Joshua Installed as Leader

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord,^(A) the Lord said to Joshua^(B) son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ² “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River^(C) into the land^(D) I am about to give to them^(E)—to the Israelites. ³ I will give you every place where you set your foot,^(F) as I promised Moses.^{(G) 4} Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon,^(H) and from the great river, the Euphrates^(I)—all the Hittite^(J) country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.^{(K) 5} No one will be able to stand against you^(L) all the days of your life. As I was with^(M) Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake^(N) you. ⁶ Be strong^(O) and courageous,^(P) because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors^(Q) to give them.

⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey^(R) all the law^(S) my servant Moses^(T) gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left,^(U) that you may be successful wherever you go.^{(V) 8} Keep this Book of the Law^(W) always on your lips;^(X) meditate^(Y) on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.^{(Z) 9} Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid;^(AA) do not be discouraged,^(AB) for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”^(AC)

¹⁰ So Joshua ordered the officers of the people:^{(AD) 11} “Go through the camp^(AE) and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions^(AF) ready. Three days^(AG) from now you will cross the Jordan^(AH) here to go in and take possession^(AI) of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’”

¹² But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh,^(AJ) Joshua said, ¹³ “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you after he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest^(AK) by giving you this land.’ ¹⁴ Your wives,^(AL) your children and your livestock may stay in the land^(AM) that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle,^(AN) must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites.^(AO) You are to help them ¹⁵ until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”^(AP)

¹⁶ Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.^{(AQ) 17} Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you.^(AR) Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. ¹⁸ Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey^(AS) it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!^(AT)”

Rahab and the Spies

2 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies^(AU) from Shittim.^(AV) “Go, look over^(AW) the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.^(AX)” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab^(AY) and stayed there.

² The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” ³ So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab:^(AZ) “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”

⁴ But the woman had taken the two men^(BA) and hidden them.^(BB) She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. ⁵ At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate,^(BC) they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.”^{(BD) 6} (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax^(BE) she had laid out on the roof.)^{(BF) 7} So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan,^(BG) and as soon as the pursuers^(BH) had gone out, the gate was shut.

⁸ Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof^{(BI) 9} and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear^(BJ) of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. ¹⁰ We have heard how the Lord dried up^(BK) the water of the Red Sea^[a] for you when you came out of Egypt,^(BL) and what you did to Sihon and Og,^(BM) the two kings of the Amorites^(BN) east of the Jordan,^(BO) whom you completely destroyed.^{[b](BP) 11} When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear^(BQ) and everyone’s courage failed^(BR) because of you,^(BS) for the Lord your God^(BT) is God in heaven above and on the earth^(BU) below.

¹² “Now then, please swear to me^(BV) by the Lord that you will show kindness^(BW) to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign^{(BX) 13} that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them^(BY)—and that you will save us from death.”

¹⁴ “Our lives for your lives!”^(BZ) the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully^(CA) when the Lord gives us the land.”

¹⁵ So she let them down by a rope^(CB) through the window,^(CC) for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. ¹⁶ She said to them, “Go to the hills^(CD) so the pursuers^(CE) will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days^(CF) until they return, and then go on your way.”^(CG)

¹⁷ Now the men had said to her, “This oath^(CH) you made us swear will not be binding on us ¹⁸ unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord^(CI) in the window^(CJ) through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family^(CK) into your house. ¹⁹ If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads;^(CL) we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head^(CM) if a hand is laid on them. ²⁰ But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.^(CN)”

²¹ “Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.”

So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord^(CO) in the window.^(CP)

²² When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days,^(CQ) until the pursuers^(CR) had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. ²³ Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. ²⁴ They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands;^(CS) all the people are melting in fear^(CT) because of us.”

Sin, Faith, Duty

17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble^(A) are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.^{(B) 2} It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones^(C) to stumble.^{(D) 3} So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister^[a] sins against you, rebuke them;^(E) and if they repent, forgive them.^{(F) 4} Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”^(G)

⁵ The apostles^(H) said to the Lord,^(I) “Increase our faith!”

⁶ He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed,^(J) you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.^(K)

⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me^(L) while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”^(M)

Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy

¹¹ Now on his way to Jerusalem,^(N) Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.^{(O) 12} As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy^[b](P) met him. They stood at a distance^{(Q) 13} and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master,^(R) have pity on us!”

¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”^(S) And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God^(T) in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.^(U)

¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”^(V)

The Coming of the Kingdom of God^(W)

²⁰ Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come,^(X) Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, ²¹ nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’^(Y) because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”^[c]

²² Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man,^(Z) but you will not see it.^{(AA) 23} People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them.^{(AB) 24} For the Son of Man in his day^[d] will be like the lightning,^(AC) which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. ²⁵ But first he must suffer many things^(AD) and be rejected^(AE) by this generation.^(AF)

²⁶ “Just as it was in the days of Noah,^(AG) so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷ People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

²⁸ “It was the same in the days of Lot.^(AH) People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

³⁰ “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.^{(AI) 31} On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything.^{(AJ) 32} Remember Lot’s wife!^{(AK) 33} Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.^{(AL) 34} I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. ³⁵ Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”^{(AM) [36] [e]}

³⁷ “Where, Lord?” they asked.

He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”^(AN)