Peter and Cornelius

10 In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, who was the captain of a group of soldiers called “The Italian Unit.” ² Cornelius was a very religious man. He worshiped God, and so did everyone else who lived in his house. He had given a lot of money to the poor and was always praying to God.

³ One afternoon at about three o'clock,^[a] Cornelius had a vision. He saw an angel from God coming to him and calling him by name. ⁴ Cornelius was surprised and stared at the angel. Then he asked, “What is this all about?”

The angel answered, “God has heard your prayers and knows about your gifts to the poor. ⁵ Now send some men to Joppa for a man named Simon Peter. ⁶ He is staying with Simon the leather maker, who lives in a house near the sea.” ⁷ After saying this, the angel left.

Cornelius called in two of his servants and one of his soldiers who worshiped God. ⁸ He explained everything to them and sent them off to Joppa.

^9 (A) The next day about noon these men were coming near Joppa. Peter went up on the roof^[b] of the house to pray ¹⁰ and became very hungry. While the food was being prepared, he fell sound asleep and had a vision. ¹¹ He saw heaven open, and something came down like a huge sheet held up by its four corners. ¹² In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. ¹³ A voice said to him, “Peter, get up! Kill these and eat them.”

^14 (B) But Peter said, “Lord, I can't do that! I've never eaten anything that is unclean and not fit to eat.”^[c]

¹⁵ The voice spoke to him again, “When God says that something can be used for food, don't say it isn't fit to eat.”

¹⁶ This happened three times before the sheet was suddenly taken back to heaven.

¹⁷ Peter was still wondering what all this meant, when the men sent by Cornelius came and stood at the gate. They had found their way to Simon's house ¹⁸ and were asking if Simon Peter was staying there.

¹⁹ While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three^[d] men are here looking for you. ²⁰ Hurry down and go with them. Don't worry, I sent them.”

²¹ Peter went down and said to the men, “I am the one you are looking for. Why have you come?”

²² They answered, “Captain Cornelius sent us. He is a good man who worships God and is liked by the Jewish people. One of God's holy angels told Cornelius to send for you, so he could hear what you have to say.” ²³ Peter invited them to spend the night.

The next morning, Peter and some of the Lord's followers in Joppa left with the men who had come from Cornelius. ²⁴ The next day they arrived in Caesarea where Cornelius was waiting for them. He had also invited his relatives and close friends.

²⁵ When Peter arrived, Cornelius greeted him. Then he knelt at Peter's feet and started worshiping him. ²⁶ But Peter took hold of him and said, “Stand up! I am nothing more than a human.”

²⁷ As Peter entered the house, he was still talking with Cornelius. Many people were there, ²⁸ and Peter said to them, “You know that we Jews are not allowed to have anything to do with other people. But God has shown me that he doesn't think anyone is unclean or unfit. ²⁹ I agreed to come here, but I want to know why you sent for me.”

³⁰ Cornelius answered:

Four days ago at about three o'clock in the afternoon I was praying at home. Suddenly a man in bright clothes stood in front of me. ³¹ He said, “Cornelius, God has heard your prayers, and he knows about your gifts to the poor. ³² Now send to Joppa for Simon Peter. He is visiting in the home of Simon the leather maker, who lives near the sea.”

³³ I sent for you at once, and you have been good enough to come. All of us are here in the presence of the Lord God, so that we can hear what he has to say.

Achan Is Punished for Stealing from the Lord

7 The Lord had said that everything in Jericho belonged to him.^[a] But Achan^[b] from the Judah tribe took some of the things from Jericho for himself. And so the Lord was angry with the Israelites, because one of them had disobeyed him.^[c]

² While Israel was still camped near Jericho, Joshua sent some spies with these instructions: “Go to the town of Ai^[d] and find out whatever you can about the region around the town.”

The spies left and went to Ai, which is east of Bethel and near Beth-Aven. ³ They went back to Joshua and reported, “You don't need to send the whole army to attack Ai—2,000 or 3,000 troops will be enough. Why bother the whole army for a town that small?”

