Increasing Corruption on Earth

6 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. ³ Then the Lord said, ^(A)“My Spirit shall not abide in^[a] man forever, ^(B)for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” ⁴ The Nephilim^[b] were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

^5 (C)The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every ^(D)intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ And ^(E)the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it ^(F)grieved him to his heart. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah ^(G)found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Noah and the Flood

⁹ These are the generations of Noah. ^(H)Noah was a righteous man, ^(I)blameless in his generation. Noah ^(J)walked with God. ¹⁰ And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² And God ^(K)saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, ^(L)for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. ¹³ And God said to Noah, ^(M)“I have determined to make an end of all flesh,^[c] for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴ Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.^[d] Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. ¹⁵ This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits,^[e] its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. ¹⁶ Make a roof^[f] for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. ^17 (N)For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸ But ^(O)I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you. ¹⁹ And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. ²⁰ Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. ²¹ Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” ^22 (P)Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.

7 Then the Lord said to Noah, ^(Q)“Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that ^(R)you are righteous before me in this generation. ² Take with you seven pairs of all ^(S)clean animals,^[g] the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, ³ and seven pairs^[h] of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. ⁴ For in seven days ^(T)I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, ^(U)and every living thing^[i] that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” ^5 (V)And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

⁶ Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came upon the earth. ⁷ And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. ⁸ Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, ⁹ two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. ¹⁰ And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.

¹¹ In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the ^(W)fountains of the great deep burst forth, and ^(X)the windows of the heavens were opened. ¹² And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights. ¹³ On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them entered the ark, ¹⁴ they and every beast, according to its kind, and all the livestock according to their kinds, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, according to its kind, and every bird, according to its kind, every winged creature. ¹⁵ They ^(Y)went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. ¹⁶ And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in ^(Z)as God had commanded him. And the Lord shut him in.

¹⁷ The flood ^(AA)continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. ¹⁸ The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. ¹⁹ And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. ²⁰ The waters prevailed above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits^[j] deep. ²¹ And ^(AB)all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, livestock, beasts, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all mankind. ²² Everything on the dry land ^(AC)in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. ²³ He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only ^(AD)Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark. ²⁴ And the waters prevailed on the earth 150 days.

The Flood Subsides

8 But God ^(AE)remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And ^(AF)God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided. ^2 (AG)The fountains of the deep and ^(AH)the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, ³ and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end ^(AI)of 150 days the waters had abated, ⁴ and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of ^(AJ)Ararat. ⁵ And the waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

⁶ At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made ⁷ and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. ⁸ Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. ⁹ But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him. ¹⁰ He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. ¹¹ And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. ¹² Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.

¹³ In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. ¹⁴ In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out. ¹⁵ Then God said to Noah, ¹⁶ “Go out from the ark, ^(AK)you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you. ¹⁷ Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—that they may swarm on the earth, and ^(AL)be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” ¹⁸ So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him. ¹⁹ Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.

God's Covenant with Noah

²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ²¹ And when the Lord smelled ^(AM)the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again ^(AN)curse^[k] the ground because of man, for ^(AO)the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. ^(AP)Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. ^22 (AQ)While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, ^(AR)day and night, shall not cease.”

The Fall of Jericho

6 Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. ² And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, ^(A)I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. ³ You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. ⁴ Seven priests shall bear seven ^(B)trumpets of ^(C)rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and ^(D)the priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵ And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat,^[a] and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” ⁶ So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord.” ⁷ And he said to the people, “Go forward. March around the city and let ^(E)the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.”

⁸ And just as Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the Lord went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them. ⁹ The armed men were walking before the priests who were blowing the trumpets, and the ^(F)rear guard was walking after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. ¹⁰ But Joshua commanded the people, “You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” ¹¹ So he caused the ark of the Lord to circle the city, going about it once. And they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

¹² Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and ^(G)the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³ And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord walked on, and they blew the trumpets continually. And the armed men were walking before them, and the rear guard was walking after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets blew continually. ¹⁴ And the second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did for six days.

¹⁵ On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. ¹⁷ And the city and all that is within it shall be ^(H)devoted to the Lord for destruction.^[b] Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she ^(I)hid the messengers whom we sent. ¹⁸ But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel ^(J)a thing for destruction and ^(K)bring trouble upon it. ¹⁹ But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” ²⁰ So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and ^(L)the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. ²¹ Then they ^(M)devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.

²² But to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the prostitute's house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, ^(N)as you swore to her.” ²³ So the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab and ^(O)her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. And they brought all her relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴ And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it. ^(P)Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. ²⁵ But Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And ^(Q)she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

²⁶ Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, ^(R)“Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho.

^27 (S)So the Lord was with Joshua, and ^(T)his fame was in all the land.

Christ's Example of Humility

2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from ^(A)love, any ^(B)participation in the Spirit, any ^(C)affection and sympathy, ^2 (D)complete my joy by being ^(E)of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from ^(F)selfish ambition or ^(G)conceit, but in ^(H)humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you ^(I)look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ^5 (J)Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,^{[a] 6 (K)}who, though he was in ^(L)the form of God, did not count equality with God ^(M)a thing to be grasped,^{[b] 7} but ^(N)emptied himself, by taking the form of a ^(O)servant,^{[c] (P)}being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by ^(Q)becoming obedient to the point of death, ^(R)even death on a cross. ^9 (S)Therefore ^(T)God has ^(U)highly exalted him and bestowed on him ^(V)the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus ^(W)every knee should bow, ^(X)in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and ^(Y)every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is ^(Z)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Lights in the World

¹² Therefore, my beloved, ^(AA)as you have always ^(AB)obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for ^(AC)it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for ^(AD)his good pleasure.

¹⁴ Do all things ^(AE)without grumbling or ^(AF)disputing, ¹⁵ that you may be blameless and innocent, ^(AG)children of God ^(AH)without blemish ^(AI)in the midst of ^(AJ)a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine ^(AK)as lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding fast to ^(AL)the word of life, so that in ^(AM)the day of Christ ^(AN)I may be proud that ^(AO)I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷ Even if I am to be ^(AP)poured out as a drink offering upon ^(AQ)the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. ¹⁸ Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹ I hope in the Lord Jesus ^(AR)to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. ²⁰ For I have no one ^(AS)like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. ²¹ For they all ^(AT)seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. ²² But you know Timothy's^{[d] (AU)}proven worth, how ^(AV)as a son^[e] with a father ^(AW)he has served with me in the gospel. ²³ I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, ²⁴ and ^(AX)I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

²⁵ I have thought it necessary to send to you ^(AY)Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and ^(AZ)fellow soldier, and your messenger and ^(BA)minister to my need, ²⁶ for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. ²⁷ Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸ I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. ²⁹ So ^(BB)receive him in the Lord with all joy, and ^(BC)honor such men, ³⁰ for he nearly died^{[f] (BD)}for the work of Christ, risking his life ^(BE)to complete what was lacking in your service to me.