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 ¹  in the wilderness of Zin when the community rebelled against me, you ²  rebelled against my command ³  to show me as holy ⁴  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, ¹  cut down their sacred Asherah poles, ²  and burn up their idols.

you must not fear them. You must carefully recall ¹  what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt,

Are they not across the Jordan River, ¹  toward the west, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah opposite Gilgal ²  near the oak ³  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 ¹  your people Israel whom you redeemed, O Lord, and do not hold them accountable for the bloodshed of an innocent person.” ²  Then atonement will be made for the bloodshed.

When you see ¹  your neighbor’s ²  ox or sheep going astray, do not ignore it; ³  you must return it without fail ⁴  to your neighbor.

When you see ¹  your neighbor’s donkey or ox fallen along the road, do not ignore it; ²  instead, you must be sure ³  to help him get the animal on its feet again. ⁴ 

An Ammonite or Moabite ¹  may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever ²  do so, ³ 

They have made me jealous ¹  with false gods, ²  enraging me with their worthless gods; ³  so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize, ⁴  with a nation slow to learn ⁵  I will enrage them.

But the woman hid the two men ¹  and replied, “Yes, these men were clients of mine, ²  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. ¹ 

they did something clever. They collected some provisions ¹  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. ¹ 

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. ¹ 

Their territory started at Aroer ¹  (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba,