Israel Crosses the Jordan

3 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out ^(A)from ^[a]Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. ² So it was, ^(B)after three days, that the officers went through the camp; ³ and they commanded the people, saying, ^(C)“When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, ^(D)and the priests, the Levites, ^[b]bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. ^4 (E)Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”

⁵ And Joshua said to the people, ^(F)“Sanctify^[c] yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” ⁶ Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, ^(G)“Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.”

So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.

⁷ And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to ^(H)exalt^[d] you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, ^(I)as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. ⁸ You shall command ^(J)the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, ^(K)you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”

⁹ So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” ¹⁰ And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that ^(L)the living God is among you, and that He will without fail ^(M)drive out from before you the ^(N)Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: ¹¹ Behold, the ark of the covenant of ^(O)the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. ¹² Now therefore, ^(P)take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. ¹³ And it shall come to pass, ^(Q)as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, ^(R)the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they ^(S)shall stand as a heap.”

¹⁴ So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ^(T)ark of the covenant before the people, ¹⁵ and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and ^(U)the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the ^(V)Jordan overflows all its banks ^(W)during the whole time of harvest), ¹⁶ that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away ^[e]at Adam, the city that is beside ^(X)Zaretan. So the waters that went down ^(Y)into the Sea of the Arabah, ^(Z)the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; ^(AA)and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.

Addressing the Jerusalem Mob^(A)

³⁷ Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?”

He replied, “Can you speak Greek? ^38 (B)Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?”

³⁹ But Paul said, ^(C)“I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no ^[a]mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”

⁴⁰ So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and ^(D)motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the ^(E)Hebrew language, saying,

Paul’s Defense at Jerusalem

22 “Brethren^(F) and fathers, hear my defense before you now.” ² And when they heard that he spoke to them in the ^(G)Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent.

Then he said: ^3 (H)“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city ^(I)at the feet of ^(J)Gamaliel, taught ^(K)according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and ^(L)was zealous toward God ^(M)as you all are today. ^4 (N)I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, ⁵ as also the high priest bears me witness, and ^(O)all the council of the elders, ^(P)from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus ^(Q)to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ “Now ^(R)it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. ⁷ And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ ⁸ So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’

⁹ “And ^(S)those who were with me indeed saw the light ^[b]and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. ¹⁰ So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’ ¹¹ And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

¹² “Then ^(T)a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, ^(U)having a good testimony with all the ^(V)Jews who dwelt there, ¹³ came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. ¹⁴ Then he said, ^(W)‘The God of our fathers ^(X)has chosen you that you should ^(Y)know His will, and ^(Z)see the Just One, ^(AA)and hear the voice of His mouth. ^15 (AB)For you will be His witness to all men of ^(AC)what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, ^(AD)and wash away your sins, ^(AE)calling on the name of the Lord.’

¹⁷ “Now ^(AF)it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance ¹⁸ and ^(AG)saw Him saying to me, ^(AH)‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’ ¹⁹ So I said, ‘Lord, ^(AI)they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and ^(AJ)beat those who believe on You. ^20 (AK)And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by ^(AL)consenting ^[c]to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ ²¹ Then He said to me, ‘Depart, ^(AM)for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”

Paul’s Roman Citizenship

²² And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, ^(AN)“Away with such a fellow from the earth, for ^(AO)he is not fit to live!”

The Memorial Stones

4 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed ^(A)over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: ^2 (B)“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, ³ and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where ^(C)the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in ^(D)the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ”

⁴ Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; ⁵ and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, ⁶ that this may be ^(E)a sign among you ^(F)when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ ⁷ Then you shall answer them that ^(G)the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for ^(H)a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

⁸ And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. ⁹ Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.

¹⁰ So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over. ¹¹ Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ^(I)ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people. ¹² And ^(J)the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. ¹³ About forty thousand ^[a]prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho. ¹⁴ On that day the Lord ^(K)exalted^[b] Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.

¹⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, ¹⁶ “Command the priests who bear ^(L)the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁷ Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁸ And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place ^(M)and overflowed all its banks as before.

¹⁹ Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped ^(N)in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. ²⁰ And ^(O)those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. ²¹ Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: ^(P)“When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ ²² then you shall let your children know, saying, ^(Q)‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on ^(R)dry land’; ²³ for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, ^(S)which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, ^24 (T)that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is ^(U)mighty, that you may ^(V)fear the Lord your God ^[c]forever.”

The Second Generation Circumcised

5 So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites ^(W)who were by the sea, ^(X)heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until ^[d]we had crossed over, that ^[e]their heart melted; ^(Y)and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.

²³ Then, as they cried out and ^[a]tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, ²⁴ the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him. ²⁵ And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, ^(A)“Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?”

²⁶ When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, “Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman.”

²⁷ Then the commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?”

He said, “Yes.”

²⁸ The commander answered, “With a large sum I obtained this citizenship.”

And Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”

²⁹ Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

The Sanhedrin Divided

³⁰ The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

The Jerusalem Jews Plot to Kill Paul

23 Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, ^(B)I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” ² And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him ^(C)to strike him on the mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and ^(D)do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”

⁴ And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”

⁵ Then Paul said, ^(E)“I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ^(F)‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”

⁶ But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, ^(G)I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; ^(H)concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”

⁷ And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. ^8 (I)For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. ⁹ Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, ^(J)“We find no evil in this man; ^[b]but ^(K)if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, ^(L)let us not fight against God.”

¹⁰ Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.

The Plot Against Paul

¹¹ But ^(M)the following night the Lord stood by him and said, ^[c]“Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in ^(N)Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at ^(O)Rome.”