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Joshua Defeats Jabin and His Allies

11 When the news of Israel's victories reached King Jabin of Hazor, he sent word to King Jobab of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Achshaph, ² and to the kings in the hill country in the north, in the Jordan Valley south of Lake Galilee, in the foothills, and on the coast near Dor. ³ He also sent word to the Canaanites on both sides of the Jordan, to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, as well as to the Hivites who lived at the foot of Mount Hermon in the land of Mizpah. ⁴ They came with all their soldiers—an army with as many men as there are grains of sand on the seashore. They also had many horses and chariots. ⁵ All of these kings joined forces and came together and set up camp at Merom Brook to fight against Israel.

⁶ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will have killed all of them for Israel. You are to cripple their horses and burn their chariots.” ⁷ So Joshua and all his men attacked them by surprise at Merom Brook. ⁸ The Lord gave the Israelites victory over them; the Israelites attacked and pursued them as far north as Misrephoth Maim and Sidon, and as far east as the valley of Mizpah. The fight continued until none of the enemy was left alive. ⁹ Joshua did to them what the Lord had commanded: he crippled their horses and burned their chariots.

¹⁰ Joshua then turned back, captured Hazor and killed its king. (At that time Hazor was the most powerful of all those kingdoms.) ¹¹ They put everyone there to death; no one was left alive, and the city was burned.

¹² Joshua captured all these cities and their kings, putting everyone to death, just as Moses, the Lord's servant, had commanded. ¹³ However, the Israelites did not burn any of the cities built on mounds, except Hazor, which Joshua did burn. ¹⁴ The people of Israel took all the valuables and livestock from these cities and kept them for themselves. But they put every person to death; no one was left alive. ¹⁵ The Lord had given his commands to his servant Moses, Moses had given them to Joshua, and Joshua obeyed them. He did everything that the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Territory Taken by Joshua

¹⁶ Joshua captured all the land—the hill country and foothills, both north and south, all the area of Goshen and the dry country south of it, as well as the Jordan Valley. ^17-18 The territory extended from Mount Halak in the south near Edom, as far as Baalgad in the north, in the valley of Lebanon south of Mount Hermon. Joshua was at war with the kings of this territory for a long time, but he captured them all and put them to death. ¹⁹ The only city that made peace with the people of Israel was Gibeon, where some of the Hivites lived. All the others were conquered in battle. ^20 (A)The Lord had made them determined to fight the Israelites, so that they would be condemned to total destruction and all be killed without mercy. This was what the Lord had commanded Moses.

²¹ At this time Joshua went and destroyed the race of giants called the Anakim who lived in the hill country—in Hebron, Debir, Anab, and in all the hill country of Judah and Israel. Joshua completely destroyed them and their cities. ²² None of the Anakim were left in the land of Israel; a few, however, were left in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.

²³ Joshua captured the whole land, as the Lord had commanded Moses. Joshua gave it to the Israelites as their own and divided it into portions, one for each tribe.

So the people rested from war.

The Kings Defeated by Moses

12 ^(B)The people of Israel had already conquered and occupied the land east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley up the Jordan Valley and as far north as Mount Hermon. They defeated two kings. ² One was Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled at Heshbon. His kingdom included half of Gilead: from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and from the city in^[a] the middle of that valley, as far as the Jabbok River, the border of Ammon; ³ it included the Jordan Valley from Lake Galilee south to Beth Jeshimoth (east of the Dead Sea) and on toward the foot of Mount Pisgah.

⁴ They also defeated King Og of Bashan, who was one of the last of the Rephaim; he ruled at Ashtaroth and Edrei. ⁵ His kingdom included Mount Hermon, Salecah, and all of Bashan as far as the boundaries of Geshur and Maacah, as well as half of Gilead, as far as the territory of King Sihon of Heshbon.

^6 (C)These two kings were defeated by Moses and the people of Israel. Moses, the Lord's servant, gave their land to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to half the tribe of Manasseh, to be their possession.

The Kings Defeated by Joshua

⁷ Joshua and the people of Israel defeated all the kings in the territory west of the Jordan, from Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak in the south near Edom. Joshua divided this land among the tribes and gave it to them as a permanent possession. ⁸ This portion included the hill country, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley and its foothills, the eastern slopes, and the dry country in the south. This land had been the home of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ⁹ The people of Israel defeated the kings of the following cities: Jericho, Ai (near Bethel), ¹⁰ Jerusalem, Hebron, ¹¹ Jarmuth, Lachish, ¹² Eglon, Gezer, ¹³ Debir, Geder, ¹⁴ Hormah, Arad, ¹⁵ Libnah, Adullam, ¹⁶ Makkedah, Bethel, ¹⁷ Tappuah, Hepher, ¹⁸ Aphek, Lasharon, ¹⁹ Madon, Hazor, ²⁰ Shimron Meron, Achshaph, ²¹ Taanach, Megiddo, ²² Kedesh, Jokneam (in Carmel), ²³ Dor (on the coast), Goiim (in Galilee^[b]), ²⁴ and Tirzah—thirty-one kings in all.

Jesus Heals Ten Men

¹¹ As Jesus made his way to Jerusalem, he went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² He was going into a village when he was met by ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease. They stood at a distance ¹³ and shouted, “Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!”

^14 (A)Jesus saw them and said to them, “Go and let the priests examine you.”

On the way they were made clean.^{[a] 15} When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He threw himself to the ground at Jesus' feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Jesus spoke up, “There were ten who were healed; where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Get up and go; your faith has made you well.”

The Coming of the Kingdom^(B)

²⁰ Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. His answer was, “The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. ²¹ No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is within you.”^[b]

²² Then he said to the disciples, “The time will come when you will wish you could see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. ²³ There will be those who will say to you, ‘Look, over there!’ or, ‘Look, over here!’ But don't go out looking for it. ²⁴ As the lightning flashes across the sky and lights it up from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. ²⁵ But first he must suffer much and be rejected by the people of this day. ^26 (C)As it was in the time of Noah so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man. ^27 (D)Everybody kept on eating and drinking, and men and women married, up to the very day Noah went into the boat and the flood came and killed them all. ^28 (E)It will be as it was in the time of Lot. Everybody kept on eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ On the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and killed them all. ³⁰ That is how it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

^31 (F)“On that day someone who is on the roof of a house must not go down into the house to get any belongings; in the same way anyone who is out in the field must not go back to the house. ^32 (G)Remember Lot's wife! ^33 (H)Those who try to save their own life will lose it; those who lose their life will save it. ³⁴ On that night, I tell you, there will be two people sleeping in the same bed: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding meal together: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind.” ^36 [c]

³⁷ The disciples asked him, “Where, Lord?”

Jesus answered, “Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather.”

Longing for God's House^[a]

⁵ Honest people hate lies, but the words of wicked people are shameful and disgraceful.

⁶ Righteousness protects the innocent; wickedness is the downfall of sinners.

³ But the people of Gibeon, who were Hivites, heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴ and they decided to deceive him. They went and got some food and loaded their donkeys with worn-out sacks and patched-up wineskins. ⁵ They put on ragged clothes and worn-out sandals that had been mended. The bread they took with them was dry and moldy. ⁶ Then they went to the camp at Gilgal and said to Joshua and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant land. We want you to make a treaty with us.”

^7 (A)But the Israelites said, “Why should we make a treaty with you? Maybe you live nearby.”

⁸ They said to Joshua, “We are at your service.”

Joshua asked them, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”

⁹ Then they told him this story: “We have come from a very distant land, sir, because we have heard of the Lord your God. We have heard about everything that he did in Egypt ^10 (B)and what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan: King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. ¹¹ Our leaders and all the people that live in our land told us to get some food ready for a trip and to go and meet you. We were told to put ourselves at your service and ask you to make a treaty with us. ¹² Look at our bread. When we left home with it and started out to meet you, it was still warm. But look! Now it is dry and moldy. ¹³ When we filled these wineskins, they were new, but look! They are torn. Our clothes and sandals are worn out from the long trip.”

¹⁴ The Israelites accepted some food from them, but did not consult the Lord about it. ¹⁵ Joshua made a treaty of friendship with the people of Gibeon and allowed them to live. The leaders of the community of Israel gave their solemn promise to keep the treaty.

