The Lord Instructs Joshua

1 After the death of the Lord’s servant Moses, the Lord said to Moses’ assistant Joshua, son of Nun, ² “My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people must cross the Jordan River into the land that I am going to give the people of Israel. ³ I will give you every place on which you set foot, as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your borders will be the desert ⌞on the south⌟, nearby Lebanon to the Euphrates River (the country of the Hittites) ⌞on the north⌟, and the Mediterranean Sea on the west. ⁵ No one will be able to oppose you successfully as long as you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will never neglect you or abandon you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous, because you will help these people take possession of the land I swore to give their ancestors.

⁷ “Only be strong and very courageous, faithfully doing everything in the teachings that my servant Moses commanded you. Don’t turn away from them. Then you will succeed wherever you go. ⁸ Never stop reciting these teachings. You must think about them night and day so that you will faithfully do everything written in them. Only then will you prosper and succeed.

⁹ “I have commanded you, ‘Be strong and courageous! Don’t tremble or be terrified, because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’ ”

The People Promise to Obey Joshua

¹⁰ Then Joshua ordered the officers of the people, ¹¹ “Go through the camp. Tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. In three days you will cross the Jordan River to take possession of the land the Lord your God is going to give you.’ ”

¹² Next, Joshua said to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh, ¹³ “Remember what the Lord’s servant Moses commanded you. Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will give you this land—a place to rest.’ ¹⁴ Your wives, children, and livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan River. However, all your best soldiers must march in battle formation ahead of your relatives. You must help your relatives ¹⁵ take possession of the land the Lord your God is going to give them. Then they will have a place to rest like you do. After that, you may go back and take possession of the land east of the Jordan River which the Lord’s servant Moses gave you.”

¹⁶ The people responded to Joshua, “We’ll do everything you tell us and go wherever you send us. ¹⁷ We will obey you as we obeyed Moses. May the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. ¹⁸ Whoever rebels against your authority or does not obey your orders will be put to death. Just be strong and courageous!”

8 Saul approved of putting Stephen to death.

On that day widespread persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. Most believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

² Devout men buried Stephen as they mourned loudly for him.

³ Saul tried to destroy the church. He dragged men and women out of one home after another and threw them into prison.

Some Samaritans Become Believers

⁴ The believers who were scattered went from place to place, where they spread the word. ⁵ Philip went to the city of Samaria and told people about the Messiah. ⁶ The crowds paid close attention to what Philip said. They listened to him and saw the miracles that he performed. ⁷ Evil spirits screamed as they came out of the many people they had possessed. Many paralyzed and lame people were cured. ⁸ As a result, that city was extremely happy.

⁹ A man named Simon lived in that city. He amazed the people of Samaria with his practice of magic. He claimed that he was great. ¹⁰ Everyone from children to adults paid attention to him. They said, “This man is the power of God, and that power is called great.” ¹¹ They paid attention to Simon because he had amazed them for a long time with his practice of magic. ¹² However, when Philip spread the Good News about God’s kingdom and the one named Jesus Christ, men and women believed him and were baptized. ¹³ Even Simon believed, and after he was baptized, he became devoted to Philip. Simon was amazed to see the miracles and impressive things that were happening.

¹⁴ When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted God’s word, they sent Peter and John to them. ¹⁵ Peter and John went to Samaria and prayed that the Samaritans would receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ (Before this the Holy Spirit had not come to any of the Samaritans. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) ¹⁷ Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ Simon saw that the Spirit was given to the Samaritans when the apostles placed their hands on them. So he offered Peter and John money ¹⁹ and said, “Give me this power so that anyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”

²⁰ Peter told Simon, “May your money be destroyed with you because you thought you could buy God’s gift. ²¹ You won’t have any share in this because God can see how twisted your thinking is. ²² So change your wicked thoughts, and ask the Lord if he will forgive you for thinking like this. ²³ I can see that you are bitter with jealousy and wrapped up in your evil ways.”

²⁴ Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me that none of the things you said will happen to me.”

²⁵ After they had boldly spoken about the message of the Lord, they spread the Good News in many Samaritan villages on their way back to Jerusalem.