Conquest of Northern Cities

11 When King Jabin of Hazor heard this news, he sent a message to: King Jobab of Madon, the kings of Shimron and Achshaph, and the kings of the north in the hill country, the Arabah south of Chinnereth,(A) the Judean foothills,[a] and the Slopes of Dor[b] to the west, the Canaanites in the east and west, the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah.(B) They went out with all their armies—a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore(C)—along with a vast number of horses and chariots. All these kings joined forces; they came and camped together at the Waters of Merom to attack Israel.(D)

The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for at this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to be killed before Israel.(E) You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.”(F) So Joshua and all his troops surprised them at the Waters of Merom and attacked them. The Lord handed them over to Israel, and they struck them down, pursuing them as far as greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and to the east as far as the Valley of Mizpeh.(G) They struck them down, leaving no survivors.(H) Joshua treated them as the Lord had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

10 At that time Joshua turned back, captured Hazor, and struck down its king with the sword, because Hazor had formerly been the leader of all these kingdoms. 11 They struck down everyone in it with the sword, completely destroying(I) them; he left no one alive. Then he burned Hazor.

12 Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and struck them down with the sword. He completely destroyed them, as Moses the Lord’s servant(J) had commanded. 13 However, Israel did not burn any of the cities that stood on their mounds except Hazor, which Joshua burned. 14 The Israelites plundered all the spoils and cattle of these cities for themselves. But they struck down every person with the sword until they had annihilated them, leaving no one alive. 15 Just as the Lord had commanded his servant Moses, Moses commanded Joshua. That is what Joshua did, leaving nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

Summary of Conquests

16 So Joshua took all this land—the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen,(K) the foothills, the Arabah, and the hill country of Israel with its foothills— 17 from Mount Halak,(L) which ascends to Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death.(M) 18 Joshua waged war with all these kings for a long time. 19 No city made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites who inhabited Gibeon;(N) all of them were taken in battle. 20 For it was the Lord’s intention to harden their hearts,(O) so that they would engage Israel in battle, be completely destroyed without mercy, and be annihilated, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

21 At that time Joshua proceeded to exterminate the Anakim(P) from the hill country—Hebron, Debir, Anab—all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua completely destroyed them with their cities. 22 No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites, except for some remaining in Gaza, Gath,(Q) and Ashdod.

23 So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the Lord had told Moses. Joshua then gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. After this, the land had rest from war.(R)

Footnotes

  1. 11:2 Or Shephelah, also in v. 16
  2. 11:2 Or and in Naphoth-dor

Psalm 144

A King’s Prayer

Of David.

Blessed be the Lord, my rock(A)
who trains my hands for battle
and my fingers for warfare.(B)
He is my faithful love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer.
He is my shield,(C) and I take refuge in him;(D)
he subdues my people[a] under me.(E)

Lord, what is a human that you care for him,
a son of man[b] that you think of him?(F)
A human is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.(G)

Lord, part your heavens and come down.(H)
Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.(I)
Flash your lightning and scatter the foe;[c]
shoot your arrows and rout them.(J)
Reach down[d] from on high;(K)
rescue me from deep water, and set me free
from the grasp of foreigners(L)
whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.(M)

God, I will sing a new song to you;
I will play on a ten-stringed harp for you(N)
10 the one who gives victory to kings,
who frees his servant David
from the deadly sword.(O)
11 Set me free and rescue me
from foreigners(P)
whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.(Q)

12 Then our sons will be like plants
nurtured in their youth,
our daughters, like corner pillars
that are carved in the palace style.(R)
13 Our storehouses will be full,
supplying all kinds of produce;(S)
our flocks will increase by thousands
and tens of thousands in our open fields.(T)
14 Our cattle will be well fed.[e]
There will be no breach in the walls,
no going into captivity,[f]
and no cry of lament in our public squares.(U)
15 Happy are the people with such blessings.
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.(V)

Footnotes

  1. 144:2 Some Hb mss, DSS, Aq, Syr, Tg, Jer read subdues peoples; 2Sm 22:48; Ps 18:47
  2. 144:3 Or a mere mortal
  3. 144:6 Lit scatter them
  4. 144:7 Lit down your hands
  5. 144:14 Or will bear heavy loads, or will be pregnant
  6. 144:14 Or be no plague, no miscarriage

The Depravity of Jerusalem

Roam(A) through the streets of Jerusalem.
Investigate;[a]
search in her squares.
If you find one person,(B)
any who acts justly,
who pursues faithfulness,
then I will forgive her.(C)
When they say, “As the Lord lives,”(D)
they are swearing falsely.(E)
Lord, don’t your eyes look for faithfulness?(F)
You have struck them, but they felt no pain.(G)
You finished them off,
but they refused to accept discipline.(H)
They made their faces harder than rock,(I)
and they refused to return.(J)

Then I thought:

They are just the poor;
they have been foolish.
For they don’t understand the way of the Lord,(K)
the justice of their God.(L)
I will go to the powerful
and speak to them.
Surely they know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.(M)
However, these also had broken the yoke
and torn off the chains.(N)
Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down.(O)
A wolf from arid plains will ravage them.
A leopard(P) stalks their cities.
Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces
because their rebellious acts are many,(Q)
their unfaithful deeds numerous.(R)

Why should I forgive you?
Your children have abandoned me
and sworn by those who are not gods.(S)
I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery;(T)
they gashed themselves(U) at the[b] prostitute’s house.
They are well-fed,[c] eager[d] stallions,(V)
each neighing(W) after someone else’s wife.(X)
Should I not punish them for these things?(Y)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge myself(Z)
on such a nation as this?

