The Book of Joshua marks a new beginning, to the story of Israel in Canaan. Yet the story continues straight on without a break. Deuteronomy had looked forward to the Israelites occupying Canaan

19.1 Simeon, Zebulun

19 The second lot went out for Shim’on [Simeon], for the Shim’onites’ clan by their kin-groups. Their domain was within the Judahites’ domain. 2 They had as their domain:

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  Be’er-sheba (or Sheba), Moladah, 3 Shu’al Village, Balah, Etsem, 4 Eltolad, Betul, Hormah, 5 Tsiqlag, Bet-markabot, Susah Village, 6 Bet Leba’ot, and Sharuhen.
  

Thirteen towns and their villages.

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  7 Ayin, Rimmon, Eter, Ashan.
  

Four towns and their villages, 8 and all the villages that are round these towns, as far as Ba’alat Be’er, Ra’mat Negeb.
This is the domain of the Shim’onites’ clan by their kin-groups. 9 The Shim’onites’ domain was part of the Judahites’ share because the Judahites’ share was too big for them, and the Shim’onites received a domain within their domain.

10 The third lot went up for the Zebulunites by their clans.

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  The border of their domain ran as far as Sarid. 11 Their border went up westward to Mar’alah, came to Dabbeshet, and came to the wadi which is opposite Yoqne‘am.
  
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  12 It turned back from Sarid toward the sunrise, along the border of Kislot Tabor. It extended to Daberat and went up to Yaphia.
  
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  13 From there it passed on to the east, toward the sunrise, to Gat Hepher, to Et Qatsin. It extended to Rimmon, curving to Ne’ah.
  
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  14 It turned (the northern border) to Hannaton. Its furthest extents were Yiphtah-’el Ravine, 15 Qattat, Nahalal, Shimron, Yid’alah, and Bet Lehem.
  

Twelve towns and their villages.
16 This is the Zebulunites’ domain by their kin-groups, these towns and their villages.

19:17 Issakar, Asher

17 The fourth lot went out for Issakar, for the Issakarites by their kin-groups.

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  18 Their border was Yizre’e’l, Kesulot, Shunem, 19 Hapharayim, Shi’on, Anaharat, 20 Rabbit, Qishyon, Ebets, 21 Remet, Gannim Spring, Haddah Spring, and Bet Patstsets.
  
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  22 The border came to Tabor, Shahatsim, and Bet Shemesh.
  
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  The Jordan was the furthest extents of their border.
  

Sixteen towns and their villages.
23 This is the domain of the Zebulunites’ clan by their kin-groups, the towns and their villages.

24 The fifth lot went out for the Asherites’ clan by their kin-groups.

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  25 Their border was Helqat, Hali, Beten, Akshaph, 26 Alammelek, Am’ad, and Mish’al.
  
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  It came to Karmel on the west and Shihor Libnat.
  
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  27 It turned back toward the sunrise, to Bet Dagon, and came to Zebulun and Yiphtah-’el Ravine to the north, Bet Ha’emeq, and Ne’i’el.
  
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  It extended to Kabul on the north, 28 Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Qanah, as far as Great Tsidon. 29 The border turned back to The Height and as far as the fortified town of Tsor. The border turned back to Hosah. Its furthest extents were at the sea in the area of Akzib, 30 Ummah, Apheq, and Rehob.
  

Twenty-two towns and their villages.
31 This is the domain of the Asherites’ clan by their kin-groups, these towns and their villages.

19:32 Naphtali, Dan

32 The sixth lot went out for the Naphtalites, for the Naphtalites by their kin-groups.

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  33 Their border ran from Heleph, Betsa’anannim Oak, Adami Hanneqeb, and Yabne’el as far as Laqqum, and the Jordan was its furthest extents.
  
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  34 The border turned back westward to Aznot Tabor and went out from there to Huqoq.
  
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  It came to Zebulun on the south
  
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  It came to Asher on the west and Judah at the Jordan toward the sunrise.
  
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  35 Its fortified towns: Tsiddim, Tser, Hammat, Raqqat, Kinneret, 36 Adamah, The Height, Hatsor, 37 Qedesh, Edre’I, Hatsor Spring, 38 Yir’on, Migdal-el, Horem, Bet-anat, and Bet Shemesh, nineteen towns and their villages.
  

