# verses

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" 'Suppose a man makes love to a woman during her monthly period. He has uncovered the place where her bleeding was coming from. And she has let him do it. So they must be cut off from their people.


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" 'Do not have sex with the sister of either your mother or your father. That would bring shame on a close relative. Both of you would be held accountable for what you have done.


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" 'Suppose a man has sex with his aunt. Then he has brought shame on his uncle. Both of them will be held accountable for what they have done. They will die without having any children.


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" 'Suppose a man gets married to his brother's wife. That is something that should never be done. He has brought shame on his brother. Neither of them will have any children.


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" 'Obey all of my rules and laws. Follow them. Then the land where I am bringing you to live will not throw you out.


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To make room for you, I am going to drive out the nations that are in the land. You must not follow the practices of those nations. I hated those nations because they did all of those things.


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" 'But I said to you, "You will take over their land as your own. I will give it to you. It will belong to you. It is a land that has plenty of milk and honey." I am the Lord your God. I have set you apart from the other nations.


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" 'So you must be able to tell the difference between animals that are "clean" and those that are not. You must know which birds are "clean" and which are not. Do not make yourselves "unclean" by eating any animal or bird that is not "clean." Do not make yourselves "unclean" by eating anything that moves along the ground. I have set all of them apart. They are "unclean" for you.


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" 'You must be holy. You must be set apart to me. I am the Lord. I am holy. I have set you apart from the other nations to be my own people.


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" 'Suppose a man or woman gets messages from those who have died. Or suppose a man or woman talks to the spirits of the dead. Then you must put that man or woman to death. You must kill them by throwing stones at them. Anything that happens to them will be their own fault.' "


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The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron. Tell them, 'A priest must not make himself "unclean" by going near the dead body of any of his people.


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But he can go near the body of a close relative. It could be his mother, father, son, daughter or brother.


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He can also go near a sister who is not married. She would have depended on him because she did not have a husband. The priest can make himself "unclean" by going near her body.


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But he must not make himself "unclean" by going near the bodies of people who were only related to him by marriage. Going near them would make him "unclean."


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" 'Priests must not shave any part of their heads. They must not shave off the edges of their beards. They must not make cuts on their bodies when someone dies.


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" 'Priests must be holy. They must be set apart for me. I am their God. They must not treat my name as if it were not holy. They must be holy because they bring offerings that are made to me with fire. That is my food.


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" 'They must not get married to women who are "unclean" because they are prostitutes. They must not marry women who are divorced from their husbands. That is because priests are holy. They are set apart for me. I am their God.


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Consider them as holy, because they offer up food to me. Consider them as holy, because I am holy. I am the Lord. I make you holy.


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" 'Suppose a priest's daughter makes herself "unclean" by becoming a prostitute. Then she brings shame on her father. She must be burned to death.


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" 'The high priest is the one among his brothers whose head has been anointed with olive oil. He has been appointed to wear the priest's clothes. " 'When someone dies, the high priest must not let his hair hang loose. He must not tear his clothes to show how sad he is.


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He must not enter a place where there is a dead body. He must not make himself "unclean," even if his father or mother dies.


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He must not leave my sacred tent to take part in burying a body. That would bring shame on the tent. My anointing oil has set the high priest apart. I am the Lord.


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He must not marry a widow or a woman who is divorced. He must not marry a woman who is "unclean" because she is a prostitute. He must only get married to a virgin. She must come from his own people.


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If he marries a virgin, he makes the children he has by her "clean." I am the Lord. I make him holy.' "


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"Speak to Aaron. Tell him, 'For all time to come, no man in your family line who has any flaws can come near to offer food to me.


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" 'No man who has any flaws can come near. No man who is blind or disabled can come. No man whose body is scarred or twisted can come.


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No man whose back is bent can come. No man who is too short can come. No man who has anything wrong with his eyes can come. No man who has boils or running sores can come. No man whose sex glands are crushed can come.


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" 'No man in the family line of the priest Aaron who has any flaws can come near me. He can't come to bring the offerings that are made to me with fire. If he has any flaws, he must not come near to offer food to me.


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But because he has a flaw, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar. If he does, he will make my sacred tent "unclean." I am the Lord. I make everything holy.' "


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So Moses told all of those things to Aaron and his sons. He also told them to all of the people of Israel.


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"Here is what I want you to tell Aaron and his sons. Tell them to treat the sacred offerings with respect. They are the offerings the people of Israel set apart to honor me. So Aaron and his sons must never treat my name as if it were not holy. I am the Lord.


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"Say to them, 'Suppose a man in your family line is "unclean." And suppose he comes near the sacred offerings. They are the offerings the people of Israel set apart to honor me. That man must be cut off from serving me as a priest. That applies for all time to come. I am the Lord.


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" 'Suppose a man in Aaron's family line has a skin disease. Or suppose liquid waste is flowing out of his body. Then he can't eat the sacred offerings until he is made pure and clean. " 'Suppose he touches something that has been made "unclean" by coming near a dead body. Or suppose he touches someone who has semen flowing from his body. Then he will not be "clean."


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Or suppose he touches any crawling thing that makes him "unclean." Or suppose he touches any person who makes him "unclean." It does not matter what he touches that is "unclean." It will make him "unclean."


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" 'The one who touches anything of that kind will be "unclean" until evening. He must not eat any of the sacred offerings unless he has taken a bath.


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When the sun goes down, he will be "clean." After that, he can eat the sacred offerings. They are his food.


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" 'He must not eat anything that is found dead or torn apart by wild animals. If he does, it will make him "unclean." I am the Lord.


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" 'The priests must do what I require. But suppose they make fun of what I require. Then they will become guilty and die. I am the Lord. I make them holy.


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" 'Only a member of a priest's family can eat the sacred offering. The guest of a priest can't eat it. A priest's hired worker can't eat it either.


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" 'But suppose a priest buys a slave with money. Or suppose a slave is born in his house. Then that slave can eat the sacred food.


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" 'Suppose a priest's daughter gets married to someone who is not a priest. Then she can't eat any of the food that is brought as a sacred gift.


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But suppose the priest's daughter becomes a widow or is divorced. She does not have any children. And she returns to live in her father's house, where she lived when she was young. Then she can eat her father's food. But a person who does not belong to a priest's family can't eat any of it.


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" 'Suppose someone eats a sacred offering by mistake. Then he must pay back the priest for the offering. He must also add a fifth of its value to it.


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" 'The priests must not allow the sacred offerings to become "unclean." They are the offerings the people of Israel bring to me.


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The priests must not allow the offerings to become "unclean" by letting the people eat them. If they do, they will bring guilt on the people. They will have to pay for what they have done. I am the Lord. I make them holy.' "


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"Speak to Aaron and his sons. Speak to all of the people of Israel. Tell them, 'Suppose any of you brings a gift for a burnt offering to the Lord. It does not matter whether you are an Israelite or an outsider who lives in Israel. It does not matter whether you bring the offering to keep a promise or because you choose to give it.


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You must bring a male animal that does not have any flaws if you want the Lord to accept it from you. It does not matter whether it is from your cattle, sheep or goats.


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" 'Suppose any of you brings an animal for a friendship offering to the Lord. Then it must not have any flaws at all. If it does, the Lord will not accept it. It does not matter whether the animal is from your herd or flock. It does not matter whether you bring it to keep a promise or because you choose to give it.


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Do not offer a blind animal to the Lord. Do not bring an animal that is hurt or wounded. And do not offer one that has warts or boils or running sores. Do not place any of them on the altar as an offering that is made to the Lord with fire.


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" 'But suppose you bring an offering you choose to give. Then you can bring an ox or a sheep whose body is twisted or too small. But the Lord will not accept it if you offer it to keep a promise.


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" 'You must not offer the Lord a male animal whose sex glands have been hurt. The glands also must not be crushed, torn or cut. You must not offer that kind of animal in your own land.


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And you must not accept that kind of animal from someone who comes from another land. You must not offer it as food for your God. He will not accept it from you. Its body is twisted and has flaws.' "


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"When a calf, lamb or goat is born, it must remain with its mother for seven days. From the eighth day on, I will accept it as an offering that is made to me with fire.


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Do not kill a cow and its calf on the same day. Do not kill a female sheep and its lamb on the same day.


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Do not treat my name as if it were not holy. The people of Israel must recognize me as the holy God. I am the Lord. I make you holy.


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"Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, 'Here are my appointed feast days. They are the appointed feast days of the Lord. Tell the people that they must come together for these sacred feasts.


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" 'There are six days when you can work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath. You must rest on it. Come together on that sacred day. You must not do any work on it. No matter where you live, it is a Sabbath day in my honor.


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" 'Here are my appointed feasts. Tell the people that they must come together for these sacred feasts at their appointed times.


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" 'My Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the 15th day of that month. For seven days you must eat bread that is made without yeast.


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On the first day you must come together for a special service. Do not do any regular work on that day.


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On each of the seven days bring an offering that is made to me with fire. On the seventh day come together for a special service. Do not do any regular work on that day.' "


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"Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, 'When you enter the land I am going to give you, bring an offering to me. Gather your crops. Bring the first bundle of grain to the priest.


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He must lift the grain up and wave it in front of me. Then I will accept it from you. The priest must wave it on the day after the Sabbath.


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" 'On the day he waves the grain for you, you must sacrifice a burnt offering to me. It must be a lamb that does not have any flaws. It must be a year old.


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You must bring it together with its grain offering. The grain offering must be 16 cups of fine flour. Mix it with olive oil. It is an offering that is made to me with fire. It has a pleasant smell. You must offer a drink offering along with the burnt offering. It must be a quart of wine.


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" 'You must not eat any bread until the very day you bring your offering to me. You must not eat any grain that has been cooked or any of your first grain until that time. That is a law that will last for all time to come. It applies no matter where you live.


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" 'The day you brought the grain for the wave offering was the day after the Sabbath. Count off seven full weeks from that day.


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Count off 50 days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath. On that day bring me an offering of your first grain.


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Bring two loaves of bread that are made with 16 cups of fine flour. They must be baked with yeast. Bring them to me as a wave offering from the first share of your crops. That applies no matter where you live.


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" 'Together with the bread, bring seven male lambs. Each lamb must be a year old. It must not have any flaws. Also bring one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to me. They will be offered together with their grain offerings and drink offerings. They are an offering that is made with fire. They give a pleasant smell to me.


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" 'Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering. Also sacrifice two lambs for a friendship offering. Each of the lambs must be a year old.


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The priest must lift the two lambs up and wave them in front of me as a wave offering. He must offer them together with the bread that is made out of the first share of your crops. They are a sacred offering to me. They will be given to the priest.


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" 'On that same day tell the people that they must come together for a special service. They must not do any regular work. That is a law that will last for all time to come. It applies no matter where you live.


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" 'Suppose you are gathering your crops. Then do not harvest all the way to the edges of your field. And do not pick up the grain you missed. Leave some for poor people and outsiders. I am the Lord your God.' "


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"Say to the people of Israel, 'On the first day of the seventh month you must have a day of rest. It must be a special service that is announced with trumpet blasts.


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"The tenth day of the seventh month is the day when sin is paid for. Come together for a special service. Do not eat any food. Bring an offering that is made to me with fire.


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Do not do any work on that day. It is the day when sin is paid for. On that day your sin will be paid for in my sight. I am the Lord your God.


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You must not do any work at all. That is a law that will last for all time to come. It applies no matter where you live.


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"That day is a sabbath for you. You must rest on it. You must not eat anything on that day. You must keep your sabbath from the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening."


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"Say to the people of Israel, 'On the 15th day of the seventh month my Feast of Booths begins. It lasts for seven days.


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" 'On the first day you must come together for a special service. Do not do any regular work on that day.


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On each of the seven days bring an offering that is made to me with fire. On the eighth day come together for a special service. Bring an offering that is made to me with fire. That special service is the closing service. Do not do any regular work on that day.


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" 'Those are my appointed feasts. Tell the people that they must come together for those sacred feasts. During those times, the people must bring offerings that are made to me with fire. They are burnt offerings and grain offerings. They are sacrifices and drink offerings. Each offering must be brought at its required time.


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" 'The feasts are in addition to my Sabbath days. The offerings are in addition to your gifts and anything you have promised. They are also in addition to all of the offerings you choose to give me.


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" 'Begin with the 15th day of the seventh month. That is after you have gathered your crops. On that day celebrate my Feast of Booths for seven days. The first day is a day of rest. The eighth day is also a day of rest.


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On the first day you must get the best fruit from the trees. You must also get palm leaves, leafy branches and poplar branches. You must be filled with joy in my sight for seven days. I am the Lord your God.


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" 'Celebrate my Feast of Booths for seven days each year. That is a law that will last for all time to come. Celebrate the feast in the seventh month.


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Then your children after you will know that I made the people of Israel live in booths. I made them do it after I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.' "


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"Command the people of Israel to bring you clear oil that is made from pressed olives. Use it to keep the lamps burning and giving light all the time.


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"Aaron must take care of the lamps in my sight from evening until morning all the time. That is a law that will last for all time to come. The lamps are outside the curtain that is in front of the tablets of the covenant in the Tent of Meeting.


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Place them in two rows. Put six loaves in each row on the table that is made out of pure gold. The table stands in front of me.


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"Along each row put some pure incense. It will remind you that all good things come from me. Burn the incense in place of the bread. The incense is an offering that is made to me with fire.


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"The bread must be set out in front of me regularly. Do it every Sabbath day. It will be Israel's duty to provide it for all time to come.


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"The bread belongs to Aaron and his sons. They must eat it in a holy place. It is a very holy part of their regular share of the offerings that are made to me with fire."


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There was a man who had an Israelite mother. His father was born in Egypt. The man went out among the people of Israel. A fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite.


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The son of the Israelite woman spoke evil things against the Lord by using a curse. So the people brought him to Moses. The name of the man's mother was Shelomith. She was the daughter of Dibri. Dibri was from the tribe of Dan.


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"Get the man who spoke evil things against me. Take him outside the camp. All those who heard him say those things must place their hands on his head. Then the whole community must kill him by throwing stones at him.


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If anyone speaks evil things against my Name, he must be put to death. The whole community must kill him by throwing stones at him. It does not matter whether he is an outsider or an Israelite. When he speaks evil things against my Name, he must be put to death.


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A bone must be broken for a bone. An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth. He must be hurt in the same way he hurt someone else.


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" 'If anyone kills an animal, he must pay its owner. But if he kills a human being, he must be put to death.


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Then Moses spoke to the people of Israel. They got the man who had spoken evil things against the Lord. They took him outside the camp. There they killed him by throwing stones at him. The people of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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"Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, 'You will enter the land I am going to give you. When you do, you must honor me every seventh year by not farming the land that year.


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" 'But the seventh year must be a sabbath for the land. The land must rest during it. It is a sabbath year in my honor. Do not plant your fields. Do not trim the branches in your vineyards.


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Do not gather what grows without being planted. And do not gather the grapes from the vines you have not taken care of. The land must have a year of rest.


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" 'Anything the land produces during the sabbath year will be food for you. It will be for you and your male and female servants. Your hired workers will eat it. So will people who live with you for a while.


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And so will your livestock and the wild animals that are in your land. Anything the land produces can be eaten.


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" 'Count off seven sabbaths of years. Count off seven times seven years. The seven sabbaths of years add up to a total of 49 years.


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The tenth day of the seventh month is the day when sin is paid for. On that day blow the trumpet all through your land.


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" 'Set the 50th year apart. Announce freedom all over the land to everyone who lives there. The 50th year will be a Year of Jubilee for you. Each of you must return to your own family property. And each of you must return to your own tribe.


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" 'The 50th year will be a Year of Jubilee for you. Do not plant anything. Do not gather what grows without being planted. And do not gather the grapes from the vines you have not taken care of.


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" 'Suppose you sell land to one of your own people. Or you buy land from him. Then do not take advantage of each other.


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The price you pay must be based on the number of years since the last Year of Jubilee. And the price you charge must be based on the number of years left for gathering crops before the next Year of Jubilee.


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" 'When there are many years left, you must raise the price. When there are only a few years left, you must lower the price. That is because what the man is really selling you is the number of crops the land will produce.


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The land will produce its fruit. You will eat as much as you want. And you will live there in safety.


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" 'Suppose you say, "In the seventh year we will not plant anything or gather our crops. So what will we eat?"


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While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat food from the old crop. You will continue to eat food from it until the crops from the ninth year are gathered.


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" 'The land must not be sold without a way of getting it back. That is because it belongs to me. You are only outsiders who rent my land.


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You must make sure that you can buy the land back. That applies to all of the land that belongs to you.


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" 'Suppose one of your own people becomes poor. And suppose he has to sell some of his land. Then his nearest relative must come and buy back what he has sold.


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" 'But suppose he does not have anyone to buy it back for him. And suppose things go well for him and he earns enough money to buy it back himself.


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Then he must decide how much the crops have become worth since the time he sold the land. He must take that amount off the price the land was sold for. He must give the man who is selling it back to him the money that is left. Then he can go back to his own property.


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" 'But suppose he has not earned enough money to pay the man back. Then the buyer he sold the land to will keep it until the Year of Jubilee. At that time it will be returned to him. Then he can go back to his property.


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" 'Suppose a man sells a house in a city that has a wall around it. Then for a full year after he sells it he has the right to buy it back.


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" 'But suppose he does not buy it back before the full year has passed. Then the house in the walled city will continue to belong to the buyer and his children after him. It will not be returned to the seller in the Year of Jubilee.


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" 'But houses in villages that do not have walls around them must be treated like property outside walled cities. Those houses can be bought back at any time. And they must be returned in the Year of Jubilee.


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So their property among the people of Israel can be bought back. That applies to a house that is sold in any of their towns. Any house that is sold must be returned to its original owner in the Year of Jubilee. That is because the houses of the Levites will always belong to them.


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" 'But the grasslands around their towns must never be sold. They will belong to them for all time to come.


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" 'Suppose one of your own people becomes poor. And suppose he can't take care of himself. Then help him just as you would help an outsider or someone who is living among you for a while. In that way, the man who is poor can continue to live among you.


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" 'Do not charge him interest of any kind. Instead, have respect for me. Then the man who has become poor can continue to live among you.


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If you lend him money, you must not charge him interest. And you must not sell him food for more than it cost you.


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" 'I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt. I did it to give you the land of Canaan. I wanted to be your God.


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" 'Suppose one of your own people becomes poor. And suppose he sells himself to you. Then do not make him work as a slave.


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You must treat him like a hired worker. Or you must treat him like someone who is living among you for a while. " 'He must work for you until the Year of Jubilee.


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Then he and his children must be set free. He will go back to his own tribe. He will go back to the property his people have always owned.


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" 'The people of Israel are my servants. I brought them out of Egypt. So they must not be sold as slaves.


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" 'You must get your male and female slaves from the nations that are around you. You can buy slaves from them.


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You can buy as slaves some of the people who are living among you for a while. You can also buy members of their families who were born among you. They will become your property.


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You can leave them to your children as their share of your property. You can make them slaves for life. But when you rule over your own people, you must be kind to them.


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" 'Suppose an outsider or someone who is living among you for a while becomes rich. Then suppose one of your own people becomes poor. He sells himself to the outsider who is living among you. Or he sells himself to a member of the outsider's family.


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Then he keeps the right to buy himself back after he has sold himself. One of his relatives can buy him back.


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An uncle or a cousin can buy himself back after he has sold himself. In fact, any relative in his tribe can do it. Or suppose things go well for him. Then he can buy himself back.


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" 'He and his buyer must count the number of years from the time of the sale up to the Year of Jubilee. The price for his freedom must be based on the amount that is paid to a hired man for that number of years.


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" 'Suppose there are many years until the Year of Jubilee. Then for his freedom he must pay a larger share of the price that was paid for him.


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But suppose there are only a few years left until the Year of Jubilee. Then he must count the number of years that are left. The payment for his freedom must be based on that number.


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" 'He must be treated as if he had been hired from year to year. You must make sure that his owner is kind to him when he rules over him.


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" 'Suppose he is not bought back in any of those ways. Then he and his children must still be set free in the Year of Jubilee.


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That is because the people of Israel belong to me. They are my servants. I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord their God.


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" 'Do not make statues of gods for yourselves. Do not set up a likeness of a god or a sacred stone for yourselves. Do not place a carved stone in your land and bow down in front of it. I am the Lord your God.


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Then I will send you rain at the right time. The ground will produce its crops. The trees of the field will bear their fruit.


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You will continue to thresh your grain until you gather your grapes. You will continue to gather your grapes until you plant your crops. You will have all you want to eat. And you will live in safety in your land.


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" 'I will give you peace in the land. You will sleep, and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild animals from the land. There will not be any war in your country.


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Five of you will chase 100. And 100 of you will chase 10,000. You will kill your enemies with your swords.


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" 'I will look with favor on you. I will give you many children and increase your numbers. And I will keep my covenant with you.


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You will still be eating last year's crops when you have to move them out to make room for new crops.


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I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt. I did not want you to be slaves in Egypt anymore. I threw off your heavy load. I helped you walk with your heads held high.


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You will say no to my rules and turn away from my laws. And you will break my covenant by failing to carry out all of my commands.


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Then here is what I will do to you. All at once I will bring terror on you. I will send sicknesses that will make you weak. I will send fever that will destroy your sight. It will slowly take your life away. When you plant seeds, it will not do you any good. Instead, your enemies will eat what you have planted.


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I will turn against you. Then your enemies will win the battle over you. Those who hate you will rule over you. You will run away even when no one is chasing you.


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" 'After all of that, suppose you still will not listen to me. Then I will punish you for your sins seven times.


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I will break down your stubborn pride. I will make the sky above you like iron, and it will not rain. I will make the ground under you like bronze, and you will not be able to farm it.


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You will work with all of your strength, but it will not do you any good. That is because your soil will not produce any crops. The trees of the land will not bear any fruit.


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" 'Suppose you continue to be my enemy. And suppose you still refuse to listen to me. Then I will multiply your troubles many times because of your sins.


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I will send wild animals against you. They will kill your children. They will destroy your cattle. There will be so few of you left that your roads will be deserted.


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" 'After all of those things, suppose you still do not accept my warnings. And suppose you continue to be my enemy.


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I will send war against you to punish you for breaking my covenant. When you go back into your cities, I will send a plague among you. You will be handed over to your enemies.


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I will cut off your supply of bread. Ten women will need only one oven to bake your bread. They will weigh out the bread piece by piece. Even when you eat all of it, it will not be enough to satisfy you.


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" 'After all of that, suppose you still do not listen to me. And suppose you continue to be my enemy.


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Then I will be angry with you. I will be your enemy. I myself will again punish you for your sins over and over.


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" 'I will destroy the high places where you worship other gods. I will pull down your incense altars. I will pile up your dead bodies on the lifeless statues of your gods. And I will turn away from you.


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I will completely destroy your cities. I will destroy your places of worship. The pleasant smell of your offerings will not give me any delight.


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I will scatter you among the nations. I will pull out my sword and hunt you down. Your land and your cities will be completely destroyed.


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" 'Then the deserted land will enjoy its sabbath years. It will rest. It will not be farmed. It will enjoy its sabbaths. But you will become prisoners in the country of your enemies.


text:
The land will rest the whole time it is deserted. It was not able to rest during the sabbaths you lived in it.


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" 'Some of you will be left in the lands of your enemies. I will fill your hearts with fear. The sound of a leaf that is blown by the wind will scare you away. You will run as if you were escaping from swords. You will fall down, even though no one is chasing you.


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You will trip over one another as if you were running away from the battle. You will run away, even though no one is chasing you. You will not be able to stand and fight against your enemies.


text:
" 'While you are still scattered among the nations, you will die. The lands of your enemies will destroy you.


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You who are left in those lands will become weaker and weaker. You will die because of your sins and the sins of your parents.


text:
" 'But suppose you admit that you and your parents have sinned. You admit the evil and dishonest things you have done against me. And you admit you have become my enemy.


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What you did made me become your enemy. I let your enemies take you into their land. But suppose you stop being stubborn. You stop being proud. And you pay for your sin.


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Then I will remember my covenant with Jacob. I will remember my covenant with Isaac. I will remember my covenant with Abraham. I will remember what I said to them about the land.


text:
" 'You will leave the land. It will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies deserted because you are not there. You will pay for your sins because you said no to my laws. You turned away from my rules.


text:
" 'But even after all of that, I will not say no to you or turn away from you. I will not destroy you completely in the land of your enemies. I will not break my covenant with you. I am the Lord your God.


text:
Because of you, I will remember the covenant I made with the people of Israel who lived before you. I brought them out of Egypt to be their God. The nations saw me do it. I am the Lord.' "


text:
Those are the orders, the laws and the rules of the covenant the Lord made on Mount Sinai. He made it between himself and the people of Israel through Moses.


text:
"Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, 'Suppose someone makes a special promise to set a person apart to serve me. Here is how much it will cost to set that person free from the promise to serve.


text:
" 'The cost for a male between the ages of 20 and 60 is 20 ounces of silver. It must be weighed out in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent.


text:
" 'The cost for a male between the ages of five and 20 is eight ounces of silver. The cost for a female of the same age is four ounces of silver.


text:
" 'The cost for a male between the ages of one month and five years is two ounces of silver. The cost for a female of the same age is one and a fourth ounces of silver.


text:
" 'The cost for a male who is 60 years old or more is six ounces of silver. The cost for a female of the same age is four ounces of silver.


text:
" 'But suppose the one who makes the special promise is too poor to pay the required amount. Then he must bring to the priest the person who will be set free. The priest will decide the right value for that person. It will be based on how much the one who makes the promise can afford.


text:
" 'Suppose what he promised is an animal that I will accept as an offering. Then the animal that is given to me becomes holy.


text:
The one who makes the promise must not trade it. He must not trade a good animal for a bad one. And he must not trade a bad animal for a good one. Suppose he chooses one animal instead of another. Then both animals become holy.


text:
" 'Suppose the animal he promised is not "clean." Suppose I will not accept it as an offering. Then the animal must be brought to the priest.


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" 'Suppose a man sets his house apart as something that is holy to me. Then the priest will decide whether it is good or bad. Its value will remain what he decides it will be.


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Suppose the man sets his house apart. And suppose later he wants to buy it back. Then he must add a fifth to its value. The house will belong to him again.


text:
" 'Suppose a man sets apart a piece of his family's land to me. Then its value must be decided based on the number of seeds that are required to grow a full crop on it. That value will be 20 ounces of silver for every six bushels of barley seeds.


text:
" 'Suppose he sets his field apart during the Year of Jubilee. Then the value that has been decided will not be changed.


text:
But suppose he sets his field apart after the Year of Jubilee. Then the priest will decide its value based on the number of years that are left until the next Year of Jubilee. The value that was decided will be reduced.


text:
" 'Suppose the man who sets his field apart wants to buy it back. Then he must add a fifth to its value. The field will belong to him again.


text:
But suppose he does not buy the field back. Instead, suppose he sells it to someone else. Then he can never buy it back.


text:
" 'When the field is set free in the Year of Jubilee, it will become holy. It will be like a field that is set apart to me. It will become the property of the priests.


text:
" 'Suppose a man sets apart to me a field he has bought. And suppose it is not part of his family's land.


text:
Then the priest will decide its value based on the number of years that are left until the Year of Jubilee. The man must pay that value on the day it is decided. The money is holy. It is set apart for me.


text:
" 'In the Year of Jubilee the field will go back to the person the man bought it from. That person is the one who had owned the land before.


text:
" 'Every amount of money must be weighed out in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent.


text:
" 'But no one can set apart the first male animal that is born to its mother. That animal already belongs to me. It does not matter whether it is an ox or a sheep. It belongs to me.


text:
" 'Suppose it is an animal that is not "clean." Then the owner may buy it back at the value that has been decided. And he must add a fifth to its value. But suppose he does not buy it back. Then it must be sold at the value that has been decided.


text:
" 'But nothing a man owns and sets apart to me can be sold or bought back. It does not matter whether it is a person or an animal or a family's land. Everything that is set apart to me is very holy to me.


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" 'No one who is set apart in a special way to be destroyed can be bought back. He must be put to death.


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" 'A tenth of everything the land produces belongs to me. That includes grain from the soil and fruit from the trees. It is holy. It is set apart for me.


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" 'The whole tenth of his herds and flocks will be holy. They will be set apart for me. That includes every tenth animal that its shepherd marks with his wooden staff.


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The owner must not pick out the good animals from the bad. He must not choose one animal instead of another. But if he does, both animals become holy. They can't be bought back.' "


text:
The Lord spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting. It happened in the Desert of Sinai. The Lord spoke to him on the first day of the second month. It was the second year after the people of Israel came out of Egypt. The Lord said,


text:
"Count all of the men of Israel. Make a list of them by their tribes and families. List every man by name. List them one by one.


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Count all of the men who are able to serve in the army. They must be 20 years old or more. I want you and Aaron to make a list of them company by company.


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"Here are the names of the men who must help you. "From the tribe of Reuben will come Elizur, the son of Shedeur.


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From the tribe of Ephraim will come Elishama, the son of Ammihud. From the tribe of Manasseh will come Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur. Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph's two sons.


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Those were the men who were appointed from the community. They were the leaders of the tribes of their people. They were the heads of the major families in Israel.


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Then Moses and Aaron gathered all of the men of Israel together. It was the first day of the second month. The men announced the tribe and family they belonged to. Those who were 20 years old or more were listed by name. They were listed one by one.


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Everything was done just as the Lord had commanded Moses. So Moses counted them in the Desert of Sinai.


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Here is the number of men from the tribe of Reuben, Israel's oldest son. All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed one by one. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families.


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Here is the number of men from the tribe of Simeon. All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed one by one. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families.


text:
Here is the number of men from the tribe of Gad. All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families.


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Here is the number of men from the tribe of Judah. All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families.


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Here is the number of men from the tribe of Issachar. All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families.


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Here is the number of men from the tribe of Zebulun. All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families.


text:
Here is the number of men from the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Joseph. All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families.


text:
Here is the number of men from the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families.


text:
Here is the number of men from the tribe of Benjamin. All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families.


text:
Here is the number of men from the tribe of Dan. All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families.


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Here is the number of men from the tribe of Asher. All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families.


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Here is the number of men from the tribe of Naphtali. All of the men who were able to serve in the army were counted. They were 20 years old or more. They were listed by name. They were listed in keeping with the records of their tribes and families.


text:
Those were the men Moses and Aaron counted. The 12 leaders of Israel helped them. There was one leader from each tribe.


text:
The men who were counted were able to serve in Israel's army. All of them were 20 years old or more. They were counted family by family.


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"You must not count the men from the tribe of Levi. Do not include them when you list the other men of Israel.


text:
"Instead, put the Levites in charge of the holy tent. That is where the tablets of the covenant are kept. The Levites will be in charge of everything that belongs to the holy tent. They must carry the tent and everything that belongs to it. They must take care of it. They must set up camp around it.


text:
"When the holy tent must be moved, the Levites must take it down. And when the tent must be set up, the Levites must do it. Anyone else who goes near it will be put to death.


text:
"The people of Israel must set up their tents by companies. All of them must be in their own camps under their own flags.


text:
"But the Levites must set up their tents around the holy tent where the tablets of the covenant are kept. Then my anger will not fall on the community of Israel. The Levites will be held accountable for taking care of the tent."


text:
"The people of Israel must camp around the Tent of Meeting. But they must not camp too close to it. All of them must camp under their flags and under the banners of their families."


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The companies of the camp of Judah must be on the east side. They must set up camp toward the sunrise. They must camp under their flag. The leader of the tribe of Judah is Nahshon, the son of Amminadab.


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The tribe of Issachar will camp next to them. The leader of the tribe of Issachar is Nethanel, the son of Zuar.


text:
So a total of 186,400 men will be set apart for the camp of Judah. They will be arranged company by company. They will start out first.


text:
The companies of the camp of Reuben will be on the south side. They will be under their flag. The leader of the tribe of Reuben is Elizur, the son of Shedeur.


text:
The tribe of Simeon will camp next to them. The leader of the tribe of Simeon is Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai.


text:
So a total of 151,450 men will be set apart for the camp of Reuben. They will be arranged company by company. They will start out second.


text:
Then the camp of the Levites will start out. The Tent of Meeting will go with them. They will march in the middle of the other camps. They will start out in the same order as they do when they set up camp. Each one will be in his own place under his flag.


text:
The companies of the camp of Ephraim will be on the west side. They will be under their flag. The leader of the tribe of Ephraim is Elishama, the son of Ammihud.


text:
The tribe of Manasseh will be next to them. The leader of the tribe of Manasseh is Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur.


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The tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the tribe of Benjamin is Abidan, the son of Gideoni.


text:
So a total of 108,100 men will be set apart for the camp of Ephraim. They will be arranged company by company. They will start out third.


text:
The companies of the camp of Dan will be on the north side. They will be under their flag. The leader of the tribe of Dan is Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai.


text:
The tribe of Asher will camp next to them. The leader of the tribe of Asher is Pagiel, the son of Ocran.


text:
So a total of 157,600 men will be set apart for the camp of Dan. They will start out last. They will march under their flags.


text:
Those are the men of Israel. They were counted in keeping with their families. The total number of all of the men who were in the camps is 603,550, company by company.


text:
But the Levites weren't counted along with the other men of Israel. That's what the Lord had commanded Moses.


text:
So the people of Israel did everything the Lord had commanded Moses. That's the way they set up camp under their flags. And that's the way they started out. Each man marched out with his own tribe and family.


text:
Here is the story of the family of Aaron and Moses. It belongs to the time when the Lord talked with Moses on Mount Sinai.


text:
Those were the names of Aaron's sons. They were the anointed priests. They were prepared to serve the Lord as priests.


text:
But Nadab and Abihu made an offering to the Lord by using fire that wasn't allowed. So they fell dead in front of him. That happened in the Desert of Sinai. They didn't have any sons. Only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests while their father Aaron was living.


text:
They must work at the Tent of Meeting for Aaron and for the whole community. They must do what needs to be done at the holy tent.


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They must take care of everything that is connected with the Tent of Meeting. When they do, they are acting for all of the people of Israel.


text:
Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons. They are the men of Israel who must be given completely to him.


text:
"Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests. Anyone else who approaches the sacred tent must be put to death."


text:
"I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel. I have taken them in place of the oldest son who is born to each woman in Israel. The Levites belong to me.


text:
That is because every male that is born first to a mother is mine. In Egypt I struck down all of the males that were born first. I did it when I set apart for myself every male that is born first to a mother in Israel. That is true for men and animals alike. They belong to me. I am the Lord."


text:
Here are the duties of the families of Gershon at the Tent of Meeting. They were held accountable for taking care of the holy tent and its coverings. They took care of the curtain at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.


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They took care of the curtains of the courtyard. They took care of the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. The courtyard was all around the holy tent and altar. They also took care of the ropes. In fact, they had to take care of everything that was connected with the use of all of those things.


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All of the males who were a month old or more were counted. There were 8,600 of them. The families of Kohath were held accountable for taking care of the sacred tent.


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They were held accountable for taking care of the ark of the covenant. They took care of the table for the holy bread. They took care of the lampstand and the two altars. They took care of the articles that were used for serving in the sacred tent. They also took care of the inner curtain. In fact, they had to take care of everything that was connected with the use of all of those things.


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The chief leader of the Levites was Eleazar. He was the son of the priest Aaron. Eleazar was appointed over those who were held accountable for taking care of the sacred tent.


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The leader of the families of Merari was Zuriel, the son of Abihail. They had to camp on the north side of the holy tent.


