Deception by the Gibeonites

9 Now it came about when ^(A)all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country, the lowland, and on all the ^(B)coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, ^(C)the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard about it, ² that they met together with ^(D)one ^[a]purpose, to fight with Joshua and with Israel.

³ The inhabitants of ^(E)Gibeon also heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, ⁴ but they on their part acted craftily and went and took provisions for a journey, and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins that were worn out, split open, and patched, ⁵ and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbled. ⁶ And they went to Joshua at the ^(F)camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now then, make a covenant with us.” ⁷ But the men of Israel said to the ^(G)Hivites, “Perhaps you are living ^[b]within our land; ^(H)how then are we to make a covenant with you?” ⁸ So they said to Joshua, “^(I)We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?” ⁹ They said to him, “Your servants have come from ^(J)a very distant country because of the ^[c]fame of the Lord your God; for ^(K)we have heard the report about Him and all that He did in Egypt, ¹⁰ and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was in Ashtaroth. ¹¹ So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “^(L)We are your servants; now then, make a covenant with us.”’ ¹² This bread of ours was hot when we took it for our provisions from our houses on the day that we left to come to you; but now behold, it is dry and has become crumbled. ¹³ And these wineskins which we filled were new, and behold, they are split open; and these clothes of ours and our sandals are worn out from the very long journey.” ¹⁴ So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and ^(M)did not ask for the ^[d]counsel of the Lord. ¹⁵ And ^(N)Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.

¹⁶ However, it came about at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were neighbors and that they were living ^[e]within their land. ¹⁷ Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were ^(O)Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. ¹⁸ But the sons of Israel did not ^[f]attack them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders. ¹⁹ But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. ²⁰ This we will do to them, even let them live, so that wrath will not be on us because of the oath which we swore to them.” ²¹ So the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” And they became ^(P)gatherers of firewood and ^[g]labor to draw water for the whole congregation, just as the leaders had spoken to them.

²² Then Joshua called for them and spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ ^(Q)when you are living ^[h]within our land? ²³ Now therefore, you are ^(R)cursed, and ^[i]you will never cease to be slaves, both gatherers of firewood and ^[j]labor to draw water for the house of my God.” ²⁴ So they answered Joshua and said, “^(S)Since your servants were fully informed that the Lord your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you, we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and did this thing. ²⁵ And now behold, ^(T)we are in your hands; do to us as it seems good and right in your sight to do.” ²⁶ This he did to them, and saved them from the hands of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them. ²⁷ But on that day Joshua made them gatherers of firewood and ^[k]labor to draw water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, ^(U)in the place which He would choose.

Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.

A Psalm of David.

The Defiled Land

Faithless Israel

⁶ Then the Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She ^(M)went up on every high hill and under every leafy tree, and she prostituted herself there. ⁷ Yet ^(N)I ^[e]thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her ^(O)treacherous sister Judah saw it. ⁸ And I saw that for all the ^[f]adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and ^(P)given her a certificate of divorce, yet her ^(Q)treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and prostituted herself also. ⁹ And because of the thoughtlessness of her prostitution, she ^(R)defiled the land and committed ^[g]adultery with ^(S)stones and trees. ¹⁰ Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in ^(T)deception,” declares the Lord.

God Invites Repentance

¹¹ And the Lord said to me, “^(U)Faithless Israel has proved herself to be more righteous than treacherous Judah. ¹² Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,

¹⁵ “Then I will give you ^(AD)shepherds ^[k]after My own heart, who will ^(AE)feed you knowledge and understanding. ¹⁶ And it shall be in those days when you become numerous and are fruitful in the land,” declares the Lord, “they will ^(AF)no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor miss it, nor will it be made again. ¹⁷ At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The ^(AG)Throne of the Lord,’ and ^(AH)all the nations will assemble at it, at Jerusalem, for the ^(AI)name of the Lord; and they will no longer ^(AJ)follow the stubbornness of their evil heart. ^18 (AK)In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together ^(AL)from the land of the north to the ^(AM)land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.

¹⁹ “Then I said,

²⁴ “But ^(AV)the shame has consumed the product of our fathers’ labor since our youth—their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. ²⁵ Let us lie down in our ^(AW)shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, ^(AX)from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”

The Transfiguration

17 ^(A)Six days later, Jesus *took with Him ^(B)Peter and ^[a]James, and his brother John, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves. ² And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. ³ And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. ⁴ Peter responded and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If You want, ^(C)I will make three ^[b]tabernacles here: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, ^(D)a voice from the cloud said, “^(E)This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell ^[c]face down to the ground and were terrified. ⁷ And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and ^(F)do not be afraid.” ⁸ And raising their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

^9 (G)When they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “^(H)Tell the vision to no one until ^(I)the Son of Man has ^(J)risen from the dead.” ¹⁰ And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that ^(K)Elijah must come first?” ¹¹ And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; ¹² but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did ^[d]to him whatever they wanted. So also ^(L)the Son of Man is going to suffer ^[e]at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

The Demon-possessed Boy

^14 (M)When they came to the crowd, a man came up to ^[f]Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, ¹⁵ “^[g]Lord, have mercy on my son, because he ^(N)has seizures and suffers terribly; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was healed ^[h]at once.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁰ And He *said to them, “Because of your meager faith; for truly I say to you, ^(O)if you have faith ^[i]the size of ^(P)a mustard seed, you will say to ^(Q)this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and ^(R)nothing will be impossible for you.^[j]”

^22 (S)And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be ^[k]handed over to men; ²³ and ^(T)they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

The Temple Tax

²⁴ Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected ^(U)the ^[l]two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay ^(V)the ^[m]two-drachma tax?” ²⁵ He *said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect ^(W)customs or ^[n](X)poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” ²⁶ When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are ^[o]exempt. ²⁷ However, so that we do not ^(Y)offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a ^[p]stater. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”