attacked it.


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The Lord allowed them to defeat Lachish. On the second day Joshua defeated it. The Israelites killed everyone in that city. This was the same thing they had done to Libnah.


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During this same time Horam king of Gezer came to help Lachish. But Joshua also defeated him and his army. There was no one left alive.


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Then Joshua and all the Israelites went from Lachish to Eglon. They camped around Eglon and attacked it.


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That day they captured Eglon. They killed all its people and completely destroyed everything in it as an offering to the Lord. This is the same thing they had done to Lachish.


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They captured it and all the little towns near it. The Israelites killed everyone in Hebron. No one was left alive there. This was the same thing they had done to Eglon. They completely destroyed the city and all its people as an offering to the Lord.


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They captured that city, its king and all the little towns near it. They completely destroyed everyone in Debir as an offering to the Lord. No one was left alive there. Israel did to Debir and its king the same thing they had done to Libnah and its king. This was what they had done to Hebron.


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So Joshua defeated all the kings of the cities of these areas: the mountains, southern Canaan, the western mountain slopes and the eastern mountain slopes. The Lord, the God of Israel, had told Joshua to completely destroy all the people as an offering to the Lord. So he left no one alive in those places.


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Joshua captured all the cities from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza. And he captured all the cities from Goshen to Gibeon.


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He captured all these cities and their kings on one trip. He did it because the Lord, the God of Israel, was fighting for Israel.


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Defeating Northern Kings Jabin king of Hazor heard about all that had happened. He sent messages to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron and to the king of Acshaph.


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He sent one to the kings in the northern mountains. Jabin also sent a message to the kings in the Jordan Valley south of Lake Galilee and in the western mountain slopes. He sent a message to the king of Naphoth Dor in the west.


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Jabin also sent one to the kings of the Canaanites in the east and in the west. He sent messages to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the mountains. Jabin also sent one to the Hivites. They lived below Mount Hermon in the area of Mizpah.


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So the armies of all these kings came together. There were many fighting men, horses and chariots. It was a huge army. It looked like there were as many men as grains of sand on the seashore.


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All of these kings met together at the Waters of Merom. They joined their armies together into one camp. They made plans to fight against the Israelites.


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Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them. At this time tomorrow I will allow you to defeat them. You will kill all of them. You will cripple their horses and burn all their chariots.”


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The Lord allowed Israel to defeat them. They chased them to Greater Sidon, Misrephoth Maim and the Valley of Mizpah in the east. Israel fought until none of the enemy was left alive.


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Then Joshua went back and captured the city of Hazor. He killed the king of Hazor. (Hazor had been the leader of all the kingdoms that fought against Israel.)


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Israel killed everyone in Hazor. They completely destroyed them. There was nothing left alive. Then they burned Hazor itself.


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Joshua captured all of these cities. He killed all of their kings. He completely destroyed everything in these cities. He did this the way Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded.


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But the Israelites did not burn any cities that were built on their hills, except Hazor. That city alone was burned by Joshua.


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The people of Israel kept for themselves everything they found in the cities. They kept all the animals they found. But they killed all the people there. They did not leave anyone alive.


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Long ago the Lord had commanded his servant Moses to do this. Then Moses had commanded Joshua to do it. So Joshua obeyed God. He did everything the Lord had commanded Moses.


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So Joshua defeated all the people in the land. He had control of the mountains and the area of southern Canaan. He controlled all the areas of Goshen, the western mountain slopes and the Jordan Valley. He controlled the mountains of Israel and all the hills near them.


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Joshua controlled all the land from Mount Halak near Edom to Baal Gad. Baal Gad was in the Valley of Lebanon, below Mount Hermon. Joshua captured all the kings in the land and killed them.


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The people of only one city in all the land had made a peace agreement with Israel. They were the Hivites living in Gibeon. All the other cities were defeated in war.


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The Lord made those people stubborn so they would fight against Israel. This way he could completely destroy them without mercy. This is what the Lord had commanded Moses to do.


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Now Joshua fought the Anakites who lived in the mountains of Hebron, Debir, Anab, Judah and Israel. And he completely destroyed them and their towns.


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There were no Anakites left living in the land of the Israelites. Only a few Anakites were left in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod.


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Joshua took control of all the land of Israel. This was what the Lord had told Moses to do long ago. He gave the land to Israel because he had promised it to them. Then Joshua divided the land among the tribes of Israel. The fighting had finally ended. And there was peace in the land.


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Kings Defeated by Israel The Israelites took control of the land east of the Jordan River. They now had all the land from the Arnon Ravine to Mount Hermon. And they had all the land along the eastern side of the Jordan Valley. Here are all the kings the Israelites defeated to take this land:


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Sihon was the king of the Amorites. He lived in the city of Heshbon. He ruled the land from Aroer at the Arnon Ravine to the Jabbok River. His land started in the middle of the ravine. This was their border with the Ammonites. Sihon ruled over half the land of Gilead.


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He also ruled over the eastern side of the Jordan Valley from Lake Galilee to the Dead Sea. And he ruled from Beth Jeshimoth south to the hills of Pisgah.


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He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah and all the area of Bashan. His land ended where the people of Geshur and Maacah lived. Og also ruled half the land of Gilead. It stopped at the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.


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The Lord’s servant Moses and the Israelites defeated all these kings. And Moses gave that land to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. This land was to be their own.


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The Israelites also defeated kings in the land that was west of the Jordan River. Joshua led the people in this land. He gave the people this land and divided it among the 12 tribes. This was the land that was promised to them. It was between Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon and Mount Halak near Edom.


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This included the mountains, the western mountain slopes and the Jordan Valley. It also included the eastern mountain slopes, the desert and southern Canaan. This was the land where the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites had lived. The people of Israel defeated the king of each of the following cities:


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Land Still to Be Taken When Joshua was very old, the Lord spoke to him. He said, “Joshua, you have grown old. But there is still much land for you to take.


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You have not yet taken the area from the Shihor River at the border of Egypt to Ekron in the north. That belongs to the Canaanites. You must still defeat the five Philistine leaders. They are at Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. You must also defeat the Avvites.


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You have not yet defeated the Gebalites. And there is also the area of Lebanon east of Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath.


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“The Sidonians are living in the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim. But I will force out all of them ahead of the Israelites. Be sure to remember this land when you divide the land among the Israelites. Do this as I told you.


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Dividing the Land The eastern half-tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Reuben and Gad had received their land. The Lord’s servant Moses gave them the land east of the Jordan River.


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Their land started at Aroer at the Arnon Ravine. It continued to the town in the middle of the ravine. And it included the whole plain from Medeba to Dibon.


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All the towns that Sihon king of the Amorites ruled were in that land. He ruled in the city of Heshbon. The land continued to the area where the Ammonites lived.


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Gilead was also there. And the area where the people of Geshur and Maacah lived was in that land. All of Mount Hermon and all of Bashan as far as Salecah was included.


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All the kingdom of Og king of Bashan was in the land. In the past he ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. Og was one of the last of the Rephaites. In the past Moses had defeated them and had taken their land.


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The Israelites did not force out the people of Geshur and Maacah. They still live among the Israelites today.


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The tribe of Levi was the only one that did not get any land. Instead, they were to be given all the burned sacrifices made to the Lord, the God of Israel. That is what the Lord had promised them.


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Moses had given each family group from the tribe of Reuben some land. This is the land they were given:


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It was the land from Aroer near the Arnon Ravine to the town of Medeba. This included the whole plain and the town in the middle of the ravine.


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The land continued to Heshbon. It included all the towns on the plain. These towns were Dibon, Bamoth Baal and Beth Baal Meon.


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So that land included all the towns on the plain and all the area that Sihon the king of the Amorites had ruled. He ruled from the town of Heshbon. But Moses had defeated him and the leaders of the Midianites. Those leaders included Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba. All these leaders fought together with Sihon. And they lived in that country.


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The Israelites killed many people during the fighting. They also killed Balaam of Beor. He tried to use magic to tell the future.


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The land given to Reuben stopped at the shore of the Jordan River. So the land given to the family groups of Reuben included all these towns and their fields that were listed.


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He gave them the land of Jazar and all the towns of Gilead. He also gave them half the land of the Ammonites. It went as far as Aroer near Rabbah.


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It included the area from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim. It included the area from Mahanaim to the land of Debir.


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The land included the valley, Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth and Zaphon. All the other land Sihon king of Heshbon had ruled was also included in it. This is the land on the east side of the Jordan River. It continued to the end of Lake Galilee.


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All this is the land Moses gave to the tribe of Gad. It included all the towns that were listed. Moses gave it to all the family groups.


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This is the land Moses had given to the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. Half of all the family groups in the tribe of Manasseh were given this land:


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The land started at Mahanaim. It included all of Bashan and the land ruled by Og king of Bashan. It also included all the Towns of Jair in Bashan. There were 60 cities in all.