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They were appointed to take care of the frames of the tent. They took care of its crossbars, posts and bases. They took care of all of its supplies. In fact, they had to take care of everything that was connected with the use of all of those things.


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They also took care of the posts of the courtyard that was around the holy tent. And they took care of the bases, tent stakes and ropes.


text:
Moses, Aaron and Aaron's sons had to camp to the east of the holy tent. They had to camp toward the sunrise in front of the Tent of Meeting. They were held accountable for taking care of the sacred tent. They had to do it for the people of Israel. Anyone else who approached the tent would be put to death.


text:
The total number of the Levites was 22,000. They were counted family by family. Every male who was a month old or more was counted. Moses and Aaron counted them, just as the Lord had commanded.


text:
The Lord said to Moses, "Count the males among the people of Israel who were the oldest sons born in their families. Count all those who are a month old or more. Make a list of their names.


text:
Take the Levites for me in their place. And take the livestock of the Levites in place of all of the male animals in Israel that were born first to their mothers. I am the Lord."


text:
"Take the Levites in place of all the males who were born first in Israel. Also take the livestock of the Levites in place of the livestock of Israel. The Levites belong to me. I am the Lord.


text:
Collect two ounces of silver for each of them. Weigh it out in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent.


text:
So Moses collected the silver from the additional sons in Israel to buy their freedom. The Levites took the place of all of the others.


text:
Moses collected 35 pounds of silver. It was weighed out in keeping with the weights that are used in the sacred tent. Moses collected it from the oldest sons in Israel.


text:
Count all of the men who are from 30 to 50 years old. Those are the men who must come and serve at the Tent of Meeting.


text:
"Here is the work the men of Kohath must do at the Tent of Meeting. They must take care of the things that are very holy.


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"When the camp is ready to move, Aaron and his sons must go into the tent. They must take down the curtain that screens the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. They must cover the ark with the curtain.


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Then they must cover that with the hides of sea cows. They must spread a solid blue cloth over the hides. And they must put the poles in place.


text:
"They must spread a blue cloth over the table for the holy bread. They must put the plates, dishes and bowls on the cloth. They must also put the jars for drink offerings on it. The bread that is always kept there must remain on it.


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They must spread a bright red cloth over everything. Then they must cover that with the hides of sea cows. And they must put the poles of the table in place.


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"They must get a blue cloth. With it they must cover the lampstand that gives light. They must also cover its lamps, trays and wick cutters. And they must cover all of its jars. The jars are for the olive oil that is used in the lampstand.


text:
Then Aaron and his sons must wrap the lampstand and all of the things that are used with it. They must cover it with the hides of sea cows. And they must put it on a frame to carry it.


text:
"They must spread a blue cloth over the gold altar for burning incense. They must cover that with the hides of sea cows. And they must put the poles of the altar in place.


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"They must get all of the articles that are used for serving in the sacred tent. They must wrap them in a blue cloth. They must cover that with the hides of sea cows. Then they must put the articles on a frame to carry them.


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"They must remove the ashes from the bronze altar for burnt offerings. They must spread a purple cloth over it.


text:
Then they must place all of the tools on it. The tools are used for serving at the altar. They include the pans for carrying ashes. They also include the meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Aaron and his sons must cover the altar with the hides of sea cows. And they must put its poles in place.


text:
"Aaron and his sons must cover all of the holy articles that belong to the holy tent. Then the men of Kohath must get ready to carry everything. They must do it when the camp is ready to move. But they must not touch the holy things. If they do, they will die. The men of Kohath must carry everything that is in the Tent of Meeting.


text:
"The priest Eleazar will be in charge of the olive oil for the light. He is the son of Aaron. Eleazar will be in charge of the sweet-smelling incense. He will be in charge of the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He will be in charge of the entire holy tent. He will also be in charge of everything that is in it. That includes all of the articles that belong to the tent."


text:
I want them to live and not die when they come near the very holy things. So here is what you must do for them. Aaron and his sons must go into the sacred tent and tell each man what to do. They must tell each man what to carry.


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But the men of Kohath must not go in and look at the holy things. They must not look at them even for a moment. If they do, they will die."


text:
They must carry the curtains of the holy Tent of Meeting. They must carry its covering and the outside covering of the hides of sea cows. They must carry the curtains that cover the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.


text:
They must carry the curtains of the courtyard. The courtyard is all around the holy tent and altar. They must carry the curtain for the entrance. They must carry the ropes. They must also carry all of the supplies that are used for any purpose in the tent. The men of Gershon must do everything that needs to be done with those things.


text:
"All of their work must be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. That includes carrying and everything else they do. Aaron and his sons must tell them what to carry. And that will be their work.


text:
It is what the Gershon families must do at the Tent of Meeting. They must work under the direction of the priest Ithamar. He is the son of Aaron.


text:
"Here is the work they must do at the Tent of Meeting. They must carry the frames of the holy tent. They must carry its crossbars, posts and bases.


text:
They must also carry the posts of the courtyard. The courtyard is all around the holy tent. And they must carry the bases for the posts as well as their tent stakes and ropes. They must also carry all of the supplies and everything that is connected with their use. Tell each man exactly what to carry.


text:
That is the work the Merari families must do at the Tent of Meeting. They must work under the direction of the priest Ithamar. He is the son of Aaron."


text:
Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the men of Kohath. They counted them family by family.


text:
They counted all of the men who were from 30 to 50 years old. Those were the men who came and served at the Tent of Meeting.


text:
That was the total of all of the men in the Kohath families who served at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them. They did just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.


text:
All of the men who were from 30 to 50 years old were counted. They were the men who came and served at the Tent of Meeting.


text:
That was the total of the men in the Gershon families who served at the Tent of Meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them. They did just as the Lord had commanded.


text:
That was the total of the men in the Merari families. Moses and Aaron counted them. They did just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.


text:
So Moses and Aaron counted all of the Levites. The leaders of Israel helped them. They counted the Levites family by family.


text:
All of the men who were from 30 to 50 years old were counted. They were the men who came and served at the Tent of Meeting. They were also supposed to carry it.


text:
Everything was done as the Lord had commanded through Moses. Each man was given his work. And each one was told what to carry. So they were counted, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.


text:
"Tell the Israelites that certain people must be sent away from the camp. Command them to send away anyone who has a skin disease. They must send away all those who have a liquid waste coming from their bodies. And they must send away those who are not 'clean' because they have touched a dead body.


text:
That applies to men and women alike. Send them out of the camp. They must not make their camp 'unclean.' That is where I live among them."


text:
So the people of Israel did what the Lord commanded. They sent those who were not "clean" out of the camp. They did just as the Lord had directed Moses.


text:
"Speak to the people of Israel. Say to them, 'Suppose a man or woman does something wrong to someone else. Then that person is not being faithful to the Lord. People like that are guilty.


text:
" 'They must admit they have committed a sin. They must pay in full for what they did wrong. And they must add a fifth to it. Then they must give all of it to the person they have sinned against.


text:
" 'But suppose the person has died. And suppose there is not a close relative who can be paid for the sin that was committed. Then what is paid belongs to the Lord. It must be given to the priest. A ram must be given along with it. The ram must be sacrificed to the Lord to pay for the sin.


text:
Sacred gifts belong to the man who gives them. But what he gives to a priest will belong to the priest.' "


text:
"Speak to the people of Israel. Say to them, 'Suppose a man's wife goes down the wrong path. And suppose she is not faithful to him.


text:
She has sex with another man. And suppose what she has done is hidden from her husband. No one knows she is not "clean." So there is no witness against her. And she has not been caught in the act.


text:
" 'Suppose her husband becomes jealous. He does not trust his wife, and she is really not "clean." Or suppose he does not trust her even though she is "clean."


text:
Then he must take his wife to the priest. " 'He must also bring an offering. It must be eight cups of barley flour. The offering is for his wife. He must not pour olive oil on it. And he must not put incense on it. It is a grain offering for being jealous. It calls attention to a person's guilt.


text:
He must pour some holy water into a clay jar. He must get some dust from the floor of the holy tent. And he must put it into the water.


text:
The priest must have the woman stand in front of the Lord. Then he must untie her hair. He must place in her hands the offering that calls attention to a person's guilt. It is the grain offering for being jealous. The priest must keep the bitter water with him. It is the water that brings a curse.


text:
" 'Then the priest must have the woman take an oath. He must say to her, "Suppose no other man has had sex with you. And suppose you haven't gone down the wrong path. You have kept yourself pure while you are married to your husband. Then may the bitter water that brings a curse not harm you.


text:
But suppose you have gone down the wrong path while you are married to your husband. You have made yourself 'unclean.' You have had sex with a man who isn't your husband."


text:
" 'At that point the priest must put the woman under the curse of the oath. He must say, "May the Lord cause your people to call a curse down on you. May he cause them to speak against you. May they do it when the Lord makes your body unable to have children.


text:
May this water that brings a curse enter your body. May it make your body unable to have children." " 'Then the woman must say, "Amen. Let it happen."


text:
It is the water he will have the woman drink. It is bitter water that brings a curse. It will enter her body. And it will cause her to suffer bitterly.


text:
" 'The priest must take from her hands the grain offering for being jealous. He must lift it up and wave it in front of the Lord. He must bring it to the altar.


text:
Then the priest must take a handful of the grain offering. It is the offering that calls attention to a person's guilt. He must burn it on the altar. After that, he must have the woman drink the water.


text:
" 'Suppose she has made herself "unclean." She has not been faithful to her husband. And she has drunk the water that brings a curse. Then it will go into her body. It will cause her to suffer bitterly. It will make her body unable to have children. Her people will call a curse down on her.


text:
" 'But suppose the woman has not made herself "unclean." And suppose she is free from anything that is not "clean." Then she will be free of guilt. And she will be able to have children.


text:
" 'That is the law about being jealous. It applies to a woman who has gone down the wrong path. She has made herself "unclean" while she is married to her husband.


text:
And it applies to a man who becomes jealous. He has doubts about his wife. The priest must have her stand in front of the Lord. He must apply the entire law to her.


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The husband will not be guilty of doing anything wrong. But the woman will be punished for her sin.' "


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"Speak to the people of Israel. Say to them, 'Suppose a man or woman wants to make a special promise. They want to set themselves apart to the Lord for a certain period of time. They want to be Nazirites.


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" 'Then they must not drink any kind of wine. They must not drink vinegar that is made out of wine of any kind. They must not drink grape juice. They must not eat grapes or raisins.


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As long as they are Nazirites, they must not eat anything grapevines produce. They must not even eat the seeds or skins of grapes.


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" 'They must not use razors on their heads. They must not cut their hair during the whole time they have set themselves apart to the Lord. They must be holy until that time is over. They must let the hair on their heads grow long.


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" 'But what if their father or mother dies? Or what if their brother or sister dies? Then they must not make themselves "unclean" because of them. The hair on their heads shows they are set apart for God.


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" 'Suppose someone dies suddenly in front of them. That makes the hair they have set apart to the Lord "unclean." So they must shave their heads on the day they will be made "clean." That is the seventh day.


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" 'Then on the eighth day they must bring two doves. Or they can bring two young pigeons. They must bring them to the priest. He will be at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.


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The priest must offer one of the birds as a sin offering. And he must offer the other as a burnt offering. The sacrifices will pay for the sin of the Nazirite man or woman. They sinned by being near a dead body. That same day they must set their heads apart as holy.


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" 'They must set themselves apart to the Lord again. They must do it for the same period of time they had agreed to at first. And they must bring a male lamb that is a year old as a guilt offering. The days before that day do not count. That is because they became "unclean" during the time they were set apart.


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" 'The time when the Nazirites are set apart will come to an end. Here is the law that applies to them at that time. They must be brought to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.


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" 'There they must sacrifice their offerings to the Lord. They must bring a male lamb that is a year old. It must not have any flaws. It is for a burnt offering. Then they must bring a female lamb that is a year old. It must not have any flaws. It is for a sin offering. And they must bring a ram that does not have any flaws. It is for a friendship offering.


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" 'They must sacrifice the offerings together with their grain offerings and drink offerings. And they must also bring a basket of bread that is made without yeast. The offering must include flat cakes that are made out of fine flour mixed with olive oil. And it must include wafers that are spread with oil.


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" 'The priest must bring all of those things to the Lord. He must sacrifice the sin offering and the burnt offering.


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He must bring the basket of bread that is made without yeast. And he must sacrifice the ram. It will be a friendship offering to the Lord. The priest must bring it together with its grain offering and drink offering.


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" 'Then the Nazirites must shave off the hair they had set apart to the Lord. They must do it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. And they must put the hair in the fire that burns the sacrifice of the friendship offering.


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" 'After the Nazirites have shaved off their hair, the priest must take a boiled shoulder of the ram. He must remove a cake and a wafer from the basket. They must be made without yeast. And he must place the shoulder and the bread in the hands of the Nazirites.


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" 'Then he must lift up the shoulder and bread and wave them in front of the Lord. They are a wave offering. They are holy. They belong to the priest. The breast that was waved belongs to him. The thigh that was offered belongs to him too. After the offering is waved, the Nazirites can drink wine.


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" 'That is the law of the Nazirites. They promise to sacrifice offerings to the Lord. They do it when they set themselves apart. And they should bring anything else they can afford. They must carry out the promises they have made. They must do it in keeping with the law of the Nazirites.' "


text:
Moses finished setting up the holy tent. Then he anointed it with olive oil. He set it apart to the Lord. He did the same thing with everything that belonged to it. He also anointed the altar. And he set apart to the Lord the altar and all of its tools.


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Then the leaders of Israel brought their offerings. The leaders were the heads of the families. They were the leaders of the tribes. They were in charge of the men who had been counted.


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They brought gifts to the Lord. They brought six covered carts and 12 oxen. Each leader gave an ox. And every two leaders gave a cart. They put their gifts in front of the holy tent.


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"Accept the gifts from the leaders. I want their gifts to be used in the work at the Tent of Meeting. Give them to the Levites. They need them to do their work."


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He gave two carts and four oxen to the men from the family of Gershon. They needed them to do their work.


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He gave four carts and eight oxen to the men from the family of Merari. They needed them to do their work. All of those men were under the direction of the priest Ithamar, the son of Aaron.


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But Moses didn't give any carts or oxen to the men from the family of Kohath. They had to carry the holy things on their shoulders. They were accountable for the holy things.


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When the altar was anointed, the leaders brought their offerings. They placed them in front of the altar. They brought their offerings to set the altar apart.


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The Lord had spoken to Moses. He had said, "Each day one leader must bring his offering. He must bring it to set the altar apart."


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On the first day Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, brought his offering. Nahshon was from the tribe of Judah.


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He brought one silver plate and one silver sprinkling bowl. The plate weighed three pounds four ounces. The sprinkling bowl weighed one pound 12 ounces. They were weighed in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. Each plate and bowl was filled with fine flour that was mixed with olive oil. It was a grain offering.


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Nahshon brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering.


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He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering. That was everything that Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, brought as his offering.


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On the second day Nethanel, the son of Zuar, brought his offering. Nethanel was the leader of the tribe of Issachar.


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He brought one silver plate and one silver sprinkling bowl. The silver plate weighed three pounds four ounces. The sprinkling bowl weighed one pound 12 ounces. Both were weighed in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. Each plate and bowl was filled with fine flour that was mixed with olive oil. It was a grain offering.


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Nethanel brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering.


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He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering. That was everything that Nethanel, the son of Zuar, brought as his offering.


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On the third day Eliab, the son of Helon, brought his offering. Eliab was the leader of the people of Zebulun.


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Eliab brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering.


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He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering. That was everything that Eliab, the son of Helon, brought as his offering.


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On the fourth day Elizur, the son of Shedeur, brought his offering. Elizur was the leader of the people of Reuben.


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Elizur brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering.


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He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering. That was everything that Elizur, the son of Shedeur, brought as his offering.


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On the fifth day Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, brought his offering. Shelumiel was the leader of the people of Simeon.


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He brought one silver plate and one silver sprinkling bowl. The plate weighed three pounds four ounces. The sprinkling bowl weighed one pound 12 ounces. They were weighed in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent. Each plate and bowl were filled with fine flour that was mixed with olive oil. It was a grain offering.


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Shelumiel brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering.


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He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering. That was everything that Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, brought as his offering.


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On the sixth day Eliasaph, the son of Deuel, brought his offering. Eliasaph was the leader of the people of Gad.


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Eliasaph brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering.


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He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering. That was everything that Eliasaph, the son of Deuel, brought as his offering.


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On the seventh day Elishama, the son of Ammihud, brought his offering. Elishama was the leader of the people of Ephraim.


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Elishama brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering.


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He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering. That was everything that Elishama, the son of Ammihud, brought as his offering.


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On the eighth day Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, brought his offering. Gamaliel was the leader of the people of Manasseh.


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Gamaliel brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering.


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He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering. That was everything that Gamaliel, the son of Pedahzur, brought as his offering.


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On the ninth day Abidan, the son of Gideoni, brought his offering. Abidan was the leader of the people of Benjamin.


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Abidan brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering.


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He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering. That was everything that Abidan, the son of Gideoni, brought as his offering.


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On the tenth day Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, brought his offering. Ahiezer was the leader of the people of Dan.


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Ahiezer brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering.


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He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering. That was everything that Ahiezer, the son of Ammishaddai, brought as his offering.


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On the eleventh day Pagiel, the son of Ocran, brought his offering. Pagiel was the leader of the people of Asher.


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Pagiel brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering.


text:
He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering. That was everything that Pagiel, the son of Ocran, brought as his offering.


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On the twelfth day Ahira, the son of Enan, brought his offering. Ahira was the leader of the people of Naphtali.


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Ahira brought one young bull, one ram, and one male lamb that was a year old. They would be sacrificed as a burnt offering.


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He brought two oxen, five rams and five male goats. He also brought five male lambs that were a year old. All of them would be sacrificed as a friendship offering. That was everything that Ahira, the son of Enan, brought as his offering.


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Those were the offerings the leaders of the people of Israel brought. They gave them to set the altar apart when it was anointed with olive oil. They gave 12 silver plates, 12 silver sprinkling bowls and 12 gold dishes.


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Each silver plate weighed three pounds four ounces. Each sprinkling bowl weighed one pound 12 ounces. The total weight of the silver dishes was 60 pounds. Everything was weighed in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent.


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Each of the 12 gold dishes weighed four ounces. They were filled with incense. They were weighed in keeping with the weights used in the sacred tent. The total weight of the gold dishes was three pounds.


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The leaders brought 12 young bulls, 12 rams and 12 male lambs that were a year old. That was the total number of animals they gave for the burnt offering. They gave them together with the grain offering. They brought 12 male goats for the sin offering.


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The leaders brought 24 oxen, 60 rams, 60 male goats and 60 male lambs that were a year old. That was the total number of animals that were sacrificed as the friendship offering. Those were the offerings they brought to set the altar apart. The leaders brought them after the altar was anointed with oil.


text:
Moses entered the Tent of Meeting. He wanted to speak with the Lord. There Moses heard the Lord talking to him. The Lord's voice was speaking to him from between the two cherubim. The cherubim were over the place where sin is paid for. It was the cover on the ark where the tablets of the covenant were kept. The Lord spoke with Moses there.


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"Speak to Aaron. Say to him, 'Set up the seven lamps. They will give light to the area that is in front of the lampstand.' "


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So Aaron did it. He set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand. He did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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The lampstand was made out of hammered gold. From its base to its blooms it was made out of hammered gold. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern the Lord had shown Moses.


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Here is how to make them pure. Sprinkle the special water on them. Then have them shave their whole bodies. Also have them wash their clothes. That is how they will make themselves pure.


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"Have them get a young bull along with its grain offering. The offering must be made out of fine flour mixed with olive oil. Then you must get a second young bull. You must sacrifice it as a sin offering.


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"Bring the Levites to the front of the Tent of Meeting. Gather the whole community of Israel together.


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Aaron must bring the Levites to me. They are a wave offering from the people of Israel. That is how they will be set apart to do my work.


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"I want the Levites to place their hands on the heads of the bulls. Then they must sacrifice one bull as a sin offering to me. And they must sacrifice the other as a burnt offering. The blood of the bulls will pay for the sin of the Levites.


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That is how I want you to set the Levites apart from the other men of Israel. The Levites will belong to me.


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"Make the Levites pure. Give them to me as a wave offering. Then they must come to do their work at the Tent of Meeting.


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They are the men of Israel who will be given to me completely. I have taken them to be my own. I have taken them in place of every son who is born first in his family in Israel.


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"Every male that is born first in Israel belongs to me. That is true whether it is a man or an animal. I struck down all of the males that were born first to a mother in Egypt. Then I set apart for myself all of the males that were born first in Israel.


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"I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons. I have taken them from all of the men of Israel. I have appointed them to do the work at the Tent of Meeting. They will do it in place of the men of Israel. "That is how they will keep the men of Israel from being guilty when they go near the sacred tent. Then no plague will strike the people of Israel when they go near the tent."


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So Moses and Aaron and the whole community of Israel did with the Levites just as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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The Levites made themselves pure. They washed their clothes. Then Aaron gave them to the Lord as a wave offering. That's how he paid for their sin to make them pure.


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After that, the Levites came to do their work at the Tent of Meeting. They worked under the direction of Aaron and his sons. And so Moses and Aaron and the whole community of Israel did with the Levites just as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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"Here is what the Levites must do. Men who are 25 years old or more must come and take part in the work at the Tent of Meeting.


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"But when they reach the age of 50, they must not work any longer. They must stop doing their regular work.


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They can help their brothers with their duties at the Tent of Meeting. But they themselves should not do the work. That is how you must direct the Levites to do their work."


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The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai. It was the first month of the second year after the people came out of Egypt. He said,


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They did it in the Desert of Sinai. They celebrated it when the sun went down on the 14th day of the first month. The people of Israel did everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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But some of them couldn't celebrate the Passover Feast on that day. That's because they weren't "clean." They had gone near a dead body. So they came to Moses and Aaron that same day.


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They said to Moses, "We went near a dead body. So we aren't 'clean.' But why should we be kept from bringing the Lord's offering at the appointed time? Why shouldn't we bring it along with the other people of Israel?"


text:
"Tell the people of Israel, 'Suppose any of you or your children are not "clean" because you have gone near a dead body. Or suppose you are away on a journey. You can still celebrate the Lord's Passover.


text:
" 'I want you to celebrate it on the 14th day of the second month. You have to do it when the sun goes down. You have to eat the lamb together with bread that is made without yeast. Eat it with bitter plants.


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Do not leave any of it until morning. Do not break any of its bones. When you celebrate the Passover Feast, follow all of the rules.


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" 'But suppose a man is "clean." He is not on a journey. And he fails to celebrate the Passover Feast. Then he must be cut off from the community of Israel. He did not bring the Lord's offering at the appointed time. He will be punished for his sin.


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" 'What if there is an outsider living among you? And what if he wants to celebrate the Lord's Passover? Then he must obey its rules and laws. You must have the same laws for outsiders as you do for the people of Israel.' "


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The holy tent was set up. It was the tent where the tablets of the covenant were kept. On the day it was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening until morning the cloud that was above the tent looked like fire.


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When the cloud lifted from its place above the tent, the people of Israel started out. Where the cloud settled, the people of Israel camped.


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When the Lord gave the command, the people of Israel started out. And when he gave the command, they camped. As long as the cloud stayed above the holy tent, they remained in camp.


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Sometimes the cloud remained above the tent for a long time. Then the people of Israel obeyed the Lord's order. They didn't start out.


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Sometimes the cloud was above the tent for only a few days. When the Lord would give the command, they would camp. Then when he would give the command, they would start out.


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Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening until morning. When it lifted in the morning, they started out. It didn't matter whether it was day or night. When the cloud lifted, the people started out.


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It didn't matter whether the cloud stayed above the holy tent for two days or a month or a year. The people of Israel would remain in camp. They wouldn't start out. But when the cloud lifted, they would start out.


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When the Lord gave the command, they camped. And when he gave the command, they started out. They obeyed the Lord's order. They obeyed him, just as he had commanded them through Moses.


text:
"Make two trumpets out of hammered silver. Blow them when you want the community to gather together. And blow them when you want the camps to start out.


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When both trumpets are blown, the whole community must gather in front of you. They must come to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.


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Suppose only one trumpet is blown. Then the leaders must gather in front of you. They are the heads of the tribes of Israel.


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When the second blast is blown, the camps on the south side must start out. The blast will tell them when to start.


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"The sons of Aaron, the priests, must blow the trumpets. That is a law for you and your children after you for all time to come.


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Suppose you go into battle in your own land. And suppose it is against an enemy who is beating you down. Then blow a blast on the trumpets. If you do, I will remember you. I will save you from your enemies. I am the Lord your God.


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You must also blow the trumpets when you are happy. Blow them at your appointed feasts. Blow them at your New Moon Feasts. Blow them when you sacrifice your burnt offerings. Blow them when you sacrifice your friendship offerings. They will remind me of you. I am the Lord your God."


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It was the 20th day of the second month of the second year. On that day the cloud began to move. It went up from above the holy tent where the tablets of the covenant were kept.


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Then the people of Israel started out from the Desert of Sinai. They traveled from place to place. They kept going until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran.


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The companies of the camp of Judah went first. They went out under their flag. Nahshon was their commander. He was the son of Amminadab.


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The companies of the camp of Reuben went next. They went out under their flag. Elizur was their commander. He was the son of Shedeur.


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The men of Kohath started out. They carried the holy things. The holy tent had to be set up before they arrived.


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The companies of the camp of Ephraim went next. They went out under their flag. Elishama was their commander. He was the son of Ammihud.


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Finally, the companies of the camp of Dan started out. They marched out under their flag. They followed behind all of the other companies and guarded them. Ahiezer was their commander. He was the son of Ammishaddai.


text:
Moses spoke to Hobab, the son of Reuel. Reuel was Moses' father-in-law. Reuel was from Midian. Moses said to Hobab, "We're starting out for the place the Lord promised to us. He said to us, 'I will give it to you.' So come with us. We'll treat you well. The Lord has promised to give good things to Israel."


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


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So they started out from the mountain of the Lord. They traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the Lord went in front of them during those three days. It went ahead of them to find a place for them to rest.


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When the ark started out, Moses said, "Lord, rise up! Let your enemies be scattered. Let them run away from you."


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When the ark came to rest, Moses said, "Lord, return. Return to the many thousands of people in Israel."


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The people weren't happy about the hard times they were having. The Lord heard what they were saying. It made him burn with anger. Then the Lord sent fire on them. It blazed out among the people. It burned up some of the outer edges of the camp.


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Some people who were with them began to long for other food. Again the people of Israel began to cry out. They said, "We wish we had meat to eat.


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We remember the fish we ate in Egypt. It didn't cost us anything. We also remember the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.


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The people went around gathering it. Then they ground it in a small mill they held in their hands. Or they crushed it in a stone bowl. They cooked it in a pot. Or they made cakes out of it. It tasted like something made with olive oil.


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Moses heard people from every family crying. They were sobbing at the entrances to their tents. The Lord burned with hot anger. So Moses became troubled.


text:
He asked the Lord, "Why have you brought this trouble on me? Why aren't you pleased with me? Why have you loaded me down with the troubles of all of these people?


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"Am I like a mother to them? Are they my children? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms? Do I have to carry them the way a nurse carries a baby? Do I have to carry them to the land you promised? You took an oath and promised the land to their people of long ago.


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"Where can I get meat for all of these people? They keep crying out to me. They say, 'Give us meat to eat!'


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"Is this how you are going to treat me? If you are pleased with me, just put me to death right now. Don't let me live if I have to see myself destroyed anyway."


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The Lord said to Moses, "Bring me 70 of Israel's elders. Bring men that you know are leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting. I want them to stand there with you.


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I will come down. I will speak with you there. I will take some of my Spirit that is on you. And I will put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the people's load. Then you will not have to carry it alone.


text:
"Tell the people, 'Set yourselves apart for tomorrow. At that time you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you cried out. You said, "We wish we had meat to eat. We were better off in Egypt." " 'Now the Lord will give you meat. And you will eat it.


text:
Instead, you will eat it for a whole month. You will eat it until it comes out of your nose. You will eat it until you hate it. " 'The Lord is among you. But you have turned your back on him. You have cried out while he was listening. You have said, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?" ' "


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But Moses said, "Here I am among 600,000 men on the march. And you say, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month'!


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Would they have enough if flocks and herds were killed for them? Would they have enough even if all of the fish in the ocean were caught for them?"


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The Lord answered Moses, "Am I not strong enough? Now you will see whether what I say will come true for you."


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


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Then the Lord came down in the cloud. He spoke with Moses. He took some of his Spirit that was on Moses. And he put the Spirit on the 70 elders. When the Spirit came on them, they prophesied. But they didn't do it again.


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Two men had remained in the camp. Their names were Eldad and Medad. They were listed among the elders. But they didn't go out to the Tent of Meeting. In spite of that, the Spirit came on them too. So they prophesied in the camp.


text:
Joshua spoke up. He was the son of Nun. Joshua had been Moses' helper from the time he was young. He said, "Moses! Please stop them!"


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But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for me? I wish that all of the Lord's people were prophets. And I wish that the Lord would put his Spirit on them."


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The Lord sent out a wind. It drove quail in from the Red Sea. It brought them down all around the camp. They were about three feet above the ground. They could be seen in every direction as far as a person could walk in a day.


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The people went out all day and gathered quail. They gathered them all night and all the next day. No one gathered less than 60 bushels. Then they spread the quail out all around the camp.


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But while the meat was still in their mouths, the Lord acted. Before the people could swallow it, his anger burned against them. He struck them with a terrible plague.


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So the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah. That's where the bodies of the people who had longed for other food were buried.


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Miriam and Aaron began to say bad things about Moses. That's because Moses had married a woman from Cush.


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"Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" The Lord heard what they said.


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Moses wasn't very proud at all. In fact, he had less pride than anyone else on the face of the earth.


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The Lord spoke to Moses, Aaron and Miriam. He said, "All three of you, come out to the Tent of Meeting." So they did.


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Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud. He stood at the entrance to the tent. And he told Aaron and Miriam to come to him. Both of them stepped forward.


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Then the Lord said, "Listen to my words. "Suppose one of my prophets is among you. I make myself known to him in visions. I speak to him in dreams.


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With Moses I speak face to face. I speak with him clearly. I do not speak in riddles. I let him see something of what I look like. So why were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?"


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When the cloud went up from above the tent, there stood Miriam. She had a disease that made her skin as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her. He saw that she had a skin disease.


text:
Don't let Miriam be like a baby that was born dead. Don't let her look like a dead baby whose body is half eaten away."


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The Lord answered Moses. He said, "Suppose her father had spit in her face. Then she would have been put to shame for seven days. So keep her outside the camp for seven days. After that, you can bring her back."


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So Miriam was kept outside the camp for seven days. The people didn't move on until she was brought back.


text:
"Send some men to check out the land of Canaan. I am giving it to the people of Israel. Send one leader from each of Israel's tribes."


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So Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. He sent them as the Lord had commanded. All of them were leaders of the people of Israel.


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There was Gaddi from the tribe of Manasseh. Gaddi was the son of Susi. Manasseh was a tribe of Joseph.


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Those are the men Moses sent to check out the land. He gave the name Joshua to Hoshea, the son of Nun.


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Moses sent them to check out Canaan. He said, "Go up through the Negev Desert. Go on into the central hill country.


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See what the land is like. See whether the people who live there are strong or weak. See whether they are few or many.


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"What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Do the towns have high walls around them or not?


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How is the soil? Is it rich land or poor land? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." It was the season for the first ripe grapes.


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So the men went up and checked out the land. They went from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob. It was in the direction of Lebo Hamath.


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They went up through the Negev Desert and came to Hebron. That's where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai lived. They belonged to the family line of Anak. Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan. Zoan was a city in Egypt.


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The men came to the Valley of Eshcol. There they cut off a branch that had a single bunch of grapes on it. Two of them carried it on a pole between them. They carried some pomegranates and figs along with it.


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That place was called the Valley of Eshcol. That's because the men of Israel cut off a bunch of grapes there.


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The men came back to Moses, Aaron and the whole community of Israel. The people were at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There the men reported to Moses and Aaron and all of the people. They showed them the fruit of the land.


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They gave Moses their report. They said, "We went into the land you sent us to. It really does have plenty of milk and honey! Here's some fruit from the land.


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"But the people who live there are powerful. Their cities have high walls around them and are very large. We even saw members of the family line of Anak there.


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The Amalekites live in the Negev Desert. The Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the central hill country. The Canaanites live near the Mediterranean Sea. They also live along the Jordan River."


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Then Caleb interrupted the men who were speaking to Moses. He said, "We should go up and take the land. We can certainly do it."


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But the men who had gone up with him spoke. They said, "We can't attack those people. They are stronger than we are."


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The men spread a bad report about the land among the people of Israel. They said, "The land we checked out destroys those who live in it. All of the people we saw there are very big and tall.


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We saw the Nephilim there. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes. And that's also how we seemed to them." The children of Anak came from the Nephilim.


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The people of Israel spoke against Moses and Aaron. The whole community said to them, "We wish we had died in Egypt or even in this desert.


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Why is the Lord bringing us to this land? We're going to be killed with swords. Our enemies will capture our wives and children. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?"


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Then Moses and Aaron fell with their faces to the ground. They did it in front of the whole community of Israel that was gathered there.


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Joshua, the son of Nun, tore his clothes. So did Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. Joshua and Caleb were two of the men who had checked out the land.


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They spoke to the whole community of Israel. They said, "We passed through the land and checked it out. It's very good.


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If the Lord is pleased with us, he'll lead us into that land. It's a land that has plenty of milk and honey. He'll give it to us.


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"But don't refuse to obey him. And don't be afraid of the people of the land. We will swallow them up. The Lord is with us. So nothing can save them. Don't be afraid of them."


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But all of the people talked about killing Joshua and Caleb by throwing stones at them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting. All of the people of Israel saw it.


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The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, "How long will these people make fun of me? How long will they refuse to believe in me? They refuse even though I have done many miraculous signs among them.


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So I will strike them down with a plague. I will destroy them. But I will make you into a greater and stronger nation than they are."


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Moses said to the Lord, "Then the Egyptians will hear about it. You used your power to bring these people up from among them.


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"And the Egyptians will tell the people who live in Canaan about it. Lord, they have already heard a lot about you. They've heard that you are with these people. They've heard that you have been seen face to face. They've been told that your cloud stays over them. They've heard that you go in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day. They've been told that you go in front of them in a pillar of fire at night.


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"Suppose you put these people to death all at one time. Then the nations who have heard those things about you will talk. They'll say,


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"The Lord took an oath. He promised to give these people the land of Canaan. But he wasn't able to bring them into it. So he killed them in the desert.'


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"I am the Lord. I am slow to get angry. I am full of love. I forgive those who sin. I forgive those who refuse to obey. But I do not let guilty people go without punishing them. I punish the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the sin of their parents.'


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"Lord, your love is great. So forgive the sin of these people. Forgive them just as you have done from the time they left Egypt until now."


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"And you can be just as sure that these men will not see the land I promised to give them. They have seen my glory. They have seen the miraculous signs I did in Egypt. And they have seen what I did in the desert. But they did not obey me. And they have put me to the test ten times.


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So not even one of them will ever see the land I promised with an oath to give to their people of long ago. No one who has made fun of me will ever see it.


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"But my servant Caleb has a different spirit. He follows me with his whole heart. So I will bring him into the land he went to. And his children after him will receive land there.


