a strong east wind caused the sea to go back all that night and made the
bed of the sea dry. And the Israelites crossed over on the dry bed of
the sea. The Egyptians followed and all of Pharaoh's horses, his
chariots, and his horsemen went after them into the sea. In the morning
before sunrise, Jehovah looked out through the pillar of fire and of
cloud upon the army of the Egyptians and threw them into confusion. He
also bound their chariot wheels, so that they dragged heavily. Therefore
the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the Israelites, for Jehovah fights
for them against us."
Then Jehovah said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that
the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and
upon their horsemen." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and
toward morning the sea returned to its ordinary level while the
Egyptians were flying before it. So Jehovah overthrew the Egyptians in
the midst of the sea, and the waters returned and covered the chariots
and the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that went after them into
the sea, so that not one of them was left. Thus Jehovah saved the
Israelites that day from the power of the Egyptians; and they saw the
Egyptians dead upon the seashore. When the Israelites saw the great work
which Jehovah did to the Egyptians, the people feared Jehovah and
believed in him and in his servant Moses.
And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her
hand; and as all the women followed her with tambourines and with
dancing, she sang with them:
"Sing to Jehovah, for he has triumphed gloriously:
Both horse and rider has he hurled into the sea."
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to Jehovah:
"I will sing to Jehovah, for he has triumphed gloriously:
Both horse and rider he has hurled into the sea.
Jehovah is my strength and song, he has delivered me;
He is my God, I will praise him; my father's God whom I honor."
GOD'S COMMANDS TO THE PEOPLE
Moses led the Israelites forward from the Red Sea until they came to the
wilderness of Sinai, and there the Israelites camped before the
mountain.
Moses went up into the presence of God, and Jehovah called to him from
the mountain and said, "Tell the Israelites: 'You have seen what I did
to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to
myself. Now therefore, if you will listen to my voice and keep your
solemn agreement with me, you shall be my own treasure taken from among
all peoples, for all the earth is mine. You shall be a nation of
priests, a people devoted to my service.'"
So Moses called together the leaders of the people and told them all
these words, as Jehovah had commanded him. And all the people answered
together, "We will do all that Jehovah has commanded."
When Moses told Jehovah the answer of the people, Jehovah said to him,
"See, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I
speak and may always believe in you." And Jehovah said to Moses, "Go to
the people and keep them pure to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash
their garments and be ready on the third day, for on the third day I
will come down on Mount Sinai within sight of all the people."
On the third day, when morning came, there were thunderings and
lightnings and a thick cloud rested upon the mountain, and a very loud
trumpet blast sounded, so that all the people who were in the camp
trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; and
they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was entirely covered
with smoke, because Jehovah came down upon it in fire. And from it smoke
went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the entire mountain shook
violently.
Then God spoke all these words: "I am Jehovah your God who brought you
out of the land of Egypt, from a place where you were slaves.
"THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS EXCEPT ME.
"THOU SHALT NOT MAKE FOR THYSELF A GRAVEN IMAGE, nor any image of
anything that is in the heavens above, on the earth beneath, or in the
waters that are under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down before them,
nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God visiting the sins
of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation, but
showing acts of kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love
me and keep my commands.
"THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF JEHOVAH THY GOD IN VAIN, for Jehovah
will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain.
"REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY. Six days shalt thou labor and
do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah thy God.
In it thou shalt not do any work, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy
daughter, nor thy male servant, nor thy female servant, nor thy cattle,
nor the guest who is with thee, for in six days Jehovah made the heavens
and the earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested on the
seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it
holy.
"HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER, that thou mayest live long on the land
which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
"THOU SHALT NOT MURDER.
"THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.
"THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.
"THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR.
"THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE; thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his
ox, nor his ass, nor anything that belongs to thy neighbor."
Then Jehovah said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accord with
these words I have made a solemn agreement with you and with Israel."
OUR DUTIES TO GOD AND MAN
Hear O Israel: Jehovah our God is the one Lord. You shall love Jehovah
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
strength.
Behold, the heavens, the highest heavens, the earth and all that is on
it belong to Jehovah your God. Jehovah showed his love to your fathers
more than to any other people, and he has chosen their children after
them and you out of all the nations. Therefore, open your heart to him
and no longer refuse to be guided by him. For Jehovah your God is God of
gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, the wonderful God, who
shows no favors and takes no bribes, who sees that what is right is done
to the orphan and widow, who loves the foreigner and gives him food and
clothing. Love Jehovah your God and always keep his laws and his
commands.
You shall not deceive one another.
You shall not lie to one another.
You shall not swear falsely in my name.
