Old/New Testament
I. Conquest of Canaan
Chapter 1
Divine Promise of Assistance. 1 After Moses, the servant of the Lord, had died, the Lord said to Moses’ aide Joshua, son of Nun: 2 [a]Moses my servant is dead. So now, you and the whole people with you, prepare to cross the Jordan to the land that I will give the Israelites. 3 (A)Every place where you set foot I have given you, as I promised Moses. 4 [b]All the land of the Hittites, from the wilderness and the Lebanon east to the great river Euphrates and west to the Great Sea, will be your territory.(B) 5 No one can withstand you as long as you live. As I was with Moses, I will be with you:(C) I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land I swore to their ancestors that I would give them. 7 (D)Only be strong and steadfast, being careful to observe the entire law which Moses my servant enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go. 8 Do not let this book of the law depart from your lips. Recite it by day and by night,(E) that you may carefully observe all that is written in it; then you will attain your goal; then you will succeed. 9 I command you: be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.
10 (F)So Joshua commanded the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for three days from now you shall cross the Jordan here, to march in and possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving as your possession.’”
The Transjordan Tribes. 12 (G)Joshua addressed the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh: 13 “Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you when he said, ‘The Lord, your God, is about to give you rest; he will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children, and your livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you here beyond the Jordan. But all the warriors among you must cross over armed, ahead of your kindred, and you must help them 15 until the Lord has settled your kindred, and they like you possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving them. Afterward you may return and possess your own land, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, has given you east of the Jordan.”(H) 16 They answered Joshua, “We will do all you have commanded us, and we will go wherever you send us. 17 As completely as we obeyed Moses, we will obey you. Only, may the Lord, your God, be with you as God was with Moses. 18 Anyone who rebels against your orders and does not obey all your commands shall be put to death. Only be strong and steadfast.”
Chapter 2
Spies Saved by Rahab. 1 Then Joshua, son of Nun, secretly sent out two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, reconnoiter the land and Jericho.” When the two reached Jericho, they went into the house of a prostitute named Rahab,(I) where they lodged. 2 But a report was brought to the king of Jericho: “Some men came here last night, Israelites, to spy out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent Rahab the order, “Bring out the men who have come to you and entered your house, for they have come to spy out the entire land.” 4 The woman(J) had taken the two men and hidden them, so she said, “True, the men you speak of came to me, but I did not know where they came from. 5 At dark, when it was time to close the gate, they left, and I do not know where they went. You will have to pursue them quickly to overtake them.” 6 Now, she had led them to the roof, and hidden them among her stalks of flax spread out[c] there. 7 But the pursuers set out along the way to the fords of the Jordan. As soon as they had left to pursue them, the gate was shut.
8 Before the spies lay down, Rahab went up to them on the roof 9 and said:[d] “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that a dread of you has come upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land tremble with fear because of you.(K) 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt,(L) and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan, whom you destroyed under the ban. 11 We heard, and our hearts melted within us; everyone is utterly dispirited because of you, since the Lord, your God, is God in heaven above and on earth below.(M) 12 (N)Now then, swear to me by the Lord that, since I am showing kindness to you, you in turn will show kindness to my family.(O) Give me a reliable sign 13 that you will allow my father and mother, brothers and sisters, and my whole family to live, and that you will deliver us from death.” 14 “We pledge our lives for yours,” they answered her. “If you do not betray our mission, we will be faithful in showing kindness to you when the Lord gives us the land.”
15 Then she let them down through the window with a rope; for she lived in a house built into the city wall.[e] 16 “Go up into the hill country,” she said, “that your pursuers may not come upon you. Hide there for three days, until they return; then you may go on your way.” 17 They answered her, “We are free of this oath that you made us take, unless, 18 when we come into the land, you tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you are letting us down. Gather your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family into your house. 19 Should any of them pass outside the doors of your house, their blood will be on their own heads, and we will be guiltless. But if anyone in your house is harmed, their blood will be on our heads. 20 If, however, you betray our mission, we will be free of the oath you have made us take.” 21 “Let it be as you say,” she replied, and sent them away. When they were gone, she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
22 They went up into the hill country, where they stayed three days until their pursuers, who had sought them all along the road without finding them, returned. 23 Then the two came back down from the hills, crossed the Jordan to Joshua, son of Nun, and told him all that had happened to them. 24 They assured Joshua, “The Lord has given all this land into our power; indeed, all the inhabitants of the land tremble with fear because of us.”
Chapter 3
Preparations for Crossing the Jordan. 1 Early the next morning, Joshua and all the Israelites moved from Shittim and came to the Jordan, where they stayed before crossing over. 2 (P)Three days later the officers went through the camp 3 (Q)and issued these commands to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord, your God, which the levitical priests will carry, you must break camp and follow it, 4 that you may know the way to take, for you have not gone over this road before. But let there be a space of two thousand cubits between you and the ark: do not come nearer to it.” 5 Joshua also said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will perform wonders among you.” 6 And he told the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross ahead of the people”; so they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7 (R)Then the Lord said to Joshua: Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.(S) 8 Now command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, “When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, there take your stand.”
9 So Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord, your God.” 10 He continued: “By this you will know that there is a living God in your midst: he will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.(T) 11 The ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth will cross the Jordan before you. 12 Now choose twelve men,(U) one from each of the tribes of Israel. 13 When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth, touch the waters of the Jordan, it will cease to flow; the water flowing down from upstream will halt in a single heap.”[f]
The Crossing Begun. 14 The people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of them. 15 When those bearing the ark came to the Jordan and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were immersed in the waters of the Jordan—which overflows all its banks during the entire season of the harvest—[g] 16 the waters flowing from upstream halted, standing up in a single heap(V) for a very great distance indeed, from Adam, a city in the direction of Zarethan; those flowing downstream toward the Salt Sea of the Arabah disappeared entirely.[h] Thus the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the Jordan riverbed(W) while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until the whole nation had completed the crossing of the Jordan.
Chapter 16
The Resurrection of Jesus.[a] 1 When the sabbath was over,(A) Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint him.(B) 2 Very early when the sun had risen, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb. 3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. 5 On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed.(C) 6 He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him. 7 But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’”(D) 8 Then they went out and fled from the tomb, seized with trembling and bewilderment. They said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
The Longer Ending[b]
The Appearance to Mary Magdalene. [9 (E)When he had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 (F)She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
The Appearance to Two Disciples. 12 (G)After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. 13 They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either.
The Commissioning of the Eleven. 14 (H)[But] later, as the eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. 15 (I)He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. 18 They will pick up serpents [with their hands], and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”(J)
The Ascension of Jesus. 19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.(K) 20 But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.](L)
The Shorter Ending
[And they reported all the instructions briefly to Peter’s companions. Afterwards Jesus himself, through them, sent forth from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation. Amen.]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.