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"The Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys. So turn back tomorrow. Start out toward the desert. Go along the way that leads to the Red Sea."


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"How long will this evil community speak against me? I have heard these Israelites talk about how unhappy they are.


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So tell them, 'Here is what I, the Lord, am announcing. You can be sure that I live. And you can be just as sure that I will do to you the very things that I heard you say.


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" 'You will die in this desert. Every one of you who is 20 years old or more will die. Every one of you who was counted in the list of the people will die. Every one of you who has spoken out against me will be wiped out.


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I lifted up my hand and promised with an oath to make this land your home. But now not all of you will enter the land. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, will enter it. So will Joshua, the son of Nun. They are the only ones who will enter the land.


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" 'You have said that your enemies would capture your children. But I will bring your children in to enjoy the land you have turned your backs on.


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Your children will be shepherds here for 40 years. They will suffer because you were not faithful. They will suffer until the last of your bodies lies here in the desert.


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For 40 years you will suffer for your sins. That is one year for each of the 40 days you checked out the land. You will know what it is like to have me against you.'


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"I, the Lord, have spoken. You can be sure that I will do those things to this whole evil community. They have joined together against me. They will meet their end in this desert. They will die here."


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So the Lord struck down the men Moses had sent to check out the land. They had returned and had spread a bad report about the land. And that had made the whole community speak out against Moses.


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Those men were to blame for spreading the bad report. So the Lord struck them down. They died of a plague.


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Only two of the men who went to check out the land remained alive. One of them was Joshua, the son of Nun. The other was Caleb, the son of Jephunneh.


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Early the next morning they went up toward the high hill country. "We have sinned," they said. "We will go up to the place the Lord promised to give us."


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The Amalekites and Canaanites will meet you on the field of battle. You have turned away from the Lord. So he won't be with you. And you will be killed with swords."


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But they wouldn't listen. They still went up toward the high hill country. They went up even though Moses didn't move from the camp. They went even though the ark of the Lord's covenant didn't move from the camp.


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Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down. They attacked the people of Israel. They won the battle over them. They chased them all the way to Hormah.


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"Speak to the people of Israel. Say to them, 'You are going to enter the land I am giving you as a home.


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When you do, you will give offerings that are made to the Lord with fire. The animals must come from your herd or flock. The offerings will give a smell that is pleasant to the Lord. They can be either burnt offerings or sacrifices. They can be either for special promises or for feast offerings. Or they can be for offerings you choose to give.


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" 'With each of the offerings, the one who brings it must give the Lord a grain offering. It must be eight cups of fine flour. It must be mixed with a quart of olive oil.


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Also prepare a quart of wine as a drink offering. You must give it with each lamb that you bring for the burnt offering or the sacrifice.


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" 'With a ram prepare a grain offering. It must be 16 cups of fine flour. It must be mixed with two and a half pints of olive oil.


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You must bring two and a half pints of wine as a drink offering. Offer everything as a smell that is pleasant to the Lord.


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" 'Suppose you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice. You prepare it to keep a special promise to the Lord. Or you prepare it to give as a friendship offering.


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Then bring a grain offering with the bull. The grain offering must be 24 cups of fine flour. It must be mixed with two quarts of olive oil.


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Also bring two quarts of wine as a drink offering. It will be an offering that is made with fire. It will give a smell that is pleasant to the Lord.


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" 'Each bull or ram must be prepared in the same way. Each lamb or young goat must also be prepared in that way.


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" 'Everyone in Israel must do those things in that way. He must do them when he brings an offering that is made with fire. Offerings like that give a smell that is pleasant to the Lord.


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" 'Everyone must always do what the law requires. It does not matter whether he is an outsider or someone else who is living among you. He must do exactly as you do when he brings an offering that is made with fire. Offerings like that give a smell that is pleasant to the Lord.


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" 'The community must have the same rules for you and for the outsider who is living among you. That law will last for all time to come. In the sight of the Lord, the law applies to you and the outsider alike.


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Bring a loaf that is made from the first flour you grind. Give it as an offering from the threshing floor.


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You must bring the offering to the Lord. You must give it from the first grain you grind. You must do it for all time to come.


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" 'Suppose you fail to keep any of the commands the Lord gave Moses. And suppose you do it without meaning to.


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That applies to any of the commands the Lord told Moses to give you. And they are in effect from the day the Lord gave them and for all time to come.


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Suppose the community sins without meaning to. And suppose they do not know they have sinned. Then the whole community must offer a young bull. They must offer it for a burnt offering. It will give a smell that is pleasant to the Lord. Along with it, they must offer its required grain offering and drink offering. They must also offer a male goat for a sin offering.


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" 'With it the priest will pay for the sin of the whole community of Israel. Then they will be forgiven. They did not mean to commit that sin. And they have brought to the Lord an offering that is made with fire for the wrong thing they did. They have brought a sin offering with it.


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" 'The Lord will forgive the whole community of Israel and the outsiders living among them. All of the people had a part in the sin, even though they did not mean to do it.


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" 'But suppose just one person sins without meaning to. Then he must bring a female goat for a sin offering. It must be a year old.


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With it the priest will pay for the person's sin in the sight of the Lord. He will do it for the one who did wrong by sinning without meaning to. When the sin is paid for, that person will be forgiven.


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" 'The same law applies to everyone who sins without meaning to. It does not matter whether he is an Israelite or an outsider.


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" 'But suppose someone sins on purpose. It does not matter whether he is an Israelite or an outsider. He speaks evil things against the Lord. He must be cut off from his people.


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He has made fun of what the Lord has said. He has broken the Lord's commands. He must certainly be cut off. He is still guilty.' "


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Then the Lord said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole community must kill him by throwing stones at him. They must do it outside the camp."


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So the people took the man outside the camp. There they killed him by throwing stones at him. They did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.


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"Speak to the people of Israel. Say to them, 'You must make tassels on the corners of your clothes. A blue cord must be on each tassel. You must do it for all time to come.


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You will have the tassels to look at. They will remind you to obey all of the Lord's commands. Then you will be faithful to him. You will not go after what your own hearts and eyes long for.


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Korah was the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath. Kohath was the son of Levi. Korah and certain men from the tribe of Reuben turned against Moses. The men from Reuben were Dathan, Abiram and On. Dathan and Abiram were the sons of Eliab. On was the son of Peleth.


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All of those men rose up against Moses. And 250 men of Israel joined them. All of them were known as leaders in the community. They had been appointed as members of the ruling body.


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They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron. They said to Moses and Aaron, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy. Every one in it is holy. And the Lord is with them. So why do you put yourselves above the Lord's people?"


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Then he spoke to Korah and all of his followers. He said, "In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him. He will show who is holy. He'll bring that person near him. He'll bring the man he chooses near him.


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"Korah, here's what you and all of your followers must do. Get some shallow cups for burning incense.


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Tomorrow put fire and incense in them. Offer it to the Lord. The man the Lord chooses will be the one 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 community of Israel. He has brought you near him to work at the Lord's holy tent. He has given you to the people so that you can serve them. Isn't all of that enough for you?


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He has already brought you and all of the other Levites near him. But now you want to be priests too.


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You and all of your followers have joined together against the Lord. Why are you telling Aaron you aren't happy with him?"


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You have brought us up out of a land that has plenty of milk and honey. You have brought us here to kill us in this desert. Isn't that enough? Now do you also want to act as if you were ruling over us?


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"Besides, you haven't brought us into a land that has plenty of milk and honey. You haven't given us fields and vineyards of our own. Are you going to poke out the eyes of these men? No! We won't come!"


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Then Moses became very angry. He said to the Lord, "Don't accept their offering. I haven't taken even a donkey from them. In fact, I haven't done anything wrong to any of them."


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Moses said to Korah, "You and all of your followers must stand in front of the Lord tomorrow. You must appear there along with Aaron.


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Each man must get his shallow cup. He must put incense in it. There will be a total of 250 incense cups. Each man must bring his cup to the Lord. You and Aaron must also bring your cups."


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So each man got his cup. He put fire and incense in it. All of the men came with Moses and Aaron. They stood at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.


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Korah gathered all of his followers together at the entrance to the tent. They opposed Moses and Aaron. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community.


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But Moses and Aaron fell with their faces to the ground. They cried out, "God, you are the God who creates the spirits of all people. Will you be angry with the whole community when only one man sins?"


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Moses warned the community. He said, "Move away from the tents of those evil men! Don't touch anything that belongs to them. If you do, the Lord will sweep you away because of all of their sins."


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So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had already come out. They were standing at the entrances to their tents. Their wives, children and little ones were standing there with them.


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Then Moses said, "What is about to happen wasn't my idea. The Lord has sent me to do everything I'm doing. Here is how you will know I'm telling you the truth.


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Those men won't die a natural death. Something will happen to them that doesn't usually happen to people. If what I'm telling you isn't true, then you will know that the Lord hasn't sent me.


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"But the Lord will make something totally new happen. The ground will open its mouth and swallow them up. It will swallow up everything that belongs to them. They will go down into the grave alive. When that happens, you will know that those men have made fun of the Lord."


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As soon as Moses finished speaking all of those words, what he had said came true. The ground under them broke open.


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It opened its mouth. It swallowed up those men. In fact, it swallowed up everyone who lived in their houses. It swallowed all of Korah's men. And it swallowed up everything they owned.


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They went down into the grave alive. Everything they owned went down with them. The ground closed over them. They died. And so they disappeared from the community.


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All of the people of Israel who were around them heard their cries. They ran away from them. They shouted, "The ground is going to swallow us up too!"


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"Speak to the priest Eleazar. He is the son of Aaron. Remind him that the shallow cups are holy. He must take them out of the fire. He must scatter the burning coals away from there.


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The men who sinned used those cups. And it cost them their lives. Hammer the cups into bronze sheets that will cover the altar. The cups were offered to the Lord. They have become holy. Let them serve as a warning to the people of Israel."


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So the priest Eleazar collected the bronze incense cups. They had been brought by the men who had been burned up. He had them hammered out to cover the altar.


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He did just as the Lord had directed Moses to tell him to do. The covering would be a reminder to the people of Israel. It would remind them that no one except a son of Aaron should come and burn incense to the Lord. If people other than priests did that, they would become like Korah and his followers.


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The next day the whole community of Israel told Moses and Aaron they weren't happy with them. "You have killed the Lord's people," they said.


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The community gathered together to oppose Moses and Aaron. The people walked toward the Tent of Meeting. Suddenly the cloud covered it. The glory of the Lord appeared.


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"Get away from these people. Then I can put an end to all of them at once." And Moses and Aaron fell with their faces to the ground.


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Moses said to Aaron, "Take your incense cup. Put incense in it. And put fire from the altar in it. Then hurry to the people and pay for their sin. The Lord has sent his anger. The plague has started."


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So Aaron did as Moses said. He ran in among the people. The plague had already started among them. But Aaron offered the incense and paid for their sin.


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But 14,700 people died from the plague. That doesn't include those who had died because of what Korah did.


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"Speak to the people of Israel. Get 12 wooden staffs from them. Get one from the leader of each of Israel's tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff.


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Write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. There must be one staff for the head of each of Israel's tribes.


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"Put the staffs in the Tent of Meeting. Place them in front of the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. That is where I meet with you.


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The staff that belongs to the man I choose will begin to grow new shoots. The people of Israel are never happy with what you do. I will put an end to what they are saying."


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So Moses spoke to the people of Israel. Their leaders gave him 12 wooden staffs. They gave one for the leader of each of Israel's tribes. Aaron's staff was among them.


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The next day Moses entered the tent. He looked at Aaron's staff. It stood for the tribe of Levi. Moses saw that it had not only begun to grow new shoots. It had also produced buds and flowers and almonds.


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Then Moses brought out all of the staffs from in front of the Lord. He brought them to all of the people of Israel. They looked at them. And each man took his own staff.


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The Lord said to Moses, "Put Aaron's staff back in front of the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept. The staff will be kept there as a warning to those who refuse to obey. They are never happy with what I do. Aaron's staff will put an end to what they are saying. Then they will not die."


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The Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, "You, your sons and your father's family are in charge of the sacred tent. You will be held accountable for sins that are committed against it. And you and your sons will be held accountable for sins that are committed against the office of priest.


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"Bring the Levites from your tribe to join you. They will help you when you and your sons serve at the tent where the tablets of the covenant are kept.


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They will work for you. They must do everything that needs to be done at the tent. But they must not go near anything that belongs to the sacred tent. And they must not go near the altar. If they do, they and you will die.


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They will help you take care of the Tent of Meeting. They will join you in all of the work at the tent. No one else can come near you there.


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"You will be held accountable for taking care of the sacred tent and the altar. Then my anger will not fall on the people of Israel again.


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I myself have chosen the Levites. I have chosen them from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you. I have set them apart to do the work at the Tent of Meeting.


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"But only you and your sons can serve as priests. Only you and your sons can work with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am letting you serve as priests. It is a gift from me. Anyone else who comes near the sacred tent must be put to death."


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Then the Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, "I have put you in charge of the offerings that are brought to me. The people of Israel will give me holy offerings. I will give all of their offerings to you and your sons. They are the part that belongs to you. They are your regular share.


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"You will have a part of the very holy offerings. It is the part that is not burned in the fire. That part belongs to you and your sons. You will have a part of all of the gifts the people bring me as very holy offerings. It does not matter whether they are grain offerings or sin offerings or guilt offerings.


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"Part of the gifts the people of Israel bring as wave offerings will be set to one side. That part will also belong to you. I will give it to you and your sons and daughters. It is your regular share. Everyone in your home who is 'clean' can eat it.


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"I will give you all of the finest olive oil and grain the people give me. And I will give you all of the finest fresh wine they give me. They give all of those things as the first share of their harvest.


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All of the first shares of the harvest they bring me will belong to you. Everyone in your home who is 'clean' can eat it.


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Offer to me every male that is born first to its mother. It belongs to you. That is true for men and animals alike. But you must buy back every oldest son. Suppose certain animals are not 'clean.' Then you must buy back every male that is born first to its mother.


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When they are a month old, you must buy them back. You must pay the price to buy them back. The price is set at two ounces of silver. It must be weighed out in keeping with the standard weights that are used in the sacred tent.


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"But you must not buy back any male calf that is born first. And you must not buy back any male sheep or goat that is born first. They are holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar. And burn their fat as an offering that is made with fire. It gives a smell that is pleasant to me.


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"The meat will belong to you. It is just like the breast and the right thigh of the wave offering. Those parts belong to you.


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Part of the holy offerings the people of Israel bring to me will be set to one side. No matter what it is, I will give it to you and your sons and daughters. It is your regular share. It is a covenant of salt from me. The salt means that the covenant will last for all time to come for you and your children."


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The Lord spoke to Aaron. He said, "You will not receive any part of the land I am giving to Israel. You will not have any share among them. I am your share. I am what you will receive among the people of Israel.


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"The people of Israel will give me a tenth of everything they produce. And I will give it to the Levites. They serve at the Tent of Meeting. I will give them the tenth for the work they do there.


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From now on the people of Israel must not go near the Tent of Meeting. If they do, they will be punished for their sin. They will die.


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"The Levites will do the work at the Tent of Meeting. They will be held accountable for sins that are committed against it. That is a law that will last for all time to come. The Levites will not receive any share among the people of Israel.


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Instead, I will give the Levites the tenth as their share. It is the tenth that the people of Israel bring me as an offering. That is why I said the Levites would not have any share of land among the people of Israel."


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"Speak to the Levites. Say to them, 'You will receive the tenth from the people of Israel. I will give it to you as your share. When I do, you must give a tenth of that tenth as an offering to the Lord.


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Your offering will be considered as if you gave grain from a threshing floor. It will be considered as juice from a winepress.


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" 'In that way, you also will bring an offering to the Lord. You will bring it from the tenth you receive from the people of Israel. You must give the Lord's part to the priest Aaron. You must bring it from the tenth you receive.


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You must bring to the Lord a part of everything that is given to you. It must be the best and holiest part.'


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"Say to the Levites, 'You must bring the best part. Then it will be considered as if you gave grain from a threshing floor. It will be considered as juice from a winepress.


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You and your families can eat the rest of it anywhere. It is your pay for your work at the Tent of Meeting.


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Bring the best part of what you receive. Then you will not be guilty of holding anything back. You will not make the holy offerings of the people of Israel "unclean." You will not die.' "


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"Here is what the law I have commanded requires. Tell the people of Israel to bring you a young red cow. It must not have any flaws at all. It must never have pulled a load.


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


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The priest must get some cedar wood, branches of a hyssop plant, and bright red wool. He must throw them on the young cow as it burns.


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"After that, the priest must wash his clothes. He must also take a bath. Then he can come into the camp. But he will be 'unclean' until evening.


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"The man who burns the young cow must wash his clothes. He must also take a bath. He too will be 'unclean' until evening.


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"A man who is 'clean' will gather up the ashes of the young cow. He must put them in a place that is 'clean.' The place must be outside the camp. The ashes will be kept by the community of Israel. They will be added to the special water. The water will be used to make people pure from their sin.


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"The man who gathers up the ashes of the young cow must wash his clothes. He too will be 'unclean' until evening. That law is for the people of Israel. It is also for the outsiders who are living among them. The law will last for all time to come.


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He must make himself pure and clean with the special water. He must do it on the third day. He must also do it on the seventh day. Then he will be 'clean.' "But suppose he does not make himself pure and clean on the third and seventh days. Then he will not be 'clean.'


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Anyone who touches a dead person's body and does not make himself pure and clean makes my holy tent 'unclean.' He must be cut off from Israel. The special water has not been sprinkled on him. So he is 'unclean.' And he remains 'unclean.'


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"Here is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent. Anyone who enters the tent will be 'unclean' for seven days. Anyone who is in the tent will also be 'unclean' for seven days.


text:
"Suppose someone is out in the country. And suppose he touches someone who has been killed with a sword. Or he touches someone who has died a natural death. Or he touches a human bone or a grave. Then anyone who touches any of those things will be 'unclean' for seven days.


text:
"Here is what I want you to do for someone who is not 'clean.' Put some ashes from the burned young cow into a jar. Pour fresh water on the ashes.


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Then a man who is 'clean' must dip branches of a hyssop plant in the water. He must sprinkle the tent with it. Everything that belongs to the tent must be sprinkled with it. The people who were in the tent must also be sprinkled. Anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave must be sprinkled. So must anyone who has touched someone who has been killed. So must anyone who has touched someone who has died a natural death.


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"The man who is 'clean' must sprinkle the person who is not. That must be done on the third and seventh days. On the seventh day the person who is not 'clean' must be made pure and clean. The one who is being made 'clean' must wash his clothes. He must take a bath. Then that evening he will be 'clean.'


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"But what if a person who is 'unclean' does not make himself pure and clean? Then he must be cut off from the community. He has made my holy tent 'unclean.' The special water has not been sprinkled on him. He is not 'clean.'


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That law will apply to all of those people for all time to come. "The man who sprinkles the special water must also wash his clothes. Anyone who touches the water will be 'unclean' until evening.


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Anything that an 'unclean' person touches becomes 'unclean.' And anyone who touches it becomes 'unclean' until evening."


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In the first month the whole community of Israel arrived at the Desert of Zin. They stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died there. Her body was also buried there.


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They argued with Moses. They said, "We wish we had died when our people fell dead in front of the Lord.


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Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? Why did you bring us to this terrible place? It doesn't have any grain or figs. It doesn't have any grapes or pomegranates. There isn't even any water for us to drink!"


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Moses and Aaron left the people. They went to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. There they fell with their faces to the ground. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them.


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"Get your wooden staff. You and your brother Aaron gather the people together. Then speak to that rock while everyone is watching. It will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community. Then they and their livestock can drink it."


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He and Aaron gathered the people together in front of the rock. Moses said to them, "Listen, you who refuse to obey! Do we have to bring water out of this rock for you?"


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Then Moses raised his arm. He hit the rock twice with his staff. Water poured out. And the people and their livestock drank it.


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But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron. He said, "You did not trust in me enough to honor me. You did not honor me as the holy God in front of the people of Israel. So you will not bring this community into the land I am giving them."


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Those were the waters of Meribah. That's where the people of Israel argued with the Lord. And that's where he showed them he is holy.


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Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. The messengers said, "The nation of Israel is your brother. They say, 'You know about all of the hard times we've had.


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Long ago our people went down into Egypt. We lived there for many years. The Egyptians treated us and our people badly.


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But we cried out to the Lord. He heard our cry. He sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. " 'Now here we are at the town of Kadesh. It's on the edge of your territory.


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Please let us pass through your country. We won't go through any field or vineyard. We won't drink water from any well. We'll travel along the king's highway. We won't turn to the right or the left. We'll just go straight through your territory.' "


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But the people of Edom answered, "You can't pass through here. If you try to, we'll march out against you. We'll attack you with our swords."


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The people of Israel replied, "We'll go along the main road. We and our livestock won't drink any of your water. If we do, we'll pay for it. We only want to walk through your country. That's all we ask."


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Again the people of Edom answered, "You can't pass through here." Then the people of Edom came out against them. They came with a large and powerful army.


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"Aaron will join the members of his family who have already died. He will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel. Both of you refused to obey my command. You did it at the waters of Meribah.


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Take Aaron's official robes off him. Put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron will die on Mount Hor. He will join the members of his family who have already died."


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Moses did just as the Lord had commanded. The three men went up Mount Hor while the whole community was watching.


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Moses took Aaron's official robes off him. He put them on Aaron's son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.


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The whole community found out that Aaron had died. So the entire nation of Israel sobbed over him for 30 days.


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The Canaanite king of the city of Arad lived in the Negev Desert. He heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim. So he attacked the people of Israel. He captured some of them.


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Then Israel made a promise to the Lord. They said, "Hand these people over to us. If you do, we will set their cities apart to you in a special way to be destroyed."


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The Lord gave Israel what they asked for. He handed the Canaanites over to them. Israel completely destroyed them. They also destroyed their towns. So that place was named Hormah.


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The people of Israel traveled from Mount Hor along the way to the Red Sea. They wanted to go around Edom. But they grew tired on the way.


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So they spoke against God. They also spoke against Moses. They said to them, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt? Do you want us to die here in the desert? We don't have any bread! We don't have any water! And we hate this awful food!"


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Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people of Israel. The snakes bit them. Many of the people died.


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The others came to Moses. They said, "We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.


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The Lord said to Moses, "Make a snake. Put it up on a pole. Then anyone who is bitten can look at it and remain alive."


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So Moses made a bronze snake. He put it up on a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake remained alive.


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Then they started out from Oboth. They camped in Iye Abarim. It's in the desert on the eastern border of Moab.


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They started out from there and camped by the Arnon River. It's in the desert that spreads out into the territory of the Amorites. The Arnon is the border of Moab. It's between Moab and the Amorites.


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Here is what the Book of the Wars of the Lord says about it. It says, "Sing about Waheb in Suphah and the valleys. Sing about the Arnon


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and the slopes of the valleys. They lead to the place called Ar. They lie along the border of Moab."


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From there the people of Israel continued on to Beer. That was the well where the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, "Gather the people together. I will give them water to drink."


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Sing about the well the princes dug. Sing about the well the nobles of the people dug. All of their rulers were holding their rods and staffs." Then the people of Israel went from the desert to Mattanah.


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And they went from Bamoth to a valley in Moab. It's the valley where the highest slopes of Pisgah look out over a dry and empty land.


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The people of Israel sent messengers to speak to Sihon. He was the king of the Amorites. The messengers said to him,


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"Let us pass through your country. We won't go off the road into any field or vineyard. We won't drink water from any well. We'll travel along the king's highway. We'll just go straight through your territory."


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But Sihon wouldn't let Israel pass through his territory. He gathered his whole army together. Then he marched out into the desert against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought against Israel.


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But Israel put him to death with their swords. They took over his land. They took everything from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. But they didn't take over any of the land of the Ammonites. That's because the Ammonites had built strong forts along their border.


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The people of Israel captured all of the cities of the Amorites. Then they settled down in them. They captured the city of Heshbon. They also captured all of the settlements that were around it.


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Sihon, the king of the Amorites, ruled in Heshbon. He had fought against an earlier king of Moab. Sihon had taken from him all of his land all the way to the Arnon River.


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That's why the poets say, "Come to Heshbon. Let it be built again. Let Sihon's city be made as good as new.


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"Fire went out from Heshbon. A blaze went out from the city of Sihon. It burned up Ar in Moab. It burned up the citizens who lived on Arnon's hills.


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Moab, how terrible it is for you! People of Chemosh, you are destroyed! Chemosh has deserted his sons and daughters. His sons have run away from the battle. His daughters have become prisoners. He has handed all of them over to Sihon, the king of the Amorites.


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"But we have taken them over. Heshbon is destroyed all the way to Dibon. We have destroyed them as far as Nophah. Nophah goes all the way to Medeba."


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Moses sent spies to the city of Jazer. The people of Israel captured the settlements that were around it. They drove out the Amorites who were there.


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Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan. Og was the king of Bashan. He and his whole army marched out. They went to fight against Israel at Edrei.


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The Lord said to Moses, "Do not be afraid of Og. I have handed him over to you. I have given you his whole army. I have also given you his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon."


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So the people of Israel struck Og down. They struck his sons down. And they wiped out his whole army. They didn't leave anyone alive. They took over his land for themselves.


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Then the people of Israel traveled to the flatlands of Moab. They camped along the Jordan River across from Jericho.


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The people of Moab were terrified because there were so many Israelites. In fact, Moab was filled with panic because of the people of Israel.


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The Moabites spoke to the elders of Midian. They said, "This huge mob is going to lick up everything around us. They'll lick it up as an ox licks up all of the grass in the fields." Balak, the son of Zippor, was the king of Moab at that time.


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He sent messengers to get Balaam. Balaam was the son of Beor. Balaam was at the city of Pethor near the Euphrates River. Pethor was in the land where Balaam had been born. Balak told the messengers to say to Balaam, "A nation has come out of Egypt. They are covering the face of the land. They've settled down next to me.


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So come and put a curse on those people. They are too powerful for me. Maybe I'll be able to win the battle over them. Maybe I'll be able to drive them out of the country. I know that those you bless will be blessed. And I know that those you put a curse on will be cursed."


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The elders of Moab and Midian left. They took with them the money they knew Balaam would ask for. They wanted him to use magic and figure things out for them. They came to where Balaam was. And they told him what Balak had said.


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"Spend the night here," Balaam said to them. "I'll bring you back the answer the Lord gives me." So the princes of Moab stayed with him.


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He said, 'A nation has come out of Egypt. They are covering the whole surface of the land. So come. Put a curse on them for me. Maybe I'll be able to fight them. Maybe I'll be able to drive them away.' "


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But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people. I have blessed them."


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The next morning Balaam got up. He said to Balak's princes, "Go back to your own country. The Lord won't let me go with you."


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Then Balak sent other princes. They were more important than the first ones. And there were more of them.


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They came to Balaam. They said, "Balak, the son of Zippor, says, 'Don't let anything keep you from coming to me.


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But Balaam gave them his answer. He said, "Balak could give me his palace filled with silver and gold. Even then, I still couldn't do anything at all that goes beyond what the Lord my God commands.


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That night God came to Balaam. He said, "These men have come to get you. So go with them. But do only what I tell you to do."


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But God was very angry when Balaam went. So the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey. His two servants were with him.


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The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road. The angel was holding a sword. He was ready for battle. So the donkey left the road and went into a field. Balaam hit the donkey. He wanted to get it back on the road.


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Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path. The path went between two vineyards. There were walls on both sides.


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The donkey saw the angel of the Lord. So it moved close to the wall. It crushed Balaam's foot against the wall. He hit the donkey again.


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Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead. He stood in a narrow place. There was no room to turn, either right or left.


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The donkey saw the angel of the Lord. So it lay down under Balaam. That made him angry. He hit the donkey with his walking stick.


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Then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth. It said to Balaam, "What have I done to you? Why did you hit me those three times?"


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Balaam answered the donkey. He said, "You have made me look foolish! I wish I had a sword in my hand. If I did, I'd kill you right now."


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The donkey said to Balaam, "I'm your own donkey. I'm the one you have always ridden. Haven't you been riding me to this very day? Have I ever made you look foolish before?" "No," he said.


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Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes. He saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road. He saw that the angel was holding a sword. The angel was ready for battle. So Balaam bowed down. He fell with his face to the ground.


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The angel of the Lord spoke to him. He asked him, "Why have you hit your donkey three times? I have come here to oppose you. What you are doing is foolish.


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The donkey saw me. It turned away from me three times. Suppose it had not turned away. Then I would certainly have killed you by now. But I would have spared the donkey."


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Balaam spoke to the angel of the Lord. He said, "I have sinned. I didn't realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Tell me whether you are pleased with me. If you aren't, I'll go back."


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The angel of the Lord spoke to Balaam. He said, "Go with the men. But say only what I tell you to say." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.


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Balak heard that Balaam was coming. So he went out to meet him. They met at a Moabite town near the Arnon River. The town was on the border of Balak's territory.


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Balak spoke to Balaam. He said, "Didn't I send messengers to you? I wanted you to come quickly. So why didn't you come? I can make you very rich."


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"Well, I've come to you now," Balaam replied. "But I can't say just anything. I can only speak the words God puts in my mouth."


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Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep. He gave some to Balaam. He also gave some to the princes who were with him.


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The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal. From there he saw part of the people of Israel.


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Balaam said to Balak, "Build me seven altars here. Prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me to sacrifice."


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Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering. I'll go and try to find out what the Lord wants me to do. Maybe he'll come and meet with me. Then I'll tell you what he says to me." So Balaam went off to a bare hilltop.


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God met with him there. Balaam said, "I've prepared seven altars. On each altar I've offered a bull and a ram."


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So Balaam went back to him. He found Balak standing beside his offering. All of the princes of Moab were with him.


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Then Balaam spoke the message he had received from God. He said, "Balak brought me from the land of Aram. The king of Moab sent for me from the mountains in the east. 'Come,' he said. 'Put a curse on Jacob's people for me. Come. Speak against Israel.'


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But how can I put a curse on people God hasn't cursed? How can I speak against people the Lord hasn't spoken against?


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I see them from the rocky peaks. I view them from the hills. I see a group of people who live by themselves. They don't consider themselves to be one of the nations.


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Jacob's people are like the dust of the earth. Can dust be counted? Who can count even a fourth of the people of Israel? Let me die as godly people die. Let my death be like theirs!"


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Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you here to put a curse on my enemies! But all you have done is give them a blessing!"


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Then Balak said to Balaam, "Come with me to another place. You can see the people of Israel from there. You will see only some of them. You won't see all of them. From there, put a curse on them for me."


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So Balak took Balaam to the field of Zophim. It was on the highest slopes of Pisgah. There he built seven altars. He offered a bull and a ram on each altar.


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The Lord met with Balaam. He put a message in Balaam's mouth. The Lord said, "Go back to Balak. Give him my message."


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So he went to him. He found him standing beside his offering. The princes of Moab were with him. Balak asked him, "What did the Lord say?"


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Then Balaam spoke the message he had received from God. He said, "Balak, rise up and listen. Son of Zippor, hear me.


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God isn't a mere man. He can't lie. He isn't a human being. He doesn't change his mind. He speaks, and then he acts. He makes a promise, and then he keeps it.


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"I don't see any trouble coming on the people of Jacob. I don't see any suffering in Israel. The Lord their God is with them. The shout of the King is among them.


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There isn't any magic that can hurt the people of Jacob. No one can use magic words to harm Israel. Here is what will be said about the people of Jacob. Here is what will be said about Israel. People will say, 'See what God has done!'


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The people of Israel are going to wake up like a female lion. They are going to get up like a male lion. They are like a lion that won't rest until it eats what it has caught. They are like a lion that won't rest until it drinks the blood of what it has killed."


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Then Balak said to Balaam, "Don't put a curse on them at all! And don't give them a blessing at all!"


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Then Balak said to Balaam, "Come. Let me take you to another place. Perhaps God will be pleased to let you put a curse on them for me from there."


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Balaam saw that the Lord was pleased to give his blessing to Israel. So he didn't try to use evil magic as he had done at other times. Instead, he turned and looked toward the desert.


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He looked out and saw Israel. They had set up their camps tribe by tribe. The Spirit of God came on him.


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Balaam spoke the message he had received from God. He said, "Here is the message God gave Balaam, the son of Beor. It's the message God gave to the one who sees clearly.


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It's the message God gave to the one who hears the words of God. He sees a vision from the Mighty One. He falls down flat with his face toward the ground. His eyes have been opened by the Lord.


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"People of Jacob, your tents are very beautiful. Israel, the places where you live are very beautiful.


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"They spread out like valleys. They are like gardens beside a river. They are like aloes the Lord has planted. They are like cedar trees beside a stream.


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Their water buckets will run over. Their seeds will have plenty of water. "Their king will be greater than King Agag. Their kingdom will be honored.


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"God brought them out of Egypt. They are as strong as a wild ox. They eat up nations that are at war with them. They break their bones in pieces. They wound them with their arrows.


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Like a male lion they lie down and sleep. They are like a female lion. Who dares to wake them up? May those who bless you be blessed! May those who call down a curse on you be cursed!"


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Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam. He slapped his hands together. He said to Balaam, "I sent for you to put a curse on my enemies. But you have given them a blessing three times.


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Get out of here right away! Go home! I said I'd make you very rich. But the Lord has kept you from getting rich."


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I said, 'Balak could give me his palace filled with silver and gold. Even if I wanted to, I still couldn't do anything at all that goes beyond what the Lord commands. I have to say only what the Lord tells me to say.'


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"Now I'm going back to my people. But come. Let me warn you about what these people will do to your people in days to come."


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Then Balaam spoke the message he had received from God. He said, "Here is the message God gave Balaam, the son of Beor. It's the message God gave to the one who sees clearly.


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It's the message God gave to the one who hears the words of God. The Most High God has given him knowledge. He sees a vision from the Mighty One. He falls down flat with his face toward the ground. His eyes have been opened by the Lord.


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"I see him, but I don't see him now. I view him, but he isn't near. A star will come from among the people of Jacob. A king will rise up out of Israel. He'll crush the foreheads of the people of Moab. He'll crush the skulls of all of the sons of Sheth.


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He'll win the battle over Edom. He'll win the battle over his enemy Seir. But Israel will grow strong.


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A ruler will come from among the people of Jacob. He'll destroy those from the city who are still alive."


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Then Balaam saw the people of Amalek. He spoke the message he had received from God. He said, "Amalek was the first nation to attack Israel. But they will finally be destroyed."


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Then he saw the Kenites. He spoke the message he had received from God. He said, "The place where you live is safe. Your nest is on a high cliff.


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Ships will come from the shores of Kittim. They will bring Assyria and Eber under their control. But they themselves will also be destroyed."


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Israel was staying in Shittim. The men of Israel began to commit sexual sins with the women of Moab.


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The women invited the men to feasts and sacrifices in honor of their gods. The people ate and bowed down in front of the statues of those gods.


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So Israel joined in worshiping the god Baal that was worshiped at Peor. The Lord's anger burned against Israel.


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The Lord said to Moses, "Take all of the leaders of these people. Kill them. Put their dead bodies out in the open. I want to see you do it in the middle of the day. Then my anger will not burn against Israel."


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So Moses spoke to Israel's judges. He said, "Some of your men have joined in worshiping the god Baal that is worshiped at Peor. Each of you must kill the men in your tribe who have done that."


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Then a man of Israel brought a woman of Midian to his family. He did it right in front of the eyes of Moses and the whole community of Israel. They were sobbing at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.


