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3 But the people of Gibeon, who were Hivites, had a different idea when they heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai. 4 Knowing that Joshua might turn his attention to them next, they decided to use their wits, not their military might. They formed a delegation to serve as envoys and gathered the most worn-out sacks for their donkeys and worn-out, patched-up wineskins they could find. 5 They took some ragged sandals and patched them. They dressed in threadbare clothes—all so it would look as though they had come from far away. Even the food they carried was dry and moldy, as though it had been carried a long distance.
6 These envoys went to Gilgal to meet with Joshua and the men of Israel.
Gibeonite Envoys (to Joshua and the men of Israel): We have traveled from a far country and beg you to make a treaty of peace with us.
Israelites: 7 How can we make a treaty with you? How do we know you aren’t from around here?
The words from the Lord in Deuteronomy are very clear: Do not make a covenant or show favor with anyone in the land. This instruction, of course, is broken many times by Israel (Deuteronomy 7:2).
Gibeonite Envoys (to Joshua): 8 We are your servants.
Joshua: Who are you? Where do you come from?
Gibeonite Envoys: 9 Your servants have made the journey from a distant country because even there the name of the Eternal One your God is in the air. We have heard of what He did for you in Egypt 10 and what He did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan (King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth). 11 So our elders gathered us together and directed us to take provisions for a long journey so we could tell you we are your servants. Please, we beg you, make a treaty with us.
12 Look. Here is all that remains of our bread. It was fresh, warm from the oven, when we set out, but now it is nothing but mold and crumbs. 13 And these patched-up wineskins were new and full when we left home. And our clothes, our sandals are worn—you can see that we have traveled a very long way.
14 The leaders did not consult the Eternal. They broke bread with the messengers, 15 and Joshua offered them a treaty of peace, with the leaders of Israel swearing an oath to bind it.
16 Three days after they had sworn peace with these deceptive messengers, they discovered the visitors were Gibeonites from the land of Canaan, their neighbors, who, in fact, were living in part of the land God had promised the Israelites. 17 So the Israelites went to their cities: Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim on the third day, 18 but they did not attack them. Even though they had been tricked into making a treaty, an oath made in the name of the Eternal was sacred. The people of Israel grumbled and complained against their leaders, 19 but they replied to the entire congregation.
Leaders: Look, we have sworn an oath in the name of the Eternal God of Israel, and we must not touch them. 20 If we attack them now and break our word, God’s anger will fall on us. Let them live and serve us.
21 So the leaders kept their promise to the Gibeonites who became servants of the entire congregation, cutting their wood and drawing their water.
22 Joshua summoned the Gibeonite leaders.
Joshua (to the Gibeonite leaders): Why did you lie to us? Why did you claim to be from far away when really you lived right here among us? 23 Your lie comes with a curse. You will live, but you will always be our slaves, carrying our water and chopping wood for the sanctuary of my True God from now on.
Gibeonite Leaders (to Joshua): 24 We knew for a fact that the Eternal One, your True God, had told His servant Moses that He would give you all of this land and that you would destroy all of the people in it. We were so afraid of you that this seemed the best thing to do. 25 But now we are in your hands. Do to us what seems fair and just to you, and we will accept it.
26 So Joshua spared the Gibeonites from the people of Israel and certain death 27 but made them servants of the people of Israel, chopping their wood and carrying their water, serving the Eternal’s sanctuary from that time on, in whatever place he chose as he directed them.
10 When Adoni-zedek, the king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had totally destroyed the kings and cities of Jericho and Ai, and when he discovered that the Israelites had made a treaty with the people of Gibeon and were living alongside Israel, 2 he was greatly alarmed. The city of Gibeon was large, almost like a royal city, much larger than Ai and with many trained warriors. 3-5 So Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, dispatched messages to King Hoham of Hebron, to King Piram of Jarmuth, to King Japhia of Lachish, and to King Debir of Eglon.
Adoni-zedek (to the Amorite kings): Let us band together and destroy Gibeon, for they have become allies to these invaders, Joshua and the Israelites.
So these five kings of the Amorites gathered their forces and came down upon the city of Gibeon like a mighty wave. 6 The Gibeonites, seeing the camps of these five armies, sent a message to Joshua in the Israelite camp at Gilgal.
Gibeonites (pleading with Joshua): Please don’t abandon your servants. The five kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country have come down to attack us. Come quickly to help us.
7 So Joshua honored the oath they had sworn, and he gathered up all of his fighting forces, all the mighty warriors, and went up from Gilgal toward Gibeon.
Eternal One (to Joshua): 8 Don’t be afraid of the Amorites. Like Jericho and Ai, I am delivering these armies into your hands. None of them will be able to stand against you.
