Old/New Testament
The Tribes East of the Jordan
22 Later, Joshua called together the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh 2 and told them, “You have done everything that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and you have listened to me in everything that I commanded you. 3 You haven’t abandoned your relatives these past days to the present, and you have met the obligation contained in[a] the commands of the Lord your God. 4 Now the Lord has given peace[b] to your relatives, just as he told them. Therefore, proceed to your tents—to the land that is yours to possess—that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of[c] the Jordan River. 5 Only be very careful to keep the commands and the Law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you—that is,[d] to love the Lord your God, to follow in all of his ways, to keep his commands, to stay close to him, and to serve him with all your heart and soul.” 6 That’s how Joshua blessed them. Then he sent them on their way and they returned to their tents.
7 Now Moses had made an allotment in Bashan to one half-tribe of Manasseh, but Joshua made an allotment west of the Jordan River to the other half-tribe of their relatives. So when Joshua sent them on their way back to their tents, he also blessed them by saying 8 “Return to your tents with great wealth, plenty of livestock, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and lots of clothing. Divide the spoil from your enemies among your relatives.”
9 The descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh went back to the land of Gilead, leaving the Israelis at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, for their territorial possession that they had inherited in accordance with the command of the Lord given through Moses.
An Unauthorized Altar is Constructed
10 After they arrived at an area of the Jordan River that is in the land of Canaan, the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh constructed an altar there by the Jordan River, and it was very large. 11 When the Israelis heard about it, they announced, “Look here, the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have constructed an altar in Canaan’s frontier district of the Jordan River, on the side apportioned to the Israelis.” 12 When the Israelis heard that announcement,[e] the entire community of the Israelis gathered together at Shiloh in preparation for war.
13 Then the Israelis sent a delegation[f] to the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead. They sent[g] Eleazar’s son Phinehas the priest, 14 and ten officials with him (one for each of the tribal families of Israel, each one of them a family leader among the tribes[h] of Israel). 15 They approached the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and told them: 16 “This is what the entire community of the Lord has to say: ‘What is this treacherous act by which you have acted deceitfully against the God of Israel by turning away from following the Lord today, and by building yourselves an altar today, so you can rebel against the Lord? 17 Isn’t the evil that happened at Peor enough for us, from which we have yet to be completely cleansed even to this point,[i] and because of which a plague came upon the community of the Lord? 18 Now then, are you turning away from following the Lord today? If you rebel against the Lord today, by tomorrow he will be angry with the entire community of Israel. 19 If the land of your inheritance remains unclean, then cross back over into the land that the Lord possesses, and receive an inheritance among us. Don’t rebel against the Lord and against us by constructing an altar for yourselves besides the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Didn’t Zerah’s son Achan act treacherously with respect to the things banned by God,[j] and as a result God became angry at[k] the entire community of Israel? And that man was not the only one to die because of his iniquity.’”
21 The descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the officials of the tribes[l] of Israel, 22 “The God of gods, the Lord, the God of gods, the Lord is the one who knows! And may Israel itself be aware that if this[m] was an act of rebellion or an act of treachery against the Lord, may he not deliver us today! 23 If we have built an altar for ourselves intended to turn us away from following the Lord, or to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, or peace offerings on it, may the Lord himself demand an accounting from us![n] 24 But we did this because we were concerned for a reason, since we thought, ‘Sometime in the future your descendants may say to our descendants, “What do you have in common[o] with the Lord, the God of Israel? 25 The Lord has established the Jordan River to be a territorial border between us and you. Descendants of Reuben and descendants of Gad have no allotment from the Lord.” So your descendants may cause our descendants to stop fearing the Lord.’
26 “That’s why we said, ‘Let’s build an altar for ourselves, not for burnt offerings or sacrifice, 27 but instead it will serve as a reminder[p] between us and you and between our generations after us, that we are to serve the Lord with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings. That way your descendants will not say to our descendants in the future, “You have no allotment from the Lord.”’
28 “That’s also why we said, ‘It may be if they say these things[q] to us and to our descendants in the future, so we will respond, “Look at this replica of the altar of the Lord that our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifice, but rather as a reminder[r] between us and you. 29 May we never rebel against the Lord today by building an altar for burnt offerings, for grain offerings, or for sacrifice to replace[s] the altar of the Lord our God which stands before his Tent.”’”