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Phinehas was a priest. He was the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron. When Phinehas saw what had happened, he left the people. He took a spear in his hand.


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He followed the man into a tent. Phinehas stuck the spear through both the man and the woman. Then the Lord stopped the plague against the people of Israel.


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"Phinehas is a priest. He is the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron. Phinehas has turned my anger away from the people of Israel. I am committed to making sure I am honored among them. And he is as committed as I am. Even though I was angry with them, I did not put an end to them.


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He and his sons after him will have a covenant to be priests forever. That is because he was committed to making sure that I, his God, was honored. In that way he paid for the sin of the people of Israel."


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The name of the man of Israel who was killed was Zimri. He was the son of Salu. Zimri was killed along with the woman of Midian. Salu was a family leader in the tribe of Simeon.


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The name of the woman of Midian who was killed was Cozbi. She was the daughter of Zur. Zur was the chief of a family in Midian.


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After all, they treated you like enemies. They tricked you into worshiping the god Baal that is worshiped at Peor. They also tricked you because of what Cozbi did. She was the woman who was killed when the plague that was connected with Peor came. Cozbi was the daughter of a leader of Midian."


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After the plague the Lord spoke to Moses and the priest Eleazar. Eleazar was the son of Aaron. The Lord said,


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"Count all of the men of Israel. Make a list of them by their families. Count all of the men who are able to serve in Israel's army. They must be 20 years old or more."


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At that time the people of Israel were on the flatlands of Moab. They were by the Jordan River across from Jericho. Moses and the priest Eleazar spoke with them. They said,


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"Count all of the men who are 20 years old or more. Do it just as the Lord commanded Moses." Here are the men of Israel who came out of Egypt.


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Reuben was Israel's oldest son. Here are the names of his sons. The Hanochite family came from Hanoch. The Palluite family came from Pallu.


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Eliab's sons were Nemuel, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were the same community officials who refused to obey Moses and Aaron. They were among the followers of Korah who refused to obey the Lord.


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The ground opened its mouth. It swallowed them up along with Korah. The followers of Korah died when fire burned up 250 men. Their deaths were a warning to the rest of Israel.


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Here are the names of Simeon's sons. They are listed by their families. The Nemuelite family came from Nemuel. The Jaminite family came from Jamin. The Jakinite family came from Jakin.


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Here are the names of Gad's sons. They are listed by their families. The Zephonite family came from Zephon. The Haggite family came from Haggi. The Shunite family came from Shuni.


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Here are the names of Judah's sons. They are listed by their families. The Shelanite family came from Shelah. The Perezite family came from Perez. The Zerahite family came from Zerah.


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Here are the names of the sons of Perez. The Hezronite family came from Hezron. The Hamulite family came from Hamul.


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Here are the names of Issachar's sons. They are listed by their families. The Tolaite family came from Tola. The Puite family came from Puah.


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Here are the names of Zebulun's sons. They are listed by their families. The Seredite family came from Sered. The Elonite family came from Elon. The Jahleelite family came from Jahleel.


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Here are the names of Joseph's sons. They are listed by their families. The families came from Manasseh and Ephraim, the sons of Joseph.


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Here are the names of Manasseh's sons. The Makirite family came from Makir. Makir was the father of Gilead. The Gileadite family came from Gilead.


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Here are the names of Gilead's sons. The Iezerite family came from Iezer. The Helekite family came from Helek.


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Zelophehad was the son of Hepher. Zelophehad didn't have any sons. All he had was daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.


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Here are the names of Ephraim's sons. They are listed by their families. The Shuthelahite family came from Shuthelah. The Bekerite family came from Beker. The Tahanite family came from Tahan.


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Those were the families of Ephraim. The number of the men was 32,500. Those were the sons of Joseph. They are listed by their families.


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Here are the names of Benjamin's sons. They are listed by their families. The Belaite family came from Bela. The Ashbelite family came from Ashbel. The Ahiramite family came from Ahiram.


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Bela's sons came from Ard and Naaman. The Ardite family came from Ard. The Naamite family came from Naaman.


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Here is the name of Dan's son. He is listed by his family. The Shuhamite family came from Shuham. That was the family of Dan.


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Here are the names of Asher's sons. They are listed by their families. The Imnite family came from Imnah. The Ishvite family came from Ishvi. The Beriite family came from Beriah.


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Here are the names of the families that came from Beriah's sons. The Heberite family came from Heber. The Malkielite family came from Malkiel.


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Here are the names of Naphtali's sons. They are listed by their families. The Jahzeelite family came from Jahzeel. The Gunite family came from Guni.


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"I will give the land to them. The amount of land each family receives will be based on the number of its men.


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Give a larger share to a larger family. Give a smaller share to a smaller family. Each family will receive its share based on the number of men who are listed in it.


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"Be sure that you use lots when you give out the land. What each family receives will be based on the number of men listed in its tribe.


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Here are the names of the Levites. They are listed by their families. The Gershonite family came from Gershon. The Kohathite family came from Kohath. The Merarite family came from Merari.


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Here are the names of the other Levite families. They are the Libnite family, the Hebronite family, the Mahlite family, the Mushite family, the Korahite family. Amram came from the Kohathite family.


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The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed. She was from the family line of Levi. She was born to the Levites in Egypt. Aaron, Moses and their sister Miriam were born in the family line of Amram and Jochebed.


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The number of male Levites who were a month old or more was 23,000. They weren't listed along with the other men of Israel. That's because they didn't receive a share among them.


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Those are the men who were counted by Moses and the priest Eleazar. At that time the people of Israel were on the flatlands of Moab. They were by the Jordan River across from Jericho.


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The men of Israel had been counted before in the Sinai Desert by Moses and the priest Aaron. But not one of them was among the men who were counted this time.


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The Lord had told the people of Israel at Kadesh Barnea that they would certainly die in the desert. Not one of them was left alive except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun.


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


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the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. There they stood in front of Moses and the priest Eleazar. The leaders and the whole community were there too. Zelophehad's daughters said,


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"Our father died in the Sinai Desert. But he wasn't one of the men who followed Korah. He wasn't one of those who joined together against the Lord. Our father died because of his own sin. He didn't leave any sons.


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"Why should our father's name disappear from his family just because he didn't have a son? Give us property among our father's relatives."


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"What Zelophehad's daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property. Give them a share among their father's relatives. Turn their father's property over to them.


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"Say to the people of Israel, 'Suppose a man dies who doesn't have a son. Then turn his property over to his daughter.


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Suppose his father doesn't have any brothers. Then give his property to the nearest male relative in his family group. It will belong to him. That is what the law will require of the people of Israel. It is just as the Lord commanded me.' "


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Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, "Go up this mountain in the Abarim range. See the land I have given the people of Israel.


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After you have seen it, you too will join the members of your family who have already died. You will die, just as your brother Aaron did.


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"The community refused to obey me at the waters of Meribah Kadesh. At that time, you and Aaron did not obey my command. You did not honor me in front of them as the holy God." Meribah Kadesh is in the Desert of Zin.


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"Lord, you are the God who creates the spirits of all people. Please appoint a man to lead this community.


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Put him in charge of them. Tell him to take care of them. Then your people won't be like sheep that don't have a shepherd."


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So the Lord said to Moses, "Joshua, the son of Nun, has the ability to be a wise leader. Get him and place your hand on him.


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Have him stand in front of the priest Eleazar and the whole community. Put him in charge while everyone is watching.


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"Joshua will stand in front of the priest Eleazar. Eleazar will help him make decisions. Eleazar will get help from me by using the Urim. Joshua and the whole community of Israel must not make any move at all unless I command them to."


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Moses did just as the Lord commanded him. He got Joshua and had him stand in front of the priest Eleazar and the whole community.


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Then Moses placed his hands on Joshua. And he put him in charge of the people. He did just as the Lord had directed through Moses.


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"Here is a command I want you to give the people of Israel. Tell them, 'Be sure to bring to the Lord the food for the offerings that are made to him with fire. Do it at the appointed time. It will give a smell that is pleasant to him.'


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"Tell them, 'Here is the offering you must bring to the Lord. It should be made with fire. Bring him two lambs that are a year old. They must not have any flaws. Bring them as a regular burnt offering each day.


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Bring a grain offering along with them. It must have eight cups of fine flour. Mix it with a quart of oil that is made from pressed olives.


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It is the regular burnt offering. The Lord established it at Mount Sinai. It has a pleasant smell. It is an offering that is made to him with fire.


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Along with that, offer a quart of wine as a drink offering. It must be given along with each lamb. Pour out the drink offering to the Lord at the sacred tent.


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" 'Prepare the second lamb when the sun goes down. Sacrifice it along with the same kind of grain offering and drink offering that you prepare in the morning. It is an offering that is made with fire. It gives a smell that is pleasant to the Lord.


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" 'On the Sabbath day, bring an offering of two lambs. They must be a year old. They must not have any flaws. Offer them along with their drink offering. Offer them along with a grain offering of 16 cups of fine flour. Mix it with olive oil.


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It is the burnt offering for every Sabbath day. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.


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" 'On the first day of every month, bring to the Lord a burnt offering. Bring two young bulls and one ram. Also bring seven male lambs that are a year old. They must not have any flaws.


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" 'Bring a grain offering along with each bull. It must have 24 cups of fine flour. Mix it with olive oil. Bring a grain offering along with the ram. It must have 16 cups of fine flour. Mix it with oil.


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Bring a grain offering along with each lamb. It must have eight cups of fine flour. Mix it with oil. It is for a burnt offering. It has a pleasant smell. It is an offering that is made to the Lord with fire.


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" 'Bring a drink offering along with each bull. It must have two quarts of wine. Offer two and a half pints along with the ram. And offer one quart along with each lamb. " 'It is the burnt offering for each month. It must be made on the day of each New Moon Feast during the year.


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" 'One male goat must be brought to the Lord as a sin offering. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.


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On the 15th day of the month there must be a feast. For seven days eat bread that is made without yeast.


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" 'Bring to the Lord an offering that is made with fire. Bring a burnt offering of two young bulls and one ram. Also bring seven male lambs that are a year old. They must not have any flaws.


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" 'Prepare a grain offering along with each bull. The offering must have 24 cups of fine flour. Mix it with olive oil. Offer 16 cups along with the ram.


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Prepare the food in that way for the offering that is made with fire. Do it every day for seven days. The offering will give a smell that is pleasant to the Lord. You must prepare the offering in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.


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" 'On the day you gather the first share of your crops, bring to the Lord an offering of your first grain. Do it during the Feast of Weeks. Come together for a special service. Do not do any regular work.


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" 'Bring a burnt offering of two young bulls and one ram. Also bring seven male lambs that are a year old. The offering will give a smell that is pleasant to the Lord.


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" 'Bring a grain offering along with each bull. It must have 24 cups of fine flour. Mix it with olive oil. Offer 16 cups along with the ram.


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" 'Prepare everything along with the drink offerings. Do it in addition to the regular burnt offering and its grain offering. Be sure the animals do not have any flaws.


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" 'On the first day of the seventh month, come together for a special service. Do not do any regular work. Blow the trumpets on that day.


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" 'Prepare a burnt offering. It will give a smell that is pleasant to the Lord. Prepare one young bull and one ram. Also prepare seven male lambs that are a year old. They must not have any flaws.


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" 'Prepare a grain offering along with the bull. It must have 24 cups of fine flour. Mix it with olive oil. Offer 16 cups along with the ram.


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" 'Each month and each day you must bring burnt offerings. Bring them along with their grain offerings and drink offerings as they are required. " 'The offerings for the Feast of Trumpets are in addition to them. They are offerings that are made to the Lord with fire. They have a pleasant smell.


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" 'On the tenth day of the seventh month, come together for a special service. You must not eat anything on that day. You must not do any work on it.


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" 'Bring a burnt offering. It will give a smell that is pleasant to the Lord. Bring one young bull and one ram. Also bring seven male lambs that are a year old. They must not have any flaws.


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" 'Include a male goat as a sin offering. It is in addition to the offering that pays for sin. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering along with its grain offering. It is also in addition to their drink offerings.


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" 'On the 15th day of the seventh month, come together for a special service. Do not do any regular work. Celebrate the Feast of Booths in honor of the Lord for seven days.


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" 'Bring an offering that is made with fire. It will give a smell that is pleasant to the Lord. Bring a burnt offering of 13 young bulls and two rams. Also bring 14 male lambs that are a year old. They must not have any flaws.


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" 'Prepare a grain offering along with each of the 13 bulls. It must have 24 cups of fine flour. Mix it with olive oil. Offer 16 cups along with each of the two rams.


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" 'Include a male goat as a sin offering. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering. It is also in addition to its grain offering and drink offering.


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" 'On the second day prepare 12 young bulls and two rams. Also prepare 14 male lambs that are a year old. They must not have any flaws.


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" 'Prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings. Prepare them along with the bulls, rams and lambs. Prepare them in keeping with the required number.


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" 'Include a male goat as a sin offering. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering along with its grain offering. It is also in addition to their drink offerings.


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" 'On the third day prepare 11 bulls and two rams. Also prepare 14 male lambs that are a year old. They must not have any flaws.


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" 'On the fourth day prepare ten bulls and two rams. Also prepare 14 male lambs that are a year old. They must not have any flaws.


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" 'On the fifth day prepare nine bulls and two rams. Also prepare 14 male lambs that are a year old. They must not have any flaws.


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" 'On the sixth day prepare eight bulls and two rams. Also prepare 14 male lambs that are a year old. They must not have any flaws.


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" 'On the seventh day prepare seven bulls and two rams. Also prepare 14 male lambs that are a year old. They must not have any flaws.


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" 'Bring an offering that is made with fire. It will give a smell that is pleasant to the Lord. Bring a burnt offering of one bull and one ram. Also bring seven male lambs that are a year old. They must not have any flaws.


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" 'Prepare their grain offerings and drink offerings. Prepare them along with the bull, the ram and the lambs. Prepare them in keeping with the required number.


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" 'Include a male goat as a sin offering. It is in addition to the regular burnt offering. It is also in addition to the grain offering and drink offering.


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" 'Here are the offerings you must prepare for the Lord at your appointed feasts. They are burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings and friendship offerings. They are in addition to the offerings you bring to keep a special promise you make to the Lord. They are also in addition to the offerings you choose to give.' "


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Suppose a man makes a special promise to the Lord. Or suppose he takes an oath and agrees to do something. Then he must keep his promise. He must do everything he said he would do.


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"Suppose a young woman is still living in her father's house. She makes a special promise to the Lord. Or she takes an oath and agrees to do something.


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"Suppose her father hears about her promise or oath. And he doesn't say anything to her about it. Then she must keep her promise. She must do what she agreed to do.


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"But suppose her father doesn't allow her to keep her promises when he hears about them. Then she doesn't have to do what she promised or agreed to do. The Lord will set her free. He'll do it because her father hasn't allowed her to keep her promises.


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"Suppose she gets married after she makes a special promise. Or she gets married after agreeing to do something without thinking it through.


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Suppose her husband hears about what she did. And he doesn't say anything to her about it. Then she must keep her promise. She must do what she agreed to do.


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"But suppose her husband doesn't allow her to keep her promises when he hears about them. Then she doesn't have to do what she promised. She doesn't have to do what she agreed to do without thinking it through. The Lord will set her free.


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"Suppose a widow makes a special promise. Or suppose she takes an oath and agrees to do something. Then she must keep her promise. She must do what she agreed to do. The same rules apply to a woman who has been divorced.


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"Suppose a woman who is living with her husband makes a special promise. Or she takes an oath and agrees to do something.


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Suppose her husband hears about what she did. He doesn't say anything to her about it. And he doesn't try to stop her from keeping her promises. Then she must keep her promise. She must do what she agreed to do.


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"But suppose her husband doesn't allow her to keep her promises when he hears about them. Then she doesn't have to do what she promised. She doesn't have to do what she agreed to do. Her husband has kept her from doing what she said she would do. The Lord will set her free.


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"Her husband can let her keep any special promise she makes. Or he can refuse to let her keep it. "Suppose she takes an oath and agrees not to eat anything. Then her husband can let her keep her promise. Or he can refuse to let her keep it.


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"But suppose day after day her husband doesn't say anything to her about what she did. Then he lets her keep all of her promises. He lets her do everything she agreed to do. That's because he didn't say anything to her when he heard about what she had done.


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"But suppose some time after he hears about her promises he doesn't let her keep them. Then she will be guilty. But he will be held accountable for it."


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Those are the rules the Lord gave Moses about a man and his wife. And those are the rules the Lord gave about a father and his young daughter who is still living in his house.


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"Pay the people of Midian back for what they did to the Israelites. After that, you will join the members of your family who have already died."


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So Moses said to the people, "Prepare some of your men for battle. They must go to war against Midian. They will carry out the Lord's plan to punish Midian.


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So Moses prepared 12,000 men for battle. There were 1,000 from each tribe. They came from the families of Israel.


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Moses sent them into battle. He sent 1,000 from each tribe. The priest Phinehas went along with them. Phinehas was the son of Eleazar. Phinehas took some articles from the sacred tent with him. He also took the trumpets. The trumpet blasts would tell the people what to do and when to do it.


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Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba were among the men they killed. Those men were the five kings of Midian. The people of Israel also killed Balaam, the son of Beor, with a sword.


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They captured the women and children of Midian. They took for themselves all of the herds, flocks and goods.


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They burned up all of the towns where the people of Midian had settled. They also burned up all of their camps.


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They brought back to Israel's camp the prisoners and everything else they had taken. They took them to Moses and to the priest Eleazar. They brought them to the whole community. Israel was camped on the flatlands of Moab. They were by the Jordan River across from Jericho.


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Moses and the priest Eleazar went to meet them outside the camp. So did all of the leaders of the community.


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Moses was angry with the officers of the army who had returned from the battle. Some of them were the commanders of thousands of men. Others were the commanders of hundreds.


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"The women followed Balaam's advice. They caused the people of Israel to turn away from the Lord. The people worshiped the god Baal that was worshiped at Peor. So a plague struck them.


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"All of you who have killed anyone must stay outside the camp for seven days. And all of you who have touched anyone who was killed must do the same thing. On the third and seventh days you must make yourselves pure. You must also make your prisoners pure.


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Make all of your clothes pure and clean. Everything that is made out of leather, goat hair or wood must be made pure."


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Then the priest Eleazar spoke to the soldiers who had gone into battle. He said, "Here is what the law the Lord gave Moses requires.


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must be put through fire. So must everything else that doesn't burn up. Then those things will be 'clean.' But they must also be made pure with the special water. In fact, everything that won't burn up must be put through that water.


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"Here is what you and the priest Eleazar and the family heads of the community must do. You must count all of the people and animals you took.


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Divide up some of what you took with the soldiers who fought in the battle. Divide up the rest with the others in the community.


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"Set apart a gift for me. Take something from the soldiers who fought in the battle. Set apart one out of every 500 people, cattle, donkeys, sheep and goats.


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"Also take something from the half that belongs to the people of Israel. Choose one out of every 50 people, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats or other animals. Give them to the Levites. They are accountable for taking care of my holy tent."


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Moses gave the gift to the priest Eleazar. It was the Lord's share. Moses did just as the Lord had commanded him.


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The other half belonged to the people of Israel. Moses set it apart from what belonged to the fighting men.


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Moses chose one out of every 50 people and animals. He gave them to the Levites. They were accountable for taking care of the Lord's holy tent. Moses did just as the Lord had commanded him.


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Then the army officers went to Moses. Some of them were the commanders of thousands of men. Others were the commanders of hundreds.


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All of them said to Moses, "We have counted the soldiers under our command. Not a single one is missing.


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"So we've brought an offering to the Lord. We've brought the gold articles each of us took in the battle. We've also brought armbands, bracelets, rings, earrings and necklaces. We've brought them to pay for our sin in the sight of the Lord."


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The gold that was received from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds weighed 420 pounds. Moses and Eleazar offered all of it as a gift to the Lord.


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Moses and the priest Eleazar accepted the gold from all of the commanders. They brought it into the Tent of Meeting. It reminded the Lord of the people of Israel.


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The tribes of Reuben and Gad had very large herds and flocks. They looked at the lands of Jazer and Gilead. They saw that those lands were just right for livestock.


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So they came to Moses and the priest Eleazar. They also came to the leaders of the community. They said,


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"We have seen the cities of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah and Heshbon. We've seen Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon.


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All of them are in the land the Lord has brought under Israel's control. This land is just right for livestock. And we have livestock.


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"We hope you are pleased with us," they continued. "If you are, please give us this land. Then it will belong to us. But don't make us go across the Jordan River."


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Moses spoke to the people of Gad and Reuben. He said, "Should the rest of us go to war while you stay here?


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The Lord has given the land of Canaan to the people of Israel. So why would you want to keep them from going over into it?


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They went up to the Valley of Eshcol and looked at the land. Then they talked the people of Israel out of entering the land the Lord had given them.


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"Not one of the men who is 20 years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land. They have not followed me with their whole heart. I took an oath and promised to give the land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.


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" 'But not one of these men will see it except Caleb and Joshua. Caleb is the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite. And Joshua is the son of Nun. They will see the land. They followed me with their whole heart.'


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"The Lord's anger burned against Israel. He made them wander around in the desert for 40 years. They wandered until all of the people who had done evil in his sight had died.


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"Now here you are, you bunch of sinners! You have taken the place of your fathers. And you are making the Lord even more angry with Israel.


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What if you turn away from following him? Then he'll leave all of these people in the desert again. And it will be your fault when they are destroyed."


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Then they came up to Moses. They said, "We would like to build pens here for our livestock. We would also like to build cities for our women and children.


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"But we're ready to prepare ourselves for battle. We're even ready to go ahead of the people of Israel. We'll go with them until we've brought them to their place. While we're gone, our women and children will live in cities that have high walls around them. That will keep them safe from the people who are living in this land.


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"We won't return to our homes until all of the people of Israel have received their share of the land.


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"We won't receive any share with them on the west side of the Jordan River. We've already received our share here on the east side."


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Then Moses said to them, "Do what you have promised to do. Prepare yourselves to fight for the Lord.


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Prepare yourselves and go across the Jordan River. Fight for the Lord until he has driven out his enemies in front of him.


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"When the land is under the Lord's control, you can come back here. Your duty to the Lord and Israel will be over. Then the Lord will give you this land as your own.


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"But what if you fail to do your duty? Then you will be sinning against the Lord. And you can be sure that your sin will be discovered. It will be brought out into the open.


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"So build up cities for your women and children. Make sheep pens for your flocks. But do what you have promised to do."


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But we will prepare ourselves for battle. We'll go across the Jordan River and fight for the Lord. We will do just as you have said."


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Then Moses gave orders about them to the priest Eleazar. He gave the same orders to Joshua, the son of Nun. He also spoke to the family heads of the tribes of Israel.


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He said, "The men of Gad and Reuben must prepare themselves for battle. They must go across the Jordan River with you. They must help you fight for the Lord. They must stay with you until the land has been brought under your control. If they do, give them the land of Gilead as their own.


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"But what if they don't get ready for battle? What if they don't go across the Jordan with you? Then they must accept a share with you in Canaan."


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We'll get ready for battle. We'll go across the Jordan into Canaan. We'll fight for the Lord there. But the property we receive will be on this side of the Jordan River."


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Then Moses gave their land to them. He gave it to the tribes of Gad and Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh. Manasseh was Joseph's son. One part of that land had belonged to the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites. The other part had belonged to the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan. Moses gave that whole land to those two and a half tribes. It included its cities and the territory around them.


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Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran. They built a high wall around each of those cities. They also built sheep pens for their flocks.


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The people of Makir, the son of Manasseh, went to the land of Gilead. They captured it. They drove out the Amorites who were living there.


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Jair was a man in the family line of Manasseh. Jair captured Gilead's settlements. He called them Havvoth Jair.


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Here are the places where the people of Israel stopped during their journey. When they came out of Egypt, they marched in companies like an army. Moses and Aaron led them.


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The people of Israel started out from Rameses. It was the 15th day of the first month. It was the day after the Passover Feast. They marched out boldly in plain sight of all of the Egyptians.


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The Egyptians were burying all of their oldest sons. The Lord had struck them down. He had done it when he punished their gods.


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They left Etham and turned back to Pi Hahiroth. It was east of Baal Zephon. They camped near Migdol.


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They left Pi Hahiroth. Then they passed through the Red Sea into the desert. They traveled for three days in the Desert of Etham. Then they camped at Marah.


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They left Marah and went to Elim. Twelve springs and 70 palm trees were there. So they camped at Elim.


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The priest Aaron went up Mount Hor when the Lord commanded him to. That's where he died. It happened on the first day of the fifth month. It was the 40th year after the people of Israel came out of Egypt.


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The Canaanite king of Arad lived in the Negev Desert in Canaan. He heard that the people of Israel were coming.


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They left the mountain range of Abarim and camped on the flatlands of Moab. They were by the Jordan River across from Jericho.


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On the flatlands of Moab the Lord spoke to Moses. He spoke to him by the Jordan River across from Jericho. The Lord said,


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Drive out all those who are living in the land. The statues of their gods are made out of stone and metal. Destroy all of those statues. And destroy all of the high places where they are worshiped.


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Use lots when you give out the land. Do it based on the number of men who are in each tribe and family. Give a larger share to a larger group. And give a smaller group a smaller share. The share they receive by using lots will belong to them. Give out the shares based on the number of men in Israel's tribes.


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" 'But suppose you do not drive out the people who are living in the land. Then those you allow to remain there will become like needles in your eyes. They will become like thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.


text:
"Give the people of Israel a command. Tell them, 'You are going to enter Canaan. The land will be given to you as your own. Here are the borders it will have.


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" 'Your southern border will include some of the Desert of Zin. It will be along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern border will start from the end of the Dead Sea.


text:
It will cross south of Scorpion Pass. It will continue on to Zin. From there it will go south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon.


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" 'Your western border will be the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. That will be your border on the west.


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It will continue to Ziphron. It will come to an end at Hazar Enan. That will be your border on the north.


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The border will go down from Shepham to Riblah. Riblah is on the east side of Ain. From there the border will continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Galilee.


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Then the border will go down along the Jordan River. It will come to an end at the Dead Sea. " 'That will be your land. And those will be its borders on every side.' "


text:
Moses gave the people of Israel a command. He said, "Use lots when you give out the land. Each tribe will have its own share. The Lord has ordered it to be given to the nine and a half tribes.


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"The families of the tribes of Reuben and Gad have already received their shares. The families of half of the tribe of Manasseh have also received their share.


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Those two and a half tribes have received their shares east of the Jordan River. It flows near Jericho. Their land is toward the sunrise."


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"Here are the names of the men who will give out the shares of the land to your people. They are the priest Eleazar and Joshua, the son of Nun.


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Hanniel, the son of Ephod, is the leader from the tribe of Manasseh. Manasseh was the son of Joseph.


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Kemuel, the son of Shiphtan, is the leader from the tribe of Ephraim. Ephraim was the son of Joseph.


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Those are the men the Lord commanded to give out the shares of the land. They were commanded to give them to Israel in the land of Canaan.


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On the flatlands of Moab, the Lord spoke to Moses. It was by the Jordan River across from Jericho. The Lord said,


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"Command the people of Israel to give the Levites towns to live in. The towns must come from the shares of land the people will have as their own. Also give the Levites the grasslands that are around the towns.


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Then the Levites will have towns to live in. They will also have grasslands that are for their cattle, flocks and all of their other livestock.


text:
"The grasslands that are around each town you give them will go out to 1,500 feet from the town wall.


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Outside each town, the east side will measure 3,000 feet. The south side will measure 3,000 feet. The west side will measure 3,000 feet. And the north side will measure 3,000 feet. The town must be in the center. The Levites will have the area around it as grasslands.


text:
"Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities to go to for safety. A person who has killed someone can run to one of them. Also give the Levites 42 other towns.


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You must give the Levites a total of 48 towns. Also give them the grasslands that are around the towns.


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"The towns you give the Levites must come from the land the people of Israel have as their own. So the number you give from each tribe will depend on the size of that tribe's share. Take many towns from a tribe that has many. But take only a few towns from a tribe that has only a few."


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"Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, 'You will soon go across the Jordan River. You will enter Canaan.


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When you do, choose the cities to go to for safety. People who have killed someone by accident can run to one of those cities.


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They will be places of safety for them. People will be safe there from those who want to kill them. Then those who are charged with murder will not die before their case has been brought to the community court.


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" 'Those six towns will be places where the people of Israel can go for safety. Outsiders and any other people living in Israel can also go to them for safety. So anyone who has killed another person by accident can run there.


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" 'Suppose a person uses an iron object to hit and kill someone. Then he is a murderer. He must be put to death.


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Or suppose a person is holding a stone that could kill. And he uses it to hit and kill someone. Then he is a murderer. He must be put to death.


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Or suppose a person is holding a wooden object that could kill. And he uses it to hit and kill someone. Then he is a murderer. He must be put to death.


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" 'The dead person's nearest male relative should kill the murderer. When he meets him, he should kill him.


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" 'What if a person makes evil plans against someone else? And what if that person pushes him so that he dies? Or what if that person throws something at him so that he dies?


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Or what if that person hits the other person with a fist so that the other dies? Then the person who does any of those things must be put to death. He is a murderer. " 'The dead person's nearest male relative should kill the murderer. When he meets him, he should kill him.


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" 'But what if a person suddenly pushes someone else without being angry? Or what if that person throws something at him without meaning to?


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Or what if that person does not see him and drops a stone on him that kills him? He was not the dead person's enemy. He did not mean to harm him.


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" 'Then the court must decide between the person who did the act and the nearest male relative of the one who was killed. Here are the rules the court must follow.


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" 'The court must provide a safe place for the person who is charged with murder. It must keep him safe from those who want to kill him. The court must send him back to the city he ran to for safety. He must stay there until the high priest dies. The priest is the one who has been anointed with the holy oil.


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And suppose the dead person's nearest male relative finds that one outside the city. Then the relative can kill the one who has been charged. The relative will not be guilty of murder.


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" 'The one who has been charged must stay in that city until the high priest dies. Only then can the one who has been charged return home.


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" 'That is what the law requires of you for all time to come. It will apply to you no matter where you live.


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" 'Suppose a person kills someone. That person must be put to death as a murderer. But do it only when there are witnesses who can tell what happened. Do not put anyone to death if only one witness tells what happened.


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" 'Do not accept payment for anyone who has run to a city for safety. Do not let him buy his freedom to return home. He must not go back and live on his own land before the high priest dies.


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" 'Do not pollute the land where you are. Murder pollutes the land. Only one thing can pay to remove the pollution in the land where murder has been committed. The blood of the one who spilled another's blood must be spilled.


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So do not make the land where you live "unclean." I live there too. I live among the people of Israel. I am the Lord.' "


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The heads of the families of Gilead came to Moses. Gilead was the son of Makir. The family heads were from the tribe of Manasseh. So they were in the family line of Joseph. They spoke to Moses in front of the leaders of the families of Israel.


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They said, "The Lord commanded you to give shares of the land to the people of Israel. He told you to use lots when you do it. At that time the Lord ordered you to give our brother Zelophehad's share to his daughters.


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"Suppose they get married to men who are from other tribes in Israel. Then their share will be taken away from our family's land. It will be added to the land of the tribe they marry into. So a part of the share that was given to us will be taken away.


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The Year of Jubilee for the people of Israel will come. Then their share will be added to the land of the tribe they marry into. Their land will be taken away from the share that was given to our tribe."


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Then the Lord gave a command to Moses. He told Moses to give an order to the people of Israel. Moses said, "What the tribe in the family line of Joseph is saying is right.


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"Here is what the Lord commands for Zelophehad's daughters. They can get married to anyone they want to. But they have to get married to someone in their own family's tribe.


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"Property in Israel must not pass from one tribe to another. Everyone in Israel must keep his family's share of his tribe's land.


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"Suppose a daughter in any tribe of Israel receives land from her parents. Then she must get married to someone in her father's family and tribe. In that way, every family's share will remain in its family line in Israel.


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"Property can't pass from one tribe to another. Each tribe of Israel must keep the land it receives."


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The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah. All of them got married to their cousins on their father's side.


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They married men who were in the family line of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. So the land they received remained in their father's family and tribe.


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Those are the commands and rules the Lord gave through Moses. He gave them to the people of Israel on the flatlands of Moab. They were by the Jordan River across from Jericho.


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These are the words Moses spoke to all of the people of Israel. At that time, they were in the desert east of the Jordan River. It's in the Arabah Valley across from Suph. They were between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab.


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It was now the 40th year since the people of Israel had left Egypt. On the first day of the 11th month, Moses spoke to them. He told them everything the Lord had commanded him to tell them.


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They had already won the battle over Sihon. Sihon was the king of the Amorites. He had ruled in Heshbon. Israel had also won the battle over Og at Edrei. Og was the king of Bashan. He had ruled in Ashtaroth.


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The people were east of the Jordan River in the territory of Moab. There Moses began to explain the law. Here is what he said.


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The Lord our God spoke to us at Mount Horeb. He said, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain.


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Take your tents down. Go into the hill country of the Amorites. Go to all of the people who are their neighbors. Go to the people who live in the Arabah Valley. Travel to the mountains and the western hills. Go to the people in the Negev Desert and along the coast. Travel to the land of Canaan and to Lebanon. Go as far as the great Euphrates River.


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"I have given you all of that land. Go in and take it as your own. I took an oath. I promised I would give the land to your fathers. I promised it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I also said I would give it to their children after them."


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The Lord is the God of your people. May he increase your numbers a thousand times. May he bless you, just as he promised he would.


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"So choose some wise men from each of your tribes. They must understand how to give good advice. The people must have respect for them. I will appoint those men to have authority over you."


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So I took the leading men of your tribes who were wise and respected. I appointed them to have authority over you. I made them commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. I appointed them to be officials over the tribes.


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Here is what I commanded your judges at that time. I said, "Listen to your people's cases when they argue with one another. Judge them fairly. It doesn't matter whether the case is between fellow Israelites or between an Israelite and an outsider.


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When you judge them, treat everyone the same. Listen to those who are important and those who are not. Don't be afraid of any man. God is the highest judge. Bring me any case that is too hard for you. I'll listen to it."


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The Lord our God commanded us to start out from Mount Horeb. So we did. We went toward the hill country of the Amorites. We traveled all through the huge and terrible desert you saw. Finally, we reached Kadesh Barnea.


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Then I said to you, "You have reached the hill country of the Amorites. The Lord our God is giving it to us.


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The Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take it. Do what the Lord says. He's the God of your people. Don't be afraid. Don't lose hope."


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Then all of you came to me. You said, "Let's send some men ahead of us. They can check out the land for us and bring back a report. They can suggest to us which way to go. They can tell us about the towns we'll come to."


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They left and went up into the hill country. There they came to the Valley of Eshcol. They checked it out.


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They got some of the fruit of that land. They brought it down to us and gave us their report. They said, "The Lord our God is giving us a good land."


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You spoke against him in your tents. You said, "The Lord hates us. That's why he brought us out of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites. He wanted to destroy us.


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Where can we go? The men who checked out the land have made us lose hope. They say, 'The people are stronger and taller than we are. The cities are large. They have walls that reach up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.' "


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The Lord your God will go ahead of you. He will fight for you. With your own eyes you saw how he fought for you in Egypt.


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"You also saw how the Lord your God brought you through the desert. He carried you everywhere you went, just as a father carries his son. And now you have arrived here."


