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24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called the elders, heads of families, judges, and officers of Israel to ·stand [present themselves] before God.
2 Then Joshua said to all the people, “Here’s what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you: ‘A long time ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, worshiped other gods. 3 But I, the Lord, took your ancestor Abraham from the other side of the river and led him through the land of Canaan [Gen. 12:1–3; 17:4–8]. And I ·gave him many children, including [or multiplied his descendants, beginning with] his son Isaac [Gen. 21]. 4 I gave Isaac two sons named Jacob and Esau [Gen. 25]. I gave the land around the ·mountains [hill country] of ·Edom [C Hebrew: Seir] to Esau, but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt [Gen. 46]. 5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron to Egypt, where I ·brought many disasters on the Egyptians [L plagued Egypt by what I did in their midst; Ex. 1–11]. Afterwards I brought you out [Ex. 12]. 6 When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, they came to the ·Red Sea [L Sea], and the Egyptians chased them with chariots and men on horses. 7 So the people called out to the Lord. And ·I [L he] brought darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea to cover them [Ex. 13–15]. ·You yourselves [L Your eyes] saw what I did ·to the army of [L in] Egypt. After that, you lived in the ·desert [wilderness] for a long time.
8 “‘Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, east of the Jordan River. They fought against you, but I handed them over to you. I destroyed them before you, and you took ·control [possession] of that land [Num. 21; Deut. 2–3]. 9 But the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, ·prepared to fight [L arose and fought] against the Israelites. The king sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you [Num. 22–24], 10 but I refused to listen to Balaam. So he ·asked for good things to happen to you [L kept blessing you]! I ·saved you and brought you out of his power [L delivered you out of his hand].
11 “‘Then you crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho, where the ·people [or leaders] of Jericho fought against you. Also, the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites fought against you. But I ·handed them over to you [L gave them into your hand]. 12 I sent ·terror [or the hornet; C the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain] ahead of you to ·force [drive] out two Amorite kings [2:10; Num. 21:21–35]. ·You took the land without using swords and bows [L It was not by your sword or by your bow]. 13 I gave you that land where you had not worked. I gave you cities that you did not have to build. And now you live in that land and in those cities, and you eat from vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant.’”
14 Then Joshua said to the people, “Now ·respect [fear; be in awe of] the Lord and serve him ·fully [faithfully; in truth] and sincerely. ·Throw [Put] away the gods that your ancestors worshiped on the other side of the ·Euphrates River [L River] and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. 15 But if ·you don’t want [L it is undesirable/evil in your eyes] to serve the Lord, you must choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. You may serve the gods that your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the ·Euphrates River [L River], or you may serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land. As for me and my ·family [L house], we will serve the Lord.”
16 Then the people answered, “·We will never stop following [L Far be it from us to forsake] the Lord to serve other gods! 17 It was the Lord our God who brought ·our [L us and our] ancestors out of Egypt. ·We were slaves in that land, but […L out of the house of slavery, and] the Lord did great ·things [L signs] for us there. He brought us out and ·protected [preserved] us while we traveled through other lands. 18 Then he ·forced [drove] out all the people living in these lands, even the Amorites. So we will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said, “You are not able to serve the Lord, because he is a holy God [Lev. 19:2] and a jealous God [Ex. 20:5]. If you ·turn against him [rebel] and sin, he will not forgive you. 20 If you ·leave [forsake; abandon] the Lord and serve ·other [foreign] gods, he will ·send you great trouble [bring disaster on you]. The Lord may have been good to you, but if you turn against him, he will ·destroy [consume] you.”
21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
22 Then Joshua said, “You are your own witnesses that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”
The people said, “Yes, we are.”
23 Then Joshua said, “Now throw away the [L foreign] gods that ·you have [are in your midst]. ·Love the Lord, the God of Israel, with all your heart [L Bend your heart toward the Lord, the God of Israel].”