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It also included half of Gilead, Ashtaroth and Edrei. (These were the cities where Og king of Bashan had ruled.) All this land had been given to the family of Makir son of Manasseh. Half of all his sons had been given this land.


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Moses had given this land to these tribes on the plains of Moab. It was across the Jordan River east of Jericho.


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But Moses had given no land to the tribe of Levi. The Lord, the God of Israel, promised that he himself would be the gift for the Levites.


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Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the leaders of all the tribes of Israel decided what land to give to the people.


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The Lord had commanded Moses long ago how he wanted the people to choose their land. The people of the nine-and-a-half tribes threw lots to decide which land they would receive.


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Moses had already given the two-and-a-half tribes their land east of the Jordan River. But the tribe of Levi was not given any land like the others.


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The sons of Joseph had divided into two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. The tribe of Levi was not given any land. It was given only some towns in which to live. It was also given pastures for its animals.


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The Lord had told Moses how to give the land to the tribes of Israel. The Israelites divided the land as the Lord had commanded.


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Caleb’s Land One day some men from the tribe of Judah went to Joshua at Gilgal. One of those men was Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. He said to Joshua, “You remember what the Lord said at Kadesh Barnea. He was speaking to the prophet Moses about you and me.


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Moses, the Lord’s servant, sent me to look at the land where we were going. I was 40 years old then. When I came back, I told Moses what I thought about the land.


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The other men who went with me told the people things that made them afraid. But I fully believed the Lord would allow us to take the land.


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So that day Moses promised me, ‘The land where you went will become your land. Your children will own it forever. I will give you that land because you fully believed in the Lord, my God.’


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“Now then, the Lord has kept his promise. He has kept me alive for 45 years from the time he said this to Moses. During that time we all wandered in the desert. Now here I am, 85 years old.


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I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. I am just as ready to fight now as I was then.


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So give me the mountain country the Lord promised me that day long ago. Back then you heard that the Anakite people lived there. And the cities were large and well protected. But now with the Lord helping me, I will force them out, just as the Lord said.”


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And Hebron still belongs to the family of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. It still belongs to his people because he had faith. He obeyed the Lord, the God of Israel.


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(In the past it was called Kiriath Arba. It was named for the greatest man among the Anakites. He was named Arba.) After this there was peace in the land.


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Land for Judah The land that was given to the tribe of Judah was divided among all the family groups. It went all the way to the Desert of Zin in the far south, at the border of Edom.


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It went south of Scorpion Pass to Zin. From there it passed to the south of Kadesh Barnea. It continued past Hezron to Addar. From Addar it turned and went to Karka.


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It continued to Azmon, the brook of Egypt and then to the Mediterranean Sea. This was the southern border.


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The eastern border was the shore of the Dead Sea. It went as far as the area where the Jordan River flowed into the sea. The northern border started at the area where the Jordan River flowed into the Dead Sea.


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Then it went to Beth Hoglah and continued north of Beth Arabah. It continued to the stone of Bohan. Bohan was the son of Reuben.


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Then the northern border went through the Valley of Achor to Debir. There it turned toward the north and went to Gilgal. Gilgal is across from the road that goes through the mountain of Adummim. It is on the south side of the ravine. The border continued along the waters of En Shemesh. It stopped at En Rogel.


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Then it went through the Valley of Ben Hinnom. This is next to the southern side of the Jebusite city. (That city was called Jerusalem.) There the border went to the top of the hill on the west side of Hinnom Valley. This was at the northern end of the Valley of Giants.


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From there it went to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah. Then it went to the cities near Mount Ephron. There it turned and went toward Baalah. (Baalah is also called Kiriath Jearim.)


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At Baalah the border turned west and went toward Mount Edom. It continued along the north side of Mount Jearim (also called Kesalon) and came to Beth Shemesh. From there it went past Timnah.


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Then it went to the hill north of Ekron. From there it turned toward Shikkeron and went past Mount Baalah. It continued on to Jabneel and ended at the sea.


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The Mediterranean Sea was the western border. Inside these borders lived the family groups of Judah.


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The Lord had commanded Joshua to give Caleb son of Jephunneh part of the land in Judah. So he gave Caleb the land God had commanded. He gave him the town of Kiriath Arba, also called Hebron. (Arba was the father of Anak.)


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Caleb forced out the three Anakite families living in Hebron. Those families were Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. They were descendants of Anak.


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Then he fought against the people living in Debir. (In the past Debir had been called Kiriath Sepher.)


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Caleb said, “I want a man to attack and capture Kiriath Sepher. I will give him Acsah, my daughter, as a wife.”


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Acsah wanted Othniel to ask her father Caleb for more land. So Acsah went to her father. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”


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Acsah answered, “I would like a special favor. The land you gave me is very dry. So also give me land with springs of water on it.” So Caleb gave her land with springs of water on the upper and lower part of it.


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The tribe of Judah got all the towns in the southern part of Canaan. These towns were near the border of Edom. Here is a list of the towns: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,


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Ashdod and all the small towns around it were part of the land of Judah. They also got the fields and towns around Gaza. Their land continued to the brook of Egypt. And it went on along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.


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The people of Judah were also given the 2 towns of Rabbah and Kiriath Baal (also called Kiriath Jearim).


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The army of Judah was not able to force out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites still live among the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.


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Land for Ephraim and Manasseh This is the land the tribe of Joseph received. It started at the Jordan River near Jericho. It continued to the waters of Jericho, just east of the city. The border went up from Jericho to the mountains of Bethel.


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From there it went west to the border of the Japhletites. It continued to the area of the Lower Beth Horon. Then it went to Gezer and ended at the sea.


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This is the land that was given to the family groups of Ephraim: Their border started at Ataroth Addar in the east. It went to Upper Beth Horon


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and then to the sea. From Micmethath it turned eastward toward Taanath Shiloh and continued eastward to Janoah.


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Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah. It continued until it touched Jericho and stopped at the Jordan River.


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The border went from Tappuah west to Kanah Ravine and went to the sea. This is all the land that was given to the Ephraimites. Each family group in the tribe got a part of this land.


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Many of the border towns of Ephraim were actually within Manasseh’s borders. But the people of Ephraim got those towns and their fields.


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The Ephraimites could not force the Canaanites to leave Gezer. So the Canaanites still live among the Ephraimites today. But they became slaves of the Ephraimites.


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Then land was given to the tribe of Manasseh. He was Joseph’s first son. Manasseh’s first son was Makir, the father of Gilead. Makir was a great soldier. So the lands of Gilead and Bashan were given to his family.


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Land was also given to the other family groups of Manasseh. They were Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida. These were all the other sons of Manasseh son of Joseph.


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Zelophehad was the son of Hepher. Hepher was the son of Gilead. Gilead was the son of Makir, and Makir was the son of Manasseh. But Zelophehad had no sons. He had five daughters. The daughters were named Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.


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The daughters went to Eleazar the priest. They also went to Joshua son of Nun and all the leaders. They said, “The Lord told Moses to give us land like the men received.” So Eleazar obeyed the Lord and gave the daughters some land. These daughters received land just as the brothers of their father did.


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So the tribe of Manasseh had ten sections of land west of the Jordan River. They also had two more sections, Gilead and Bashan. These sections were on the other side of the Jordan River.


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The daughters of Manasseh got land just as the sons did. Gilead was given to the rest of the families of Manasseh.


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The lands of Manasseh were in the area between Asher and Micmethath. This is near Shechem. The border went south to the En Tappuah area.


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The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh. But the town of Tappuah did not. It was along the border of Manasseh’s land and belonged to the sons of Ephraim.


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The border of Manasseh continued south to Kanah Ravine. The cities in this area of Manasseh belonged to Ephraim. Manasseh’s border was on the north side of the ravine and went to the sea.


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The land to the south belonged to Ephraim. And the land to the north belonged to Manasseh. The Mediterranean Sea was the western border. The border touched Asher’s land on the north. And it touched Issachar’s land on the east.


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In the areas of Issachar and Asher, the people of Manasseh owned Beth Shan and its small towns. They also owned Ibleam and its small towns. And they owned all the people who lived in Dor and its small towns. They owned the people in Naphoth Dor and its small towns. And they owned all the people who lived in Taanach and its small towns. Manasseh also owned the people in Megiddo and its small towns.


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But the Israelites grew strong. When this happened, they forced the Canaanites to work for them. But they did not force them to leave the land.


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The people from the tribes of Joseph spoke to Joshua. They said, “You gave us only one area of land. But we are many people. Why did you give us only one part of all the land the Lord gave his people?”


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And Joshua answered them, “You have many people. Go up to the forest. Make a place for yourselves to live there. This is in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaites. The mountain country of Ephraim is too small for you.”