39 This is the domain of the Naphtalites’ clan by their kin-groups, the towns and their villages.

40 The seventh lot went out for the Danites by their kin-groups. 41 The border of their domain was Tsor’ah, Eshta’ol, Shemesh Town, 42 Sha’alabbin, Ayyalon, Yitlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Eqron, 44 Elteqeh, Gibbeton, Ba’alat, 45 Yehud, Bene-beraq, Gat-rimmon, 46 Yarkon Water, Raqqon, with the border near Yapho.
47 But the Danites’ border got away from them, and the Danites went up and battled with Leshem and captured it. They struck it down with the mouth of the sword, took possession of it, and lived in it. They named it Dan in accordance with the name of their ancestor Dan.
48 This is the domain of the Danites’ clan by their kin-groups, these towns and their villages.

49 So they finished making the country into domains by its borders. The Israelites gave a domain to Joshua ben Nun among them. 50 At Yahweh’s bidding they gave him the town that he asked for, Timnat-serah in the highland of Ephrayim. He built up the town and lived in it.

51 These are the domains that El’azar the priest, Joshua ben Nun, and the heads of the ancestral households made for the Israelites’ clans by lot in Shiloh before Yahweh at the entrance of the appointment tent. So they finished sharing out the country.

20.1 The Asylum Towns

20 Yahweh spoke to Joshua: 2 ‘Speak to the Israelites: “Give yourselves the asylum towns about which I spoke to you through Moses, 3 for a killer who strikes a person down by accident (without realizing), to flee there. They will be an asylum for you from the blood restorer.

4 He will flee to one of these towns, and stand at the entrance of the town gateway and speak in the hearing of that town’s elders. They will receive him into the town among them, and give him a place so he can live with them. 5 When the blood restorer pursues after him, they will not surrender the killer into his hand, because he struck down his neighbour without realizing and he was not hostile to him in previous days.

6 He is to live in that town until he stands before the assembly for a decision, until the death of the great priest who is there at that time. Then the killer may go back and come to his town and to his home, to the town from which he fled”’.

7 So they made sacred Qedesh in Galilee in the highland of Naphtali; Shekem in the highland of Ephrayim; and Arba Township (i.e., Hebron) in the highland of Judah. 8 Across the Jordan (Jericho) toward the sunrise, they made Betser in the wilderness on the flatland, from the clan of Re’uben; Heights-in-Gil’ad from the clan of Gad; and Golan in Bashan from the clan of Menashsheh.

9 These were the set towns for all the Israelites and for the person who is residing among them to flee there, anyone who struck someone down by accident, so that he would not die by the hand of the blood restorer until he stood before the assembly.

21.1 The Levites’ Needs

21 The heads of the Levites’ ancestral households came up to El’azar the priest, to Joshua ben Nun, and to the heads of the ancestral households of the Israelites’ clans. 2 They spoke to them at Shiloh in the country of Canaan: ‘Yahweh himself ordered through Moses to give us towns to live in, with their pasturelands for our animals’. 3 So the Israelites gave the Levites part of their domain in accordance with Yahweh’s bidding, these towns and their pasturelands.

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  4 The lot went out for the Qehatite kin-groups: for the descendants of Aaron the priest, from the Levites, it was from the clan of Judah, from the clan of Shim’on, from the clan of Benjamin, by lot, thirteen towns.
  
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  For the remaining Qehatites: from the kin-groups of the clan of Ephrayim, from the clan of Dan, and from the half-clan of Menashsheh, by lot, ten towns.
  
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  6 For the Gershonites: from the kin-groups of the clan of Issakar, from the clan of Asher, from the clan of Naphtali, and from the half-clan of Menashsheh in Bashan, by lot, thirteen towns.
  
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  7 For the Merarites by their kin-groups: from the clan of Re’uben, from the clan of Gad, and from the clan of Zebulun, twelve towns.
  

8 The Israelites gave the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as Yahweh said through Moses, by lot.

21.9 The Aaronites and the other Qehatites

9 From the Judahites’ clan and from the Shim’onites’ clan they gave these towns, which will be named, 10 for the descendants of Aaron from the Qehatite kin-groups of the Levites, because the first lot was for them.

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  11 They gave to them the Township of Arba, the ancestor of the Anaqites (i.e., Hebron) in the highland of Judah, and its pastureland round it. 12 The town’s fields and its villages they gave to Caleb ben Yephunneh as his holding, 13 but to the descendants of Aaron the priest, they gave the killer’s asylum town, Hebron, and its pastureland, Libnah and its pastureland, 14 Yattir and its pastureland, Eshtemoa and its pastureland, 15 Holon and its pastureland, Debir and its pastureland, 16 Spring and its pastureland, Yuttah and its pastureland, and Be Shemesh and its pastureland.
  

