Rahab Shelters Spies

2 Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from ^(A)Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of ^(B)a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and rested there. ² But it was told to the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to spy out the land.” ³ And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to spy out all the land.” ⁴ But the ^(C)woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. ⁵ It came about, when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” ⁶ But ^(D)she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. ⁷ So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan, to the crossing places; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.

⁸ Now before ^[a]the spies lay down, she came up to them on the roof, ⁹ and said to the men, “^(E)I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the ^(F)terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of you. ^10 (G)For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the ^[b]Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and ^(H)what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you ^[c]utterly destroyed. ¹¹ When we heard these reports, ^(I)our hearts melted and no ^[d]courage remained in anyone any longer because of you; for the ^(J)Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth below. ¹² Now then, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a ^(K)pledge of ^[e]truth, ¹³ and ^[f]spare my father and my mother, and my brothers and my sisters, and all who belong to them, and save our ^[g]lives from death.” ¹⁴ So the men said to her, “Our ^[h]life ^[i]for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will ^(L)deal kindly and ^[j]faithfully with you.”

The Promise to Rahab

¹⁵ Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. ¹⁶ And she said to them, “^(M)Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not encounter you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.” ¹⁷ And the men said to her, “^(N)We shall be exempt from this oath ^[k]to you which you have made us swear, ^18 [l]unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and ^(O)gather into your house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. ¹⁹ And it shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house outside will have ^[m]his blood on his own head, and we will be innocent; but anyone who is with you in the house, ^(P)his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him. ²⁰ But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be exempt from the oath which you have made us swear.” ²¹ She then said, “According to your words, so be it.” So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

²² So they departed and came to the hill country, and remained there for three days, until the pursuers returned. Now the pursuers had searched for them ^[n]all along the road, but had not found them. ²³ Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country, and they crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun. Then they reported to him all that had happened to them. ²⁴ And they said to Joshua, “The Lord has indeed handed over to us all the land; furthermore, ^(Q)all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of us.”

Prayer for the Lord’s Help.

A Song of Ascents.

Praise for Rescue from Enemies.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

The Lord Surrounds His People.

A Song of Ascents.

Zion’s Glory and New Name

The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service

10 Jesus ^(A)summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to ^(B)heal every disease and every sickness.

^2 (C)Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, ^(D)Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother ^(E)Andrew; and ^[a](F)James the son of Zebedee, and his brother ^[b]John; ^3 (G)Philip and ^[c]Bartholomew; ^(H)Thomas and ^(I)Matthew the tax collector; ^[d](J)James the son of Alphaeus, and ^(K)Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the ^[e]Zealot, and ^(L)Judas Iscariot, the one who also betrayed Him.

^5 (M)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go on a road ^[f]to Gentiles, and do not enter a city of ^(N)Samaritans; ⁶ but rather go to ^(O)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, ^[g]preach, saying, ‘^(P)The kingdom of heaven ^[h]has come near.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. ^9 (Q)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, ¹⁰ or a ^[i]bag for your journey, or even two ^[j]tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for ^(R)the worker is deserving of his ^[k]support. ¹¹ And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay ^[l]at his house until you leave that city. ¹² As you enter the ^[m]house, ^(S)give it your ^[n]greeting. ¹³ If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, ^[o]take back your blessing of peace. ¹⁴ And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, ^(T)shake the dust off your feet. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, ^(U)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(V)Sodom and Gomorrah on ^(W)the day of judgment, than for that city.

A Hard Road Ahead of Them

¹⁶ “^(X)Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as ^(Y)wary as serpents, and as ^(Z)innocent as doves. ¹⁷ But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the ^(AA)courts and flog you ^(AB)in their synagogues; ¹⁸ and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ^19 (AC)But when they hand you over, ^(AD)do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour. ²⁰ For ^(AE)it is not you who are speaking, but it is the Spirit of your Father who is speaking ^[p]in you.

²¹ “Now ^(AF)brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and ^(AG)children will rise up against parents and ^[q]cause them to be put to death. ²² And ^(AH)you will be hated by all because of My name, but ^(AI)it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

²³ “But whenever they ^(AJ)persecute you in ^[r]one city, flee to the ^[s]next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel ^(AK)until the Son of Man comes.

The Meaning of Discipleship

²⁴ “^(AL)A ^[t]disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he may become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. ^(AM)If they have called the head of the house ^[u](AN)Beelzebul, how much more will they insult the members of his household!

²⁶ “So do not ^(AO)fear them, ^(AP)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ^27 (AQ)What I tell you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim ^(AR)on the housetops. ²⁸ And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather ^(AS)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ^[v](AT)hell. ^29 (AU)Are two sparrows not sold for an ^[w]assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But ^(AV)even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹ So do not fear; ^(AW)you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.

³² “Therefore, ^(AX)everyone who ^[x]confesses Me before people, I will also confess ^[y]him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But ^(AY)whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴ “^(AZ)Do not think that I came to ^[z]bring peace on the earth; I did not come to ^[aa]bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I came to ^(BA)turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ and ^(BB)a person’s enemies will be the members of his household.

³⁷ “^(BC)The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And ^(BD)the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ^39 (BE)The one who has found his ^[ab]life will lose it, and the one who has lost his ^[ac]life on My account will find it.

The Reward for Service

⁴⁰ “^(BF)The one who ^[ad]receives you ^[ae]receives Me, and ^(BG)the one who ^[af]receives Me ^[ag]receives Him who sent Me. ^41 (BH)The one who ^[ah]receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and the one who ^[ai]receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person shall receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And ^(BI)whoever gives one of these ^[aj]little ones just a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”