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He went ahead of you on your journey. He was in the fire at night and in the cloud during the day. He found places for you to camp. He showed you the way you should go.


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"I promised to give this good land to your people long ago. But not one of you evil men who are alive today will see it.


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"Only Caleb will see the land. He is the son of Jephunneh. I will give him and his children after him the land he walked on. He followed me with his whole heart."


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But Joshua, the son of Nun, is your helper. Joshua will enter the land. Help him to be brave. Give him hope. He will lead Israel to take the land as their own.


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"You said your little ones would be taken prisoner. But they will enter the land. They do not know right from wrong yet. But I will give them the land. They will take it as their own.


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Then you replied, "We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight. We'll do just as the Lord our God has commanded us." So all of you got your swords and put them on. You thought it would be easy to go up into the hill country.


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But the Lord spoke to me. He said, "Tell them, 'Do not go up and fight. I will not be with you. Your enemies will win the battle over you.' "


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So I told you what the Lord said. But you wouldn't listen. You refused to obey his command. You were so filled with pride that you marched up into the hill country.


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The Amorites who lived in those hills came out and attacked you. Like large numbers of bees they chased you. They beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah.


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You came back and sobbed in front of the Lord. But he didn't pay any attention to your sobs. He wouldn't listen to you.


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We turned back and started out toward the desert. We went along the road that leads to the Red Sea. That's how the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.


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"Here are the orders I want you to give the people. Tell them, 'You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives. They are from the family line of Esau. They live in Seir. They will be afraid of you. But be very careful.


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Do not make them angry. If you do, they will go to war against you. I will not give you any of their land. You will not have even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.


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The Lord your God has blessed you in everything your hands have done. He watched over you when you traveled through that huge desert. For these 40 years the Lord your God has been with you. So you have had everything you need.


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We went on past our relatives. They are from the family line of Esau. They live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah Valley road. It comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber. We traveled along the desert road of Moab.


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Then the Lord said to me, "Do not attack the Moabites. Do not even make them angry. If you do, they will go to war against you. I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Moab to the people in the family line of Lot. I have given it to them as their own."


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The Emites used to live there. They were strong people. There were large numbers of them. They were as tall as the Anakites.


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The Horites used to live in Seir. But the people of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites to make room for themselves. Then they settled in their territory. They did just as Israel has done in the land the Lord gave them as their own.


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Between the time we left Kadesh Barnea and the time we went across the Zered Valley, 38 years passed. By then, all of the fighting men who had been in our camp from the beginning had died. The Lord had warned them with an oath that it would happen.


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He used his power against them until he had gotten rid of all of them. Not one was left in the camp.


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"When you come to the Ammonites, do not attack them. Do not make them angry. If you do, they will go to war against you. I will not give you any of their land as your own. I have given it to the people in the family line of Lot. I have given it to them as their own."


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That land was also thought of as a land of the Rephaites. They used to live there. But the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.


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The Rephaites were strong people. There were large numbers of them. They were as tall as the Anakites. The Lord destroyed the Rephaites to make room for the Ammonites. So the Ammonites drove them out. Then they settled in the territory of the Rephaites.


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The Lord had done the same thing for the people of Esau. They lived in Seir. He destroyed the Horites to make room for them. They drove the Horites out. So the people of Esau have lived in Seir in the territory of the Horites to this very day.


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The Avvites lived in villages as far away as Gaza. But people came from Crete. They destroyed the Avvites. Then they settled in the territory of the Avvites.


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The Lord said, "Start out and go across the valley of the Arnon River. I have handed Sihon over to you. He is the Amorite king of Heshbon. I have also given you his country. Begin to take it as your own. Go to war against him.


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"This very day I will bring fear and terror on all of the nations because of you. They will hear about you. They will tremble with fear. Pain and suffering will take hold of them because of you."


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I sent messengers from the Desert of Kedemoth. I told them to go to Sihon, the king of Heshbon. They offered him peace. They said,


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"Let us pass through your country. We'll stay on the main road. We won't turn off it to one side or the other.


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We'll pay you the right amount of silver for food to eat and water to drink. Just let us walk through your country.


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The people of Esau, who live in Seir, allowed us to do that. The people of Moab, who live in Ar, also allowed us to do it. So let us walk through until we go across the Jordan River. Then we'll be able to go into the land the Lord our God is giving us."


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But Sihon, the king of Heshbon, refused to let us walk through. The Lord your God had made his heart and spirit stubborn. The Lord wanted to hand him over to you. And that's exactly what he has done.


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The Lord said to me, "I have begun to hand Sihon and his country over to you. So begin the battle to take his land as your own."


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But the Lord our God handed him over to us. We struck him down together with his sons and his whole army.


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At that time we took all of his towns. We completely destroyed them. We killed all of the men, women and children. We didn't leave any of them alive.


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Not a single town was too strong for us. That includes all of the towns from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon River valley all the way to Gilead. It also includes the town in the valley. The Lord our God gave us all of them.


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And you obeyed the Lord's command. You didn't go near any part of the land of the Ammonites. That includes the land along the Jabbok River. It also includes the land around the towns that are in the hills.


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Next, we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan. Og, the king of Bashan, marched out with his whole army. They fought against us at Edrei.


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The Lord said to me, "Do not be afraid of Og. I have handed him over to you. I have also handed over his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon. Sihon was the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon."


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So the Lord our God also handed Og, the king of Bashan, and his whole army over to us. We struck them down. We didn't leave any of them alive.


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At that time we took all of his cities. There were 60 of them. We took the whole area of Argob. That was Og's kingdom in Bashan.


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All of those cities had high walls around them. The city gates were made secure with heavy metal bars. There were also large numbers of villages that didn't have walls.


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We completely destroyed them. We did to them just as we had done to Sihon, the king of Heshbon. We destroyed all of their cities. We destroyed the men, women and children.


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So at that time we took the territory east of the Jordan River. We captured it from those two Amorite kings. The territory goes all the way from the Arnon River valley to Mount Hermon.


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We captured all of the towns on the high flatlands. We took the whole land of Gilead. And we captured the whole land of Bashan as far away as Salecah and Edrei. Those were towns that belonged to Og's kingdom in Bashan.


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Og, the king of Bashan, was the only Rephaite left. His bed was made out of iron. It was more than 13 feet long and six feet wide. It is still in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.


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I divided up the land we took over at that time. I gave the tribes of Reuben and Gad the territory north of Aroer by the Arnon River valley. It includes half of the hill country of Gilead together with its towns.


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I gave the rest of Gilead to half of the tribe of Manasseh. I also gave them the whole land of Bashan, the kingdom of Og. The whole area of Argob in Bashan used to be known as a land of the Rephaites.


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Jair took the whole area of Argob. He was from the family line of Manasseh. Argob goes all the way to the border of the people of Geshur and Maacah. It was named after Jair. So Bashan is called Havvoth Jair to this very day.


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But I gave to the tribes of Reuben and Gad the territory that reaches from Gilead down to the Arnon River valley. It reaches all the way to the Jabbok River. The Jabbok is the northern border of Ammon. The middle of the Arnon River valley is its southern border.


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The western border of Reuben and Gad is the Jordan River in the Arabah Valley. It reaches from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. It runs below the slopes of Pisgah.


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Here is the command I gave at that time to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. I said, "The Lord your God has given you this land as your very own. But all of your strong men must be prepared for battle. They must cross over ahead of the rest of your fellow Israelites.


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"But your wives and children can stay in the towns I've given you. You can keep your livestock there too. I know you have a lot of livestock.


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Let your families and livestock stay in those towns until the Lord gives peace and rest to the other tribes, just as he has given you peace and rest. And let them stay until the other tribes have taken over the land the Lord your God is giving them. That land is across the Jordan River. After that, each of you may go back to the land I've given you as your very own."


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At that time I gave Joshua a command. I said, "Your own eyes have seen everything the Lord your God has done to Sihon and Og. He will do the same thing to all of the kingdoms in the land where you are going.


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"Lord and King, you have begun to show me how great you are. You have shown me how strong your hand is. You do great works and mighty acts. There isn't any god in heaven or on earth that can do what you do.


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Let me go across the Jordan River. Let me see the good land that is beyond it. I want to see that fine hill country and Lebanon."


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But the Lord was angry with me because of what you did. He wouldn't listen to me. "That is enough!" the Lord said. "Do not speak to me anymore about this matter.


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Go up to the highest slopes of Pisgah. Look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes. But you are not going to go across that Jordan River.


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"So appoint Joshua as the new leader. Help him to be brave. Give him hope and strength. He will take these people across the Jordan. You will see the land. But he will lead them into it to take it as their own."


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Israel, listen to the rules and laws I'm going to teach you. Follow them. Then you will live. You will go in and take over the land. The Lord was the God of your people long ago. He's giving you the land.


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Don't add to what I'm commanding you. Don't subtract from it either. Instead, obey the commands of the Lord your God that I'm giving you.


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Your own eyes saw what the Lord your God did at Baal Peor. He destroyed every one of your people who followed the Baal that was worshiped at Peor.


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I have taught you rules and laws, just as the Lord my God commanded me. Follow them in the land you are entering to take as your very own.


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Be careful to keep them. That will show the nations how wise and understanding you are. They will hear about all of those rules. They'll say, "That great nation certainly has wise and understanding people."


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The Lord our God is near us every time we pray to him. What other nation is great enough to have its gods that close to them?


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I'm giving you the laws of the Lord today. What other nation is great enough to have rules and laws that are as fair as these?


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Don't be careless. Instead, be very careful. Don't forget the things your eyes have seen. As long as you live, don't let them slip from your mind. Teach them to your children and their children after them.


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Remember the day you stood at Mount Horeb. The Lord your God was there. He said to me, "Bring the people to me to hear my words. I want them to learn to have respect for me as long as they live in the land. I want them to teach my words to their children."


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You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain. It blazed with fire that reached as high as the very heavens. There were black clouds and deep darkness.


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Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of his words. But you didn't see any shape or form. You only heard a voice.


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He announced his covenant to you. That covenant is the Ten Commandments. He commanded you to follow them. Then he wrote them down on two stone tablets.


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At that time the Lord directed me to teach you his rules and laws. You must follow them in the land you are crossing the Jordan River to take as your own.


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The Lord spoke to you at Mount Horeb out of the fire. But you didn't see any shape or form that day. So be very careful.


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Make sure you don't commit a horrible sin. Don't make for yourselves a statue of a god. Don't make a god that looks like a man or woman or anything else.


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Don't make a statue that looks like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish that swims in the water.


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When you look up at the heavens, you will see the sun and moon. And you will see huge numbers of stars. Don't let anyone tempt you to bow down to the sun, moon or stars. Don't worship things the Lord your God has provided for all of the nations on earth.


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Egypt was like a furnace that melts iron down and makes it pure. But the Lord took you and brought you out of Egypt. He wanted you to be his very own people. And that's exactly what you are.


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The Lord was angry with me because of what you did. He took an oath that he would never let me go across the Jordan River. He promised that I would never enter that good land. It's the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own.


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I'll die here in this land. I won't go across the Jordan. But you are about to cross over it. And you are about to take that good land as your own.


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Be careful. Don't forget the covenant the Lord your God made with you. Don't make for yourselves a statue of any god at all. He has told you not to. So don't do it.


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You will have children and grandchildren. And you will live in the land a long time. But don't commit a horrible sin. Don't make a statue of a god. If you do, that will be an evil thing in the sight of the Lord your God. You will make him angry.


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I'm calling out to heaven and earth to be witnesses against you this very day. If you do those things, you will quickly die in the land you are going across the Jordan River to take over. You won't live there very long. You will certainly be destroyed.


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The Lord will drive you out of your land. He will scatter you among the nations. Only a few of you will remain alive there.


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There you will worship gods that men have made out of wood and stone. Those gods can't see, hear, eat or smell.


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Perhaps while you are there, you will look to the Lord your God. You will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.


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All of the things I've told you about might happen to you. And you will be in trouble. But later you will return to the Lord your God. You will obey him.


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The Lord your God is tender and loving. He won't leave you or destroy you. He won't forget the covenant he made with your people long ago. He took an oath when he made it.


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Ask now about the days of long ago. Learn what happened long before your time. Ask about what has happened since the time God created man on the earth. Ask from one end of the world to the other. Has anything as great as this ever happened? Has anything like it ever been heard of?


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You heard the voice of God speaking out of fire. And you lived! Has that happened to any other people?


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Has any god ever tried to take one nation out of another to be his own? Has any god done it by putting his people to the test? Has any god done it with miraculous signs and wonders or with a war? Has any god reached out his mighty hand and powerful arm? Or has any god shown his people his great and wonderful acts? The Lord your God did all of those things for you in Egypt. With your very own eyes you saw him do them.


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The Lord showed you those things so that you might know he is God. There is no other God except him.


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From heaven he made you hear his voice. He wanted to teach you. On earth he showed you his great fire. You heard his words coming out of the fire.


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He loved your people long ago. He chose their children after them. So he brought you out of Egypt. He used his great strength to do it.


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He drove out nations to make room for you. They were greater and stronger than you are. He will bring you into their land. He wants to give it to you as your very own. The whole land is as good as yours right now.


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The Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Today you must agree with that and take it to heart. There is no other God.


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I'm giving you his rules and commands today. Obey them. Then things will go well with you and your children after you. You will live a long time in the land. The Lord your God is giving you the land for all time to come.


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Anyone who killed a person he didn't hate and without meaning to do it could run to one of those cities. He could go there and stay alive.


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Here are the names of the cities. Bezer was for the people of Reuben. It was in the high flatlands in the desert. Ramoth was for the people of Gad. It was in Gilead. Golan was for the people of Manasseh. It was in Bashan.


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They were now east of the Jordan River in the valley near Beth Peor. They were in the land of Sihon, the king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon. But the people of Israel and I won the battle over him after we came out of Egypt.


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We captured his land and made it our own. We also took the land of Og, the king of Bashan. Sihon and Og were the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River.


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It included the whole Arabah Valley east of the Jordan. It included land all the way to the Dead Sea below the slopes of Pisgah.


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I sent for all of the people of Israel. Here is what I said to them. Israel, listen to me. Here are the rules and laws I'm announcing to you today. Learn them well. Be sure to follow them.


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He didn't make it only with our parents. He also made it with us. In fact, he made it with all of us who are alive here today.


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At that time I stood between the Lord and you. I announced to you the Lord's message. I did it because you were afraid of the fire. You didn't go up the mountain. The Lord said,


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Do not bow down to them or worship them. I am the Lord your God. I am a jealous God. I punish the children for the sin of their parents. I judge the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those who hate me.


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But the seventh day is a Sabbath in honor of the Lord your God. Do not do any work on that day. The same command applies to your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your oxen, your donkeys and your other animals. It also applies to any outsiders who live in your cities. I want your male and female servants to rest, just as you do.


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Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. The Lord your God reached out his mighty hand and powerful arm and brought you out of there. So he has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.


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"Honor your father and mother, just as the Lord your God commanded you. Then you will live a long time in the land he is giving you. And things will go well with you there.


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"Do not long for your neighbor's wife. Do not long to have anything that belongs to your neighbor. Do not long to have your neighbor's house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey."


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Those are the commandments the Lord announced in a loud voice to your whole community. He gave them to you there on the mountain. He spoke out of the fire, cloud and deep darkness. He didn't add anything else. Then he wrote the commandments on two stone tablets. And he gave them to me.


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The mountain was blazing with fire. You heard the voice coming out of the darkness. So your elders and all of the leaders of your tribes came to me.


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You said, "The Lord our God has shown us his glory and majesty. We have heard his voice coming out of the fire. Today we have seen that a man can still stay alive even if God speaks with him.


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But why should we die? This great fire will burn us up. We'll die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God again.


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"We have heard the voice of the living God. We've heard him speaking out of the fire. Has any other human being ever heard him speak like that and stayed alive?


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Go near and listen to everything the Lord our God says. Then tell us what he tells you. We will listen and obey."


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The Lord heard you when you spoke to me. He said to me, "I have heard what these people said to you. Everything they said was good.


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But I wish they would always have respect for me in their hearts. I wish they would always obey all of my commands. Then things would go well with them and their children forever.


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But you stay here with me. Then I will give you all of my commands, rules and laws. You must teach the people to follow them in the land I am giving them as their very own."


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So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you. Don't turn away from his commands to the right or the left.


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Live exactly as the Lord your God has commanded you to live. Then you will enjoy life in the land you will soon own. Things will go well with you there. You will live there for a long time.


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The Lord your God has directed me to teach you his commands, rules and laws. Obey them in the land you will take over when you go across the Jordan River.


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Then you, your children and their children after them will have respect for the Lord your God as long as you live. Keep all of his rules and commands I'm giving you. If you do, you will enjoy long life.


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Israel, listen to me. Make sure you obey me. Then things will go well with you. Your numbers will increase greatly in a land that has plenty of milk and honey. That's what the Lord, the God of your parents, promised you.


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Make sure your children learn them. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up.


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The Lord your God will bring you into the land of Canaan. He took an oath. He promised he would give the land to your fathers. He promised it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The land has large, wealthy cities you didn't build.


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It has houses that are filled with all kinds of good things you didn't provide. It has wells you didn't dig. And it has vineyards and groves of olive trees you didn't plant. You will have plenty to eat.


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But be careful that you don't forget the Lord. Remember that he brought you out of Egypt. That's the land where you were slaves.


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Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve. When you make promises, take your oaths in his name.


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The Lord your God is among you. He is a jealous God. If you worship other gods, his anger will burn against you. And he will destroy you from the face of the land.


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Do what is right and good in the Lord's eyes. Then things will go well with you. You will go in and take over the land. It's the good land the Lord promised with an oath to your people long ago.


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You will drive out all of your enemies to make room for you. That's what the Lord said would happen.


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Later on, your son might ask you, "What is the meaning of the terms, rules and laws the Lord our God has commanded you to obey?"


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If he does, tell him, "We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. But the Lord used his mighty hand to bring us out of Egypt.


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With our own eyes we saw the Lord send miraculous signs and wonders. They were great and terrible. He sent them on Egypt and Pharaoh and everyone in his house.


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"But the Lord brought us out of Egypt. He planned to bring us into the land of Canaan and give it to us. It's the land he promised with an oath to our people long ago.


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"The Lord our God commanded us to obey all of his rules. He commanded us to have respect for him. If we do, we will always succeed and be kept alive. That's what is happening today.


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We must make sure we obey the whole law in the sight of the Lord our God. That's what he has commanded us to do. If we obey his law, we'll be doing what he requires of us."


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The Lord your God will bring you into the land. You are going to enter it and take it as your own. He'll drive many nations out to make room for you. He'll drive out the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Those seven nations are larger and stronger than you are.


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The Lord your God will hand them over to you. You will win the battle over them. You must completely destroy them. Don't make a peace treaty with them. Don't show them any mercy.


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Don't get married to any of them. Don't give your daughters to their sons. And don't take their daughters for your sons.


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If you do, those people will turn your children away from following the Lord. Then your children will serve other gods. The Lord's anger will burn against you. It will quickly destroy you.


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So here is what you must do to those people. Break down their altars. Smash their sacred stones. Cut down the poles they use to worship the goddess Asherah. Burn the statues of their gods in the fire.


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You are a holy nation. The Lord your God has set you apart for himself. He has chosen you to be his special treasure. He chose you out of all of the nations on the face of the earth to be his people.


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The Lord chose you because he loved you very much. He didn't choose you because you had more people than other nations. In fact, you had the smallest number of all.


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The Lord chose you because he loved you. He wanted to keep the promise he had made with an oath to your people long ago. That's why he brought you out of Egypt with a mighty hand. He bought you back from the land where you were slaves. He set you free from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.


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So I want you to realize that the Lord your God is God. He is the faithful God. He keeps his covenant for all time to come. He keeps it with those who love him and obey his commands. He shows them his love.


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But he will pay back those who hate him. He'll destroy them. He'll quickly pay back those who hate him.


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Pay attention to the laws of the Lord your God. Be careful to obey them. Then he will keep his covenant of love with you. That's what he promised with an oath to your people long ago.


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The Lord will love you and bless you. He'll increase your numbers. He'll give you many children. He'll bless the crops of your land. He'll give you plenty of grain, olive oil and fresh wine. He'll bless your herds with many calves. He'll give your flocks many lambs. He'll do all of those things for you in the land of Canaan. It's the land he promised your people long ago that he would give you.


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He will bless you more than any other nation. All of your men and women will have children. All of your livestock will have little ones.


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The Lord will keep you from getting sick. He won't send on you any of the horrible sicknesses you saw all around you in Egypt. But he'll send them on everyone who hates you.


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You must destroy all of the nations the Lord your God hands over to you. Don't feel sorry for them. Don't serve their gods. If you do, they will be a trap for you.


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But don't be afraid of them. Be sure to remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all of the Egyptians.


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With your own eyes you saw what the Lord did to them. You saw his miraculous signs and wonders. He reached out his mighty hand and powerful arm. The Lord your God used all of those things to bring you out. He will do the same things to all of the nations you are now afraid of.


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The Lord your God will also send hornets among them. Some of the people who are left alive will hide from you. But even they will die.


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The Lord your God will drive out those nations to make room for you. But he will do it little by little. You won't be allowed to get rid of them all at once. If you did, wild animals would multiply all around you.


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But the Lord your God will hand those nations over to you. He will throw them into a panic until they are destroyed.


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He will hand their kings over to you. You will wipe out their names from the earth. No one will be able to stand up against you. You will destroy them.


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Burn the statues of their gods in the fire. Don't long for the silver and gold that is on those statues. Don't take it for yourselves. If you do, it will be a trap for you. The Lord your God hates it.


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Don't bring anything he hates into your house. If you do, you will be completely destroyed along with it. So hate it with all your heart. It is set apart to be destroyed.


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Make sure you follow every command I'm giving you today. Then you will live. You will increase your numbers. You will enter the land and take it as your own. It's the land the Lord promised with an oath to your people long ago.


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Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way. He guided you in the desert for these 40 years. He wanted to take your pride away. He wanted to put you to the test and know what was in your hearts. He wanted to see whether you would obey his commands.


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He took your pride away. He let you go hungry. Then he gave you manna to eat. You and your parents had never even known anything about manna before. He tested you to teach you that man doesn't live only on bread. He also lives on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.


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Here is what I want you to know in your hearts. The Lord your God trains you, just as parents train their children.


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The Lord your God is bringing you into a good land. It has streams and pools of water. Springs flow in its valleys and hills.


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There is plenty of food in that land. You will have everything you need. Its rocks have iron in them. And you can dig copper out of its hills.


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When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God. Praise him for the good land he has given you.


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Make sure you don't forget the Lord your God. Don't fail to obey his commands, laws and rules. I'm giving them to you today.


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But suppose you don't obey his commands. And suppose you have plenty to eat. You build fine houses and settle down in them.


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Your herds and flocks increase their numbers. You also get more and more silver and gold. And everything you have multiplies.


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Then your hearts will become proud. And you will forget the Lord your God. The Lord brought you out of Egypt. That's the land where you were slaves.


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He led you through that huge and terrible desert. It was a dry land. It didn't have any water. It had poisonous snakes and scorpions. The Lord gave you water out of solid rock.


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He gave you manna to eat in the desert. Your parents had never even known anything about manna before. The Lord took your pride away. He put you to the test. He did it so that things would go well with you in the end.


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But remember the Lord your God. He gives you the ability to produce wealth. That shows he stands by the terms of his covenant. He promised it with an oath to your people long ago. And he's still faithful to his covenant today.


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Don't forget the Lord your God. Don't follow other gods. Don't worship them and bow down to them. I give witness against you today that if you do, you will certainly be destroyed.


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You will be destroyed just like the nations the Lord your God is destroying to make room for you. That's what will happen if you don't obey him.


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Israel, listen to me. You are now about to go across the Jordan. You will take over the land of the nations that live there. Those nations are greater and stronger than you are. Their large cities have walls that reach up to the sky.


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The people who live there are Anakites. They are strong and tall. You know all about them. You have heard people say, "Who can stand up against the Anakites?"


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But today you can be sure the Lord your God will go over there ahead of you. He is like a fire that will burn them up. He'll destroy them. He'll bring them under your control. You will drive them out. You will put an end to them quickly, just as the Lord has promised you.


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The Lord your God will drive them out to make room for you. When he does, don't say to yourselves, "The Lord has done it because we are godly. That's why he brought us here to take over this land." That isn't true. The Lord is going to drive out those nations to make room for you because they are very evil.


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You are not going in to take over their land because you have done what is right or honest. It's because those nations are so evil. That's why the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you. He will do what he said he would do. He took an oath and made a promise to your fathers. He made it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.


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The Lord your God is giving you this good land to take as your own. But you must understand that it isn't because you are a godly nation. In fact, you are stubborn.


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Here is something you must remember. Never forget it. You made the Lord your God angry in the desert. You refused to obey him from the day you left Egypt until you arrived here.


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I went up the mountain. I went there to receive the tablets of the covenant. They were made out of stone. It was the covenant the Lord had made with you. I stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. I didn't eat any food or drink any water.


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The Lord gave me two stone tablets. The words on them were written by the finger of God. All of the commandments the Lord gave you were written on the tablets. He announced them to you out of the fire on the mountain. He wrote them on the day you gathered together there.


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The 40 days and 40 nights came to an end. Then the Lord gave me the two stone tablets. They were the tablets of the covenant.


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The Lord told me, "Go down from here right away. The people you brought out of Egypt have become very sinful. They have quickly turned away from what I commanded them. They have made a metal statue of a god for themselves."


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Do not try to stop me. I am going to destroy them. I will wipe them out from the earth. Then I will make you into a great nation. Your people will be stronger than they were. There will be more of you than there were of them."


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So I turned and went down the mountain. It was blazing with fire. I was carrying the two tablets of the covenant.


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When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made for yourselves a metal statue of a god. It looked like a calf. You had quickly turned away from the path the Lord had commanded you to follow.


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Then once again I fell down flat in front of the Lord with my face toward the ground. I lay there for 40 days and 40 nights. I didn't eat any food or drink any water. You had committed a terrible sin. You had done an evil thing in the Lord's sight. You had made him angry.


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I was afraid of the Lord's burning anger. He was so angry with you he wanted to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me again.


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I also got that sinful calf you had made. I burned it in the fire. I crushed it and ground it into fine powder. Then I threw the powder into a stream that was flowing down the mountain.


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The Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea. He said, "Go up and take over the land I have given you." But you refused to do what the Lord your God had commanded you to do. You didn't trust him or obey him.


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I lay down in front of the Lord with my face toward the ground for 40 days and 40 nights. I did it because the Lord had said he would destroy you.


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I prayed to him. "Lord and King," I said, "don't destroy your people. They belong to you. You set them free by your great power. You used your mighty hand to bring them out of Egypt.


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Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Forgive the people of Israel for being so stubborn. Don't judge them for the evil and sinful things they've done.


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"If you do, the Egyptians will say, 'The Lord wasn't able to take them into the land he had promised to give them. He hated them. So he brought them out of Egypt to put them to death in the desert.'


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But they are your people. They belong to you. You used your great power to bring them out of Egypt. You reached out your mighty arm and saved them."


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At that time the Lord spoke to me. He said, "Carve out two stone tablets, just like the first ones. Then come up to me on the mountain. Also make a wooden chest.


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I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Then you must put the tablets in the chest."


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So I made the ark out of acacia wood. I carved out two stone tablets that were just like the first ones. I went up the mountain. I carried the two tablets in my hands.


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The Lord wrote on the tablets what he had written before. It was the Ten Commandments. He had announced them to you out of the fire on the mountain. It was on the day you had gathered together there. So the Lord gave the tablets to me.


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Then I came back down the mountain. I put the tablets in the ark I had made, just as the Lord had commanded me. And that's where they are now.


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Remember how the people of Israel traveled from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah. That's where Aaron died. And his body was buried there. His son Eleazar became the next priest after him.


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From Moserah the people traveled to Gudgodah. Then they went on to Jotbathah. That land has streams of water.


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At that time the Lord set the tribe of Levi apart. He appointed them to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord. He wanted them to serve him. He told them to bless the people in his name. And they still do it today.


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That's why the Levites don't have any part of the land the Lord gave the other tribes in Israel. They don't have any share among them. The Lord himself is their share. That's what the Lord your God told them.


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I had stayed on the mountain for 40 days and nights, just as I did the first time. The Lord listened to me that time also. He didn't want to destroy you.


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"Go," the Lord said to me. "Lead the people on their way. Then they can enter the land and take it over. I have taken an oath. I promised I would give the land to their fathers. I promised it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."


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And now, Israel, what is the Lord your God asking you to do? Have respect for him. Live exactly as he wants you to live. Love him. Serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.


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The heavens belong to the Lord your God. Even the highest heavens belong to him. He owns the earth and everything in it.


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But the Lord loved your people very much long ago. You are their children. And he chose you above all of the other nations. His love and his promise remain with you to this very day.


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The Lord your God is the greatest God of all. He is the greatest Lord of all. He is the great God. He is mighty and wonderful. He treats everyone the same. He doesn't accept any money from those who want special favors.


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He stands up for widows and for children whose fathers have died. He loves outsiders. He gives them food and clothes.


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Have respect for the Lord your God. Serve him. Remain true to him. When you make promises, take your oaths in his name.


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He is the one you should praise. He's your God. With your own eyes you saw the great and wonderful miracles he did for you.


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Long ago, your people went down into Egypt. The total number of them was 70. And now the Lord your God has made you as many as the stars in the sky.


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Remember today that your children weren't the ones the Lord your God taught and trained. They didn't see his majesty. They weren't in Egypt when he reached out his mighty hand and powerful arm.


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They didn't see the miraculous signs and the other things he did in Egypt. They didn't see what he did to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his whole country.


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They weren't there when he destroyed the army of Egypt and its horses and chariots. The Lord swept the waters of the Red Sea over the Egyptians while they were chasing you. He wiped them out forever.


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They didn't see what he did to Dathan and Abiram, who were the sons of Eliab. Eliab was from the tribe of Reuben. The earth opened its mouth right in the middle of the Israelite camp. It swallowed up Dathan and Abiram. It swallowed them up together with their families, tents and every living thing that belonged to them.


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So obey all of the commands I'm giving you today. Then you will be strong enough to go in and take over the land. You will go across the Jordan River and take it as your own.


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You will live in the land for a long time. It's the land the Lord promised to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children after them. He took an oath when he made that promise. It's a land that has plenty of milk and honey.


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You will enter it and take it over. It isn't like the land of Egypt. That's where you came from. You planted your seeds there. You had to water them, just as you have to water a vegetable garden.


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But you will soon go across the Jordan River. The land you are going to take over has mountains and valleys in it. It drinks rain from heaven.


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It's a land the Lord your God takes care of. His eyes always look on it with favor. He watches over it from the beginning of the year to its end.


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So be faithful. Obey the commands the Lord your God is giving you today. Love him. Serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.


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Then the Lord will send rain on your land at the right time. He'll send rain in the fall and in the spring. You will be able to gather your grain. You will also be able to make olive oil and fresh wine.


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But be careful. Don't let anyone tempt you to do something wrong. Don't turn away and worship other gods. Don't bow down to them.


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If you do, the Lord's anger will burn against you. He'll close up the sky. It won't rain. The ground won't produce its crops. Soon you will die. You won't live to enjoy the good land the Lord is giving you.


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So keep my words in your hearts and minds. Write them down and tie them on your hands as a reminder. Also tie them on your foreheads.


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Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up.


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Then you and your children will live for a long time in the land. The Lord took an oath and promised to give the land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Your family line will continue as long as the heavens remain above the earth.


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So be careful. Obey all of the commands I'm giving you to follow. Love the Lord your God. Live exactly as he wants you to live. Remain true to him.


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Then the Lord will drive out all of the nations to make room for you. They are larger and stronger than you are. But you will take their land.


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Every place you walk on will belong to you. Your territory will go all the way from the desert to Lebanon. It will go from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea.


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No man will be able to stand up against you. The Lord your God will throw the whole land into a panic because of you. He'll do it everywhere you go, just as he promised you.


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But you will be cursed if you don't obey them. So don't turn away from the path I'm now commanding you to take. Don't worship other gods. You haven't known anything about them before.


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The Lord your God will bring you into the land to take it over. When he does, you must announce the blessings from Mount Gerizim. You must announce the curses from Mount Ebal.


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As you know, those mountains are across the Jordan River. They are beyond the road that runs along the west side of the Jordan. They are near the large trees of Moreh. The mountains are in the territory of the Canaanites, who live in the Arabah Valley near Gilgal.


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You are about to go across the Jordan River. You will enter the land and take it over. The Lord your God is giving it to you. You will take it over and live there.


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Here are the rules and laws you must obey. Be careful to follow them in the land the Lord has given you to take as your own. He's the God of your people who lived long ago. Obey these rules and laws as long as you live in the land.


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You will soon drive the nations out of it. Completely destroy all of the places where they worship their gods. Destroy them on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.


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Break down their altars. Smash their sacred stones. Burn up the poles they use to worship the goddess Asherah. Cut down the statues of their gods. Wipe out the names of their gods from those places.


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Instead, go to the special place he will choose from among all of your tribes. He will put his Name there. That's where you must go.


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Take your burnt offerings and sacrifices to that place. Bring your special gifts and a tenth of everything you produce. Take with you what you have promised to give. Bring any other offerings you choose to give. And bring the male animals among your livestock that were born first to their mothers.


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You and your families will eat at the place the Lord your God will choose. He will be with you there. You will find joy in everything you have done. That's because he has blessed you.


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That's because you haven't yet reached the place the Lord is giving you. Your God will give you peace and rest there.


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But first you will go across the Jordan River. You will settle in the land he's giving you. It will belong to you as your share. He will give you peace and rest from all of your enemies around you. You will live in safety.


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The Lord your God will choose a special place. He will put his Name there. That's where you must bring everything I command you to bring. That includes your burnt offerings and sacrifices. It includes your special gifts and a tenth of everything you produce. It also includes all of the things of value that you promised to give to the Lord.


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Be filled with joy there in the sight of the Lord your God. Your children should also be joyful. So should your male and female servants. And so should the Levites from your towns. The Levites won't receive any part of the land as their share.


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Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes. There obey everything I command you.


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But you can kill your animals in any of your towns. You can eat as much of the meat as you want to. You can eat it as if it were antelope or deer meat. That's in keeping with the blessing the Lord your God is giving you. Those who are "clean" and those who are not can eat it.


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Here are the things you must not eat in your own towns. You must not eat the tenth part of your grain, olive oil and fresh wine. It belongs to the Lord. You must not eat the male animals among your livestock that were born first to their mothers. Don't eat anything you have promised to give. Don't eat any offerings you have chosen to give. And you must not eat any of your special gifts.


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Instead, you must eat all of those things in the sight of the Lord your God. Do it at the place he will choose. You, your children, your male and female servants and the Levites from your towns can eat them. Be filled with joy in the sight of the Lord your God. Be joyful in everything you do.


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The Lord your God will increase your territory, just as he has promised you. When he does, you might get hungry for meat. You might say, "I'd really like some meat." Then you can eat as much of it as you want to.


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The Lord your God will choose a special place. He will put his Name there. But suppose it's too far away for you to go to it. Then you can kill animals from the herds and flocks the Lord has given you. Do it just as I have commanded you. In your own towns you can eat as much of the meat as you want to.


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Eat it as you would eat antelope or deer meat. Those who are "clean" and those who are not can eat it.


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But be sure you don't eat meat that still has blood in it. The blood is the animal's life. So you must not eat the life along with the meat.


