Old/New Testament
22 ¶ Then Joshua called the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh
2 and said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the slave of the LORD commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you.
3 Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God.
4 And now the LORD your God has given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them; therefore now return and go to your tents and unto the land of your possessions which Moses the slave of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan.
5 Only that with diligence ye keep yourselves doing the commandment and the law, which Moses, the slave of the LORD, charged you: to love the LORD your God and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cleave unto him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
6 So Joshua, blessing them, sent them; and they went unto their tents.
7 Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh, Moses had given possession in Bashan; but unto the other half Joshua gave inheritance among their brethren on this side of the Jordan to the west. And Joshua also sent these to their tents, after having blessed them,
8 And he spoke unto them, saying, Return with great riches unto your tents and with a great amount of cattle with silver, with gold, with brass, with iron, and with very much clothing; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.
9 And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, departing from the sons of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, of which they were the possessors, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
10 ¶ And when they came unto the borders of the Jordan, which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built an altar there next to the Jordan, a great altar to look upon.
11 And the sons of Israel heard it said, Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of the Jordan, at the passage of the sons of Israel.
12 And when the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them.
13 And the sons of Israel sent unto the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half tribe of Manasseh into the land of Gilead, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest,
14 and with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was the head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel.
15 And they came unto the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half tribe of Manasseh unto the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying,
16 Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD in that ye have built an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD?
17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, for which there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD?
18 And ye turn away this day from following the LORD; and it will be, seeing ye rebel today against the LORD, that tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.
19 If the land of your possession seems unto you to be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, in which the LORD’s tabernacle dwells and take possession among us; but do not rebel against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building yourselves an altar in addition to the altar of the LORD our God.
20 Peradventure did Achan, the son of Zerah, not commit a trespass in the anathema, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.
21 ¶ Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel,
22 The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knows and let Israel also know; if it is in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD (save us not this day)
23 that we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD or if to offer thereon burnt offering or present or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it;
24 likewise, if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, Peradventure tomorrow your children shall speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?
25 The LORD has put the Jordan for a border between us and you, O sons of Reuben and sons of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD, so shall your sons make our sons cease from fearing the LORD.
26 Therefore we said, Let us now work to build us an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice,
27 but that it may be a witness between us and you and our generations after us, to do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings and with our sacrifices and with our peace offerings that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD.
28 Therefore we said, that it shall be, if they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may reply, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices, but it is a witness between us and you.
29 Let it never happen that we should rebel against the LORD or that we should turn today from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for presents, or for sacrifices, in addition to the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle.
30 ¶ And when Phinehas the priest and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them.
31 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, said unto the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us because ye have not intended to trespass against the LORD. Now ye have delivered the sons of Israel from the wrath of the LORD.
32 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel and brought them word again.
33 And the thing pleased the sons of Israel; and the sons of Israel blessed God and did not speak again of going up against them in battle to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and Gad dwelt.
34 And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Ed; for it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.
23 ¶ And it came to pass many days after the LORD had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age.
2 And Joshua called for all Israel and for their elders and for their princes and for their judges and for their officers and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age;
3 and ye have seen all that the LORD your God has done with all these Gentiles in your presence; for the LORD your God has fought for you.
4 Behold, I have divided unto you as inheritance unto your tribes all these Gentiles, those that remain as well as those that are destroyed, from the Jordan unto the great sea towards the going down of the sun.
5 And the LORD your God, shall expel them from before you and drive them from out of your presence; and ye shall possess their lands, as the LORD your God has promised unto you.
6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses without turning aside to the right hand or to the left
7 that ye not enter in among these Gentiles that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them,
8 but cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day.
9 For the LORD has driven out from before you great and strong Gentiles; and until now no one has been able to stand before your face.
10 One man of you has chased a thousand; for the LORD your God, he himself has fought for you, as he has promised you.
11 ¶ Therefore take heed for your souls that ye love the LORD your God.
12 Because if ye do in any wise go back and cleave unto the remnant of these Gentiles that remain among you and shall make marriages with them and go in unto them and they to you,
13 know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no longer drive out any of these Gentiles from before you, but they shall be snares and traps unto you and scourges in your sides and thorns in your eyes until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you.
14 And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing has failed thereof.
15 Therefore it shall come to pass that as all the good things are come upon you, which the LORD your God promised you, so shall the LORD bring upon you all the evil things until he has destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you
16 when ye shall transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, going in and serving other gods and bowing yourselves to them. And the anger of the LORD shall be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he has given unto you.
24 ¶ And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel and for their princes and for their judges and for their officers, and they presented themselves before God.
2 And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Long ago your fathers dwelt on the other side of the river, even Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods.
3 And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river and led him throughout all the land of Canaan and multiplied his generation and gave him Isaac.
4 And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt.
5 I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them; and afterward I brought you out.
6 And I brought your fathers out of Egypt; and when ye came to the sea, the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red Sea.
