And I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan; they fought you, and I gave them into your hand; you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them {before you}.

Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, set out and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam son of Beor to curse you,

but I was not willing to listen to Balaam, and he richly blessed you. So I rescued you from his hand,

and you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the citizens of Jericho, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, fought against you, and I gave them into your hand.

I sent before you [the] hornet and they drove out before you two kings of the Amorites; [but] not by your sword or bow.

I gave to you a land that you have not labored on, and cities that you have not built, and you live in them; you eat [from] vineyards and olive groves that you have not planted.'

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

And the people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we would forsake Yahweh to serve other gods,

But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve Yahweh, for he [is] a holy and jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.

If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster to you; he will destroy you after he has done good to you."

And the people said to Joshua, "No, we will serve Yahweh."

And Joshua said to the people, "You [are] witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves to serve Yahweh." And they said, "[We are] witnesses."

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

And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to his voice."

So Joshua {made a covenant} with the people on that day, and he established for them a statute and a judgment at Shechem.

And Joshua said to all the people, "Look, this stone will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh that he spoke with us. It will be as a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God."

Then Joshua sent the people away to their inheritance.

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

After the death of Joshua, the {Israelites} inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Who will go up first for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?"

And Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Go up with me into my allotment, and let us fight against the Canaanites; then I too will go with you into your allotment." And Simeon went with him.

Adoni-bezek said, "Seventy kings with {their thumbs and big toes} cut off used to pick up [scraps] under my table; just as I have done, so God has repaid to me. And they brought him [to] Jerusalem, and he died there.

The descendants of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and they captured it, {put it to the sword}, and {set the city on fire}.

Afterward the descendants of Judah pursued to fight against the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the Shephelah.

And from there they went to the inhabitants of Debir (the former name of Debir [was] Kiriath Sepher).

And Caleb said, "Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and captures it, I will give to him Acsah my daughter as a wife."

Othniel son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, captured it, and he gave to him Acsah his daughter as a wife.

When she came [to him], she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from the donkey, Caleb said to her, "{What do you want}?"

And she said to him, "Give me {a gift}; you have given me the land of the Negev, and give me also a spring of water." And Caleb gave to her the upper and lower spring.

They gave Hebron to Caleb just as Moses said, and he drove out the three sons of Anak from there.

But the descendants of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived among the descendants of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

And when the spies saw a man leaving the city, they said to him, "Please show us the entrance of the city, and we will deal kindly with you."

And the man went [to] the land of the Hittites, and he built a city and named it Luz; this [is] its name to this day.

Manasseh did not drive out Beth-Sean and its towns, or Taanach and its towns, or the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; the Canaanites [were] determined to live in this land.

And it happened, when Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they never totally drove them out.

Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived in their midst and became [subjected] to forced labor.

The Amorites pressed the descendants of Dan to the hill country, and they did not allow them to come down to the plain;

the Amorites [were] determined to live in Har-heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph was heavy [on them], and they became [subjected] to forced labor.

And the angel of Yahweh went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up from Egypt, and I brought you to the land that I had promised to your ancestors. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you.

And [as for] you, do not {make a covenant} with the inhabitants of this land; break down their altars.' But you did not listen to my voice. {Why would you do such a thing}?

And as the angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the {Israelites}, the people {wept bitterly}.

And they called the name of this place Bokim, and there they sacrificed to Yahweh.

And Joshua sent the people away, and the {Israelites} went each to their own inheritance to take possession of the land.

Moreover, that entire generation was gathered to their ancestors, and another generation grew up after them who did not know Yahweh or the work he had done for Israel.

They abandoned Yahweh the God of their ancestors, who brought them out from the land of Egypt. They {followed} other gods from the gods of the people who [were] around them; and they bowed down to them, and they provoked the anger of Yahweh.

So {the anger of Yahweh was kindled} against Israel, and he gave them into the hand of plunderers; and they plundered them, and he sold them into the hand of their enemies from all sides. They were unable to withstand their enemies any longer.

{Whenever} they went out, the hand of Yahweh was against them to harm [them], just as Yahweh warned, and just as Yahweh had sworn to them. And {they were very distressed}.

But they did not listen to their leaders, but lusted after other gods and bowed down to them. They turned away quickly from the way that their ancestors went, who had obeyed the commandment of Yahweh; they did not do [as their ancestors].

But when the leader died they relapsed and acted corruptly, more than their ancestors, following other gods, serving them, and bowing down to them. They would not give up their deeds or their stubborn ways.

in order to test Israel whether or not they would observe the way of Yahweh, to walk in it just as their ancestors did."

These [are] the nations that Yahweh left, to test Israel by them ([that is, to test] all those who {had not experienced} any of the wars of Canaan,

in order that the generations of Israel would know war, to teach those {who had not experienced it} before):

the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon up to Lebo-Hamath.

They were [left] for testing Israel, to know [whether] they would keep the commands of Yahweh that he commanded their ancestors through the hand of Moses.

And they took their daughters as wives for themselves, and they gave their daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.