¹⁶ Three days after the treaty had been made, the Israelites learned that these people did indeed live nearby. ¹⁷ So the people of Israel started out and three days later arrived at the cities where these people lived: Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. ¹⁸ But the Israelites could not kill them, because their leaders had made a solemn promise to them in the name of the Lord, Israel's God. All the people complained to the leaders about this, ¹⁹ but they answered, “We have made our solemn promise to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. Now we cannot harm them. ²⁰ We must let them live because of our promise; if we don't, God will punish us. ²¹ Let them live, but they will have to cut wood and carry water for us.” This was what the leaders suggested.

²² Joshua ordered the people of Gibeon to be brought to him, and he asked them, “Why did you deceive us and tell us that you were from far away, when you live right here? ²³ Because you did this, God has condemned you. Your people will always be slaves, cutting wood and carrying water for the sanctuary of my God.”

²⁴ They answered, “We did it, sir, because we learned that it was really true that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to kill the people living in it as you advanced. We did it because we were terrified of you; we were in fear of our lives. ²⁵ Now we are in your power; do with us what you think is right.” ²⁶ So this is what Joshua did: he protected them and did not allow the people of Israel to kill them. ²⁷ But at the same time he made them slaves, to cut wood and carry water for the people of Israel and for the Lord's altar. To this day they have continued to do this work in the place where the Lord has chosen to be worshiped.

The Amorites Are Defeated

10 Adonizedek, the king of Jerusalem,^[a] heard that Joshua had captured and totally destroyed Ai and had killed its king, just as he had done to Jericho and its king. He also heard that the people of Gibeon had made peace with the Israelites and were living among them. ² The people of Jerusalem were greatly alarmed at this because Gibeon was as large as any of the cities that had a king; it was larger than Ai, and its men were good fighters. ³ So Adonizedek sent the following message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and to King Debir of Eglon: ⁴ “Come and help me attack Gibeon, because its people have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” ⁵ These five Amorite kings, the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, joined forces, surrounded Gibeon, and attacked it.

⁶ The men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal: “Do not abandon us, sir! Come at once and help us! Save us! All the Amorite kings in the hill country have joined forces and have attacked us!”

⁷ So Joshua and his whole army, including the best troops, started out from Gilgal. ⁸ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. I have already given you the victory. Not one of them will be able to stand against you.” ⁹ All night Joshua and his army marched from Gilgal to Gibeon, and they made a surprise attack on the Amorites. ¹⁰ The Lord made the Amorites panic at the sight of Israel's army. The Israelites slaughtered them at Gibeon and pursued them down the mountain pass at Beth Horon, keeping up the attack as far south as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ While the Amorites were running down the pass from the Israelite army, the Lord made large hailstones fall down on them all the way to Azekah. More were killed by the hailstones than by the Israelites.

¹² On the day that the Lord gave the men of Israel victory over the Amorites, Joshua spoke to the Lord. In the presence of the Israelites he said,

^13 (C)The sun stood still and the moon did not move until the nation had conquered its enemies. This is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and did not go down for a whole day.

¹⁴ Never before, and never since, has there been a day like it, when the Lord obeyed a human being. The Lord fought on Israel's side!

¹⁵ After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.

Joshua Captures the Five Amorite Kings

¹⁶ The five Amorite kings, however, had escaped and were hiding in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷ Someone found them, and Joshua was told where they were hiding. ¹⁸ He said, “Roll some big stones in front of the entrance to the cave. Place some guards there, ¹⁹ but don't stay there yourselves. Keep on after the enemy and attack them from the rear; don't let them get to their cities! The Lord your God has given you victory over them.” ²⁰ Joshua and the men of Israel slaughtered them, although some managed to find safety inside their city walls and were not killed. ²¹ Then all of Joshua's men came back safe to him at the camp at Makkedah.

No one in the land dared even to speak against the Israelites.

²² Then Joshua said, “Open the entrance to the cave and bring those five kings out to me.” ²³ So the cave was opened, and the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon were brought out ²⁴ and taken to Joshua. Joshua then called all the men of Israel to him and ordered the officers who had gone with him to come and put their feet on the necks of the kings. They did so. ²⁵ Then Joshua said to his officers, “Don't be afraid or discouraged. Be determined and confident because this is what the Lord is going to do to all your enemies.” ²⁶ Then Joshua killed the kings and hanged them on five trees, where their bodies stayed until evening. ²⁷ At sundown Joshua gave orders, and their bodies were taken down and thrown into the same cave where they had hidden earlier. Large stones were placed at the entrance to the cave, and they are still there.

Joshua Captures More Amorite Territory

²⁸ Joshua attacked and captured Makkedah and its king that day. He put everyone in the city to death; no one was left alive. He did to the king of Makkedah what he had done to the king of Jericho.

²⁹ After this, Joshua and his army went on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. ³⁰ The Lord also gave the Israelites victory over this city and its king. They spared no one, but killed every person in it. They did to the king what they had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹ After this, Joshua and his army went on from Libnah to Lachish, surrounded it and attacked it. ³² The Lord gave the Israelites victory over Lachish on the second day of the battle. Just as they had done at Libnah, they spared no one, but killed every person in the city. ³³ King Horam of Gezer came to the aid of Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army and left none of them alive.

³⁴ Next, Joshua and his army went on from Lachish to Eglon, surrounded it and attacked it. ³⁵ They captured it the same day and put everyone there to death, just as they had done at Lachish.

³⁶ After this, Joshua and his army went from Eglon up into the hills to Hebron, attacked it ³⁷ and captured it. They killed the king and everyone else in the city as well as in the nearby towns. Joshua condemned the city to total destruction, just as he had done to Eglon. No one in it was left alive.

³⁸ Then Joshua and his army turned back to Debir and attacked it. ³⁹ He captured it, with its king and all the nearby towns. They put everyone there to death. Joshua did to Debir and its king what he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king.

⁴⁰ Joshua conquered the whole land. He defeated the kings of the hill country, the eastern slopes, and the western foothills, as well as those of the dry country in the south. He spared no one; everyone was put to death. This was what the Lord God of Israel had commanded. ⁴¹ Joshua's campaign took him from Kadesh Barnea in the south to Gaza near the coast, including all the area of Goshen, and as far north as Gibeon. ⁴² Joshua conquered all these kings and their territory in one campaign because the Lord, Israel's God, was fighting for Israel. ⁴³ After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

¹⁹ “There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day. ²⁰ There was also a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who used to be brought to the rich man's door, ²¹ hoping to eat the bits of food that fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs would come and lick his sores. ²² The poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the feast in heaven. The rich man died and was buried, ^23 (A)and in Hades,^[a] where he was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side. ²⁴ So he called out, ‘Father Abraham! Take pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool off my tongue, because I am in great pain in this fire!’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Remember, my son, that in your lifetime you were given all the good things, while Lazarus got all the bad things. But now he is enjoying himself here, while you are in pain. ²⁶ Besides all that, there is a deep pit lying between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross over to us from where you are.’ ²⁷ The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father's house, ²⁸ where I have five brothers. Let him go and warn them so that they, at least, will not come to this place of pain.’ ²⁹ Abraham said, ‘Your brothers have Moses and the prophets to warn them; your brothers should listen to what they say.’ ³⁰ The rich man answered, ‘That is not enough, father Abraham! But if someone were to rise from death and go to them, then they would turn from their sins.’ ³¹ But Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone were to rise from death.’”

Sin^(B)

17 Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that make people fall into sin are bound to happen, but how terrible for the one who makes them happen! ² It would be better for him if a large millstone were tied around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. ^3 (C)So watch what you do!

“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ If he sins against you seven times in one day, and each time he comes to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Faith

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Make our faith greater.”

⁶ The Lord answered, “If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you.

A Servant's Duty

⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant who is plowing or looking after the sheep. When he comes in from the field, do you tell him to hurry along and eat his meal? ⁸ Of course not! Instead, you say to him, ‘Get my supper ready, then put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may have your meal.’ ⁹ The servant does not deserve thanks for obeying orders, does he? ¹⁰ It is the same with you; when you have done all you have been told to do, say, ‘We are ordinary servants; we have only done our duty.’”

A Prayer for the Defeat of Israel's Enemies^[a]

⁴ No matter how much a lazy person may want something, he will never get it. A hard worker will get everything he wants.

¹⁶ Early the next morning Joshua brought Israel forward, tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was picked out. ¹⁷ He brought the tribe of Judah forward, clan by clan, and the clan of Zerah was picked out. Then he brought the clan of Zerah forward, family by family, and the family of Zabdi was picked out. ¹⁸ He then brought Zabdi's family forward, one by one, and Achan, the son of Carmi and grandson of Zabdi, was picked out. ¹⁹ Joshua said to him, “My son, tell the truth here before the Lord, the God of Israel, and confess. Tell me now what you have done. Don't try to hide it from me.”

²⁰ “It's true,” Achan answered. “I have sinned against the Lord, Israel's God, and this is what I did. ²¹ Among the things we seized I saw a beautiful Babylonian cloak, about five pounds of silver, and a bar of gold weighing over one pound. I wanted them so much that I took them. You will find them buried inside my tent, with the silver at the bottom.”

²² So Joshua sent some men, who ran to the tent and found that the condemned things really were buried there, with the silver at the bottom. ²³ They brought them out of the tent, took them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and laid them down in the presence of the Lord. ²⁴ Joshua, along with all the people of Israel, seized Achan, the silver, the cloak, the bar of gold, together with Achan's sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys, and sheep, his tent, and everything else he owned; and they took them to Trouble Valley. ²⁵ And Joshua said, “Why have you brought such trouble on us? The Lord will now bring trouble on you!” All the people then stoned Achan to death; they also stoned and burned his family and possessions. ²⁶ They put a huge pile of stones over him, which is there to this day. That is why that place is still called Trouble Valley.

Then the Lord was no longer furious.

The Capture and Destruction of Ai

8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Take all the soldiers with you and go on up to Ai. Don't be afraid or discouraged. I will give you victory over the king of Ai; his people, city, and land will be yours. ² You are to do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king, but this time you may keep its goods and livestock for yourselves. Prepare to attack the city by surprise from the rear.”

³ So Joshua got ready to go to Ai with all his soldiers. He picked out thirty thousand of his best troops and sent them out at night ⁴ with these orders: “Hide on the other side of the city, but not too far away from it; be ready to attack. ⁵ My men and I will approach the city. When the men of Ai come out against us, we will turn and run, just as we did the first time. ⁶ They will pursue us until we have led them away from the city. They will think that we are running from them, as we did before. ⁷ Then you will come out of hiding and capture the city. The Lord your God will give it to you. ⁸ After you have taken the city, set it on fire, just as the Lord has commanded. These are your orders.” ⁹ So Joshua sent them out, and they went to their hiding place and waited there, west of Ai, between Ai and Bethel. Joshua spent the night in camp.

¹⁰ Early in the morning Joshua got up and called the soldiers together. Then he and the leaders of Israel led them to Ai. ¹¹ The soldiers with him went toward the main entrance to the city and set up camp on the north side, with a valley between themselves and Ai. ¹² He took about five thousand men and put them in hiding west of the city, between Ai and Bethel. ¹³ The soldiers were arranged for battle with the main camp north of the city and the rest of the men to the west. Joshua spent the night in the valley. ¹⁴ When the king of Ai saw Joshua's men, he acted quickly. He and all his men went out toward the Jordan Valley to fight the Israelites at the same place as before, not knowing that he was about to be attacked from the rear. ¹⁵ Joshua and his men pretended that they were retreating, and ran away toward the barren country. ¹⁶ All the men in the city had been called together to go after them, and as they pursued Joshua, they kept getting farther away from the city. ¹⁷ Every man in Ai^[a] went after the Israelites, and the city was left wide open, with no one to defend it.

¹⁸ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Point your spear at Ai; I am giving it to you.” Joshua did as he was told, ¹⁹ and as soon as he lifted his hand, the men who had been hiding got up quickly, ran into the city and captured it. They immediately set the city on fire. ²⁰ When the men of Ai looked back, they saw the smoke rising to the sky. There was no way for them to escape, because the Israelites who had run toward the barren country now turned around to attack them. ²¹ When Joshua and his men saw that the others had taken the city and that it was on fire, they turned around and began killing the men of Ai. ²² The Israelites in the city now came down to join the battle. So the men of Ai found themselves completely surrounded by Israelites, and they were all killed. No one got away, and no one lived through it ²³ except the king of Ai. He was captured and taken to Joshua.

²⁴ The Israelites killed every one of the enemy in the barren country where they had chased them. Then they went back to Ai and killed everyone there. ^25-26 Joshua kept his spear pointed at Ai and did not put it down until every person there had been killed. The whole population of Ai was killed that day—twelve thousand men and women. ²⁷ The Israelites kept for themselves the livestock and goods captured in the city, as the Lord had told Joshua. ²⁸ Joshua burned Ai and left it in ruins. It is still like that today. ²⁹ He hanged the king of Ai from a tree and left his body there until evening. At sundown Joshua gave orders for the body to be removed, and it was thrown down at the entrance to the city gate. They covered it with a huge pile of stones, which is still there today.

The Law Is Read at Mount Ebal

^30 (A)Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel. ^31 (B)He made it according to the instructions that Moses, the Lord's servant, had given the Israelites, as it says in the Law of Moses: “an altar made of stones which have not been cut with iron tools.” On it they offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord, and they also presented their fellowship offerings. ³² There, with the Israelites looking on, Joshua made on the stones^[b] a copy of the Law which Moses had written. ^33 (C)The Israelites, with their leaders, officers, and judges, as well as the foreigners among them, stood on two sides of the Lord's Covenant Box, facing the levitical priests who carried it. Half of the people stood with their backs to Mount Gerizim and the other half with their backs to Mount Ebal. The Lord's servant Moses had commanded them to do this when the time came for them to receive the blessing. ³⁴ Joshua then read aloud the whole Law, including the blessings and the curses, just as they are written in the book of the Law. ³⁵ Every one of the commandments of Moses was read by Joshua to the whole gathering, which included women and children, as well as the foreigners living among them.

The Gibeonites Deceive Joshua

9 The victories of Israel became known to all the kings west of the Jordan—in the hills, in the foothills, and all along the coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea as far north as Lebanon; these were the kings of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ² They all came together and joined forces to fight against Joshua and the Israelites.

The Shrewd Manager

16 Jesus said to his disciples, “There was once a rich man who had a servant who managed his property. The rich man was told that the manager was wasting his master's money, ² so he called him in and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in a complete account of your handling of my property, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ ³ The servant said to himself, ‘My master is going to dismiss me from my job. What shall I do? I am not strong enough to dig ditches, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ Now I know what I will do! Then when my job is gone, I shall have friends who will welcome me in their homes.’ ⁵ So he called in all the people who were in debt to his master. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ ‘One hundred barrels of olive oil,’ he answered. ‘Here is your account,’ the manager told him; ‘sit down and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he asked another one, ‘And you—how much do you owe?’ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he answered. ‘Here is your account,’ the manager told him; ‘write eight hundred.’ ⁸ As a result the master of this dishonest manager praised him for doing such a shrewd thing; because the people of this world are much more shrewd in handling their affairs than the people who belong to the light.”

^9 (A)And Jesus went on to say, “And so I tell you: make friends for yourselves with worldly wealth, so that when it gives out, you will be welcomed in the eternal home. ¹⁰ Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones; whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones. ¹¹ If, then, you have not been faithful in handling worldly wealth, how can you be trusted with true wealth? ¹² And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what belongs to you?

^13 (B)“No servant can be the slave of two masters; such a slave will hate one and love the other or will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Some Sayings of Jesus^(C)

¹⁴ When the Pharisees heard all this, they made fun of Jesus, because they loved money. ¹⁵ Jesus said to them, “You are the ones who make yourselves look right in other people's sight, but God knows your hearts. For the things that are considered of great value by people are worth nothing in God's sight.

^16 (D)“The Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were in effect up to the time of John the Baptist; since then the Good News about the Kingdom of God is being told, and everyone forces their way in. ^17 (E)But it is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest detail of the Law to be done away with.

^18 (F)“Any man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery; and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

God the Supreme Ruler^[a]

² Good people will be rewarded for what they say, but those who are deceitful are hungry for violence.

^3 (A)Be careful what you say and protect your life. A careless talker destroys himself.

5 All the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the Mediterranean Sea heard that the Lord had dried up the Jordan until the people of Israel had crossed it. They became afraid and lost their courage because of the Israelites.