9 Joshua surprised them, having marched his men all night from Gilgal, 10 and the Eternal caused fear and confusion among the Amorite armies at the sudden sight of Israel among them. He slaughtered the Amorites at Gibeon like cattle, chasing and killing them all the way up Beth-horon, and striking them down as far away as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled for their lives down the far slope of Beth-horon, He hurled huge and deadly hailstones upon them from heaven, as far as Azekah. More Amorites were killed by God’s hailstones than by the people of Israel on that day.
12 On the day of the Eternal’s great slaughter, Joshua consulted with the Eternal One; and then, in front of all the people of Israel, he commanded the sun and the moon.
Joshua: Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
and Moon, remain over the valley of Aijalon.
Gibeon is in the east and Aijalon is in the west, so this is a favorable celestial omen for Israel and an unfavorable omen for the Amorite coalition.
13 The sun stood still in the heavens; and the moon did likewise, so that the battle could continue until the Israelites had destroyed their enemies, just as it was written in the scroll of Jashar. The sun stalled in the sky for almost an entire day before it set. 14 There has never been another day like this before or since, when the Eternal so answered a person’s prayer, for the Eternal fought for the people of Israel.
God proves that He is greater than any of the local gods—that He is above all other gods—by these cosmic miracles. While today, of course, we know that the earth orbits the sun, not vice versa, the story is clear enough: only an all-powerful God can halt the sun and moon in their courses.
15 Joshua and the Israelites later returned to the camp at Gilgal, 16 but the kings slipped away at the height of the battle and hid in a cave at Makkedah. 17 Someone told Joshua they had been found hiding there.
Joshua: 18-19 Seal up the mouth of the cave with large stones, and leave men to guard them while we pursue the other forces and attack them from behind. Don’t let them reach their towns because the Eternal One, your True God, has given you victory over them.
20 When Joshua and the Israelites had killed all those who did not escape back into the fortified cities, 21 they all returned safely to camp with Joshua at Makkedah, and no one dared to speak a negative word about the Israelites.
Joshua: 22 Open up the cave and bring the five kings before me.
23 They brought forth the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon 24 and led them in front of Joshua and the Israelites.
Joshua (to those who had led the warriors): Come here. Place your feet upon the necks of these kings.
So the leaders did.
Joshua: 25 There’s nothing to be afraid of here. Be strong and courageous because the Eternal will do to all our enemies what He has done to these kings.
26 Joshua had the kings executed and hung on five trees; and they hung until sunset 27 when Joshua commanded they be taken down, as God’s law requires. Their bodies were thrown into the cave where they had hidden, and the cave was sealed as a tomb by piling stones across the mouth. Their remains lie there to this very day.
28 Also on that day Joshua defeated Makkedah and its king, destroying it completely, killing everyone in it and the king, as he had done in Jericho.
29 Next Joshua led his forces from Makkedah against Libnah, 30 and the Eternal gave the town and its king into their hands. They took no prisoners. They killed everyone in the town and destroyed it and the king, as they did to the king of Jericho.
31 From there Joshua and the Israelites passed on to Lachish and besieged it, 32 and on the second day the Eternal gave Lachish to them. They destroyed it and killed everyone in it, as they had just done to Libnah. 33 When King Horam of Gezer came up to help Lachish, Joshua turned the army against him and his people and destroyed them, leaving no survivors.
34 Passing from Lachish, Joshua and the people attacked Eglon, 35 and it fell to them on the first day. They killed everyone with the sword and destroyed it completely, as they had Lachish.
36 Then Joshua went up with all the forces of Israel from Eglon against Hebron, 37 and it fell to them—its king, all of its villages, and all of its people. Joshua killed everyone with the sword and destroyed it as he had destroyed Eglon. 38 Lastly Joshua, with all of Israel, attacked Debir 39 and took its king, its villages, and all of its people. The Israelites killed them with the sword and destroyed them all. Joshua left no one alive. He did to Debir and its king just as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king.
40 So this is how Joshua and the Israelites defeated every area they had encountered: the hill country, the wilderness of the Negev, the coastlands, and the foothills with all the people and all their kings, leaving no one alive, as the Eternal God of Israel had commanded. 41 Joshua won victories from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza and through all the country of Goshen as far as Gibeon. 42 Joshua was able to capture and defeat all these people and all their kings for one simple reason: the Eternal God of Israel fought for Israel.
43 Then Joshua returned to Gilgal to camp with all the Israelites.
19 There was this rich man who had everything—purple clothing of fine quality and high fashion, gourmet meals every day, and a large house. 20 Just outside his front gate lay this poor homeless fellow named Lazarus. Lazarus was covered in ugly skin lesions. 21 He was so hungry he wished he could scavenge scraps from the rich man’s trash. Dogs would come and lick the sores on his skin. 22 The poor fellow died and was carried on the arms of the heavenly messengers to the embrace of Abraham. Then the rich fellow died and was buried 23 and found himself in the place of the dead. In his torment, he looked up, and off in the distance he saw Abraham, with Lazarus in his embrace.