The {Israelites} cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up a deliverer for the {Israelites} who delivered them, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

And the spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and Yahweh gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into his hand, and {he prevailed over} Cushan-Rishathaim.

He gathered to himself the {Ammonites and Amalekites}, and he went and defeated Israel, and they took possession of the city of palms.

And the {Israelites} cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud son of Gera, a Benjaminite and {a left-handed man}. And the {Israelites} sent a tribute to Eglon king of Moab {through him}.

Ehud made for himself a short, {two-edged} sword (a cubit in length), and he fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh.

Then he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon [was] a very fat man.

and Ehud came to him [while] he [was] sitting alone in his cool upper room. And Ehud said, "I have a {message from God} for you." So he got up from his seat.

And Ehud escaped while they delayed. He passed by the sculptured stones and escaped to Seirah.

And he said to them, "Follow after me! Yahweh has given Moab your enemies into your hand." So they went down after him, and they captured the fords of the Jordan toward Moab; and they did not allow anyone to cross over.

And Moab was subdued on that day under the hand of Israel. And the land rested eighty years.

And the {Israelites} cried to Yahweh, as he [had] nine hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed the {Israelites} {cruelly} for twenty years.

And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the {Israelites} went up to her for judgment.

She sent and called for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh Naphtali and said to him, "Has not Yahweh the God of Israel commanded you? 'Go, {march to} Mount Tabor, and take ten thousand men from the descendants of Naphtali and Zebulun.

{I will draw out} Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and troops, to the wadi of Kishon, and I will give him into your hand.'"

Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you do not go with me, I will not go."

She said, "Surely I will go with you; however, there will be no glory for you in {the path you are taking}, for Yahweh will sell Sisera into [the] hand of a woman." And Deborah stood up and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and {they went up behind him}, ten thousand men, and Deborah went up with him.

When they reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,

Sisera summoned all his chariots--all nine hundred chariots of iron--and the entire army that [was] with him from Harosheth Haggoyim to the wadi of Kishon.

And Deborah said to Barak, "Get up! This [is] the day that Yahweh has given Sisera into your hand. Has Yahweh not gone out before you?" So Barak went out from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

But Barak pursued after the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all of Sisera's army fell to {the edge of the sword}; no one was left.

Sisera fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because [there was] peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

And Jael came out to meet Sisera, and she said to him, "Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me and do not be afraid." So he turned aside into her tent, and she covered him {with a blanket}.

And he said to her, "Please, give me a drink of water, because I am thirsty." So she opened a skin vessel of milk and gave him a drink and covered him.

And he said to her, "Stand [at] the doorway of the tent, and if anyone comes and asks you, and says, 'Is there anyone here?' You must answer, 'No.'"

But Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, took in her hand a tent peg and a hammer, and she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; he [was] fast asleep since he was exhausted, and he died.

And behold, Barak [was] pursuing Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him, and she said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man whom you [are] seeking." And he came with her and saw that Sisera was lying dead with the peg in his temple.

On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the {Israelites}.

And Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang on that day:

Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I will sing to Yahweh; I will sing praise to Yahweh, the God of Israel.

"In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the caravans had ceased, {the travelers}, {they kept to the byways}.

The warriors ceased; they failed to appear in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose; I arose [as] a mother in Israel.

My heart [goes out] to the commanders of Israel, those offering themselves willingly among the people; bless Yahweh!

At the sound of [those] dividing [the sheep] among the watering places, there they will recount the righteous deeds of Yahweh, the righteous deeds for his warriors in Israel. Then the people of Yahweh went down to the gates.

Then [the] remnant went down to [the] nobles; the people of Yahweh went down for him against [the] mighty.

And the chiefs in Issachar [were] with Deborah; and Issachar likewise [was with] Barak; into the valley {he was sent to get him from behind}. Among the clans of Reuben [were] great {decisions of the heart}.

Why do you sit among the sheepfolds, to hear [the] calling sounds of the herds? For the clans of Reuben, [there were] great searchings of the heart.

'Curse Meroz,' says the angel of Yahweh; 'curse bitterly its inhabitants, because they did not come to the help of Yahweh, to the help of Yahweh against the mighty.'

She reached out her hand to the peg, and her right hand for the workman's hammer; and she struck Sisera, crushed his head, and she shattered and pierced his temple.

"Through the window she looked down; the mother of Sisera cried out through the lattice, 'Why is his chariot delayed in coming? Why do the hoof beats of his chariot tarry?'

'Are they not finding and dividing the plunder? {A bedmate or two bedmates for every man}; colorful garments for Sisera, plunder of colorful garments, beautifully finished colorful garments, on the neck of the plunderer?'

Israel was very poor because of the presence of the Midianites, and the {Israelites} cried out to Yahweh.

When the {Israelites} cried out to Yahweh on account of the Midianites,

Yahweh sent a prophet to the {Israelites}, and he said to them, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: 'I brought you up from Egypt; I brought you from the house of slavery.

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

The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak that [was] at Ophrah that belonged to Jehoash [the] Abiezrite; and Gideon his son [was] threshing wheat in the winepress to hide [it] from the Midianites.