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The people of Joseph said, “It is true. The mountain country of Ephraim is not enough for us. But the land where the Canaanites live is dangerous. They are skilled fighters. They have powerful weapons in Beth Shan and all the small towns in that area. And they are also in the Valley of Jezreel.”


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Then Joshua spoke to the people of Joseph—to Ephraim and to Manasseh. He said, “But there are many of you. And you have great power. You should be given more than one share of land.


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You also will have the mountain country. It is a forest. But you can cut down the trees and make it a good place to live. And you will own all of it. You will force the Canaanites to leave the land. You can defeat them even though they have powerful weapons and are strong.”


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The Rest of the Land Divided All of the Israelites gathered together at Shiloh. There they set up the Meeting Tent. The Israelites controlled that country. They had defeated all the enemies there.


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But there were still seven tribes of Israel that had not yet received the land God had promised them.


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So Joshua said to the Israelites: “Why do you wait so long to take your land? The Lord, the God of your fathers, has given this land to you.


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So each tribe should choose three men. I will send them out to study the land. They will describe in writing the land their tribe wants as its share. Then they will come back to me.


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They will divide the land into seven parts. The people of Judah will keep their land in the south. The people of Joseph will keep their land in the north.


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But you should divide the land into seven parts. Describe the seven parts in writing. Then bring what you have written to me. We will let the Lord our God decide which tribe will get which land.


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But the Levites do not get any part of these lands. They are priests, and their work is to serve the Lord. Gad, Reuben and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh have received the land promised to them. They are on the east side of the Jordan River. Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave it to them.”


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So the men who were chosen started into the land. Their plan was to describe it in writing and take it back to Joshua. Joshua told them, “Go and study the land. Describe it in writing. Then come back to me. Then I will ask the Lord to choose the land you should get. We will do this here in Shiloh.”


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So the men left and went into the land. They studied it and described it in writing for Joshua. They studied each town. They saw that the land had seven parts. They described it in writing and then came back to Joshua. He was still at the camp at Shiloh.


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Then Joshua asked the Lord to help. He threw lots to choose the lands that should be given to each tribe.


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Land for Benjamin The first part of the land was given to the tribe of Benjamin. Each family group in the tribe of Benjamin received some land. They were given the land between the land of Judah and the land of Joseph. This is the land chosen for Benjamin:


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The northern border started at the Jordan River. It went along the northern edge of Jericho. Then it went west into the mountains. That boundary continued until it was just east of Beth Aven.


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From there it went south to Luz (also called Bethel). Then it went down to Ataroth Addar. Ataroth Addar is on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.


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There is a hill to the south of Beth Horon. At this hill the border turned and went south near the western side of the hill. It went to Kiriath Baal (also called Kiriath Jearim). This is a town where people of Judah lived. It was the western border.


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Then it went down to the bottom of the hill. This was near the Valley of Ben Hinnom. It was the north side of the Valley of Rephaim. The border continued down the Hinnom Valley just south of the Jebusite city to En Rogel.


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There it turned north and went to En Shemesh. It continued to Geliloth near the Adummim Pass in the mountains. Then it went down to the great Stone of Bohan. Bohan was the son of Reuben.


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From there it went to the northern part of Beth Hoglah. It ended at the north shore of the Dead Sea. This is where the Jordan River flows into the sea. This was the southern border.


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The Jordan River was the border on the eastern side. So this was the land given to the family groups of Benjamin. These were the borders on all sides.


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Each family group of Benjamin received some of this land. And these are the cities they owned: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz,


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They also owned Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (Jerusalem), Gibeah and Kiriath. There were 14 towns and all their villages. All these areas are the lands the tribe of Benjamin was given.


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Land for Simeon The second part of the land was given to the tribe of Simeon. Each family group received some of the land. It was inside the area of Judah.


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They also received the towns of Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan. There were 4 towns and all their fields.


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They also received all the very small areas with people living in them as far as Baalath Beer. (This is the same as Ramah in southern Canaan.) So these were the lands given to the tribe of Simeon. Each family group received some of the land.


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The land of the Simeonites was taken from part of the land of Judah. Judah had much more land than they needed. So the Simeonites received part of their land.


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Land for Zebulun The third part of the land was given to the tribe of Zebulun. Each family group of Zebulun received some of the land. The border of Zebulun went as far as Sarid.


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Then it turned to the east. It went from Sarid to the area of Kisloth Tabor. From there it went on to Daberath and to Japhia.


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It continued eastward to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin. Then it ended at Rimmon. Then the border turned and went toward Neah.


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At Neah it turned again and went to the north. It went to Hannathon and continued to the Valley of Iphtah El.


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Inside this border were the cities of Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem. There were 12 towns and all their fields.


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So these are the towns and the areas that were given to Zebulun. Each family group received some of the land.


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Land for Issachar The fourth part of the land was given to the tribe of Issachar. Each family group of Issachar received some of the land.


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The border of their land touched the area called Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh. It stopped at the Jordan River. There were 16 towns and their fields.


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These cities and towns were part of the land that was given to the tribe of Issachar. Each family group received part of this land.


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Land for Asher The fifth part of the land was given to the tribe of Asher. Each family group of Asher received some of the land.


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Then it turned toward the east. It went to Beth Dagon. It touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El. Then it went north of Beth Emek and Neiel. It passed north to Cabul.


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Then the border went back south toward Ramah. It continued to the strong, walled city of Tyre. Then it turned and went toward Hosah. It ended at the sea. This was in the area of Aczib,


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These cities and their fields were part of the land that was given to the tribe of Asher. Each family group in that tribe received some of this land.


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Land for Naphtali The sixth part of the land was given to the tribe of Naphtali. Each family group of Naphtali received some of the land.


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The border of their land started at the large tree in the area of Zaanannim. This is near Heleph. Then it went through Adami Nekeb and Jabneel. It continued to the area of Lakkum and ended at the Jordan River.


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Then it went to the west through Aznoth Tabor. It stopped at Hukkok. It went to the area of Zebulun on the south. And it went to the area of Asher on the west. It went to Judah, at the Jordan River, on the east.


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There were some strong, walled cities inside these borders. Those cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath and Kinnereth;


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The cities and the towns around them were in the land that was given to the tribe of Naphtali. Each family group in that tribe got some of this land.


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Land for Dan The seventh part of the land was given to the tribe of Dan. Each family group of Dan received some of the land.


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(But the Danites had trouble taking their land. There were strong enemies there. And the Danites could not easily defeat them. So the Danites went and fought against Leshem. They defeated Leshem and killed the people who lived there. So the Danites lived in the town of Leshem. They changed its name to Dan because he was the father of their tribe.)


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All of these cities and towns were given to the tribe of Dan. Each family group got part of this land.


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Land for Joshua So the Israelite leaders finished dividing the land and giving it to the different tribes. After they finished, all the Israelites decided to give Joshua son of Nun some land, too. This was land that had been promised to him.


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The Lord had commanded that he be given this land. So they gave Joshua the town of Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim. This was the town that Joshua told them he wanted. So he built up the town and lived there.


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So all of these lands were given to the different tribes of Israel. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the leaders of each tribe worked together. They divided up the land while they were at Shiloh. They met before the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent to do this. Now they had finished dividing the land.


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“Tell the Israelites to choose the special cities of safety. This is what I had Moses command you to do.


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A person might kill someone accidentally and without meaning to kill him. He may go to a city of safety to hide. There he will be safe from the relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer.


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“This is what he must do. When he runs to one of those cities, he must stop at the entrance gate. He must stand there and tell the leaders of the people what happened. Then they will allow him to enter the city. They will give him a place to live among them.


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But the one who is chasing him might follow him to that city. If this happens, the leaders of the city must not give him up. They must protect the person who came to them for safety. They must protect him because he killed that person accidentally. He was not angry and did not decide ahead of time to kill the person.


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He should stay in the city until he has been judged by the court there. And he should stay until the high priest dies. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he ran away.”


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So the Israelites chose some cities to be cities of safety. These cities were: Kedesh in Galilee in the mountains of Naphtali; Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim; Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) in the mountains of Judah;


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Bezer on the east side of the Jordan River near Jericho in the desert in the land of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead in the land of Gad; and Golan in Bashan in the land of Manasseh.


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Any Israelite or anyone living among them who killed someone accidentally was included. He was to be allowed to run to one of these cities of safety. Then he could be safe there and would not be killed by the relative who had the duty of punishing a murderer. He would be judged by the court in that city.


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Towns for the Levites The heads of the Levite families went to talk to Eleazar the priest. They also talked to Joshua son of Nun and to the heads of the families of all the tribes of Israel.


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This happened at the town of Shiloh in the land of Canaan. The heads of the Levite families said to them, “The Lord commanded Moses that you give us towns where we may live. And he commanded that you give us pastures.”


