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Joshua Reviews Israel’s History
24 Then (A)Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the [a]River, namely, (B)Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. 3 Then (C)I took your father Abraham from beyond the [b]River, and led him through all the land of Canaan, and (D)multiplied his [c]descendants and gave him (E)Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave (F)Jacob and Esau, and (G)to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but (H)Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 Then (I)I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt [d]by what I did in its midst; and afterward I brought you out. 6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and (J)you came to the sea; and Egypt pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the [e]Red Sea. 7 But when they cried out to the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them and covered them; and your own eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And (K)you lived in the wilderness for a long time. 8 Then (L)I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan, and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land when I destroyed them before you. 9 Then (M)Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel, and he sent and summoned Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 But I (N)was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I delivered you from his hand. 11 (O)You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and (P)the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus (Q)I gave them into your hand. 12 Then I (R)sent the hornet before you and it [f]drove out the two kings of the Amorites from before you, but (S)not by your sword or your bow. 13 (T)I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’
“We Will Serve the Lord”
14 “Now, therefore, [g](U)fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and [h]truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the [i]River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or (V)the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of [j]bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 The Lord drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord, (W)for He is a holy God. He is (X)a jealous God; (Y)He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. 20 (Z)If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” 21 The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” 22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that (AA)you have chosen for yourselves the Lord, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and (AB)incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 (AC)The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and we will [k]obey His voice.” 25 (AD)So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 And Joshua (AE)wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, (AF)this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke [l]to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance.
Joshua’s Death and Burial
29 It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in (AG)Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.
31 (AH)Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who [m]survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the Lord which He had done for Israel.
32 Now (AI)they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground (AJ)which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred [n]pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons. 33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him [o]at Gibeah of (AK)Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
The Widow’s Gift
21 (A)And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. 2 And He saw a poor widow putting [a]in (B)two [b]small copper coins. 3 And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; 4 for they all out of their [c]surplus put into the [d]offering; but she out of her poverty put in all [e]that she had (C)to live on.”
5 (D)And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, 6 “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which (E)there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”
7 They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the [f]sign when these things are about to take place?” 8 And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘(F)I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ (G)Do not go after them. 9 When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”
Things to Come
10 Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, 11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great [g]signs from heaven.
12 “But before all these things, (H)they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, [h]bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. 13 (I)It will lead to [i]an opportunity for your testimony. 14 (J)So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; 15 for (K)I will give you [j]utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. 16 But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 17 and you will be hated by all because of My name. 18 Yet (L)not a hair of your head will perish. 19 (M)By your endurance you will gain your [k]lives.
20 “But when you see Jerusalem (N)surrounded by armies, then [l]recognize that her desolation is near. 21 Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of [m]the city must leave, and (O)those who are in the country must not enter [n]the city; 22 because these are (P)days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. 23 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for (Q)there will be great distress upon the [o]land and wrath to this people; 24 and they will fall by (R)the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and (S)Jerusalem will be (T)trampled under foot by the Gentiles until (U)the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
The Return of Christ
25 “There will be [p]signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the [q]world; for the powers of [r]the heavens will be shaken. 27 (V)Then they will see (W)the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because (X)your redemption is drawing near.”
38 But You have (A)cast off and (B)rejected,
You have been full of wrath [a]against Your (C)anointed.
39 You have (D)spurned the covenant of Your servant;
You have (E)profaned (F)his crown [b]in the dust.
40 You have (G)broken down all his walls;
You have (H)brought his strongholds to ruin.
41 (I)All who pass along the way plunder him;
He has become a (J)reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have (K)exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have (L)made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You also turn back the edge of his sword
And have (M)not made him stand in battle.
44 You have made his [c](N)splendor to cease
And cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have (O)shortened the days of his youth;
You have (P)covered him with shame. Selah.
46 (Q)How long, O Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your (R)wrath burn like fire?
47 (S)Remember [d]what my span of life is;
For what (T)vanity [e]You have created all the sons of men!
48 What man can live and not (U)see death?
Can he (V)deliver his soul from the [f]power of [g]Sheol? Selah.
49 Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O Lord,
Which You (W)swore to David in Your faithfulness?
50 Remember, O Lord, the (X)reproach of Your servants;
[h]How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51 With which (Y)Your enemies have reproached, O Lord,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of (Z)Your anointed.
52 (AA)Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.
20 (A)He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
21 (B)Adversity pursues sinners,
But the (C)righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.
22 A good man (D)leaves an inheritance to his [a]children’s children,
And the (E)wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
23 (F)Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor,
But [b]it is swept away by injustice.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.