The Circumcision at Gilgal

² Then the Lord told Joshua, “Make some knives out of flint and circumcise the Israelites.” ³ So Joshua did as the Lord had commanded, and he circumcised the Israelites at a place called Circumcision Hill. ^4-6 (A)When the people of Israel left Egypt, all the males were already circumcised. However, during the forty years the people spent crossing the desert, none of the baby boys had been circumcised. Also, by the end of that time all the men who were of fighting age when they left Egypt had died because they had disobeyed the Lord. Just as he had sworn, they were not allowed to see the rich and fertile land that he had promised their ancestors. ⁷ The sons of these men had never been circumcised, and it was this new generation that Joshua circumcised.

⁸ After the circumcision was completed, the whole nation stayed in the camp until the wounds had healed. ⁹ The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have removed from you the disgrace of being slaves in Egypt.” That is why the place was named Gilgal,^[a] the name it still has.

^10 (B)While the Israelites were camping at Gilgal on the plain near Jericho, they observed Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month. ¹¹ The next day was the first time they ate food grown in Canaan: roasted grain and bread made without yeast. ^12 (C)The manna stopped falling then, and the Israelites no longer had any. From that time on they ate food grown in Canaan.

Joshua and the Man with a Sword

¹³ While Joshua was near Jericho, he suddenly saw a man standing in front of him, holding a sword. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you one of our soldiers, or an enemy?”

¹⁴ “Neither,” the man answered. “I am here as the commander of the Lord's army.”

Joshua threw himself on the ground in worship and said, “I am your servant, sir. What do you want me to do?”

¹⁵ And the commander of the Lord's army told him, “Take your sandals off; you are standing on holy ground.” And Joshua did as he was told.

The Fall of Jericho

6 The gates of Jericho were kept shut and guarded to keep the Israelites out. No one could enter or leave the city. ² The Lord said to Joshua, “I am putting into your hands Jericho, with its king and all its brave soldiers. ³ You and your soldiers are to march around the city once a day for six days. ⁴ Seven priests, each carrying a trumpet, are to go in front of the Covenant Box. On the seventh day you and your soldiers are to march around the city seven times while the priests blow the trumpets. ⁵ Then they are to sound one long note. As soon as you hear it, all the people are to give a loud shout, and the city walls will collapse. Then the whole army will go straight into the city.”

⁶ Joshua called the priests and told them, “Take the Covenant Box, and seven of you go in front of it, carrying trumpets.” ⁷ Then he ordered the people to start marching around the city, with an advance guard going on ahead of the Lord's Covenant Box.

^8-9 So, just as Joshua had ordered, an advance guard started out ahead of the priests who were blowing trumpets; behind these came the priests who were carrying the Covenant Box, followed by a rear guard. All this time the trumpets were sounding. ¹⁰ But Joshua had ordered the people not to shout, not to say a word until he gave the order. ¹¹ So he had this group of men take the Lord's Covenant Box around the city one time. Then they came back to camp and spent the night there.

^12-13 Joshua got up early the next morning, and for the second time the priests and soldiers marched around the city in the same order as the day before: first, the advance guard; next, the seven priests blowing the seven trumpets; then, the priests carrying the Lord's Covenant Box; and finally, the rear guard. All this time the trumpets were sounding. ¹⁴ On this second day they again marched around the city one time and then returned to camp. They did this for six days.

¹⁵ On the seventh day they got up at daybreak and marched seven times around the city in the same way—this was the only day that they marched around it seven times. ¹⁶ The seventh time around, when the priests were about to sound the trumpets, Joshua ordered the people to shout, and he said, “The Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷ The city and everything in it must be totally destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only the prostitute Rahab and her household will be spared, because she hid our spies. ¹⁸ But you are not to take anything that is to be destroyed; if you do, you will bring trouble and destruction on the Israelite camp. ¹⁹ Everything made of silver, gold, bronze, or iron is set apart for the Lord. It is to be put in the Lord's treasury.”

^20 (D)So the priests blew the trumpets. As soon as the people heard it, they gave a loud shout, and the walls collapsed. Then all the army went straight up the hill into the city and captured it. ²¹ With their swords they killed everyone in the city, men and women, young and old. They also killed the cattle, sheep, and donkeys.

²² Joshua then told the two men who had served as spies, “Go into the prostitute's house, and bring her and her family out, as you promised her.” ²³ So they went and brought Rahab out, along with her father and mother, her brothers, and the rest of her family. They took them all, family and slaves, to safety near the Israelite camp. ²⁴ Then they set fire to the city and burned it to the ground, along with everything in it, except the things made of gold, silver, bronze, and iron, which they took and put in the Lord's treasury. ^25 (E)But Joshua spared the lives of the prostitute Rahab and all her relatives, because she had hidden the two spies that he had sent to Jericho. (Her descendants have lived in Israel to this day.)

^26 (F)At this time Joshua issued a solemn warning: “Anyone who tries to rebuild the city of Jericho will be under the Lord's curse.

²⁷ So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread through the whole country.

Achan's Sin

7 The Lord's command to Israel not to take from Jericho anything that was to be destroyed was not obeyed. A man named Achan disobeyed that order, and so the Lord was furious with the Israelites. (Achan was the son of Carmi and grandson of Zabdi, and belonged to the clan of Zerah, a part of the tribe of Judah.)

² Joshua sent some men from Jericho to Ai, a city east of Bethel, near Bethaven, with orders to go and explore the land. When they had done so, ³ they reported back to Joshua: “There is no need for everyone to attack Ai. Send only about two or three thousand men. Don't send the whole army up there to fight; it is not a large city.” ⁴ So about three thousand Israelites made the attack, but they were forced to retreat. ⁵ The men of Ai chased them from the city gate as far as some quarries and killed about thirty-six of them on the way down the hill. Then the Israelites lost their courage and were afraid.

⁶ Joshua and the leaders of Israel tore their clothes in grief, threw themselves to the ground before the Lord's Covenant Box, and lay there till evening, with dust on their heads to show their sorrow. ⁷ And Joshua said, “Sovereign Lord! Why did you bring us across the Jordan at all? To turn us over to the Amorites? To destroy us? Why didn't we just stay on the other side of the Jordan? ⁸ What can I say, O Lord, now that Israel has retreated from the enemy? ⁹ The Canaanites and everyone else in the country will hear about it. They will surround us and kill every one of us! And then what will you do to protect your honor?”

¹⁰ The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying on the ground like this? ¹¹ Israel has sinned! They have broken the agreement with me that I ordered them to keep. They have taken some of the things condemned to destruction. They stole them, lied about it, and put them with their own things. ¹² This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They retreat from them because they themselves have now been condemned to destruction! I will not stay with you any longer unless you destroy the things you were ordered not to take! ¹³ Get up! Purify the people and get them ready to come before me. Tell them to be ready tomorrow, because I, the Lord God of Israel, have this to say: ‘Israel, you have in your possession some things that I ordered you to destroy! You cannot stand against your enemies until you get rid of these things!’ ¹⁴ So tell them that in the morning they will be brought forward, tribe by tribe. The tribe that I pick out will then come forward, clan by clan. The clan that I pick out will come forward, family by family. The family that I pick out will come forward, one by one. ¹⁵ The one who is then picked out and found with the condemned goods will be burned, along with his family and everything he owns, for he has brought terrible shame on Israel and has broken my covenant.”

The Lost Sheep^(A)

15 ^(B)One day when many tax collectors and other outcasts came to listen to Jesus, ² the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law started grumbling, “This man welcomes outcasts and even eats with them!” ³ So Jesus told them this parable:

⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them—what do you do? You leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the pasture and go looking for the one that got lost until you find it. ⁵ When you find it, you are so happy that you put it on your shoulders ⁶ and carry it back home. Then you call your friends and neighbors together and say to them, ‘I am so happy I found my lost sheep. Let us celebrate!’ ⁷ In the same way, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.

The Lost Coin

⁸ “Or suppose a woman who has ten silver coins loses one of them—what does she do? She lights a lamp, sweeps her house, and looks carefully everywhere until she finds it. ⁹ When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, and says to them, ‘I am so happy I found the coin I lost. Let us celebrate!’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, the angels of God rejoice over one sinner who repents.”

The Lost Son

¹¹ Jesus went on to say, “There was once a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the property now.’ So the man divided his property between his two sons. ¹³ After a few days the younger son sold his part of the property and left home with the money. He went to a country far away, where he wasted his money in reckless living. ¹⁴ He spent everything he had. Then a severe famine spread over that country, and he was left without a thing. ¹⁵ So he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him out to his farm to take care of the pigs. ¹⁶ He wished he could fill himself with the bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat. ¹⁷ At last he came to his senses and said, ‘All my father's hired workers have more than they can eat, and here I am about to starve! ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against God and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired workers.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and started back to his father.

“He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity, and he ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him. ²¹ ‘Father,’ the son said, ‘I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.’ ²² But the father called to his servants. ‘Hurry!’ he said. ‘Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. ²³ Then go and get the prize calf and kill it, and let us celebrate with a feast! ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.’ And so the feasting began.

²⁵ “In the meantime the older son was out in the field. On his way back, when he came close to the house, he heard the music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him, ‘What's going on?’ ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come back home,’ the servant answered, ‘and your father has killed the prize calf, because he got him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ The older brother was so angry that he would not go into the house; so his father came out and begged him to come in. ²⁹ But he spoke back to his father, ‘Look, all these years I have worked for you like a slave, and I have never disobeyed your orders. What have you given me? Not even a goat for me to have a feast with my friends! ³⁰ But this son of yours wasted all your property on prostitutes, and when he comes back home, you kill the prize calf for him!’ ³¹ ‘My son,’ the father answered, ‘you are always here with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be happy, because your brother was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.’”

A Song for a Festival^[a]

13 Wise children pay attention when their parents correct them, but arrogant people never admit they are wrong.

The People of Israel Cross the Jordan

3 The next morning Joshua and all the people of Israel got up early, left the camp at Acacia, and went to the Jordan, where they camped while waiting to cross it. ² Three days later the leaders went through the camp ³ and told the people, “When you see the priests carrying the Covenant Box of the Lord your God, break camp and follow them. ⁴ You have never been here before, so they will show you the way to go. But do not get near the Covenant Box; stay about half a mile behind it.”

⁵ Joshua told the people, “Purify yourselves, because tomorrow the Lord will perform miracles among you.” ⁶ Then he told the priests to take the Covenant Box and go with it ahead of the people. They did as he said.

⁷ The Lord said to Joshua, “What I do today will make all the people of Israel begin to honor you as a great man, and they will realize that I am with you as I was with Moses. ⁸ Tell the priests carrying the Covenant Box that when they reach the river, they must wade in and stand near the bank.”

⁹ Then Joshua said to the people, “Come here and listen to what the Lord your God has to say. ¹⁰ As you advance, he will surely drive out the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. You will know that the living God is among you ¹¹ when the Covenant Box of the Lord of all the earth crosses the Jordan ahead of you. ¹² Now choose twelve men, one from each of the tribes of Israel. ¹³ When the priests who carry the Covenant Box of the Lord of all the earth put their feet in the water, the Jordan will stop flowing, and the water coming downstream will pile up in one place.”

^14-15 It was harvest time, and the river was in flood.

When the people left the camp to cross the Jordan, the priests went ahead of them, carrying the Covenant Box. As soon as the priests stepped into the river, ¹⁶ the water stopped flowing and piled up, far upstream at Adam, the city beside Zarethan. The flow downstream to the Dead Sea was completely cut off, and the people were able to cross over near Jericho. ¹⁷ While the people walked across on dry ground, the priests carrying the Lord's Covenant Box stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan until all the people had crossed over.

Memorial Stones Are Set Up

4 When the whole nation had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, ² “Choose twelve men, one from each tribe, ³ and command them to take twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests were standing. Tell them to carry these stones with them and to put them down where you camp tonight.”

⁴ Then Joshua called the twelve men he had chosen, ⁵ and he told them, “Go into the Jordan ahead of the Covenant Box of the Lord your God. Each one of you take a stone on your shoulder, one for each of the tribes of Israel. ⁶ These stones will remind the people of what the Lord has done. In the future, when your children ask what these stones mean to you, ⁷ you will tell them that the water of the Jordan stopped flowing when the Lord's Covenant Box crossed the river. These stones will always remind the people of Israel of what happened here.”

⁸ The men followed Joshua's orders. As the Lord had commanded Joshua, they took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each of the tribes of Israel, carried them to the camping place, and put them down there. ⁹ Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, where the priests carrying the Covenant Box had stood. (Those stones are still there.) ¹⁰ The priests stood in the middle of the Jordan until everything had been done that the Lord ordered Joshua to tell the people to do. This is what Moses had commanded.

The people hurried across the river. ¹¹ When they were all on the other side, the priests with the Lord's Covenant Box went on ahead of the people. ¹² The men of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and of half the tribe of Manasseh, ready for battle, crossed ahead of the rest of the people, as Moses had told them to do. ¹³ In the presence of the Lord about forty thousand men ready for war crossed over to the plain near Jericho. ¹⁴ What the Lord did that day made the people of Israel consider Joshua a great man. They honored him all his life, just as they had honored Moses.

¹⁵ Then the Lord told Joshua ¹⁶ to command the priests carrying the Covenant Box to come up out of the Jordan. ¹⁷ Joshua did so, ¹⁸ and when the priests reached the riverbank, the river began flowing once more and flooded its banks again.

¹⁹ The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and camped at Gilgal, east of Jericho. ²⁰ There Joshua set up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan. ²¹ And he said to the people of Israel, “In the future, when your children ask you what these stones mean, ²² you will tell them about the time when Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. ²³ Tell them that the Lord your God dried up the water of the Jordan for you until you had crossed, just as he dried up the Red Sea for us. ²⁴ Because of this everyone on earth will know how great the Lord's power is, and you will honor the Lord your God forever.”

Humility and Hospitality

⁷ Jesus noticed how some of the guests were choosing the best places, so he told this parable to all of them: ^8 (A)“When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place. It could happen that someone more important than you has been invited, ⁹ and your host, who invited both of you, would have to come and say to you, ‘Let him have this place.’ Then you would be embarrassed and have to sit in the lowest place. ¹⁰ Instead, when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that your host will come to you and say, ‘Come on up, my friend, to a better place.’ This will bring you honor in the presence of all the other guests. ^11 (B)For those who make themselves great will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be made great.”

¹² Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors—for they will invite you back, and in this way you will be paid for what you did. ¹³ When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind; ¹⁴ and you will be blessed, because they are not able to pay you back. God will repay you on the day the good people rise from death.”

The Parable of the Great Feast^(C)

¹⁵ When one of the guests sitting at the table heard this, he said to Jesus, “How happy are those who will sit down at the feast in the Kingdom of God!”

¹⁶ Jesus said to him, “There was once a man who was giving a great feast to which he invited many people. ¹⁷ When it was time for the feast, he sent his servant to tell his guests, ‘Come, everything is ready!’ ¹⁸ But they all began, one after another, to make excuses. The first one told the servant, ‘I have bought a field and must go and look at it; please accept my apologies.’ ¹⁹ Another one said, ‘I have bought five pairs of oxen and am on my way to try them out; please accept my apologies.’ ²⁰ Another one said, ‘I have just gotten married, and for that reason I cannot come.’ ²¹ The servant went back and told all this to his master. The master was furious and said to his servant, ‘Hurry out to the streets and alleys of the town, and bring back the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ ²² Soon the servant said, ‘Your order has been carried out, sir, but there is room for more.’ ²³ So the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the country roads and lanes and make people come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴ I tell you all that none of those who were invited will taste my dinner!’”

The Cost of Being a Disciple^(D)

²⁵ Once when large crowds of people were going along with Jesus, he turned and said to them, ^26 (E)“Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well. ^27 (F)Those who do not carry their own cross and come after me cannot be my disciples. ²⁸ If one of you is planning to build a tower, you sit down first and figure out what it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job. ²⁹ If you don't, you will not be able to finish the tower after laying the foundation; and all who see what happened will make fun of you. ³⁰ ‘You began to build but can't finish the job!’ they will say. ³¹ If a king goes out with ten thousand men to fight another king who comes against him with twenty thousand men, he will sit down first and decide if he is strong enough to face that other king. ³² If he isn't, he will send messengers to meet the other king to ask for terms of peace while he is still a long way off. ³³ In the same way,” concluded Jesus, “none of you can be my disciple unless you give up everything you have.

Worthless Salt^(G)

³⁴ “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again. ³⁵ It is no good for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown away. Listen, then, if you have ears!”

A Prayer for the Nation's Restoration^[a]

²⁷ If you are lazy, you will never get what you are after, but if you work hard, you will get a fortune.^[a]

²⁸ Righteousness is the road to life; wickedness^[b] is the road to death.