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So the Israelites obeyed this commandment of the Lord. They gave the Levite people these towns and pastures:


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The Kohath family groups were part of the tribe of Levi. Some of the Levites in the Kohath family groups were from the family of Aaron the priest. To these Levites were given 13 towns. These towns were in the areas that belonged to Judah, Simeon and Benjamin.


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The other family groups of Kohath were given 10 towns. These 10 towns were in the areas of Ephraim, Dan and West Manasseh.


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The people from the Gershon groups were given 13 towns. They were in the land that belonged to Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.


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The family groups of Merari were given 12 towns. These 12 towns were in the area that belonged to Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.


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So the Israelites gave the Levites these towns and the pastures around them. They did this to obey the commandment that the Lord had given Moses.


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They gave them Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) and all its pastures. This was in the mountains of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)


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But the fields and the small towns around the city of Kiriath Arba had been given to Caleb son of Jephunneh.


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So they gave the city of Hebron to the descendants of Aaron. (Hebron was a city of safety.) They also gave them these towns: Libnah,


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Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh. They also gave them all the pastures that were around these towns. There were 9 towns given to these two groups.


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They also gave the people of Aaron cities that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. These cities were Gibeon, Geba,


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So these towns were given to the priests. These priests were from the family of Aaron. The total number of towns with their pastures was 13.


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They gave them the city of Shechem from the mountains of Ephraim. (Shechem was a city of safety.) They also gave them Gezer,


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The western half-tribe of Manasseh gave them Taanach and Gath Rimmon. They were also given all the pastures around these 2 towns.


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So this was 10 more towns and all the pastures around the towns. These were given to the rest of the Kohathite family groups.


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The Gershonite family groups of the Levite tribe were given these towns: The eastern half-tribe of Manasseh gave them Golan in Bashan. (Golan was a city of safety.) Manasseh also gave them Be Eshtarah. All the pastures around these two towns were also given to the Gershonites.


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The tribe of Naphtali gave them Kedesh in Galilee. (Kedesh was a city of safety.) Naphtali also gave them Hammoth Dor and Kartan. All the pastures around these 2 towns were also given to the Gershonites.


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So the Gershonite family groups received 13 towns. They also received all the pastures around these towns.


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The Merarite family groups (the rest of the Levites) were given these towns: The tribe of Zebulun gave them Jokneam, Kartah,


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The tribe of Gad gave them Ramoth in Gilead. (Ramoth was a city of safety.) They also gave them Mahanaim,


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A total of 48 towns with their pastures were given to the Levites. All these towns were in the land controlled by the Israelites.


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So the Lord kept the promise he had made to the Israelites. He gave the people all the land he had promised. The people took the land and lived there.


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The Lord allowed them to have peace on all sides of their land. This is what he had promised to their people who lived long ago. None of their enemies defeated them. The Lord allowed the Israelites to defeat every enemy.


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Three Tribes Go Home Then Joshua called a meeting of all the people from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh.


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He said to them, “You have obeyed everything Moses told you to do. He was a servant of the Lord. And also, you have obeyed all my commands.


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All this time you have supported all the other Israelites. You have been careful to obey all the commands the Lord your God gave you.


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The Lord your God promised to give the Israelites peace. Now he has kept his promise. Now you may go back to your homes. You may go to the land that Moses, the Lord’s servant, gave you. It is the land on the east side of the Jordan River.


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But continue to obey the teachings Moses gave you. That law is to love the Lord your God and obey his commands. Continue to follow him and serve him the very best you can.”


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Moses had given the land of Bashan to the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan River to the western half-tribe of Manasseh. And he sent them to their homes. He blessed them.


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He said, “Go back to your homes and your riches. You have many animals, silver, gold, bronze and iron. And you have many beautiful clothes. Also, you have taken many things from your enemies. You should divide these among yourselves.”


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So the people from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh left the other Israelites. They left Shiloh in Canaan and went back towards Gilead. This was their own land. Moses gave it to them as the Lord had commanded.


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The people of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh traveled to Geliloth. This was near the Jordan River in the land of Canaan. There they built a beautiful altar.


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But the other Israelites still at Shiloh heard about the altar these three tribes had built. They heard that the altar was at the border of Canaan at Geliloth. It was near the Jordan River on Israel’s side.


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All the Israelites became very angry at these three tribes. They met together and decided to fight them.


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So the Israelites sent some men to talk to the people of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. The leader of these men was Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest.


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They also sent one leader of each of the ten tribes at Shiloh. Each of these men was a leader of his family group of Israelites.


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So these men went to Gilead. They went to talk to the people of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. The men said to them:


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“All the Israelites ask you: ‘Why did you turn against the God of Israel? Why did you build an altar for yourselves? You know that this is against God’s law.


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Remember what happened at Peor? We still suffer today because of that sin. Because of it, God caused many of the Israelites to become very sick.


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And now are you doing the same thing? Are you turning against the Lord? Will you refuse to follow the Lord? “‘If you don’t stop what you’re doing, the Lord will be angry with everyone in Israel.


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Your land may not be a good enough place to worship. If not, come over into our land. The Lord’s Tent is in our land. You may have some of our land and live there. But don’t turn against the Lord by building another altar. We already have the altar of the Lord our God.


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Remember Achan son of Zerah. He refused to obey the command about what must be completely destroyed. That one man broke God’s law, but all the Israelites were punished. Achan died because of his sin. But many other people also died.’”


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“The Lord is our God! Again we say that the Lord is our God! God knows why we did this. We want you to know also. You can judge what we did. If you believe we have done something wrong, you may kill us.


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If we broke God’s law, we ask the Lord himself to punish us. Do you think we built this altar to offer burnt offerings? And did we build it to use for offerings of grain and fellowship?


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“No! We did not build it for that reason. We feared that some day your people would not accept us as part of your nation. Then they might say, ‘You cannot worship the Lord, the God of Israel.


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God gave you land on the other side of the Jordan River. It separates us from you people of Reuben and Gad. You cannot worship the Lord.’ So we feared that your children might make our children stop worshiping the Lord.


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“So we decided to build this altar. But we did not plan to use it for burning sacrifices and making offerings.


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It was really to show our people that we worship the same God as you. This altar is proof to you and us. And it will prove to all our children who will come after us that we worship the Lord. We give our whole burnt offerings, grain and fellowship offerings to the Lord. This was to keep your children from saying that our children could not worship the Lord.


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“In the future your children might say that we do not belong to Israel. Then our children could say, ‘Look! Our fathers who lived before us made an altar. It is exactly like the Lord’s altar. We do not use it for sacrifices. This altar shows that we are part of Israel.’


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“Truly, we don’t want to be against the Lord. We don’t want to stop following him. We know the only true altar is the one in front of the Holy Tent. It belongs to the Lord our God.”


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Phinehas the priest and the ten leaders heard these things. They listened to the people of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. And they were pleased.


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So Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, spoke. He said, “Now we know the Lord is with us. And we know you didn’t turn against him. We’re happy that the Israelites will not be punished by the Lord.”


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Then Phinehas and the leaders went home. They left the people of Reuben and Gad in Gilead. And they went back to Canaan. There they told the Israelites what had happened.


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They were also pleased. They were happy and thanked God. And they decided not to fight against the people of Reuben and Gad. They decided not to destroy those lands.


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And the people of Reuben and Gad gave the altar a name. They called it Proof that We Believe that the Lord Is God.


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Joshua Says Good-bye The Lord gave Israel peace from their enemies around them. He made Israel safe. Many years passed, and Joshua became very old.


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So he called a meeting of all the elders, heads of families, judges and officers of the Israelites. He said, “I am now very old.


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You have seen what the Lord has done to our enemies. He did it to help us. The Lord your God fought for you.


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Remember that your people have been given their land. It’s the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. It’s the land I promised to give you. But you don’t control that land yet.


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The Lord your God will make the people living there leave. You will enter the land. And the Lord will force them out ahead of you. He has promised you this.


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“Be strong. You must be careful to obey everything the Lord has commanded. Obey everything written in the Book of the Teachings of Moses. Do exactly as it says.


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There are still some people living among us who are not Israelites. They worship their own gods. Don’t become friends with them. Don’t serve or worship their gods.


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You must continue to follow the Lord your God. You have done this in the past. And you must continue to do it.


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“The Lord has helped you defeat many great and powerful nations. He has forced them to leave ahead of you. No nation has been able to defeat you.


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With his help, one Israelite could defeat a thousand enemies. This is because the Lord your God fights for you, as he promised to do.


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“Don’t turn away from the way of the Lord. Don’t become friends with these people who are not part of Israel. Don’t marry them. If you do become their friends,


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the Lord your God will not help you defeat your enemies. So they will become like traps for you. They will cause you pain like a whip on your back and thorns in your eyes. And none of you will be left in this good land the Lord your God has given you.


