The Sun Stands Still

1 As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction,^{1 m}doing to Ai and its king ⁿas he had done to Jericho and its king, and ^ohow the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, 2 ^phe² feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors. 3 So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For ^qit has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.” 5 Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, ^rgathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it.

6 And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua ^sat the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.” 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and ^tall the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. 8 And the Lord said to Joshua, ^u“Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. ^vNot a man of them shall stand before you.” 9 So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. 10 ^wAnd the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who³ struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of ^xthe ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 And as they fled before Israel, while they were ^xgoing down the ascent of Beth-horon, ^ythe Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

12 At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 14 ^aThere has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for ^bthe Lord fought for Israel.

15 So ^cJoshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Five Amorite Kings Executed

16 These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at ^dMakkedah. 17 And it was told to Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” 18 And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them, 19 but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; ^eattack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.” 20 When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow ^funtil they were wiped out, and when the remnant that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, 21 then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. ^gNot a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel.

22 Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.” 23 And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24 And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. 25 And Joshua said to them, ^h“Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. ⁱFor thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” 26 And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And ^jthey hung on the trees until evening. 27 But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and ^kthey took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.

28 As for ^lMakkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah ^mjust as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Conquest of Southern Canaan

29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to ⁿLibnah and fought against Libnah. 30 And the Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king ^mas he had done to the king of Jericho.

31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to ^oLachish and laid siege to it and fought against it. 32 And the Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.

33 Then Horam king of ^pGezer came up to help Lachish. And Joshua struck him and his people, until he left none remaining.

34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to ^qEglon. And they laid siege to it and fought against it. 35 And they captured it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword. And he devoted every person in it to destruction that day, as he had done to Lachish.

36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to ^rHebron. And they fought against it 37 and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it. He left none remaining, as he had done to Eglon, and devoted it to destruction and every person in it.

38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to ^sDebir and fought against it 39 and he captured it with its king and all its towns. And they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. Just as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and to its king.

40 So Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland ^tand the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, ^ubut devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded. 41 And Joshua struck them from ^vKadesh-barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of ^wGoshen, as far as Gibeon. 42 And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, ^xbecause the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. 43 ^yThen Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Conquests in Northern Canaan

1 When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he ^zsent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, 2 and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the ^aArabah south of ^bChinneroth, and in the lowland, and ^cin Naphoth-dor on the ^dwest, 3 to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the ^eJebusites in the hill country, and the ^fHivites under ^gHermon in the land of ^hMizpah. 4 And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number ⁱlike the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. 5 And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

6 And the Lord said to Joshua, ^j“Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall ^khamstring their horses and burn their ^lchariots with fire.” 7 So Joshua and all his warriors came ^msuddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. 8 And the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as ⁿGreat Sidon and ^oMisrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of ^pMizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. 9 And Joshua did to them ^qjust as the Lord said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

10 And Joshua turned back at that time and captured ^rHazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms. 11 And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction;^{4 s}there was none left that breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. 12 And all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua captured, and struck them with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction, ^tjust as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. 13 But none of the cities that stood on mounds did Israel burn, except Hazor alone; that Joshua burned. 14 And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the people of Israel took for their plunder. But every person they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed. 15 ^uJust as the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, ^vso Moses commanded Joshua, ^wand so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.

16 So Joshua took all that land, ^xthe hill country and all the Negeb and ^yall the land of Goshen ^zand the lowland ^zand the Arabah ^aand the hill country of Israel and its lowland 17 ^bfrom Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as ^cBaal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon below ^dMount Hermon. And he captured ^eall their kings and struck them and put them to death. 18 Joshua made war ^fa long time with all those kings. 19 There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except ^gthe Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. 20 For it was the Lord’s doing ^hto harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, ⁱjust as the Lord commanded Moses.

21 And Joshua came at that time and cut off ^jthe Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. 22 There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, ^kin Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, ^laccording to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. ^mAnd Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel ⁿaccording to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.

