Read The One Year Bible TLB Online
Authors: Tyndale
The One Year Bible TLB (89 page)
Wealth from gambling quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows.
April 19The Land Given to the Tribe of Simeon:
The tribe of Simeon received the next assignment of land—including part of the land previously assigned to Judah.
2-7
Their inheritance included these seventeen cities
*
with their respective villages: Beer-sheba, Sheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, Beth-lebaoth, Sharuhen, En-rimmon, Ether, and Ashan.
8
The cities as far south as Baalath-beer (also known as Ramah-in-the-Negeb) were also given to the tribe of Simeon.
9
So the Simeon tribe’s inheritance came from what had earlier been given to Judah, for Judah’s section had been too large for them.
10
The Land Given to the Tribe of Zebulun:
The third tribe to receive its assignment of land was Zebulun. Its boundary started on the south side of Sarid.
11
From there it circled to the west, going near Mareal and Dabbesheth until it reached the brook east of Jokneam.
12
In the other direction, the boundary line went east to the border of Chisloth-tabor, and from there to Daberath and Japhia;
13
then it continued east of Gath-hepher, Ethkazin, and Rimmon and turned toward Neah.
14
The northern boundary of Zebulun passed Hannathon and ended at the valley of Iphtahel.
15-16
The cities in these areas, besides those already mentioned,
*
included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, Bethlehem, and each of their surrounding villages. Altogether there were twelve of these cities.
17-23
The Land Given to the Tribe of Issachar:
The fourth tribe to be assigned its land was Issachar. Its boundaries included the following cities: Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, Beth-pazzez, Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh—sixteen cities in all, each with its surrounding villages. The boundary of Issachar ended at the Jordan River.
24-26
The Land Given to the Tribe of Asher:
The fifth tribe to be assigned its land was Asher. The boundaries included these cities: Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal.
The boundary on the west side went from Carmel to Shihor-libnath,
27
turned east toward Beth-dagon, and ran as far as Zebulun in the valley of Iphtahel, running north of Beth-emek and Neiel. It then passed to the east of Kabul,
28
Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, and Greater Sidon.
29
Then the boundary turned toward Ramah and the fortified city of Tyre and came to the Mediterranean Sea at Hosah. The territory also included Mahalab, Achzib,
30-31
Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob—an overall total of twenty-two cities and their surrounding villages.
32
The Land Given to the Tribe of Naphtali:
The sixth tribe to receive its assignment was the tribe of Naphtali.
33
Its boundary began at Judah, at the oak in Zaanannim, and extended across to Adami-nekeb, Jabneel, and Lakkum, ending at the Jordan River.
34
The western boundary began near Heleph and ran past Aznoth-tabor, then to Hukkok, and coincided with the Zebulun boundary in the south, and with the boundary of Asher on the west, and with the Jordan River at the east.
35-39
The fortified cities included in this territory were: Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, Kedesh, Edrei, Enhazor, Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh. So altogether the territory included nineteen cities with their surrounding villages.
40
The Land Given to the Tribe of Dan:
The last tribe to be assigned its land was Dan.
41-46
The cities within its area included: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, Elon, Timnah, Ekron, Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, also the territory near Joppa.
47-48
But some of this territory proved impossible to conquer, so the tribe of Dan captured the city of Leshem, slaughtered its people, and lived there; and they called the city “Dan,” naming it after their ancestor.
49
So all the land was divided among the tribes, with the boundaries indicated; and the nation of Israel gave a special piece of land to Joshua,
50
for the Lord had said that he could have any city he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim; he rebuilt it and lived there.
51
Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the leaders of the tribes of Israel supervised the sacred lottery to divide the land among the tribes. This was done in the Lord’s presence at the entrance of the Tabernacle at Shiloh.
20:
1
The Lord said to Joshua,
2
“Tell the people of Israel to designate now the Cities of Refuge, as I instructed Moses.
*
3
If a man is guilty of killing someone unintentionally, he can run to one of these cities and be protected from the relatives of the dead man, who may try to kill him in revenge.
4
When the innocent killer reaches any of these cities, he will meet with the city council and explain what happened, and they must let him come in and must give him a place to live among them.
5
If a relative of the dead man comes to kill him in revenge, the innocent slayer must not be released to him for the death was accidental.
6
The man who caused the accidental death must stay in that city until he has been tried by the judges and found innocent, and must live there until the death of the High Priest who was in office at the time of the accident. But then he is free to return to his own city and home.”
7
The cities chosen as Cities of Refuge were Kedesh of Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali; Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim; and Kiriath-arba (also known as Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
8
The Lord also instructed that three cities be set aside for this purpose on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho. They were Bezer, in the wilderness of the land of the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth of Gilead, in the territory of the tribe of Gad; and Golan of Bashan, in the land of the tribe of Manasseh.
9
These Cities of Refuge were for foreigners living in Israel as well as for the Israelis themselves, so that anyone who accidentally killed another man could run to that place for a trial and not be killed in revenge.
After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking along ahead of his disciples.
29
As they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead,
30
with instructions to go to the next village, and as they entered they were to look for a donkey tied beside the road. It would be a colt, not yet broken for riding.
“Untie him,”
Jesus said,
“and bring him here.
31
And if anyone asks you what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs him.’”
32
They found the colt as Jesus said,
33
and sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners demanded an explanation.
“What are you doing?” they asked. “Why are you untying our colt?”
34
And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs him!”
35
So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw some of their clothing across its back for Jesus to sit on.
36-37
Then the crowds spread out their robes along the road ahead of him, and as they reached the place where the road started down from the Mount of Olives, the whole procession began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles Jesus had done.
38
“God has given us a King!” they exulted. “Long live the King! Let all heaven rejoice! Glory to God in the highest heavens!”
39
But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Sir, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”
40
He replied,
“If they keep quiet, the stones along the road will burst into cheers!”
41
But as they came closer to Jerusalem and he saw the city ahead, he began to cry.
42
“Eternal peace was within your reach and you turned it down,”
he wept,
“and now it is too late.
43
Your enemies will pile up earth against your walls and encircle you and close in on you,
44
and crush you to the ground, and your children within you; your enemies will not leave one stone upon another—for you have rejected the opportunity God offered you.”
45
Then he entered the Temple and began to drive out the merchants from their stalls,
46
saying to them,
“The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple is a place of prayer; but you have turned it into a den of thieves.’”
47
After that he taught daily in the Temple, but the chief priests and other religious leaders and the business community
*
were trying to find some way to get rid of him.
48
But they could think of nothing, for he was a hero to the people—they hung on every word he said.
O Jehovah, God of my salvation, I have wept before you day and night.
2
Now hear my prayers; oh, listen to my cry,
3
for my life is full of troubles, and death draws near.
4
They say my life is ebbing out—a hopeless case.
5
They have left me here to die, like those slain on battlefields from whom your mercies are removed.
6
You have thrust me down to the darkest depths.
7
Your wrath lies heavy on me; wave after wave engulfs me.
8
You have made my friends to loathe me, and they have gone away. I am in a trap with no way out.
9
My eyes grow dim with weeping. Each day I beg your help; O Lord, I reach my pleading hands to you for mercy.
10
Soon it will be too late! Of what use are your miracles when I am in the grave? How can I praise you then?
11
Can those in the grave declare your loving-kindness? Can they proclaim your faithfulness?
12
Can the darkness speak of your miracles? Can anyone in the Land of Forgetfulness talk about your help?
13
O Lord, I plead for my life and will keep on pleading day by day.
14
O Jehovah, why have you thrown my life away? Why are you turning your face from me and looking the other way?
15
From my youth I have been sickly and ready to die. I stand helpless before your terrors.
16
Your fierce wrath has overwhelmed me. Your terrors have cut me off.
17
They flow around me all day long.
18
Lover, friend, acquaintance—all are gone. There is only darkness everywhere.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick; but when dreams come true at last, there is life and joy.
*
13
Despise God’s Word and find yourself in trouble. Obey it and succeed.
14
The advice of a wise man refreshes like water from a mountain spring. Those accepting it become aware of the pitfalls on ahead.
April 20Then the leaders of the tribe of Levi came to Shiloh to consult with Eleazar the priest and with Joshua and the leaders of the various tribes.
2
“The Lord instructed Moses to give cities to us Levites for our homes, and pastureland for our cattle,” they said.
3
So they were given some of the recently conquered cities with their pasturelands.