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Don't eat it. Then things will go well with you and your children after you. You will be doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.


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But go to the place the Lord will choose. Take with you the things you have set apart for him. Bring what you have promised to give him.


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Sacrifice your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God. Offer the meat and the blood there. The blood of your sacrifices must be poured out beside his altar. But you can eat the meat.


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Make sure you obey all of the rules I'm giving you. Then things will always go well with you and your children after you. That's because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God.


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You are about to attack the land and take it over as your own. When you do, the Lord your God will cut off the nations who live there. He will do it to make room for you. You will drive them out. You will settle in their land.


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They will be destroyed to make room for you. But when they are, be careful. Don't be trapped. Don't ask questions about their gods. Don't say, "How do these nations serve their gods? We'll do it in the same way."


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You must not worship the Lord your God the way they worship their gods. When they worship, they do all kinds of evil things the Lord hates. They even burn up their children in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.


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Be sure you do everything I'm commanding you to do. Don't add anything to my commands. And don't take anything away from them.


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Suppose a prophet appears among you. Or someone comes who uses dreams to tell what's going to happen. He tells you that a miraculous sign or wonder is going to take place.


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The sign or wonder he has spoken about might really take place. And he might say, "Let's follow other gods. Let's worship them." But you haven't known anything about those gods before.


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So you must not listen to what that prophet or dreamer has said. The Lord your God is putting you to the test. He wants to know whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.


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You must follow him. You must have respect for him. Keep his commands. Obey him. Serve him. Remain true to him.


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That prophet or dreamer must be put to death. He told you not to obey the Lord your God. The Lord brought you out of Egypt. He set you free from the land where you were slaves. He commanded you to live the way he wants you to. But that prophet or dreamer has tried to make you turn away from it. Get rid of that evil person.


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Suppose your very own brother or sister secretly tempts you to do something wrong. Or your child or the wife you love tempts you. Or your closest friend does it. Suppose one of them says, "Let's go and worship other gods." But you and your people long ago hadn't known anything about those gods before.


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They are the gods of the nations that are around you. Those nations might be near or far away. In fact, they might reach from one end of the land to the other.


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Don't give in to those who are tempting you. Don't listen to them. Don't feel sorry for them. Don't spare them or save them.


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You must certainly put them to death. You must be the first to throw stones at them. Then all of the people must do the same thing.


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Put them to death by throwing stones at them. They tried to turn you away from the Lord your God. He brought you out of Egypt. That's the land where you were slaves.


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After you kill those who tempted you, all of the people of Israel will hear about it. And they will be too scared to do an evil thing like that again.


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The Lord your God is giving you towns to live in. But suppose you hear something bad about one of those towns.


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You hear that evil men have appeared among you. They've tried to get the people of their town to do something wrong. They've said, "Let's go and worship other gods." But you haven't known anything about those gods before.


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So you must question people. You must check the matter out carefully. If it's true, an evil thing has really happened among you. It's something the Lord hates.


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Then you must certainly kill with your swords everyone who lives in that town. Destroy it completely. Wipe out its people and livestock.


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Gather all of the goods of that town into the middle of the main street. Burn the town completely. Burn up everything in it. It's a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. The town must remain a pile of stones forever. It must never be built again.


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Don't keep anything that should be destroyed. Then the Lord will turn away from his burning anger. He will show you mercy. He'll have deep concern for you. He'll increase your numbers. That's what he promised your people long ago. He took an oath when he made the promise.


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The Lord your God will do those things if you obey him. I'm giving you his commands today. And you must obey all of them. You must do what is right in his eyes.


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You are the children of the Lord your God. Don't cut yourselves to honor the dead. Don't shave the front of your heads to honor them.


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You are a holy nation. The Lord your God has set you apart for himself. He has chosen you to be his special treasure. He chose you out of all of the nations on the face of the earth.


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Some animals only chew the cud. Others only have hoofs that are completely separated in two. The camel, rabbit and rock badger chew the cud, but they don't have hoofs that are completely separated. So you can't eat them. They are not "clean" for you.


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Pigs aren't "clean" for you either. They have hoofs that are completely separated, but they don't chew the cud. So don't eat their meat. And don't touch their dead bodies.


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If you find something that's already dead, don't eat it. You can give it to an outsider who is living in any of your towns. He can eat it. Or you can sell it to someone who is from another country. But you are a holy nation. The Lord your God has set you apart for himself. Don't cook a young goat in its mother's milk.


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Here are the things you should eat in the sight of the Lord your God. You should eat a tenth part of your grain, olive oil and fresh wine. You should also eat the male animals among your livestock that were born first to their mothers. Eat all of those things at the special place the Lord your God will choose. He will put his Name there. You will learn to have respect for him always.


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But suppose the place the Lord will choose for his Name is too far away from you. And suppose your God has blessed you. And your tenth part is too heavy for you to carry.


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Use the silver to buy anything you like. It can be cattle or sheep. It can be any kind of wine. In fact, it can be anything else you wish. Then you and your family can eat there in the sight of the Lord your God. You can be filled with joy.


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Don't forget to take care of the Levites who will live in your towns. They won't receive any part of the land as their share.


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At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of everything you produce that year. Store it in your towns.


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Then the Levites can come and eat. That's because they won't receive any part of the land as their share. The outsiders and widows who live in your towns can come. So can the children whose fathers have died. Everyone can have plenty to eat. Then the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.


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Have you made a loan to one of your own people? Then forgive what is owed to you. You can't require that person to pay you back. The Lord's time to forgive what is owed has been announced.


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You can require someone from another nation to pay you back. But you must forgive your own people what they owe you.


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There shouldn't be any poor people among you. The Lord will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you. You will take it over as your own.


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The Lord your God will bless you if you obey him completely. Be careful to follow all of the commands I'm giving you today.


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The Lord your God will bless you, just as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations. But you won't have to borrow from any of them. You will rule over many nations. But none of them will rule over you.


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Suppose there are poor people among you. And suppose they live in one of the towns in the land the Lord your God is giving you. Then don't be mean to them. They are poor. So don't hold back money from them.


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Be careful not to have an evil thought in your mind. Don't say to yourself, "The seventh year will soon be here. It's the year for forgiving people what they owe." If you think like that, you might treat your needy people badly. You might not give them anything. Then they might make their appeal to the Lord against you. And he will find you guilty of sin.


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So give freely to those who are needy. Open your hearts to them. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all of your work. He will bless you in everything you do.


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There will always be poor people in the land. So I'm commanding you to give freely to those who are poor and needy in your land. Open your hands to them.


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Suppose Hebrew men or women sell themselves to you. If they do, they will serve you for six years. Then in the seventh year you must let them go free.


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Freely give them some animals from your flock. Also give them some of your grain and wine. The Lord your God has blessed you richly. Give to them as he has given to you.


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Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. The Lord your God set you free. That's why I'm giving you this command today.


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But suppose your servant says to you, "I don't want to leave you." He loves you and your family. And you are taking good care of him.


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Then take him to the door of your house. Poke a hole through his ear lobe into the doorpost. And he will become your servant for life. Do the same with your female servant.


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Don't think you are being cheated when you set your servants free. After all, they have served you for six years. The service of each of them has been worth twice as much as the service of a hired worker. And the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.


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Set apart to the Lord your God every male animal among your livestock that was born first to its mother. Don't put that kind of ox to work. Don't clip the wool from that kind of sheep.


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Each year you and your family must eat them. Do it in the sight of the Lord your God at the place he will choose.


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Suppose an animal has something wrong with it. It might not be able to see or walk. Or it might have a bad flaw. Then you must not sacrifice it to the Lord your God.


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You must eat it in your own towns. Those who are "clean" and those who are not can eat it. Eat it as if it were antelope or deer meat.


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Celebrate the Passover Feast of the Lord your God in the month of Abib. In that month he brought you out of Egypt at night.


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Sacrifice an animal from your flock or herd. It is the Passover sacrifice in honor of the Lord your God. Sacrifice it at the special place the Lord will choose. He will put his Name there.


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Don't eat the animal along with bread that is made with yeast. Instead, for seven days eat bread that is made without yeast. It's the bread that reminds you of how much you suffered. Remember that you left Egypt in a hurry. Remember it all the days of your life. Don't forget the day you left Egypt.


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Don't keep any yeast anywhere in your land for seven days. Don't let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day be left over until the next morning.


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Sacrifice it only in the special place he will choose for his Name. Sacrifice it there in the evening when the sun goes down. Do it on the same day every year. Be sure it's the day you left Egypt.


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Cook it and eat it. Do it at the place the Lord your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents.


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For six days eat bread that is made without yeast. On the seventh day come together for a service in honor of the Lord your God. Don't do any work.


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Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks in honor of the Lord your God. Give anything you choose to give as an offering. Do it in keeping with the blessings the Lord has given you.


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Be filled with joy in the sight of the Lord your God. Be joyful at the special place he will choose for his Name. You, your children, and your male and female servants should be joyful. So should the Levites who are living in your towns. So should the outsiders and widows who are living among you. And so should the children whose fathers have died.


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Gather the grain from your threshing floors. Take the fresh wine from your winepresses. Then celebrate the Feast of Booths for seven days.


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Be filled with joy at your Feast. You, your children, and your male and female servants should be joyful. So should the Levites, the outsiders, and the widows who are living in your towns. And so should the children whose fathers have died.


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For seven days celebrate the Feast in honor of the Lord your God. Do it at the place he will choose. The Lord will bless you when you gather all of your crops. He'll bless you in everything you do. And you will be full of joy.


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All of your men must appear in front of the Lord your God at the holy tent. They must go to the place he will choose. They must do it three times a year. They must go there to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths. No man should appear in front of the Lord without bringing something with him.


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Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes. Do it in every town the Lord your God is giving you. They must judge the people fairly.


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Do what is right. Treat everyone the same. Don't take money from people who want special favors. It makes those who are wise close their eyes to the truth. It twists the words of those who do what is right.


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Follow only what is right. If you do, you will live. You will take over the land the Lord your God is giving you.


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Don't set up a wooden pole that is used to worship the goddess Asherah. Don't set it up beside the altar you build to worship the Lord your God.


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Don't set up a sacred stone to honor another god. The Lord your God hates Asherah poles and sacred stones.


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Suppose an ox or sheep has anything at all wrong with it. Then don't sacrifice it to the Lord your God. He hates it.


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Someone who is living among you might do what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God. It might happen in one of the towns the Lord is giving you. That person is breaking the Lord's covenant.


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The person might have worshiped or bowed down to other gods. That person might have bowed down to the sun or moon or stars in the sky. I have commanded you not to do those things.


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When you hear that people have done something like that, check the matter out carefully. If it's true, an evil thing has been done in Israel. It's something the Lord hates.


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So take the person who has done that evil thing to your city gate. Put that person to death with stones.


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The witness of two or three people is required to put someone to death. No one can be put to death because of what only one witness says. It needs the witness of two or three people.


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The witnesses must throw the first stones. Then the rest of the people must also throw stones. Get rid of that evil person.


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People will bring their cases to your courts. But some cases will be too hard for you to judge. They might be about murders, attacks or other crimes. Then take those hard cases to the place the Lord your God will choose.


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Go to a priest, who is a Levite. And go to the judge who is in office at that time. Ask them for their decision. They will give it to you.


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They'll hand down their decisions at the place the Lord will choose. You must do what they decide. Be careful to do everything they direct you to do.


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Act in keeping with the laws they teach you. Accept the decisions they give you. Don't turn away from what they tell you. Don't turn to the right or the left.


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Someone might make fun of the judge. Or he might make fun of the priest who serves the Lord your God at the place he will choose. If the man does that, he must be put to death. Remove that evil person from Israel.


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All of the people of Israel will hear about it. And they will be afraid to make fun of a judge or priest again.


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You will enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. You will take it as your own. You will settle down in it. When you do, you will say, "Let's appoint a king over us, just like all of the nations around us."


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When that happens, make sure you appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your own people. Don't appoint over you someone from another country. Don't choose anyone who isn't from one of the tribes of Israel.


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The king must not get large numbers of horses for himself. He must not make the people return to Egypt to get more horses. The Lord has told you, "You must not go back there again."


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The king must not have a lot of wives. If he does, he will be led down the wrong path. He must not store up large amounts of silver and gold.


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When he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he must make himself a copy of the law I'm teaching you. He must write it on a scroll. He must copy it from the scroll of a priest, who is a Levite.


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The king must keep the scroll close to him at all times. He must read it all the days of his life. Then he can learn to have respect for the Lord his God. He can carefully follow all of the words of that law and those rules.


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He won't think of himself as being better than his people are. He won't turn away from the law. He won't turn to the right or the left. Then he and his sons after him will rule over his kingdom in Israel for a long time.


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The priests, who are Levites, won't receive any part of the land of Israel. That also applies to the whole tribe of Levi. They will eat the offerings that are made to the Lord with fire. That will be their share.


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They won't have any part of the land the Lord gave the other tribes in Israel. The Lord himself is their share, just as he promised them.


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Anyone who sacrifices a bull or a sheep owes a share of it to the priests. Their share is the shoulder, jaws and inside parts.


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You must give the priests the first share of the harvest of your grain, olive oil and fresh wine. You must also give them the first wool you clip from your sheep.


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The Lord your God has chosen the Levites and their sons after them to serve him in his name always. He hasn't chosen priests from any of your other tribes.


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Sometimes a Levite will move from the town in Israel where he's living. And he will come to the place the Lord will choose. He'll do it because he really wants to.


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Then he can serve in the name of the Lord his God. He'll be like all of the other Levites who serve the Lord there.


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He must have an equal share of the good things they have. That applies even if he has already received money by selling things his family owned.


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You will enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you do, don't copy the practices of the nations that are there. The Lord hates those practices.


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Here are things you must not do. Don't sacrifice your children in the fire to other gods. Don't practice any kind of evil magic at all. Don't use magic to try to explain the meaning of warnings in the sky or of any other signs. Don't take part in worshiping evil powers.


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Don't put a spell on anyone. Don't get messages from those who have died. Don't talk to the spirits of the dead. Don't get advice from the dead.


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The Lord your God hates it when anyone does those things. The nations that are in the land he's giving you practice the things he hates. So he will drive out those nations to make room for you.


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You will take over the nations that are in the land the Lord is giving you. They listen to those who practice all kinds of evil magic. But you belong to the Lord your God. He says you must not do those things.


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The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me. He will be one of your own people. You must listen to him.


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At Mount Horeb you asked the Lord your God for a prophet. You asked him on the day you gathered together. You said, "We don't want to hear the voice of the Lord our God. We don't want to see this great fire anymore. If we do, we'll die."


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I will raise up for them a prophet like you. He will be one of their own people. I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him to say.


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"The prophet will speak in my name. But someone might not listen to what I say through the prophet. Then that person will be accountable to me.


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"But suppose a prophet dares to speak in my name something I have not commanded him to say. Or he speaks in the name of other gods. Then that prophet must be put to death."


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Sometimes a prophet will announce something in the name of the Lord. And it won't take place or come true. Then that's a message the Lord hasn't told him to speak. That prophet has dared to speak on his own authority. So don't be afraid of him or what he says.


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The Lord your God will destroy the nations whose land he is giving you. You will drive them out. And you will settle down in their towns and houses.


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When you do, set apart for yourselves three cities in the land. It's the land the Lord your God is giving you to take as your own.


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Build roads to those cities and separate the land into three parts. Then anyone who kills another person can run to one of the cities for safety. They are in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own.


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Here is the rule about a person who kills someone. That person can run to one of those cities for safety. The rule applies to all those who kill a neighbor they didn't hate and didn't mean to kill.


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For example, suppose a man goes into a forest with his neighbor to cut wood. When he swings his ax to chop down a tree, the head of the ax flies off. And it hits his neighbor and kills him. Then that man can run to one of those cities and save his life.


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If he doesn't go to one of those cities, the dead man's nearest male relative might become very angry. He might chase the man. If the city is too far away, he might catch him and kill him. But he isn't worthy of death, because he didn't hate his neighbor.


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The Lord your God will increase the size of your territory. He took an oath and promised your fathers he would do it. He will give you the whole land he promised them.


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But he'll do it only if you are careful to obey all of the laws I'm commanding you today. I'm commanding you to love the Lord your God. I want you to live always as he wants you to live. When he gives you additional land, you must set apart three more cities.


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Do it so the blood of those who aren't guilty of murder won't be spilled in your land. It's the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own.


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But suppose a man hates his neighbor. So he hides and waits for him. Then he attacks him and kills him. And he runs to one of those cities for safety.


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If he does, the elders of his own town must send for him. He must be brought back from the city and handed over to the dead man's nearest male relative. The relative will kill him.


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Don't feel sorry for him. He has killed someone who hadn't done anything wrong. Crimes like that must be punished in Israel. Then things will go well with you.


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Don't move your neighbor's boundary stone. It was set up by people who lived there before you. It marks the border of a field in the land you will receive as your own. The Lord your God is giving you that land. You will take it over.


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Suppose someone is charged with committing a crime of any kind. Then one witness won't be enough to prove he is guilty. Every matter must be proved by the words of two or three witnesses.


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Suppose a witness who tells lies goes to court and brings charges against someone. The witness says that person committed a crime.


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Then the two people in the case must stand in front of the Lord. They must stand in front of the priests and the judges who are in office at that time.


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The judges must check out the matter carefully. And suppose the witness is proved to be lying. Then he has given false witness against another Israelite.


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The rest of the people will hear about it. And they will be afraid. They won't allow such an evil thing to be done among them again.


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Don't feel sorry for that evil person. A life must be taken for a life. An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth. A hand must be cut off for a hand and a foot for a foot.


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When you go to war against your enemies, you might see that they have horses and chariots. They might even have an army that is stronger than yours. But don't be afraid of them. The Lord your God will be with you. After all, he brought you up out of Egypt.


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He'll say, "Men of Israel, listen to me. Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Don't be scared. Don't be afraid. Don't panic. Don't be terrified by them.


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The Lord your God is going with you. He'll fight for you. He'll help you win the battle over your enemies."


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The officers will speak to the army. They will say, "Has anyone built a new house and not started to live in it? Let him go home. If he doesn't, he might die in battle. Then someone else will live in his house.


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Has anyone planted a vineyard and not started to enjoy it? Let him go home. If he doesn't, he might die in battle. Then someone else will enjoy his vineyard.


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Has anyone promised to get married to a woman but hasn't done it yet? Let him go home. If he doesn't, he might die in battle. Then someone else will marry her."


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The officers will continue, "Is any man afraid? Is anyone scared? Let him go home. Then the other men won't lose hope too."


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Suppose they accept your offer and open their gates. Then force all of the people in the city to be your slaves. They will have to work for you.


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But suppose they refuse your offer of peace and prepare for battle. Then surround that city. Get ready to attack it.


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But you can take the women and children for yourselves. You can also take the livestock and everything else in the city. What you have captured from your enemies you can use for yourselves. The Lord your God has given it to you.


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That's how you must treat all of the cities that are far away from you. Those cities don't belong to the nations that are nearby.


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But what about the cities the Lord your God is giving you as your own? Kill everything in those cities that breathes.


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Completely destroy them. Wipe out the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. That's what the Lord your God commanded you to do.


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If you don't destroy them, they'll teach you to follow all of the things the Lord hates. He hates the way they worship their gods. If you do those things, you will sin against the Lord your God.


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Suppose you surround a city and get ready to attack it. And suppose you fight against it for a long time in order to capture it. Then don't chop its trees down and destroy them. You can eat their fruit. So don't cut them down. The trees of the field aren't people. So why should you attack them?


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But you can cut down trees that you know aren't fruit trees. You can build war machines out of their wood. You can use them until you capture the city you are fighting against.


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Suppose you find someone who has been killed. The body is lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to take as your own. But no one knows who the killer was.


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Then your elders and judges will go out and measure how far it is from the body to the nearby towns.


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The elders from the town that is nearest to the body will get a young cow. It must never have been used for work. It must never have pulled a load.


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The elders must lead it down into a valley. The valley must not have been farmed. There must be a stream flowing through it. There in the valley the elders must break the cow's neck.


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The priests, who are sons of Levi, will step forward. The Lord your God has chosen them to serve him. He wants them to bless the people in his name. He wants them to decide all cases that have to do with people arguing and attacking others.


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Then all of the elders from the town that is nearest to the body will wash their hands. They will wash them over the young cow whose neck they broke in the valley.


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Accept this payment for the sin of your people Israel. Lord, you have set your people free. Don't hold them guilty for spilling the blood of someone who hasn't done anything wrong." That will pay for the death of that person.


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So you will get rid of the guilt of killing someone who didn't do anything wrong. That's because you have done what is right in the Lord's eyes.


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Suppose you go to war against your enemies. And the Lord your God hands them over to you and you take them as prisoners.


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Have her throw away the clothes she was wearing when she was captured. Let her live in your house and sob over her parents for a full month. Then you can go to her and be her husband. And she will be your wife.


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But suppose you aren't pleased with her. Then let her go where she wants to. You must not sell her. You must not treat her as a slave. You have already brought shame on her.


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Suppose a man has two wives. He loves one but not the other. And both of them have sons by him. But the oldest son is the son of the wife the man doesn't love.


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Someday he'll leave his property to his sons. When he does, he must not give the rights of the oldest son to the son of the wife he loves. He must give those rights to his oldest son. He must do it even though his oldest son is the son of the wife he doesn't love.


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He must recognize the full rights of the oldest son, even though that son is the son of the wife he doesn't love. He must give that son a double share of everything he has. That son is the first sign of his father's strength. So the rights of the oldest son belong to him.


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Suppose someone has a very stubborn son. He doesn't obey his father and mother. And he won't listen to them when they try to correct him.


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They will say to the elders, "This son of ours is very stubborn. He won't obey us. He wastes his money. He's always getting drunk."


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Then all of the people in his town will put him to death by throwing stones at him. Get rid of that evil person. All of the people of Israel will hear about it. And they will be afraid to disobey their parents.


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Suppose a man is put to death for a crime that is worthy of death. And a pole is stuck through his body and set up where people can see it.


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Then you must not leave the body on the pole all night. Make sure you bury it that same day. Everyone who is hung on a pole is under God's curse. You must not make the land "unclean." The Lord your God is giving it to you as your own.


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Suppose you see your neighbor's ox or sheep wandering away. Then don't act as if you didn't see it. Instead, make sure you take it back to him.


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Your neighbor might not live near you. Or you might not know who he is. Then take the animal home with you. Keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back.


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Do the same thing if you find his donkey, coat or anything he loses. Don't act as if you didn't see it.


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Suppose you see your neighbor's donkey or ox that has fallen down on the road. Then don't act as if you didn't see it. Help him get it up on its feet again.


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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 it when anyone does that.


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Suppose you happen to find a bird's nest beside the road. It might be in a tree or on the ground. And suppose the mother bird is sitting on her little birds or on the eggs. Then don't take the mother along with the little ones.


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You can take the little ones. But make sure you let the mother go. Then things will go well with you. You will live for a long time.


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If you build a new house, put a low wall around the edge of your roof. Then you won't be held accountable if someone falls off your roof and dies.


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Don't plant two kinds of seeds in your vineyard. If you do, the crops you grow there will be polluted. Your grapes will also be polluted.


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So he tells lies about her and says she's a bad woman. He says, "I got married to this woman. But when I made love to her, I discovered she wasn't a virgin."


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Then the woman's parents must bring proof that she was a virgin. They must give the proof to the elders at the gate of the town.


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The woman's father will speak to the elders. He'll say, "I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife. But he doesn't like her.


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So now he has told lies about her. He has said, 'I discovered that your daughter wasn't a virgin.' But here's the proof that my daughter was a virgin." Then her parents will show the elders of the town the cloth that has her blood on it.


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They'll make him weigh out two and a half pounds of silver. They'll give it to the woman's father. That's because the man has said an Israelite virgin is a bad woman. She will continue to be his wife. He must not divorce her as long as he lives.


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Then she must be brought to the door of her father's house. There the people of her town will put her to death by throwing stones at her. She has done a very terrible thing in Israel. She has had sex before she got married. Get rid of that evil person.


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Suppose a man is seen having sex with another man's wife. Then the man and the woman must both die. Get rid of those evil people.


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Suppose a man happens to see a virgin in a town. And she has promised to get married to another man. But the man who happens to see her has sex with her.


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Then you must take both of them to the gate of that town. You must put them to death by throwing stones at them. You must kill the woman because she was in a town and didn't scream for help. And you must kill the man because he had sex with another man's wife. Get rid of those evil people.


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But suppose a man happens to see a woman out in the country. And she has promised to marry another man. But the man who happens to see her rapes her. Then only the man who has done that will die.


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Don't do anything to the woman. She hasn't committed a sin that is worthy of death. That case is like the case of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor.


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The man found the woman out in the country. And she screamed. But there wasn't anyone around who could save her.


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Suppose a man happens to see a virgin who hasn't promised to marry another man. And the man who happens to see her rapes her. But someone discovers them.


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Then the man must weigh out 20 ounces of silver. He must give it to the woman's father. The man must marry the woman, because he raped her. And he can never divorce her as long as he lives.


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A man must not get married to his stepmother. He must not bring shame on his father by having sex with her.


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No one who was born to a woman who wasn't married can join in worship with the Lord's people. That also applies to the person's children for all time to come.


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The people of Ammon and Moab can't join in worship with the Lord's people. That also applies to their children after them for all time to come.


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The Ammonites and Moabites didn't come to meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt. They even hired Balaam from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to call down a curse on you. Balaam was the son of Beor.


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The Lord your God wouldn't listen to Balaam. Instead, he turned the curse into a blessing for you. He did it because he loves you.


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Don't hate the people of Edom. They are your relatives. Don't hate the people of Egypt. After all, you lived as outsiders in their country.


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There will be times when you are at war with your enemies. And your soldiers will be in camp. Then keep away from anything that isn't pure and clean.


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Suppose semen flows from the body of one of your soldiers during the night. Then that will make him "unclean." He must go outside the camp and stay there.


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The Lord your God walks around in your camp. He's there to keep you safe. He's also there to hand your enemies over to you. So your camp must be holy. Then he won't see anything among you that is shameful. He won't turn away from you.


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The Lord your God hates the money that men and women get for being prostitutes. So don't take that money into the house of the Lord to pay what you promised to give.


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Don't charge your own people any interest. Don't charge them when they borrow money, food or anything else.


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You can charge interest to people from another country. But don't charge your own people. Then the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. He will bless you in the land you are entering to take as your own.


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Don't put off giving to the Lord your God everything you promise him. He will certainly require it from you. And you will be guilty of committing a sin.


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Make sure you do what you promised to do. With your own mouth you made the promise to the Lord your God. No one forced you to do it.


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When you enter your neighbor's vineyard, you can eat all of the grapes you want. But don't put any of them in your basket.


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When you enter your neighbor's field, you can pick heads of grain. But don't cut down his standing grain.


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Suppose a man gets married to a woman. But later he decides he doesn't like her. He finds something shameful about her. So he gives her a letter of divorce and sends her away from his house.


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But her second husband doesn't like her either. So he gives her a letter of divorce and sends her away from his house. Or perhaps he dies.


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Then her first husband isn't allowed to marry her again. The Lord would hate that. When her first husband divorced her, she became "unclean." Don't bring sin on the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own.


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Suppose a man has just gotten married. Then don't send him into battle. Don't give him any other duty either. He's free to stay home for one year. He needs time to make his new wife happy.


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Someone might borrow money from you and give you two millstones to keep until you are paid back. Don't keep them. Don't even keep the upper one. That person depends on the millstones to make a living.


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Suppose a man is caught kidnapping another Israelite. And he sells or treats that person as a slave. Then the kidnapper must die. Get rid of that evil person.


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What about skin diseases? Be very careful to do exactly what the priests, who are Levites, tell you to do. You must be careful to follow the commands I've given them.


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Suppose your neighbor borrows something from you. And he offers you something to keep until you get paid back. Then don't go into his house to get it.


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He might be poor. You might be given his coat to keep until you get paid back. Don't go to sleep while you still have it.


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Return it before the sun goes down. He needs it to sleep in and will thank you for returning it. The Lord your God will see it and know that you have done the right thing.


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Don't take advantage of any hired worker who is poor and needy. That applies to your own people. It also applies to outsiders who are living in one of your towns.


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Give them their pay every day. They are poor and are counting on it. If you don't pay them, they might cry out to the Lord against you. Then you will be guilty of committing a sin.


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Parents must not be put to death because of what their children do. And children must not be put to death because of what their parents do. People must die because of their own sins.


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Do what is right and fair for outsiders and for children whose fathers have died. Suppose a widow borrows something from you. And she offers to give you her coat until she pays you back. Don't take it.


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Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. Remember that the Lord your God set you free from there. That's why I'm commanding you to do those things.


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When you are gathering crops in your field, you might leave some grain behind by mistake. Don't go back to get it. Leave it for outsiders and widows. Leave it for children whose fathers have died. Then the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.


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When you knock olives off your trees, don't go back over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for outsiders and widows. Leave it for children whose fathers have died.


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When you pick grapes in your vineyard, don't go back over the vines a second time. Leave what remains for outsiders and widows. Leave it for children whose fathers have died.


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Suppose two men don't agree about something. Then they must take their case to court. The judges will decide the case. They will let the one who isn't guilty go free. And they will punish the one who is guilty.


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The guilty one might have done something that's worthy of a beating. Then the judge will make him lie down and be beaten with a whip right there in court. The number of strokes should fit the crime.


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But the judge must not give the guilty man more than 40 strokes. If more than that are used, you will look down on your Israelite neighbor.


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Suppose two brothers are living near each other. And one of them dies without having a son. Then his widow must not get married to anyone outside the family. Her husband's brother should marry her. That's what a brother-in-law is supposed to do.


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Her first baby boy will be named after her first husband. Then the dead man's name will not be wiped out in Israel.


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But suppose the man doesn't want to get married to his brother's wife. Then she will go to the elders at the gate of the town. She will say, "My husband's brother refuses to keep his brother's name alive in Israel. He won't do for me what a brother-in-law is supposed to do."


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Then the elders in his town will send for him. They will talk to him. But he still might say, "I don't want to marry her."


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Then his brother's widow will go up to him in front of the elders. She'll pull one of his sandals off his foot. She'll spit in his face. And she'll say, "That's what we do to a man who won't build up his brother's family line."


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That man's family line will be known in Israel as The Family of the Man Whose Sandal Was Pulled Off.


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Suppose two men are fighting. And the wife of one of them comes to save her husband from his attacker. So she reaches out and grabs hold of his sex organs.


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Don't have two different scales. You must not have one that weighs things heavier than they really are and another that weighs them lighter than they are.


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And don't have two different sets of measures. You must not have one set that measures things larger than they really are and another that measures them smaller than they are.


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You must use weights and measures that are honest and exact. 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. They met you on your journey. They attacked everyone who was lagging behind. They didn't have any respect for God.


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The Lord your God will give you peace and rest from all of the enemies who are around you. He'll do it in the land he's giving you to take over as your very own. Then you will wipe out the memory of the Amalekites from the earth. Don't forget to do it!


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You will enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own. You will take it over. You will settle down in it.


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When you do, get some of the first share of everything your soil produces. Put it in a basket. It's from the land the Lord your God is giving you. Take your gifts and go to the special place he will choose. He will put his Name there.


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Speak to the priest who is in office at that time. Tell him, "I announce today to the Lord your God that I have come to this land. It's the land he promised with an oath to our fathers to give us."


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The priest will take the basket from you. He'll set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God.


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Then you will speak while the Lord is listening. You will say, "My father Jacob was a wanderer from the land of Aram. He went down into Egypt with a few people. He lived there and became the father of a great nation. It had huge numbers of people.


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Then we cried out to the Lord. He is the God of our people who lived long ago. He heard our voice. He saw how much we were suffering. The Egyptians were crushing us. They were making us work very hard.


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"So the Lord reached out his mighty hand and powerful arm and brought us out of Egypt. He did great and wonderful things. He did miraculous signs and wonders.


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"Now, Lord, I'm bringing you the first share of crops from the soil. After all, you have given them to me." Place the basket in front of the Lord your God. Bow down to him.


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You and the Levites and the outsiders among you will be full of joy. You will enjoy all of the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your family.


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You will set apart a tenth of everything you produce in the third year. That's the year for giving the tenth to people who have special needs. You will give it to the Levites, outsiders and widows. You will also give it to children whose fathers have died. Then all of them will have plenty to eat in your towns.


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Speak to the Lord your God. Say to him, "I have taken your sacred share from my house. I have given it to the Levites, outsiders and widows. I have also given it to children whose fathers have died. I've done everything you commanded me to do. I haven't turned away from your commands. I haven't forgotten any of them.


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I haven't eaten any part of your sacred share while I was sobbing over someone who had died. I haven't taken any of it from my house while I was 'unclean.' And I haven't offered any of it to the dead. Lord my God, I've obeyed you. I've done everything you commanded me to do.


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"Look down from the holy place where you live in heaven. Bless your people Israel. Bless the land you have given us. It's the land you promised with an oath to give to our fathers. It's a land that has plenty of milk and honey."


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This very day the Lord your God commands you to follow all of those rules and laws. Be careful to obey them with all your heart and with all your soul.


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Today you have announced that the Lord is your God. You have said you would live exactly as he wants you to live. You have agreed to keep his rules, commands and laws. And you have said you would obey him.


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Today the Lord has announced that you are his people. He has said that you are his special treasure. He promised that you would be. He has told you to keep all of his commands.


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He has announced that he will make you famous. He'll give you more praise and honor than all of the other nations he has made. And he has said that you will be a holy nation. The Lord your God has set you apart for himself. That's exactly what he promised to do.


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The elders of Israel and I gave commands to the people. We said, "Obey all of the commands we're giving you today.


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"You will go across the Jordan River. You will enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you do, set up some large stones. Put a coat of plaster on them.


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Write all of the words of this law on them. Do it when you have crossed over into the land the Lord your God is giving you. It's a land that has plenty of milk and honey. The Lord is the God of your fathers. He promised you that you would enter the land.


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After you have gone across the Jordan, set up those stones on Mount Ebal. Put a coat of plaster on them. We're commanding you today to do that.


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"Build an altar there to honor the Lord your God. Make it out of stones. Don't use any iron tool on them.


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Use stones you find in the fields to build his altar. Then offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God.


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Sacrifice friendship offerings there. Eat them and be filled with joy in the sight of the Lord your God.


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"You must write all of the words of this law on the stones you have set up. Write the words very clearly."


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Then the priests, who are Levites, and I spoke to all of the people of Israel. We said, "Israel, be quiet! Listen! You have now become the people of the Lord your God.


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You will go across the Jordan River. When you do, I want six tribes to stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people. Those tribes are Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin.


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I want the other six tribes to stand on Mount Ebal to announce some curses. Those tribes are Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.


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"May any man who makes a wooden or metal statue of a god and sets it up in secret be under the Lord's curse. That statue is made by a skilled worker. And the Lord hates it." Then all of the people will say, "Amen!"


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"May anyone who brings shame on his father or mother be under the Lord's curse." Then all of the people will say, "Amen!"


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"May anyone who moves his neighbor's boundary stone be under the Lord's curse." Then all of the people will say, "Amen!"


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"May anyone who leads blind people down the wrong road be under the Lord's curse." Then all of the people will say, "Amen!"


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"May anyone who isn't fair in the way he treats outsiders, widows, and children whose fathers have died be under the Lord's curse." Then all of the people will say, "Amen!"


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"May any man who has sex with his stepmother be under the Lord's curse. That man brings shame on his father by doing that." Then all of the people will say, "Amen!"


