Joshua 23
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Joshua Exhorts the People
23 A long time afterward, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies all around and Joshua was old and well advanced in years,(A) 2 Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders and heads, their judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years,(B) 3 and you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you.(C) 4 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 will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight, and you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God promised you.(D) 6 Therefore be very steadfast to observe and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right nor to the left,(E) 7 so that you may not be mixed with these nations left here among you, or make mention of the names of their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or bow yourselves down to them,(F) 8 but hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.(G) 9 For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations, and as for you, no one has been able to withstand you to this day.(H) 10 One of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, as he promised you.(I) 11 Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. 12 For if you turn back and join the survivors of these nations left here among you and intermarry with them, so that you marry their women and they yours,(J) 13 know assuredly that the Lord your God will not continue to drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a scourge on your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the Lord your God has given you.(K)
14 “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one thing has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you; all have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.(L) 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 all the bad things until he has destroyed you from this good land that the Lord your God has given you.(M) 16 If you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he enjoined on 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 the good land that he has given to you.”
Acts 28:1-15
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Paul on the Island of Malta
28 After we had reached safety, we then learned that the island was called Malta.(A) 2 The local people showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcomed all of us around it.(B) 3 Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the local people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man must be a murderer; though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”(C) 5 He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.(D) 6 They were expecting him to swell up or drop dead, but after they had waited a long time and saw that nothing unusual had happened to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.(E)
7 Now in the vicinity of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8 It so happened that the father of Publius lay sick in bed with fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and cured him by praying and putting his hands on him.(F) 9 After this happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. 10 They bestowed many honors on us, and when we were about to sail, they put on board all the provisions we needed.
Paul Arrives at Rome
11 Three months later we set sail on a ship that had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian ship with the Twin Brothers as its figurehead.(G) 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there for three days; 13 then we weighed anchor and came to Rhegium. After one day there a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 There we found brothers and sisters and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome.(H) 15 The brothers and sisters from there, when they heard of us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.
Read full chapter
Joshua 24:1-28
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Tribes Renew the Covenant
24 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.(A) 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods.(B) 3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac,(C) 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.(D) 5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst, and afterward I brought you out.(E) 6 When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.[a](F) 7 When they cried out to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them, and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. Afterward 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; they fought with you, and I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.(G) 9 Then King Balak son of Zippor of Moab set out to fight against Israel. He sent and invited Balaam son of Beor to curse you,(H) 10 but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you, so I rescued you out of his hand. 11 When you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, as well as the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I handed them over to you.(I) 12 I sent swarms of hornets[b] ahead of you that drove out before you the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow.(J) 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plant.(K)
14 “Now, therefore, revere the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt and serve the Lord.(L) 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living, but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”(M)
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 ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along 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 cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.(N) 20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.”(O) 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!” 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”(P) 24 The people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey.”(Q) 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.(R) 26 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “See, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness against you if you deal falsely with your God.”(S) 28 So Joshua sent the people away to their inheritances.
Read full chapter
Acts 28:16-31
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
16 When we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.(A)
Paul and Jewish Leaders in Rome
17 Three days later he called together the local leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers,[a] though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, yet I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.(B) 18 When they had examined me, the Romans[b] wanted to release me because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case.(C) 19 But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to the emperor—even though I had no charge to bring against my people.(D) 20 For this reason therefore I asked to see you and speak with you, since it is for the sake of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”(E) 21 They replied, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken anything evil about you.(F) 22 But we would like to hear from you what you think, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”(G)
Paul Preaches in Rome
23 After they had set a day to meet with him, they came to him at his lodgings in great numbers. From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. 24 Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe. 25 So they disagreed with each other, and as they were leaving Paul made one further statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah,
26 ‘Go to this people and say,
You will indeed listen but never understand,
and you will indeed look but never perceive.
27 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
otherwise they might look with their eyes
and listen with their ears
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.’
28 “Let it be known to you, then, that this salvation of God has been sent to the gentiles; they will listen.”[c]
30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense[d] and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
Read full chapterNew Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.