Joshua 21-22
1 Now the heads of the fathers of the sons of Levi came to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the chiefs of the tribes of the fathers from the tribes of Israel, 2 and spoke to them in Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “The Lord commanded through the hand of Moses that we be given cities to dwell in, with the common-lands for our cattle.” 3 So the children of Israel gave the Levites a portion of their inheritance at the command of the Lord, cities and their common-lands. 4 Now the lot came out for the family of the Kohathites, and from the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Simeon, and the tribe of Benjamin, there were thirteen cities given by lot to the sons of Aaron, who were priests among the Levites. 5 For the remaining sons of Kohath, ten cities were chosen by lot from the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe of Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 6 For the sons of Gershon, there were thirteen cities by lot from the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 7 For the sons of Merari according to their families, there were twelve cities by lot from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun.
8 So the children of Israel gave the Levites cities and their common-lands by lot, as the Lord commanded Moses. 9 From the tribe of the sons of Judah, and the tribe of the sons of Simeon, and the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, they gave the cities, designated by name, 10 to the sons of Aaron from the family of Kohath, who were of the sons of Levi, because the lot was theirs. 11 They gave them Kirjath Arba, the capital of the sons of Anak (which is Hebron), in the mountains of Judah, with the common-land surrounding it. 12 But the fields of the city and its villages Joshua gave to the sons of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, as their possession. 13 Thus to the sons of Aaron they gave Hebron with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Libna with its common-land, 14 Jattir with its common-land, Eshtemoa with its common-land, 15 Holon with its common-land, Debir with its common-land, 16 Ain with its common-land, Juttah with its common-land, and Beth Shemesh with its common-land: nine cities from those two tribes; 17 and from the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon with its common-land, Geba with its common-land, 18 Anathoth with its common-land, and Almon with its common-land: four cities. 19 All the cities of the sons of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their common-lands.
20 Now the families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, the rest of the sons of Kohath, had cities of their lot from the tribe of Ephraim. 21 For they gave them Shechem with its common-land in the mountains of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the slayer), Gezer with its common-land, 22 Kibzaim with its common-land, and Beth Horon with its common-land: four cities; 23 and from the tribe of Dan: Eltekeh with its common-land, Gibbethon with its common-land, 24 Aijalon with its common-land, and Gath Rimmon with its common-land: four cities; 25 and from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with its common-land and Jebatha with its common-land: two cities. 26 All ten cities with their common-lands were for the rest of the families of the sons of Kohath.
27 To the sons of Gershon, to the Levites, from the half-tribe of Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), and Be Eshterah with its common-land: two cities; 28 and from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its common-land, Daberath with its common-land, 29 Jarmuth with its common-land, and En Gannim with its common-land: four cities; 30 and from the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its common-land, Abdon with its common-land, 31 Helkath with its common-land, and Rehob with its common-land: four cities; 32 and from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Hammoth Dor with its common-land, and Kartan with its common-land: three cities. 33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their common-lands.
34 To the family of the sons of Merari, the rest of the Levites, from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its common-land, Kartah with its common-land, 35 Dimnah with its common-land, and Nahalal with its common-land: four cities; 36 and from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the desert of Misor with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Jahaz with its common-land, 37 Kedemoth with its common-land, and Mephaath with its common-land: four cities; 38 and from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Mahanaim with its common-land, 39 Heshbon with its common-land, and Jazer with its common-land: four cities in all. 40 So all the cities for the sons of Merari according to their families, the rest of the tribe of Levi, were by their lot twelve cities.
Israel Takes the Land
41 All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the sons of Israel were forty-eight cities with their common-lands. 42 Every one of these cities had its common-land surrounding it; thus were all these cities. 43 So Joshua finished dividing the land according to their borders, 44 and the children of Israel gave a portion to Joshua according to the Lord’s command. They gave him the city he requested, which was Timnath Serah in the mountain of Ephraim, 45 and Joshua built the city and dwelt in it. 46 Then Joshua took the stone knives with which he circumcised the sons of Israel who were born on the way in the desert, and he put them in Timnath Serah. 47 So the Lord gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give to their fathers; and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. 48 The Lord gave them rest all around, as He had sworn to their fathers, and no one rose up against them from all their enemies. The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands. 49 Not a word failed of any good thing the Lord had spoken to the children of Israel. All came to pass.
Joshua Sends the Eastern Tribes Home
1 Then Joshua called together the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, “You heard everything the servant of the Lord Moses commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in everything I commanded you. 3 You have not left your brethren these many days, for until this day you have kept the commandment of the Lord your God. 4 Now then, the Lord our God gave our brethren rest, as he said to them; now therefore, return and depart to your homes and to the land of your inheritance, which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan. 5 But be very careful to do the commandments and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you to do, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to adhere to Him, and to serve Him with all your mind and with all your soul.” 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them forth; and they went to their homes. 7 Now to the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses gave a possession in Bashan, and to the other half, Joshua gave a possession among his brethren on the other side of the Jordan toward the sea. Indeed, when Joshua sent them forth to their homes, he blessed them, 8 and they departed with much wealth to their homes, and with a great quantity of cattle, silver, gold, and iron, and with a great quantity of clothing; and they divided the spoils of the enemy with their brethren.
