Joshua 17

⁵¹Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.”

²⁹These were the descendants of Manasseh: The Machirite clan from Machir, the father of Gilead, and the Gileadite clan from Gilead.

²³He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation, and indeed the sons of Machir son of Manasseh were brought up on Joseph’s knees.

²⁰Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

¹⁸“Not so, my father!” Joseph said. “This one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

³⁹The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there.

⁴⁰So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir son of Manasseh, and they settled there.

¹⁸His sister Hammolecheth gave birth to Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah.

²⁹These were the descendants of Manasseh: The Machirite clan from Machir, the father of Gilead, and the Gileadite clan from Gilead.

³⁰These were the descendants of Gilead: the Iezerite clan from Iezer, the Helekite clan from Helek,

¹¹Then the angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

²But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?

¹Now the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They approached

³³Now Zelophehad son of Hepher had no sons but only daughters. The names of his daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

²saying, “When the Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance to the Israelites by lot, He also commanded him to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters.

³But if they marry any of the men from the other tribes of Israel, their inheritance will be withdrawn from the portion of our fathers and added to the tribe into which they marry. So our allotted inheritance would be taken away.

¹Now these are the portions that the Israelites inherited in the land of Canaan, as distributed by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel.

⁵So Moses brought their case before the Lord,

⁶and the Lord answered him,

²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

¹⁷“These are the names of the men who are to assign the land as an inheritance for you: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun.

¹⁸Appoint one leader from each tribe to distribute the land.

¹⁴Then the sons of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one portion as an inheritance? We have many people, because the Lord has blessed us abundantly.”

²So this allotment was for the rest of the descendants of Manasseh—the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph.

³But Zelophehad son of Hepher (the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh) had no sons but only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

³⁰But if they do not arm themselves and go across with you, then they must accept their possession among you in the land of Canaan.”

³¹The Gadites and Reubenites replied, “As the Lord has spoken to your servants, so we will do.

²⁹This is what Moses had given to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, to half the tribe of the descendants of Manasseh:

³⁰The territory from Mahanaim through all Bashan—all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, including all the towns of Jair that are in Bashan, sixty cities;

²¹they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Gezer,

³²And the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the plot of land that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver. So it became an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.

⁷So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

¹²Some time later, Joseph’s brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks near Shechem.

¹Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.

²When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the region, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force.

⁸From Tappuah the border went westward to the Brook of Kanah and ended at the Sea. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Ephraim,

⁵³Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah,

³⁴Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam,

¹⁷the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;

³Then it descended westward to the border of the Japhletites as far as the border of Lower Beth-horon and on to Gezer, and it ended at the Sea.

⁸From Tappuah the border went westward to the Brook of Kanah and ended at the Sea. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Ephraim,

⁹along with all the cities and villages set apart for the descendants of Ephraim within the inheritance of Manasseh.

²⁹The border then turned back toward Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah, and came out at the Sea in the region of Achzib,

²⁹And along the borders of Manasseh were Beth-shean, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor, together with their villages. The descendants of Joseph son of Israel lived in these towns.

²⁷When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan. And Jehu pursued him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot on the Ascent of Gur, near Ibleam, and he fled to Megiddo and died there.

¹⁹Kings came and fought; then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, but they took no plunder of silver.

²⁷At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.

²³the king of Dor in Naphath-dor, one; the king of Goiim in Gilgal, one;

¹⁵This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the house of the Lord, his own palace, the supporting terraces, and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

²⁹I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you.

³⁰Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you, until you become fruitful and possess the land.

²⁷At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.

²⁸When Israel became stronger, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor, but they never drove them out completely.

¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires.

¹³Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.

¹⁰But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.

⁶³But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the descendants of Judah.

⁵²you must drive out before you all the inhabitants of the land, destroy all their carved images and cast idols, and demolish all their high places.

⁵³You are to take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.

¹⁰But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.

¹³I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

³⁵And the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the house of Joseph grew in strength, they pressed the Amorites into forced labor.

¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

⁷As for all the people who remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (these people were not Israelites)—

⁸their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites had not destroyed—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day.

³³Naphtali failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath. So the Naphtalites also lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, but the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served them as forced laborers.

³⁴These were the clans of Manasseh, and their registration numbered 52,700.

³⁵These were the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: The Shuthelahite clan from Shuthelah, the Becherite clan from Becher, and the Tahanite clan from Tahan.

¹⁹But his father refused. “I know, my son, I know!” he said. “He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great; nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations.”

²²And to you, as one who is above your brothers, I give the ridge of land that I took from the Amorites with my sword and bow.”

¹³Concerning Joseph he said: “May his land be blessed by the Lord with the precious dew from heaven above and the deep waters that lie beneath,

¹⁴with the bountiful harvest from the sun and the abundant yield of the seasons,

²²Joseph is a fruitful vine—a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.

²³The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.

⁵In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

⁷And there was discord between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were also living in the land.

¹After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.

²²Once again the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim.

²And I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

⁴⁸But the one who unknowingly does things worthy of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from him who has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded.

¹²Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;

³Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, because Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and he had harshly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.

¹⁹The Lord was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the plains because they had chariots of iron.

¹⁸because the hill country will be yours as well. It is a forest; clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours. Although the Canaanites have iron chariots and although they are strong, you can drive them out.”

³³Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.

¹⁰And on the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will devour Jezebel, and there will be no one to bury her.’” Then the young prophet opened the door and ran.

⁶So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

³¹What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

¹When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you.

²When you are about to go into battle, the priest is to come forward and address the army,

¹⁰Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

¹¹Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish.

³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

⁶Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes

⁷and said to the whole congregation of Israel, “The land we passed through and explored is an exceedingly good land.