³ But when the inhabitants of ^(A)Gibeon ^(B)heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴ they worked craftily, and went and ^[a]pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and ^[b]mended, ⁵ old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. ⁶ And they went to Joshua, ^(C)to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a ^[c]covenant with us.”

⁷ Then the men of Israel said to the ^(D)Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell among us; so ^(E)how can we make a covenant with you?”

⁸ But they said to Joshua, ^(F)“We are your servants.”

And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”

⁹ So they said to him: ^(G)“From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God; for we have ^(H)heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt, ¹⁰ and ^(I)all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan—to Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. ¹¹ Therefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; now therefore, make a covenant with us.” ’ ¹² This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy. ¹³ And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.”

¹⁴ Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; ^(J)but they ^[d]did not ask counsel of the Lord. ¹⁵ So Joshua ^(K)made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.

¹⁶ And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. ¹⁷ Then the children of Israel journeyed and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were ^(L)Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim. ¹⁸ But the children of Israel did not ^[e]attack them, ^(M)because the rulers of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation complained against the rulers.

¹⁹ Then all the rulers said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them. ²⁰ This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest ^(N)wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.” ²¹ And the rulers said to them, “Let them live, but let them be ^(O)woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, as the rulers had ^(P)promised them.”

²² Then Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ^(Q)‘We are very far from you,’ when ^(R)you dwell near us? ²³ Now therefore, you are ^(S)cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves—woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

²⁴ So they answered Joshua and said, “Because your servants were clearly told that the Lord your God ^(T)commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore ^(U)we were very much afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. ²⁵ And now, here we are, ^(V)in your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to us.” ²⁶ So he did to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they did not kill them. ²⁷ And that day Joshua made them ^(W)woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, ^(X)in the place which He would choose, even to this day.

²⁴ And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the ^(A)faith in Christ. ²⁵ Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.” ²⁶ Meanwhile he also hoped that ^(B)money would be given him by Paul, ^[a]that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.

²⁷ But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, ^(C)wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.

Paul Appeals to Caesar

25 Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from ^(D)Caesarea to Jerusalem. ^2 (E)Then the ^[b]high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they petitioned him, ³ asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem—^(F)while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him. ⁴ But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there shortly. ⁵ “Therefore,” he said, “let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man, to see ^(G)if there is any fault in him.”

⁶ And when he had remained among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. ⁷ When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about ^(H)and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove, ⁸ while he answered for himself, ^(I)“Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.”

⁹ But Festus, ^(J)wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, ^(K)“Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?”

¹⁰ So Paul said, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know. ^11 (L)For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. ^(M)I appeal to Caesar.”

¹² Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!”

The Sun Stands Still

10 Now it came to pass when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem ^(A)heard how Joshua had taken ^(B)Ai and had utterly destroyed it—^(C)as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to ^(D)Ai and its king—and ^(E)how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, ² that they ^(F)feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. ³ Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying, ⁴ “Come up to me and help me, that we may attack Gibeon, for ^(G)it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.” ⁵ Therefore the five kings of the ^(H)Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, ^(I)gathered together and went up, they and all their armies, and camped before Gibeon and made war against it.

⁶ And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp ^(J)at Gilgal, saying, “Do not forsake your servants; come up to us quickly, save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered together against us.”

⁷ So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and ^(K)all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. ⁸ And the Lord said to Joshua, ^(L)“Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; ^(M)not a man of them shall ^(N)stand before you.” ⁹ Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal. ¹⁰ So the Lord ^(O)routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes ^(P)to Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as ^(Q)Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, ^(R)that the Lord cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.

¹² Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel:

^(U)Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. ¹⁴ And there has been ^(V)no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for ^(W)the Lord fought for Israel.

^15 (X)Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Paul Before Agrippa

¹³ And after some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. ¹⁴ When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying: ^(A)“There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix, ^15 (B)about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, when I was in Jerusalem, asking for a judgment against him. ^16 (C)To them I answered, ‘It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man ^[a]to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face, and has opportunity to answer for himself concerning the charge against him.’ ¹⁷ Therefore when they had come together, ^(D)without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in. ¹⁸ When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I ^[b]supposed, ^19 (E)but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. ²⁰ And because I was uncertain of such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters. ²¹ But when Paul ^(F)appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesar.”

²² Then ^(G)Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.”

“Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.”

²³ So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great ^[c]pomp, and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at Festus’ command ^(H)Paul was brought in. ²⁴ And Festus said: “King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom ^(I)the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was ^(J)not fit to live any longer. ²⁵ But when I found that ^(K)he had committed nothing deserving of death, ^(L)and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him. ²⁶ I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place I may have something to write. ²⁷ For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.”