The Death of Moses

34 Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Mount Pisgah east of Jericho, and there the Lord showed him the whole land: the territory of Gilead as far north as the town of Dan; ² the entire territory of Naphtali; the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh; the territory of Judah as far west as the Mediterranean Sea; ³ the southern part of Judah; and the plain that reaches from Zoar to Jericho, the city of palm trees. ^4 (A)Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is the land that I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob I would give to their descendants. I have let you see it, but I will not let you go there.”

⁵ So Moses, the Lord's servant, died there in the land of Moab, as the Lord had said he would. ⁶ The Lord buried him in a valley in Moab, opposite the town of Bethpeor, but to this day no one knows the exact place of his burial. ⁷ Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died; he was as strong as ever, and his eyesight was still good. ⁸ The people of Israel mourned for him for thirty days in the plains of Moab.

⁹ Joshua son of Nun was filled with wisdom, because Moses had appointed him to be his successor. The people of Israel obeyed Joshua and kept the commands that the Lord had given them through Moses.

^10 (B)There has never been a prophet in Israel like Moses; the Lord spoke with him face-to-face. ¹¹ No other prophet has ever done miracles and wonders like those that the Lord sent Moses to perform against the king of Egypt, his officials, and the entire country. ¹² No other prophet has been able to do the great and terrifying things that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

God Commands Joshua to Conquer Canaan

1 After the death of the Lord's servant Moses, the Lord spoke to Moses' helper, Joshua son of Nun. ² He said, “My servant Moses is dead. Get ready now, you and all the people of Israel, and cross the Jordan River into the land that I am giving them. ^3 (C)As I told Moses, I have given you and all my people the entire land that you will be marching over. ⁴ Your borders will reach from the desert in the south to the Lebanon Mountains in the north; from the great Euphrates River in the east, through the Hittite country, to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. ^5 (D)Joshua, no one will be able to defeat you as long as you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will always be with you; I will never abandon you. ^6 (E)Be determined and confident, for you will be the leader of these people as they occupy this land which I promised their ancestors. ⁷ Just be determined, be confident; and make sure that you obey the whole Law that my servant Moses gave you. Do not neglect any part of it and you will succeed wherever you go. ⁸ Be sure that the book of the Law is always read in your worship. Study it day and night, and make sure that you obey everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ⁹ Remember that I have commanded you to be determined and confident! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I, the Lord your God, am with you wherever you go.”

Joshua Gives Orders to the People

¹⁰ Then Joshua ordered the leaders to ¹¹ go through the camp and say to the people, “Get some food ready, because in three days you are going to cross the Jordan River to occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

^12 (F)Joshua said to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to half the tribe of Manasseh, ¹³ “Remember how the Lord's servant Moses told you that the Lord your God would give you this land on the east side of the Jordan as your home. ¹⁴ Your wives, your children, and your livestock will stay here, but your soldiers, armed for battle, will cross over ahead of the other Israelites in order to help them ¹⁵ until they have occupied the land west of the Jordan that the Lord your God has given them. When he has given safety to all the tribes of Israel, then you may come back and settle here in your own land east of the Jordan, which Moses, the Lord's servant, gave to you.”

¹⁶ They answered Joshua, “We will do everything you have told us and will go anywhere you send us. ¹⁷ We will obey you, just as we always obeyed Moses, and may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses! ¹⁸ Whoever questions your authority or disobeys any of your orders will be put to death. Be determined and confident!”

Joshua Sends Spies into Jericho

2 ^(G)Then Joshua sent two spies from the camp at Acacia with orders to go and secretly explore the land of Canaan, especially the city of Jericho. When they came to the city, they went to spend the night in the house of a prostitute named Rahab. ² The king of Jericho heard that some Israelites had come that night to spy out the country, ³ so he sent word to Rahab: “The men in your house have come to spy out the whole country! Bring them out!”

^4-6 “Some men did come to my house,” she answered, “but I don't know where they were from. They left at sundown before the city gate was closed. I didn't find out where they were going, but if you start after them quickly, you can catch them.” (Now Rahab had taken the two spies up on the roof and hidden them under some stalks of flax that she had put there.) ⁷ The king's men left the city, and then the gate was shut. They went looking for the Israelite spies as far as the place where the road crosses the Jordan.

⁸ Before the spies settled down for the night, Rahab went up on the roof ⁹ and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land. Everyone in the country is terrified of you. ^10 (H)We have heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea in front of you when you were leaving Egypt. We have also heard how you killed Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. ¹¹ We were afraid as soon as we heard about it; we have all lost our courage because of you. The Lord your God is God in heaven above and here on earth. ¹² Now swear by him that you will treat my family as kindly as I have treated you, and give me some sign that I can trust you. ¹³ Promise me that you will save my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families! Don't let us be killed!”

¹⁴ The men said to her, “May God take our lives if we don't do as we say!^[a] If you do not tell anyone what we have been doing, we promise you that when the Lord gives us this land, we will treat you well.”

¹⁵ Rahab lived in a house built into the city wall, so she let the men down from the window by a rope. ¹⁶ “Go into the hill country,” she said, “or the king's men will find you. Hide there for three days until they come back. After that, you can go on your way.”

¹⁷ The men said to her, “We will keep the promise that you have made us give. ¹⁸ This is what you must do. When we invade your land, tie this red cord to the window you let us down from. Get your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's family together in your house. ¹⁹ If anyone goes out of the house, his death will be his own fault, and we will not be responsible; but if anyone in the house with you is harmed, then we will be responsible. ²⁰ However, if you tell anyone what we have been doing, then we will not have to keep our promise which you have made us give you.” ²¹ She agreed and sent them away. When they had gone, she tied the red cord to the window.

²² The spies went into the hills and hid. The king's men looked for them all over the countryside for three days, but they did not find them, so they returned to Jericho. ²³ Then the two spies came down from the hills, crossed the river, and went back to Joshua. They told him everything that had happened, ²⁴ and then said, “We are sure that the Lord has given us the whole country. All the people there are terrified of us.”

The Narrow Door^(A)

²² Jesus went through towns and villages, teaching the people and making his way toward Jerusalem. ²³ Someone asked him, “Sir, will just a few people be saved?”

Jesus answered them, ²⁴ “Do your best to go in through the narrow door; because many people will surely try to go in but will not be able. ²⁵ The master of the house will get up and close the door; then when you stand outside and begin to knock on the door and say, ‘Open the door for us, sir!’ he will answer you, ‘I don't know where you come from!’ ²⁶ Then you will answer, ‘We ate and drank with you; you taught in our town!’ ^27 (B)But he will say again, ‘I don't know where you come from. Get away from me, all you wicked people!’ ^28 (C)How you will cry and gnash your teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, while you are thrown out! ²⁹ People will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down at the feast in the Kingdom of God. ^30 (D)Then those who are now last will be first, and those who are now first will be last.”

Jesus' Love for Jerusalem^(E)

³¹ At that same time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “You must get out of here and go somewhere else, because Herod wants to kill you.”

³² Jesus answered them, “Go and tell that fox: ‘I am driving out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I shall finish my work.’ ³³ Yet I must be on my way today, tomorrow, and the next day; it is not right for a prophet to be killed anywhere except in Jerusalem.

^34 (F)“Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets, you stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me! ^35 (G)And so your Temple will be abandoned. I assure you that you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Jesus Heals a Sick Man

14 One Sabbath Jesus went to eat a meal at the home of one of the leading Pharisees; and people were watching Jesus closely. ² A man whose legs and arms were swollen came to Jesus, ³ and Jesus spoke up and asked the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, “Does our Law allow healing on the Sabbath or not?”

⁴ But they would not say a thing. Jesus took the man, healed him, and sent him away. ^5 (H)Then he said to them, “If any one of you had a child or an ox that happened to fall in a well on a Sabbath, would you not pull it out at once on the Sabbath itself?”

⁶ But they were not able to answer him about this.

A Prayer for the Nation's Deliverance^[a]

²⁶ The righteous person is a guide to his friend, but the path of the wicked leads them astray.