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"May anyone who has sex with animals be under the Lord's curse." Then all of the people will say, "Amen!"


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"May any man who has sex with his sister be under the Lord's curse. It doesn't matter whether she is his full sister or his half sister." Then all of the people will say, "Amen!"


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"May any man who has sex with his mother-in-law be under the Lord's curse." Then all of the people will say, "Amen!"


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"May anyone who kills his neighbor secretly be under the Lord's curse." Then all of the people will say, "Amen!"


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"May anyone who accepts money to kill someone who isn't guilty of doing anything wrong be under the Lord's curse." Then all of the people will say, "Amen!"


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"May anyone who doesn't honor the words of this law by obeying them be under the Lord's curse." Then all of the people will say, "Amen!"


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Make sure you obey the Lord your God completely. Be careful to follow all of his commands. I'm giving them to you today. If you do those things, the Lord will honor you more than all of the other nations on earth.


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Your children will be blessed. Your crops will be blessed. The young animals among your livestock will be blessed. That includes your calves and lambs.


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Enemies will rise up against you. But the Lord will help you win the battle over them. They will come at you from one direction. But they'll run away from you in seven directions.


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The Lord your God will bless your barns with plenty of grain and other food. He will bless everything you do. He'll bless you in the land he's giving you.


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The Lord your God will make you his holy people. He will set you apart for himself. He took an oath and promised to do that. He promised to do it if you would keep his commands and live exactly as he wants you to live.


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The Lord will give you more than you need. You will have many children. Your livestock will have many little ones. Your crops will do very well. All of that will happen in the land he promised with an oath to your fathers to give you.


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The Lord will open up the heavens. That's where he stores his riches. He will send rain on your land at just the right time. He'll bless everything you do. You will lend money to many nations. But you won't have to borrow from any of them.


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The Lord your God will make you leaders, not followers. Pay attention to his commands that I'm giving you today. Be careful to follow them. Then you will always be on top. You will never be on the bottom.


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Don't turn away from any of the commands I'm giving you today. Don't turn to the right or the left. Don't follow other gods. Don't worship them.


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But suppose you don't obey the Lord your God. And you aren't careful to follow all of his commands and rules I'm giving you today. Then he will send curses on you. They'll catch up with you. Here are those curses.


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The Lord will send curses on you. You won't know what's going on. In everything you do, he will be angry with you. You will be destroyed suddenly and completely. That will happen because you did an evil thing when you deserted the Lord.


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He will send all kinds of sicknesses on you. He'll send them until he has destroyed you. He'll remove you from the land you are entering to take as your own.


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The Lord will make you sick and very weak. He will strike you with fever and swelling. He'll send burning heat. There won't be any rain. The hot winds will completely dry up your crops. All of those things will happen until you die.


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The Lord will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder. It will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.


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The Lord will help your enemies win the battle over you. You will come at them from one direction. But you will run away from them in seven directions. You will look so bad that all of the kingdoms on earth will be completely shocked when they see you.


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The Lord will send boils on you, just like the ones he sent on the Egyptians. You will have growths in your bodies and boils on your skin. You will itch all over. No one will be able to heal you.


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Even at noon you will have to feel your way around like a blind person in the dark. You won't have success in anything you do. Day after day you will be robbed and beaten down. No one will be able to save you.


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You and a woman will promise to get married to each other. But another man will take her and rape her. You will build a house. But you won't live in it. You will plant a vineyard. But you won't eat a single grape from it.


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Your ox will be killed right in front of your eyes. But you won't eat any of it. Your donkey will be taken away from you by force. And you will never get it back. Your sheep will be given to your enemies. No one will be able to save them.


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Your children will be given to another nation. Day after day you will watch for them to come back. But you will only wear out your eyes. You won't be able to help your children.


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A nation you don't know anything about will eat what you work to produce on your land. You will be completely beaten down as long as you live.


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The Lord will send painful boils on your knees and legs. No one will be able to heal them. They will cover you from head to toe.


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The Lord will drive you out of the land. And he will drive out the king you place over you. All of you will go to a nation you and your people long ago didn't know anything about. There you will worship other gods. They will be made out of wood and stone.


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You will look very bad to all of the nations where the Lord sends you. They will be completely shocked when they see you. They will laugh at you and make fun of you.


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You will plant many seeds in your field. But you will gather very little food. Locusts will eat it up.


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You will plant vineyards and take care of them. But you won't drink the wine. You won't gather the grapes. Worms will eat them up.


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You will have olive trees through your whole country. But you won't use the oil. The olives will drop off the trees.


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Large numbers of locusts will eat up the leaves on all of your trees. They will also eat up the crops on your land.


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Outsiders who live among you will become your leaders. They will rise higher and higher. But you will sink lower and lower.


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They will lend money to you. But you won't be able to lend money to them. They will be the leaders. But you will be the followers.


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The Lord your God will send all of those curses on you. They will follow you everywhere. They'll catch up with you. You will be under the Lord's curse until you are destroyed. That's because you didn't obey him. You didn't keep the commands and rules he gave you.


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Those curses will remain as miraculous signs and wonders against you and your children after you forever.


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So he will send enemies against you. You will have to serve them. You will be hungry and thirsty. You will be naked and poor. The Lord will put the iron chains of slavery around your necks until he has destroyed you.


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The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away. It will come from the ends of the earth. It will dive down on you like an eagle. You won't understand that nation's language.


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Its people will look mean. They won't have any respect for old people. They won't show any kindness to young people.


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They will eat up the young animals among your livestock. They'll eat up the crops on your land. They'll destroy you. They won't leave you any grain, olive oil or fresh wine. They won't leave you any calves or lambs. They'll destroy you.


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They'll surround all of the cities through your whole land. They'll get ready to attack them. They'll do those things until the high, strong walls you trust in fall down. That's what will happen to the cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you.


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Your enemies will surround you and get ready to attack you. They will make you suffer greatly. So you will eat your own children. You will eat the dead bodies of the sons and daughters the Lord your God has given you.


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There may be a gentle and caring man among you. But he will treat his own brother badly. He'll be just as mean to the wife he loves and to any of his children who are still alive.


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He won't give to a single one of them any part of the dead bodies of his children that he's eating. It will be all he has left to eat. That's how much your enemies will make you suffer when they surround all of your cities to attack them.


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There may be a gentle and caring woman among you. She wouldn't even touch the ground with her feet without first putting her sandals on. But she will not share anything with the husband she loves. She won't share with her own children either.


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She will eat what comes out of her body after she has a baby. Then she'll even eat her baby. She won't share it with anyone in her family. She'll plan to eat it in secret. There won't be anything else for her to eat because the city she lives in will be surrounded. That's an example of how much your enemies will make you suffer when they are getting ready to attack your cities.


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Be careful to follow all of the words of this law. They are written in this scroll. Have respect for the glorious and wonderful name of the Lord your God. If you don't,


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he will send terrible plagues on you and your children after you. He'll send horrible and lasting troubles. He'll make you very sick for a long time.


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He'll bring on you all of the sicknesses you were afraid of getting when you were in Egypt. You won't be able to get rid of them.


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The Lord will also bring on you all of the other kinds of sickness and trouble I haven't written down in this Scroll of the Law. You will be destroyed.


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At one time you were as many as the stars in the sky. But there will only be a few of you left. That's because you didn't obey the Lord your God.


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It pleased the Lord to give you success and to increase your numbers. But it will please him just as much to wipe you out and destroy you. You will be removed from the land you are entering to take as your own.


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Then the Lord will scatter you among all of the nations. He'll spread you around from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship statues of gods that are made out of wood and stone. You and your people long ago hadn't known anything about those gods.


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Among those nations you won't find any peace. There won't be any place where you can settle down and rest your feet. There the Lord will give you minds that are filled with worry. He'll give you eyes that are worn out from sobbing. Your hearts won't have any hope.


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Your lives will always be in danger. You will be filled with fear night and day. You will never be sure you are safe.


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In the morning you will say, "We wish it were evening!" In the evening you will say, "We wish it were morning!" Your hearts will be filled with fear. The things you see will terrify you.


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The Lord will send you back to Egypt in ships. He'll send you on a journey I said you should never have to make again. You will offer to sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves in Egypt. But no one will buy you.


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These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded me to make with the people of Israel in Moab. The terms were added to the covenant he had made with them at Mount Horeb.


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I sent for all of the Israelites. Here is what I said to them. With your own eyes you have seen everything the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh. You have seen what he did to all of Pharaoh's officials and to his whole land.


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With your own eyes you saw how the Lord really made them suffer. You saw his miraculous signs and great wonders.


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But to this very day the Lord hasn't given you a mind that understands. He hasn't given you eyes that see. He hasn't given you ears that hear.


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He led you through the desert for 40 years. During that time your clothes didn't wear out. The sandals on your feet didn't wear out either.


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You didn't eat any bread. You didn't drink any kind of wine. The Lord did all of those things because he wanted you to know that he is the Lord your God.


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When we got here, Sihon and Og came out to fight against us. Sihon was the king of Heshbon. And Og was the king of Bashan. But we won the battle over them.


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We took their land. We gave it to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh as their share.


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Today all of you are standing here in the sight of the Lord your God. Your leaders and chief men are here. Your elders and officials are here. So are all of the other men of Israel.


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Your children and wives are here with you too. So are the outsiders who are living in your camps. They chop your wood and carry your water.


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All of you are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God. He is making the covenant with you today. He's sealing it with an oath.


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Today he wants to show you that you are his people and that he is your God. That's what he promised with an oath to your fathers. He promised it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.


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who are standing here with us today in the sight of the Lord our God. I'm also making it with those who aren't here today.


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You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt. You also know how we passed through other countries on the way here.


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You saw the statues of their gods that were made out of wood, stone, silver and gold. The Lord hates those statues.


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Make sure there isn't a man or woman among your families or tribes who turns away from the Lord our God. No one must worship the gods of those nations. Make sure that kind of worship doesn't spread like bitter poison through your whole community.


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Some people who worship those gods will hear the oath that seals the covenant I'm making. They think they can escape trouble by saying to themselves, "We'll be safe, even though we're stubborn and go our own way." But trouble will come on them everywhere in the land.


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The Lord will never be willing to forgive those people. His burning anger will blaze out against them. All of the curses I've written down in this scroll will fall on them. And the Lord will wipe out their names from the earth.


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He will find those people in all of the tribes of Israel and give them nothing but trouble. That will be in keeping with all of the curses of the covenant. They are written down in this Scroll of the Law.


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Even your children's children will see the troubles that have fallen on the land. They'll see the sicknesses the Lord has brought on it. People who come from countries far away will also see those things.


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The whole land will be burned up. Nothing but salt and sulfur will be left. Nothing will be planted there. Nothing will grow there. In fact, nothing will even start to grow there. The land will be like Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim after they were destroyed. The Lord wiped out those cities because he was very angry.


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All of the nations will ask, "Why has the Lord done this to the land? What could have made him so very angry?"


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And they will hear the answer, "It's because the people who are living there have broken the covenant of the Lord. He's the God of their parents. He made that covenant with them when he brought them out of Egypt.


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They went off and worshiped other gods. They bowed down to them. They hadn't known anything about those gods before. The Lord hadn't given those gods to them.


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"So the Lord's anger burned against the land. He brought on it all of the curses that are written down in this scroll.


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The Lord's anger blazed out against his people. So he pulled them up out of their land. He threw them into another land. And that's where they are now."


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The Lord our God keeps certain things hidden. But he makes other things known to us and our children forever. He does it so we can obey all of the words of this law.


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I have told you about all of those blessings and curses. The Lord will bring them on you. Then you will think carefully about them everywhere the Lord your God scatters you among the nations.


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You and your children will return to the Lord your God. You will obey him with all your heart and with all your soul. That will be in keeping with everything I'm commanding you today.


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When all of that happens, the Lord your God will bless you with great success again. He will be very kind to you. He'll bring you back from all of the nations where he scattered you.


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Suppose you have been forced to go away to the farthest land on earth. The Lord your God will bring you back even from there.


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He will bring you to the land that belonged to your people long ago. You will take it over. He'll make you better off than your people were. He'll increase your numbers more than he increased theirs.


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The Lord your God will keep your hearts from being stubborn. He'll do the same thing for your children and their children. Then you will love him with all your heart and with all your soul. And you will live.


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Then the Lord your God will give you great success in everything you do. You will have many children. Your livestock will have many little ones. Your crops will do very well. The Lord will take delight in you again. He'll give you success. That's what he did for your people long ago.


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But you must obey the Lord your God. You must keep his commands and rules. They are written in this Scroll of the Law. You must turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.


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It isn't up in heaven. So you don't have to ask, "Who will go up into heaven to get it? Who will announce it to us so we can obey it?"


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And it isn't beyond the ocean. So you don't have to ask, "Who will go across the ocean to get it? Who will announce it to us so we can obey it?"


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No, the message isn't far away at all. In fact, it's really near you. It's in your mouth and in your heart so that you can obey it.


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I'm commanding you today to love the Lord your God. I'm commanding you to live exactly as he wants you to live. You must obey his commands, rules and laws. Then you will live. Your numbers will increase. The Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to take as your own.


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Don't let your hearts turn away from the Lord. Instead, obey him. Don't let yourselves be drawn away to other gods. And don't bow down to them and worship them.


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If you do, I announce to you this very day that you will certainly be destroyed. You are about to go across the Jordan River and take over the land. But you won't live there very long.


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I'm calling for heaven and earth to give witness against you this very day. I'm offering you the choice of life or death. You can choose either blessings or curses. But I want you to choose life. Then you and your children will live.


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And you will love the Lord your God. You will obey him. You will remain true to him. The Lord is your very life. He will give you many years in the land. He took an oath. He promised to give that land to your fathers. He promised it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.


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I said, "I am now 120 years old. I'm not able to lead you anymore. The Lord has said to me, 'You will not go across the Jordan River.'


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"The Lord your God himself will go across ahead of you. He'll destroy the nations that are there in order to make room for you. You will take over their land. Joshua will also go across ahead of you, just as the Lord said he would.


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"The Lord will do to those nations what he did to Sihon and Og. He destroyed those Amorite kings along with their land.


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The Lord will hand those nations over to you. Then you must do to them everything I've commanded you to do.


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"Be strong and brave. Don't be afraid of them. Don't be terrified because of them. The Lord your God will go with you. He will never leave you. He'll never desert you."


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Then I sent for Joshua. I spoke to him in front of all of the people of Israel. I said, "Be strong and brave. You must go with these people. They are going into the land the Lord promised with an oath to give to their fathers. You must divide it up among them. They will each receive their share.


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The Lord himself will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will never leave you. He'll never desert you. So don't be afraid. Don't lose hope."


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I wrote down that law. I gave it to the priests, who are sons of Levi. They carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. I also gave the law to all of the elders of Israel.


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Then I commanded them, "You must read this law at the end of every seven years. Do it in the year when you forgive people what they owe. Read it during the Feast of Booths.


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That's when all of the people of Israel come to appear in front of the Lord your God at the holy tent. It will be at the place he will choose. You must read this law to them.


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"Gather the people together. Gather the men, women and children. Also bring together the outsiders who are living in your towns. Then they can listen and learn to have respect for the Lord your God. And they'll be careful to obey all of the words of this law.


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Their children must hear it read too. They don't know this law yet. They too must learn to have respect for the Lord your God. They must respect him as long as you live in the land. You are about to go across the Jordan River and take that land as your very own."


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The Lord spoke to me. He said, "The day when you will die is near. Have Joshua go to the Tent of Meeting. Join him there. That is where I will appoint him as the new leader." So Joshua and I went to the Tent of Meeting.


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The Lord spoke to me. He said, "You are going to join the members of your family who have already died. The people will not be faithful to me. They will soon join themselves to the strange gods that are worshiped in the land they are entering. The people will desert me. They will break the covenant I made with them.


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"On that day I will become angry with them. I will desert them. I will turn my face away from them. And they will be destroyed. Many horrible troubles and hard times will come on them. On that day they will say, 'Trouble has come on us. Our God isn't with us!'


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"I will certainly turn away from them on that day. I will do it because they did a very evil thing when they turned to other gods.


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"I want you to write down a song for yourselves. Teach it to the people of Israel. Have them sing it. It will be my witness against them.


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"I will bring them into a land that has plenty of milk and honey. I promised the land to their fathers. I took an oath when I promised it. In that land they will eat until they have had enough. They will get fat. When they do, they will turn to other gods and worship them. They will turn their backs on me. They will break my covenant.


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"Many horrible troubles and hard times will come on them. Then the song I am giving you will be a witness against them. That is because the song will not be forgotten by their children and their children's children. I know what they are likely to do. I know it even before I bring them into the land I promised them with an oath."


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The Lord gave a command to Joshua, the son of Nun. He said, "Be strong and brave. You will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them with an oath. I myself will be with you."


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"Take this Scroll of the Law. Place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. It will remain there as a witness against you.


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I know how you refuse to obey the Lord. I know how stubborn you are. You have refused to obey him while I've been living among you. So you will certainly refuse to obey him after I'm dead!


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Gather together all of the elders of your tribes and all of your officials. Bring them to me. Then I can speak these words to them. I can call for heaven and earth to give witness against them.


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I know that after I'm dead you will certainly become very sinful. You will turn away from the path I've commanded you to take. In days to come, trouble will fall on you. That's because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. You will make him very angry because of the statues of gods your hands have made."


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I spoke the words of this song from beginning to end. The whole community of Israel heard them. Here is what I said.


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Let my teaching fall like rain. Let my words come down like dew. Let them be like raindrops on new grass. Let them be like rain on tender plants.


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He is the Rock. His works are perfect. All of his ways are right. He is faithful. He doesn't do anything wrong. He is honest and fair.


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Israel, you have sinned against him very much. It's too bad for you that you aren't his children anymore. You have become a twisted and evil nation.


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Is that how you thank the Lord? You aren't wise. You are foolish. Remember, he's your Father. He's your Creator. He made you. He formed you.


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Remember the days of old. Think about what the Lord did through those many years. Ask your father. He will tell you. Ask your elders. They'll explain it to 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 nations. He did it based on the number of the sons of Israel.


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The Lord found Israel in a desert land. He found them in an empty and windy wasteland. He took care of them and kept them safe. He guarded them as he would guard his own eyes.


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He was like an eagle that stirs up its nest. It hovers over its little ones. It spreads out its wings to catch them. It carries them on its feathers.


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The Lord made them ride on the highest places in the land. He fed them what grew in the fields. He gave them the sweetest honey. He fed them olive oil from a rocky hillside.


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He gave them butter and milk from the herds and flocks. He fed them the fattest lambs and goats. He gave them the best of Bashan's rams. He fed them the finest wheat. They drank the bubbling red juice of grapes.


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When Israel grew fat, they became stubborn. When they were filled with food, they became fat and heavy. They left the God who made them. They turned away from the Rock who saved them.


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They made him jealous by serving strange gods. They made him angry by worshiping statues of gods. He hated those gods.


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The people sacrificed to demons, not to God. The demons were gods they hadn't known anything about. Those gods were new to them. Their people long ago didn't worship them.


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"I will turn my face away from them," he said. "I will see what will happen to them in the end. They are sinful people. They are unfaithful children.


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They made me jealous by serving what is not even a god. They made me angry by worshiping worthless statues of gods. I will use people who are not a nation to make them jealous. I will use a nation that has no understanding to make them angry.


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My anger has started a fire. It burns down to the kingdom of the dead. It will eat up the earth and its crops. It will set the base of the mountains on fire.


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I will send them hunger. It will make them weak. I will send terrible sickness. I will send deadly plagues. I will send wild animals that will tear them apart. Snakes that glide through the dust will bite them.


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In the streets their children will be killed with swords. Their homes will be filled with terror. Young men and women will die. Babies and old people will die.


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But I was afraid their enemies would make fun of that. I was afraid their attackers would not understand. I was sure they would say, 'We're the ones who've beaten them! The Lord isn't the one who did it.' "


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I wish they were wise. Then they would understand what's coming. They'd realize what would happen to them in the end.


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How could one person chase a thousand? How could two make ten thousand run away? It couldn't happen unless their Rock had deserted them. It couldn't take place unless the Lord had given them up.


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Their vine comes from the vines of Sodom. It comes from the vineyards of Gomorrah. Their grapes are filled with poison. Their bunches of grapes taste bitter.


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The Lord says, "I have kept all of those terrible things stored away. I have kept them sealed up in my strongbox.


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I punish people. I will pay them back. The time will come when their feet will slip. Their day of trouble is near. Very soon they will be destroyed."


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The Lord will judge his people. He'll show tender love to those who serve him. He will know when their strength is gone. He'll see that no one at all is left.


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Where are the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices? Where are the gods who drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up to help you! Let them keep you safe!


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"Look! I am the One! There is no other God except me. I put some people to death. I bring others to life. I have wounded, and I will heal. No one can save you from my powerful hand.


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And you can be just as sure that I will sharpen my flashing sword. My hand will hold it when I judge. I will get even with my enemies. I will pay back those who hate me.


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I will make my arrows drip with blood. My sword will destroy people. It will kill some. It will even kill prisoners. It will cut off the heads of enemy leaders."


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You nations, be full of joy. Be joyful together with God's people. The Lord will get even with his enemies. He will pay them back for killing those who serve him. He will wipe away the sin of his land and people.


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Then I said to the people, "Think carefully about all of the words I have announced to you today. I want you to command your children to be careful to obey all of the words of this law.


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They aren't just useless words for you. They are your very life. If you obey them, you will live in the land for a long time. It's the land you are going across the Jordan River to take as your own."


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"Go up into the Abarim Mountains. Go to Mount Nebo in Moab. It is across from Jericho. From there look out over Canaan. It is the land I am giving the people of Israel to take as their own.


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"You will die there on the mountain you have climbed. You will join the members of your family who have already died. In the same way, your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor. He joined the members of his family who had already died.


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"You and Aaron disobeyed me in front of the Israelites. It happened at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin. You did not honor me among the Israelites as the holy God.


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So you will see the land. But you will see it only from far away. You will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel."


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He said, "The Lord came from Mount Sinai. Like the rising sun, he shone on his people from Mount Seir. He shone on them from Mount Paran. He came with large numbers of angels. He came from his mountain slopes in the south.


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Lord, I'm sure you love your people. All of the Israelites are in your hands. At your feet all of them bow down. And you teach them.


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The Lord was king over Israel when the leaders of the people came together. The tribes of Israel were also there."


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Here's what Moses said about Reuben. "Let Reuben live. Don't let him die. But let his people be few."


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Here's what Moses said about Judah. "Lord, listen to Judah cry out. Bring him to his people. By his own power he stands up for himself. Lord, help him fight against his enemies!"


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Here's what Moses said about Levi. "Your Thummim and Urim belong to the man you favored. You put him to the test at Massah. You argued with him at the waters of Meribah.


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Levi didn't show special favor to anyone. He did not spare his father and mother. He didn't excuse his relatives or his children. But he watched over your word. He guarded your covenant.


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He teaches your rules to the people of Jacob. He teaches your law to Israel. He offers incense to you. He sacrifices whole burnt offerings on your altar.


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Lord, bless all of his skills. Be pleased with everything he does. Destroy those who rise up against him. Strike down his enemies until they can't get up."


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Here's what Moses said about Benjamin. "Let the one the Lord loves rest safely in him. The Lord guards him all day long. The one the Lord loves rests in his arms."


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Here's what Moses said about Joseph. "May the Lord bless Joseph's land. May he bless it with dew from the highest heavens. May he bless it with water from the deepest oceans.


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May he bless it with the best crops the sun can produce. May he bless it with the finest crops the moon can give.


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May he bless it with the best products of the age-old mountains. May he bless it with the many crops of the ancient hills.


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May he bless it with the best gifts that fill the earth. May he bless it with the favor of the One who spoke out of the burning bush. Let all of those blessings rest on the head of Joseph. Let them rest on the head of the one who is prince among his brothers.


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His glory is like the glory of a bull that was born first to its mother. His horns are like the horns of a wild ox. He will destroy the nations with them. He'll wipe out the nations that are very far away. The ten thousands of men in Ephraim's army are like the bull and the ox. So are the thousands in the army of Manasseh."


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Here's what Moses said about Zebulun and Issachar. "Zebulun, be filled with joy when you go out. Issachar, be joyful in your tents.


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You will call for all of the other Israelites to go to the mountain. There you will offer proper sacrifices. You will enjoy the many good things your ships bring you. You will enjoy treasures that are hidden in the sand."


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Here's what Moses said about Gad. "May the One who gives Gad more land be praised! Gad lives there like a lion that tears off arms and heads.


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He chose the best land for his livestock. The leader's share was kept for him. The leaders of the people came together. Then Gad carried out the Lord's holy plan. He carried out the Lord's decisions for Israel."


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Here's what Moses said about Dan. "Dan is like a lion's cub that charges out of the land of Bashan."


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Here's what Moses said about Naphtali. "The Lord greatly favors Naphtali. The Lord fills him with his blessing. Naphtali's land will reach south to the Sea of Galilee."


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Here's what Moses said about Asher. "Asher is the most blessed of sons. Let his brothers show favor to him. Let him wash his feet with olive oil.


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The bars of his gates will be made out of iron and bronze. His strength will last as long as he lives.


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"There is no one like the God of Israel. He rides in the heavens to help you. He rides on the clouds in his glory.


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God lives forever! You can run to him for safety. His powerful arms are always there to carry you. He will drive out your enemies to make room for you. He'll say to you, 'Destroy them!'


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So Israel will live alone in safety. Jacob's spring of water is safe in a land that has grain and fresh wine. There the heavens drop their dew.


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Israel, how blessed you are! Who is like you? The Lord has saved you. He keeps you safe. He helps you. He's like a glorious sword to you. Your enemies will bow down to you in fear. You will bring them under your control."


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Moses climbed Mount Nebo. He went up from the flatlands of Moab to the highest slopes of Pisgah. It's across from Jericho. At Pisgah the Lord showed him the whole land from Gilead all the way to Dan.


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Moses saw the whole land of Naphtali. He saw the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh. The Lord showed him the whole land of Judah all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.


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Moses saw the Negev Desert. He saw the whole area from the Valley of Jericho all the way to Zoar. Jericho was also known as The City of Palm Trees.


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Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, "This is the land I promised with an oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I told them, 'I will give this land to your children and their children.' Moses, I have let you see it with your own eyes. But you will not go across the Jordan River to enter it."


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The Lord buried the body of Moses in Moab. His grave is in the valley across from Beth Peor. But to this day no one knows where it is.


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The people of Israel sobbed over Moses on the flatlands of Moab for 30 days. They did it until their time for sobbing and crying was over.


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Joshua, the son of Nun, was filled with wisdom. That's because Moses had placed his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to Joshua. They did what the Lord had commanded Moses.


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Moses did many miraculous signs and wonders. The Lord had sent him to do them in Egypt. Moses did them against Pharaoh, against all of his officials and against his whole land.


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No one has ever had the mighty power Moses had. No one has ever done the wonderful acts he did in the sight of all of the people of Israel.


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Moses, the servant of the Lord, died. After that, the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun. Joshua was Moses' helper. The Lord said to Joshua,


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"My servant Moses is dead. Now then, I want you and all of these people to get ready to go across the Jordan River. I want all of you to go into the land I am about to give to the people of Israel.


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Your territory will reach from the Negev Desert all the way to Lebanon. The great Euphrates River will be to the east. The Mediterranean Sea will be to the west. Your territory will include all of the Hittite country.


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"Joshua, no one will be able to stand up against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will never leave you. I will never desert you.


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"Be strong and brave. You will lead these people, and they will take the land as their very own. It is the land I promised with an oath to give their people long ago.


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"Be strong and very brave. Make sure you obey the whole law my servant Moses gave you. Do not turn away from it to the right or the left. Then you will have success everywhere you go.


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Never stop reading this Scroll of the Law. Day and night you must think about what it says. Make sure you do everything that is written in it. Then things will go well with you. And you will have great success.


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"Here is what I am commanding you to do. Be strong and brave. Do not be terrified. Do not lose hope. I am the Lord your God. I will be with you everywhere you go."


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"Go through the camp. Tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will go across the Jordan River right here. You will go in and take over the land. The Lord your God is giving it to you as your very own.' "


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Joshua also spoke to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. He said to them,


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"Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you. He said, 'The Lord your God is giving you this land. It's a place where you can settle down and live in peace and rest.'


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"Your wives, children and livestock can stay here east of the Jordan River. Moses gave you this land. But all of your fighting men must get ready for battle. They must go across ahead of the other tribes. You must help them


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until the Lord gives them rest. In the same way, he has already given you rest. You must help them until they also have taken over their land. It's the land the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you can come back here. Then you can live in your own land. It's the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you east of the Jordan River. It's toward the sunrise."


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Then the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh answered Joshua. They said, "We'll do what you have commanded us to do. We'll go where you send us.


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We obeyed Moses completely. And we'll obey you just as completely. But may the Lord your God be with you, just as he was with Moses.


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"Suppose people question your authority. And suppose they refuse to obey anything you command them to do. Then they will be put to death. Just be strong and brave!"


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Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two spies from Shittim. He sent them in secret. He said to them, "Go. Look the land over. Most of all, check out Jericho." So they went to Jericho. They stayed at the house of a prostitute. Her name was Rahab.


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The king of Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the people of Israel have come here tonight. They've come to check out the land."


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So the king sent a message to Rahab. It said, "Bring out the men who came into your house. They've come to check out the whole land."


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But the woman had hidden the two men. She said, "It's true that the men came here. But I didn't know where they had come from.


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They left at sunset, when it was time to close the city gate. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You might catch up with them."


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But in fact she had taken them up on the roof. There she had hidden them under some flax she had piled up.


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The king's men left to hunt down the spies. They took the road that leads to where the Jordan River can be crossed. As soon as they had gone out of the city, the gate was shut.


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She said to them, "I know that the Lord has given this land to you. We are very much afraid of you. Everyone who lives in this country is weak with fear because of you.


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"We've heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt. We've heard what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings. They ruled east of the Jordan River. You completely destroyed them.


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"When we heard about it, our hearts melted away in fear. Because of you, we aren't brave anymore. The Lord your God is the God who rules over heaven above and earth below.


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"Now then, please take an oath. Promise me in the name of the Lord that you will be kind to my family. I've been kind to you. Promise me


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that you will spare the lives of my father and mother. Spare my brothers and sisters. Also spare everyone in their families. Promise that you won't put any of us to death."


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So the men made a promise to her. "We'll give up our lives to save yours," they said. "But don't tell anyone what we're doing. Then we'll be kind and faithful to you when the Lord gives us the land."


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The house Rahab lived in was part of the city wall. So she let the spies down by a rope through the window.


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She had said to them, "Go up into the hills. The men who are chasing you won't be able to find you. Hide yourselves there for three days until they return. Then you can go on your way."


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unless you do what we say. When we enter the land, you must tie this bright red rope in the window. Tie it in the window you let us down through. "Bring your father and mother into your house. Also bring your brothers and everyone else in your family into your house.


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None of you must go out into the street. If you do, anything that happens to you will be your own fault. Don't hold us accountable. "But if anyone hurts someone who is inside the house with you, it will be our fault. And you can hold us accountable.


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"Don't tell anyone what we're doing. If you do, we won't have to keep the promise you asked us to make."


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"I agree," Rahab replied. "I'll do as you say." So she sent them away, and they left. Then she tied the bright red rope in the window.


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When the spies left, they went up into the hills. They stayed there for three days. By that time the men who were chasing them had searched all along the road. They couldn't find them. So they returned.


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Then the two spies started back. They went down out of the hills. They went across the Jordan River. They came to Joshua, the son of Nun. They told him everything that had happened to them.


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They said, "We're sure the Lord has given the whole land over to us. All of the people there are weak with fear because of us."


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Early one morning Joshua and all of the people of Israel started out from Shittim. They went down to the Jordan River. They camped there before they went across it.


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They gave orders to the people. They said, "Watch for the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. The priests, who are Levites, will be carrying it. When you see it, you must move out from where you are and follow it.


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Then you will know which way to go. You have never gone this way before. But don't go near the ark. Stay about 1,000 yards away from it."


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Joshua spoke to the people. He said, "Set yourselves apart to the Lord. Tomorrow he'll do amazing things among you."


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Joshua said to the priests, "Go and get the ark of the covenant. Walk on ahead of the people." So they went and got it. Then they walked on ahead of them.


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The Lord said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to honor you in the eyes of all of the people of Israel. Then they will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses.


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Speak to the priests who carry the ark of the covenant. Tell them, 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan River, go into the water and stand there.' "


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Joshua spoke to the people of Israel. He said, "Come here. Listen to what the Lord your God is saying.


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You will soon know that the living God is among you. You can be sure that he'll drive out the people who are now living in the land. He'll do it to make room for you. He'll drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.


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"The ark will go into the Jordan River ahead of you. It's the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth.


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"The priests will carry the ark of the Lord. He's the Lord of the whole earth. As soon as the priests step into the Jordan, it will stop flowing. The water that's coming down the river will pile up in one place. That's how you will know that the living God is among you."


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So the people took their tents down. They prepared to go across the Jordan River. The priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them.


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The water of the Jordan was going over its banks. It always does that at the time the crops are being gathered. The priests came to the river. Their feet touched the water's edge.


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Right away the water that was coming down the river stopped flowing. It piled up far away at a town called Adam near Zarethan. The water that was flowing down to the Dead Sea was completely cut off. So the people went across the Jordan River opposite Jericho.


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The priests carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. They stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the river. They stayed there until the whole nation of Israel had gone across on dry ground.


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Tell them to get 12 stones from the middle of the river. They must pick them up from right where the priests stood. They must carry the stones over with all of you. And they must put them down at the place where you will stay tonight."


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So Joshua called together the 12 men he had appointed from among the people of Israel. There was one man from each tribe.


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He said to them, "Go back to the middle of the Jordan River. Go to where the ark of the Lord your God is. Each one of you must pick up a stone. You must carry it on your shoulder. There will be as many stones as there are tribes in Israel.


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"The stones will serve as a reminder to you. In days to come, your children will ask you, 'What do these stones mean?'


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Tell them that the Lord cut off the flow of water in the Jordan River. Tell them its water stopped flowing when the ark of the covenant of the Lord went across. The stones will always remind the Israelites of what happened there."


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So the people of Israel did as Joshua commanded them. They took 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan River. There was one stone for each of the tribes of Israel. It was just as the Lord had told Joshua. The people carried the stones with them to their camp. There they put them down.


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Joshua piled up the 12 stones that had been in the middle of the river. They had been right where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are still there to this very day.


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The priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan River. They stayed there until the people had done everything the Lord had commanded Joshua. It was just as Moses had directed Joshua. All of the people went across quickly.


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As soon as they did, the ark of the Lord and the priests also went across to the other side. The people were watching them.


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Among the people who went across the river were men from the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. The men were armed. They went across ahead of the rest of the people of Israel. It was just as Moses had directed them.


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There were about 40,000 of them. All of them were ready for battle. They went across in front of the ark of the Lord. They went to the flatlands around Jericho. They were prepared to go to war.


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That day the Lord honored Joshua in the eyes of all of the people of Israel. They had respect for Joshua as long as he lived. They respected him just as much as they had respected Moses.


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"Command the priests to come up out of the Jordan River. They are carrying the ark where the tablets of the covenant are kept."


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Then the priests came up out of the river. They were carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. As soon as they stepped out on dry ground, the water of the Jordan began to flow again. It went over its banks, just as it had done before.