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“It’s almost time for me to die. You know and fully believe that the Lord has done great things for you. You know that he has not failed in any of his promises. He has kept every promise he has given.


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Every good promise that the Lord your God made has come true. And in the same way, his other promises will come true. He promised that evil will come to you. He will destroy you from this good land that he gave you.


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This will happen if you don’t keep your agreement with the Lord your God. You will lose this land if you go and serve other gods. You must not worship them. If you do, the Lord will become very angry with you. Then none of you will be left in this good land he has given you.”


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Then all the tribes of Israel met together at Shechem. Joshua called them all together there. Then he called the elders, heads of families, judges and officers of Israel. These men stood before God.


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Then Joshua spoke to all the people. He said, “Here’s what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you: ‘A long time ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. I am talking about men like Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped other gods.


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But I, the Lord, took your ancestor Abraham out of the land on the other side of the river. I led him through the land of Canaan. And I gave him many children. I gave him his son Isaac.


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And I gave Isaac two sons named Jacob and Esau. I gave the land around the mountains of Edom to Esau. But Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.


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Then I sent Moses and Aaron to Egypt. I caused many terrible things to happen to the Egyptians. Then I brought you people out.


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When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, they came to the Red Sea. And the Egyptians chased them. There were chariots and men on horses.


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So the people asked me, the Lord, for help. And I caused great trouble to come to the Egyptians. I caused the sea to cover them. You yourselves saw what I did to the army of Egypt. After that, you lived in the desert for a long time.


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“‘Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites. This was east of the Jordan River. They fought against you, but I gave you the power to defeat them. I destroyed them before you. Then you took control of that land.


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But the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, prepared to fight against the Israelites. The king sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you.


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But I, the Lord, refused to listen to Balaam. So he asked for good things to happen to you! He blessed you many times. I saved you and brought you out of his power.


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“‘Then you traveled across the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The people in the city of Jericho fought against you. Also, the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites fought against you. But I allowed you to defeat them all.


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While your army traveled forward, I sent hornets ahead of them. These hornets made the people leave before you came. So you took the land without using your swords and bows.


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It was I, the Lord, who gave you that land. I gave you land where you did not have to work. I gave you cities that you did not have to build. And now you live in that land and in those cities. You eat from vineyards and olive trees. But you did not have to plant them.’”


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Then Joshua spoke to the people. He said, “Now you have heard the Lord’s words. So you must respect the Lord and serve him fully and sincerely. Throw away the false gods that your people worshiped. That happened on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Now you must serve the Lord.


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But maybe you don’t want to serve the Lord. You must choose for yourselves today. You must decide whom you will serve. You may serve the gods that your people worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. Or you may serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land. As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”


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Then the people answered, “No! We will never stop following the Lord. We will never serve other gods!


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We know it was the Lord our God who brought our people out of Egypt. We were slaves in that land. But the Lord did great things for us there. He brought us out. He protected us while we traveled through other lands.


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Then he helped us defeat the people living in these lands. He helped us defeat the Amorites who lived here. So we will continue to serve the Lord because he is our God.”


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Then Joshua said, “You will not be able to serve the Lord well enough. He is a holy God. And he is a jealous God. If you turn against him and sin, he will not forgive you.


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If you leave the Lord and serve other gods, he will cause great trouble to come to you. The Lord has been good to you. But if you turn against him, he will destroy you.”


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Then Joshua said, “Look around at yourselves and the people with you here. Do you all know and agree that you have chosen to serve the Lord? Are you all witnesses to this?” The people answered, “Yes, it’s true! We all see that we have chosen to serve the Lord.”


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Then Joshua said, “Now throw away the false gods that you have among you. Love the Lord, the God of Israel, with all your heart.”


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On that day Joshua made an agreement for the people. He made the agreement a law for them to follow. This happened at Shechem.


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Joshua wrote these things in the Book of the Teachings of God. Then he found a large stone. He put the stone under the oak tree near the Lord’s Holy Tent.


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Then Joshua said to all the people, “See this stone! It will help you remember what we did today. It was here when the Lord was speaking to us today. It will help you remember what happened. It will stop you from turning against your God.”


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Joshua Dies Then Joshua told the people to go back to their homes. And everyone went back to his own land.


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And they buried him in his own land at Timnath Serah. This was in the mountains of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.


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The Israelites had served the Lord during the time Joshua was living. And after he died, they continued to serve the Lord. They continued to serve him while their elders were still alive. These were the leaders who had seen what the Lord had done for the Israelites.


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Joseph Comes Home When the Israelites left Egypt, they carried the bones of Joseph with them. They buried them at Shechem, in the land Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor. (Hamor was the father of Shechem.) Jacob had bought the land for 100 pieces of silver. This land belonged to Joseph’s children.


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And Eleazar son of Aaron died. He was buried at Gibeah in the mountains of Ephraim. Gibeah had been given to Eleazar’s son Phinehas.


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The Men of Judah Fight the Canaanites Joshua died. Then the people of Israel prayed to the Lord. They said, “Who will be first to go and fight for us against the Canaanite people?”


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The men of Judah asked for help from the men of Simeon, their relatives. The men of Judah said, “Come and help us fight the Canaanites for our land. If you do, we will go and help you fight for your land.” So the men of Simeon went with them.


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The Lord gave the men of Judah the victory over the Canaanites and the Perizzites. The men of Judah defeated l0,000 men at the city of Bezek.


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There they found Adoni-Bezek, the ruler of the city, and fought him. The men of Judah defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.


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So Adoni-Bezek ran away. But the men of Judah chased him. When they caught him, they cut off his thumbs and big toes.


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Then Adoni-Bezek said, “I cut off the thumbs and big toes of 70 kings. And those kings had to eat scraps that fell from my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.” The men of Judah took Adoni-Bezek to Jerusalem, and he died there.


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Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They used their swords to kill the people of Jerusalem. And they burned the city.


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Later, they went down to fight against more of the Canaanites. Some of the Canaanites lived in the mountains. Others lived in the dry country to the south. And still others lived in the western mountain slopes.


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Then the men of Judah went to fight against the Canaanites in the city of Hebron. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba.) The men of Judah defeated the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.


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Caleb and His Daughter Then the men of Judah left Hebron. They went to the city of Debir to fight against the people there. (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.)


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Before attacking the city, Caleb said, “I want a man to attack and capture the city of Kiriath Sepher. I will give him Acsah, my daughter, as a wife.”


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Caleb had a younger brother named Kenaz. Kenaz had a son named Othniel. Othniel captured the city of Kiriath Sepher. So Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel to be his wife.


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When Acsah came to Othniel, he told her to ask her father for some land. So she got down from her donkey, and Caleb said, “What do you want?”


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Acsah answered Caleb, “Do me a favor. You have put me in the dry land of southern Judah. Give me some land with springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs of water.


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Fights with the Canaanites The Kenite people left Jericho, the city of palm trees. They went with the men of Judah. The Kenites went to the Desert of Judah to live with the people there. This was in southern Judah near the city of Arad. (The Kenites were from the family of Moses’ father-in-law.)


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Some Canaanite people also lived in the city of Zephath. So the men of Judah and the men of Simeon, their relatives, defeated those Canaanites. They completely destroyed the city. So they called the city Hormah.


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The Lord was on the side of the men of Judah. They took the land in the mountains. But they could not force out the people living on the plain. This was because those people had iron chariots.


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But the people of Benjamin could not make the Jebusite people leave Jerusalem. Since that time the Jebusites have lived with the Benjaminites in Jerusalem.


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The spies saw a man coming out of the city. They said to him, “Show us a way into the city. If you help us, we will be kind to you.”


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The man showed the spies the way into the city. The men of Joseph killed the people in Bethel. But the man who helped them and his family were allowed to go free.


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He went to the land where the Hittite people lived, and he built a city. He named the city Luz, and it is called that today.


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There were Canaanites living in the cities of Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo and the small towns around them. The people of Manasseh did not force those people out of their towns. The Canaanites were determined to stay there.


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Later, the people of Israel grew strong. They forced the Canaanites to work as slaves for them. But the Israelites did not make all the Canaanites leave their land.


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There were Canaanites living in Gezer. And the people of Ephraim did not make all of those Canaanites leave their land. So the Canaanite people continued to live in Gezer with the people of Ephraim.


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Some Canaanites lived in the cities of Kitron and Nahalol. The people of Zebulun did not make them leave their land. They stayed and lived with the people of Zebulun. But Zebulun made them work as slaves.


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The people of Asher did not make the Canaanites leave the cities of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek and Rehob.


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The people of Asher did not make them leave their land. So the Canaanites continued to live with the people of Asher.


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The people of Naphtali did not make the people leave the cities of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath. So the people of Naphtali continued to live with the Canaanites in those cities. Those people worked as slaves for the people of Naphtali.