Moses’s Blessings

33 This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave the Israelites before his death.^{(A) 2} He said:

⁷ He said this about Judah:

⁸ He said about Levi:

¹² He said about Benjamin:

¹³ He said about Joseph:

¹⁸ He said about Zebulun:

²⁰ He said about Gad:

²² He said about Dan:

²³ He said about Naphtali:

²⁴ He said about Asher:

Repent or Perish

13 At that time,^(A) some people came and reported to him about the Galileans^(B) whose blood Pilate^(C) had mixed with their sacrifices. ² And he^[a] responded to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all the other Galileans because they suffered these things?^{(D) 3} No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well. ⁴ Or those eighteen that the tower in Siloam^(E) fell on and killed—do you think they were more sinful than all the other people who live in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

⁶ And he told this parable:^(F) “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none.^{(G) 7} He told the vineyard worker, ‘Listen, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down!^(H) Why should it even waste the soil?’^(I)

⁸ “But he replied to him, ‘Sir,^[b] leave it this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.^{(J) 9} Perhaps it will produce fruit next year, but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Healing a Daughter of Abraham

¹⁰ As he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath,^{(K) 11} a woman was there who had been disabled by a spirit^[c](L) for over eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.^{[d] 12} When Jesus saw her, he called out to her,^[e] “Woman, you are free of your disability.” ¹³ Then he laid his hands on her,^(M) and instantly she was restored^(N) and began to glorify God.^(O)

¹⁴ But the leader of the synagogue, indignant^(P) because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, responded by telling the crowd, “There are six days when work should be done;^(Q) therefore come on those days and be healed and not on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵ But the Lord answered him and said, “Hypocrites!^(R) Doesn’t each one of you untie his ox^(S) or donkey from the feeding trough^(T) on the Sabbath and lead it to water?^{(U) 16} Satan^(V) has bound^(W) this woman, a daughter of Abraham,^(X) for eighteen years—shouldn’t she be untied from this bondage^[f] on the Sabbath day?”

¹⁷ When he had said these things, all his adversaries^(Y) were humiliated,^(Z) but the whole crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things he was doing.^(AA)

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Leaven

¹⁸ He said, therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like,^(AB) and what can I compare it to? ¹⁹ It’s like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches.”

²⁰ Again he said, “What can I compare the kingdom of God^(AC) to? ²¹ It’s like leaven^[g](AD) that a woman took and mixed into fifty pounds^[h] of flour until all of it was leavened.”

⁴⁴ Moses came with Joshua^[i] son of Nun and recited all the words of this song in the presence of the people. ⁴⁵ After Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, ⁴⁶ he said to them, “Take to heart all these words I am giving as a warning to you today,^(K) so that you may command your children to follow all the words of this law carefully.^{(L) 47} For they are not meaningless words to you but they are your life,^(M) and by them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Moses’s Impending Death

⁴⁸ On that same day the Lord spoke to Moses,^{(N) 49} “Go up Mount Nebo^(O) in the Abarim range in the land of Moab, across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan I am giving the Israelites as a possession. ⁵⁰ Then you will die on the mountain that you go up, and you will be gathered to your people,^(P) just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.^{(Q) 51} For both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the Waters of Meribath-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin by failing to treat me as holy in their presence. ⁵² Although from a distance you will view the land that I am giving the Israelites, you will not go there.”^(R)

Ready for the Master’s Return

³⁵ “Be ready for service^[a] and have your lamps lit.^{(A) 36} You are to be like people waiting for their master^(B) to return from the wedding banquet^(C) so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once.^{(D) 37} Blessed will be those servants the master finds alert^(E) when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will get ready,^[b] have them recline at the table, then come and serve them.^{(F) 38} If he comes in the middle of the night, or even near dawn,^[c] and finds them alert, blessed are those servants. ³⁹ But know this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming,^(G) he would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁰ You also be ready,^(H) because the Son of Man^(I) is coming at an hour you do not expect.”^(J)

Rewards and Punishment

⁴¹ “Lord,” Peter asked, “are you telling this parable to us or to everyone?”

⁴² The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible manager^(K) his master will put in charge of his household servants to give them their allotted food^(L) at the proper time? ⁴³ Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes. ⁴⁴ Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’^(M) and starts to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶ that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces^[d] and assign him a place with the unfaithful.^{[e] 47} And that servant who knew his master’s will and didn’t prepare himself or do it^[f] will be severely beaten.^{(N) 48} But the one who did not know and did what deserved^(O) punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be expected.^[g](P)

Not Peace but Division

⁴⁹ “I came^(Q) to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze! ⁵⁰ But I have a baptism to undergo,^(R) and how it consumes^(S) me until it is finished!^{(T) 51} Do you think that I came here to bring peace on the earth?^(U) No, I tell you, but rather division. ⁵² From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three.

Interpreting the Time

⁵⁴ He also said to the crowds,^(W) “When you see a cloud rising in the west, right away you say, ‘A storm is coming,’ and so it does.^{(X) 55} And when the south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. ⁵⁶ Hypocrites!^(Y) You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why don’t you know how to interpret this present time?^(Z)

Settling Accounts

⁵⁷ “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?^{(AA) 58} As you are going with your adversary^(AB) to the ruler, make an effort to settle with him on the way. Then he won’t drag you before the judge,^(AC) the judge hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff throw you into prison.^{(AD) 59} I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.”^[i](AE)

Joshua Takes Moses’s Place

31 Then Moses continued to speak these^[a] words to all Israel, ² saying, “I am now 120 years old;^(A) I can no longer act as your leader.^[b] The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’^{(B) 3} The Lord your God is the one who will cross ahead of you.^(C) He will destroy these nations before you, and you will drive them out. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, as the Lord has said.^{(D) 4} The Lord will deal with them as he did Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and their land when he destroyed them.^{(E) 5} The Lord will deliver them over to you, and you must do to them exactly as I have commanded you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous;^(F) don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you;^(G) he will not leave you or abandon you.”^(H)

⁷ Moses then summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with^[c] this people into the land the Lord swore to give to their ancestors.^(I) You will enable them to take possession of it. ⁸ The Lord is the one who will go before you.^(J) He will be with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.^(K) Do not be afraid or discouraged.”

⁹ Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, and to all the elders of Israel. ¹⁰ Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of debt cancellation,^(L) during the Festival of Shelters,^{(M) 11} when all Israel assembles in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he chooses,^(N) you are to read this law aloud before all Israel.^{(O) 12} Gather the people—men, women, dependents, and the resident aliens within your city gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear^(P) the Lord your God and be careful to follow all the words of this law. ¹³ Then their children^(Q) who do not know the law will listen and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

¹⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “The time of your death is now approaching. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting so that I may commission him.” When Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting, ¹⁵ the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud,^(R) and the cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.^(S)

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to rest with your ancestors,^(T) and these people will soon prostitute themselves with the foreign gods^(U) of the land they are entering. They will abandon me^(V) and break the covenant^(W) I have made with them. ¹⁷ My anger will burn against them on that day;^(X) I will abandon them and hide my face from them so that they will become easy prey.^(Y) Many troubles and afflictions will come to them. On that day they will say, ‘Haven’t these troubles come to us because our God is no longer with us?’ ¹⁸ I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. ¹⁹ Therefore write down this song^(Z) for yourselves and teach it to the Israelites; have them sing it,^[d] so that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites. ²⁰ When I bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey,^(AA) they will eat their fill^(AB) and prosper.^[e] They will turn to other gods and worship them, despising me^(AC) and breaking my covenant.^{(AD) 21} And when many troubles and afflictions come to them, this song will testify against them, because^[f] their descendants will not have forgotten it. For I know what they are prone to do,^[g] even before I bring them into the land I swore to give them.” ²² So Moses wrote down this song on that day and taught it to the Israelites.

²³ The Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.”^(AE)

Moses Warns the People

²⁴ When Moses had finished writing down on a scroll every single word of this law, ²⁵ he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the Lord’s covenant, ²⁶ “Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God so that it may remain there as a witness against you. ²⁷ For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you are rebelling against the Lord now, while I am still alive, how much more will you rebel after I am dead! ²⁸ Assemble all your tribal elders and officers before me so that I may speak these words directly to them and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them.^{(AF) 29} For I know that after my death you will become completely corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. Disaster will come to you in the future, because you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, angering him with what your hands have made.”^{(AG) 30} Then Moses recited aloud every single word of this song to the entire assembly of Israel:

Song of Moses

Acknowledging Christ

⁸ “And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges^(A) me before others, the Son of Man^(B) will also acknowledge him before the angels of God,^{(C) 9} but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.^{(D) 10} Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,^(E) but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit^(F) will not be forgiven. ¹¹ Whenever^(G) they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities,^(H) don’t worry^(I) about how you should defend^(J) yourselves or what you should say. ¹² For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.”^(K)

The Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³ Someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher,^(L) tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴ “Friend,”^[a] he said to him, “who appointed me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard^(M) against all greed,^(N) because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.”^(O)

¹⁶ Then he told them a parable:^(P) “A rich^(Q) man’s land was very productive. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? ¹⁸ I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. ¹⁹ Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy;^(R) eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’^(S)

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool!^(T) This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’^(U)

²¹ “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure^(V) for himself and is not rich toward God.”^(W)

The Cure for Anxiety

²² Then he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you,^(X) don’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will wear.^{(Y) 23} For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens:^(Z) They don’t sow or reap; they don’t have a storeroom or a barn; yet God feeds them.^(AA) Aren’t you worth much more than the birds? ²⁵ Can any of you add one moment to his life span^[b] by worrying?^{(AB) 26} If then you’re not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest?

