Old/New Testament
God’s Command to Joshua
1 Moses was the servant of the Lord. Joshua son of Nun was Moses’ assistant. After Moses died, the Lord said to Joshua: 2 “My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people go across the Jordan River. Go into the land I am giving to the people of Israel. 3 I promised Moses I would give you this land. So I will give you every place you go in the land. 4 All the land from the desert in the south to Lebanon in the north will be yours. All the land from the great river, the Euphrates, in the east, to the Mediterranean Sea in the west will be yours. This includes the land of the Hittites. 5 Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. No one will be able to stop you all your life. I will not leave you. I will never leave you alone.
6 “Joshua, be strong and brave! You must lead these people so they can take their land. This is the land I promised their fathers I would give them. 7 Be strong and brave. Be sure to obey all the teachings my servant Moses gave you. If you follow them exactly, you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Always remember what is written in the Book of the Teachings. Study it day and night. Then you will be sure to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything. 9 Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. So don’t be afraid. The Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go.”
Joshua’s Orders to the People
10 So Joshua gave orders to the officers of the people. He said, 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan River. You will go and take the land the Lord your God is giving you.’”
12 Then Joshua spoke to the people of Reuben, Gad and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. Joshua said, 13 “Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, told you. He said the Lord your God would give you rest. And he said the Lord would give you this land. 14 Now the Lord has given you this land east of the Jordan River. Your wives, your children and your animals may stay here. But your fighting men must dress for war and cross the Jordan River ahead of your brothers. You must help your brothers. 15 The Lord has given you a place to rest. He will do the same for your brothers. But you must help them until they take the land. This is the land the Lord their God is giving them. Then you may return to your own land east of the Jordan River. That is the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you.”
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 the Lord your God be with you just as he was with Moses. 18 Then, if anyone refuses to obey your commands or turns against you, he will be put to death. Just be strong and brave!”
Spies Sent to Jericho
2 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent out two spies from Acacia. Joshua said to them, “Go and look at the land. Look closely at the city of Jericho.”
So the men went to Jericho. They went to the house of a prostitute and stayed there. This woman’s name was Rahab.
2 Someone told the king of Jericho, “Some men from Israel have come here tonight. They are spying 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 Now 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. Go quickly. Maybe you can catch them.” 6 (But the woman had taken the men up to the roof.[a] She had hidden them there under stalks of flax. She had spread the flax out there to dry.) 7 So the king’s men went out looking for the spies from Israel. They went to the places where people cross the Jordan River. The city gate was closed just after the king’s men left the city.
8 The spies were ready to sleep for the night. So Rahab went to the roof and talked to them. 9 She said, “I know the Lord has given this land to your people. You frighten us very much. Everyone living in this land is terribly afraid of you. 10 We are afraid because we have heard how the Lord helped you. We heard how he dried up the Red Sea when you came out of Egypt. We heard how you destroyed Sihon and Og. They were the two Amorite kings who lived east of the Jordan. 11 When we heard this, we became very frightened. Now our men are afraid to fight you. This is because the Lord your God rules the heavens above and the earth below! 12 So now, make me a promise before the Lord. Promise that you will show kindness to my family just as I showed you kindness. Give me some proof that you will do this. 13 Promise me you will allow my family to live. Save my father, mother, brothers, sisters and all of their families from death.”
14 The men agreed. They said, “We will trade our lives for your lives. Don’t tell anyone what we are doing. When the Lord gives us our land, we will be kind to you. You may trust us.”
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. The king’s men will not find you there. Hide there for three days. After the king’s men 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 our promise. 18 You are using a red rope to help us escape. When we return to this land, you must tie it in the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers and all your family into your house. 19 We can keep everyone safe who stays in this house. If anyone in your house is hurt, we will be responsible. If anyone goes out of your house and is killed, it is his own fault. We cannot be responsible for him. 20 But you must not tell anyone about this agreement. If you do, we are free from it.”
21 Rahab answered, “I agree to this.” So she sent them away, and they left. Then she tied the red rope in the window.
22 The men left and went into the hills. There they stayed for three days. The king’s men looked for them all along the road. But after three days, the king’s men returned to the city without finding them. 23 Then the two men started back to Joshua. They left the hills and crossed the river. They went to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “The Lord surely has given us all of the land. All the people in that land are terribly afraid of us.”
Crossing the Jordan
3 Early the next morning Joshua and all the people of Israel left Acacia. They traveled to the Jordan River and camped there before crossing it. 2 After three days the officers went through the camp. 3 They gave orders to the people. They said, “You will see the priests and Levites carrying the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord your God. Then you should leave where you are and follow it. 4 That way you will know which way to go. You have never traveled this way before. But do not follow too closely. Stay about a thousand yards behind the Ark of the Covenant.”
5 Then Joshua told the people, “Make yourselves holy for the Lord. Tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”
6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take the Ark of the Covenant. Cross over the river ahead of the people.” So the priests lifted the Ark of the Covenant and carried it ahead of the people.
7 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great man to all the Israelites. So the people will know I am with you just as I was with Moses. 8 The priests will carry the Ark of the Covenant. Tell them this: ‘Go to the edge of the Jordan River and stand in the water.’”
9 Then Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here. Listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 Here is proof that the living God is with you. Here is proof that he will drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and the Jebusites. 11 This is the proof: The Ark of the Covenant will go ahead of you into the Jordan River. It is the Agreement with the Lord of the whole world. 12 Now choose 12 men from among you. Choose 1 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. 13 The priests will carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, the Master of the whole world. They will carry it into the Jordan ahead of you. When they enter the water, the river will stop flowing. The water will be stopped. It will stand up in a heap as if a dam were there.”
14 So the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant. And the people left the place where they had camped. Then they started across the Jordan River. 15 During harvest the Jordan is flooded. So the river was at its fullest. The priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant came to the edge of the river. And they stepped into the water. 16 Just at that moment, the water stopped flowing. It stood up in a heap a great distance away at Adam. This is a town near Zarethan. The water flowing down to the Sea of Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed the river near Jericho. 17 The ground there became dry. The priests carried the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord to the middle of the river and stopped. They waited there while all the people of Israel walked across. They crossed the Jordan River on dry land.
Jesus Rises from Death
16 The day after the Sabbath day, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought some sweet-smelling spices to put on Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on that day, the first day of the week, the women were on their way to the tomb. It was soon after sunrise. 3 They said to each other, “There is a large stone covering the entrance of the tomb. Who will move the stone for us?”
4 Then the women looked and saw that the stone was already moved. The stone was very large, but it was moved away from the entrance. 5 The women entered the tomb and saw a young man wearing a white robe. He was sitting on the right side, and the women were afraid.
6 But the man said, “Don’t be afraid. You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, the one who was killed on a cross. He has risen from death. He is not here. Look, here is the place they laid him. 7 Now go and tell his followers and Peter, ‘Jesus is going into Galilee. He will be there before you. You will see him there as he told you before.’”
8 The women were confused and shaking with fear. They left the tomb and ran away. They did not tell anyone about what happened, because they were afraid.[a]
Some Followers See Jesus
9 Jesus rose from death early on the first day of the week. He showed himself first to Mary Magdalene. One time in the past, he had forced seven demons to leave Mary. 10 After Mary saw Jesus, she went and told his followers. They were very sad and were crying. 11 But Mary told them that Jesus was alive. She said that she had seen him, but the followers did not believe her.
12 Later, Jesus showed himself to two of his followers while they were walking in the country. But Jesus did not look the same as before. 13 These followers went back to the others and told them what had happened. Again, the followers did not believe them.
Jesus Talks to the Apostles
14 Later Jesus showed himself to the 11 followers while they were eating. He criticized them because they had little faith. They were stubborn and refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen from death.
15 Jesus said to the followers, “Go everywhere in the world. Tell the Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But he who does not believe will be judged guilty. 17 And those who believe will be able to do these things as proof: They will use my name to force demons out of people. They will speak in languages they never learned. 18 They will pick up snakes without being hurt. And they will drink poison without being hurt. They will touch the sick, and the sick will be healed.”
19 After the Lord Jesus said these things to the followers, he was carried up into heaven. There, Jesus sat at the right side of God. 20 The followers went everywhere in the world and told the Good News to people. And the Lord helped them. The Lord proved that the Good News they told was true by giving them power to work miracles.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.