Nine towns from these two clans.

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  17 And from the clan of Benjamin: Gib’on and its pastureland, Geba and its pastureland, 18 Anatot and its pastureland, and Almon and its pastureland
  

Four towns.
19 All the towns of the descendants of Aaron, the priests: thirteen towns and their pasturelands.

20 For the kin-groups of the Qehatites, the remaining Levites of the Qehatites, the towns in their lot were:

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  From the clan of Ephrayim, 21 they gave them the killer’s asylum town, Shekem, and its pastureland in the highland of Ephrayim, Gezer and its pastureland, 22 Qibtsayim and its pastureland, and Bet Horon and its pastureland
  

Four towns.

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  23 From the clan of Dan: Elteqe and its pastureland, Gibbeton and its pastureland, 24 Ayyalon and its pastureland, Gat-rimmon and its pastureland.
  

Four towns.

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  25 From the half-clan of Menashsheh: Ta’nak and its pastureland and Gat-rimmon and its pastureland.
  

Two towns.
All the towns: ten, and their pasturelands, for the remaining kin-groups of the Qehatites.

21.27 The Gershonites and the Merarites

27 For the Gershonites, of the kin-groups of the Levites:

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  From the half-clan of Menashsheh, the killer’s asylum town, Golan in Bashan and its pastureland, and Be’eshterah and its pastureland.
  

Two towns.

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  28 From the clan of Issakar: Qishron and its pastureland, Dobrat and its pastureland, 29 Yarmut and its pastureland, and Gannim Spring and its pastureland.
  

Four towns.

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  30 From the clan of Asher: Mish’al and its pastureland, Abdon and its pastureland, 31 Helqat and its pastureland, and Rehob and its pastureland.
  

Four towns.

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  32 From the clan of Naphtali, the killer’s asylum town, Qedesh in Galilee, and its pastureland, Hammot Do’r and its pastureland, and Qartan and its pastureland
  

Three towns and their pasturelands.
33 All the towns of the Gershonites by their kin-groups: thirteen towns and their pasturelands.

34 For the kin-groups of the Merarites, the remaining Levites:

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  From the clan of Zebulun: Yoqne’am and its pastureland, Qartah and its pastureland, 35 Dimnah and its pastureland, and Nahalal and its pastureland.
  

Four towns.

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  36 From the clan of Gad, the killer’s asylum town, Heights-in-Gil’ad and its pastureland, Mahanayim and its pastureland, 37 Heshbon and its pastureland, and Ya’zer and its pastureland.
  

All the towns, four.
38 All the towns of the Merarites by their kin-groups, the remaining kin-groups of the Levites: their lot was twelve towns.

39 All the Levites’ towns within the Israelites’ holding: forty-eight towns and their pasturelands. 40 These would be the towns, town by town and its pastureland round it—so for all these towns.

21.41 Not One Word Failed

41 So Yahweh gave Israel the entire country that he had sworn to give to their ancestors. They took possession of it and lived in it. 42 Yahweh enabled them to settle down all round in accordance with everything that he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one individual of all their enemies stood against them; all their enemies Yahweh gave into their hand. 43 No word fell, of every good word that God had spoken to the household of Israel. Everything came about.

22 Then Joshua called the Re’ubenites, the Gadites, and the half-clan of Menashsheh, 2 and said to them: ‘You yourselves have kept everything that Moses, Yahweh’s servant, ordered you, and you’ve listened to my voice in everything that I ordered you. 3 You haven’t abandoned your brothers this long time until this day. You’ve kept the charge from the order of Yahweh your God. 4 But Yahweh your God has now enabled your brothers to settle down, as he spoke to them. So now, turn your face and get yourselves to your tents, to the region of your holding which Moses Yahweh’s servant gave you across the Jordan. 5 Only keep careful watch to act on the order and the instruction that Moses Yahweh’s servant gave you by being loyal to Yahweh your God, by walking in all his ways, by keeping his orders, by attaching yourselves to him, and by serving him with your entire mind and with your entire being’.

