Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and he struck it and its king with {the edge of the sword}; he utterly destroyed it and everyone that was in it. He did not leave behind a survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah just as he did to the king of Jericho.

And Yahweh said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid because of their presence, for tomorrow at this time I [will] hand them over slain to Israel; you will hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire."

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

There was not a city that made peace with the {Israelites} besides the Hivites and the inhabitants of Gibeon--{all were taken in battle}.

But the {Israelites} did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites; Geshur and Maacah live among Israel to this day.

Only the tribe of Levites Moses did not give an inheritance; the offerings made by fire to Yahweh the God of Israel [are] their inheritance, just as he promised to them.

But to the tribe of Levi Moses did not give an inheritance; Yahweh the God of Israel, he [is] their inheritance, just as {he promised them}.

For the descendants of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and they did not give a plot of ground to the Levites in the land, only cities to live [in], with their pastureland for their flocks and for their goods.

But they did not drive out the Canananites who were dwelling in Gezer, and so the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, but they became forced laborers.

But the descendants of Manasseh were not able to take possession of these towns; the Canaanites were determined to live in this land.

And the descendants of Joseph said, "The hill country is not enough for us, and all of the Canaanites living in the land of the valley [have] chariots of iron, those in Beth-shean and its villages, and those in the Jezreel Valley."

And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, "You are many people and have great power; you will not have one allotment [only];

And seven tribes remained among the {Israelites} who had not been apportioned their inheritance.

And if the avenger of blood pursues after him, they will not hand over the killer into his hand, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally, and {he did not hate him previously}.

These were the cities designated for all the {Israelites}, and for the foreigners dwelling among them, for anyone that kills a person unintentionally to flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, {until there is a trial} before the congregation.

you have not forsaken your kinsmen these many days, up to this day, and you have observed the obligation of the command of Yahweh your God.

[Is] not the sin of Peor {enough for us}, from which we have not cleansed ourselves today, and for which a plague came to the congregation of Yahweh,

if, however, the land of your property [is] unclean, cross [over] to the land of Yahweh's property, where Yahweh's tabernacle resides, and take possession among us. But you must not rebel against Yahweh or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of Yahweh our God.

Did not Achan son of Zerah commit treachery with devoted things, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? {And he alone} did not perish because of his iniquity.'"

"Yahweh, God of gods! Yahweh, God of gods knows. And let Israel itself know, if [it was] in rebellion or treachery against Yahweh, do not spare us this day

So we said, 'Let us build immediately for ourselves an altar, not for burnt offerings or for sacrifices;

instead, it [is] a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us for performing the serving of Yahweh in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings; so that your children may not say in the future to our children, "You have no portion in Yahweh." '

And we thought, if they say to us and to our children in the future, we can say, 'Look at this replica of the altar of Yahweh, which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices; rather, it [is] a witness between us and you.'

Phinehas the priest, son of Eleazar, said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, "Today we know that Yahweh [is] among us, because you have not committed this treachery against Yahweh. Therefore you have rescued the {Israelites} from the hand of Yahweh."

{The report satisfied the Israelites}; they blessed God, and they did not speak of going up for battle against them to destroy the land in which the descendants of Reuben and Gad were living.

Be very strong to observe carefully all that is written in the scroll of the law of Moses so as not to turn aside from it, [to] the right or left,

so as not to go among these remaining nations with you; {do not profess} the name of their gods, and do not swear by them, serve them, or {bow down to them}.

know for certain that Yahweh your God {will not continue to drive out} these nations from before you; they will be for you a snare and a trap, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that Yahweh your God has given to you.

Look! {I am about to die}, and you know in all your hearts and souls that not one thing {failed} from all the good things that Yahweh your God promised concerning you; everything {has been fulfilled}; {not one thing failed}.

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

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."

And Yahweh was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they [had] chariots of iron.

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.

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.

Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in their midst in Gezer.

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

Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob,

so the Asherites lived in the midst of the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or Beth-anath, but lived in the midst of the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.

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

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}?

Now I say, I will not drive them out from before you; they will {become as thorns} for you, and their gods will be a trap for you."

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.

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.

{So the anger of Yahweh burned} against Israel, and he said, "Because this people transgressed my covenant that I commanded their ancestors, and have not obeyed my voice,

I will not again drive out anyone from before them from the nations that Joshua left when he died,

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

So Yahweh left those nations; he did not drive them out at once, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

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):

And the handle also went [in] after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade because he did not draw back the sword from his stomach; and it went protruding out the back.

