Joshua's Charge to Israel's Leaders

23 A long time afterward, when the Lord had given ^(A)rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua ^(B)was old and well advanced in years, ² Joshua ^(C)summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. ³ And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, ^(D)for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. ⁴ Behold, ^(E)I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. ⁵ The Lord your God ^(F)will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, ^(G)just as the Lord your God promised you. ⁶ Therefore, ^(H)be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, ^(I)turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, ^7 (J)that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you ^(K)or make mention of the names of their gods ^(L)or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, ^8 (M)but you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. ^9 (N)For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, ^(O)no man has been able to stand before you to this day. ^10 (P)One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God ^(Q)who fights for you, just as he promised you. ^11 (R)Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. ¹² For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you ^(S)and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, ¹³ know for certain that ^(T)the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, ^(U)but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴ “And now ^(V)I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that ^(W)not one word has failed of all the good things^[a] that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. ¹⁵ But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you ^(X)all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, ¹⁶ if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”

Paul on Malta

28 After we were brought safely through, ^(A)we then learned that ^(B)the island was called Malta. ^2 (C)The native people^[a] showed us unusual ^(D)kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. ³ When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. ⁴ When ^(E)the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ^(F)“No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, ^(G)Justice^[b] has not allowed him to live.” ⁵ He, however, ^(H)shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶ They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, ^(I)they changed their minds and ^(J)said that he was a god.

⁷ Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. ⁸ It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and ^(K)prayed, and ^(L)putting his hands on him, healed him. ⁹ And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. ¹⁰ They also honored us greatly,^[c] and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

Paul Arrives at Rome

¹¹ After three months we set sail in ^(M)a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods^[d] as a figurehead. ¹² Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. ¹³ And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. ¹⁴ There we found ^(N)brothers^[e] and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵ And ^(O)the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, ^(P)Paul thanked God and took courage.

The Covenant Renewal at Shechem

24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel ^(A)to Shechem and ^(B)summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel. And ^(C)they presented themselves before God. ² And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, ^(D)your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates,^[a] Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and ^(E)they served other gods. ^3 (F)Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River^[b] and ^(G)led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. ^(H)I gave him Isaac. ⁴ And to Isaac I gave ^(I)Jacob and Esau. ^(J)And I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, ^(K)but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. ^5 (L)And I sent Moses and Aaron, ^(M)and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and ^(N)afterward I brought you out.

⁶ “‘Then ^(O)I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and ^(P)you came to the sea. ^(Q)And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. ^7 (R)And when they cried to the Lord, ^(S)he put darkness between you and the Egyptians ^(T)and made the sea come upon them and cover them; ^(U)and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. ^(V)And you lived in the wilderness a long time. ⁸ Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan. ^(W)They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. ^9 (X)Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. ^(Y)And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, ^10 (Z)but I would not listen to Balaam. ^(AA)Indeed, he blessed you. So I delivered you out of his hand. ^11 (AB)And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, ^(AC)and the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also ^(AD)the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand. ¹² And I sent ^(AE)the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was ^(AF)not by your sword or by your bow. ¹³ I gave you a land on which you had not labored ^(AG)and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’

Choose Whom You Will Serve

^14 (AH)“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. ^(AI)Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ^15 (AJ)And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, ^(AK)choose this day whom you will serve, whether ^(AL)the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or ^(AM)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. ^(AN)But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

¹⁶ Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, ¹⁷ for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. ¹⁸ And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is ^(AO)a holy God. He is ^(AP)a jealous God; ^(AQ)he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. ^20 (AR)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then ^(AS)he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” ²¹ And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” ²² Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that ^(AT)you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³ He said, “Then ^(AU)put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” ²⁴ And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” ²⁵ So Joshua ^(AV)made a covenant with the people that day, and put in place ^(AW)statutes and rules for them at Shechem. ²⁶ And Joshua ^(AX)wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And ^(AY)he took a large stone and set it up there ^(AZ)under the terebinth that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. ²⁷ And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, ^(BA)this stone shall be a witness against us, for ^(BB)it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us. Therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” ²⁸ So Joshua ^(BC)sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

¹⁶ And when we came into Rome, ^(A)Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.

Paul in Rome

¹⁷ After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, ^(B)though I had done nothing against our people or ^(C)the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. ¹⁸ When they had examined me, they ^(D)wished to set me at liberty, ^(E)because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. ¹⁹ But because the Jews objected, I was compelled ^(F)to appeal to Caesar—though I had no charge to bring against ^(G)my nation. ²⁰ For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is ^(H)because of ^(I)the hope of Israel that I am wearing ^(J)this ^(K)chain.” ²¹ And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of ^(L)the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. ²² But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this ^(M)sect we know that everywhere ^(N)it is spoken against.”

²³ When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening ^(O)he expounded to them, testifying to ^(P)the kingdom of God and ^(Q)trying to convince them about Jesus ^(R)both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. ²⁴ And ^(S)some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. ²⁵ And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: ^(T)“The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁸ Therefore let it be known to you that ^(Y)this ^(Z)salvation of God ^(AA)has been sent to the Gentiles; ^(AB)they will listen.”^[a]

³⁰ He lived there two whole years at his own expense,^[b] and ^(AC)welcomed all who came to him, ^31 (AD)proclaiming ^(AE)the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ ^(AF)with all boldness and ^(AG)without hindrance.