30 When Phinehas the priest, the leaders of the community, and the heads of the families of Israel who were with him heard what the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the descendants of Manasseh said, they were pleased. 31 So Eleazar’s son Phinehas the priest replied to the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the descendants of Manasseh, “Today we’ve demonstrated[t] that the Lord is among us, because you have not acted treacherously against the Lord. Now you have delivered the Israelis from the anger[u] of the Lord.”
32 So Eleazar’s son Phinehas the priest and the leaders returned from the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan and to the people of Israel, bringing back word to them. 33 What they said pleased the people of Israel, so they[v] blessed God and said no more about going up to attack them in war and to destroy the land where the descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad were living. 34 The descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad named the altar “Witness,” because they claimed,[w] “It stands as a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
Joshua’s Retirement Address to Israel
23 Many years later, after the Lord had given peace[x] between Israel and all its surrounding enemies, and after Joshua had become very old, 2 Joshua called together all Israel, including their leaders, officials, judges, and tribal officers. He told them, “I am old now after having lived many years. 3 You have seen everything that the Lord your God has done to all of these nations on your behalf, because it has been the Lord your God who has been fighting on your behalf. 4 Now look, I have allocated these nations that remain as an inheritance for your tribes, including all of the nations that I have eliminated, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean[y] Sea to the west.[z] 5 The Lord your God will expel them in front of you, driving them out of your sight. You will take possession of this land, just as the Lord your God promised you. 6 Stand very strong, then, so you can obey and carry out everything written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning neither to the right nor to the left of it. 7 That way, you will not mingle with those nations that remain among you, nor mention the name of their gods, nor make oaths by them,[aa] nor serve them, nor worship them. 8 Instead, you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done today, 9 because the Lord has expelled great and strong nations ahead of you. Now as for you, not a single man has been able to oppose you right to this day. 10 A single man makes a thousand flee, because the Lord your God is the one who is fighting for you, just as he promised you.
11 “So be very diligent to love the Lord your God, 12 because if you ever turn back and cling to those who remain of these nations by intermarrying with them and associating one with another, 13 know for certain that the Lord your God will not continue to drive out these nations ahead of you. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap for you, a whip to your backs, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Look here: today I’m going down the path that everyone on earth takes, and you know with all your hearts and souls that not a single word of all of the good things that the Lord your God spoke about you has failed to happen. Everything has been fulfilled about you—not one of them has failed. 15 However, just as all of the good things have come about that the Lord your God promised, so also the Lord will bring upon you all of the threats until he has destroyed you from possessing this good land that he[ab] has given you. 16 When you break the covenant of the Lord your God that he commanded you to obey by going to serve other gods and worship them, then the anger of the Lord will blaze against you, and you will perish quickly from this good land that he gave you.”
Joshua’s Final Exhortation
24 Then Joshua assembled together all of the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He called for the leaders, officials, judges, and tribal officers of Israel. They assembled in formation before God, 2 and Joshua told all of the people, “This is what the Lord God of Israel has to say:
‘Long ago your ancestors lived beyond the Euphrates[ac] River, including Terah, father of both Abraham and Nahor, where they served other gods. 3 Then I took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the Euphrates[ad] River and led him through the entire land of Canaan. I multiplied his descendants, and gave him his son[ae] Isaac. 4 I gave Jacob and Esau to Isaac. And I gave Mount Seir[af] to Esau as his possession, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.
5 ‘Later I commissioned Moses and Aaron, and I inflicted plagues on Egypt by what I did among them. Afterwards, I brought all of you[ag] out.
6 ‘Then I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the Sea, and the Egyptians followed your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Reed[ah] Sea. 7 But when they cried out to the Lord, he placed darkness between you and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon the Egyptians,[ai] and swallowed them up. Your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you lived in the desert for a long time.
8 ‘I brought you into the territory of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan River. They fought you, but I gave them into your control, and you took possession of their land. I destroyed them from your presence.
9 ‘Then Zippor’s son, King Balak of Moab, showed up and fought against Israel. He sent word[aj] to Balaam, summoning Beor’s son to put a curse on you. 10 But I wasn’t willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I delivered you from his control.
11 ‘Next, you crossed the Jordan River and arrived at Jericho. But the citizens of Jericho fought you, as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and the Jebusites, so I gave them into your control.
12 ‘Then I sent hornets ahead of you to drive out two kings of the Amorites before you without your using either sword or bow. 13 I gave you a land for which you never worked and cities that you didn’t build, but that you have lived in. You’re eating from vineyards and olive groves that you didn’t plant.’
