Old/New Testament
The Eastern Tribes Return
22 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and he said to them, “You have observed all that Moses Yahweh’s servant commanded you, and you have listened[a] to my voice in all that I have commanded you; 3 you have not forsaken your kinsmen[b] these many days, up to this day, and you have observed the obligation of the command of Yahweh your God. 4 So then, Yahweh your God has given rest to your kinsmen,[c] just as he promised them; so then, turn and go to your tents to the land of your possession, which Moses Yahweh’s servant gave to you beyond the Jordan. 5 Only be very careful to observe the commandment and law that Moses Yahweh’s servant commanded you, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”[d] 6 And Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. 7 And to the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua had given a possession with their kinsmen[e] beyond the Jordan to the west; and when Joshua sent them to their tents and blessed them, 8 he said to them, “Return to your tents with much wealth, and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, copper, iron, and with very much clothing; divide the war-booty of your enemies with your kinsmen.”[f] 9 So the descendants[g] of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home and departed with the Israelites[h] at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead to the land of their possession, which they had acquired according to the command of Yahweh[i] through the hand of Moses.
10 And they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, and the descendants[j] of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar on the Jordan, a large and imposing altar.[k] 11 And the Israelites[l] heard it said that the descendants[m] of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar next to the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the Israelites.[n] 12 When the Israelites[o] heard of it, the whole congregation of the Israelites[p] gathered at Shiloh to go up against them for battle. 13 And the Israelites[q] sent to the descendants[r] of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, Phinehas the priest son of Eleazar, 14 and ten leaders with him, one leader for each[s] family[t] from each of the tribes of Israel; and each one was the head of his family[u] among the clans of Israel.[v] 15 They came to the descendants[w] of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, 16 “Thus says all the congregation of Yahweh: ‘What is this treachery that you have committed against the God of Israel by turning away today from following Yahweh, by building for yourselves an altar to rebel today against Yahweh? 17 Is not the sin of Peor enough for us,[x] from which we have not cleansed ourselves today, and for which a plague came to the congregation of Yahweh, 18 that you must turn today from following Yahweh? If you rebel today against Yahweh, tomorrow he will be angry with all of the congregation of Israel; 19 if, however, the land of your property is unclean, cross over to the land of Yahweh’s property, where Yahweh’s tabernacle resides,[y] and take possession among us. But you must not rebel against Yahweh or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of Yahweh our God. 20 Did not Achan son of Zerah commit treachery with devoted things,[z] and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? And he alone[aa] did not perish because of his iniquity.’”
21 And the descendants[ab] of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh spoke with the heads of the clans[ac] of Israel, 22 “Yahweh, God of gods! Yahweh, God of gods knows. And let Israel itself know, if it was in rebellion or treachery against Yahweh, do not spare us this day 23 for building for ourselves an altar to turn away from Yahweh, or if it was to offer burnt offerings,[ad] grain offerings,[ae] or fellowship offerings on it, may Yahweh himself take vengeance. 24 But in fact, we have done this because of anxiety, because of a reason, saying, ‘In the future your children may say to our children, ‘What is the relationship between you and Yahweh the God of Israel?[af] 25 Yahweh has made the Jordan a border between us and you, the descendants[ag] of Reuben and Gad; you have no portion in Yahweh.’ So your children may put an end to our children worshiping[ah] Yahweh. 26 So we said, ‘Let us build immediately for ourselves an altar, not for burnt offerings[ai] or for sacrifices;[aj] 27 instead, it is a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us for performing the serving of Yahweh in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings; so that your children may not say in the future to our children, “You have no portion in Yahweh.”’ 28 And we thought, if they say to us and to our children in the future, we can say, ‘Look at this replica of the altar of Yahweh, which our ancestors[ak] made, not for burnt offerings[al] or sacrifices;[am] rather, it is a witness between us and you.’ 29 Far be it from us to rebel against Yahweh, to turn today from following Yahweh, to build an altar for burnt offerings,[an] grain offerings,[ao] or sacrifices,[ap] instead of the altar of Yahweh our God that is before his tabernacle.”
30 Phinehas the priest, the leaders of the congregation, and the heads of the clans[aq] of Israel who were with him heard the words that the descendants[ar] of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh spoke, and they were satisfied.[as] 31 Phinehas the priest, son of Eleazar, said to the descendants[at] of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that Yahweh is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against Yahweh. Therefore you have rescued the Israelites[au] from the hand of Yahweh.”
32 And Phinehas the priest, son of Eleazar, and the leaders returned from the descendants[av] of Reuben and Gad, from the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan to the Israelites,[aw] and they gave them their report.[ax] 33 The report satisfied the Israelites;[ay] they blessed God, and they did not speak of going up for battle against them to destroy the land in which the descendants[az] of Reuben and Gad were living.[ba] 34 The descendants[bb] of Reuben and Gad called the altar Witness, “Because,” they said, “it is a witness between us that Yahweh is God.”
Joshua’s Farewell Address
23 And it happened, after a long time,[bc] after Yahweh had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and after Joshua was old and well-advanced in years,[bd] 2 Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders, heads, judges, and officials, and he said to them, “I am old and well-advanced in years,[be] 3 and you have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to all these nations for your sake,[bf] for Yahweh your God is fighting for you. 4 Look! I have allotted to you these remaining nations as an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, to the Great Sea[bg] in the west.[bh] 5 And Yahweh your God will push them back before you[bi] and drive them out of your sight,[bj] and you will possess their land, just as Yahweh your God promised to you. 6 Be very strong to observe carefully all that is written in the scroll of the law of Moses so as not to turn aside from it, to the right or left, 7 so as not to go among these remaining nations with you; do not profess[bk] the name of their gods, and do not swear by them, serve them, or bow down to them.[bl] 8 But hold fast to Yahweh your God, just as you have done up to this day. 9 Yahweh has driven out before you great and strong nations; and as for you, nobody has withstood[bm] you to this day. 10 One of your men put to flight a thousand, for Yahweh your God is fighting for you, just as he promised you. 11 Take utmost care for the sake of your life to love Yahweh your God, 12 for if indeed you turn back and join these remaining nations among you,[bn] and you intermarry with them, marrying their women and they yours,[bo] 13 know for certain that Yahweh your God will not continue to drive out[bp] these nations from before you; they will be for you a snare and a trap, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that Yahweh your God has given to you.
14 Look! I am about to die,[bq] and you know in all your hearts[br] and souls[bs] that not one thing failed[bt] from all the good things that Yahweh your God promised concerning you; everything has been fulfilled;[bu] not one thing failed.[bv] 15 But just as all the good things[bw] came to you that Yahweh your God promised, so will Yahweh bring to you all the bad things[bx] until he has destroyed you from this good land that Yahweh your God has given to you. 16 If you transgress the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he commanded to you, and you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, Yahweh’s anger will be kindled[by] against you, and you will perish quickly from the good land that he has given to you.”
Joshua Recounts Their History
24 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem; he summoned the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges, and their officials, and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘Long ago[bz] your ancestors[ca]—Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor—lived beyond the river,[cb] and they served other gods. 3 I took your ancestor[cc] Abraham from beyond the river[cd] and led him through all the land of Canaan, and I increased his offspring; I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. 6 When I brought out your ancestors[ce] from Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued after your ancestors[cf] with chariots[cg] and horsemen to the Red Sea.[ch] 7 They cried out to Yahweh, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and he brought the sea over them[ci] and covered them; your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you lived in the wilderness for many days. 8 And I brought you to the land of the Amorites[cj] who lived beyond the Jordan; they fought you, and I gave them into your hand; you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.[ck] 9 Then Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, set out and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 10 but I was not willing to listen to Balaam, and he richly blessed you. So I rescued you from his hand, 11 and you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the citizens of Jericho, the Amorites,[cl] the Perizzites,[cm] the Canaanites,[cn] the Hittites,[co] the Girgashites,[cp] the Hivites,[cq] and the Jebusites,[cr] fought against you, and I gave them into your hand. 12 I sent before you the hornet and they drove out before you two kings of the Amorites;[cs] but not by your sword or bow. 13 I gave to you a land that you have not labored on, and cities that you have not built, and you live[ct] in them; you eat from vineyards and olive groves that you have not planted.’
The Israelites Promise to Serve Yahweh
14 “So now, revere Yahweh and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness; remove the gods that your ancestors[cu] served beyond the river[cv] and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. 15 But if it is bad in your eyes to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you want to serve, whether it is the gods that your ancestors[cw] served beyond the river,[cx] or the gods of the Amorites[cy] in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh.” 16 And the people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we would forsake Yahweh to serve other gods, 17 for Yahweh our God brought us and our ancestors[cz] from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, and did these great signs before our eyes. He protected us along the entire way that we went, and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 And Yahweh drove out all the people before us, the Amorites[da] who live[db] in the land. We will serve Yahweh, for he is our God.”
19 But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve Yahweh, for he is a holy and jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster to you; he will destroy you after he has done good to you.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve Yahweh.” 22 And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves to serve Yahweh.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Remove the foreign gods that are in your midst, and incline your hearts to Yahweh the God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to his voice.” 25 So Joshua made a covenant[dc] with the people on that day, and he established for them a statute and a judgment at Shechem. 26 Then Joshua wrote these words in a scroll of the law of God, and he took a large stone and set it up there under a large tree, which is at the shrine of Yahweh. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of Yahweh that he spoke with us. It will be as a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua sent the people away to their inheritance.
29 After these things Joshua son of Nun servant of Yahweh died; he was one hundred and ten years old.[dd] 30 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, at Timnath-Serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who lived long after Joshua, and who had known all the work that Yahweh did for Israel.[de] 32 The bones of Jacob, which the Israelites[df] had brought out from Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in a piece of land that Jacob had bought from the children of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money;[dg] it became an inheritance for the descendants[dh] of Joseph. 33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died; and they buried him in Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, which had been given to his son Phinehas.
John the Baptist Begins His Ministry
3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,[a] when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 in the time of the high priest Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the surrounding region of the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight!
5 Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be leveled,
and the crooked will become straight,
and the rough road will become[b] smooth,
6 and all flesh will see the salvation of God.’”[c]
7 Therefore he was saying to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “Offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce fruit worthy of repentance! And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones! 9 And even now the ax is positioned at the root of the trees; therefore every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 And the crowds were asking him, saying, “What then should we do?” 11 And he answered and[d] said to them, “The one who has two tunics must share with the one who does not have one,[e] and the one who has food must do likewise.” 12 And tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you are ordered to.”[f] 14 And those who served in the army were also asking him, saying, “What should we also do?” And he said to them, “Extort from no one, and do not blackmail anyone,[g] and be content with your pay.”
15 And while[h] the people were waiting expectantly and all were pondering in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he might be the Christ,[i] 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but the one who is more powerful than I am is coming, of whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
18 So with many other exhortations also he proclaimed good news to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him concerning Herodias, his brother’s wife, and concerning all the evil deeds that Herod had done, 20 added this also to them all: he also locked up John in prison.
The Baptism of Jesus
21 Now it happened that when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized, and while he[j] was praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
23 And Jesus, when he[k] began his ministry,[l] was himself about thirty years old, being the son (as it was believed) of Joseph the son of Eli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,[m] 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
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