Israel Rebuked

2 Now ^(A)the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to ^(B)Bochim. And he said, “^(C)I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘^(D)I will never break My covenant with you, ² and as for you, ^(E)you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ^(F)you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not ^[a]obeyed Me; what is this you have done? ³ Therefore I also said, ‘^(G)I will not drive them out before you; but they will ^[b]become ^(H)as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.’” ⁴ When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. ⁵ So they named that place ^[c]Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the Lord.

Joshua Dies

^6 (I)When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land. ⁷ The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who ^[d]survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which He had done for Israel. ⁸ Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten. ⁹ And they buried him in the territory of ^(J)his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. ¹⁰ All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who ^(K)did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.

Israel Serves Baals

¹¹ Then the sons of Israel did ^(L)evil in the sight of the Lord and ^[e]served the ^(M)Baals, ¹² and ^(N)they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger. ¹³ So they forsook the Lord and ^(O)served Baal and the Ashtaroth. ^14 (P)The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and ^(Q)He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. ¹⁵ Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and ^(R)as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

^16 (S)Then the Lord raised up judges ^[f]who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. ¹⁷ Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way ^(T)in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers. ¹⁸ When the Lord raised up judges for them, ^(U)the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was ^(V)moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. ¹⁹ But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. ^20 (W)So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, ^21 (X)I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, ²² in order to ^(Y)test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers ^[g]did, or not.” ²³ So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

Paul’s Use of Liberty

9 Am I not ^(A)free? Am I not an ^(B)apostle? Have I not ^(C)seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not ^(D)my work in the Lord? ² If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the ^(E)seal of my ^(F)apostleship in the Lord.

³ My defense to those who examine me is this: ^4 [a](G)Do we not have a right to eat and drink? ^5 [b](H)Do we not have a right to take along a ^[c]believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the ^(I)brothers of the Lord and ^(J)Cephas? ⁶ Or do only ^[d](K)Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? ⁷ Who at any time serves ^(L)as a soldier at his own expense? Who ^(M)plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not ^[e]use the milk of the flock?

⁸ I am not speaking these things ^(N)according to ^[f]human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things? ⁹ For it is written in the Law of Moses, “^(O)You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” God is not concerned about ^(P)oxen, is He? ¹⁰ Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, ^(Q)for our sake it was written, because ^(R)the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. ^11 (S)If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? ¹² If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we ^(T)did not use this right, but we endure all things ^(U)so that we will cause no hindrance to the ^(V)gospel of Christ. ^13 (W)Do you not know that those who ^(X)perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share ^[g]from the altar? ¹⁴ So also ^(Y)the Lord directed those who proclaim the ^(Z)gospel to ^(AA)get their living from the gospel.

¹⁵ But I have ^(AB)used none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than have any man make ^(AC)my boast an empty one. ¹⁶ For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for ^(AD)I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach ^(AE)the gospel. ¹⁷ For if I do this voluntarily, I have a ^(AF)reward; but if against my will, I have a ^(AG)stewardship entrusted to me. ¹⁸ What then is my ^(AH)reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel ^(AI)without charge, so as ^(AJ)not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

¹⁹ For though I am ^(AK)free from all men, I have made myself ^(AL)a slave to all, so that I may ^(AM)win more. ^20 (AN)To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under ^[h]the Law, as under ^[i]the Law though ^(AO)not being myself under ^[j]the Law, so that I might win those who are under ^[k]the Law; ²¹ to those who are ^(AP)without law, ^(AQ)as without law, though not being without the law of God but ^(AR)under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. ²² To the ^(AS)weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become ^(AT)all things to all men, ^(AU)so that I may by all means save some. ²³ I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

^24 (AV)Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives ^(AW)the prize? ^(AX)Run in such a way that you may win. ²⁵ Everyone who ^(AY)competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable ^(AZ)wreath, but we an imperishable. ²⁶ Therefore I ^(BA)run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not ^(BB)beating the air; ²⁷ but I ^[l]discipline ^(BC)my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.