22.6: A Little Local Difficulty

6 Joshua blessed them and sent them off, and they went to their tents. 7 To one half-clan of Menashsheh Moses had given [land] in Bashan, and to the other half-clan Joshua had given it with their brothers across the Jordan to the west. 8 Further, when Joshua sent them off to theit tents and blessed them, 8 he said to them, ‘Go back to your tents with great riches, with very much livestock, with silver and with gold, with copper and with iron, and with very much clothing. Share out the spoil of your enemies with your brothers’. 9 So the Re’ubenites, the Gadites, and the half-clan of Menashsheh turned back and went from being with the Israelites at Shiloh, which is in the country of Canaan, to go the region of Gil’ad, to the land of their holding, which they had acquired at Yahweh’s bidding through Moses.

10 They came to the area of the Jordan which is in the country of Canaan, and the Re’ubenites, the Gadites, and the half-clan of Menashsheh built an altar there at the Jordan, an altar big in appearance. 11 The Israelites heard: ‘Here, the Re’ubenites, the Gadites, and the half-clan of Menashsheh have built an altar near the land of Canaan, in the area of the Jordan, across from the Israelites’.

12 So the Israelites heard, and the entire assembly of the Israelites congregated at Shiloh to go up to war against them. 13 The Israelites sent Pinhas ben El’azar, the priest, to the Re’ubenites, the Gadites, and the half-clan of Menashsheh in the region of Gil’ad, 14 and ten leaders with him, one leader for each ancestral household, for all the clans of Israel. They were, each individual, the head of an ancestral household for the Israelite divisions.

22.15: Misunderstanding Cleared Up

15 They came to the Re’ubenites, the Gadites, and the half-clan of Menashsheh in the region of Gil’ad and spoke with them: 16 ‘The entire assembly of Israel has said this: “What is this trespass that you’ve committed against Israel’s God in turning back today from following Yahweh, in your building yourselves an altar, rebelling today against Yahweh? 17 Was the waywardness at Pe’or a small thing to us, from which we haven’t purified ourselves this day (and an epidemic came on Yahweh’s assembly), 18 and you yourselves turn back from following Yahweh today? If you rebel against Yahweh, tomorrow he will be furious with the entire assembly of Israel.

19 Yet if the land of your holding is taboo, get yourselves across into the land of Yahweh’s holding where Yahweh’s dwelling is, and hold land among us. Don’t rebel against Yahweh and don’t rebel against us by your building yourselves an altar other than the altar of Yahweh our God. 20 When Akan ben Zerah trespassed in connection with devoting, fury came on the entire assembly, didn’t it. He wasn’t the only one who breathed his last for his waywardness”’.

21 The Re’ubenites, the Gadites, and the half-clan of Menashsheh answered the heads of the Israelite divisions: 22 ‘The God over the gods, Yahweh, the God over the gods, Yahweh, he knows, and Israel – it will know: if it was in rebellion or in trespass against Yahweh, don’t deliver us today 23 for building ourselves an altar to turn back from following Yahweh. Or if it was for offering up a burnt offering or a grain offering on it, or if for making well-being sacrifices on it, Yahweh – may he look for it from us. 24 But if it wasn’t out of anxiety about something that we did this, saying “Tomorrow your children may say to our children, ‘What do you and Yahweh the God of Israel have in common? 25 Yahweh has made the Jordan a border between us and you, Re’ubenites and Gadites. You have no share in Yahweh’”. Your children would make our children stop living in awe of Yahweh.

22.26 A Happy Ending

26 So we said, “Let’s please act for ourselves by building an altar, not for burnt offering and not for sacrifice. 27 Rather it will be a witness between us and you and coming generations, for perfoming Yahweh’s service before him, with our burnt offerings and with our sacrifices and with our well-being offerings, and your children will not say tomorrow to our children, ‘You have no share in Yahweh’”. 28 We said, “When they say it to us and to our generations tomorrow, we’ll say, ‘Look at the pattern of Yahweh’s altar which our fathers made, not for burnt offering and not for sacrifice, but it’s a witness between us and you”‘. 29 Far be it from us for us to rebel against Yahweh and turn back today from following Yahweh by building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering, and for sacrifice, apart from the altar of Yahweh our God that’s before his dwelling’.

30 Pinhas the priest, and the congregation’s leaders (the heads of the Israelite divisions) who were with him, listened to the things that the Re’ubenites, the Gadites, and the Menashshites spoke of, and it was good in their eyes. 31 Pinhas ben El’azar the priest said to the Re’ubenites, the Gadites, and the Menashshites, ‘Today we acknowledge that Yahweh is among us, in that you haven’t committed this trespass against Yahweh . Therefore you’ve saved the Isaraelites from Yahweh’s hand’.

