Now this is the law pertaining to one who flees there in order to live, if he has accidentally killed another without hating him at the time of the accident.

Otherwise the blood avenger will chase after the killer in the heat of his anger, eventually overtake him, and kill him, though this is not a capital case since he did not hate him at the time of the accident.

However, suppose a person hates someone else and stalks him, attacks him, kills him, and then flees to one of these cities.

The elders of his own city must send for him and remove him from there to deliver him over to the blood avenger to die.

You must not pity him, but purge out the blood of the innocent from Israel, so that it may go well with you.

If a false witness testifies against another person and accuses him of a crime,

you must do to him what he had intended to do to the accused. In this way you will purge evil from among you.

If a homicide victim should be found lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you, and no one knows who killed him,

Then the Levitical priests will approach (for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve him and to pronounce blessings in his name, and to decide every judicial verdict)

Suppose a man has two wives, one whom he loves more than the other, and they both bear him sons, with the firstborn being the child of the less loved wife.

Rather, he must acknowledge the son of the less loved wife as firstborn and give him the double portion of all he has, for that son is the beginning of his father's procreative power -- to him should go the right of the firstborn.

If a person has a stubborn, rebellious son who pays no attention to his father or mother, and they discipline him to no avail,

his father and mother must seize him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city.

Then all the men of his city must stone him to death. In this way you will purge out wickedness from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid.

his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury him that same day, for the one who is left exposed on a tree is cursed by God. You must not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

If the owner does not live near you or you do not know who the owner is, then you must corral the animal at your house and let it stay with you until the owner looks for it; then you must return it to him.

When you see your neighbor's donkey or ox fallen along the road, do not ignore it; instead, you must be sure to help him get the animal on its feet again.

The elders of that city must then seize the man and punish him.

They will fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman's father, for the man who made the accusation ruined the reputation of an Israelite virgin. She will then become his wife and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.

You must not do anything to the young woman -- she has done nothing deserving of death. This case is the same as when someone attacks another person and murders him,

A person of illegitimate birth may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation no one related to him may do so.

Indeed, he may live among you in any place he chooses, in whichever of your villages he prefers; you must not oppress him.

If a man marries a woman and she does not please him because he has found something offensive in her, then he may draw up a divorce document, give it to her, and evict her from his house.

When she has left him she may go and become someone else's wife.

If a man is found kidnapping a person from among his fellow Israelites, and regards him as mere property and sells him, that kidnapper must die. In this way you will purge evil from among you.

You must by all means return to him at sunset the item he gave you as security so that he may sleep in his outer garment and bless you for it; it will be considered a just deed by the Lord your God.

Then, if the guilty person is sentenced to a beating, the judge shall force him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of blows his wicked behavior deserves.

The judge may sentence him to forty blows, but no more. If he is struck with more than these, you might view your fellow Israelite with contempt.

Then the elders of his city must summon him and speak to him. If he persists, saying, "I don't want to marry her,"

then his sister-in-law must approach him in view of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. She will then respond, "Thus may it be done to any man who does not maintain his brother's family line!"

You must go to the priest in office at that time and say to him, "I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord promised to our ancestors to give us."

So now, look! I have brought the first of the ground's produce that you, Lord, have given me." Then you must set it down before the Lord your God and worship before him.

Today you have declared the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in his ways, keep his statutes, commandments, and ordinances, and obey him.

You must obey him and keep his commandments and statutes that I am giving you today."

The Lord will designate you as his holy people just as he promised you, if you keep his commandments and obey him.

The Lord will be unwilling to forgive him, and his intense anger will rage against that man; all the curses written in this scroll will fall upon him and the Lord will obliterate his name from memory.

The Lord will single him out for judgment from all the tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the covenant written in this scroll of the law.

Then if you and your descendants turn to the Lord your God and obey him with your whole mind and being just as I am commanding you today,

The Lord your God will also cleanse your heart and the hearts of your descendants so that you may love him with all your mind and being and so that you may live.

if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this scroll of the law. But you must turn to him with your whole mind and being.

I also call on you to love the Lord your God, to obey him and be loyal to him, for he gives you life and enables you to live continually in the land the Lord promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Then the Lord said to Moses, "The day of your death is near. Summon Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting so that I can commission him." So Moses and Joshua presented themselves in the tent of meeting.

For I know that after I die you will totally corrupt yourselves and turn away from the path I have commanded you to walk. Disaster will confront you in the days to come because you will act wickedly before the Lord, inciting him to anger because of your actions."

His people have been unfaithful to him; they have not acted like his children -- this is their sin. They are a perverse and deceitful generation.

The Lord found him in a desolate land, in an empty wasteland where animals howl. He continually guarded him and taught him; he continually protected him like the pupil of his eye.

Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, so the Lord spread out his wings and took him, he lifted him up on his pinions.

The Lord alone was guiding him, no foreign god was with him.