24 He shouted out, “Father Abraham! Please show me mercy! Would you send that beggar Lazarus to dip his fingertip in water and cool my tongue? These flames are hot, and I’m in agony!”
25 But Abraham said, “Son, you seem to be forgetting something: your life was full to overflowing with comforts and pleasures, and the life of Lazarus was just as full with suffering and pain. So now is his time of comfort, and now is your time of agony. 26 Besides, a great canyon separates you and us. Nobody can cross over from our side to yours, or from your side to ours.”
27 “Please, Father Abraham, I beg you,” the formerly rich man continued, “send Lazarus to my father’s house. 28 I have five brothers there, and they’re on the same path I was on. If Lazarus warns them, they’ll choose another path and won’t end up here in torment.”
29 But Abraham said, “Why send Lazarus? They already have the law of Moses and the writings of the prophets to instruct them. Let your brothers hear them.”
30 “No, Father Abraham,” he said, “they’re already ignoring the law and the prophets. But if someone came back from the dead, then they’d listen for sure; then they’d change their way of life.”
31 Abraham answered, “If they’re not listening to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be convinced even if someone comes back from the dead.”
The theme of money and wealth has come up again and again. It’s what really motivates the Pharisees, it turns out. Money might be God’s top competitor. In the previous parable, Jesus turns the tables. The rich man, who represents what most people wish they could become, turns out to be the one who is hopeless in God’s judgment; he is rich in possessions but poor in compassion, and compassion is what God measures, not wealth. The kingdom of God, Jesus is making clear, calls rich people to stop working to increase their personal wealth portfolio; instead, it challenges them to join God by using their wealth and power on behalf of the poor.
17 Jesus (to His disciples): You can’t stop temptations to do wrong from coming. But how tragic it will be for the person who becomes the source of the temptation! 2 It would be better if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
3 So each of you needs to be careful. If your brother sins [against you],[a] confront him about it, and if he has a change of mind and heart, then forgive him. 4 Even if he wrongs you seven times in a single day, if he turns back to you each time and says he’s sorry and will change, you must forgive him.
The Lord’s Emissaries: 5 We don’t have enough faith for this! Help our faith to grow!
Jesus (pointing to a nearby mulberry tree): 6 It’s not like you need a huge amount of faith. If you just had faith the size of a single, tiny mustard seed, you could say to this huge tree, “Pull up your roots and replant yourself in the sea,” and it would fly through the sky and do what you said. So even a little faith can accomplish the seemingly impossible.
7 Imagine this scenario. You have a servant—say he’s been out plowing a field or taking care of the sheep—and he comes in hot and sweaty from his work. Are you going to say, “You poor thing! Come in and sit down right away”? Of course not! 8 Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, “First, cook my supper and set the table, and then after I’ve eaten, you can get something to eat and drink for yourself”? 9 And after your servant has done everything you told him to do, are you going to make a big deal about it and thank him? [I don’t think so!][b] 10 Now apply this situation to yourselves. When you’ve done everything I’m telling you to do, just say, “We’re servants, unworthy of extra consideration or thanks; we’re just doing our duty.”
Psalm 83
A song of Asaph.
1 O True God, do not be quiet any longer.
Do not stay silent or be still, O God.
2 Look now, Your enemies are causing a commotion;
those who hate You are rising up!
3 They are conniving against Your people,
conspiring against those You cherish.
4 They say, “Join us. Let’s wipe the entire nation off the face of the earth
so no one will remember Israel’s name.”
5 They are all in it together, thinking as one,
and making a pact against You:
6 The people of Edom and Ishmael;
the Moabites and the Hagrites;
7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek;
Philistia with the residents of Tyre.
8 And the powerful Assyrians have joined the alliance
to add their strength and support the descendants of Lot: Moab and Ammon.
[pause][a]
9 Do to these nations what You did to Midian,
to Sisera and Jabin at the raging waters of Kishon.
10 They were destroyed at En-dor;
they became like dung, fertilizer for the ground.
11 Make their rulers like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 Who schemed, “We should own the meadows of the True God,
let’s take them!”
13 O my God, blow them away like a tumbleweed,
scatter them like dust in a whirlwind.
14 As a wildfire charges through the forest
or a flame sprints up the mountainside,
15 Send Your raging winds to chase them, hunt them down,
and terrify them with Your storm.
16 Redden their faces in shame
so that they will turn and seek Your holy name, Eternal One.
17 May they face disappointment and anxiety forever;
may they be ashamed and die.
18 May they know that You and You alone,
whose name is the Eternal,
are the Most High, the Supreme Ruler over all the earth.
4 Slackers crave but have their fill of nothing,
but the hardworking desire and are completely satisfied.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.