Old/New Testament
God’s Command to Joshua
1 After Moses, the servant of the ·Lord [or Yahweh; C “Lord” (capital letters) represents the divine name YHWH, usually pronounced “Yahweh”], died, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ ·assistant [aide; servant]. 2 The Lord said, “My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people ·go across [get ready to cross; L arise and cross] the Jordan River into the land I am giving to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. 3 I promised Moses I would give you this land [Deut. 11:24], so I will give you every place ·you go [L the sole of your foot walks/treads] in the land. 4 All the land from the ·desert in the south [L desert; wilderness] to ·Lebanon in the north [L Lebanon] will be yours. All the land from the great river, the ·Euphrates, in the east [L Euphrates], to the ·Mediterranean [L Great] Sea ·in the west [L toward the going down of the sun] will be yours, too, ·including [or which is all] the land of the Hittites [C Palestine was known as “Hatti-land” (or “Hittite country”) by the Egyptians and Babylonians]. 5 No one will be able to ·defeat [resist; stand against] you all your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not ·leave [fail] you or ·forget [desert; forsake] you.
6 “Joshua, be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]! You must lead these people ·so they can take [to possess/inherit] the land that I promised their fathers I would give them. 7 Be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]. Be ·sure [careful] to obey all the ·teachings [law] my servant Moses ·gave [commanded] you. If you ·follow them exactly [L do not turn from it to the right or to the left], you will be successful in everything you do. 8 ·Always remember [L Do not let depart from your mouth] what is written in the Book of the ·Teachings [Law]. ·Study [Meditate on] it day and night to be ·sure [careful; diligent] to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be ·wise [prudent; successful] and ·successful [prosperous] ·in everything [or along life’s path; along the way]. 9 ·Remember that I [L Have I not…?] commanded you to be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]. Don’t be afraid or ·discouraged [dismayed], because the Lord your God will be with you ·everywhere you go [or in all you do].”
Joshua’s Orders to the People
10 Then Joshua gave orders to the ·officers [leaders] of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and ·tell [command] the people, ‘Get your ·supplies [provisions] ready. ·Three days from now [or Within a few days] you will cross the Jordan River and take the land the Lord your God is ·giving you [L giving you to inherit/possess].’”
12 Then Joshua said to the people of Reuben, Gad, and ·East [L the half-tribe of] Manasseh, 13 “Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, told you [Deut. 3:18–20]. He said the Lord your God would give you ·rest [a place of rest/security] and would give you this land. 14 Now your wives, children, and animals may stay here in the land Moses has given you east of the Jordan River, but your fighting men must dress for war and cross the Jordan River ahead of your brothers to help them. 15 The Lord has given you a place ·to rest [of security] and will do the same for your brothers. But you must help them until they take the land the Lord their God is giving them. Then you may return to your own land east of the Jordan River, the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you [Deut. 3:18–20].”
16 Then the people answered Joshua, “Anything you command us to do, we will do. Any place you send us, we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, we will obey you. ·We ask only that [or And may] the Lord your God be with you just as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever ·refuses to obey [rebels against] your commands or ·turns against [refuses to obey] you will be put to death. Just be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]!”
Spies Sent to Jericho
2 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent out two spies from ·Acacia [L Shittim; C a Hebrew word meaning “acacia”] and said to them, “Go and ·look at [check out] the land, particularly at the city of Jericho.”
So the men went to Jericho and ·stayed [lodged] at the house of a prostitute named Rahab.
2 Someone told the king of Jericho, “[L Look; T Behold] Some men from Israel have come here tonight to spy out the land.”
3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house. They have come to spy out our whole land.”
4 But the woman had hidden the two men. She said, “They did come here, but I didn’t know where they came from. 5 In the evening, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know where they went, but if you go quickly, maybe you can catch them.” 6 (The woman had taken the men up to the roof and had hidden them there under stalks of flax that she had spread out.) 7 So the king’s men went out looking for the spies on the road that leads to the ·crossings [fords] of the Jordan River. The city gate was closed just after the king’s men left the city.
8 Before the spies went to sleep for the night, Rahab went up to the roof. 9 She said to them, “I know the Lord has given this land to your people. ·You frighten us very much [L A terror of you has fallen on us]. Everyone living in this land is ·terribly afraid of [L melting away before] you 10 because we have heard how the Lord dried up the ·Red Sea [or Sea of Reeds] when you came out of Egypt [Ex. 14:15–31]. We have heard how you ·destroyed [or devoted to the Lord for destruction; see 6:17; Deut. 20:15–18] Sihon and Og, two Amorite kings who lived ·east of [beyond] the Jordan. 11 When we heard this, ·we were very frightened [L our hearts melted]. ·Now our men are afraid to fight you [L And there rose up no spirit/breath in a man because of you] because the Lord your God ·rules [L is God in] the heavens above and the earth below! 12 So now, ·promise [swear to] me ·before [or by] the Lord that you will show ·kindness [loyalty] to my family just as I showed ·kindness [loyalty] to you. Give me ·some proof [a sure sign; a solemn pledge] that you will do this. 13 Allow my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all of their families to live. ·Save [Rescue; Preserve] us from death.”
14 The men agreed and said, “It will be our lives for your lives if you don’t tell anyone what we are doing. When the Lord gives us the land, we will be ·kind [loyal] and ·true [faithful] to you.”
15 The house Rahab lived in was built on the city wall, so she used a rope to let the men down through a window. 16 She said to them, “Go into the hills so the ·king’s men [L pursuers] will not find you. Hide there for three days. After the ·king’s men [L pursuers] return, you may go on your way.”
17 The men said to her, “You must do as we say. If not, we ·cannot be responsible for keeping [will be free from] this oath you have made us swear. 18 When we return to this land, you must tie this ·red [scarlet] rope in the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your ·family [L father’s house] into your house. 19 If anyone leaves your house and is killed, ·it is his own fault [L his blood is on his head]. We ·cannot be responsible for him [are innocent]. If anyone in your house ·is hurt [L has a hand laid on them], ·we will be responsible [his blood will be on our head]. 20 But if you tell anyone about this, we will be free from the oath you made us swear.”
21 Rahab answered, “·I agree to this [L Let it be according to your words].” So she sent them away, and they left. Then she tied the ·red [scarlet] rope in the window.
22 The men left and went into the hills where they stayed for three days. The ·king’s men [pursuers] looked for them all along the road, but after three days, they returned to the city without finding them. 23 Then the two men started back. They left the hills and crossed the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said, “The Lord surely has given ·us all of the land [L all the land into our hand]. All the people in that land are ·terribly afraid of [melting away before] us.”
Crossing the Jordan
3 Early the next morning Joshua and all the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] left ·Acacia [C Hebrew: Shittim; 2:1]. They traveled to the Jordan River and camped there before crossing it. 2 After three days the ·officers [leaders] went through the camp 3 and gave orders to the people: “When you see the priests and Levites carrying the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord your God [Ex. 25:10–22], leave where you are and follow it. 4 That way you will know which way to go since you have never ·been here [passed this way] before. But do not ·follow too closely [come near it]. Stay about ·a thousand yards [L two thousand cubits] behind the Ark.”
5 Then Joshua told the people, “·Make yourselves holy [Consecrate yourselves], because tomorrow the Lord will do ·amazing [miraculous] things among you.”
6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] and go ahead of the people.” So the priests lifted the Ark and carried it ahead of the people.
7 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to ·make you great [exalt/honor you] in the ·opinion [L eyes] of all the Israelites so the people will know I am with you just as I was with Moses. 8 ·Tell [Command] the priests who carry the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] to go to the edge of the Jordan River and stand in the water.”
9 Then Joshua said to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 Here is proof that the living God is ·with [among] you and that he will ·force [drive] out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. 11 [L Look; T Behold] The Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord of the whole world will go ahead of you into the Jordan River. 12 Now choose twelve men from among you, one from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the ·Master [Ruler; Lord] of the whole world [Ex. 9:29], into the Jordan ahead of you. When they step into the water, it will stop. The ·river will stop flowing [L waters going down will be cut off from above] and will stand up in a heap [C thus reminding them of the crossing of the sea in Ex. 14].”
14 So the people left ·the place where they had camped [their camp/L tents], and they followed the priests who carried the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty] across the Jordan River. 15 During harvest the Jordan overflows its banks. When the priests carrying the Ark came to the edge of the river and stepped into the water, 16 the water ·upstream [L going down from above] stopped flowing. It stood up in a heap a great distance away at Adam, a town near Zarethan. The water flowing down to the Sea of Arabah (the ·Dead [L Salt] Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed the river ·near [opposite; across from] Jericho. 17 The priests carried the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord to the middle of the river and stood there on dry ground. They waited there while ·all the people [the whole nation] of Israel walked across the Jordan River on dry land.
Jesus Rises from the Dead(A)
16 The day after the Sabbath day, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought some sweet-smelling spices to ·put on [anoint] Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on that day, the first day of the week, soon after sunrise, the women were on their way to the tomb. 3 They said to each other, “Who will roll away for us the stone that covers the entrance of the tomb?”
4 Then the women looked and saw that the stone had already been rolled away, even though it was very large. 5 The women entered the tomb and saw a young man wearing a white robe and sitting on the right side, and they were ·afraid [alarmed; amazed].
6 But the man said, “Don’t be ·afraid [alarmed; amazed]. You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who has been crucified. He has risen from the dead; he is not here. Look, here is the place they laid him. 7 Now go and tell his ·followers [disciples] and Peter, ‘Jesus is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there as he told you before.’”
8 The women were shaking with fear and ·confused [overwhelmed; bewildered], so they left the tomb and ran away. They did not tell anyone about what happened, because they were afraid.
Verses 9–20 are not included in some of the earliest surviving Greek copies of Mark and have significant stylistic differences from the rest of Mark’s Gospel.
Some Followers See Jesus(B)
|9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on the first day of the week, he showed himself first to Mary Magdalene. One time in the past, he had ·forced [driven; cast] seven demons out of her. 10 After Mary saw Jesus, she went and told his followers, who were ·very sad [mourning; grieving] and were crying. 11 But Mary told them that Jesus was alive. She said that she had seen him, but they did not believe her.
12 Later, Jesus showed himself to two of ·his followers [his disciples; L them] while they were walking in the country, but he did not look the same as before. 13 They went back to the others and told them what had happened, but again, they did not believe them.
Jesus Talks to the Disciples(C)
14 Later Jesus showed himself to the eleven while they were ·eating [reclining at table; see 2:15], and he ·criticized [reprimanded; rebuked] them because they had no faith. They were ·stubborn [hard hearted] and refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen from the dead.
15 Jesus said to them, “Go everywhere in the world, and ·tell [preach; proclaim] the ·Good News [Gospel] to ·everyone [all creation]. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved, but anyone who does not believe will be ·punished [condemned]. 17 And those who believe will be able to do these things as ·proof [signs]: They will use my name to ·force [drive; cast] out demons. They will speak in new ·languages [tongues]. 18 They will pick up snakes and drink poison without being hurt. They will ·touch [lay hands on] the sick, and the sick will ·be healed [recover].”
19 After the Lord Jesus said these things to them, he was carried up into heaven, and he sat at the right ·side [hand] of God. 20 The ·followers [disciples] went everywhere in the world and ·told [preached; proclaimed] the ·Good News [Gospel] to people, and the Lord helped them. The Lord ·proved [confirmed] that the ·Good News [Gospel] they ·told [preached; proclaimed] was true by giving them power to work ·miracles [signs].|
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