Print Page Options
Previous Prev Day Next DayNext

Old/New Testament

Each day includes a passage from both the Old Testament and New Testament.
Duration: 365 days
Expanded Bible (EXB)
Version
Joshua 10-12

The Sun Stands Still

10 At this time Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had ·defeated [captured] Ai and ·completely destroyed it [devoted it to destruction; 2:10; 6:17], doing to Ai and its king as he had also done to Jericho and its king. The king also learned that the Gibeonites had made a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with Israel and that they ·lived nearby [were living among them; or had become allies]. Adoni-Zedek and his people were very afraid because of this. Gibeon was not a little town like Ai; it was a ·large [great; important] city, ·as big as a city that had a king [L like one of the royal cities], and all its men were good fighters. So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent a message to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon [C five major cities in the southern mountains]. He begged them, “Come with me and help me attack Gibeon, which has made a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with Joshua and the Israelites.”

Then these five Amorite kings—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—gathered their armies, went to Gibeon, surrounded it, and attacked it.

The Gibeonites sent this message to Joshua in his camp at Gilgal [4:19]: “Don’t ·let us, your servants, be destroyed [abandon your servants]. Come quickly and help us! Save us! All the Amorite kings from the mountains have joined their armies and are fighting against us.”

So Joshua marched out of Gilgal with his whole army, including his best fighting men. The Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of those armies, because I will ·hand them over to you [L give them into your hand]. None of them will be able to stand against you.”

Joshua and his army marched all night from Gilgal for a surprise attack. 10 The Lord ·confused those armies [threw them into a panic] when Israel attacked, so Israel defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. They chased them along the road going up to Beth Horon and ·killed men [L struck them down] all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they chased the enemy down the Beth Horon Pass to Azekah, the Lord threw large hailstones on them from the ·sky [heavens] and killed them. More people were killed by the hailstones than by the Israelites’ swords.

12 On the day that the Lord gave up the Amorites to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], Joshua stood before all the people of Israel and said to the Lord:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon.
    Moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still,
    and the moon stopped
until the ·people [nation] ·defeated [took vengeance on] their enemies.

·These words are [L Is this not…?] written in the ·Book [Scroll] of Jashar [C meaning “Upright One”; an extrabiblical account of Israel’s wars, now lost; 2 Sam. 1:18].

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and waited to go down for a full day. 14 ·That has never happened at any time [L There has been no day like it] before that day or since. That was the day the Lord listened to a human being. Truly the Lord was fighting for Israel!

15 After this, Joshua and his army went back to the camp at Gilgal.

16 During the fight the five kings ran away and hid in a cave ·near [at] Makkedah, 17 but someone found them hiding in the cave at Makkedah and told Joshua. 18 So he said, “·Cover the opening of the cave with large rocks [L Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave]. Put some men there to guard it, 19 but don’t stay there yourselves. Continue chasing the enemy and attacking them from behind. Don’t let them get to their cities, because the Lord your God will ·hand them over to you [L give them into your hand].”

20 So Joshua and the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] ·killed the enemy [L finished slaying them with a very great slaughter], but a ·few [remnant; few survivors] were able to get back to their strong, walled cities. 21 After the fighting, Joshua’s men came back safely to him at Makkedah. No one ·was brave enough to say a word against [or suffered even a scratch on his tongue; C the Hebrew idiom “sharpened/scratched his tongue” may mean to threaten with words or to suffer a minor injury] the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel].

22 Joshua said, “Move the ·rocks that are covering the opening [L mouth] of the cave and bring those five kings out to me.” 23 So Joshua’s men brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 24 When they brought the five kings out to Joshua, he called for all his men. He said to the commanders of his army, “Come here! Put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came close and put their feet on their necks [C a gesture of triumph and dominance; 2 Sam. 22:41; Ps. 18:41].

25 Joshua said to his men, “Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid or ·discouraged [dismayed; 1:9; 8:1], because I will show you what the Lord will do to the enemies you will fight in the future.” 26 Then Joshua killed the five kings and hung their bodies on five trees [C an act of humiliation and shame; Deut. 21:23], where he left them until evening.

27 At sunset Joshua ·told [commanded] his men to take the bodies down from the trees. Then they threw them into the same cave where they had been hiding and covered the opening of the cave with large rocks, which are still there today.

28 That day Joshua ·defeated [L captured] Makkedah. He killed the king and ·completely destroyed [devoted to destruction; 2:10; 6:17; 10:1] all the people in that city as an offering to the Lord; no one was left alive. He did the same thing to the king of Makkedah that he had done to the king of Jericho.

Defeating Southern Cities

29 Joshua and all the Israelites traveled from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. 30 The Lord handed over the city and its king. They ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] every person in the city; no one was left alive. And they did the same thing to that king that they had done to the king of Jericho.

31 Then Joshua and all the Israelites left Libnah and went to Lachish, which they ·surrounded [took up positions against; besieged] and attacked. 32 The Lord ·handed over Lachish [L gave Lachish into their hand] on the second day. The Israelites ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] everyone in that city just as they had done to Libnah. 33 During this same time Horam king of Gezer came to help Lachish, but Joshua also defeated him and his army; no one was left alive.

34 Then Joshua and all the Israelites went from Lachish to Eglon. They ·surrounded [took up positions against; besieged] Eglon, attacked it, and 35 captured it the same day. They ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] all its people and ·completely destroyed [devoted to destruction; 6:17; 10:28] everything in it as an offering to the Lord, just as they had done to Lachish.

36 Then Joshua and the Israelites went from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it, 37 capturing it and all the little towns near it. The Israelites ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] its king, its surrounding towns, and everyone in Hebron; no one was left alive there. Just as they had done to Eglon, they ·completely destroyed [devoted to destruction; 6:17; 10:28] the city and all its people as an offering to the Lord.

38 Then Joshua and the Israelites went back to Debir and attacked it. 39 They captured that city, its king, and all the little towns near it, ·completely destroying [L striking with the edge of the sword and devoting to destruction; 10:37] everyone in Debir as an offering to the Lord; no one was left alive there. Israel did to Debir and its king just as they had done to Libnah and its king, just as they had done to Hebron.

40 So Joshua ·defeated [L struck down] ·all the kings of the cities of these areas [L the whole region/land]: the ·mountains [hill country], ·southern Canaan [L the Negev], the ·western foothills [lowlands; L Shephelah], and the slopes [L and all their kings]. The Lord, the God of Israel, had ·told [commanded] Joshua to ·completely destroy [devote to destruction; 2:10; 6:17] all ·the people [L that breathed] as an offering to the Lord, so he left no one alive in those places. 41 Joshua captured all the cities from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza, and from Goshen to Gibeon. 42 He captured all these cities and their kings ·on one trip [in one campaign; L at one time], because the Lord, the God of Israel, was fighting for Israel.

43 Then Joshua and all the Israelites returned to their camp at Gilgal [4:19].

Defeating Northern Kings

11 When Jabin king of Hazor [C the largest and best fortified of the Canaanite cities] heard about all that had happened, he sent messages to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Acshaph. He sent messages to the kings in the northern ·mountains [hill country] and also to the kings in the ·Jordan Valley [or Arabah] south of ·Lake Galilee [L Kinnereth] and in the ·western foothills [lowlands; L Shephelah]. He sent a message to the king of ·Naphoth [or the heights of] Dor in the west [C the coastal plain south of Mount Carmel] and to the kings of the Canaanites in the east and in the west. He sent messages to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the ·mountains [hill country]. Jabin also sent one to the Hivites, who lived below Mount Hermon in the area of Mizpah [C a coalition of the northern cities of Palestine]. So the armies of all these kings came together with their horses and chariots [C a great challenge to the Israelites, who only had foot soldiers]. There were as many soldiers as grains of sand on the seashore [Gen. 22:17].

All of these kings met together at the waters of Merom [C probably modern Meirun, eight miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee], joined their armies together into one camp, and made plans to fight against the Israelites.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, because at this time tomorrow I will give them to you. You will ·cripple [hamstring] their horses and burn all their chariots.”

So Joshua and his whole army surprised the enemy [10:9] by attacking them at the waters of Merom. The Lord ·handed them over to [L gave them into the hand of] Israel. They chased them to Greater Sidon, Misrephoth Maim, and the Valley of Mizpah in the east [C locations north and west of the battle]. Israel fought until none of the enemy was left alive. Joshua did what the Lord said to do; he ·crippled [hamstrung] their horses and burned their chariots [C Israel did not take the horses and chariots to use themselves, in order to show their trust in God; Ps. 20:7].

10 Then Joshua went back and captured the city of Hazor and ·killed [L struck with the sword] its king. (Hazor had been the leader of all the kingdoms that fought against Israel.) 11 Israel ·killed [L struck with the sword] everyone in Hazor, ·completely destroying them [devoting them to destruction; 2:10; 6:21]; no one was left ·alive [L that breathed]. Then they burned Hazor itself.

12 Joshua captured all of these cities, ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] all of their kings, and ·completely destroyed [devoted to destruction; v. 11] everything in these cities. He did this just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded. 13 But the Israelites did not burn any cities that were built on their mounds [C so Israel could immediately occupy these strategically important cities; Deut. 6:10–11], except Hazor; only that city was burned by Joshua. 14 The ·people [L sons; children] of Israel kept for themselves ·everything [the plunder/spoil] they found in the cities, including all the animals. But they ·killed [L struck with the edge of the sword] all the people there; they left no one ·alive [L that breathed]. 15 Long ago the Lord had commanded his servant Moses to do this, and then Moses had commanded Joshua to do it [Deut. 7:1–6; 20:16–18]. Joshua ·did everything [L left nothing undone that] the Lord had commanded Moses.

16 So Joshua defeated all the people in the land [C a general statement, since not every city was taken; 17:16; Judg. 1]. He had control of the mountains and ·the area of southern Canaan [L all the Negev], all the areas of Goshen, the ·western foothills [lowlands; L Shephelah], and the ·Jordan Valley [or Arabah]. He controlled the ·mountains [hill country] of Israel and ·all the hills near them [or its lowlands/L Shephelah]. 17 ·Joshua controlled all the land from [L …from] Mount Halak near ·Edom [L Seir] to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon, below Mount Hermon. Joshua also captured all the kings in the land and killed them. 18 He ·fought [waged war] against them for ·many years [a long time; L many days]. 19 The people of only one city in all the land had made a peace ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with Israel—the Hivites living in Gibeon. All the other cities were defeated in war. 20 The Lord ·made those people stubborn [L hardened their hearts; Ex. 8:15] so they would fight against Israel and ·he could completely destroy them [would be devoted to destruction; 2:10; 6:17] without mercy. This is what the Lord had commanded Moses to do.

21 Now Joshua fought the Anakites [or Anakim; Num. 13:33] who lived in the ·mountains [hill country] of Hebron, Debir, Anab, Judah, and Israel, and he completely destroyed them and their towns. 22 There were no Anakites left living in the land of the Israelites ·and only a few were left [or though some remained] in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. 23 Joshua took control of all the ·land of Israel [L land] as the Lord had ·told Moses to do [or promised Moses] long ago. He gave the land to Israel, ·because he had promised it to them [L as an inheritance]. ·Then Joshua divided the land among the tribes of Israel [L …according to their tribal divisions], and ·there was peace in the land [the land had rest from war].

Kings Defeated by Israel

12 The Israelites took control of the land east of the Jordan River from the Arnon ·Ravine [Gorge; Valley; C enters the middle of Dead Sea from the east] to Mount Hermon [C in the far north] and all the land along the eastern side of the ·Jordan Valley [or Arabah]. These ·lands belonged to the kings [were the kings of the land] whom the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] defeated.

Sihon king of the Amorites [Num. 21:21–30; Deut. 1:4; 2:24–37; 29:7–8] ·lived in [or ruled] the city of Heshbon and ruled the land from Aroer ·at [or on the edge/rim of] the Arnon ·Ravine [Gorge; Valley] to the Jabbok River [C flows from the northeast into the Jordan about 20 miles north of the Dead Sea]. His land started in the middle of the ravine, which was their border with the Ammonites. Sihon ruled over half the land of Gilead [C the region east of the Jordan between Galilee and just north of the Dead Sea] and over the eastern side of the ·Jordan Valley [or Arabah] from Lake ·Galilee [L Kinnereth] to the ·Dead Sea [L Sea of Arabah, the Salt Sea]. And he ruled from Beth Jeshimoth south to the slopes of Pisgah [Deut. 34:1].

Og king of Bashan was one of the ·last [remnant] of the Rephaites. He ·ruled [or lived in] the land in Ashtaroth and Edrei [C cities east and southeast of Galilee]. He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, and all the area of Bashan [C east and northeast of Galilee] up to ·where the people of Geshur and Maacah lived [L the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites]. Og also ruled half the land of Gilead up to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

The Lord’s servant Moses and the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] defeated all these kings, and Moses gave that land to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to ·East [L the half-tribe of] Manasseh as their own [13:8–32; Deut. 3:12–13].

Joshua and the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] also defeated kings in the land west of the Jordan River. He gave the people the land ·and divided it among the twelve tribes to be their own [L according to their tribal divisions]. It was between Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon [C the far north] and Mount Halak near ·Edom [L Seir; C the far south]. This included the ·mountains [hill country], the ·western foothills [lowlands; L Shephelah], the ·Jordan Valley [L Arabah], the slopes, the ·desert [wilderness], and ·southern Canaan [L the Negev]. This was the land where the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites had lived. The Israelites defeated the king of each of the following cities: ·Jericho [L the king of Jericho, one; C and so throughout the list], Ai (near Bethel), 10 Jerusalem, Hebron, 11 Jarmuth, Lachish, 12 Eglon, Gezer, 13 Debir, Geder, 14 Hormah, Arad, 15 Libnah, Adullam, 16 Makkedah, Bethel, 17 Tappuah, Hepher, 18 Aphek, Lasharon, 19 Madon, Hazor, 20 Shimron Meron, Acshaph, 21 Taanach, Megiddo, 22 Kedesh, Jokneam ·in [or near] Carmel, 23 Dor (in Naphoth Dor), Goyim in Gilgal, and 24 Tirzah.

The total number of kings was thirty-one.

Luke 1:39-56

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 [L In those days] Mary got up and went quickly to a town in the hills of Judea [C from Galilee in the north to southern Israel, about three or four days journey by foot]. 40 She ·came to [entered] Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the unborn baby ·inside her [in her womb] ·jumped [leaped; kicked], and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 She cried out in a loud voice, “·God has blessed you [L You are blessed] ·more than any other woman [L among women], and ·he has blessed the baby to which you will give birth [L blessed is the fruit of your womb]. 43 [L But] Why ·has this good thing happened to me [am I so honored], that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 [L For look/T behold] When I heard ·your voice [L the sound of your greeting], the baby inside ·me [my womb] ·jumped [leaped; kicked] with joy. 45 ·You are blessed because you [L Blessed is she who has] believed that what the Lord said would ·really happen [be fulfilled].”

Mary Praises God

46 Then Mary said,

“My soul ·praises [exalts; glorifies; magnifies] the Lord [1 Sam. 2:1–10];
47     my ·heart [spirit] rejoices in God my Savior [Ps. 35:9],
48 because he has ·shown his concern for [noticed; looked favorably on] his ·humble [lowly] servant girl [1 Sam. 1:11].
[L For look/T behold] From now on, all ·people [L generations] will ·say that I am [call me] blessed [Ps. 138:6],
49     because the ·Powerful [Mighty] One has done great things for me.
    His name is holy.
50 ·God will show his mercy [L His mercy is/continues] ·forever and ever [L to generations and generations]
    to those who ·worship and serve [L fear; reverence] him [Ps. 103:17].
51 He has done mighty deeds ·by his power [L with his arm; C a metaphor for strength].
    He has scattered the people who are proud
    ·and think great things about themselves [or in the schemes they devise; L in the thoughts/intentions of their hearts].
52 He has brought down ·rulers [the powerful] from their thrones
    and ·raised up [exalted] the ·humble [lowly].
53 He has filled the hungry with good things [Ps. 107:9]
    and sent the rich away ·with nothing [empty-handed].
54 He has helped his servant, the people of Israel,
    ·remembering to show them [mindful of his] mercy
55 as he promised to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his ·children [descendants; L seed] forever [Gen. 17:7, 19].”

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Expanded Bible (EXB)

The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.