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On the tenth day of the first month the people went up out of the Jordan River. They camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.


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Then he spoke to the people of Israel. He said, "In days to come, your children after you will ask their parents, 'What do these stones mean?'


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The Lord your God dried up the Jordan for you until you had gone across it. He did to the Jordan River the same thing he had done to the Red Sea. He dried up the Red Sea ahead of us until we had gone across it.


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He did it so that all of the nations on earth would know that he is powerful. He did it so that you would always have respect for the Lord your God."


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All of the Amorite and Canaanite kings heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River. They heard how he had dried it up for the people of Israel until they had gone across it. The Amorite kings lived west of the Jordan. The kings of Canaan lived along the Mediterranean Sea. When all of those kings heard what the Lord had done, their hearts melted away in fear. They weren't brave enough to face the people of Israel anymore.


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At that time the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, "Make knives out of hard stone. Circumcise the men of Israel."


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So Joshua made knives out of hard stone. Then he circumcised the men of Israel at Gibeath Haaraloth.


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Here is why Joshua circumcised them. All of the men who came out of Egypt had died. They died while they were going through the Sinai Desert after they had left Egypt. They were the men who were old enough to serve in the army.


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All of the men who came out had been circumcised. But all of the men who were born in the desert during the journey from Egypt hadn't been circumcised.


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The people of Israel had moved around in the desert for 40 years. By the end of that time all of the men who were old enough to serve in the army when they left Egypt had died. That's because they hadn't obeyed the Lord. The Lord had taken an oath. He had told them they wouldn't see the land. It's the land he had promised with an oath to their people to give us. It's a land that has plenty of milk and honey.


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Because they hadn't obeyed him, he raised up their sons to take their place. They were the ones Joshua circumcised. They hadn't been circumcised yet. That's because no one had circumcised them during the journey.


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So Joshua circumcised all of those men. The whole nation remained in the camp until the men were healed.


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Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, "Today I have taken away from you the shame of being laughed at by Egypt." That's why the place where the men were circumcised has been called Gilgal to this very day.


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The people of Israel celebrated the Passover Feast. They observed it on the evening of the 14th day of the month. They did it while they were camped at Gilgal on the flatlands around Jericho.


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The day after the Passover, they ate some of the food that was grown in the land. On that very day they ate grain that had been cooked. They also ate bread that was made without yeast.


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The manna stopped coming down the day after they ate the food that was grown in the land. The people of Israel didn't have manna anymore. Instead, that year they ate food that was grown in Canaan.


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When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him. The man was holding a sword. He was ready for battle. Joshua went up to him. He asked, "Are you on our side? Or are you on the side of our enemies?"


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"I am not on either side," he replied. "I have come as the commander of the Lord's army." Then Joshua fell with his face to the ground. He asked the man, "What message does my Lord have for me?"


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The commander of the Lord's army replied, "Take off your sandals. The place you are standing on is holy ground." So Joshua took them off.


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The gates of Jericho were shut tight and guarded closely because of the people of Israel. No one went out. No one came in.


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Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, "I have handed Jericho over to you. I have also handed its king and its fighting men over to you.


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Have seven priests get trumpets that are made out of rams' horns. They must carry them in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times. Have the priests blow the trumpets as you march.


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"You will hear them blow a long blast on the trumpets. When you do, have all of the men give a loud shout. The wall of the city will fall down. Then the whole army will go up to the city. Every man will go straight in."


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So Joshua, the son of Nun, called for the priests. He said to them, "Go and get the ark of the covenant of the Lord. I want seven of you to carry trumpets in front of it."


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He gave an order to the men. He said, "Move out! March around the city. Some of the fighting men must march in front of the ark of the Lord."


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When Joshua had spoken to the men, the seven priests went forward. They were carrying the seven trumpets as they marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They were blowing the trumpets. The ark of the Lord's covenant was carried behind the priests.


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Some of the fighting men marched ahead of the priests who were blowing the trumpets. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all of them. That whole time the priests were blowing the trumpets.


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But Joshua had given an order to the fighting men. He had said, "Don't give a war cry. Don't raise your voices. Don't say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!"


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So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city once. Then the men returned to camp. They spent the night there.


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The seven priests who were carrying the seven trumpets started out. They marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They blew the trumpets. Some of the fighting men marched ahead of them. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all of them. The priests kept blowing the trumpets.


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On the second day they marched around the city once. Then the men returned to camp. They did all of those things for six days.


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On the seventh day, they got up at sunrise. They marched around the city, just as they had done before. But on that day they went around it seven times.


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On the seventh time around, the priests blew a long blast on the trumpets. Then Joshua gave a command to the men. He said, "Shout! The Lord has given you the city!


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The city and everything that is in it must be set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. But the prostitute Rahab and all those who are with her in her house must be spared. That's because she hid the spies we sent.


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"But keep away from the things that have been set apart to the Lord. If you take any of them, you will be destroyed. And you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. You will cause it to be destroyed.


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All of the silver and gold is holy. It is set apart to the Lord. So are all of the articles that are made out of bronze and iron. All of those things must be added to the treasures that are kept in the Lord's house."


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The priests blew the trumpets. As soon as the fighting men heard the sound, they gave a loud shout. Then the wall fell down. Every man charged straight in. So they took the city.


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They set it apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. They destroyed every living thing in it with their swords. They killed men and women. They wiped out young people and old people. They destroyed cattle, sheep and donkeys.


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Then Joshua spoke to the two men who had gone in to check out the land. He said, "Go into the prostitute's house. Bring her out. Also bring out everyone who is with her. That's what you promised her you would do when you took an oath."


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So the young men who had checked out the land went into Rahab's house. They brought her out along with her parents and brothers. They brought out everyone else who was there with her. They put them in a place that was outside the camp of Israel.


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Then they burned the whole city and everything that was in it. But they added the silver and gold to the treasures that were kept in the Lord's house. They also put there the articles that were made out of bronze and iron.


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But Joshua spared the prostitute Rahab. He spared her family. He also spared everyone else who was in the house with her. He did it because she hid the spies he had sent to Jericho. Rahab lives among the people of Israel to this very day.


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At that time Joshua took an oath and called down a curse. He said, "May the man who tries to rebuild this city of Jericho be under the Lord's curse. "If he lays its foundations, it will cost the life of his oldest son. If he sets up its gates, it will cost the life of his youngest son."


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But the people of Israel weren't faithful to the Lord. They didn't do what they were told to do with the things that had been set apart to him in a special way to be destroyed. Achan had taken some of those things. So the Lord's anger burned against Israel. Achan was the son of Carmi. Carmi was the son of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah. They were from the tribe of Judah.


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Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai. Ai is near Beth Aven east of Bethel. Joshua told the men, "Go up and check out the area around Ai." So the men went up and checked it out.


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Then they returned to Joshua. They said, "The whole army doesn't have to go up and attack Ai. Send only two or three thousand men. They can take the city. Don't make the whole army go up there. Ai only has a few men."


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They chased the men of Israel from the city gate all the way to Shebarim. They killed about 36 of them on the way down. So the hearts of the people of Israel melted away in fear.


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Joshua and the elders of Israel became sad. Joshua tore his clothes. He fell in front of the ark of the Lord with his face to the ground. He remained there until evening. The elders did the same thing. They also sprinkled dust on their heads.


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Joshua said, "Lord and King, why did you ever bring these people across the Jordan River? Did you want to hand us over to the Amorites? Did you want them to destroy us? I wish we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!


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The people of Canaan will hear about it. So will everyone else in the country. They will surround us. They'll wipe our name from the face of the earth. Then what will you do when people don't honor your great name anymore?"


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"Israel has sinned. I made a covenant with them. I commanded them to keep it. But they have broken it. They have taken some of the things that had been set apart to me in a special way to be destroyed. They have stolen. They have lied. They have taken the things they stole and have put them with their own things.


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"That is why the men of Israel can't stand up against their enemies. They turn their backs and run. It is because I have decided to let them be destroyed. You must destroy the things you took that had been set apart to me. If you do not, I will not be with you anymore.


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"Go. Set the people apart. Tell them, 'Make yourselves pure. Get ready for tomorrow. Here is what the Lord, the God of Israel, wants you to do. He says, "People of Israel, you have kept some of the things that had been set apart to me in a special way to be destroyed. You can't stand up against your enemies until you get rid of those things."


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" 'In the morning, come forward tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses will come forward group by group. The group the Lord chooses will come forward family by family. And the men in the family the Lord chooses will come forward one by one.


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" 'Anyone who is caught with the things that had been set apart to the Lord will be destroyed by fire. Everything that belongs to that person will also be destroyed. He has broken the Lord's covenant. He has done a very terrible thing in Israel!' "


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The groups of Judah came forward. Joshua picked the group of Zerah. He had the group of Zerah come forward by families. The family of Zimri was picked.


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He had their men come forward one by one. Achan was picked. Achan was the son of Carmi. Carmi was the son of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah. Zerah was from the tribe of Judah.


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Joshua spoke to Achan. He said, "My son, the Lord is the God of Israel. So give him glory by telling the truth! Give him praise by admitting you have sinned! Tell me what you have done. Don't hide it from me."


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I saw a beautiful robe from Babylonia among the things we had taken. I saw five pounds of silver. And I saw a gold bar that weighed 20 ounces. I wanted them, so I took them. I hid them in the ground inside my tent. The silver is on the bottom."


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So Joshua sent some messengers. They ran to Achan's tent. And there was everything, hidden in his tent! The silver was on the bottom.


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They brought the things out of the tent. They took them to Joshua and all of the people of Israel. And they spread them out in the sight of the Lord.


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Then Joshua and all of the people grabbed hold of Achan, the son of Zerah. They took the silver, the robe and the gold bar. They took Achan's sons and daughters. They took his cattle, donkeys and sheep. They also took his tent and everything he had. They took all of it to the Valley of Achor.


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Joshua said to Achan, "Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today." Then all of the people killed Achan by throwing stones at him. They also killed the rest of his family with stones. They burned all of them up.


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They placed a large pile of rocks on top of Achan's body. The place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since. That pile is still there to this very day. After the people killed Achan, the Lord turned his burning anger away from them.


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Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, "Do not be afraid. Do not lose hope. Go up and attack Ai. Take the whole army with you. I have handed the king of Ai over to you. I have given you his people, his city and his land.


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"Remember what you did to Jericho and its king. You will do the same thing to Ai and its king. But this time you can keep for yourselves the livestock and everything else you take from them. Have some of your fighting men hide behind the city and take them by surprise."


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So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose 30,000 of his best fighting men. He sent them out at night.


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He gave them orders. He said, "Listen carefully to what I'm saying. You must hide behind the city. Don't go very far away from it. All of you must be ready to attack it.


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"I and all of the men who are with me will go up to the city. The men of Ai will come out to fight against us, just as they did before. Then we'll run away from them.


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They'll chase us until we've drawn them away from the city. They'll say, 'They are running away from us, just as they did before.' "When we run away from them,


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When you have taken it, set it on fire. Do what the Lord has commanded. Make sure you obey my orders."


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Then Joshua sent them away. They went to the place where they had planned to hide. They hid in a place west of Ai. It was between Bethel and Ai. But Joshua spent that night with his men.


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Early the next morning Joshua brought his men together. He and the leaders of Israel marched in front of them to Ai.


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The whole army that was with him marched up to the city. They stopped in front of it. They set up camp north of Ai. There was a valley between them and the city.


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Joshua had chosen about 5,000 soldiers. He had ordered them to hide in a place west of Ai. It was between Bethel and Ai.


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The men took up their battle positions. All of the men who were in the camp that was north of the city took up their positions. So did those who were supposed to hide west of the city. That night Joshua went into the valley.


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The king of Ai saw what the army of Israel was doing. So he and all of his men hurried out of the city early in the morning. They marched out to meet Israel in battle. They went to a place that looked out over the Arabah Valley. The king didn't know that some of Israel's fighting men were hiding behind the city.


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Joshua and all of his men let the men of Ai drive them back. The men of Israel ran away toward the desert.


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All of the men of Ai were called out to chase them. They chased Joshua. So they were drawn away from the city.


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Not even one man remained in Ai or Bethel. All of them went out to chase Israel. When they did, they left the city wide open.


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Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, "Point the javelin that is in your hand at Ai. I will hand the city over to you." So Joshua pointed his javelin at Ai.


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As soon as he did, the men who were hiding behind the city got up quickly. They came out of their hiding places and rushed forward. They entered the city and captured it. They quickly set it on fire.


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The men of Ai looked back. They saw smoke rising up from the city into the sky. But they couldn't escape in any direction. The men of Israel had been running away toward the desert. But now they turned around to face those who were chasing them.


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Joshua and all of his men saw that the men who had been hiding behind the city had captured it. They also saw the smoke that was going up from it. So they turned around and attacked the men of Ai.


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The men who had set Ai on fire came out of the city. They also fought against the men of Ai. So the men of Ai were caught in the middle. The army of Israel was on both sides of them. Israel struck them down. They didn't let anyone remain alive or get away.


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Israel finished killing all of the men of Ai. They destroyed them in the fields and in the desert where they had chased them. They struck every one of them down with their swords. Then all of the men of Israel returned to Ai. And they killed those who were left in it.


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The total number of men and women they killed that day was 12,000. They put to death all of the people of Ai.


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Joshua kept the javelin that was in his hand pointed at Ai. He didn't lower his hand until he and his men had totally destroyed everyone who lived there.


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But this time Israel kept for themselves the livestock and everything else they had taken from the city. The Lord had directed Joshua to let them do it.


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So Joshua burned Ai down. He tore it down so it could never be built again. It has been deserted to this very day.


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Joshua killed the king of Ai. He stuck a pole through the body. Then he set it up where people could see it. He left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered his men to remove the body from the pole. He told them to throw the body down at the entrance of the city gate. They put a large pile of rocks over the body. That pile is still there to this very day.


text:
Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the people of Israel to do that. Joshua built the altar in keeping with what is written in the Scroll of the Law of Moses. He built an altar out of stones that iron tools had never touched. Then the people offered on the altar burnt offerings to the Lord. They also sacrificed friendship offerings on it.


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Joshua copied the written law of Moses on stones. He did it while all of the people of Israel were watching.


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They were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All of the people of Israel, including outsiders and citizens, were there. Israel's elders, officials and judges were also there. All of them faced the priests, who were Levites. They were carrying the ark. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim. The other half stood in front of Mount Ebal. Moses, the servant of the Lord, had earlier told them to do it. It was when he had given directions to bless the people of Israel.


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Then Joshua read all of the words of the law out loud. He read the blessings and the curses. He read them in keeping with what is written in the Scroll of the Law.


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Joshua read every word Moses had commanded. He read them to the whole community of Israel. That included the women and children. It also included the outsiders who were living among them.


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All of the kings who ruled west of the Jordan River heard about the battles Israel had won. That included the kings who ruled in the central hill country and the western hills. It also included those who ruled along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea all the way to Lebanon. They were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.


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So they decided to trick the people of Israel. They packed supplies as if they were going on a long trip. They loaded their donkeys with old sacks and old wineskins. The wineskins were cracked but had been mended.


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The men put worn-out sandals on their feet. The sandals had been patched. The men also wore old clothes. All of the bread they took along was dry and moldy.


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They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal. They spoke to him and the men of Israel. They said, "We've come from a country that's far away. Make a peace treaty with us."


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The men of Israel spoke to the Hivites. They said, "But suppose you live close to us. If you do, we can't make a peace treaty with you."


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They answered, "We've come from a country that's very far away. We've come because the Lord your God is famous. We've heard reports about him. We've heard about everything he did in Egypt.


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"We've heard about everything he did to Sihon and Og. They were the two kings of the Amorites. They ruled east of the Jordan River. Sihon was the king of Heshbon. Og was the king of Bashan. He ruled in Ashtaroth.


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"Our elders and all of the people who are living in our country spoke to us. They said, 'Take supplies for your trip. Go and meet the people of Israel. Say to them, "We'll serve you. Make a peace treaty with us." '


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"Look at our bread. It was warm when we packed it. We packed it at home on the day we left to come and see you. But look at how dry and moldy it is now.


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When we filled these wineskins, they were new. But look at how cracked they are now. And our clothes and sandals are worn out because we've traveled so far."


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The men of Israel looked over the supplies those men had brought. But they didn't ask the Lord what they should do.


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Joshua made a peace treaty with the men who had come. He agreed to let them live. The leaders of the community took an oath to show that they agreed with the treaty.


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The people of Israel made a peace treaty with the people of Gibeon. But three days later they heard that the people of Gibeon lived close to them.


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So the people of Israel started out to go to the cities of those men. On the third day they came to Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim.


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But they didn't attack those cities. That's because the leaders of the community had taken an oath and made a peace treaty with them. They had taken the oath in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. The whole community told the leaders they weren't happy with them.


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But all of the leaders answered, "We've made a peace treaty with them. We've taken an oath in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. So we can't touch them now.


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"But here is what we'll do to them. We'll let them live. Then the Lord's anger won't fall on us because we didn't keep the oath we took."


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They continued, "Let them live. But let them cut wood and carry water for the whole community." So the leaders kept their promise to them.


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Joshua sent for the people of Gibeon. He said, "Why did you trick us? You said, 'We live far away from you.' But in fact you live close to us.


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So now you are under a curse. You will always serve us. You will always cut wood and carry water for the house of my God."


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They answered Joshua, "We were clearly told what the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to do. He commanded him to give you the whole land. He also ordered him to wipe out all of its people to make room for you. So we were afraid you would kill us. That's why we tricked you.


text:
That day he made them cut wood and carry water. They had to serve the community of Israel. They also had to serve at the altar of the Lord at the place where he would choose to put it. And they still serve the people of Israel to this very day.


text:
Adoni-Zedek was the king of Jerusalem. He heard that Joshua had taken Ai. He found out that the city had been set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. He heard that Joshua had done to Ai and its king the same thing he had done to Jericho and its king. Adoni-Zedek heard that the people of Gibeon had made a peace treaty with Israel. He also found out that they were living among the people of Israel.


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The things he heard alarmed him and his people very much. That's because Gibeon was an important city. It was like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai. All of its men were good soldiers.


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So Adoni-Zedek, the king of Jerusalem, made an appeal to Hoham, the king of Hebron. He appealed to Piram, the king of Jarmuth. He appealed to Japhia, the king of Lachish. He also made an appeal to Debir, the king of Eglon.


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"Come up and help me attack Gibeon," he said. "Its people have made peace with Joshua and the people of Israel."


text:
The kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon gathered their armies together. Those five Amorite kings moved all of their troops into position to fight against Gibeon. Then they attacked it.


text:
Joshua was in the camp at Gilgal. The people of Gibeon sent a message to him there. It said, "Don't desert us. We serve you. Come up to us quickly! Save us! Help us! All of the Amorite kings from the central hill country have gathered their armies together to fight against us."


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So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his whole army. The army included all of his best fighting men.


text:
The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them. I have handed them over to you. Not one of them will be able to fight against you and win."


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The Lord threw them into a panic as Israel marched toward them. Then Israel won a great battle over them at Gibeon. They chased them along the road that goes up to Beth Horon. They struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.


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The Amorites ran away as Israel marched toward them. They ran down the road from Beth Horon to Azekah. As they ran, the Lord threw large hailstones down on them from the sky. The hailstones killed more of them than the swords of the men of Israel did.


text:
So the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel. On that day Joshua spoke to the Lord while the people of Israel were listening. He said, "Sun, stand still over Gibeon. Moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon."


text:
So the sun stood still. The moon stopped. They didn't move again until the nation won the battle over its enemies. You can read about it in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky. It didn't go down for about a full day.


text:
There has never been a day like it before or since. It was a day when the Lord listened to a mere man. You can be sure that the Lord was fighting for Israel!


text:
Joshua was told that the five kings had been found. He was also told that they were hiding in the cave at Makkedah.


text:
But keep on going! Chase your enemies. Attack them from behind. Don't let them get back to their cities. The Lord your God has handed them over to you."


text:
So Joshua and the men of Israel completely destroyed them. They killed almost every one of them. But a few escaped. They went back to their cities that had high walls around them.


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Then Israel's whole army returned safely to Joshua. He was in the camp at Makkedah. No one in the land dared to say anything against the people of Israel.


text:
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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The men brought them to Joshua. Then he sent for all of the men of Israel. He spoke to the army commanders who had come with him. He said, "Come here. Put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came forward and placed their feet on the necks of the kings.


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Joshua said to them, "Don't be afraid. Don't lose hope. Be strong and brave. This is what the Lord will do to all of the enemies you are going to fight."


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Joshua struck the five kings down and killed them. He stuck a pole through each of their bodies. Then he set the poles up where people could see the bodies. He left them there until evening.


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At sunset Joshua ordered his men to take the bodies down. So they took them down and threw them into the cave where the kings had been hiding. They placed large rocks at the opening of the cave. And the rocks are still there to this very day.


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That day Joshua took Makkedah. He killed its people and their king with the sword. He totally destroyed everyone in it. He didn't leave anyone alive. He did to the king of Makkedah the same thing he had done to the king of Jericho.


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The Lord also handed that city and its king over to Israel. Joshua destroyed the city. He and his men killed everyone in it with their swords. He didn't leave anyone alive there. He did to its king the same thing he had done to the king of Jericho.


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Joshua moved on from Libnah to Lachish. Israel's whole army went with him. The men took up their battle positions. Then Joshua attacked Lachish.


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The Lord handed it over to Israel. Joshua took the city on the second day of the battle. He destroyed the city. He and his men killed everyone in it with their swords. He had done the same thing to Libnah.


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While all of that was happening, Horam had come up to help Lachish. He was the king of Gezer. But Joshua won the battle over him and his army. No one was left alive.


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Joshua moved on from Lachish to Eglon. Israel's whole army went with him. They took up their battle positions. Then they attacked Eglon.


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They captured it that same day. They totally destroyed everyone in it with their swords. They had done the same thing to Lachish.


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They took the city. They destroyed it and its villages. They killed all of its people and their king with their swords. They didn't leave anyone alive. They totally destroyed the city and everyone in it. They had done the same thing at Eglon.


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They took the city, its king and its villages. They totally destroyed everyone in Debir with their swords. They didn't leave anyone alive. They did to Debir and its king the same thing they had done to Libnah and its king. They had also done the same thing to Hebron.


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So Joshua brought the whole area under his control. That included the central hill country and the Negev Desert. It included the western hills and the mountain slopes. It also included all of the kings in that whole area. Joshua didn't leave anyone alive. He totally destroyed everyone who breathed. He did just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.


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Joshua brought everyone from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza under his control. He also brought everyone from the whole area of Goshen to Gibeon under his control.


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He won the battle over all of those kings and their lands. He did it in one campaign. That's because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.


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Jabin was the king of Hazor. He heard about the battles Israel had won. So he sent a message to Jobab. Jobab was the king of Madon. Jabin sent the same message to the kings of Shimron and Acshaph.


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He also sent it to a lot of other kings. Some ruled in the mountains in the north. Some ruled in the Arabah Valley south of Kinnereth. Others ruled in the western hills. Still others ruled in Naphoth Dor in the west.


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Jabin sent the same message to the people of east Canaan and west Canaan. He sent it to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites. They lived in the central hill country. He also sent it to the Hivites who lived below Mount Hermon in the area of Mizpah.


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Those kings marched out with all of their troops. They had a large number of horses and chariots. It was a huge army. The fighting men were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore.


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All of those kings gathered their armies together to fight against Israel. They set up camp together at the Waters of Merom.


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The Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, "Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel. All of them will be killed. You must cut the legs of their horses. You must burn up their chariots."


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So Joshua and his whole army attacked them suddenly. They fought against them at the Waters of Merom.


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The Lord handed them over to Israel. Israel won the battle over them. They hunted them down all the way to Greater Sidon. They chased them to Misrephoth Maim. They chased them to the Valley of Mizpah in the east. Not one of them was left alive.


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Joshua did to them what the Lord had directed him to do. He cut the legs of their horses. He burned up their chariots.


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At that time Joshua turned back. He captured Hazor. He killed its king with his sword. Hazor was the most important city in all of those kingdoms.


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The army of Israel killed everyone in Hazor with their swords. Its people had been set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. Israel's army didn't spare anything that breathed. Then Joshua burned up the city.


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Joshua took all of those royal cities and their kings. He and his men killed everyone in those cities with their swords. He totally destroyed them. He did just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded.


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Many cities were built on top of earlier cities that had been destroyed. Israel didn't burn up any of those except Hazor. Joshua burned it up.


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The army of Israel kept for themselves the livestock and everything else they took from those cities. But they killed all of the people with their swords. They completely destroyed them. They didn't spare anyone who breathed.


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The Lord had commanded his servant Moses to do all of those things. Moses had passed that command on to Joshua. And Joshua carried it out. He did everything the Lord had commanded Moses.


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So Joshua took the whole land. He took the central hill country and the whole Negev Desert. He took the whole area of Goshen. He took the western hills. He took the Arabah Valley. He took the mountains of Israel and the hills around them.


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He took the area that begins at Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir. The area ends at Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. Joshua captured the kings who ruled over that whole land. He struck them down and killed them.


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Only the Hivites who lived in Gibeon made a peace treaty with the people of Israel. No other city made a treaty with them. So Israel captured all of those cities in battle.


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The Lord himself made the hearts of their people stubborn. He made them go to war against Israel so he could totally destroy them. He wanted to wipe them out. He didn't show them any mercy. The Lord had commanded Moses to destroy the people of Canaan.


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At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites. They lived all through the hill country of Judah and Israel. They lived in Hebron, Debir and Anab. Joshua totally destroyed the Anakites and their towns.


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There weren't any Anakites left alive in Israel's territory. But a few were left alive in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod.


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So Joshua took the whole land, just as the Lord had directed Moses. Joshua gave the land to Israel as their very own. He divided it up and gave each tribe its share. Then the land had peace and rest.


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The people of Israel took over the territory east of the Jordan River. The land they took reached from the Arnon River valley to Mount Hermon. It included the whole east side of the Arabah Valley. Israel won the battle over the kings of that whole territory. Here are the lands Israel took from the kings they won the battle over.


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They took the land of Sihon. He was the king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon. The land he ruled over begins at Aroer. Aroer is on the rim of the Arnon River valley. He ruled from the middle of the valley to the Jabbok River. The Jabbok is the border of Ammon. Sihon's territory included half of Gilead.


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He also ruled over the east side of the Arabah Valley. That land begins at the Sea of Galilee. It goes to the Dead Sea and over to Beth Jeshimoth. Then it goes south, below the slopes of Pisgah.


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Israel also took the territory of Og. He was the king of Bashan. He was one of the last of the Rephaites. He ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei.


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He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah and the whole land of Bashan. He ruled all the way to the border of Geshur and Maacah. He ruled over half of Gilead. His land reached the border of Sihon. Sihon was the king of Heshbon.


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Moses was the servant of the Lord. Moses and the people of Israel won the battle over those two kings. He gave their land to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. He gave it to them as their share.


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Joshua and the people of Israel won the battle over the kings who ruled west of the Jordan River. The lands of the kings reached from Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir. Joshua gave their lands to the tribes of Israel as their very own. He divided them up and gave each tribe its share.


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Those lands included the central hill country, the western hills and the Arabah Valley. They also included the mountain slopes, the Desert of Judah and the Negev Desert. Those lands belonged to the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Here are the kings Israel won the battle over.


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Joshua was now very old. The Lord said to him, "You are very old. And there are still very large areas of land that have not been taken over yet.


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"Here is the land that remains to be taken over. It includes all of the areas of Philistia and Geshur.


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Those areas begin at the Shihor River in the eastern part of Egypt. They go to the territory of Ekron in the north. All of that land is considered as belonging to the people of Canaan. The land that remains to be taken over includes the territory of the five rulers of Philistia. They rule over Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. The Avvites


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live south of them. The rest of the land of Canaan that remains to be taken over reaches from Arah all the way to Aphek. Arah belongs to the people of Sidon. The land that remains to be taken over includes the area where the Amorites live.


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It includes the area where the people of Byblos live. It also includes all of Lebanon to the east. It reaches from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath.


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"I myself will drive out all of the people who live in the mountain areas. Those areas reach from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim. They include the area where all of the people of Sidon live. I myself will drive those people out to make room for the people of Israel. "Make sure you set that land apart for Israel. Give it to them as their share, just as I have directed you.


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The other half of Manasseh's tribe had already received the share of land Moses had given them. Their share was east of the Jordan River. The tribes of Reuben and Gad had already received their share too. Moses, the servant of the Lord, had given it to them.


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That land starts at Aroer on the rim of the Arnon River valley. It includes the town in the middle of the valley. It includes the high flatlands of Medeba all the way to Dibon.


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It also includes all of the towns of Sihon, the king of the Amorites. He had ruled in Heshbon. That area reaches to the border of Ammon.


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It also includes Gilead. It includes the territory of Geshur and Maacah. It includes Mount Hermon and the whole land of Bashan all the way to Salecah.


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So it includes the entire kingdom of Og in Bashan. Og had ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. He was one of the last of the Rephaites. Moses had won the battle over Sihon and Og. He had taken over their land.


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But the people of Israel didn't drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah. So they continue to live among the people of Israel to this very day.


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Moses hadn't given any share of the land to the tribe of Levi. That's because the offerings that are made with fire are their share. Those offerings are made to the Lord, the God of Israel. Moses gave the Levites what he had promised them.


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Their territory starts at Aroer on the rim of the Arnon River valley. It includes the town in the middle of the valley. It includes all of the high flatlands that are near Medeba.


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It includes Heshbon and all of its towns on those flatlands. Those towns include Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon,


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All of those towns are on the high flatlands. The territory includes the whole kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites. He had ruled in Heshbon. Moses had won the battle over him and over the chiefs of Midian. Those chiefs were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba. They were princes who helped Sihon fight against Israel. They lived in that country.


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The people of Israel killed many of them in battle. They also killed Balaam with a sword. He was the son of Beor. Balaam used magic to find out what was going to happen.


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The border of the tribe of Reuben was the bank of the Jordan River. All of those towns and their villages were given to the tribe of Reuben as their very own. Each family group received its share.


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Their territory includes Jazer and all of the towns of Gilead. It includes half of the country of Ammon all the way to Aroer, which was near Rabbah.


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Their territory reaches from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim. It reaches from Mahanaim to the territory of Debir.


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In the valley their land includes Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth and Zaphon. It also includes the rest of the kingdom of Sihon. He was the king of Heshbon. His kingdom included the east side of the Jordan River. It reached up to the south end of the Sea of Galilee.


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All of those towns and their villages were given to the tribe of Gad as their very own. Each family group received its share.


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Here is what Moses had given to half of the tribe of Manasseh, family group by family group. It's what Moses had given to half of Manasseh's family line.


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Their territory starts at Mahanaim. It includes the whole land of Bashan. That was the entire kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan. Manasseh's territory includes all of the 60 towns of Jair in Bashan.


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It includes half of the land of Gilead. It also includes Ashtaroth and Edrei. They were the royal cities of Og in Bashan. That land was given to half of the family line of Makir. He was the son of Manasseh. Each family group received its share.


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Those were the shares of land Moses had given the eastern tribes when he was in the flatlands of Moab. The flatlands are across the Jordan River east of Jericho.


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But Moses hadn't given any share to the tribe of Levi. The Lord, the God of Israel, is their share. Moses gave the Levites what he had promised them.


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The rest of the tribes of Israel received their shares of land in Canaan. The priest Eleazar and Joshua, the son of Nun, decided what each of the tribes should receive. The leaders of the tribes helped them make those decisions.


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The shares of nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh were decided by using lots. That's what the Lord had commanded through Moses.


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Moses had given two tribes and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh their shares east of the Jordan River. But Moses had not given the Levites a share among the other tribes.


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Manasseh and Ephraim were the sons of Joseph. They had become two tribes. The Levites didn't receive any share of the land. They only received towns to live in and grasslands for their flocks and herds.


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The men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, spoke to Joshua. He said, "You know what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God. He spoke to him at Kadesh Barnea about you and me.


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Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to check out the land. I was 40 years old at that time. I brought back an honest report to him. I told him exactly what I had seen.


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Several other men of Israel went up with me. What they reported made the hearts of the people melt away in fear. But I followed the Lord my God with my whole heart.


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"So on that day Moses took an oath and made a promise to me. He said, 'The land your feet have walked on will be your share. It will be the share of your children forever. That's because you have followed the Lord my God with your whole heart.' --(Deuteronomy 1:36)


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"The Lord has done just as he promised. He made the promise while Israel was wandering around in the desert. That was 45 years ago. He has kept me alive all of this time. So here I am today, 85 years old!


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I'm still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. I'm just as able to go out to battle now as I was then.


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"So give me this hill country. The Lord promised it to me that day. At that time you yourself heard that the Anakites were living there. You also heard that their cities were large and had high walls. But I'll drive them out, just as the Lord said I would. He will help me do it."


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So ever since that time Hebron has belonged to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. That's because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, with his whole heart.


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Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba. It was named after Arba. He was the greatest man among the Anakites. So the land had peace and rest.


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Land was given to the tribe of Judah, family group by family group. It reached down to the territory of Edom. It went as far south as the Desert of Zin.


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It went across to the south of Scorpion Pass. It continued on to Zin. It went over to the south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it ran past Hezron up to Addar. It curved around to Karka.


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It then went along to Azmon. There it joined the Wadi of Egypt and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. That was the southern border of Judah.


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The border on the east was the Dead Sea. It went north all the way to where the Jordan River enters the sea. The border on the north started at the bay of the Dead Sea. That's where the Jordan River enters the sea.


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From there it went up to Beth Hoglah. It continued north of Beth Arabah to the Stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben.


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Then it went from the Valley of Achor up to Debir. It turned north to Gilgal. Gilgal faces the Pass of Adummim south of the valley. The border continued along to the springs of En Shemesh. It came to an end at En Rogel.


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Then it ran up the Valley of Ben Hinnom. It went along the south slope of Jerusalem. From there it climbed to the top of the hill that is west of the Hinnom Valley. The hill is also at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim.


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From the top of the hill the border headed toward the springs of Nephtoah. It went to the towns near Mount Ephron. It went down toward Kiriath Jearim.


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Then it curved west from Kiriath Jearim to Mount Seir. It ran along the north slope of Mount Kesalon. It continued down to Beth Shemesh and crossed over to Timnah.


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It went to the north slope of Ekron. Then it turned toward Shikkeron. It passed along to Mount Baalah and reached Jabneel. The border came to an end at the Mediterranean Sea.


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The border on the west was the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. Those were the borders of the family groups of the tribe of Judah.


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Joshua gave a part of Judah's share of land to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. That was in keeping with the Lord's command to Joshua. The share Caleb received was the city of Hebron. It was also called Kiriath Arba. Anak came from the family line of Arba.


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Caleb drove three Anakites out of Hebron. Their names were Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. They were from the family line of Anak.


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From Hebron, Caleb marched out against the people who were living in Debir. It used to be called Kiriath Sepher.


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Caleb said, "I will give my daughter Acsah to be married. I'll give her to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher."


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Othniel captured it. So Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him to be his wife. Othniel was the son of Kenaz. He was Caleb's brother.


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One day Acsah came to Othniel. She begged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb spoke to her. He asked, "What can I do for you?"


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She replied, "Do me a special favor. You have given me some land in the Negev Desert. Give me springs of water also." So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.


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The towns farthest south that were given to Judah were in the Negev Desert. They were near the border of Edom. Here is a list of those towns. Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,


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Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon. The total number of towns was 29. Some of them had villages near them.