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The Amorites forced the Danites back into the mountains. The Amorites would not let them come down to live in the plain.


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The Amorites were determined to stay in Mount Heres, Aijalon and Shaalbim. But the Israelites grew stronger. Then they made the Amorites work as slaves for them.


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The Angel of the Lord at Bokim The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim. He spoke to the people of Israel there and said: “I brought you up from Egypt. I led you to the land I promised to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my agreement with you.


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But in return, you must not make an agreement with the people who live in this land. You must destroy their altars.’ But you did not obey me. How could you do this?


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Now I will tell you this: ‘I will not force out the people in this land. They will become your enemies. Their gods will become a trap for you.’”


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Joshua Dies Then Joshua told the people they could go home. So each one went to take his own share of the land.


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The people of Israel served the Lord as long as Joshua was alive. They continued serving the Lord during the lifetimes of the elders who lived on after Joshua. These men had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.


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So the Israelites buried him in the land he had been given. That land was at Timnath Heres. It was in the mountains of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.


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The People Disobey After those people had died, their children grew up. They did not know the Lord or what he had done for Israel.


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The Lord had brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. And the ancestors of these people had worshiped the Lord. But the Israelites quit following the Lord. They began to worship the gods of the people who lived around them. That made the Lord angry.


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The Lord was angry with the people of Israel. So he let robbers attack them and take their possessions. He let their enemies who lived around them defeat them. They could not protect themselves from their enemies.


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When the Israelites went out to fight, they always lost. They lost because the Lord was not on their side. The Lord had sworn to them this would happen. So the Israelites suffered very much.


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God Chooses Judges Then the Lord chose leaders called judges. These leaders saved the people of Israel from the robbers.


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But the Israelites did not listen to their judges. They were not faithful to God. They followed other gods instead. In the past the people of Israel obeyed the Lord’s commands. But now the Israelites stopped obeying the Lord.


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Many times the enemies of Israel hurt the Israelites. So the Israelites would cry for help. And each time the Lord felt sorry for them. Each time he sent a judge to save them from their enemies. The Lord was with those judges.


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But when each judge died, the Israelites again sinned and worshiped the false gods. They became worse than their ancestors. The Israelites were very stubborn; they refused to change their evil ways.


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So the Lord became angry with the Israelites. He said, “These people have broken the agreement I made with their ancestors. They have not listened to me.


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I will use those nations to test Israel. I will see if Israel keeps the Lord’s commands as their ancestors did.”


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In the past the Lord had permitted those nations to stay in the land. He did not quickly force them out. He did not help Joshua’s army defeat them.


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These are the nations the Lord did not force to leave. He wanted to test the Israelites who had not fought in the wars to take Canaan.


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The only reason the Lord left those nations in the land was to teach the descendants of the Israelites. He wanted to teach the people who had not fought in those wars how to fight.


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These are the nations: the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the people of Sidon and the Hivites. The Hivites lived in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath.


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Those nations were in the land to test the Israelites. The Lord wanted to see if Israel would obey the commands he had given to their ancestors by Moses.


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The people of Israel lived with the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.


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The Israelites began to marry the daughters of those people. And the Israelites allowed their daughters to marry the sons of those people. Israel served the gods of those people.


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Othniel, the First Judge The people of Israel did what the Lord said was wrong. They forgot about the Lord their God. Instead, they served the idols of Baal and Asherah.


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The Lord was angry with Israel. He allowed Cushan-Rishathaim king of Northwest Mesopotamia to rule over the Israelites. They were under that king’s rule for eight years.


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Then Israel cried to the Lord. So the Lord sent a man to save them. He was Othniel son of Kenaz. (Kenaz was Caleb’s younger brother.) Othniel saved the Israelites.


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The Spirit of the Lord entered Othniel. And he became Israel’s judge and went to war. The Lord helped him to defeat Cushan-Rishathaim king of Northwest Mesopotamia.


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Ehud, the Judge Again the people of Israel did what the Lord said was wrong. So the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power to defeat Israel. This was because of the evil Israel did.


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Eglon got the Ammonite people and the Amalekite people to join him. Then he attacked Israel and took Jericho, the city of palm trees.


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So the people cried to the Lord. And he sent a man to save them. That man was Ehud, who was left-handed. Ehud was the son of Gera from the people of Benjamin. Israel sent Ehud to give Eglon king of Moab the payment he demanded.


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Ehud made a sword for himself. The sword had two edges and was about 18 inches long. He tied the sword to his right upper leg under his clothes.


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When he passed the statues near the city Gilgal, he turned around. Ehud said to Eglon, “I have a secret message for you, King Eglon.” The king said, “Be quiet!” Then he sent all of his servants out of the room.


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Ehud went to King Eglon. Eglon was now sitting alone in the room on top of his summer palace. Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king stood up from his chair,


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Ehud reached with his left hand. He took out the sword that was tied to his right upper leg. Then he stabbed the sword deep into the king’s belly!


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The sword went into Eglon’s belly so far that even the handle sank in. And the blade came out his back. The king’s fat covered the whole sword. So Ehud left the sword in Eglon.


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The servants returned just after Ehud left. They found the doors to the room locked. So they thought the king was relieving himself.


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They waited for a long time. Finally they became worried because he still had not opened the doors. So they got the key and unlocked them. When they entered, they saw their king lying dead on the floor!


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When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim. The people of Israel heard it and went down from the hills with Ehud leading them.


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He said to them, “Follow me! The Lord has helped us to defeat our enemies, the people of Moab.” So Israel followed Ehud. They took control of the places where the Jordan River could easily be crossed. Israel did not allow the Moabites to come across the Jordan River.


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So that day Moab was forced to be under the rule of Israel. And there was peace in the land for 80 years.


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Shamgar, the Judge After Ehud, another man saved Israel. His name was Shamgar son of Anath. Shamgar killed 600 Philistines with a sharp stick used to guide oxen.


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Deborah, the Woman Judge After Ehud died, the people of Israel again did what the Lord said was wrong.


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So he let Jabin, a king of Canaan, defeat Israel. Jabin ruled in the city of Hazor. Sisera was the commander of Jabin’s army. Sisera lived in Harosheth Haggoyim.


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He had 900 iron chariots and was very cruel to the people of Israel for 20 years. So they cried to the Lord for help.


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There was a prophetess named Deborah. She was the wife of Lappidoth. She was judge of Israel at that time.


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Deborah would sit under the Palm Tree of Deborah. This was between the cities of Ramah and Bethel, in the mountains of Ephraim. And the people of Israel would come to her to settle their arguments.


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Deborah sent a message to a man named Barak. He was the son of Abinoam. Barak lived in the city of Kedesh, which is in the area of Naphtali. Deborah said to Barak, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go and gather 10,000 men of Naphtali and Zebulun. Lead them to Mount Tabor.


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I will make Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, come to you. Sisera, his chariots and his army will meet you at the Kishon River. I will help you to defeat Sisera there.’”


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Then Barak said to Deborah, “I will go if you will go with me. But if you will not go with me, I won’t go.”


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“Of course I will go with you,” Deborah answered. “But you will not get credit for the victory. The Lord will let a woman defeat Sisera.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.


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At Kedesh, Barak called the people of Zebulun and Naphtali together. From them, he gathered 10,000 men to follow him. Deborah went with Barak also.


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Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenite people. (The Kenites were descendants of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law.) Heber had put up his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim. This is near Kedesh.


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So Sisera gathered his 900 iron chariots and all the men with him. They went from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River.


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Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get up! Today is the day the Lord will help you defeat Sisera. You know the Lord has already cleared the way for you.” So Barak led 10,000 men down from Mount Tabor.


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He and his men attacked Sisera and his men. During the battle the Lord confused Sisera and his army and chariots. So Barak and his men used their swords to defeat Sisera’s army. But Sisera left his chariot and ran away on foot.


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Barak and his men chased Sisera’s chariots and army to Harosheth Haggoyim. They used their swords to kill all of Sisera’s men. Not one of them was left alive.


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But Sisera himself ran away. He came to the tent where Jael lived. She was the wife of Heber, one of the Kenite family groups. Heber’s family was at peace with Jabin king of Hazor.


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Jael went out to meet Sisera. She said to him, “Come into my tent, master! Come in. Don’t be afraid.” So Sisera went into Jael’s tent, and she covered him with a rug.


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Sisera said to Jael, “I am thirsty. Please give me some water to drink.” So she opened a leather bag in which she kept milk and gave him a drink. Then she covered him up.


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Then Sisera said to Jael, “Go stand at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’”


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But Jael, the wife of Heber, took a tent peg and a hammer. She quietly went to Sisera. Since he was very tired, he was sleeping. She hammered the tent peg through the side of Sisera’s head and into the ground! And so Sisera died.


