And the staff of the man whom I choose will blossom; so I will rid myself of the complaints of the Israelites, which they murmur against you.”

See, I have given the Levites all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they perform – the service of the tent of meeting.

For in the wilderness of Zin when the community rebelled against me, you rebelled against my command to show me as holy before their eyes over the water – the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.”

Instead, this is what you must do to them: You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, cut down their sacred Asherah poles, and burn up their idols.

you must not fear them. You must carefully recall what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt,

Are they not across the Jordan River, toward the west, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah opposite Gilgal near the oak of Moreh?

You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict.

When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations.

I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command.

Do not blame your people Israel whom you redeemed, O Lord, and do not hold them accountable for the bloodshed of an innocent person.” Then atonement will be made for the bloodshed.

When you see your neighbor’s ox or sheep going astray, do not ignore it; you must return it without fail to your neighbor.

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.

An Ammonite or Moabite may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever do so,

They have made me jealous with false gods, enraging me with their worthless gods; so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize, with a nation slow to learn I will enrage them.

But the woman hid the two men and replied, “Yes, these men were clients of mine, but I didn’t know where they came from.

But Israel did plunder the cattle and the goods of the city, in accordance with the Lord’s orders to Joshua.

they did something clever. They collected some provisions and put worn-out sacks on their donkeys, along with worn-out wineskins that were ripped and patched.

Joshua and the Israelites almost totally wiped them out, but some survivors did escape to the fortified cities.

These kings came out with their armies; they were as numerous as the sand on the seashore and had a large number of horses and chariots.

Their territory started at Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba,