Joshua Becomes Moses’s Successor

31 When Moses had finished speaking all^[a] these words to all Israel, ² he said to them, “I am now one hundred twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, and the Lord has told me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’^{(A) 3} The Lord your God himself will cross over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua also will cross over before you, as the Lord promised.^{(B) 4} The Lord will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. ⁵ The Lord will give them over to you, and you shall deal with them in full accord with the command that I have given to you.^{(C) 6} Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.”^(D)

⁷ Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and bold, for you are the one who will go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their ancestors to give them, and you will put them in possession of it.^{(E) 8} It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”^(F)

The Law to Be Read Every Seventh Year

⁹ Then Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.^{(G) 10} Moses commanded them, “Every seventh year, in the scheduled year of remission, during the Festival of Booths,^{[b](H) 11} when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.^{(I) 12} Assemble the people—men, women, and children, as well as the aliens residing in your towns—so that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God and to observe diligently all the words of this law^{(J) 13} and so that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”^(K)

Paul in Corinth

18 After this Paul^[a] left Athens and went to Corinth.^{(A) 2} There he found a Jew named Aquila from Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul^[b] went to see them,^{(B) 3} and, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together—by trade they were tentmakers.^{(C) 4} Every Sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks.^(D)

⁵ When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word,^[c] testifying to the Jews that the Messiah^[d] was Jesus.^{(E) 6} When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes^[e] and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the gentiles.”^{(F) 7} Then he left the synagogue^[f] and went to the house of a man named Titius^[g] Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue.^{(G) 8} Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household, and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized.^{(H) 9} One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent,^{(I) 10} for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.”^{(J) 11} He stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

¹² But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. ¹³ They said, “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the law.” ¹⁴ Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of crime or serious villainy, I would be justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews,^{(K) 15} but since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I do not wish to be a judge of these matters.” ¹⁶ And he dismissed them from the tribunal. ¹⁷ Then all of them^[h] seized Sosthenes, the official of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of these things.^(L)

Paul’s Return to Antioch

¹⁸ After staying there for a considerable time, Paul said farewell to the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was under a vow.^{(M) 19} When they reached Ephesus, he left them there, but first he himself went into the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay longer, he declined, ²¹ but on taking leave of them he said, “I^[i] will return to you, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.^(N)

²² When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem^[j] and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.^{(O) 23} After spending some time there he departed and went from place to place through the region of Galatia^[k] and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.^(P)

Moses and Joshua Receive God’s Charge

¹⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Your time to die is near; call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, so that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting,^{(A) 15} and the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud; the pillar of cloud stood at the entrance to the tent.^(B)

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “Soon you will lie down with your ancestors. Then this people will begin to prostitute themselves to the foreign gods in their midst, the gods of the land into which they are going; they will forsake me, breaking my covenant that I have made with them.^{(C) 17} My anger will be kindled against them on that day. I will forsake them and hide my face from them; they will become easy prey, and many terrible troubles will come upon them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these troubles come upon us because our God is not in our midst?’^{(D) 18} On that day I will surely hide my face on account of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods. ¹⁹ Now, therefore, write this song, and teach it to the Israelites; put it in their mouths, in order that this song may be a witness for me against the Israelites. ²⁰ For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I promised on oath to their ancestors, and they have eaten their fill and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, despising me and breaking my covenant.^{(E) 21} And when many terrible troubles come upon them, this song will confront them as a witness because it will not be lost from the mouths of their descendants. For I know what they are inclined to do even now, before I have brought them into the land that I promised them on oath.”^{(F) 22} That very day Moses wrote this song and taught it to the Israelites.^(G)

²³ Then the Lord^[a] commissioned Joshua son of Nun and said, “Be strong and bold, for you shall bring the Israelites into the land that I promised them; I will be with you.”^(H)

²⁴ When Moses had finished writing down in a book the words of this law to the very end, ²⁵ Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,^{(I) 26} “Take this book of the law and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God; let it remain there as a witness against you.^{(J) 27} For I know well how rebellious and stubborn you are. If you already have been so rebellious toward the Lord while I am still alive among you, how much more after my death!^{(K) 28} Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officials, so that I may recite these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to witness against them.^{(L) 29} For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly, turning aside from the way that I have commanded you. In time to come trouble will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”^(M)

Ministry of Apollos

²⁴ Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos from Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures.^{(A) 25} He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord, and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.^{(B) 26} He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately. ²⁷ And when he wished to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers,^{(C) 28} for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah^[a] is Jesus.^(D)

Paul in Ephesus

19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples.^{(E) 2} He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ Then he said, “Into what, then, were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.”^{(F) 4} Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.”^{(G) 5} On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied,^{(H) 7} altogether there were about twelve of them.