Joshua 9
Good News Translation
The Gibeonites Deceive Joshua
9 The victories of Israel became known to all the kings west of the Jordan—in the hills, in the foothills, and all along the coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea as far north as Lebanon; these were the kings of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 2 They all came together and joined forces to fight against Joshua and the Israelites.
3 But the people of Gibeon, who were Hivites, heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 and they decided to deceive him. They went and got some food and loaded their donkeys with worn-out sacks and patched-up wineskins. 5 They put on ragged clothes and worn-out sandals that had been mended. The bread they took with them was dry and moldy. 6 Then they went to the camp at Gilgal and said to Joshua and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant land. We want you to make a treaty with us.”
7 (A)But the Israelites said, “Why should we make a treaty with you? Maybe you live nearby.”
8 They said to Joshua, “We are at your service.”
Joshua asked them, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”
9 Then they told him this story: “We have come from a very distant land, sir, because we have heard of the Lord your God. We have heard about everything that he did in Egypt 10 (B)and what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan: King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 11 Our leaders and all the people that live in our land told us to get some food ready for a trip and to go and meet you. We were told to put ourselves at your service and ask you to make a treaty with us. 12 Look at our bread. When we left home with it and started out to meet you, it was still warm. But look! Now it is dry and moldy. 13 When we filled these wineskins, they were new, but look! They are torn. Our clothes and sandals are worn out from the long trip.”
14 The Israelites accepted some food from them, but did not consult the Lord about it. 15 Joshua made a treaty of friendship with the people of Gibeon and allowed them to live. The leaders of the community of Israel gave their solemn promise to keep the treaty.
16 Three days after the treaty had been made, the Israelites learned that these people did indeed live nearby. 17 So the people of Israel started out and three days later arrived at the cities where these people lived: Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. 18 But the Israelites could not kill them, because their leaders had made a solemn promise to them in the name of the Lord, Israel's God. All the people complained to the leaders about this, 19 but they answered, “We have made our solemn promise to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. Now we cannot harm them. 20 We must let them live because of our promise; if we don't, God will punish us. 21 Let them live, but they will have to cut wood and carry water for us.” This was what the leaders suggested.
22 Joshua ordered the people of Gibeon to be brought to him, and he asked them, “Why did you deceive us and tell us that you were from far away, when you live right here? 23 Because you did this, God has condemned you. Your people will always be slaves, cutting wood and carrying water for the sanctuary of my God.”
24 They answered, “We did it, sir, because we learned that it was really true that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to kill the people living in it as you advanced. We did it because we were terrified of you; we were in fear of our lives. 25 Now we are in your power; do with us what you think is right.” 26 So this is what Joshua did: he protected them and did not allow the people of Israel to kill them. 27 But at the same time he made them slaves, to cut wood and carry water for the people of Israel and for the Lord's altar. To this day they have continued to do this work in the place where the Lord has chosen to be worshiped.
Psalm 140
Good News Translation
A Prayer for Protection[a]
140 Save me, Lord, from evildoers;
keep me safe from violent people.
2 They are always plotting evil,
always stirring up quarrels.
3 (A)Their tongues are like deadly snakes;
their words are like a cobra's poison.
4 Protect me, Lord, from the power of the wicked;
keep me safe from violent people
who plot my downfall.
5 The proud have set a trap for me;
they have laid their snares,
and along the path they have set traps to catch me.
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
Hear my cry for help, Lord!
7 My Sovereign Lord, my strong defender,
you have protected me in battle.
8 Lord, don't give the wicked what they want;
don't let their plots succeed.
9 Don't let my enemies be victorious;[b]
make their threats against me fall back on them.
10 May red-hot coals fall on them;
may they be thrown into a pit and never get out.
11 May those who accuse others falsely not succeed;
may evil overtake violent people and destroy them.
12 Lord, I know that you defend the cause of the poor
and the rights of the needy.
13 The righteous will praise you indeed;
they will live in your presence.
Notas al pie
- Psalm 140:1 HEBREW TITLE: A psalm by David.
- Psalm 140:9 Probable text Don't let my enemies be victorious; Hebrew unclear.
Psalm 141
Good News Translation
An Evening Prayer[a]
141 I call to you, Lord; help me now!
Listen to me when I call to you.
2 (A)Receive my prayer as incense,
my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice.
3 Lord, place a guard at my mouth,
a sentry at the door of my lips.
4 Keep me from wanting to do wrong
and from joining evil people in their wickedness.
May I never take part in their feasts.
5 Good people may punish me and rebuke me in kindness,
but I will never accept honor from evil people,
because I am always praying against their evil deeds.
6 When their rulers are thrown down from rocky cliffs,
the people will admit that my words were true.
7 Like wood that is split and chopped into bits,
so their bones are scattered at the edge of the grave.[b]
8 But I keep trusting in you, my Sovereign Lord.
I seek your protection;
don't let me die!
9 Protect me from the traps they have set for me,
from the snares of those evildoers.
10 May the wicked fall into their own traps
while I go by unharmed.
Notas al pie
- Psalm 141:1 HEBREW TITLE: A psalm by David.
- Psalm 141:7 Verses 5-7 in Hebrew are unclear.
Jeremiah 3
Good News Translation
Unfaithful Israel
3 The Lord says, “If a man divorces his wife, and she leaves him and becomes another man's wife, he cannot take her back again. This would completely defile the land. But, Israel, you have had many lovers, and now you want to return to me! 2 Look up at the hilltops. Is there any place where you have not acted like a prostitute? You waited for lovers along the roadside, as an Arab waits for victims in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution. 3 That is why the rains were held back, and the spring showers did not come. You even look like a prostitute; you have no shame.
4 “And now you say to me, ‘You are my father, and you have loved me ever since I was a child. 5 You won't always be angry; you won't be mad at me forever.’ Israel, that is what you said, but you did all the evil you could.”
Israel and Judah Must Repent
6 (A)When Josiah was king, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what Israel, that unfaithful woman, has done? She has turned away from me, and on every high hill and under every green tree she has acted like a prostitute. 7 I thought that after she had done all this, she would surely return to me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it all. 8 Judah also saw that I divorced Israel and sent her away because she had turned from me and had become a prostitute. But Judah, Israel's unfaithful sister, was not afraid. She too became a prostitute 9 and was not at all ashamed. She defiled the land, and she committed adultery by worshiping stones and trees. 10 And after all this, Judah, Israel's unfaithful sister, only pretended to return to me; she was not sincere. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
11 Then the Lord told me that, even though Israel had turned away from him, she had proved to be better than unfaithful Judah. 12 He told me to go and say to Israel, “Unfaithful Israel, come back to me. I am merciful and will not be angry; I will not be angry with you forever. 13 Only admit that you are guilty and that you have rebelled against the Lord, your God. Confess that under every green tree you have given your love to foreign gods and that you have not obeyed my commands. I, the Lord, have spoken.
14 “Unfaithful people, come back; you belong to me. I will take one of you from each town and two from each clan, and I will bring you back to Mount Zion. 15 I will give you rulers who obey me, and they will rule you with wisdom and understanding. 16 Then when you have become numerous in that land, people will no longer talk about my Covenant Box. They will no longer think about it or remember it; they will not even need it, nor will they make another one. 17 When that time comes, Jerusalem will be called ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and all nations will gather there to worship me. They will no longer do what their stubborn and evil hearts tell them. 18 Israel will join with Judah, and together they will come from exile in the country in the north and will return to the land that I gave your ancestors as a permanent possession.”
The Idolatry of God's People
19 The Lord says,
“Israel, I wanted to accept you as my child
and give you a delightful land,
the most beautiful land in all the world.
I wanted you to call me father
and never again turn away from me.
20 But like an unfaithful wife,
you have not been faithful to me.
I, the Lord, have spoken.”
21 A noise is heard on the hilltops:
it is the people of Israel crying and pleading
because they have lived sinful lives
and have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 Return, all of you who have turned away from the Lord;
he will heal you and make you faithful.
You say, “Yes, we are coming to the Lord because he is our God. 23 We were not helped at all by our pagan worship on the hilltops. Help for Israel comes only from the Lord our God. 24 But the worship of Baal, the god of shame, has made us lose flocks and herds, sons and daughters—everything that our ancestors have worked for since ancient times. 25 We should lie down in shame and let our disgrace cover us. We and our ancestors have always sinned against the Lord our God; we have never obeyed his commands.”
Matthew 17
Good News Translation
The Transfiguration(A)
17 Six days later Jesus took with him Peter and the brothers James and John and led them up a high mountain where they were alone. 2 As they looked on, a change came over Jesus: his face was shining like the sun, and his clothes were dazzling white. 3 Then the three disciples saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. 4 So Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, “Lord, how good it is that we are here! If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 (B)While he was talking, a shining cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased—listen to him!”
6 When the disciples heard the voice, they were so terrified that they threw themselves face downward on the ground. 7 Jesus came to them and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don't be afraid!” 8 So they looked up and saw no one there but Jesus.
9 As they came down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don't tell anyone about this vision you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from death.”
10 (C)Then the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah has to come first?”
11 (D)“Elijah is indeed coming first,” answered Jesus, “and he will get everything ready. 12 (E)But I tell you that Elijah has already come and people did not recognize him, but treated him just as they pleased. In the same way they will also mistreat the Son of Man.”
13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon(F)
14 When they returned to the crowd, a man came to Jesus, knelt before him, 15 and said, “Sir, have mercy on my son! He is an epileptic and has such terrible attacks that he often falls in the fire or into water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
17 Jesus answered, “How unbelieving and wrong you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy here to me!” 18 Jesus gave a command to the demon, and it went out of the boy, and at that very moment he was healed.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked him, “Why couldn't we drive the demon out?”
20 (G)“It was because you do not have enough faith,” answered Jesus. “I assure you that if you have faith as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this hill, ‘Go from here to there!’ and it will go. You could do anything!” 21 [a]
Jesus Speaks Again about His Death(H)
22 When the disciples all came together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be handed over to those 23 who will kill him; but three days later he will be raised to life.”
The disciples became very sad.
Payment of the Temple Tax
24 (I)When Jesus and his disciples came to Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your teacher pay the Temple tax?”
25 “Of course,” Peter answered.
When Peter went into the house, Jesus spoke up first, “Simon, what is your opinion? Who pays duties or taxes to the kings of this world? The citizens of the country or the foreigners?”
26 “The foreigners,” answered Peter.
“Well, then,” replied Jesus, “that means that the citizens don't have to pay. 27 But we don't want to offend these people. So go to the lake and drop in a line. Pull up the first fish you hook, and in its mouth you will find a coin worth enough for my Temple tax and yours. Take it and pay them our taxes.”
Notas al pie
- Matthew 17:21 Some manuscripts add verse 21: But only prayer and fasting can drive this kind out; nothing else can (see Mk 9.29).
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
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