²⁷ But your servants, every man who is armed for battle, will cross over to fight^(A) before the Lord, just as our lord says.”

¹² The men of Reuben,^(A) Gad^(B) and the half-tribe of Manasseh^(C) crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites,^(D) as Moses had directed them.^(E)

⁷ I have fought the good fight,^(A) I have finished the race,^(B) I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me^(C) the crown of righteousness,^(D) which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day^(E)—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.^(F)

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord^(A) and in his mighty power.^{(B) 11} Put on the full armor of God,^(C) so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,^(D) but against the rulers, against the authorities,^(E) against the powers^(F) of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.^{(G) 13} Therefore put on the full armor of God,^(H) so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,^(I) with the breastplate of righteousness in place,^{(J) 15} and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.^{(K) 16} In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,^(L) with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.^{(M) 17} Take the helmet of salvation^(N) and the sword of the Spirit,^(O) which is the word of God.^(P)

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit^(Q) on all occasions^(R) with all kinds of prayers and requests.^(S) With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying^(T) for all the Lord’s people.

⁴ The weapons we fight with^(A) are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power^(B) to demolish strongholds.^{(C) 5} We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,^(D) and we take captive every thought to make it obedient^(E) to Christ.

² They said, “When the Lord commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance to the Israelites by lot,^(A) he ordered you to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad^(B) to his daughters.

¹⁷ But we will arm ourselves for battle^[a] and go ahead of the Israelites^(A) until we have brought them to their place.^(B) Meanwhile our women and children will live in fortified cities, for protection from the inhabitants of the land.

¹¹ and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed.^(A)

²⁸ Joshua son of Nun,^(A) who had been Moses’ aide^(B) since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”^(C)