Kings Defeated by Moses

1 Now these are the kings of the land whom the people of Israel defeated and took possession of their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, from ^othe Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon, with all ^pthe Arabah eastward: 2 ^qSihon king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and ^rfrom the middle of the valley as far as the ^sriver Jabbok, the boundary of the Ammonites, that is, half of Gilead, 3 and ^pthe Arabah ^tto the Sea of Chinneroth eastward, and in the direction of Beth-jeshimoth, to the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, southward to the foot of ^uthe slopes of Pisgah; 4 and ^vOg⁵ king of Bashan, one of the remnant of ^wthe Rephaim, ^xwho lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei 5 and ruled over ^yMount Hermon and ^zSalecah and all Bashan ^ato the boundary of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and over half of Gilead to the boundary of Sihon king of Heshbon. 6 ^bMoses, the servant of the Lord, and the people of Israel defeated them. And Moses the servant of the Lord ^cgave their land for a possession to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

Kings Defeated by Joshua

7 And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to ^dMount Halak, that rises toward Seir (and Joshua gave their land to the tribes of Israel as a possession ^eaccording to their allotments, 8 ^fin the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the Negeb, the land of ^gthe Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites): 9 ^hthe king of Jericho, one; ⁱthe king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; 10 ^jthe king of Jerusalem, one; ^jthe king of Hebron, one; 11 ^jthe king of Jarmuth, one; ^jthe king of Lachish, one; 12 ^jthe king of Eglon, one; ^kthe king of Gezer, one; 13 ^lthe king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; 14 the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; 15 ^mthe king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; 16 ⁿthe king of Makkedah, one; ^othe king of Bethel, one; 17 the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one; 18 the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one; 19 ^pthe king of Madon, one; ^qthe king of Hazor, one; 20 ^pthe king of Shimron-meron, one; ^pthe king of Achshaph, one; 21 ^rthe king of Taanach, one; ^rthe king of Megiddo, one; 22 the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; 23 ^rthe king of Dor in ^sNaphath-dor, one; the king of Goiim in Galilee,⁶ one; 24 the king of Tirzah, one: in all, thirty-one kings.

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees

1 In the meantime, ^twhen so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, ^u“Beware of ^vthe leaven of the Pharisees, ^wwhich is hypocrisy. 2 ^xNothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in ^yprivate rooms shall be proclaimed on ^zthe housetops.

Have No Fear

4 “I tell you, my friends, ^ado not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him ^bwho, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.¹ Yes, I tell you, fear him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?² And ^cnot one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, ^deven the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; ^eyou are of more value than many sparrows.

Acknowledge Christ Before Men

8 “And I tell you, ^feveryone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge ^gbefore the angels of God, 9 but ^hthe one who denies me before men ⁱwill be denied ^gbefore the angels of God. 10 And ^jeveryone who speaks a word ^kagainst the Son of Man ^lwill be forgiven, but the one who ^mblasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 ⁿAnd when they ^obring you before the synagogues and ^pthe rulers and ^pthe authorities, ^qdo not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12 ^rfor the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

The Parable of the Rich Fool

13 ^sSomeone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, ^t“Man, ^uwho made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, ^v“Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, ^w“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ^x‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my ^ybarns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up ^zfor many years; relax, ^aeat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ^b‘Fool! ^zThis night ^cyour soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, ^dwhose will they be?’ 21 So is the one ^ewho lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Be Anxious

22 And he said to his disciples, ^f“Therefore I tell you, ^gdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 ^hConsider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. ⁱOf how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ^jspan of life?³ 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, ^keven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, ^lO you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor ^mbe worried. 30 For ⁿall the nations of the world seek after these things, and ⁿyour Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, ^oseek ^phis⁴ kingdom, ^qand these things will be added to you.

32 ^r“Fear not, little ^sflock, for ^tit is your Father’s good pleasure to give you ^uthe kingdom. 33 ^vSell your possessions, and ^wgive to the needy. ^xProvide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with ^ya treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 ^zFor where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

You Must Be Ready

35 ^a“Stay dressed for action⁵ and ^bkeep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are ^cwaiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and ^dknocks. 37 ^eBlessed are those servants⁶ whom the master finds ^eawake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, ^fhe will dress himself for service and ^ghave them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 ^hBut know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour ⁱthe thief was coming, he⁷ would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ^jready, for ^kthe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”