Rahab Hides the Spies

1 And Joshua the son of Nun ^xsent¹ two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of ^ya prostitute whose name was ^zRahab and lodged there. 2 And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.” 3 Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof. 7 So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan ^aas far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.

8 Before the men² lay down, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, ^band that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land ^cmelt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord ^ddried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and ^ewhat you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to ^fSihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.³ 11 And ^gas soon as we heard it, ^hour hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for ⁱthe Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 12 Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and ^jgive me a sure sign 13 that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.” 14 And the men said to her, “Our life for yours even to death! If you do not tell this business of ours, then when the Lord gives us the land ^kwe will deal kindly and faithfully with you.”

15 Then she ^llet them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall, so that she lived in the wall. 16 And she said⁴ to them, “Go into the hills, or the pursuers will encounter you, and hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. Then afterward you may go your way.” 17 The men said to her, “We will be guiltless with respect to this oath of yours that you have made us swear. 18 ^mBehold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, ⁿand you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. 19 Then if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, ^ohis blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. But if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. 20 But if you ^ptell this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless with respect to your oath that you have made us swear.” 21 And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

22 They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing. 23 Then the two men returned. They came down from the hills and ^qpassed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they told him all that had happened to them. 24 And they said to Joshua, “Truly ^rthe Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land ^smelt away because of us.”

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of ^mAscents.

Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

A Song of ^mAscents. Of David.

The Lord Surrounds His People

A Song of ^mAscents.

Zion’s Coming Salvation

The Twelve Apostles

1 ^uAnd he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 ^vThe names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^wwho is called Peter, and ^xAndrew his brother; ^xJames the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and ^yMatthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;¹ 4 Simon the Zealot,² and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

5 ^uThese twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of ^zthe Samaritans, 6 ^abut go rather to ^bthe lost sheep of ^cthe house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ^d‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’³ 8 ^eHeal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,⁴ cast out demons. ^fYou received without paying; give without pay. 9 ^gAcquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics⁵ or sandals or a staff, for ^hthe laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, ⁱgreet it. 13 And if the house is ^jworthy, let ⁱyour peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let ⁱyour peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^lshake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, ^mit will be more bearable on the day of judgment for ⁿthe land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

16 ^o“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^pwise as serpents and ^qinnocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for ^rthey will deliver you over to courts and flog you ^sin their synagogues, 18 ^rand you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^tto bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 ^rWhen ^uthey deliver you over, ^vdo not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ^wwhat you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 ^xFor it is not you who speak, but ^ythe Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 ^zBrother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 ^aand you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. ^bBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they ^cpersecute you in one town, ^dflee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ^ebefore the Son of Man comes.

24 ^f“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant⁶ above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ^gIf they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign⁷ those of his household.

Have No Fear

26 “So have no fear of them, ⁱfor nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on ^jthe housetops. 28 And ^kdo not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him ^lwho can destroy both soul and body in hell.⁸ 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?⁹ And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But ^meven the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; ⁿyou are of more value than many sparrows. 32 ^oSo everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but ^pwhoever denies me before men, ^qI also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

34 ^r“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. ^sI have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 ^rFor I have come ^tto set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 ^uAnd a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 ^vWhoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And ^wwhoever does not take his cross and ^xfollow me is not worthy of me. 39 ^yWhoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

40 ^z“Whoever receives you receives me, and ^awhoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41 ^bThe one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And ^cwhoever gives one of ^dthese little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”