The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday April 18, 2020 (NIV)

The Allotment for Ephraim and Manasseh

16 The allotment of the people of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, ^(A)into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel. ² Then ^(B)going from Bethel to Luz, it passes along to Ataroth, the territory of the Archites. ³ Then it goes down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of Lower ^(C)Beth-horon, then to ^(D)Gezer, and it ends at the sea.

^4 (E)The people of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.

⁵ The territory of the people of Ephraim by their clans was as follows: the boundary of their inheritance on the east was ^(F)Ataroth-addar as far as Upper Beth-horon, ⁶ and the boundary goes from there to the sea. On the north is ^(G)Michmethath. Then on the east the boundary turns around toward Taanath-shiloh and passes along beyond it on the east to Janoah, ⁷ then it goes down from Janoah to Ataroth and ^(H)to Naarah, and touches Jericho, ending at the Jordan. ⁸ From ^(I)Tappuah the boundary goes westward to the brook Kanah and ends at the sea. Such is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Ephraim by their clans, ⁹ together with ^(J)the towns that were set apart for the people of Ephraim within the inheritance of the Manassites, all those towns with their villages. ¹⁰ However, ^(K)they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made ^(L)to do forced labor.

17 Then allotment was made to the people of Manasseh, for he was ^(M)the firstborn of Joseph. To ^(N)Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, ^(O)were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. ² And allotments were made ^(P)to the rest of the people of Manasseh by their clans, Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph, by their clans.

³ Now ^(Q)Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters, and these are the names of his daughters: ^(R)Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ They approached ^(S)Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the leaders and said, ^(T)“The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brothers.” So according to the mouth of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father. ⁵ Thus there fell to Manasseh ten portions, besides ^(U)the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is on the other side of the Jordan, ⁶ because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance along with his sons. The land of Gilead was allotted to the rest of the people of Manasseh.

⁷ The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to ^(V)Michmethath, which is east of Shechem. Then the boundary goes along southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸ The land of ^(W)Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah on the boundary of Manasseh belonged to the people of Ephraim. ^9 (X)Then the boundary went down to the brook Kanah. These cities, to the south of the brook, among the cities of Manasseh, belong to Ephraim. Then the boundary of Manasseh goes on the north side of the brook and ends at the sea, ¹⁰ the land to the south being Ephraim's and that to the north being Manasseh's, with the sea forming its boundary. On the north Asher is reached, and on the east Issachar. ¹¹ Also in Issachar and in Asher ^(Y)Manasseh had Beth-shean and its villages, and Ibleam and its villages, and the inhabitants of ^(Z)Dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of ^(AA)Taanach and its villages, and the inhabitants of ^(AB)Megiddo and its villages; ^(AC)the third is Naphath.^{[a] 12 (AD)}Yet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. ¹³ Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites ^(AE)to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

¹⁴ Then ^(AF)the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but ^(AG)one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am ^(AH)a numerous people, since all along the Lord has blessed me?” ¹⁵ And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up by yourselves to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and ^(AI)the Rephaim, since ^(AJ)the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” ¹⁶ The people of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us. Yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have ^(AK)chariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in ^(AL)the Valley of Jezreel.” ¹⁷ Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are a numerous people and have great power. You shall not have one allotment only, ¹⁸ but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders. For you shall drive out the Canaanites, ^(AM)though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.”

Allotment of the Remaining Land

18 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at ^(AN)Shiloh and set up ^(AO)the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.

² There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. ³ So Joshua said to the people of Israel, ^(AP)“How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴ Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. ⁵ They shall divide it into seven portions. ^(AQ)Judah shall continue in his territory on the south, ^(AR)and the house of Joseph shall continue in their territory on the north. ⁶ And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. ^(AS)And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. ^7 (AT)The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage. ^(AU)And Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

⁸ So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.” ⁹ So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, ¹⁰ and Joshua ^(AV)cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, ^(AW)to each his portion.

The Inheritance for Benjamin

¹¹ The lot of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to its clans came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the people of Judah and the people of Joseph. ^12 (AX)On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan. ^(AY)Then the boundary goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward, and it ends at the wilderness of ^(AZ)Beth-aven. ¹³ From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of ^(BA)Luz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to ^(BB)Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower ^(BC)Beth-horon. ¹⁴ Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the ^(BD)western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal (^(BE)that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city belonging to the people of Judah. This forms the western side. ¹⁵ And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. And the boundary goes from there to Ephron,^{[b] (BF)}to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks ^(BG)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of ^(BH)Rephaim. And it then goes down the ^(BI)Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and downward to ^(BJ)En-rogel. ¹⁷ Then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim. Then it goes down to ^(BK)the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, ¹⁸ and passing on to the north of ^(BL)the shoulder of Beth-arabah^[c] it goes down to ^(BM)the Arabah. ¹⁹ Then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of ^(BN)Beth-hoglah. And the boundary ends at the northern bay of ^(BO)the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border. ²⁰ The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, according to their clans, boundary by boundary all around.

²¹ Now the cities of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to their clans were ^(BP)Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, ²² Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, Geba—twelve cities with their villages: ²⁵ Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zela, Haeleph, ^(BQ)Jebus^[d] (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah^[e] and Kiriath-jearim^[f]—fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin according to its clans.

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 ^(A)He entered Jericho and was passing through. ² And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³ And ^(B)he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. ⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into ^(C)a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for ^(D)I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he hurried and came down and ^(E)received him joyfully. ⁷ And when they saw it, they all ^(F)grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” ⁸ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods ^(G)I give to the poor. And if I have ^(H)defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it ^(I)fourfold.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since ^(J)he also is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For ^(K)the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

¹¹ As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because ^(L)they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. ¹² He said therefore, ^(M)“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. ¹³ Calling ^(N)ten of his servants,^[a] he gave them ten minas,^[b] and said to them, ‘Engage in business ^(O)until I come.’ ¹⁴ But ^(P)his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. ¹⁶ The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ ¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!^[c] Because you have been ^(Q)faithful in a very little, ^(R)you shall have authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ ¹⁹ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ ²⁰ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in ^(S)a handkerchief; ²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are ^(T)a severe man. You take ^(U)what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ ²² He said to him, ^(V)‘I will condemn you with your own words, ^(W)you wicked servant! You knew that I was ^(X)a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ ²⁴ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ ²⁵ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ²⁶ ‘I tell you that ^(Y)to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ²⁷ But ^(Z)as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and ^(AA)slaughter them before me.’”

Glorious Things of You Are Spoken

A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah. A Song.