Joshua's Charge to Israel's Leaders

23 A long time afterward, when the Lord had given ^(A)rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua ^(B)was old and well advanced in years, ² Joshua ^(C)summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. ³ And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, ^(D)for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. ⁴ Behold, ^(E)I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. ⁵ The Lord your God ^(F)will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, ^(G)just as the Lord your God promised you. ⁶ Therefore, ^(H)be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, ^(I)turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, ^7 (J)that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you ^(K)or make mention of the names of their gods ^(L)or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, ^8 (M)but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. ^9 (N)For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, ^(O)no man has been able to stand before you to this day. ^10 (P)One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God ^(Q)who fights for you, just as he promised you. ^11 (R)Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. ¹² For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you ^(S)and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, ¹³ know for certain that ^(T)the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, ^(U)but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴ “And now ^(V)I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that ^(W)not one word has failed of all the good things^[a] that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. ¹⁵ But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you ^(X)all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, ¹⁶ if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”

²⁵ At present, however, ^(A)I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. ²⁶ For ^(B)Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. ²⁷ For they were pleased to do it, and indeed ^(C)they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. ²⁸ When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,^[a] I will leave ^(D)for Spain by way of you. ²⁹ I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing^[b] of Christ.

³⁰ I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^(E)the love of the Spirit, ^(F)to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, ^31 (G)that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that ^(H)my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ³² so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and ^(I)be refreshed in your company. ³³ May ^(J)the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Jesus Before Pilate

^11 (A)Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you ^(B)the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, ^(C)“You have said so.” ^12 (D)But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate said to him, ^(E)“Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” ¹⁴ But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

The Crowd Chooses Barabbas

^15 (F)Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶ And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or ^(G)Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that it was out ^(H)of envy that they had delivered him up. ¹⁹ Besides, while he was sitting on ^(I)the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with ^(J)that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today ^(K)in a dream.” ²⁰ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ^(L)ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹ The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²² Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” ^(M)They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³ And he said, “Why? ^(N)What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”