The Desert Years

2 “Then we turned and ^(A)journeyed into the wilderness of the Way of the Red Sea, ^(B)as the Lord spoke to me, and we ^[a]skirted Mount Seir for many days.

² “And the Lord spoke to me, saying: ³ ‘You have skirted this mountain ^(C)long enough; turn northward. ⁴ And command the people, saying, ^(D)“You are about to pass through the territory of ^(E)your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves carefully. ⁵ Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, ^(F)because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. ⁶ You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.

⁷ “For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your ^[b]trudging through this great wilderness. ^(G)These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” ’

⁸ “And when we passed beyond our brethren, the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, away from the road of the plain, away from ^(H)Elath and Ezion Geber, we ^(I)turned and passed by way of the Wilderness of Moab. ⁹ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given ^(J)Ar to ^(K)the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”

^10 (L)(The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as ^(M)the Anakim. ¹¹ They were also regarded as ^[c]giants, like the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim. ^12 (N)The Horites formerly dwelt in Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their ^[d]place, just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the Lord gave them.)

¹³ “ ‘Now rise and cross over ^(O)the ^[e]Valley of the Zered.’ So we crossed over the Valley of the Zered. ¹⁴ And the time we took to come ^(P)from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the Valley of the Zered was thirty-eight years, ^(Q)until all the generation of the men of war ^[f]was consumed from the midst of the camp, ^(R)just as the Lord had sworn to them. ¹⁵ For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they ^[g]were consumed.

¹⁶ “So it was, when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people, ¹⁷ that the Lord spoke to me, saying: ¹⁸ ‘This day you are to cross over at Ar, the boundary of Moab. ¹⁹ And when you come near the people of Ammon, do not harass them or meddle with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to ^(S)the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”

²⁰ (That was also regarded as a land of ^[h]giants; giants formerly dwelt there. But the Ammonites call them ^(T)Zamzummim, ^21 (U)a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, ²² just as He had done for the descendants of Esau, ^(V)who dwelt in Seir, when He destroyed ^(W)the Horites from before them. They dispossessed them and dwelt in their place, even to this day. ²³ And ^(X)the Avim, who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza—^(Y)the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and dwelt in their place.)

²⁴ “ ‘Rise, take your journey, and ^(Z)cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand ^(AA)Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin ^[i]to possess it, and engage him in battle. ^25 (AB)This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations ^[j]under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall ^(AC)tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

King Sihon Defeated^(AD)

²⁶ “And I ^(AE)sent messengers from the Wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon, ^(AF)with words of peace, saying, ^27 (AG)‘Let me pass through your land; I will keep strictly to the road, and I will turn neither to the right nor to the left. ²⁸ You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink; ^(AH)only let me pass through on foot, ^29 (AI)just as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar did for me, until I cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord our God is giving us.’

^30 (AJ)“But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for ^(AK)the Lord your God ^(AL)hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as it is this day.

³¹ “And the Lord said to me, ‘See, I have begun to ^(AM)give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to possess it, that you may inherit his land.’ ^32 (AN)Then Sihon and all his people came out against us to fight at Jahaz. ³³ And ^(AO)the Lord our God delivered him ^[k]over to us; so ^(AP)we defeated him, his sons, and all his people. ³⁴ We took all his cities at that time, and we ^(AQ)utterly destroyed the men, women, and little ones of every city; we left none remaining. ³⁵ We took only the livestock as plunder for ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we took. ^36 (AR)From Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, and from ^(AS)the city that is in the ravine, as far as Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us; ^(AT)the Lord our God delivered all to us. ³⁷ Only you did not go near the land of the people of Ammon—anywhere along the River ^(AU)Jabbok, or to the cities of the mountains, or ^(AV)wherever the Lord our God had forbidden us.

