A Treaty with Abimelech

22 At that time (A)Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, (B)“God is with you in all that you do. 23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my descendants or with my posterity, but (C)as I have dealt kindly with you, so you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.”

25 When Abraham reproved Abimelech about a well of water that Abimelech's servants (D)had seized, 26 Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, and I have not heard of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men (E)made a covenant. 28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart. 29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?” 30 He said, “These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand, that this[a] may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” 31 Therefore (F)that place was called Beersheba,[b] because there both of them swore an oath. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and (G)called there on the name of the Lord, (H)the Everlasting God. 34 And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 21:30 Or you
  2. Genesis 21:31 Beersheba means well of seven or well of the oath

The Covenant Renewal at Shechem

24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel (A)to Shechem and (B)summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And (C)they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, (D)your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates,[a] Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and (E)they served other gods. (F)Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River[b] and (G)led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. (H)I gave him Isaac. And to Isaac I gave (I)Jacob and Esau. (J)And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, (K)but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. (L)And I sent Moses and Aaron, (M)and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and (N)afterward I brought you out.

“‘Then (O)I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and (P)you came to the sea. (Q)And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. (R)And when they cried to the Lord, (S)he put darkness between you and the Egyptians (T)and made the sea come upon them and cover them; (U)and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. (V)And you lived in the wilderness a long time. Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. (W)They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. (X)Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. (Y)And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, 10 (Z)but I would not listen to Balaam. (AA)Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. 11 (AB)And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, (AC)and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also (AD)the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. 12 And I sent (AE)the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was (AF)not by your sword or by your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored (AG)and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’

Choose Whom You Will Serve

14 (AH)“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. (AI)Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 (AJ)And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, (AK)choose this day whom you will serve, whether (AL)the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or (AM)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. (AN)But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, 17 for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18 And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

19 But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is (AO)a holy God. He is (AP)a jealous God; (AQ)he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 (AR)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then (AS)he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that (AT)you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Then (AU)put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” 25 So Joshua (AV)made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place (AW)statutes and rules for them at Shechem. 26 And Joshua (AX)wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And (AY)he took a large stone and set it up there (AZ)under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, (BA)this stone shall be a witness against us, for (BB)it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” 28 So Joshua (BC)sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

Joshua's Death and Burial

29 (BD)After these things Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being 110 years old. 30 And they buried him in his own inheritance at (BE)Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash.

31 (BF)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua (BG)and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.

32 (BH)As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land (BI)that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money.[c] It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.

33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of (BJ)Phinehas his son, which had been given him in (BK)the hill country of Ephraim.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 24:2 Hebrew the River
  2. Joshua 24:3 That is, the Euphrates; also verses 14, 15
  3. Joshua 24:32 Hebrew for a hundred qesitah; a unit of money of unknown value

The Redemption of Israel

27 In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong (A)sword will punish (B)Leviathan the fleeing serpent, (C)Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay (D)the dragon that is in the sea.

In that day,
(E)“A pleasant vineyard,[a] (F)sing of it!
    I, the Lord, am its keeper;
    every moment I water it.
    Lest anyone punish it,
I keep it night and day;
    I have no wrath.
(G)Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!
    I would march against them,
    I would burn them up together.
Or let them lay hold of my protection,
    let them make peace with me,
    let them make peace with me.”

(H)In days to come[b] Jacob shall take root,
    Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots
    and fill the whole world with fruit.

(I)Has he struck them (J)as he struck those who struck them?
    Or have they been slain (K)as their slayers were slain?
(L)Measure by measure,[c] by exile you contended with them;
    (M)he removed them with his fierce breath[d] in the day of the east wind.
Therefore by this (N)the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,
    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:[e]
(O)when he makes all the stones of the altars
    like chalkstones crushed to pieces,
    no (P)Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.
10 (Q)For the fortified city is solitary,
    a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;
there the calf grazes;
    there it lies down and strips its branches.
11 When its boughs are dry, they are broken;
    women come and make a fire of them.
(R)For this is a people without discernment;
    therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;
    he who formed them will show them no favor.

12 In that day (S)from the river Euphrates[f] to the Brook of Egypt the Lord will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day (T)a great trumpet will be blown, (U)and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt (V)will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 27:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts A vineyard of wine
  2. Isaiah 27:6 Hebrew In those to come
  3. Isaiah 27:8 Or By driving her away; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
  4. Isaiah 27:8 Or wind
  5. Isaiah 27:9 Septuagint and this is the blessing when I take away his sin
  6. Isaiah 27:12 Hebrew from the River

Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives

19 Then Job answered and said:

“How long will you torment me
    and break me in pieces with words?
These (A)ten times you have cast reproach upon me;
    are you not ashamed to wrong me?
And even if it be true that I have erred,
    my error remains with myself.
If indeed you (B)magnify yourselves against me
    and make my disgrace an argument against me,
know then that God has (C)put me in the wrong
    and closed his net about me.
Behold, I (D)cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered;
    I call for help, but there is no justice.
He has (E)walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,
    and he has set darkness upon my paths.
He has (F)stripped from me my glory
    and taken the (G)crown from my head.
10 He breaks me down on every side, and I (H)am gone,
    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.
11 He has kindled his wrath against me
    and (I)counts me as his adversary.
12 His (J)troops come on together;
    they have (K)cast up their siege ramp[a] against me
    and encamp around my tent.

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Footnotes

  1. Job 19:12 Hebrew their way

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

25 (A)At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, (B)Lord of heaven and earth, that (C)you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and (D)revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your (E)gracious will.[a] 27 (F)All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son (G)except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone (H)to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 (I)Come to (J)me, all who labor and are (K)heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and (L)learn from me, for I am (M)gentle and lowly in heart, and (N)you will find rest for your souls. 30 For (O)my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 11:26 Or for so it pleased you well

Gentiles Hear the Good News

34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that (A)God (B)shows no partiality, 35 but (C)in every nation anyone who fears him and (D)does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for (E)the word that he sent to Israel, (F)preaching good news of (G)peace through Jesus Christ ((H)he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, (I)beginning (J)from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how (K)God anointed Jesus of Nazareth (L)with the Holy Spirit and with (M)power. He went about doing good and healing all (N)who were oppressed by the devil, (O)for God was with him. 39 And (P)we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. (Q)They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but (R)God raised him on (S)the third day and made him to (T)appear, 41 (U)not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as (V)witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And (W)he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify (X)that he is the one appointed by God to be judge (Y)of the living and the dead. 43 (Z)To him (AA)all the prophets bear witness that (AB)everyone who believes in him receives (AC)forgiveness of sins (AD)through his name.”

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