But while the meat was still between their teeth, before they chewed it, ¹  the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague.

When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a staff ¹  between two men, as well as some of the pomegranates and the figs.

That place was called ¹  the Eshcol Valley, ²  because of the cluster ³  of grapes that the Israelites cut from there.

“‘But the person ¹  who acts defiantly, ²  whether native-born or a resident foreigner, insults ³  the Lord. ⁴  That person ⁵  must be cut off ⁶  from among his people.

He ¹  did not make this covenant with our ancestors ²  but with us, we who are here today, all of us living now.

and he ¹  delivers them over to you and you attack them, you must utterly annihilate ²  them. Make no treaty ³  with them and show them no mercy!

When the Lord your God eliminates the nations from the place where you are headed and you dispossess them, you will settle down in their land. ¹ 

When the Lord your God destroys the nations whose land he ¹  is about to give you and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and houses,

Then people will say, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of us ¹  from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?” ² 

They came to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land. Make a treaty with us.”

Three days after they made the treaty with them, the Israelites found out they were from the local area and lived nearby. ¹ 

Now you are condemned to perpetual servitude as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” ¹ 

but you must not make an agreement with the people who live in this land. You should tear down the altars where they worship.’ ¹  But you have disobeyed me. ²  Why would you do such a thing? ³ 

Israel’s power continued to overwhelm ¹  King Jabin of Canaan until they did away with ²  him. ³ 

Any one of you that I do not cut off from my altar, I will cause your ¹  eyes to fail ²  and will cause you grief. ³  All of those born to your family ⁴  will die in the prime of life. ⁵ 

¹ Nahash ²  the Ammonite marched ³  against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us and we will serve you.”

But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!”

Afterward David’s conscience bothered him ¹  because he had cut off an edge of Saul’s robe.

So now swear to me in the Lord’s name ¹  that you will not kill ²  my descendants after me or destroy my name from the house of my father.”