Old/New Testament
1 After the death of Moses, the Lord’s disciple, God spoke to Moses’ assistant, whose name was Joshua (the son of Nun), and said to him,
2 “Now that my disciple is dead, you are the new leader of Israel.[a] Lead my people across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. 3 I say to you what I said to Moses: ‘Wherever you go will be part of the land of Israel— 4 all the way from the Negeb Desert in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Euphrates River in the east, including all the land of the Hittites.’ 5 No one will be able to oppose you as long as you live, for I will be with you just as I was with Moses; I will not abandon you or fail to help you.
6 “Be strong and brave, for you will be a successful leader of my people; and they shall conquer all the land I promised to their ancestors. 7 You need only to be strong and courageous and to obey to the letter every law Moses gave you, for if you are careful to obey every one of them, you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Constantly remind the people about these laws, and you yourself must think about them every day and every night so that you will be sure to obey all of them. For only then will you succeed. 9 Yes, be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
10-11 Then Joshua issued instructions to the leaders of Israel to tell the people to get ready to cross the Jordan River. “In three days we will go across and conquer and live in the land which God has given us!” he told them.
12-13 Then he summoned the leaders of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh and reminded them of their agreement with Moses: “The Lord your God has given you a homeland here on the east side of the Jordan River,” Moses had told them, 14 “so your wives and children and cattle may remain here, but your troops, fully armed, must lead the other tribes across the Jordan River to help them conquer their territory on the other side; 15 stay with them until they complete the conquest. Only then may you settle down here on the east side of the Jordan.”
16 To this they fully agreed and pledged themselves to obey Joshua as their commander-in-chief.
17-18 “We will obey you just as we obeyed Moses,” they assured him, “and may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. If anyone, no matter who, rebels against your commands, he shall die. So lead on with courage and strength!”
2 Then Joshua sent two spies from the Israeli camp at Acacia to cross the river and check out the situation on the other side, especially at Jericho. They arrived at an inn operated by a woman named Rahab, who was a prostitute. They were planning to spend the night there, 2 but someone informed the king of Jericho that two Israelis who were suspected of being spies had arrived in the city that evening. 3 He dispatched a police squadron to Rahab’s home, demanding that she surrender them.
“They are spies,” he explained. “They have been sent by the Israeli leaders to discover the best way to attack us.”
4 But she had hidden them, so she told the officer in charge, “The men were here earlier, but I didn’t know they were spies. 5 They left the city at dusk as the city gates were about to close, and I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them!”
6 But actually she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath piles of flax that were drying there. 7 So the constable and his men went all the way to the Jordan River looking for them; meanwhile, the city gates were kept shut. 8 Rahab went up to talk to the men before they retired for the night.
9 “I know perfectly well that your God is going to give my country to you,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you; everyone is terrified if the word Israel is even mentioned. 10 For we have heard how the Lord made a path through the Red Sea for you when you left Egypt! And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, and how you ruined their land and completely destroyed their people. 11 No wonder we are afraid of you! No one has any fight left in him after hearing things like that, for your God is the supreme God of heaven, not just an ordinary god. 12-13 Now I beg for this one thing: Swear to me by the sacred name of your God that when Jericho is conquered you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families. This is only fair after the way I have helped you.”
14 The men agreed. “If you won’t betray us, we’ll see to it that you and your family aren’t harmed,” they promised. 15 “We’ll defend you with our lives.” Then, since her house was on top of the city wall, she let them down by a rope from a window.
16 “Escape to the mountains,” she told them. “Hide there for three days until the men who are searching for you have returned; then go on your way.”
17-18 But before they left, the men had said to her, “We cannot be responsible for what happens to you unless this rope is hanging from this window and unless all your relatives—your father, mother, brothers, and anyone else—are here inside the house. 19 If they go out into the street, we assume no responsibility whatsoever; but we swear that no one inside this house will be killed or injured. 20 However, if you betray us, then this oath will no longer bind us in any way.”
21 “I accept your terms,” she replied. And she left the scarlet rope hanging from the window.
22 The spies went up into the mountains and stayed there three days, until the men who were chasing them had returned to the city after searching everywhere along the road without success. 23 Then the two spies came down from the mountains and crossed the river and reported to Joshua all that had happened to them.
24 “The Lord will certainly give us the entire land,” they said, “for all the people over there are scared to death of us.”
3 Early the next morning Joshua and all the people of Israel left Acacia and arrived that evening at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped for a few days before crossing.
2-4 On the third day officers went through the camp giving these instructions: “When you see the priests carrying the Ark of God,[b] follow them. You have never before been where we are going now, so they will guide you. However, stay about a half mile behind, with a clear space between you and the Ark; be sure that you don’t get any closer.”
5 Then Joshua told the people to purify themselves. “For tomorrow,” he said, “the Lord will do a great miracle.”
6 In the morning Joshua ordered the priests, “Take up the Ark and lead us across the river!” And so they started out.
7 “Today,” the Lord told Joshua, “I will give you great honor, so that all Israel will know that I am with you just as I was with Moses. 8 Instruct the priests who are carrying the Ark to stop at the edge of the river.”
9 Then Joshua summoned all the people and told them, “Come and listen to what the Lord your God has said. 10 Today you are going to know for sure that the living God is among you and that he will, without fail, drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites—all the people who now live in the land you will soon occupy. 11 Think of it! The Ark of God, who is Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the river!
12 “Now select twelve men, one from each tribe, for a special task.[c] 13-14 When the priests who are carrying the Ark touch the water with their feet, the river will stop flowing as though held back by a dam, and will pile up as though against an invisible wall!” Now it was the harvest season and the Jordan was overflowing all its banks; but as the people set out to cross the river and as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, 15-16 suddenly, far up the river at the city of Adam, near Zarethan, the water began piling up as though against a dam! And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was empty. Then all the people crossed at a spot where the river was close to the city of Jericho, 17 and the priests who were carrying the Ark stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan and waited as all the people passed by.
16 1-2 The next evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene and Salome and Mary the mother of James went out and purchased embalming spices.
Early the following morning, just at sunrise, they carried them out to the tomb. 3 On the way they were discussing how they could ever roll aside the huge stone from the entrance.
4 But when they arrived they looked up and saw that the stone—a very heavy one—was already moved away and the entrance was open! 5 So they entered the tomb—and there on the right sat a young man clothed in white. The women were startled, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be so surprised. Aren’t you looking for Jesus, the Nazarene who was crucified? He isn’t here! He has come back to life! Look, that’s where his body was lying. 7 Now go and give this message to his disciples including Peter:
“‘Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died!’”
8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, too frightened to talk.
9 [a] It was early on Sunday morning when Jesus came back to life, and the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene—the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10-11 She found the disciples wet-eyed with grief and exclaimed that she had seen Jesus, and he was alive! But they didn’t believe her!
12 Later that day[b] he appeared to two who were walking from Jerusalem into the country, but they didn’t recognize him at first because he had changed his appearance. 13 When they finally realized who he was, they rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the others, but no one believed them.
14 Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their unbelief—their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him alive from the dead.
15 And then he told them, “You are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. 16 Those who believe and are baptized will be saved. But those who refuse to believe will be condemned.
17 “And those who believe shall use my authority to cast out demons, and they shall speak new languages.[c] 18 They will be able even to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them; and they will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them.”
19 When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at God’s right hand.
20 And the disciples went everywhere preaching, and the Lord was with them and confirmed what they said by the miracles that followed their messages.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.