9 So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of the children of Manasseh went forth from the children of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they obtained through the ordinance of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
An Altar at the Jordan
10 Then they came to Gilgal at the Jordan, which is in the land of Canaan, and the children of Gad, the children of Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, an altar great to see. 11 Now the children of Israel heard them saying, “Behold, the children of Gad, the children of Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the borders of the land of Canaan, at Gilead by the Jordan, on the opposite side of the children of Israel.” 12 So all the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go up to war against them.
13 Then the children of Israel sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the high priest, to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, 14 and ten rulers with him, one ruler each from the paternal house of all the tribes of Israel; and they were the rulers of the paternal houses, the heads of a thousand, of Israel. 15 They came to the children of Gad, the children of Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and spoke to them, saying, 16 “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What trespass have you committed against the God of Israel, turning away this day from the Lord, building an altar for yourselves, and becoming rebels against the Lord? 17 Is Peor’s sin too little for you? For we have not been cleansed from it to this day, and there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord. 18 Will you turn away from the Lord today? If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow there shall be wrath upon all Israel. 19 Now if the land of your possession is too small for you, cross over to the land of the Lord’s possession, where the tabernacle of the Lord dwells, and take possession among us; but do not become rebels against God, and do not rebel against the Lord by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Behold, did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in regard to the accursed thing, and bring wrath upon all the congregation of Israel? But he was only one man, and he alone died in his sin.’ ”
21 Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the captains of the thousands of Israel, saying, 22 “God, even God is the Lord, and God, even God the Lord Himself knows, and Israel himself shall know, that if we transgressed against the Lord in rebellion, may He not deliver us in this. 23 If we have built ourselves an altar so as to depart from the Lord our God, and to offer upon it a sacrifice of whole burnt offerings, or a sacrifice of peace offering, then the Lord will require it. 24 But we have done this thing as a matter of reverence, saying, ‘Lest hereafter your children may say to our children, “What have you to do with the Lord God of Israel? 25 The Lord made the Jordan a border between us and you, and there is no portion of the Lord for you.” Thus your sons shall alienate our sons, so they should not worship the Lord.’ 26 So we told them to build this altar, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, 27 but as a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do service to the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings and sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; so your children shall not say to our children hereafter, ‘There is no portion of the Lord for you.’ 28 Therefore we said, ‘If ever it shall come to pass that they should speak to us and to our generations hereafter, they shall say, “Come and see the likeness of the Lord’s altar which our fathers made, not for the sake of burnt offerings or for sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you, and between our children.” 29 May we not therefore turn away from the Lord in these days and revolt from the Lord, to build ourselves an altar for burnt offerings, for peace offerings, and for the sacrifice of peace, besides the altar of the Lord, which is before His tabernacle.’ ”
30 Now when Phinehas the priest and all the rulers of the congregation of Israel who were with him heard the words spoken by the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, it pleased them. 31 Then Phinehas the priest said to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is with us, because you have not transgressed grievously against the Lord, and because you have delivered the children of Israel out of the Lord’s hand.” 32 After this, Phinehas the priest and the rulers returned from the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and reported to them these words; 33 and it pleased the children of Israel. They spoke to the children of Israel and blessed the God of the children of Israel. So they spoke no more about going up against them in battle in order to utterly destroy the land where the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh dwelt. 34 Then Joshua named the altar of the children of Reuben, of Gad, and of the half-tribe of Manasseh, and said that it is a witness in their midst, that the Lord is their God.
Psalm 70:14–24
14 But I will hope continually,
And I will add to all Your praise.
15 My mouth shall proclaim Your righteousness,
Your salvation all the day,
For I am not acquainted with learning.
16 I shall enter into the power of the Lord;
O Lord, I shall remember Your righteousness, Yours alone.
17 You taught me, O God, from my youth,
And from then until now I will proclaim Your wonders.
18 And even to old age and to my last breath,
O God, do not abandon me,
Until I proclaim Your arm to every coming generation,
Yes, Your mighty deeds and Your righteousness.
19 O God, I proclaim the magnificent things You did,
Even to the highest heaven;
O God, who is like You?
20 How great and evil are the afflictions You showed me,
And You returned, and made me live;
And You raised me up again from the depths of the earth.
21 You multiplied Your greatness,
And You returned and comforted me;
You brought me up again from the depths of the earth.
22 Truly, I will give thanks to You with the instrument of a psalm, O God;
I will sing to You with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will greatly rejoice when I sing to You;
So will my soul, which You redeemed.
24 My tongue shall meditate on Your righteousness all the day long,
When those who seek evils for me are dishonored and shamed.
Proverbs 14:26–30
26 A faithful witness will rescue a soul from evil men,
But a deceitful man kindles lies.
27 In the fear of the Lord there is hope of strength,
And to His children there remains support.
28 The command of the Lord is a fountain of life,
For it causes one to turn from the snare of death.
29 The glory of a king is in a large nation,
But the destruction of a ruler is in a lack of people.
30 A longsuffering man is strong in discernment,
But the fainthearted man is strongly without discernment.
Luke 1:26–56
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 “Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
37 “For with God nothing will be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth
39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 “But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 “For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45 “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
The Song of Mary
46 And Mary said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.