Israel Defeated at Ai

7 But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for ^(A)Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.

² Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near ^(B)Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. ³ And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” ⁴ So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And ^(C)they fled before the men of Ai, ⁵ and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people ^(D)melted and became as water.

⁶ Then Joshua ^(E)tore his clothes and ^(F)fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put ^(G)dust on their heads. ⁷ And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, ^(H)why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! ⁸ O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! ⁹ For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and ^(I)cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”

The Sin of Achan

¹⁰ The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? ¹¹ Israel has sinned; they have ^(J)transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the ^(K)devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. ^12 (L)Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They ^(M)turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become ^(N)devoted for destruction.^[a] I will be with you no more, unless you destroy ^(O)the devoted things from among you. ¹³ Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ^(P)‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.”

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

^8 (A)Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^(B)the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, ^(C)“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ^(D)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^(E)love is the fulfilling of the law.

¹¹ Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you ^(F)to wake from sleep. ^(G)For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. ^12 (H)The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ^(I)cast off ^(J)the works of darkness and ^(K)put on the armor of light. ^13 (L)Let us walk properly as in the daytime, ^(M)not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, ^(N)not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴ But ^(O)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, ^(P)to gratify its desires.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

^36 (A)Then Jesus went with them ^(B)to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷ And taking with him ^(C)Peter and ^(D)the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸ Then he said to them, ^(E)“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and ^(F)watch^[a] with me.” ³⁹ And going a little farther he fell on his face ^(G)and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let ^(H)this cup pass from me; ^(I)nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” ⁴⁰ And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? ^41 (J)Watch and ^(K)pray that you ^(L)may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ⁴² Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, ^(M)your will be done.” ⁴³ And again he came and found them sleeping, for ^(N)their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for ^(O)the third time, saying the same words again. ⁴⁵ Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on.^[b] See, ^(P)the hour is at hand, and ^(Q)the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”