Israel Crosses the Jordan

3 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out ^(A)from ^[a]Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. ² So it was, ^(B)after three days, that the officers went through the camp; ³ and they commanded the people, saying, ^(C)“When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, ^(D)and the priests, the Levites, ^[b]bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. ^4 (E)Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”

⁵ And Joshua said to the people, ^(F)“Sanctify^[c] yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” ⁶ Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, ^(G)“Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.”

So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.

⁷ And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to ^(H)exalt^[d] you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, ^(I)as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. ⁸ You shall command ^(J)the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, ^(K)you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”

⁹ So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” ¹⁰ And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that ^(L)the living God is among you, and that He will without fail ^(M)drive out from before you the ^(N)Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: ¹¹ Behold, the ark of the covenant of ^(O)the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. ¹² Now therefore, ^(P)take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. ¹³ And it shall come to pass, ^(Q)as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, ^(R)the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they ^(S)shall stand as a heap.”

¹⁴ So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ^(T)ark of the covenant before the people, ¹⁵ and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and ^(U)the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the ^(V)Jordan overflows all its banks ^(W)during the whole time of harvest), ¹⁶ that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away ^[e]at Adam, the city that is beside ^(X)Zaretan. So the waters that went down ^(Y)into the Sea of the Arabah, ^(Z)the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; ^(AA)and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.

The Memorial Stones

4 And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed ^(AB)over the Jordan, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: ^2 (AC)“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, ³ and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where ^(AD)the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in ^(AE)the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’ ”

⁴ Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; ⁵ and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, ⁶ that this may be ^(AF)a sign among you ^(AG)when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ ⁷ Then you shall answer them that ^(AH)the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for ^(AI)a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”

⁸ And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the Lord had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. ⁹ Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day.

¹⁰ So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over. ¹¹ Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ^(AJ)ark of the Lord and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people. ¹² And ^(AK)the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. ¹³ About forty thousand ^[f]prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho. ¹⁴ On that day the Lord ^(AL)exalted^[g] Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life.

¹⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, ¹⁶ “Command the priests who bear ^(AM)the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁷ Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” ¹⁸ And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place ^(AN)and overflowed all its banks as before.

¹⁹ Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped ^(AO)in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. ²⁰ And ^(AP)those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. ²¹ Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: ^(AQ)“When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ ²² then you shall let your children know, saying, ^(AR)‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on ^(AS)dry land’; ²³ for the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, ^(AT)which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, ^24 (AU)that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is ^(AV)mighty, that you may ^(AW)fear the Lord your God ^[h]forever.”

The Second Generation Circumcised

5 So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites ^(AX)who were by the sea, ^(AY)heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until ^[i]we had crossed over, that ^[j]their heart melted; ^(AZ)and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.

² At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make ^(BA)flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” ³ So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at ^[k]the hill of the foreskins. ⁴ And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: ^(BB)All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt. ⁵ For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. ⁶ For the children of Israel walked ^(BC)forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were ^[l]consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord—to whom the Lord swore that ^(BD)He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, ^(BE)“a land flowing with milk and honey.” ⁷ Then Joshua circumcised ^(BF)their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.

⁸ So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp ^(BG)till they were healed. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away ^(BH)the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called ^(BI)Gilgal^[m] to this day.

¹⁰ Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover ^(BJ)on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. ¹¹ And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and ^[n]parched grain, on the very same day. ¹² Then ^(BK)the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.

The Commander of the Army of the Lord

¹³ And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, ^(BL)a Man stood opposite him ^(BM)with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?”

¹⁴ So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.”

And Joshua ^(BN)fell on his face to the earth and ^(BO)worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”

¹⁵ Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, ^(BP)“Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

The Destruction of Jericho

6 Now ^(BQ)Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. ² And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! ^(BR)I have given Jericho into your hand, its ^(BS)king, and the mighty men of valor. ³ You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. ⁴ And seven priests shall bear seven ^(BT)trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city ^(BU)seven times, and ^(BV)the priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵ It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”

⁶ Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.” ⁷ And he said to the people, “Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the Lord.”

⁸ So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. ⁹ The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, ^(BW)and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. ¹⁰ Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” ¹¹ So he had ^(BX)the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and ^[o]lodged in the camp.

¹² And Joshua rose early in the morning, ^(BY)and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³ Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. ¹⁴ And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.

¹⁵ But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷ Now the city shall be ^(BZ)doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only ^(CA)Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because ^(CB)she hid the messengers that we sent. ¹⁸ And you, ^(CC)by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, ^(CD)and trouble it. ¹⁹ But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are ^[p]consecrated to the Lord; they ^[q]shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”

²⁰ So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that ^(CE)the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. ²¹ And they ^(CF)utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

²² But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, ^(CG)as you swore to her.” ²³ And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, ^(CH)her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴ But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. ²⁵ And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So ^(CI)she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

²⁶ Then Joshua ^[r]charged them at that time, saying, ^(CJ)“Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.”

²⁷ So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.

Stewards of the Mysteries of God

4 Let a man so consider us, as ^(A)servants of Christ ^(B)and stewards of the mysteries of God. ² Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. ³ But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human ^[a]court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. ^5 (C)Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to ^(D)light the hidden things of darkness and ^(E)reveal the ^[b]counsels of the hearts. ^(F)Then each one’s praise will come from God.

Fools for Christ’s Sake

⁶ Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be ^[c]puffed up on behalf of one against the other. ⁷ For who ^[d]makes you differ from another? And ^(G)what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸ You are already full! ^(H)You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you! ⁹ For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a ^(I)spectacle ^[e]to the world, both to angels and to men. ¹⁰ We are ^(J)fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! ^(K)We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! ¹¹ To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. ^12 (L)And we labor, working with our own hands. ^(M)Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; ¹³ being defamed, we ^[f]entreat. ^(N)We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.

Paul’s Paternal Care

¹⁴ I do not write these things to shame you, but ^(O)as my beloved children I warn you. ¹⁵ For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for ^(P)in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. ¹⁶ Therefore I urge you, ^(Q)imitate me. ¹⁷ For this reason I have sent ^(R)Timothy to you, ^(S)who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will ^(T)remind you of my ways in Christ, as I ^(U)teach everywhere ^(V)in every church.

^18 (W)Now some are ^[g]puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. ^19 (X)But I will come to you shortly, ^(Y)if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. ²⁰ For ^(Z)the kingdom of God is not in word but in ^(AA)power. ²¹ What do you want? ^(AB)Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?