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The Israelites Cross the Jordan
3 Joshua rose early in the morning, and they set out from Acacia Grove.[a] And they came up to the Jordan, he and all the Israelites,[b] and they spent the night there before they crossed over. 2 At the end of the three days the officers passed through the midst of the camp, 3 and they commanded the people: “When you see the Levitical priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God you must set out from your place and go after it. 4 But there will be a distance between you and it of about two thousand cubits in measurement.[c] Do not come near it, so that you may know the way that you must go, for you have not passed on this way before.”[d] 5 And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, because tomorrow Yahweh will do wonders in your midst.” 6 And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people.”[e] And they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.[f]
7 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “This day I will begin exalting you in the sight[g] of all Israel, that they may know that I was with Moses, and I will be with you. 8 You will command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘At the moment that you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you will stand still in the Jordan.’” 9 And Joshua said to the Israelites,[h] “Come here, and hear the words of Yahweh your God.” 10 Joshua said, “By this you will know that the living God is in your midst, and he will certainly drive out the Canaanites from before you,[i] and the Hittites, Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Look! The ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth[j] is about to cross over ahead of you into the Jordan. 12 So then, take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.[k] 13 When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the ark of Yahweh, Lord of all the earth,[l] rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off upstream,[m] and they will stand still in one heap.
14 And it happened, when the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant were ahead of the people.[n] 15 When those carrying the ark came up to the Jordan, and the priests carrying the ark dipped their feet in the edge of the water (the Jordan was flowing over its banks during all the days of harvest), 16 the waters flowing down from above stood still; they stood up in one heap very far from Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while the waters flowing down to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea,[o] were completely cut off;[p] and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 And the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood firmly on the dry land in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation finished crossing the Jordan.
The Israelites Make a Memorial
4 After all the nation finished crossing the Jordan, Yahweh said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,[q] 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you, and set them up in the place where you will camp tonight.’”[r] 4 So Joshua summoned the twelve men whom he had appointed from the Israelites,[s] one from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Cross over before[t] the ark of Yahweh your God to the middle of the Jordan, and each one of you lift up a stone on your[u] shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites,[v] 6 so that this may be a reminder[w] among you. When your children ask in the future, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’[x] 7 you will say to them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off from before[y] the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones will be as a memorial for the Israelites[z] for eternity.”
8 Thus the Israelites[aa] did as Joshua commanded. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan as Yahweh told Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites,[ab] and they carried them over with them to the camp,[ac] and they put them there. 9 Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stood, and they are there to this day. 10 The priests carrying the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything that Yahweh commanded Joshua to tell the people was finished, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua. And the people hastily crossed over.
11 And it happened, when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of Yahweh and the priests crossed over in front of[ad] the people. 12 The children of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the Israelites,[ae] as Moses told them. 13 About forty thousand armed for fighting crossed over before the presence of Yahweh to the plains of Jericho for battle. 14 On that day Yahweh exalted Joshua in the sight[af] of all Israel, and they respected him[ag] as they respected[ah] Moses all the days of his life.
15 Then Yahweh said to Joshua, saying, 16 “Command the priests carrying the ark of the testimony[ai] to come up[aj] from the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, “Come up from the Jordan.” 18 And it happened that when the priests carrying the ark came up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched dry land,[ak] the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and flowed over all its banks as before.
19 And the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the eastern edge[al] of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones that they took from the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21 And he said to the Israelites,[am] “When your children ask in the future their parents,[an] ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’[ao] 22 you will let your children know by saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you, until you had crossed, just as Yahweh your God did to the Red Sea,[ap] which he dried up before us until we had crossed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of Yahweh is strong, so that you may fear Yahweh your God forever.”[aq]
The Parable of the Guests at the Wedding Feast
7 Now he told a parable to those who had been invited when he[a] noticed how they were choosing for themselves the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast,[b] do not recline at the table in the place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you has been invited by him, 9 and the one who invited you both[c] will come and[d] say to you, ‘Give the place to this person,’ and then with shame you will begin to take the last place. 10 But when you are invited, go and[e] recline at the table in the last place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then it will be an honor to you in the presence of all those who are reclining at the table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
12 And he also said to the one who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or wealthy neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and repayment come to you. 13 But whenever you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they are not able to repay you. For it will be paid back to you at the resurrection of the righteous.”
15 Now when[f] one of those reclining at the table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who[g] will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A certain man was giving a large banquet and invited many. 17 And he sent his slave at the hour of the banquet to say to those who have been invited, ‘Come, because now it is ready!’ 18 And they all alike[h] began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field, and I must[i] go out to look at it. I ask you, consider me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen, and I am going to examine them. I ask you, consider me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and for this reason I am not able to come.’ 21 And the slave came and[j] reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and[k] said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame!’ 22 And the slave said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ 23 And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges and press them[l] to come in, so that my house will be filled! 24 For I say to you that none of those persons who were invited will taste my banquet!’”
The Cost of Discipleship
25 Now large crowds were going along with him, and he turned around and[m] said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and furthermore, even his own life, he cannot be[n] my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow[o] me cannot be[p] my disciple. 28 For which of you, wanting to build a tower, does not first sit down and[q] calculate the cost to see if he has enough[r] to complete it?[s] 29 Otherwise[t] after[u] he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish it,[v] all who see it[w] will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish!’ 31 Or what king, going out to engage another king in battle, does not sit down first and[x] deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand. 32 But if not, while[y] the other is still far away, he sends an ambassador and[z] asks for terms of[aa] peace. 33 In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not renounce all his own possessions cannot be[ab] my disciple.
34 “Now salt is good, but if salt becomes tasteless, with what will it be made salty? 35 It is usable neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it out. The one who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
A Prayer to Restore Israel
For the music director, according to The Lilies.
A testimony. Of Asaph. A psalm.[a]
80 Give ear, O shepherd of Israel,
who leads Joseph like a flock.
Shine forth, you who sits enthroned above the cherubim.
2 Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
stir up your power
and come for our salvation.
3 O God, restore us,
and cause your face to shine that we may be saved.
4 O Yahweh God of hosts,
how long will you be angry[b]
against the prayer of your people?
5 You have fed them the bread of tears;
you have given them tears to drink in full measure.[c]
6 You have made us an object of strife to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock among themselves.
7 O God of hosts, restore us
and cause your face to shine that we may be saved.
8 You uprooted a vine from Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You prepared a place before it,
and it took deep root[d] and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
and the mighty cedars with its boughs.
11 It spread its branches to the sea
and its shoots to the river.
12 Why have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass on the road pluck fruit from it?
13 Swine from the forests devour[e] it
and creatures of the field feed on it.
14 Please return, O God of hosts.
Observe from heaven and see,
and pay attention to this vine,
15 eventhe stalk that your right hand planted,
and concerning the shoot[f] you strengthened for yourself.
16 It is burned with fire, cut down.
They perish at the rebuke of your face.
17 Let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
on the son of humankind whom you made strong for yourself.
18 Then we will not turn back from you.
Restore us to life, and we will proclaim your name.
19 O Yahweh God of hosts, restore us;
cause your face to shine that we may be saved.
27 The lazy will not roast his game,
but diligence is the precious wealth of a man.
28 On the road of righteousness is life,
and on the way of the path, may there be no death.
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