14 “Now you must fear the Lord and serve him in faithfulness and truth. Throw away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates[ak] River and in Egypt. Instead, serve the Lord. 15 If you think it’s the wrong thing for you to serve the Lord, then choose for yourselves today whom you will serve—the gods whom your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates[al] River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose territories you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
The Response of the People
16 In response, the people said, “Far be it from us that we should abandon the Lord to serve other gods, 17 since the Lord our God is the one who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, from a life of slavery. He did those great things right in front of us, preserving us along the way that we traveled and among all the peoples through whose territory we passed. 18 The Lord expelled all the people before us, including the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore, we also will serve the Lord, since he is our God.”
19 So Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord, because he is a God of Holiness. He is a jealous God, and he will forgive neither your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If you abandon the Lord and serve foreign deities, then he will turn and do you harm, consuming you after all[am] the good he has done for you.”
21 “No,” the people replied to Joshua. “We will serve the Lord.”
22 Joshua responded, “You are giving testimony against yourselves, that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”
They replied, “We are witnesses!”
23 Joshua said,[an] “Therefore abandon the foreign gods that are among you, and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 The people replied,[ao] “We will serve the Lord our God and obey his voice.”
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, making statutes and ordinances in Shechem. 26 He[ap] wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God, took a large stone, moved it under the shade of[aq] the oak tree that was near the sanctuary of the Lord, 27 and then[ar] told all of the people, “Look! This stone will testify for us, because it has heard everything that the Lord has spoken to us. So it will stand as a witness against you in the event that you deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, and each man returned[as] to his territorial inheritance.
The Death of Joshua(A)
29 Some time later, Joshua servant of the Lord died at the age of 110 years, and 30 they buried him in his territorial inheritance at Timnath-serah in the mountainous region[at] of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel served the Lord for the entire lifetimes of Joshua and of the officials who outlived Joshua, that is, the ones who had personally known everything that the Lord had done for Israel. 32 They also buried the bones of Joseph, which the Israelis brought up from Egypt, in the parcel of ground at Shechem that Jacob had purchased from the descendants of Shechem’s father Hamor, for 100 pieces of silver. It became part of the inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.
The Death of Eleazar the Priest
33 Later, Aaron’s son Eleazar also died, and they buried him at Gibeah, which belonged to his son Phinehas, and which had been given to him in the mountainous region[au] of Ephraim.
John the Baptist Prepares the Way for Jesus(A)
3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Caesar Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 and Annas and Caiaphas high priests, a message from God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. 3 John[a] went throughout the entire Jordan region, proclaiming a baptism about repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“He is a voice calling out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord![b] Make his paths straight!
5 Every valley will be filled,
and every mountain and hill will be leveled.
The crooked ways will be made straight,
and the rough roads will be made smooth.
6 Everyone[c] will see the salvation
that God has provided.’”[d]
7 John would say to the crowds that were coming out to be baptized by him, “You children of serpents! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit that is consistent with repentance! Don’t begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have father Abraham!’ because I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones! 9 The ax already lies against the roots of the trees. So every tree not producing good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”
10 The crowds kept asking him, “What, then, should we do?”
11 He answered them, “The person who has two coats must share with the one who doesn’t have any, and the person who has food must do the same.”
12 Even some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 He told them, “Stop collecting more money than the amount you are told to collect.”
14 Even some soldiers were asking him, “And what should we do?”
He told them, “Never extort money from anyone by threats or blackmail, and be satisfied with your pay.”
15 Now the people were filled with expectation, and all of them were wondering if John was perhaps the Messiah.[e] 16 John replied to all of them, “I’m baptizing you with[f] water, but one is coming who is more powerful than I, and I’m not worthy to untie his sandal straps. It is he who will baptize you with[g] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor. He’ll gather the grain into his barn, but he’ll burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire.”
18 With many other exhortations John[h] continued to proclaim the good news to the people. 19 Now Herod the tetrarch had been rebuked by John[i] because he had married[j] his brother’s wife Herodias and because of all of the other evil things Herod had done. 20 Added to all this, Herod[k] locked John up in prison.
Jesus is Baptized(B)
21 When all the people had been baptized, Jesus, too, was baptized. While he was praying, heaven opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him, appearing in the form of a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, saying,[l] “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you!”[m]
The Ancestry of Jesus(C)
23 Jesus himself was about 30 years old when he began his ministry.[n] He was (as legally calculated)[o] the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, 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,[p] 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 Salmon,[q] 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, 36 the son of Cainan,[r] 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 Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
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