The Boundaries of the Land

¹The Lord gave Moses

²the following instructions for the people of Israel: “When you enter Canaan, the land which I am giving you, the borders of your territory will be as follows.

³The southern border will extend from the wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. It will begin on the east at the southern end of the Dead Sea.

⁴Then it will turn southward toward Akrabbim Pass and continue on through Zin as far south as Kadesh Barnea. Then it will turn northwest to Hazar Addar and on to Azmon,

⁵where it will turn toward the valley at the border of Egypt and end at the Mediterranean.

⁶“The western border will be the Mediterranean Sea.

⁷“The northern border will follow a line from the Mediterranean to Mount Hor

⁸and from there to Hamath Pass. It will continue to Zedad

⁹and to Ziphron, and will end at Hazar Enan.

¹⁰“The eastern border will follow a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham.

¹¹It will then go south to Harbel, east of Ain, and on to the hills on the eastern shore of Lake Galilee,

¹²then south along the Jordan River to the Dead Sea. “These will be the four borders of your land.”

¹³So Moses said to the Israelites, “This is the land that you will receive by drawing lots, the land that the Lord has assigned to the nine and one-half tribes.

¹⁴The tribes of Reuben and Gad and the eastern half of Manasseh have received their property, divided according to their families,

¹⁵on the eastern side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho.”

The Leaders Responsible for Dividing the Land

¹⁶The Lord said to Moses,

¹⁷“Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun will divide the land for the people.

¹⁸Take also one leader from each tribe to help them divide it.”

^19-28These are the men the Lord chose: Tribe Leader Judah Caleb son of Jephunneh Simeon Shelumiel son of Ammihud Benjamin Elidad son of Chislon Dan Bukki son of Jogli Manasseh Hanniel son of Ephod Ephraim Kemuel son of Shiphtan Zebulun Elizaphan son of Parnach Issachar Paltiel son of Azzan Asher Ahihud son of Shelomi Naphtali Pedahel son of Ammihud

²⁹These are the men that the Lord assigned to divide the property for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Moses Blesses the Tribes of Israel

¹These are the blessings that Moses, the man of God, pronounced on the people of Israel before he died.

²The Lord came from Mount Sinai; he rose like the sun over Edom and shone on his people from Mount Paran. Ten thousand angels were with him, a flaming fire at his right hand.

³The Lord loves his people and protects those who belong to him. So we bow at his feet and obey his commands.

⁴We obey the Law that Moses gave us, our nation's most treasured possession.

⁵The Lord became king of his people Israel when their tribes and leaders were gathered together.

⁶Moses said about the tribe of Reuben: “May Reuben never die out, Although their people are few.”

⁷About the tribe of Judah he said: “Lord, listen to their cry for help; Unite them again with the other tribes. Fight for them, Lord, And help them against their enemies.”

⁸About the tribe of Levi he said: “You, Lord, reveal your will by the Urim and Thummim Through your faithful servants, the Levites; You put them to the test at Massah And proved them true at the waters of Meribah.

⁹They showed greater loyalty to you Than to parents, brothers, or children. They obeyed your commands And were faithful to your covenant.

¹⁰They will teach your people to obey your Law; They will offer sacrifices on your altar.

¹¹Lord, help their tribe to grow strong; Be pleased with what they do. Crush all their enemies; Let them never rise again.”

¹²About the tribe of Benjamin he said: “This is the tribe the Lord loves and protects; He guards them all the day long, And he dwells in their midst.”

¹³About the tribe of Joseph he said: “May the Lord bless their land with rain And with water from under the earth.

¹⁴May their land be blessed with sun-ripened fruit, Rich with the best fruits of each season.

¹⁵May their ancient hills be covered with choice fruit.

¹⁶May their land be filled with all that is good, Blessed by the goodness of the Lord, Who spoke from the burning bush. May these blessings come to the tribe of Joseph, Because he was the leader among his brothers.

¹⁷Joseph has the strength of a bull, The horns of a wild ox. His horns are Manasseh's thousands And Ephraim's ten thousands. With them he gores the nations And pushes them to the ends of the earth.”

¹⁸About the tribes of Zebulun and Issachar he said: “May Zebulun be prosperous in their trade on the sea, And may Issachar's wealth increase at home.

¹⁹They invite foreigners to their mountain And offer the right sacrifices there. They get their wealth from the sea And from the sand along the shore.”

²⁰About the tribe of Gad he said: “Praise God, who made their territory large. Gad waits like a lion To tear off an arm or a scalp.

²¹They took the best of the land for themselves; A leader's share was assigned to them. They obeyed the Lord's commands and laws When the leaders of Israel were gathered together.”

²²About the tribe of Dan he said: “Dan is a young lion; He leaps out from Bashan.”

²³About the tribe of Naphtali he said: “Naphtali is richly blessed by the Lord's good favor; Their land reaches to the south from Lake Galilee.”

²⁴About the tribe of Asher he said: “Asher is blessed more than the other tribes. May he be the favorite of his brothers, And may his land be rich with olive trees.

²⁵May his towns be protected with iron gates, And may he always live secure.”

²⁶People of Israel, no god is like your God, riding in splendor across the sky, riding through the clouds to come to your aid.

²⁷God has always been your defense; his eternal arms are your support. He drove out your enemies as you advanced, and told you to destroy them all.

²⁸So Jacob's descendants live in peace, secure in a land full of grain and wine, where dew from the sky waters the ground.

²⁹Israel, how happy you are! There is no one like you, a nation saved by the Lord. The Lord himself is your shield and your sword, to defend you and give you victory. Your enemies will come begging for mercy, and you will trample them down.

A Prayer for Help

¹When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord, and he answered me.

²Save me, Lord, from liars and deceivers.

³You liars, what will God do to you? How will he punish you?

⁴With a soldier's sharp arrows, with red-hot coals!

⁵Living among you is as bad as living in Meshech or among the people of Kedar.

⁶I have lived too long with people who hate peace!

⁷When I speak of peace, they are for war.