And they waited so long they became embarrassed because he did not open the doors of the upper room. So they took the key and opened [the doors], and there their lord was lying on the ground dead.

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.

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.

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

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.

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}.

God chose new [leaders], then war [was at the] gates; a small shield or a spear was not seen among forty thousand in Israel.

'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.'

'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?'

For they, their livestock, and their tents would come up like a great number of locusts; they and their camels could not be counted; they came into the land and devoured it.

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."

Gideon said to him, "Excuse me, my lord. [If] Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, 'Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?' But now Yahweh has forsaken us; he has given us into the palm of Midian."

And Yahweh turned to him and said, "Go in this your strength, and you will deliver Israel from the palm of Midian. Did I not send you?"

Please, do not depart from here until I come [back] to you and bring out my gift and set it out before you." And he said, "I will stay until you return."

And Yahweh said to him, "Peace be with you. Do not fear; you will not die."

Now on that same night Yahweh said to him, "Take the bull of the cattle that belongs to your father, and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it;

Gideon took ten men from his servants, and he did just as Yahweh told him; and because he was too afraid of his {father's family} and the men of the city to do [it during] the day, he did [it during] night.

And Gideon said to God, "{Do not let your anger burn} against me; let me speak once more. Please let me test once more with the fleece; let the fleece be dry, and let there be dew on the ground."

And God did so that night; only the fleece was dry, and dew was on all the ground.

And Yahweh said to Gideon, "There [are] still too many troops; bring them down to the water, and I will sift through them for you there. For whomever I say to you, 'This [one] will go with you,' he will go with you; and for all whom I say to you, 'This [one] will not go with you,' he will not go."

And that night Yahweh said to him, "Get up; go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand.

So Gideon and the hundred men who [were] with him came to the edge of the camp [at] the beginning of the middle night-watch, when they had just finished setting up the guards, and they blew on the trumpets and smashed the jars that [were] in their hands.

The men of Ephraim said to him, "What [is] this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites?" And they quarreled with him severely.

And he said to them, "What I have done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?

He said, "They [were] my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if you had kept them alive I would not kill you."

And he said to Jether, his firstborn, "Get up, kill them." But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he [was] still a boy.

But Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; Yahweh will rule over you."

And Midian was subdued before the {Israelites}, and they did not again lift up their head, and the land rested for forty years in the days of Gideon.

The {Israelites} did not remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them from the hand of their enemies from all around,

And the thornbush said to the trees, 'If in good faith you [are] anointing me as king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade; if not, may fire go out from the thornbush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.'

But if not, let a fire come out from Abimelech and let it devour the lords of Shechem and Beth-Millo; and let a fire come out from the lords of Shechem, and from Beth-Millo, and let it devour Abimelech."

Then Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who [is] Abimelech, and who [are we of] Shechem that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and [is not] Zebul his chief officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem. Why should we serve him?

So then, get up [by] night, you and the army that [is] with you, and lie in ambush in the field.

So Abimelech and all the army that [was] with him got up [by] night, and they lay in ambush against Shechem [in] four divisions.

And Zebul said to him, "Where then {is your boast}, [you] who said, 'Who [is] Abimelech that we should serve him?' [Is] this not the army that you rejected? Please, go out now and fight against them."

He called quickly to the young man carrying his weapons, and he said to him, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that they will not say of me, 'A woman killed him.'" So the young man stabbed him, and he died.

And again, the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. They served the Baals, the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, and the gods of the {Ammonites} and Philistines; they abandoned Yahweh and did not serve him.

And Yahweh said to the {Israelites}, "[Did I] not [deliver you] from [the] Egyptians, the Amorites, from the {Ammonites}, and from the Philistines?

Gilead's wife also bore for him sons; and the sons of [his] wife grew up and drove Jephthah away, and they said to him, "You will not inherit the house of our father because you [are] the son of another woman."

Jephthah said to the elders, "Did you not shun me and drive me out from the house of my father? Why do you come to me now when you have trouble?"

and he said to him, "Thus says Jephthah, 'Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the {Ammonites},

Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, "Please let us cross through your land," but the king of Edom would not listen. And they also sent [messengers] to the king of Moab, but he was not willing. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.

Then they traveled through the wilderness, went around the land of Edom and Moab, and came to {the east} side of the land of Moab, and they encamped beyond [the] Arnon; and they did not go into the territory of Moab because [the] Arnon [was] the border of Moab.

But Sihon did not trust Israel to cross through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people and then encamped at Jahaz; and he made war with Israel.

Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gave you to possess? Whoever Yahweh our God has driven out before us, we will possess it.