7 And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt; and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
8 And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you, but I delivered them into your hands that ye might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you.
9 Then Balak, the son of Zippor, king of the Moabites, arose and warred against Israel and sent and called Balaam, the son of Beor, to curse you.
10 But I would not hearken unto Balaam; to the contrary, he blessed you repeatedly, and I delivered you out of his hand.
11 And ye passed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the lords of Jericho fought against you: the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hands.
12 And I sent hornets before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites, but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
13 And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour and cities which ye did not build, and ye dwell in them and eat of vineyards and oliveyards which ye did not plant.
14 Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in perfection and in truth and put away from among you the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the river and in Egypt, and serve ye the LORD.
15 ¶ And if it seems evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
16 Then the people answered and said, May it never happen that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods.
17 For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt from the house of slavery and who did those great signs in our sight and has kept us in all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whom we passed.
18 And the LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land; therefore, will we also serve the LORD, for he is our God.
19 Then Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not allow your rebellions nor your sins.
20 If ye forsake the LORD and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt and consume you, after he has done you good.
21 And the people said unto Joshua, No, but we will serve the LORD.
22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye shall be witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We shall be witnesses.
23 Now, therefore, take away, the strange gods which are among you and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.
24 And the people replied unto Joshua, We will serve the LORD our God and hear his voice.
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and set them statutes and laws in Shechem.
26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and taking a great stone, he set it up there under an oak that was in the sanctuary of the LORD.
27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which he spoke unto us: it shall be, therefore, a witness unto you lest ye deny your God.
28 So Joshua sent the people, each one unto his inheritance.
29 ¶ And after these things, Joshua, the son of Nun, the slave of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old.
30 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in Mount Ephraim, on the north side of the Mountain of Gaash.
31 And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua and who had known all the works of the LORD that he had done with Israel.
32 And the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem in the part of the field which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred ewes, and it became the inheritance of the sons of Joseph.
33 And Eleazar, the son of Aaron, died, and they buried him in the hill of Phinehas, his son, which was given to him in the mountain of Ephraim.
3 ¶ Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came upon John the son of Zachariah in the wilderness.
3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked ways shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
6 and all flesh shall see the saving health of God.
7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who taught you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; every tree therefore which does not bring forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.
10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
11 He answered and said unto them, He that has two coats, let him impart to him that has none; and he that has food, let him do likewise.
12 Then the publicans also came to be baptized and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.
14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Oppress no one, neither accuse anyone falsely; and be content with your wages.
15 ¶ And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not,
16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you in water, but one mightier than I comes, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose; he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire;
17 whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his threshing floor and will gather the wheat into his storehouse, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
18 And exhorting many other things he announced the gospel unto the people.
19 Then Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife and for all the evils which Herod had done,
20 added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.
21 ¶ Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that, Jesus also being baptized and praying, the heaven was opened,
22 and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee is my delight.
23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, who was the son of Heli,
24 who was the son of Matthat, who was the son of Levi, who was the son of Melchi, who was the son of Janna, who was the son of Joseph,
25 who was the son of Mattathias, who was the son of Amos, who was the son of Naum, who was the son of Esli, who was the son of Nagge,
26 who was the son of Maath, who was the son of Mattathias, who was the son of Semei, who was the son of Joseph, who was the son of Juda,
27 who was the son of Joanna, who was the son of Rhesa, who was the son of Zorobabel, who was the son of Salathiel, who was the son of Neri,
28 who was the son of Melchi, who was the son of Addi, who was the son of Cosam, who was the son of Elmodam, who was the son of Er,
29 who was the son of Joshua, who was the son of Eliezer, who was the son of Jorim, who was the son of Matthat, who was the son of Levi,
30 who was the son of Simeon, who was the son of Juda, who was the son of Joseph, who was the son of Jonan, who was the son of Eliakim,
31 who was the son of Melea, who was the son of Menan, who was the son of Mattatha, who was the son of Nathan, who was the son of David,
32 who was the son of Jesse, who was the son of Obed, who was the son of Booz, {Greek word for “Boaz”} who was the son of Salmon, who was the son of Naasson,
33 who was the son of Aminadab, who was the son of Aram, who was the son of Esrom, who was the son of Phares, who was the son of Juda,
34 who was the son of Jacob, who was the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham, who was the son of Thara, who was the son of Nachor,
35 who was the son of Saruch, who was the son of Ragau, who was the son of Peleg, who was the son of Heber, who was the son of Sala,
36 who was the son of Cainan, who was the son of Arphaxad, who was the son of Shem, who was the son of Noah, who was the son of Lamech,
37 who was the son of Mathusala, who was the son of Enoch, who was the son of Jared, who was the son of Maleleel, who was the son of Cainan,
38 who was the son of Enos, who was the son of Seth, who was the son of Adam, who was the son of God.
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International