John Baptizes Jesus^(A)

^9 (B)It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ^10 (C)And immediately, coming up ^[a]from the water, He saw the heavens ^[b]parting and the Spirit ^(D)descending upon Him like a dove. ¹¹ Then a voice came from heaven, ^(E)“You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Satan Tempts Jesus^(F)

^12 (G)Immediately the Spirit ^[c]drove Him into the wilderness. ¹³ And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; ^(H)and the angels ministered to Him.

Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry^(I)

^14 (J)Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, ^(K)preaching the gospel ^[d]of the kingdom of God, ¹⁵ and saying, ^(L)“The time is fulfilled, and ^(M)the kingdom of God ^[e]is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Four Fishermen Called as Disciples^(N)

^16 (O)And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become ^(P)fishers of men.” ^18 (Q)They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

¹⁹ When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. ²⁰ And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.

Christ the Power and Wisdom of God^(A)

¹⁸ For the ^[a]message of the cross is ^(B)foolishness to ^(C)those who are perishing, but to us ^(D)who are being saved it is the ^(E)power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

^20 (G)Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the ^[b]disputer of this age? ^(H)Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since, in the ^(I)wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²² For ^(J)Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, ^(K)to the Jews a ^[c]stumbling block and to the ^[d]Greeks ^(L)foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^(M)the power of God and ^(N)the wisdom of God. ²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Glory Only in the Lord

²⁶ For ^[e]you see your calling, brethren, ^(O)that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many ^[f]noble, are called. ²⁷ But ^(P)God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the ^[g]base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and ^(Q)righteousness and sanctification and redemption— ³¹ that, as it is written, ^(R)“He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

The Tragedy of the Wicked, and the Blessedness of Trust in God

A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

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.

The Memorial Stones

4 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed ^(AB)over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: ^2 (AC)“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 ^(AD)the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in ^(AE)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 ^(AF)a sign among you ^(AG)when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ ⁷ Then you shall answer them that ^(AH)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 ^(AI)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 ^(AJ)ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people. ¹² And ^(AK)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 ^[f]prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho. ¹⁴ On that day the Lord ^(AL)exalted^[g] 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 ^(AM)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 ^(AN)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 ^(AO)in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. ²⁰ And ^(AP)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: ^(AQ)“When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ ²² then you shall let your children know, saying, ^(AR)‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on ^(AS)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, ^(AT)which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, ^24 (AU)that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is ^(AV)mighty, that you may ^(AW)fear the Lord your God ^[h]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 ^(AX)who were by the sea, ^(AY)heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until ^[i]we had crossed over, that ^[j]their heart melted; ^(AZ)and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.

² At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make ^(BA)flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” ³ So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at ^[k]the hill of the foreskins. ⁴ And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: ^(BB)All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt. ⁵ For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. ⁶ For the children of Israel walked ^(BC)forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were ^[l]consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord—to whom the Lord swore that ^(BD)He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, ^(BE)“a land flowing with milk and honey.” ⁷ Then Joshua circumcised ^(BF)their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.

⁸ So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp ^(BG)till they were healed. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away ^(BH)the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called ^(BI)Gilgal^[m] to this day.

¹⁰ Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover ^(BJ)on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. ¹¹ And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and ^[n]parched grain, on the very same day. ¹² Then ^(BK)the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.

The Commander of the Army of the Lord

¹³ And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, ^(BL)a Man stood opposite him ^(BM)with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”

¹⁴ So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”

And Joshua ^(BN)fell on his face to the earth and ^(BO)worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”

¹⁵ Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, ^(BP)“Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.