The Empty Tomb^(A)

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene^(B) went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.^{(C) 2} So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved,^(D) and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”^(E)

³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.^{(F) 4} Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in^(G) at the strips of linen^(H) lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head.^(I) The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first,^(J) also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture^(K) that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)^{(L) 10} Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb^{(M) 12} and saw two angels in white,^(N) seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”^(O)

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”^{(P) 14} At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there,^(Q) but she did not realize that it was Jesus.^(R)

¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?^(S) Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic,^(T) “Rabboni!”^(U) (which means “Teacher”).

¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers^(V) and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father^(W) and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

¹⁸ Mary Magdalene^(X) went to the disciples^(Y) with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders,^(Z) Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace^(AA) be with you!”^{(AB) 20} After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.^(AC) The disciples were overjoyed^(AD) when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!^(AE) As the Father has sent me,^(AF) I am sending you.”^{(AG) 22} And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.^{(AH) 23} If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”^(AI)

Jesus Appears to Thomas

²⁴ Now Thomas^(AJ) (also known as Didymus^[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side,^(AK) I will not believe.”^(AL)

²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace^(AM) be with you!”^{(AN) 27} Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”^(AO)

²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed;^(AP) blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”^(AQ)

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

³⁰ Jesus performed many other signs^(AR) in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.^{(AS) 31} But these are written that you may believe^[b](AT) that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God,^(AU) and that by believing you may have life in his name.^(AV)

Crossing the Jordan

3 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim^(A) and went to the Jordan,^(B) where they camped before crossing over. ² After three days^(C) the officers^(D) went throughout the camp,^{(E) 3} giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant^(F) of the Lord your God, and the Levitical^(G) priests^(H) carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. ⁴ Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits^[a](I) between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

⁵ Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves,^(J) for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things^(K) among you.”

⁶ Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.

⁷ And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you^(L) in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.^{(M) 8} Tell the priests^(N) who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”

⁹ Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. ¹⁰ This is how you will know that the living God^(O) is among you^(P) and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites,^(Q) Hivites, Perizzites,^(R) Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.^{(S) 11} See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth^(T) will go into the Jordan ahead of you.^{(U) 12} Now then, choose twelve men^(V) from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. ¹³ And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth^(W)—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream^(X) will be cut off^(Y) and stand up in a heap.^(Z)”

¹⁴ So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant^(AA) went ahead^(AB) of them. ¹⁵ Now the Jordan^(AC) is at flood stage^(AD) all during harvest.^(AE) Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, ¹⁶ the water from upstream stopped flowing.^(AF) It piled up in a heap^(AG) a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan,^(AH) while the water flowing down^(AI) to the Sea of the Arabah^(AJ) (that is, the Dead Sea^(AK)) was completely cut off.^(AL) So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.^{(AM) 17} The priests^(AN) who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground,^(AO) while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.^(AP)

4 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan,^(AQ) the Lord said to Joshua, ² “Choose twelve men^(AR) from among the people, one from each tribe, ³ and tell them to take up twelve stones^(AS) from the middle of the Jordan,^(AT) from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.^(AU)”

⁴ So Joshua called together the twelve men^(AV) he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, ⁵ and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan.^(AW) Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, ⁶ to serve as a sign^(AX) among you. In the future, when your children^(AY) ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’^{(AZ) 7} tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off^(BA) before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial^(BB) to the people of Israel forever.”

⁸ So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones^(BC) from the middle of the Jordan,^(BD) according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua;^(BE) and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. ⁹ Joshua set up the twelve stones^(BF) that had been^[b] in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.^(BG)

¹⁰ Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, ¹¹ and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. ¹² The men of Reuben,^(BH) Gad^(BI) and the half-tribe of Manasseh^(BJ) crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites,^(BK) as Moses had directed them.^{(BL) 13} About forty thousand armed for battle^(BM) crossed over^(BN) before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war.

¹⁴ That day the Lord exalted^(BO) Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses.

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Joshua, ¹⁶ “Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant law^(BP) to come up out of the Jordan.”

¹⁷ So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”

¹⁸ And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place^(BQ) and ran at flood stage^(BR) as before.

¹⁹ On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal^(BS) on the eastern border of Jericho. ²⁰ And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones^(BT) they had taken out of the Jordan. ²¹ He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’^{(BU) 22} tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’^{(BV) 23} For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea^[c] when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.^{(BW) 24} He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know^(BX) that the hand of the Lord is powerful^(BY) and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.^(BZ)”

5 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast^(CA) heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they^[d] had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear^(CB) and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.

Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal

² At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives^(CC) and circumcise^(CD) the Israelites again.” ³ So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.^[e]

⁴ Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age^(CE)—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt.^{(CF) 5} All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not. ⁶ The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness^(CG) forty years^(CH) until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us,^(CI) a land flowing with milk and honey.^{(CJ) 7} So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. ⁸ And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.^(CK)

⁹ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal^[f](CL) to this day.

¹⁰ On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month,^(CM) while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover.^{(CN) 11} The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land:^(CO) unleavened bread^(CP) and roasted grain.^{(CQ) 12} The manna stopped the day after^[g] they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.^(CR)

The Fall of Jericho

¹³ Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man^(CS) standing in front of him with a drawn sword^(CT) in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

¹⁴ “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown^(CU) to the ground^(CV) in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord^[h] have for his servant?”

¹⁵ The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.”^(CW) And Joshua did so.