24 Then the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God, and we will obey him.”
25 On that day at Shechem Joshua made an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] for the people. He made ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and ·laws [regulations] for them to follow. 26 Joshua wrote these things in the Book of the ·Teachings [Law] of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree near the Lord’s ·Holy Tent [sanctuary; shrine; holy place].
27 Joshua said to all the people, “·See [T Behold] this stone! It will ·remind you of what we did today [L be a witness against you]. ·It was here the Lord spoke to us today [L It has heard all the words the Lord said to us]. It will ·remind you of what happened so you will not [be a witness against you, lest you] ·turn against [are untrue to; deal falsely with] your God.”
Joshua Dies
28 Then Joshua sent the people back ·to their land [L each to their own inheritance].
29 After that, Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of one hundred ten. 30 They buried him in ·his own land [L the land of his inheritance] at Timnath Serah, in the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31 The Israelites served the Lord during the lifetime of Joshua and during the lifetimes of the elders who lived after Joshua who had ·seen [experienced; known] what the Lord had done for Israel.
Joseph Comes Home
32 When the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] left Egypt, they carried the bones of Joseph with them [Gen. 50:25; Ex. 13:19; Heb. 11:22]. They buried them at Shechem, in the ·land [piece of ground] Jacob had bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor (Hamor was the father of Shechem) [Gen. 33:19]. This land ·now belonged to [became the inheritance of] Joseph’s children.
33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah in the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim, which had been given to Eleazar’s son Phinehas.
True Giving(A)
21 As Jesus looked up, he saw some rich people putting their gifts into the Temple ·money box [or treasury; C one of thirteen trumpet-shaped receptacles used to collect offerings]. 2 Then he saw a poor widow putting two small copper coins [C Greek: lepta; worth only 1/128 of a denarius, the daily wage of a worker] into the box. 3 He said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people. 4 [L For] They gave ·only what they did not need [out of their surplus/abundance]. ·This woman is very poor, but she gave [L But she, out of her poverty, gave] all she had to live on.”
The Temple Will Be Destroyed(B)
5 Some ·people [or of the disciples] were talking about the Temple and how it was ·decorated [adorned] with beautiful stones and gifts offered to God.
But Jesus said, 6 “As for these things you are looking at, the ·time [days] will come when not one stone will be left on another. Every stone will be ·thrown [torn] down.”
7 They asked Jesus, “Teacher, when will these things happen? What will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
8 Jesus said, “·Be careful [Watch out] so you are not ·fooled [deceived; led astray]. [L For; Because] Many people will come in my name, saying, ‘I am ·the One [or he; C the Messiah]’ and, ‘The time ·has come [or is near]!’ But don’t follow them. 9 When you hear about wars and ·riots [uprisings; insurrections], don’t be ·afraid [terrified], because these things must happen first, but the end will ·come later [not come immediately].”
10 Then he said to them, “Nations will ·fight [L rise up] against other nations, and kingdoms against other kingdoms. 11 In various places there will be great earthquakes, ·sicknesses [plagues; pestilences], and ·a lack of food [famines]. ·Fearful [Terrifying] events and great signs will come from heaven.
12 “But before all these things happen, people will ·arrest [seize; L lay their hands on] you and ·treat you cruelly [persecute you]. They will ·judge you in their [drag you into the; L hand you over to] synagogues and put you in jail and force you to stand before kings and governors, because ·you follow me [of your allegiance to me; L of my name]. 13 But this will give you an opportunity to ·tell [testify; bear witness] about me. 14 [L So; Therefore] ·Make up your minds [Resolve; L Put it in your hearts] not to ·worry [or rehearse] ahead of time about what you will say [12:11]. 15 [L For] I will give you ·the wisdom to say things [words and wisdom] that none of your enemies will be able to ·stand against [resist] or ·prove wrong [refute; contradict]. 16 Even your parents, brothers [and sisters], relatives, and friends will ·turn against you [betray you; L hand you over], and they will kill some of you. 17 All people will hate you because ·you follow me [L of my name]. 18 But ·none of these things can really harm you [L not a hair on your head will perish; C a metaphor for living forever with God]. 19 By ·continuing to have faith [your endurance/perseverance] you will ·save your lives [or gain/win your souls].
Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed(C)
20 “When you see armies all around Jerusalem, you will know ·it will soon be destroyed [L its desolation draws near/is at hand]. 21 At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains. The people in Jerusalem must get out, and those who are ·near the city [in the countryside] should not go in. 22 These are the days of ·punishment [vengeance; retribution] to ·bring about [fulfill] all that is written in the Scriptures. 23 ·How terrible it will be for [L Woe to] women who are pregnant or have nursing babies [L in those days]! [L For; Because] Great ·trouble [distress; calamity] will come upon this land, and ·God will be angry with these people [L wrath will come against this people]. 24 They will ·be killed by [L fall by the mouth of] the sword and taken as ·prisoners [captives] to all nations. Jerusalem will be ·crushed [trampled] by Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles is ·over [fulfilled].
Don’t Fear(D)
25 “There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On earth, nations will be ·afraid [distressed] and confused because of the roar and ·fury [surging waves] of the sea. 26 People will be so afraid they will ·faint [or lose all hope], wondering what is ·happening to [coming upon] the world, because the ·powers of the heavens [or heavenly bodies] will be shaken. 27 Then people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory [Dan. 7:13]. 28 When these things begin to happen, ·look up [or stand up] and hold your heads high, because ·the time when God will free you [your redemption/liberation] is ·near [at hand]!”
38 But now you have ·refused [spurned] and rejected him.
You have been angry with your ·appointed king [L anointed; v. 20].
39 You have ·abandoned [disavowed] the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with your servant
and ·thrown [profaned; defiled] his crown ·to [or in] the ground [Jer. 13:18–19].
40 You have ·torn down [broken up] all his city walls;
you have turned his strong cities into ruins.
41 Everyone who passes by ·steals from [plunders] him.
·His neighbors insult him [L He is scorned by/a reproach to his neighbors].
42 You have ·given strength of [L exalted the right hand of] his ·enemies [foes]
and have made ·them all [L all his enemies] happy.
43 You have ·made his sword useless [turned back the blade/L rock of his sword];
you did not help him stand in battle.
44 You have ·kept him from winning [or put aside his purity]
and have thrown his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut ·his life [L the days of his youth] short
and ·covered [wrapped] him with shame. ·
46 Lord, how long will this go on?
Will you ·ignore [hide from] us forever?
How long will your anger burn like a fire?
47 Remember how ·short [fleeting] my life is.
Why did you create us? For ·nothing [futility; vanity; no purpose]?
48 What person alive will not ·die [L see death]?
Who can escape ·the grave [L from the hand/power of Sheol; C the grave or the underworld]? ·
49 Lord, where is your ·love [loyalty] from times past,
which in your ·loyalty [faithfulness] you ·promised [swore] to David [2 Sam. 7:11–14]?
50 Lord, remember ·how they insulted [L the reproach/scorn of] your servant;
remember how I ·have suffered the insults of the nations [L carry in my bosom all of the many peoples].
51 Lord, remember how your enemies ·insulted [reproached; scorned] you
and how they ·insulted [reproached; scorned] ·your appointed king wherever he went [L the footsteps of your anointed; v. 20].
52 ·Praise [Blessed be] the Lord forever!
Amen and amen.
20 ·Spend time [L Walk; Go] with the wise and you will become wise,
but the friends of fools will ·suffer [or get into trouble].
21 Trouble ·always comes to [L pursues] sinners,
but ·good [righteous] people ·enjoy success [get a good reward].
22 Good people leave their wealth to their grandchildren,
but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for ·good [righteous] people.
23 A poor person’s ·field [soil] might produce plenty of food,
but ·others often steal it away [L it is unjustly swept away].
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