^4-5 Joshua sent about 3,000 soldiers to attack Ai. But the men of Ai fought back and chased the Israelite soldiers away from the town gate and down the hill to the stone quarries.^[e] Thirty-six Israelite soldiers were killed, and the Israelite army felt discouraged.

⁶ Joshua and the leaders of Israel tore their clothes and put dirt on their heads to show their sorrow. They lay facedown on the ground in front of the sacred chest until sunset. ⁷ Then Joshua said:

Our Lord, did you bring us across the Jordan River just so the Amorites could destroy us? This wouldn't have happened if we had agreed to stay on the other side of the Jordan. ⁸ I don't even know what to say to you, since Israel's army has turned and run from the enemy. ⁹ Everyone will think you weren't strong enough to protect your people. Now the Canaanites and everyone else who lives in the land will surround us and wipe us out.

¹⁰ The Lord answered:

Stop lying there on the ground! Get up! ¹¹ I said everything in Jericho belonged to me and had to be destroyed. But the Israelites have kept some of the things for themselves. They stole from me and hid what they took. Then they lied about it. ¹² What they stole was supposed to be destroyed, and now Israel itself must be destroyed. I cannot help you anymore until you do exactly what I have said. That's why Israel turns and runs from its enemies instead of standing up to them.

¹³ Tell the people of Israel, “Tomorrow you will meet with the Lord your God, so make yourselves acceptable to worship him. The Lord says that you have taken things that should have been destroyed. You won't be able to stand up to your enemies until you get rid of those things.

¹⁴ “Tomorrow morning everyone must gather near the place of worship. You will come forward tribe by tribe, and the Lord will show which tribe is guilty. Next, the clans in that tribe must come forward, and the Lord will show which clan is guilty. The families in that clan must come, and the Lord will point out the guilty family. Finally, the men in that family must come, ¹⁵ and the Lord will show who stole what should have been destroyed. That man must be put to death, his body burned, and his possessions thrown into the fire. He has done a terrible thing by breaking the sacred agreement that the Lord made with Israel.”

¹⁶ Joshua got up early the next morning and brought each tribe to the place of worship, where the Lord showed that the Judah tribe was guilty. ¹⁷ Then Joshua brought the clans of Judah to the Lord, and the Lord showed that the Zerah clan was guilty. One by one he brought the leader of each family in the Zerah clan to the Lord, and the Lord showed that Zabdi's family was guilty. ¹⁸ Finally, Joshua brought each man in Zabdi's family to the Lord, and the Lord showed that Achan was the guilty one.

¹⁹ “Achan,” Joshua said, “the Lord God of Israel has decided that you are guilty. So tell me what you did, and don't try to hide anything.”

²⁰ “It's true,” Achan answered. “I sinned and disobeyed the Lord God of Israel. ^21-22 While we were in Jericho, I saw a beautiful Babylonian robe, 200 pieces of silver, and a gold bar that weighed the same as 50 pieces of gold. I wanted them for myself, so I took them. I dug a hole under my tent and hid the silver, the gold, and the robe.”

Joshua told some people to run to Achan's tent, where they found the silver, the gold, and the robe. ²³ They brought them back and put them in front of the sacred chest, so Joshua and the rest of the Israelites could see them. ²⁴ Then everyone took Achan and the things he had stolen to Trouble Valley.^[f] They also took along his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys, and sheep, his tent, and everything else that belonged to him.

²⁵ Joshua said, “Achan, you caused us a lot of trouble. Now the Lord is paying you back with the same kind of trouble.”

The people of Israel then stoned to death Achan and his family. They made a fire and burned the bodies, together with what Achan had stolen, and all his possessions. ²⁶ They covered the remains with a big pile of rocks, which is still there. Then the Lord stopped being angry with Israel.

That's how the place came to be called Trouble Valley.

Israel Destroys the Town of Ai

8 ^1-2 The Lord told Joshua:

Don't be afraid, and don't be discouraged by what happened at the town of Ai. Take the army and attack again. But first, order part of the army to set up an ambush on the other side of the town. I will help you defeat the king of Ai and his army, and you will capture the town and the land around it. Destroy Ai and kill its king as you did at Jericho. But you may keep the livestock and everything else you want.

^3-4 Joshua quickly got the army ready to attack Ai. He chose 30,000 of his best soldiers and gave them these orders:

Tonight, while it is dark, march to Ai and take up a position behind the town. Get as close to the town as you can without being seen, and be ready to attack.

^5-6 The rest of the army will come with me and attack near the gate. When the people of Ai come out to fight, we'll run away and let them chase us. They will think we are running from them just like the first time. But when we've let them chase us far enough away, ⁷ you come out of hiding. The Lord our God will help you capture the town. ⁸ Then set it on fire, as the Lord has told us to do. Those are your orders, ⁹ now go!

The 30,000 soldiers went to a place on the west side of Ai, between Ai and Bethel, where they could hide and wait to attack.

That night, Joshua stayed in camp with the rest of the army. ¹⁰ Early the next morning he got his troops ready to move out, and he and the other leaders of Israel led them to Ai. ¹¹ They set up camp in full view of the town, across the valley to the north. ¹² Joshua had already sent 5,000 soldiers to the west side of the town to hide and wait to attack. ¹³ Now all his troops were in place. Part of the army was in the camp to the north of Ai, and the others were hiding to the west, ready to make a surprise attack. That night, Joshua went into the valley.^[g]

^14-15 The king of Ai saw Joshua's army, so the king and his troops hurried out early the next morning to fight them. Joshua and his army pretended to be beaten, and they let the men of Ai chase them toward the desert. The king and his army were facing the Jordan valley as Joshua had planned.

The king did not realize that some Israelite soldiers were hiding behind the town. ^16-17 So he called out every man in Ai to go after Joshua's troops. They all rushed out to chase the Israelite army, and they left the town gates wide open. Not one man was left in Ai or in Bethel.^[h]

Joshua let the men of Ai chase him and his army farther and farther away from Ai. ¹⁸ Finally, the Lord told Joshua, “Point your sword^[i] at the town of Ai, because now I am going to help you defeat it!”

As soon as Joshua pointed his sword at the town, ¹⁹ the soldiers who had been hiding jumped up and ran into the town. They captured it and set it on fire.

^20-21 When Joshua and his troops saw smoke rising from the town, they knew that the other part of their army had captured it. So they turned and attacked.

The men of Ai looked back and saw smoke rising from their town. But they could not escape, because the soldiers they had been chasing had suddenly turned and started fighting. ^22-24 Meanwhile, the other Israelite soldiers had come from the town and attacked the men of Ai from the rear. The Israelites captured the king of Ai and brought him to Joshua. They also chased the rest of the men of Ai into the desert and killed them.^[j]

The Israelite army went back to Ai and killed everyone there. ^25-26 Joshua kept his sword pointed at the town of Ai until every last one of Ai's 12,000 people was dead. ²⁷ But the Israelites took the animals and the other possessions of the people of Ai, because this was what the Lord had told Joshua to do.

^28-29 Joshua made sure every building in Ai was burned to the ground. He told his men to kill the king of Ai and hang his body on a tree. Then at sunset he told the Israelites to take down the body,^[k] throw it in the gateway of the town, and cover it with a big pile of rocks. Those rocks are still there, and the town itself has never been rebuilt.

Joshua Reads the Blessings and Curses

(Deuteronomy 27.1-26)

^30-32 (A) One day, Joshua led the people of Israel to Mount Ebal, where he told some of his men, “Build an altar for offering sacrifices to the Lord. And use stones that have never been cut with iron tools,^[l] because that is what Moses taught in The Book of the Law.”^[m]

Joshua offered sacrifices to please the Lord^[n] and to ask his blessing.^[o] Then with the Israelites still watching, he copied parts of The Book of the Law^[p] of Moses onto stones.

^33-35 (B) Moses had said that everyone in Israel was to go to the valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, where they were to be blessed. So everyone went there, including the foreigners, the leaders, officials, and judges. Half of the people stood on one side of the valley, and half on the other side, with the priests from the Levi tribe standing in the middle with the sacred chest. Then in a loud voice, Joshua read the blessings and curses from The Book of the Law^[q] of Moses.^[r]

Job Continues

Why Doesn't God Set a Time?

Some Reject the Light

Sinners Are Filthy Foam