4
Thirteen of these cities had been assigned originally to the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. These were given to some of the priests of the Kohath division (of the tribe of Levi, descendants of Aaron).
5
The other families of the Kohath division were given ten cities from the territories of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
6
The Gershon division received thirteen cities, selected by sacred lot in the area of Bashan. These cities were given by the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
7
The Merari division received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
8
So the Lord’s command to Moses was obeyed, and the cities and pasturelands were assigned by the toss of the sacred dice.
9-16
First to receive their assignment were the priests—the descendants of Aaron, who was a member of the Kohath division of the Levites. The tribes of Judah and Simeon gave them the nine cities
*
listed below, with their surrounding pasturelands:
Hebron, in the Judean hills, as a City of Refuge—it was also called Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak)—although the fields beyond the city and the surrounding villages were given to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh; Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh.
17-18
The tribe of Benjamin gave them these four cities and their pasturelands: Gibeon, Gaba, Anathoth, and Almon.
19
So in all, thirteen cities were given to the priests—the descendants of Aaron.
20-22
The other families of the Kohath division received four cities
*
and pasturelands from the tribe of Ephraim: Shechem (a City of Refuge), Gezer, Kibza-im, and Beth-horon.
23-24
The following four cities and pasturelands were given by the tribe of Dan: Elteke, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon.
25
The half-tribe of Manasseh gave the cities of Taanach and Gath-rimmon with their surrounding pasturelands.
26
So the total number of cities and pasturelands given to the remainder of the Kohath division was ten.
27
The descendants of Gershon, another division of the Levites, received two cities and pasturelands from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan, in Bashan (a City of Refuge), and Beeshterah.
28-29
The tribe of Issachar gave four cities: Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth, and Engannim.
30-31
The tribe of Asher gave four cities and pasturelands: Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob.
32
The tribe of Naphtali gave: Kedesh, in Galilee (a City of Refuge), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan.
33
So thirteen cities with their pasturelands were assigned to the division of Gershon.
34-35
The remainder of the Levites—the Merari division—were given four cities by the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal.
36-37
Reuben gave them: Bezer, Jahaz, Kedemoth, and Mephaath.
38-39
Gad gave them four cities with pasturelands: Ramoth (a City of Refuge), Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer.
40
So the Merari division of the Levites was given twelve cities in all.
41-42
The total number of cities and pasturelands given to the Levites came to forty-eight.
43
So in this way the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had promised to their ancestors, and they went in and conquered it and lived there.
44
And the Lord gave them peace, just as he had promised, and no one could stand against them; the Lord helped them destroy all their enemies.
45
Every good thing the Lord had promised them came true.
22:
1
Joshua now called together the troops from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,
2-3
and addressed them as follows:
“You have done as the Lord’s disciple Moses commanded you, and have obeyed every order I have given you—every order of the Lord your God. You have not deserted your brother tribes, even though the campaign has lasted for such a long time.
4
And now the Lord our God has given us success and rest as he promised he would. So go home now to the land given you by the Lord’s servant Moses, on the other side of the Jordan River.
5
Be sure to continue to obey all of the commandments Moses gave you. Love the Lord and follow his plan for your lives. Cling to him and serve him enthusiastically.”
6
So Joshua blessed them and sent them home.
7-8
(Moses had assigned the land of Bashan to the half-tribe of Manasseh, although the other half of the tribe was given land on the west side of the Jordan.) As Joshua sent away these troops, he blessed them and told them to share their great wealth with their relatives back home—their loot of cattle, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and clothing.
9
So the troops of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the army of Israel at Shiloh in Canaan and crossed the Jordan River to their own homeland of Gilead.
10
Before they went across, while they were still in Canaan, they built a large monument for everyone to see, in the shape of an altar.
11
But when the rest of Israel heard about what they had done,
12
they mustered an army at Shiloh and prepared to go to war against their brother tribes.
13
First, however, they sent a delegation led by Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest. They crossed the river and talked to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh.
14
In this delegation were ten high officials of Israel, one from each of the ten tribes, and each a clan leader.
15
When they arrived in the land of Gilead they said to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,
16
“The whole congregation of the Lord demands to know why you are sinning against the God of Israel by turning away from him and building an altar of rebellion against the Lord.