²⁷ “Consider how the wildflowers grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon^(AC) in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. ²⁸ If that’s how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will he do for you—you of little faith?^{(AD) 29} Don’t strive for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious. ³⁰ For the Gentile world eagerly seeks^(AE) all these things, and your Father^(AF) knows that you need them.

³¹ “But seek his kingdom,^(AG) and these things will be provided for you.^{(AH) 32} Don’t be afraid,^(AI) little flock,^(AJ) because your Father delights^(AK) to give you the kingdom.^{(AL) 33} Sell^(AM) your possessions and give to the poor.^(AN) Make money-bags^(AO) for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure^(AP) in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.^(AQ)

Renewing the Covenant

29 These are the words of the covenant^(A) that the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.^{(B) 2} Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “You have seen with your own eyes^(C) everything the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials, and to his entire land. ³ You saw with your own eyes the great trials and those great signs and wonders.^{(D) 4} Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.^{(E) 5} I led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes and the sandals on your feet did not wear out;^{(F) 6} you did not eat food or drink wine or beer—so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.^{(G) 7} When you reached this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out against us in battle, but we defeated them.^{(H) 8} We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh.^{(I) 9} Therefore, observe the words of this covenant^(J) and follow them, so that you will succeed in everything you do.^(K)

¹⁰ “All of you are standing today before the Lord your God—your leaders, tribes, elders, officials, all the men of Israel, ¹¹ your dependents, your wives, and the resident aliens in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water— ¹² so that you may enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, which he is making with you today, so that you may enter into his oath ¹³ and so that he may establish you today as his people and he may be your God as he promised you and as he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.^{(L) 14} I am making this covenant and this oath not only with you, ¹⁵ but also with those who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God and with those who are not here today.

Abandoning the Covenant

¹⁶ “Indeed, you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and passed through the nations where you traveled. ¹⁷ You saw their abhorrent images and idols made of wood, stone, silver, and gold, which were among them.^{(M) 18} Be sure there is no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Be sure there is no root among you bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.^{(N) 19} When someone hears the words of this oath, he may consider himself exempt,^[a] thinking, ‘I will have peace even though I follow my own stubborn heart.’ This will lead to the destruction of the well-watered land as well as the dry land. ²⁰ The Lord will not be willing to forgive him. Instead, his anger and jealousy will burn against that person, and every curse written in this scroll will descend on him. The Lord will blot out his name under heaven,^{(O) 21} and single him out for harm from all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this book of the law.

²² “Future generations of your children who follow you and the foreigner who comes from a distant country will see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses the Lord has inflicted on it. ²³ All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown, producing nothing, with no plant growing on it, just like the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord demolished in his fierce anger.^{(P) 24} All the nations will ask, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why this intense outburst of anger?’ ²⁵ Then people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he had made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. ²⁶ They began to serve other gods, bowing in worship to gods they had not known^(Q)—gods that the Lord had not permitted them to worship.^{(R) 27} Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against this land, and he brought every curse written in this book on it. ²⁸ The Lord uprooted them from their land in his anger, rage, and intense wrath, and threw them into another land where they are today.’ ²⁹ The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law.

Returning to the Lord

30 “When all these things happen to you—the blessings and curses I have set before you—and you come to your senses while you are in all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you,^{(S) 2} and you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and all your soul^(T) by doing^[b] everything I am commanding you today, ³ then he will restore your fortunes,^[c](U) have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.^{(V) 4} Even if your exiles are at the farthest horizon, he will gather you and bring you back from there.^{(W) 5} The Lord your God will bring you into the land your ancestors possessed, and you will take possession of it.^(X) He will cause you to prosper and multiply you more than he did your ancestors.^{(Y) 6} The Lord your God will circumcise your heart^(Z) and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live.^{(AA) 7} The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. ⁸ Then you will again obey him and follow all his commands I am commanding you today. ⁹ The Lord your God will make you prosper abundantly in all the work of your hands,^(AB) your offspring,^[d] the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the Lord will again delight in your prosperity, as he delighted in that of your ancestors, ¹⁰ when you obey the Lord your God by keeping his commands and statutes that are written in this book of the law and return to him with all your heart and all your soul.

Choose Life

¹¹ “This command that I give you today is certainly not too difficult or beyond your reach. ¹² It is not in heaven so that you have to ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’ ¹³ And it is not across the sea so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea, get it for us, and proclaim it to us so that we may follow it?’ ¹⁴ But the message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may follow it.^{(AC) 15} See, today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity.^{(AD) 16} For^[e] I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live^[f] and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you in the land you are entering to possess. ¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you do not listen and you are led astray to bow in worship to other gods and serve them, ¹⁸ I tell you today that you will certainly perish and will not prolong your days in the land you are entering to possess across the Jordan. ¹⁹ I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life^(AE) so that you and your descendants may live, ²⁰ love the Lord your God, obey him, and remain faithful^[g] to him. For he is your life, and he will prolong your days as you live in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors^(AF) Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Religious Hypocrisy Denounced

³⁷ As he was speaking, a Pharisee^(A) asked him to dine with him. So he went in and reclined at the table. ³⁸ When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that he did not first perform the ritual washing^[a](B) before dinner.^{(C) 39} But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed^(D) and evil.^{(E) 40} Fools!^(F) Didn’t he who made the outside make the inside too? ⁴¹ But give from what is within to the poor,^[b](G) and then everything is clean^(H) for you.

⁴² “But woe^(I) to you Pharisees! You give a tenth^[c](J) of mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass^[d] justice^(K) and love for God.^[e](L) These things you should have done without neglecting the others.

⁴³ “Woe to you Pharisees! You love the front seat^(M) in the synagogues^(N) and greetings in the marketplaces.

⁴⁴ “Woe to you!^[f] You are like unmarked graves; ^(O) the people who walk over them don’t know it.”

⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law^(P) answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things you insult us too.”

⁴⁶ Then he said, “Woe also to you experts in the law! You load people with burdens^(Q) that are hard to carry, and yet you yourselves don’t touch these burdens with one of your fingers.^(R)

⁴⁷ “Woe to you! You build tombs^[g] for the prophets,^(S) and your fathers killed^(T) them. ⁴⁸ Therefore, you are witnesses^(U) that you approve^[h](V) the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their monuments.^{[i] 49} Because of this, the wisdom of God^(W) said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles,^(X) and some of them they will kill and persecute,’^{(Y) 50} so that this generation^(Z) may be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world^[j](AA) — ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel^(AB) to the blood of Zechariah,^(AC) who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.

“Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible.^[k]

⁵² “Woe to you experts in the law! You have taken away the key to knowledge.^(AD) You didn’t go in yourselves, and you hindered^(AE) those who were trying to go in.”

⁵³ When he left there,^[l] the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose^(AF) him fiercely and to cross-examine him about many things; ⁵⁴ they were lying in wait^(AG) for him to trap him in something he said.^[m](AH)

Beware of Religious Hypocrisy

12 Meanwhile, a crowd of many thousands came together, so that they were trampling^(AI) on one another. He began to say to his disciples first,^(AJ) “Be on your guard^(AK) against the leaven^[n](AL) of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.^{(AM) 2} There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered,^(AN) nothing hidden that won’t be made known.^{(AO) 3} Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms^(AP) will be proclaimed on the housetops.^(AQ)

Fear God

⁴ “I say to you, my friends,^(AR) don’t fear^(AS) those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. ⁵ But I will show you the one to fear: Fear^(AT) him who has authority to throw people into hell^(AU) after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the one to fear! ⁶ Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies?^[o] Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight.^{(AV) 7} Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Psalm 78

Lessons from Israel’s Past

A Maskil of Asaph.^(A)