32 Pinhas ben El’azar the priest and the leaders went back from the Re’ubenites and from the Gadites from the region of Gil’ad to the country of Canaan to the Israelites and took back word to them. 33 The thing was good in the Israelites’ eyes and they blessed God. They didn’t speak of going up against them to make war, to devastate the land in which the Re’ubenites and the Gadites were living.

34 The Re’ubenites and the Gadites named the altar, that it was a ‘Witness between us that Yahweh is our God’.

23.1: Beware of the Other People’s Faiths

23 A long time later, after Yahweh had enabled Israel to settle down from all their enemies around, and when Joshua was old, going on in years, 2 Joshua called all Israel, its elders, its leaders, its rulers, and its overseers, and said to them, ‘I myself have got old, I’ve gone on in years. 3 You yourselves have seen everything that Yahweh your God did to all these nations from before you, because Yahweh your God—he’s the one who was battling for you. 4 See, I’ve caused the lot to fall for you on these remaining nations as a domain for your clans, from the Jordan (yes, all the nations I cut off) and the Great Sea in the west.

5 Yahweh your God – he will push them out from before you and dispossess them from before you so you may take possession of their country as Yahweh your God spoke to you. 6 You’re to be very firm about keeping everything written in Moses’ instruction document by acting on it, without departing from it right or left, 7 and without coming among these nations (these that remain with you). You will not commemorate their gods’ name, you will not swear, you will not serve them, and you will not bow low to them. 8 Rather, you’re to attach yourselves to Yahweh your God, as you’ve done until this day.

9 Yahweh has dispossessed great and numerous nations from before you, and you: not one individual stood against you until this day. 10 One individual from among you can pursue a thousand, because Yahweh your God – he has been battling for you, as he spoke to you.

23.11 Beware of Contravening the Covenant

11 You’re to keep careful watch for yourselves so as to be loyal to Yahweh your God, 12 because if you do turn back and attach yourselves to what is left of these nations (these that remain with you) and intermarry with them and have sex with them and they with you, 13 you’re to acknowledge clearly that Yahweh your God won’t continue to dispossess these nations from before you. To you they will become a trap and a snare, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from on this good land that Yahweh our God has given you.

14 Here I am, going the way of all the earth now. You’re to acknowledge with your entire mind and with your entire being that not one word has fallen down of all the good things of which Yahweh your God spoke to you. Everything has come about for you. Not one word of them has fallen down. 15 But as every good thing of which Yahweh your God spoke to you has come about for you, so Yahweh will cause every bad experience to come about for you, until he’s eliminated you from on this good land that Yahweh your God has given you. 16 When you contravene the pact of Yahweh your God that he ordered you, and go and serve other gods and bow low to them, Yahweh’s anger will rage against you and you will perish quickly from on this good country that he’s given you’.

24 Joshua gathered all Israel’s clans at Shekem and called Israel’s elders, its leaders, its rulers, and its overseers, and they took their stand before God.

24.2: Think Back Over the Story

2 Joshua said to all the people, ‘Yahweh, Israel’s God, has said this: “Across the river, your ancestors (Terah, Abraham’s father and Nahor’s father) lived of old and served other gods. 3 I got your ancestor Abraham from across the river and enabled him to go through the entire country of Canaan, and I made his offspring numerous. I gave him Isaac, 4 and gave Isaac Jacob and Esau, and I gave Esau the highland of Se’ir as his domain, while Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.

5 I sent Moses and Aaron and I hit Egypt as I acted in its midst. Afterward, I got you out. 6 I got your ancestors out of Egypt and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued after your ancestors with chariotry and with cavalry, to the Reed Sea. 7 They cried out to Yahweh and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians. He made the sea come over them and it covered them. Your eyes saw what I did to the Egyptians.

You stayed in the wilderness a long time, 8 but I brought you to the country of the Amorites who were living across the Jordan. They battled with you but I gave them into your hand and you took possession of their country. I eliminated them from before you. 9 Balaq ben Tsippor king of Mo’ab rose up and battled with Israel. He sent and called for Bil’am ben Be’or to slight you. 10 But I was not willing to listen to Bil’am and he really had to bless you. So I saved you from his hand.

11 You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The Jericho landowners, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivvite, and the Yebusite, battled against you, but I gave them into your hand. 12 I sent off a hornet before you and it drove them out from before you (two Amorite kings), not by your sword and not by your bow. 13 I’ve given you a country for which you didn’t get weary, towns that you didn’t build but you’ve lived in, eating from vineyards and olive groves that you didn’t plant.