Crossing the Jordan

3 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim^(A) and went to the Jordan,^(B) where they camped before crossing over. ² After three days^(C) the officers^(D) went throughout the camp,^{(E) 3} giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant^(F) of the Lord your God, and the Levitical^(G) priests^(H) carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. ⁴ Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits^[a](I) between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

⁵ Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves,^(J) for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things^(K) among you.”

⁶ Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.

⁷ And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you^(L) in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.^{(M) 8} Tell the priests^(N) who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”

⁹ Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. ¹⁰ This is how you will know that the living God^(O) is among you^(P) and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites,^(Q) Hivites, Perizzites,^(R) Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.^{(S) 11} See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth^(T) will go into the Jordan ahead of you.^{(U) 12} Now then, choose twelve men^(V) from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. ¹³ And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth^(W)—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream^(X) will be cut off^(Y) and stand up in a heap.^(Z)”

¹⁴ So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant^(AA) went ahead^(AB) of them. ¹⁵ Now the Jordan^(AC) is at flood stage^(AD) all during harvest.^(AE) Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, ¹⁶ the water from upstream stopped flowing.^(AF) It piled up in a heap^(AG) a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan,^(AH) while the water flowing down^(AI) to the Sea of the Arabah^(AJ) (that is, the Dead Sea^(AK)) was completely cut off.^(AL) So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.^{(AM) 17} The priests^(AN) who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground,^(AO) while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.^(AP)

Paul Speaks to the Crowd^(A)

³⁷ As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks,^(B) he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?”

“Do you speak Greek?” he replied. ³⁸ “Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness^(C) some time ago?”^(D)

³⁹ Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus^(E) in Cilicia,^(F) a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.”

⁴⁰ After receiving the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned^(G) to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic^[a]:^(H) 22 ¹ “Brothers and fathers,^(I) listen now to my defense.”

² When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic,^(J) they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: ³ “I am a Jew,^(K) born in Tarsus^(L) of Cilicia,^(M) but brought up in this city. I studied under^(N) Gamaliel^(O) and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors.^(P) I was just as zealous^(Q) for God as any of you are today. ⁴ I persecuted^(R) the followers of this Way^(S) to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,^{(T) 5} as the high priest and all the Council^(U) can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates^(V) in Damascus,^(W) and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.^{(X) 7} I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

⁸ “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,^(Y) whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹ My companions saw the light,^(Z) but they did not understand the voice^(AA) of him who was speaking to me.

¹⁰ “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’^{(AB) 11} My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.^(AC)

¹² “A man named Ananias came to see me.^(AD) He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.^{(AE) 13} He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

¹⁴ “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors^(AF) has chosen you to know his will and to see^(AG) the Righteous One^(AH) and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵ You will be his witness^(AI) to all people of what you have seen^(AJ) and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized^(AK) and wash your sins away,^(AL) calling on his name.’^(AM)

¹⁷ “When I returned to Jerusalem^(AN) and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance^{(AO) 18} and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’

¹⁹ “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison^(AP) and beat^(AQ) those who believe in you. ²⁰ And when the blood of your martyr^[b] Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’^(AR)

²¹ “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”^(AS)

Paul the Roman Citizen

²² The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him!^(AT) He’s not fit to live!”^(AU)

4 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan,^(A) the Lord said to Joshua, ² “Choose twelve men^(B) from among the people, one from each tribe, ³ and tell them to take up twelve stones^(C) from the middle of the Jordan,^(D) from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.^(E)”

⁴ So Joshua called together the twelve men^(F) he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, ⁵ and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan.^(G) Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites,

²³ As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks^(A) and flinging dust into the air,^{(B) 24} the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.^(C) He directed^(D) that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”^(E)

²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

²⁹ Those who were about to interrogate him^(F) withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen,^(G) in chains.^(H)

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

³⁰ The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews.^(I) So the next day he released him^(J) and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin^(K) to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin^(L) and said, “My brothers,^(M) I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience^(N) to this day.” ² At this the high priest Ananias^(O) ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.^{(P) 3} Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!^(Q) You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”^(R)

⁴ Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!”

⁵ Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’^[a]”^(S)

⁶ Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees^(T) and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers,^(U) I am a Pharisee,^(V) descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.”^{(W) 7} When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection,^(X) and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)

⁹ There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees^(Y) stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,”^(Z) they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”^{(AA) 10} The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.^(AB)

¹¹ The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage!^(AC) As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”^(AD)