King Og Defeated^(AW)

3 “Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan; and ^(AX)Og king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle ^(AY)at Edrei. ² And the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to ^(AZ)Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’

³ “So the Lord our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan, with all his people, and we ^[l]attacked him until he had no survivors remaining. ⁴ And we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, ^(BA)all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ⁵ All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many rural towns. ⁶ And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king ^(BB)of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city. ⁷ But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as booty for ourselves.

⁸ “And at that time we took the ^(BC)land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were on this side of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount ^(BD)Hermon ⁹ (the Sidonians call ^(BE)Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir), ^10 (BF)all the cities of the plain, all Gilead, and ^(BG)all Bashan, as far as Salcah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

^11 (BH)“For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of ^(BI)the ^[m]giants. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead. (Is it not in ^(BJ)Rabbah of the people of Ammon?) Nine cubits is its length and four cubits its width, according to the standard cubit.

The Land East of the Jordan Divided^(BK)

¹² “And this ^(BL)land, which we possessed at that time, ^(BM)from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, and half the mountains of Gilead and ^(BN)its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites. ^13 (BO)The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. (All the region of Argob, with all Bashan, was called the land of the ^[n]giants. ^14 (BP)Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, ^(BQ)as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and ^(BR)called Bashan after his own name, ^[o]Havoth Jair, to this day.)

¹⁵ “Also I gave ^(BS)Gilead to Machir. ¹⁶ And to the Reubenites ^(BT)and the Gadites I gave from Gilead as far as the River Arnon, the middle of the river as the border, as far as the River Jabbok, ^(BU)the border of the people of Ammon; ¹⁷ the plain also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth ^(BV)as far as the east side of the Sea of the Arabah ^(BW)(the Salt Sea), below the slopes of Pisgah.

¹⁸ “Then I commanded you at that time, saying: ‘The Lord your God has given you this land to possess. ^(BX)All you men of valor shall cross over armed before your brethren, the children of Israel. ¹⁹ But your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall stay in your cities which I have given you, ²⁰ until the Lord has given ^(BY)rest to your brethren as to you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God is giving them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may ^(BZ)return to his possession which I have given you.’

²¹ “And ^(CA)I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so will the Lord do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. ²² You must not fear them, for ^(CB)the Lord your God Himself fights for you.’

Moses Forbidden to Enter the Land

²³ “Then ^(CC)I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying: ²⁴ ‘O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant ^(CD)Your greatness and Your ^[p]mighty hand, for ^(CE)what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? ²⁵ I pray, let me cross over and see ^(CF)the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.’

²⁶ “But the Lord ^(CG)was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the Lord said to me: ‘Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter. ^27 (CH)Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. ²⁸ But ^(CI)command^[q] Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see.’

²⁹ “So we stayed in ^(CJ)the valley opposite Beth Peor.

The Twelve Apostles^(A)

¹² Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in ^(B)prayer to God. ¹³ And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; ^(C)and from them He chose ^(D)twelve whom He also named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, ^(E)whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas ^(F)the son of James, and ^(G)Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

Jesus Heals a Great Multitude^(H)

¹⁷ And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples ^(I)and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, ¹⁸ as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. ¹⁹ And the whole multitude ^(J)sought to ^(K)touch Him, for ^(L)power went out from Him and healed them all.

The Beatitudes^(M)

²⁰ Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

Jesus Pronounces Woes

Love Your Enemies^(AD)

^27 (AE)“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ^28 (AF)bless those who curse you, and ^(AG)pray for those who spitefully use you. ^29 (AH)To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. ^(AI)And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. ^30 (AJ)Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. ^31 (AK)And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

^32 (AL)“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ^34 (AM)And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. ³⁵ But ^(AN)love your enemies, ^(AO)do good, and ^(AP)lend, ^[d]hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and ^(AQ)you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. ^36 (AR)Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Do Not Judge^(AS)

^37 (AT)“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. ^(AU)Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ^38 (AV)Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your ^(AW)bosom. For ^(AX)with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

An Invocation and a Doxology

To the Chief Musician. On ^[a]stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.