10 Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them,(AA)
but do not finish them off.(AB)
Prune away her shoots,
for they do not belong to the Lord.(AC)
11 They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
have dealt very treacherously with me.(AD)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
12 They have contradicted the Lord
and insisted, “It won’t happen.[e](AE)
Harm won’t come to us;
we won’t see sword or famine.”
13 The prophets become only wind,
for the Lord’s word is not in them.
This will in fact happen to them.

Coming Judgment

14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Armies says:

Because you have spoken this word,
I am going to make my words
become fire in your mouth.(AF)
These people are the wood,
and the fire will consume them.(AG)
15 I am about to bring a nation
from far away against you,(AH)
house of Israel.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
It is an established nation,
an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know
and whose speech you do not understand.(AI)
16 Their quiver is like an open grave;(AJ)
they are all warriors.
17 They will consume your harvest and your food.(AK)
They will consume your sons and your daughters.
They will consume your flocks and your herds.
They will consume your vines and your fig trees.
With the sword they will destroy
your fortified cities(AL) in which you trust.

18 “But even in those days”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will not finish you off.(AM) 19 When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ You will respond to them, ‘Just as you abandoned me(AN) and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’(AO)

20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying:

21 Hear this,
you foolish and senseless[f] people.(AP)
They have eyes, but they don’t see.
They have ears, but they don’t hear.(AQ)
22 Do you not fear me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Do you not tremble before me,
the one who set the sand as the boundary of the sea,
an enduring barrier that it cannot cross?(AR)
The waves surge, but they cannot prevail.
They roar but cannot pass over it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.(AS)
They have turned aside and have gone away.
24 They have not said to themselves,
‘Let’s fear the Lord our God,(AT)
who gives the seasonal rains, both autumn and spring,(AU)
who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.’
25 Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you.
Your sins have withheld my bounty from you,(AV)
26 for wicked men live among my people.
They watch like hunters[g] lying in wait.[h](AW)
They set a trap;(AX)
they catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
so their houses are full of deceit.(AY)
Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.
28 They have become fat(AZ) and sleek.
They have also excelled in evil matters.
They have not taken up cases,
such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,
and they have not defended the rights of the needy.(BA)
29 Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge myself(BB)
on such a nation as this?

30 “An appalling, horrible thing
has taken place in the land.(BC)
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,(BD)
and the priests rule by their own authority.
My people love it like this.
But what will you do at the end of it?(BE)

Footnotes

  1. 5:1 Lit See and know
  2. 5:7 Or adultery and trooped to the, or adultery and lodged at the; Hb obscure
  3. 5:8 Lit well-equipped; Hb obscure
  4. 5:8 Lit early-rising; Hb obscure
  5. 5:12 Lit “He does not exist
  6. 5:21 Lit without heart
  7. 5:26 Lit hunters of birds
  8. 5:26 Hb obscure

The Question of Divorce

19 When Jesus had finished saying these things,(A) he departed from Galilee and went to the region of Judea across the Jordan.(B) Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.(C) Some Pharisees approached him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any grounds?” (D)

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that he who created[a] them in the beginning made them male and female,[b](E) and he also said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?[c](F) So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

“Why then,” they asked him, “did Moses command us to give divorce papers(G) and to send her away?”

He told them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts, but it was not like that from the beginning. I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery.”[d](H)

10 His disciples(I) said to him, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it’s better not to marry.”

11 He responded, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given.(J) 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs who were made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept it should accept it.”

Blessing the Children

13 Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.(K) 14 Jesus said, “Leave the little children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to me, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”[e](L) 15 After placing his hands on them, he went on from there.

The Rich Young Ruler

16 Just then someone came up and asked him,(M) “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?” (N)

17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?”[f] he said to him. “There is only one who is good.[g] If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”(O)

18 “Which ones?” he asked him.

Jesus answered: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness;(P) 19 honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself.[h](Q)

20 “I have kept all these,”[i] the young man told him. “What do I still lack?”

21 “If you want to be perfect,”[j] Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor,(R) and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 When the young man heard that, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.

Possessions and the Kingdom

23 Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.(S) 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”(T)

25 When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved?”

26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”(U)

27 Then Peter responded to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you. So what will there be for us?”

28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things,(V) when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne,(W) you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother[k] or children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life.(X) 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.(Y)

Footnotes

  1. 19:4 Other mss read made
  2. 19:4 Gn 1:27; 5:2
  3. 19:5 Gn 2:24
  4. 19:9 Other mss add Also whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery; Mt 5:32
  5. 19:14 Lit heaven is of such ones
  6. 19:17 Other mss read “Why do you call me good?”
  7. 19:17 Other mss read “No one is good but one—God
  8. 19:18–19 Ex 20:12–16; Lv 19:18; Dt 5:16–20
  9. 19:20 Other mss add from my youth
  10. 19:21 Or complete
  11. 19:29 Other mss add or wife

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