You shall not wrong nor rob your neighbor.
You shall not curse the deaf.
You shall not put a stumbling-block before the blind.
You shall not tell stories about one another.
You shall not hate any one.
You shall not take vengeance nor bear a grudge against any one.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
You shall rise before the hoary head and honor an old man.
If a foreigner lives in your land, you shall do him no wrong. You shall
treat him as one of your own people and you shall love him as yourself.
THE REPORT OF THE HEBREW SPIES
Moses sent certain men to explore the land of Canaan and said to them,
"Go up into the South Country and on into the highlands, and see what
the land is and whether the people who live there are strong or weak,
whether they are few or many, and whether the land in which they live is
good or bad, and what kinds of cities they live in, whether in camps or
in strongholds. See whether the land is fertile or barren, whether there
is wood in it or not. Be courageous and bring some of the fruit of the
land," for it was the time when the grapes first begin to ripen.
So they went up to the South Country and came to Hebron. When they came
to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down from there a branch with one
cluster of grapes and brought it away on a pole carried by two men. They
also took some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the valley
of the Grape Cluster because of the cluster which the Israelites cut
down there.
Then they returned to Moses and Aaron and all the Israelites at Kadesh
and brought back word to them and showed them the fruit of the land.
They reported to Moses, "We went to the land to which you sent us; and
it indeed is full of milk and honey; and this is some of its fruit. But
the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are very
large and have high walls about them."
Then Caleb quieted the people and said, "Let us go up at once and take
it, for we are well able to conquer it." But the men who had gone up
with him said, "We are not able to conquer the people, for they are
stronger than we, and all the people whom we saw there are very tall and
large. There we saw the giants; we were as grasshoppers in our own
sight, and so we seemed to them."
All the people wept that night and cried out, "Why did Jehovah bring us
to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be
taken captive. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" So
they said to one another, "Let us choose a leader and return to Egypt."
Then Moses and Aaron bowed low before all the Israelites who were
gathered there, and Joshua and Caleb, who were among those who explored
the land, tore their clothes and said to them, "The land which we went
to explore is a very good land. If Jehovah is pleased with us, he will
bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which is full of milk
and honey. Only do not rebel against Jehovah. Fear not the people of the
land, for they will supply us with food. Their defense is taken away
from over them, and Jehovah is with us; fear them not." But the people
would not trust Jehovah.
Then Jehovah said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? How
long will they refuse to trust me in spite of all of the wonders which I
have performed before their eyes? I will send sickness upon them and
destroy them, and I will make you and your family a nation greater and
mightier than theirs."
But Moses said to Jehovah, "When the Egyptians hear it, they will say,
'Jehovah has killed them in the wilderness because he was not able to
bring this people into the land which he solemnly promised to them.'
Forgive, I pray thee, the guilt of this people, because thy love is
great, even as thou hast forgiven them from the time they left Egypt
even until now."
Jehovah said, "I have forgiven as you have asked; but as surely as I
live and as surely as the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of
Jehovah, none of the men who have seen my glory and my wonders which I
performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have tested me these
ten times and have not listened to my voice, shall see the land which I
have solemnly promised to their fathers, neither shall any of those who
despise me see it. But I will bring my servant Caleb to the land to
which he went, for he has shown a different spirit and has faithfully
followed me, and his children shall possess it. But your little ones,
who, you said, would be captives of war, I will bring in, and they shall
possess the land which you have refused. Your dead bodies shall fall in
this wilderness, and your children shall be wanderers there forty years
and shall suffer for your unfaithfulness until your bodies have all
decayed in the wilderness."
THE LAST WORDS OF MOSES
When Moses was old, he said to all the Israelites, "I am a hundred and
twenty years old this day. I can no longer go out and come in, and
Jehovah has said to me, 'You shall not go over this river Jordan.'
Jehovah your God is going over before you. He will destroy these nations
before you, and you shall drive them out; and Joshua is going over to
lead you as Jehovah has commanded. Be brave and strong, do not be afraid
of them, for Jehovah your God is leading you; he will not fail you nor
forsake you."
Moses also called Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel,
"Be brave and strong, for you shall bring this people into the land
which Jehovah has promised to their fathers to give them; and you shall
give it to them. Jehovah is going before you; he will be with you, he
will not fail nor forsake you; fear not, nor be frightened."
Then Moses went up on the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo to the summit of
Pisgah opposite Jericho. And Jehovah showed him all the land, and said
to him, "This is the land which I have solemnly promised to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your children.' I have
let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not go over there."
So Moses, the servant of Jehovah, died there in the land of Moab as
Jehovah had said. And Jehovah buried him in the deep valley in the land
of Moab; but to this day no man knows the place where he was buried.
Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, but his eye was
not dim nor had he lost his strength. The Israelites wept for Moses on
the plain of Moab thirty days, and then the days of weeping and mourning
for Moses were ended.
Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses
had laid his hands upon him; and the Israelites listened to him and did
as Jehovah commanded Moses. But in Israel no prophet had yet arisen whom
Jehovah knew as well as he did Moses.
CROSSING THE RIVER JORDAN
After the death of Moses, Jehovah said to Joshua, Moses' helper, "Moses
my servant is dead: Now arise, go over the Jordan with all this people
to the land which I am about to give to the Israelites. As long as you
live no one will be able to stand against you. As I was with Moses, so I
shall be with you: I will not fail you nor forsake you. Be brave and
strong, for you shall give this people the land which I solemnly
promised their fathers I would give them. Only be brave and strong to
keep faithfully all the law, as Moses my servant commanded you. Turn not
from it to the right nor to the left, and you shall have success
wherever you go. Have I not commanded you? Be brave and strong; fear not
nor be afraid, for Jehovah your God is with you wherever you go."
Then Joshua gave this order to the officers who were over the people:
"Go through all the camp and give this command: 'Prepare food for
yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in
and take the land which Jehovah your God has given you as your own.'"
While Joshua was at Shittim, he secretly sent two men as spies, with the
command: "Go, explore the land and especially Jericho." So they went and
entered the house of a woman named Rahab, and stayed there.
It was reported to the king of Jericho, "Some men came here to-night
from the Israelites to explore the land." Therefore the king of Jericho
sent to Rahab and said, "Bring out the men who entered your house, for
they have come to explore all the land."
Now the woman had taken the two men and hidden them; so she said, "It is
true, some men came to me, but I did not know where they came from. When
the time came to shut the gate at night, the men went out and I do not
know where they have gone. Follow after them quickly, for you may
overtake them." She, however, had brought them up to the roof and hidden
them with the stalks of flax which she had spread out there. So the men
of Jericho followed after them in the direction of the fords of the
Jordan; and as soon as the men of Jericho had gone out, the gate was
closed.
The spies had hardly lain down when Rahab came up to them on the roof
and said, "I know that Jehovah has given you the land and that fear of
you has seized us and that because of you all who live in the land are
losing heart. Now therefore swear to me by Jehovah, since I have treated
you with kindness, that you will also treat my family kindly, and
promise me that you will save the lives of my father, my mother, my
brothers, and my sisters, together with all that they have, and will not
put us to death." The men said to her, "We are ready to give our lives
for you, if you do not tell what we are doing; and when Jehovah gives us
the land, we will treat you kindly and faithfully."
Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house in
which she lived was built into the city wall. She said to them, "Go
into the hills, that the men who are looking for you may not find you,
and hide yourselves there three days until they have returned. Then you
may go on your way."
The men said to her, "We shall be free from our solemn promise to you,
unless, when we come into the land, you bind this cord of scarlet thread
in the window through which you let us down and gather your father, your
mother, your brothers, and all your family into your house. If any one
goes out of the doors of your house into the street, he shall be
responsible for his death and we shall be innocent. If any one stays
with you in the house, we will be responsible for his death if any one
lays hands on him. But if you tell what we are doing, we shall be free
from our solemn promise to you." She replied, "It shall be as you say."
So she sent them away. And when they were gone, she bound the scarlet
cord in the window.
So they left and went into the hills and stayed there three days until
those who were looking for them had returned. They sought for them in
every direction but did not find them. Then the two men came down from
the hills, crossed the river, and came to Joshua and told him all that
had happened to them.
Joshua rose up early in the morning and set out from Shittim. And he and
all the Israelites came to the Jordan and spent the night there before
crossing. And Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for
to-morrow Jehovah will do wonders among you. Come and hear the words of
Jehovah your God. By this you shall know that a living God is with you:
the ark of the Lord of all the earth is about to pass over before you
into the Jordan. When the priests who bear the ark of the Lord of all
the earth step into the waters of the Jordan, its waters shall be cut
off, so that the waters that come down from above will stand still in a
heap."
So when the people left their tents to pass over the Jordan, the
priests, who were carrying the ark were in front of them. And when the
bearers of the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who
were carrying the ark dipped in the brink of the water--for the Jordan
overflows all its banks during the harvest time--the waters that came
down from above stood still and its waters rose in a heap a long
distance up the river at Adam, the city that is near Zarethan. The
waters that went down toward the Dead Sea were wholly cut off, while the
people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who were carrying the
ark of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan,
while all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until the whole
nation had completed the crossing of the Jordan.