He enabled him to travel over the high terrain of the land, and he ate of the produce of the fields. He provided honey for him from the cliffs, and olive oil from the hardest of rocks,

But Jeshurun became fat and kicked, you got fat, thick, and stuffed! Then he deserted the God who made him, and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt.

They made him jealous with other gods, they enraged him with abhorrent idols.

But the Lord took note and despised them because his sons and daughters enraged him.

And this is the blessing to Judah. He said, Listen, O Lord, to Judah's voice, and bring him to his people. May his power be great, and may you help him against his foes.

He said to his father and mother, "I have not seen him," and he did not acknowledge his own brothers or know his own children, for they kept your word, and guarded your covenant.

Bless, O Lord, his goods, and be pleased with his efforts; undercut the legs of any who attack him, and of those who hate him, so that they cannot stand.

Of Benjamin he said: The beloved of the Lord will live safely by him; he protects him all the time, and the Lord places him on his chest.

with the harvest of the earth and its fullness and the pleasure of him who resided in the burning bush. May blessing rest on Joseph's head, and on the top of the head of the one set apart from his brothers.

May the firstborn of his bull bring him honor, and may his horns be those of a wild ox; with them may he gore all peoples, all the far reaches of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.

Then Moses ascended from the deserts of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. The Lord showed him the whole land -- Gilead to Dan,

Then the Lord said to him, "This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it, but you will not cross over there."

He buried him in the land of Moab near Beth Peor, but no one knows his exact burial place to this very day.

Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had placed his hands on him; and the Israelites listened to him and did just what the Lord had commanded Moses.

He did all the signs and wonders the Lord had sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, all his servants, and the whole land,

Then the two men returned -- they came down from the hills, crossed the river, came to Joshua son of Nun, and reported to him all they had discovered.

That day the Lord brought honor to Joshua before all Israel. They respected him all his life, just as they had respected Moses.

When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. Joshua approached him and asked him, "Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?"

The one caught with the riches must be burned up along with all who belong to him, because he violated the Lord's covenant and did such a disgraceful thing in Israel.'"

So Joshua said to Achan, "My son, honor the Lord God of Israel and give him praise! Tell me what you did; don't hide anything from me!"

Then Joshua and all Israel took Achan, son of Zerah, along with the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, ox, donkey, sheep, tent, and all that belonged to him and brought them up to the Valley of Disaster.

Joshua said, "Why have you brought disaster on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you today!" All Israel stoned him to death. (They also stoned and burned the others.)

Then they erected over him a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day) and the Lord's anger subsided. So that place is called the Valley of Disaster to this very day.

All the troops that were with him marched up and drew near the city. They camped north of Ai on the other side of the valley.

But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening. At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day).

They came to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant land. Make a treaty with us."

They told him, "Your subjects have come from a very distant land because of the reputation of the Lord your God, for we have heard the news about all he did in Egypt

They did as ordered; they brought the five kings out of the cave to him -- the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.

When they brought the kings out to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the troops who accompanied him, "Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came up and put their feet on their necks.

Then King Horam of Gezer came up to help Lachish, but Joshua struck down him and his army until no survivors remained.

Joshua did to them as the Lord had commanded him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

When Joshua was very old, the Lord told him, "You are very old, and a great deal of land remains to be conquered.

It encompassed all the cities of the plain and the whole realm of King Sihon of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon. Moses defeated him and the Midianite leaders Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba (they were subjects of Sihon and lived in his territory).

The men of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the Lord said about you and me to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea.

I was forty years old when Moses, the Lord's servant, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy on the land and I brought back to him an honest report.

Joshua asked God to empower Caleb son of Jephunneh and assigned him Hebron.

When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's brother, captured it, Caleb gave Acsah his daughter to him as a wife.

One time Acsah came and charmed her father so that she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, "What would you like?"

As the Lord had instructed, they gave him the city he requested -- Timnath Serah in the Ephraimite hill country. He built up the city and lived in it.

The one who committed manslaughter should escape to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and present his case to the leaders of that city. They should then bring him into the city, give him a place to stay, and let him live there.

When the avenger of blood comes after him, they must not hand over to him the one who committed manslaughter, for he accidentally killed his fellow man without premeditation.

But carefully obey the commands and instructions Moses the Lord's servant gave you. Love the Lord your God, follow all his instructions, obey his commands, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and being!"

When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders and clan leaders who accompanied him heard the defense of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, they were satisfied.

but I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and brought him into the entire land of Canaan. I made his descendants numerous; I gave him Isaac,

Now obey the Lord and worship him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt and worship the Lord.

The people said to Joshua, "We will worship the Lord our God and obey him."

They buried him in his allotted territory in Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

Israel worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua's lifetime and as long as the elderly men who outlived him remained alive. These men had experienced firsthand everything the Lord had done for Israel.

Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him in Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, where his son Phinehas had been assigned land.

They met Adoni-Bezek at Bezek and fought him. They defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites.

When Adoni-Bezek ran away, they chased him and captured him. Then they cut off his thumbs and big toes.

Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up food scraps under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them." They brought him to Jerusalem, where he died.