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Then Barak came by Jael’s tent, chasing Sisera. Jael went out to meet him and said, “Come. I will show you the man you are looking for.” So Barak entered her tent. There Sisera lay dead, with the tent peg in his head.


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Listen, kings. Pay attention, rulers! I myself will sing to the Lord. I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel.


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“Lord, in the past you came from Edom. You marched from the land of Edom, and the earth shook. The skies rained, and the clouds dropped water.


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The mountains shook before the Lord, the God of Mount Sinai. They shook before the Lord, the God of Israel!


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“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the main roads were empty. Travelers went on the back roads.


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At that time they chose to follow new gods. Because of this, enemies fought us at our city gates. No one could find a shield or a spear among the 40,000 men of Israel.


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My heart is with the commanders of Israel. They volunteered freely from among the people. Praise the Lord!


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“You who ride on white donkeys and sit on saddle blankets, listen! And you who walk along the road, listen!


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Listen to the sound of the singers at the watering holes. There they tell about the victories of the Lord. They tell about the victories of the Lord’s warriors in Israel. Then the Lord’s people went down to the city gates.


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“Wake up, wake up, Deborah! Wake up, wake up, sing a song! Get up, Barak! Go capture your enemies, son of Abinoam!


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“Then the men who were left came down to the important leaders. The Lord’s people came down to me with strong men.


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They came from Ephraim in the mountains of Amalek. Benjamin was among the people who followed you. From the family group of Makir in West Manasseh, the commanders came down. And from Zebulun came those men who lead with an officer’s staff.


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The princes of Issachar were with Deborah. The people of Issachar were loyal to Barak. They followed him into the valley. The Reubenites thought hard about what they would do.


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Why did you stay by the sheepfold? Was it to hear the music played for your sheep? The Reubenites thought hard about what they would do.


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The people of Gilead stayed east of the Jordan River. People of Dan, why did you stay by the ships? The people of Asher stayed at the seashore. They stayed at their safe harbors.


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“The kings came, and they fought. At that time the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo. But they took away no silver or possessions of Israel.


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The Kishon River swept Sisera’s men away, that old river, the Kishon River. March on, my soul, with strength!


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‘May the town of Meroz be cursed,’ said the angel of the Lord. ‘Bitterly curse its people, because they did not come to help the Lord. They did not fight the strong enemy.’


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Jael reached out and took the tent peg. Her right hand reached for the workman’s hammer. And she hit Sisera! She smashed his head! She crushed and pierced the side of his head!


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At Jael’s feet he sank. He fell, and he lay there. At her feet he sank. He fell. Where Sisera sank, there he fell, dead!


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“Sisera’s mother looked out through the window. She looked through the curtains. She asked, ‘Why is Sisera’s chariot so late in coming? Why are sounds of his chariots’ horses delayed?’


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‘Surely they are taking the possessions of the people they defeated! Surely they are dividing those things among themselves! A girl or two is being given to each soldier. Maybe Sisera is taking pieces of dyed cloth. Maybe they are even taking pieces of dyed, embroidered cloth for the necks of the victors!’


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“Let all your enemies die this way, Lord! But let all the people who love you be powerful like the rising sun!” So there was peace in the land for 40 years.


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The Midianites Attack Israel Again the people of Israel did what the Lord said was wrong. So for seven years the Lord let the people of Midian rule Israel.


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The Midianites were very powerful and were cruel to the Israelites. So the Israelites made hiding places in the mountains. They also hid in caves and safe places.


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Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other peoples from the east would come and attack them.


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These people camped in the land. And they destroyed the crops that the Israelites had planted. They did this as far as the land near Gaza. The people left nothing for Israel to eat. They left them no sheep, cattle or donkeys.


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The Midianites came up and camped in the land. They brought their tents and their animals with them. They were like swarms of locusts! There were so many people and camels they could not be counted. These people came into the land to ruin it.


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Israel became very poor because of the Midianites. So the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.


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So the Lord sent a prophet to them. The prophet said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you out of Egypt, the land of slavery.


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I saved you from the people of Egypt. And I saved you from all the people of Canaan. I forced them out of their land. And I gave it to you.


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Then I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God. You will live in the land of the Amorites, but you must not worship their gods.’ But you did not obey me.”


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The Angel of the Lord Visits Gideon The angel of the Lord came and sat down under an oak tree at Ophrah. The oak tree belonged to Joash, who was one of the Abiezrite people. Joash was the father of Gideon. Gideon was separating some wheat from the chaff in a winepress. Gideon did this to keep the wheat from the Midianites.


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Then Gideon said, “Pardon me, sir. If the Lord is with us, why are we having so many troubles? Our ancestors told us he did miracles. They told us the Lord brought them out of Egypt. But now he has left us. He has allowed the Midianites to defeat us.”


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The Lord turned to Gideon and said, “You have the strength to save the people of Israel. Go and save them from the Midianites. I am the one who is sending you.”


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But Gideon answered, “Pardon me, Lord. How can I save Israel? My family group is the weakest in Manasseh. And I am the least important member of my family.”


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Then Gideon said to the Lord, “If you are pleased with me, give me proof. Show me that it is really you talking with me.


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Please wait here. Do not go away until I come back to you. Let me bring my offering and set it in front of you.” And the Lord said, “I will wait until you come back.”


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So Gideon went in and cooked a young goat. He also took about 20 quarts of flour and made bread without yeast. Then he put the meat into a basket. And he put the broth from the boiled meat into a pot. He brought out the meat, the broth and the bread without yeast. He brought the food to the angel of the Lord. Gideon gave it to him under the oak tree.


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The angel of God said to Gideon, “Put the meat and the bread without yeast on that rock over there. Then pour the broth on them.” And Gideon did as he was told.


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The angel of the Lord had a stick in his hand. He touched the meat and the bread with the end of the stick. Then fire jumped up from the rock! The meat and the bread were completely burned up! And the angel of the Lord disappeared!


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Then Gideon understood he had been talking to the angel of the Lord. So Gideon cried, “Lord God! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”


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So Gideon built an altar there to worship the Lord. Gideon named the altar The Lord Is Peace. It still stands at Ophrah, where the Abiezrites live.


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Gideon Tears Down the Altar of Baal That same night the Lord spoke to Gideon. The Lord said, “Take the bull that belongs to your father and a second bull seven years old. Pull down your father’s altar to Baal. Cut down the Asherah idol beside it.


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Then build an altar to the Lord your God. Build it on this high ground. Lay its stones in the right order. Then kill and burn the bull on this altar. Use the wood from the Asherah idol to burn your offering.”


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So Gideon got ten of his servants. And he did what the Lord had told him to do. But Gideon was afraid that his family and the men of the city might see him. So he did it at night, not in the daytime.


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The men of the city got up the next morning. They saw that the altar for Baal had been destroyed! And they saw that the Asherah idol beside it had been cut down! They also saw the altar Gideon had built. And they saw the bull that had been sacrificed on it.


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The men of the city looked at each other and asked, “Who did this?” They asked many questions and looked for the person who had done those things. Someone told them, “Gideon son of Joash did this.”


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So they said to Joash, “Bring your son out. He has pulled down the altar of Baal. He has cut down the Asherah idol beside it. So your son must die!”


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But Joash spoke to the angry crowd around him. He said, “Are you going to take Baal’s side? Are you going to defend Baal? Anyone who takes Baal’s side will be killed by morning! If Baal is a god, let him fight for himself. It’s his altar that has been pulled down.”


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So on that day Gideon got the name Jerub-Baal. The name means “let Baal fight against him.” They named him this because Gideon pulled down Baal’s altar.


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Gideon Defeats Midian All the Midianites, the Amalekites and other peoples from the east joined together. They came across the Jordan River and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.


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But the Spirit of the Lord entered Gideon! Gideon blew a trumpet to call the Abiezrites to follow him.


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He sent messengers to all of Manasseh. The people of Manasseh were called to follow Gideon. Gideon also sent messengers to the people of Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali. They also went up to meet Gideon and his men.


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I will put some wool on the threshing floor. Let there be dew only on the wool. But let all of the ground be dry. Then I will know what you said is true. I will know that you will use me to save Israel.”


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And that is just what happened. Gideon got up early the next morning and squeezed the wool. He got a full bowl of water from the wool.


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Then Gideon said to God, “Don’t be angry with me. Let me ask just one more thing. Please let me make one more test. Let the wool be dry while the ground around it gets wet with dew.”


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That night God did that very thing. Just the wool was dry, but the ground around it was wet with dew.


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Early in the morning Jerub-Baal and all his men set up their camp at the spring of Harod. (Jerub-Baal is also called Gideon.) The Midianites were camped north of them. The Midianites were camped in the valley at the bottom of the hill called Moreh.


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Then the Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men to defeat the Midianites. I don’t want the Israelites to brag that they saved themselves.


