Daily Text and Bible Reading: Monday, March 16 [Press play below]

1.1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of Jehovah: “Who of us will go up first to fight against the Canaanites?”
1.2 Jehovah replied: “Judah will go up. Look! I am giving the land into his hand.”
1.3 Then Judah said to his brother Simeon: “Come up with me into my assigned territory to fight against the Canaanites. Then I will go with you into your assigned territory.” So Simeon went with him.
1.4 When Judah went up, Jehovah gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they defeated 10,000 men in Bezek.
1.5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, and there they fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
1.6 When Adoni-bezek fled, they chased him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.
1.7 Then Adoni-bezek said: “There are 70 kings whose thumbs and big toes were cut off and who are picking up food under my table. Just as I have done, so God has repaid me.” After that they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
1.8 Furthermore, the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it; they struck it with the sword and set the city on fire.
1.9 Afterward, the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites inhabiting the mountainous region and the Negeb and the Shephelah.
1.10 So Judah marched against the Canaanites who were dwelling in Hebron (the name of Hebron was previously Kiriath-arba), and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
1.11 They marched from there against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir was previously Kiriath-sepher.)
1.12 Then Caleb said: “To the man who strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife.”
1.13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it. So he gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife.
1.14 While she was going home, she urged him to ask her father for a field. Then she dismounted from her donkey. Caleb asked her: “What do you want?”
1.15 She said to him: “Please grant me a blessing, for you have given me a piece of land in the south; give me also Gulloth-maim.” So Caleb gave her Upper Gulloth and Lower Gulloth.
1.16 And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, came up from the city of palm trees with the people of Judah to the wilderness of Judah south of Arad. They went there and settled among the people.
1.17 But Judah marched on with his brother Simeon, and they attacked the Canaanites inhabiting Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So they named the city Hormah.
1.18 Then Judah captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory.
1.19 Jehovah was with Judah, and they took possession of the mountainous region, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain, because they had war chariots with iron scythes.
1.20 They gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had promised, and he drove out from there the three sons of Anak.
1.21 But the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites inhabiting Jerusalem, so the Jebusites continue dwelling with the Benjaminites in Jerusalem down to this day.
1.22 Meantime, the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and Jehovah was with them.
1.23 The house of Joseph was spying on Bethel (incidentally, the name of the city was previously Luz),
1.24 and the spies saw a man going out of the city. So they said to him: “Show us, please, the way into the city, and we will treat you kindly.”
1.25 So the man showed them the way into the city, and they struck the city with the sword, but they let the man and all his family go free.
1.26 The man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and named it Luz, which is its name to this day.
1.27 Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its dependent towns, Taanach and its dependent towns, the inhabitants of Dor and its dependent towns, the inhabitants of Ibleam and its dependent towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its dependent towns. The Canaanites persisted in dwelling in this land.
1.28 When Israel grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.
1.29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who were dwelling in Gezer. The Canaanites continued to dwell among them in Gezer.
1.30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and the inhabitants of Nahalol. The Canaanites continued to dwell among them and were subjected to forced labor.
1.31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco and the inhabitants of Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob.
1.32 So the Asherites continued to dwell among the Canaanites inhabiting the land, because they did not drive them out.
1.33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but they continued to dwell among the Canaanites inhabiting the land. The inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced laborers for them.
1.34 The Amorites confined the Danites to the mountainous region, for they would not let them come down into the plain.
1.35 So the Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the power of the house of Joseph increased, they were forced into hard labor.
1.36 The territory of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela upward.
2.1 Then Jehovah’s angel went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said: “I brought you up out of Egypt into the land about which I swore to your forefathers. Furthermore, I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you.
2.2 For your part, you must not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land and you should pull down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. Why have you done this?
2.3 That is why I also said, ‘I will not drive them away from before you, and they will ensnare you, and their gods will lure you away.’”
2.4 When Jehovah’s angel spoke these words to all the Israelites, the people began to weep loudly.
2.5 So they named that place Bochim, and they sacrificed there to Jehovah.
2.6 When Joshua sent the people away, each of the Israelites went to his inheritance to take possession of the land.
2.7 The people continued to serve Jehovah all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and who had seen all of Jehovah’s great deeds in behalf of Israel.
2.8 Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died at the age of 110.
2.9 So they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mountainous region of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
2.10 All that generation were gathered to their ancestors, and another generation arose after them that did not know Jehovah or what he had done for Israel.
2.11 So the Israelites did what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah and served the Baals.
2.12 Thus they abandoned Jehovah, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt. And they followed other gods, the gods of the peoples who were all around them, and they bowed down to them and offended Jehovah.
2.13 They abandoned Jehovah and served Baal and the Ashtoreth images.
2.14 At this Jehovah’s anger blazed against Israel, so he handed them over to plunderers who pillaged them. He sold them into the hand of the enemies around them, and they were no longer able to hold their own against their enemies.
2.15 Wherever they went, the hand of Jehovah was against them, bringing disaster on them, just as Jehovah had said and just as Jehovah had sworn to them, and they were in great distress.
2.16 So Jehovah would raise up judges who would save them from the hand of their plunderers.
2.17 But they refused to listen even to the judges and would prostitute themselves to other gods and bow down to them. They quickly turned aside from the way in which their forefathers had walked, those who had obeyed the commandments of Jehovah. They failed to do that.
2.18 Whenever Jehovah did raise up judges for them, Jehovah would be with the judge and save them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for Jehovah was moved to pity over their groaning caused by those who oppressed them and those who were treating them abusively.
2.19 But when the judge died, they would again act more corruptly than their fathers by following other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not abandon their practices and their stubborn behavior.
2.20 Finally Jehovah’s anger blazed against Israel, and he said: “Because this nation has violated my covenant that I commanded their forefathers and they have disobeyed me,
2.21 I for my part will not drive out from before them even one of the nations that Joshua left behind when he died.
2.22 This is to test whether Israel will keep Jehovah’s way by walking in it as their fathers did.”
2.23 So Jehovah allowed these nations to remain. He did not drive them out quickly, and he did not give them into Joshua’s hand.