17-18
Was our guilt at Peor—from which we have not even yet been cleansed despite the plague that tormented us—so little that you must rebel again? For you know that if you rebel today the Lord will be angry with all of us tomorrow.
19
If you need the altar because your land is defiled, then join us on our side of the river where the Lord lives among us in his Tabernacle, and we will share our land with you. But do not rebel against the Lord by building another altar in addition to the only true altar of our God.
20
Don’t you remember that when Achan, the son of Zerah, sinned against the Lord, the entire nation was punished in addition to the one man who had sinned?”
On one of those days when he [Jesus] was teaching and preaching the Good News in the Temple, he was confronted by the chief priests and other religious leaders and councilmen.
2
They demanded to know by what authority he had driven out the merchants from the Temple.
3
“I’ll ask you a question before I answer,”
he replied.
4
“Was John sent by God, or was he merely acting under his own authority?”
5
They talked it over among themselves. “If we say his message was from heaven, then we are trapped because he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’
6
But if we say John was not sent from God, the people will mob us, for they are convinced that he was a prophet.”
7
Finally they replied, “We don’t know!”
8
And Jesus responded,
“Then I won’t answer your question either.”
9
Now he turned to the people again and told them this story:
“A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to some farmers, and went away to a distant land to live for several years.
10
When harvest time came, he sent one of his men to the farm to collect his share of the crops. But the tenants beat him up and sent him back empty-handed.
11
Then he sent another, but the same thing happened; he was beaten up and insulted and sent away without collecting.
12
A third man was sent and the same thing happened. He, too, was wounded and chased away.
13
“‘What shall I do?’ the owner asked himself. ‘I know! I’ll send my cherished son. Surely they will show respect for him.’
14
“But when the tenants saw his son, they said, ‘This is our chance! This fellow will inherit all the land when his father dies. Come on. Let’s kill him, and then it will be ours.’
15
So they dragged him out of the vineyard and killed him.
“What do you think the owner will do?
16
I’ll tell you—he will come and kill them and rent the vineyard to others.”
“But they would never do a thing like that,” his listeners protested.
17
Jesus looked at them and said,
“Then what does the Scripture mean where it says, ‘The Stone rejected by the builders was made the cornerstone’?”
18
And he added,
“Whoever stumbles over that Stone shall be broken; and those on whom it falls will be crushed to dust.”
19
When the chief priests and religious leaders heard about this story he had told, they wanted him arrested immediately, for they realized that he was talking about them. They were the wicked tenants in his illustration. But they were afraid that if they themselves arrested him, there would be a riot. So they tried to get him to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor as reason to arrest him.
20
Watching their opportunity, they sent secret agents pretending to be honest men.
21
They said to Jesus, “Sir, we know what an honest teacher you are. You always tell the truth and don’t budge an inch in the face of what others think, but teach the ways of God.
22
Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to the Roman government or not?”
23
He saw through their trickery and said,
24
“Show me a coin. Whose portrait is this on it? And whose name?”
They replied, “Caesar’s—the Roman emperor’s.”
25
He said,
“Then give the emperor all that is his—and give to God all that is his!”
26
Thus their attempt to outwit him before the people failed; and marveling at his answer, they were silent.
Forever and ever I will sing about the tender kindness of the Lord! Young and old shall hear about your blessings.
2
Your love and kindness are forever; your truth is as enduring as the heavens.
3-4
The Lord God says,
*
“I have made a solemn agreement with my chosen servant David. I have taken an oath to establish his descendants as kings forever on his throne, from now until eternity!”
5
All heaven shall praise your miracles, O Lord; myriads of angels
*
will praise you for your faithfulness.
6
For who in all of heaven can be compared with God? What mightiest angel
*
is anything like him?
7
The highest of angelic powers
*
stand in dread and awe of him. Who is as revered as he by those surrounding him?
8
O Jehovah, Commander of the heavenly armies, where is there any other Mighty One like you? Faithfulness is your very character.
9
You rule the oceans when their waves arise in fearful storms; you speak, and they lie still.
10
You have cut haughty Egypt
*
to pieces. Your enemies are scattered by your awesome power.
11
The heavens are yours, the world, everything—for you created them all.
12
You created north and south! Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon rejoice to be signed by your name as their maker!
13
Strong is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.