Day 155 of 365

¹The lot came out for the children of Joseph from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, even the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel.

²It went out from Bethel to Luz, and passed along to the border of the Archites to Ataroth;

³and it went down westward to the border of the Japhletites, to the border of Beth Horon the lower, even to Gezer; and ended at the sea.

⁴The children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.

⁵This was the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families. The border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth Addar, to Beth Horon the upper.

⁶The border went out westward at Michmethath on the north. The border turned about eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed along it on the east of Janoah.

⁷It went down from Janoah to Ataroth, to Naarah, reached to Jericho, and went out at the Jordan.

⁸From Tappuah the border went along westward to the brook of Kanah; and ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families;

⁹together with the cities which were set apart for the children of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.

¹⁰They did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and have become servants to do forced labor.

¹This was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. As for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.

²So this was for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: for the children of Abiezer, for the children of Helek, for the children of Asriel, for the children of Shechem, for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.

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

⁴They came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, "The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers." Therefore according to the commandment of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father.

⁵Ten parts fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan;

⁶because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.

⁷The border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which is before Shechem. The border went along to the right hand, to the inhabitants of En Tappuah.

⁸The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh; but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim.

⁹The border went down to the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook. These cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook, and ended at the sea.

¹⁰Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea was his border. They reached to Asher on the north, and to Issachar on the east.

¹¹Manasseh had three heights in Issachar, in Asher Beth Shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns.

¹²Yet the children of Manasseh couldn't drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

¹³It happened, when the children of Israel had grown strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out.

¹⁴The children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, "Why have you given me just one lot and one part for an inheritance, since I am a great people, because the Lord has blessed me so far?"

¹⁵Joshua said to them, "If you are a great people, go up to the forest, and clear land for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim; since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you."

¹⁶The children of Joseph said, "The hill country is not enough for us. All the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are in Beth Shean and its towns, and those who are in the valley of Jezreel."

¹⁷Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, "You are a great people, and have great power. You shall not have one lot only;

¹⁸but the hill country shall be yours. Although it is a forest, you shall cut it down, and it's farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong."

¹The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The land was subdued before them.

²Seven tribes remained among the children of Israel, which had not yet divided their inheritance.

³Joshua said to the children of Israel, "How long will you neglect to go in to possess the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?

⁴Appoint for you three men of each tribe. I will send them, and they shall arise, walk through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance; and they shall come to me.

⁵They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall live in his borders on the south, and the house of Joseph shall live in their borders on the north.

⁶You shall survey the land into seven parts, and bring the description here to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.

⁷For the Levites have no portion among you; for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them."

⁸The men arose and went. Joshua commanded those who went to survey the land, saying, "Go walk through the land, survey it, and come again to me. I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh."

⁹The men went and passed through the land, and surveyed it by cities into seven portions in a book. They came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh.

¹⁰Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. There Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.

¹¹The lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families. The border of their lot went out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.

¹²Their border on the north quarter was from the Jordan. The border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward. It ended at the wilderness of Beth Aven.

¹³The border passed along from there to Luz, to the side of Luz (the same is Bethel), southward. The border went down to Ataroth Addar, by the mountain that lies on the south of Beth Horon the lower.

¹⁴The border extended, and turned around on the west quarter southward, from the mountain that lies before Beth Horon southward; and ended at Kiriath Baal (the same is Kiriath Jearim), a city of the children of Judah. This was the west quarter.

¹⁵The south quarter was from the farthest part of Kiriath Jearim. The border went out westward, and went out to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.

¹⁶The border went down to the farthest part of the mountain that lies before the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the valley of Rephaim northward. It went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En Rogel.

¹⁷It extended northward, went out at En Shemesh, and went out to Geliloth, which is over against the ascent of Adummim. It went down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.

¹⁸It passed along to the side over against the Arabah northward, and went down to the Arabah.

¹⁹The border passed along to the side of Beth Hoglah northward; and the border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the south border.

²⁰The Jordan was its border on the east quarter. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the borders around it, according to their families.

²¹Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz,

²²Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,

²³Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,

²⁴Chephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities with their villages.

²⁵Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,

²⁶Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,

²⁷Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,

²⁸Zelah, Eleph, the Jebusite (the same is Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.

¹Give ear to my words, Lord. Consider my meditation.

²Listen to the voice of my cry, my King and my God; for to you do I pray.

³Lord, in the morning you shall hear my voice. In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly.

⁴For you are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness. Evil can't live with you.

⁵The arrogant shall not stand in your sight. You hate all workers of iniquity.

⁶You will destroy those who speak lies. The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷But as for me, in the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house. I will bow toward your holy temple in reverence of you.

⁸Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face.

⁹For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their heart is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongue they are deceitful.

¹⁰Hold them guilty, God. Let them fall by their own counsels; Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice, Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them. Let them also who love your name be joyful in you.

¹²For you will bless the righteous. Lord, you will surround him with favor as with a shield.

¹The words of king Lemuel; the oracle which his mother taught him.

²"Oh, my son! Oh, son of my womb! Oh, son of my vows!

³Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to that which destroys kings.

⁴It is not for kings, Lemuel; it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes to say, 'Where is strong drink?'

⁵lest they drink, and forget the decree, and pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted.

⁶Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish; and wine to the bitter in soul:

⁷Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

⁸Open your mouth for the mute, in the cause of all who are left desolate.

⁹Open your mouth, judge righteously, and serve justice to the poor and needy."

¹⁰Who can find a worthy woman? For her price is far above rubies.

¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her. He shall have no lack of gain.

¹²She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.

¹³She seeks wool and flax, and works eagerly with her hands.

¹⁴She is like the merchant ships. She brings her bread from afar.

¹⁵She rises also while it is yet night, gives food to her household, and portions for her servant girls.

¹⁶She considers a field, and buys it. With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷She girds her waist with strength, and makes her arms strong.

¹⁸She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp doesn't go out by night.

¹⁹She lays her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.

²⁰She opens her arms to the poor; yes, she extends her hands to the needy.

²¹She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

²²She makes for herself carpets of tapestry. Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

²³Her husband is respected in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.

²⁴She makes linen garments and sells them, and delivers sashes to the merchant.

²⁵Strength and dignity are her clothing. She laughs at the time to come.

²⁶She opens her mouth with wisdom. Faithful instruction is on her tongue.

²⁷She looks well to the ways of her household, and doesn't eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her:

²⁹"Many women do noble things, but you excel them all."

³⁰Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

³¹Give her of the fruit of her hands! Let her works praise her in the gates!