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So now, announce to the people, ‘Anyone who is afraid may leave Mount Gilead. He may go back home.’” And 22,000 men went back home. But 10,000 remained.


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Then the Lord said to Gideon, “There are still too many men. Take the men down to the water, and I will test them for you there. If I say, ‘This man will go with you,’ he will go. But if I say, ‘That one will not go with you,’ he will not go.”


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So Gideon led the men down to the water. There the Lord said to him, “Separate them. Those who drink water by lapping it up like a dog will be in one group. Those who bend down to drink will be in the other group.”


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There were 300 men who used their hands to bring water to their mouths. They lapped it as a dog does. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.


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Then the Lord said to Gideon, “I will save you, using the 300 men who lapped the water. And I will allow you to defeat Midian. Let all the other men go to their homes.”


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So Gideon sent the rest of Israel to their homes. But he kept 300 men. He took the jars and the trumpets of those who went home. Now the camp of Midian was in the valley below Gideon.


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That night the Lord spoke to Gideon. He said, “Get up. Go down and attack the camp of the Midianites. I will allow you to defeat them.


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When you come to the camp of Midian, you will hear what they are saying. Then you will not be afraid to attack the camp.” Gideon Is Encouraged So Gideon and his servant Purah went down to the edge of the enemy camp.


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The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the peoples from the east were camped in that valley. There were so many of them they seemed like locusts. They had so many camels no one could count them. There were as many as there are grains of sand on the seashore!


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When Gideon came to the enemy camp, he heard a man talking. That man was telling his friend about a dream. He was saying, “Listen, I dreamed that a loaf of barley bread rolled into the camp of Midian. It hit the tent so hard that the tent turned over and fell flat!”


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The man’s friend said, “Your dream is about the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel. God will let Gideon defeat Midian and the whole army!”


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When Gideon heard about the dream and what it meant, he worshiped God. Then Gideon went back to the camp of Israel. He called out to them, “Get up! The Lord has defeated the army of Midian for you!”


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Then Gideon divided the 300 men into three groups. He gave each man a trumpet and an empty jar. A burning torch was inside each jar.


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Surround the enemy camp. I and everyone with me will blow our trumpets. When we blow our trumpets, you blow your trumpets, too. Then shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”


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Midian Is Defeated So Gideon and the 100 men with him came to the edge of the enemy camp. They came just after the enemy had changed guards. It was during the middle watch of the night. Then Gideon and his men blew their trumpets and smashed their jars.


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All three groups of Gideon’s men blew their trumpets and smashed their jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands. Then they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”


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Each of Gideon’s men stayed in his place around the camp. But inside the camp, the men of Midian began shouting and running away.


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When Gideon’s 300 men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused all the men of Midian to fight each other with their swords! The enemy army ran away to the city of Beth Shittah. It is toward Zererah. They ran as far as the border of the city of Abel Meholah. It is near the city of Tabbath.


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Then men of Israel from Naphtali, Asher and all of Manasseh were called out to chase the Midianites.


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Gideon sent messengers through all the mountains of Ephraim. They said, “Come down and attack the Midianites. Take control of the Jordan River as far as Beth Barah. Do this before the Midianites can get to the river and cross it.” So they called out all the men of Ephraim. They took control of the Jordan River as far as Beth Barah.


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The men of Ephraim captured two princes of Midian named Oreb and Zeeb. The men of Ephraim killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb. They killed Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. And they continued chasing the Midianites. They cut off the heads of Oreb and Zeeb and took them to Gideon. He was now east of the Jordan River.


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The men of Ephraim asked Gideon, “Why did you treat us this way? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight against Midian?” They were very angry at Gideon.


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But he answered them, “I have not done as well as you! The small part you did was better than all that my people of Abiezer did.


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God allowed you to capture Oreb and Zeeb, the princes of Midian. How can I compare what I did with what you did?” When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, they were not as angry anymore.


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Gideon Captures Two Kings Then Gideon and his 300 men came to the Jordan River. They were tired, but they chased the enemy across to the other side.


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Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my soldiers some bread. They are very tired. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”


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But the leaders of Succoth said, “Why should we give your soldiers bread? You haven’t caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet.”


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Then Gideon said, “The Lord will help me capture Zebah and Zalmunna. After that, I will whip your skin with thorns and briers from the desert.”


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Gideon left Succoth and went to the city of Peniel. He asked the men there for food. It was just as he had asked the men of Succoth. And the men of Peniel gave him the same answer as the men of Succoth.


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So Gideon said to the men of Peniel, “After I win the victory, I will come back here. And I will pull down this tower.”


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Zebah and Zalmunna and their army were in the city of Karkor. Their army had about 15,000 men. They were all who were left of the army of the peoples of the east. Already 120,000 soldiers of that army had been killed.


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Gideon used the road of those who live in tents. This road is east of Nobah and Jogbehah. Gideon attacked the enemy army when they did not expect it.


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Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian, ran away. But Gideon chased and captured them. Gideon and his men defeated the enemy army.


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Gideon captured a young man from Succoth and asked him some questions. The young man wrote down for Gideon the names of 77 men. They were the officers and elders of Succoth.


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Gideon Punishes Succoth Then Gideon came to Succoth. He said to the men of that city, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You made fun of me by saying, ‘Why should we give bread to your tired men? You have not caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet.’”


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Gideon spoke to Zebah and Zalmunna. He said, “You killed some men on Mount Tabor. What were those men like?” Zebah and Zalmunna answered, “They were like you. Each one of them seemed like a prince.”


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Gideon said, “Those were my brothers, my mother’s sons. As surely as the Lord lives, I would not kill you if you had spared them.”


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Then Gideon turned to Jether, his oldest son. Gideon said to him, “Kill them.” But Jether was only a boy and was afraid. So he did not take out his sword.


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Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Come on. Kill us yourself. As the saying goes, ‘It takes a man to do a man’s job.’” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna. Then he took the decorations off their camels’ necks.


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Gideon Makes an Idol The people of Israel said to Gideon, “You saved us from the Midianites. So now, rule over us. We want you, your son and your grandson to rule over us.”


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But Gideon told them, “The Lord will be your ruler. I will not rule over you. And my son will not rule over you.”


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He said, “I want you to do this one thing for me. I want each of you to give me a gold earring from the things you took in the fighting.” (The Ishmaelite men wore gold earrings. And some Ishmaelites had been defeated in the battle.)


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So the people of Israel said to Gideon, “We will gladly give you what you want.” So they put a coat down on the ground. Each man threw an earring onto the coat.


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The gold earrings weighed about 43 pounds. This did not count the weight of the other gifts the people gave to Gideon. They gave him decorations, necklaces and purple robes. These were things that the kings of Midian had worn. The people also gave him chains from the camels of the kings of Midian.


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Gideon used the gold to make an idol. He put the idol in his hometown of Ophrah. All the people of Israel were unfaithful to God and worshiped the idol. It became a trap that caused Gideon and his family to sin.


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The Death of Gideon So Midian was forced to be under the rule of Israel. Midian did not cause trouble anymore. And the land had peace for 40 years, as long as Gideon was alive.


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Gideon had a slave woman who lived in Shechem. He also had a son by her. He named that son Abimelech.


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So Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age. He was buried in the tomb of Joash, his father. That tomb is in Ophrah, where the Abiezrites live.


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As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel were again unfaithful to God. They followed the Baal gods. They made Baal-of-the-Agreement their god.


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The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God. He had saved them from all their enemies who were living all around them.


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And Jerub-Baal, also called Gideon, had done many good things for Israel. But Israel was not kind to the family of Gideon for these things.


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Abimelech Becomes King Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal, also called Gideon, went to his uncles. They lived in the city of Shechem. He said to his uncles and all of his mother’s family group,


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“Ask the leaders of Shechem this question: ‘Is it better for you to be ruled by the 70 sons of Jerub-Baal or to be ruled by only 1 man?’ Remember, I am your relative.”


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Abimelech’s uncles spoke to all the leaders of Shechem. They asked them that question. All the leaders decided to follow Abimelech. They said, “He is our brother.”


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So the leaders of Shechem gave Abimelech about one and three-fourths pounds of silver. The silver was from the temple of the god Baal-of-the-Agreement. Abimelech used the silver to hire some worthless, reckless men. They followed Abimelech wherever he went.


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Abimelech went to Ophrah, the hometown of his father. There Abimelech murdered his 70 brothers. They were the sons of Abimelech’s father, Gideon. He killed them all on one stone. But Gideon’s youngest son, Jotham, hid from Abimelech and escaped.


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Then all of the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo came together. They gathered beside the great tree at the stone pillar in Shechem. There they made Abimelech their king.


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Jotham’s Story When Jotham heard this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. Jotham shouted to the people: “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem. Then God may listen to you!