When they had all crossed, Jehovah said to Joshua, "Command them to take
from the middle of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet
stood, twelve stones and carry them over with you and lay them down in
the camping-place, where you pass the night, that this may be a reminder
to them. Then when your children ask from time to time: 'What do these
stones mean to you?' you shall say to them, 'They are reminders that the
waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of Jehovah, when it
passed over the Jordan.' These stones shall be a constant reminder to
the Israelites."
So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded and took up out of the middle
of the Jordan twelve stones corresponding to the number of the tribes of
the Israelites. They carried them over with them to the place where they
camped and laid them down there.
Then the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and the river
overflowed all its banks as before.
THE CAPTURE OF JERICHO AND AI
Now Jericho had closed its gates because of the Israelites, and no one
went in or out. But Jehovah said to Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho
to you with its king and its able warriors. You shall march around the
city, all the soldiers going about the city once. You shall do this for
six days, and on the seventh day the people shall make the attack, each
man going up straight before him."
Then Joshua said to the people, "March around the city and let the armed
men pass on before the ark of Jehovah. You shall not shout the
battle-cry nor let your voice be heard; not a word shall escape from
your mouth until the day I say to you, 'Shout the battle-cry'; then you
shall shout!"
So he had the ark of Jehovah carried around the city once; then they
returned to the camp and spent the night there. The second day they also
marched around the city once and returned to the camp. Thus they did six
days. The seventh day they rose early at dawn and made the circuit of
the city in the same way, only on that day they marched about the city
seven times. The seventh time the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua
said to the people, "Shout the battle-cry; for Jehovah has given you the
city. The city and all that is in it shall be sacrificed to Jehovah;
only Rahab and those who are with her in her house shall live, because
she hid the messengers whom we sent."
So the people shouted the battle-cry and the wall fell down and they
went straight up into the city and captured it. But Joshua spared the
lives of Rahab and her father's family and all that she had, because she
hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to explore Jericho; and they have
lived among the Israelites even to this day.
Then Joshua set out with all the warriors to go up to Ai. And he
selected thirty thousand brave soldiers and sent them out at night with
this command, "Hide somewhere beyond the town, not very far from it, but
be ready to act. I and all the people who are with me will go toward the
town, but when they come out against us, we will flee before them. They
will come out after us, until we have drawn them away from the town; for
they will say, 'They are fleeing before us.' Then you shall rise up from
where you are hiding, and take the town. When you have captured it, set
it on fire."
So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place where they were to
hide and placed themselves on the west side of Ai. Joshua spent that
night among the people, and rose early the next morning and gathered
them, and he went up, together with the rulers of Israel, before the
people to Ai. And the warriors who were with him went up and came before
the town. When the king of Ai saw it, the men of the town quickly rose
up and went out to fight against the Israelites, but the king did not
know that men were hiding behind the town to rise up and attack him.
Then Joshua and the Israelites pretended to be beaten and fled toward
the wilderness; and all the people that were in the town were called
together to pursue them. So they left the town unguarded and pursued the
Israelites. Then the men who were hiding rose quickly out of their place
and set the town on fire. When the men of Ai looked back, they saw the
smoke of the town rising to heaven; and they had no chance to flee this
way or that, for the Israelites who had been fleeing to the wilderness
turned back upon those who were following them. When the smoke of the
town rose up, the rest of the Israelites came out of the town against
them; so they were surrounded by the Israelites, some on this side, and
some on that, so that they let none of the people of Ai remain or
escape.
WOMEN WHO SAVED A NATION
Later Sisera, who had nine hundred iron chariots, cruelly oppressed the
Israelites for twenty years. Then the prophetess Deborah, the wife of
Lappidoth, delivered Israel. She used to sit under the palm-tree of
Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the highlands of Ephraim; and the
Israelites went to her to have her decide their disputes.
She sent and called Barak, the son of Abinoam, from Kadesh Naphtali and
said to him, "Does not Jehovah the God of Israel command you: 'Go, march
to Mount Tabor and take with you ten thousand of the Naphtalites and of
the Zebulunites? Then I will draw out to you at the brook Kishon Sisera
with his chariots and his troops, and I will deliver him into your
hands.'" Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, I will go, but if
you will not go with me, I will not go." She replied, "I will certainly
go with you, only you will not have the glory in this expedition on
which you are going, for Jehovah will deliver Sisera into the hands of a
woman."
So Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kadesh. Barak called the
Zebulunites and the Naphtalites together at Kadesh and ten thousand men
followed him; and Deborah also went up with him.
Now Heber the Kenite had left the Kenites, the children of Jethro the
father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak
which is near Kadesh.