The Sons of Noah

¹⁸ The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth.^(A) (Ham was the father of Canaan.)^{(B) 19} These were the three sons of Noah,^(C) and from them came the people who were scattered over the whole earth.^(D)

²⁰ Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded^[a] to plant a vineyard. ²¹ When he drank some of its wine,^(E) he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. ²² Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked^(F) and told his two brothers outside. ²³ But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked.

²⁴ When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, ²⁵ he said,

²⁶ He also said,

²⁸ After the flood Noah lived 350 years. ²⁹ Noah lived a total of 950 years, and then he died.^(N)

Northern Kings Defeated

11 When Jabin^(A) king of Hazor^(B) heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron^(C) and Akshaph,^{(D) 2} and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah^(E) south of Kinnereth,^(F) in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor^(G) on the west; ³ to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites^(H) and Jebusites in the hill country;^(I) and to the Hivites^(J) below Hermon^(K) in the region of Mizpah.^{(L) 4} They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots—a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.^{(M) 5} All these kings joined forces^(N) and made camp together at the Waters of Merom^(O) to fight against Israel.

⁶ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand^(P) all of them, slain, over to Israel. You are to hamstring^(Q) their horses and burn their chariots.”^(R)

⁷ So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and attacked them, ⁸ and the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon,^(S) to Misrephoth Maim,^(T) and to the Valley of Mizpah on the east, until no survivors were left. ⁹ Joshua did to them as the Lord had directed: He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

¹⁰ At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword.^(U) (Hazor had been the head of all these kingdoms.) ¹¹ Everyone in it they put to the sword. They totally destroyed^[a] them,^(V) not sparing anyone that breathed,^(W) and he burned^(X) Hazor itself.

¹² Joshua took all these royal cities and their kings and put them to the sword. He totally destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded.^{(Y) 13} Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds—except Hazor, which Joshua burned. ¹⁴ The Israelites carried off for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but all the people they put to the sword until they completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed.^{(Z) 15} As the Lord commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.^(AA)

God’s Judgment on Assyria

¹² When the Lord has finished all his work^(AF) against Mount Zion^(AG) and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria^(AH) for the willful pride^(AI) of his heart and the haughty look^(AJ) in his eyes. ¹³ For he says:

Bildad

8 Then Bildad the Shuhite^(A) replied:

Love for Enemies

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[a](A) and hate your enemy.’^{(B) 44} But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,^{(C) 45} that you may be children^(D) of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.^{(E) 46} If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?^(F) Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.^(G)

Giving to the Needy

6 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.^(H) If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.^(I)

The Apostles Heal Many

¹² The apostles performed many signs and wonders^(A) among the people. And all the believers used to meet together^(B) in Solomon’s Colonnade.^{(C) 13} No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.^{(D) 14} Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.^{(E) 15} As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.^{(F) 16} Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.^(G)