Twelve Memorial Stones from the Jordan
1 When all the nation had finished passing tover the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 u“Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take vtwelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place wwhere the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in xthe place where you lodge tonight.’” 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. yWhen your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that zthe waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel aa memorial forever.”
8 And the people of Israel did just as Joshua commanded and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, just as the Lord told Joshua. And they carried them over with them to the place where they lodged and laid them down1 there. 9 And Joshua set up2 twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, bin the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day. 10 For the priests bearing the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua.
The people passed over in haste. 11 And when all the people had finished passing over, the ark of the Lord and the priests passed over before the people. 12 The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh cpassed over armed before the people of Israel, as Moses had told them. 13 About 40,000 ready for war passed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14 On that day the Lord dexalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.
15 And the Lord said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests bearing ethe ark of the testimony to come up out of the Jordan.” 17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” 18 And when the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up on dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, fas before.
19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at gGilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And hthose twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, i“When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, j‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, kwhich he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 lso that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mmighty, that you may nfear the Lord your God forever.”3
They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth
A Song of mAscents.
1 “Greatly1 have they pafflicted me qfrom my youth”—
rlet Israel now say—
2 “Greatly have they pafflicted me qfrom my youth,
syet they have not prevailed against me.
3 tThe plowers plowed uupon my back;
they made long their furrows.”
4 The Lord is righteous;
he has cut vthe cords of the wicked.
5 May all who hate Zion
be wput to shame and turned backward!
6 Let them be like xthe grass on the housetops,
which ywithers before it grows up,
7 with which the reaper does not fill his hand
nor the binder of sheaves his arms,
8 nor do those who pass by say,
a“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!
We bbless you in the name of the Lord!”
My Soul Waits for the Lord
A Song of mAscents.
1 Out of cthe depths I cry to you, O Lord!
2 O Lord, hear my voice!
dLet your ears be attentive
to ethe voice of my pleas for mercy!
3 If you, O Lord, should fmark iniquities,
O Lord, who could gstand?
4 But with you there is hforgiveness,
ithat you may be feared.
5 I jwait for the Lord, kmy soul waits,
and lin his word I hope;
6 my soul mwaits for the Lord
more than nwatchmen for othe morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, phope in the Lord!
For qwith the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will rredeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul
A Song of mAscents. Of David.
1 O Lord, my heart is not slifted up;
my eyes are not traised too high;
I do not uoccupy myself with things
too great and vtoo marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned wchild with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 xO Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
1 pOh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
qthat the mountains might quake at your presence—
2 1 as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
rto make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3 sWhen you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 tFrom of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
uno eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.
5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?2
6 vWe have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
wWe all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 xThere is no one who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have made us melt in3 the hand of our iniquities.
8 yBut now, O Lord, you are our Father;
zwe are the clay, and you are our potter;
awe are all the work of your hand.
9 bBe not so terribly angry, O Lord,
cand remember not iniquity forever.
Behold, please look, we are all your people.
10 dYour holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11 eOur holy and beautiful4 house,
where our fathers praised you,
has been burned by fire,
and all our pleasant places have become ruins.
12 fWill you restrain yourself at these things, O Lord?
Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
1 At that time wJesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and xthey began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, y“Look, your disciples are doing zwhat is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, a“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate bthe bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read cin the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, dsomething greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known ewhat this means, f‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For gthe Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
A Man with a Withered Hand
9 He went on from there and hentered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, i“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—jso that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, kif it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 lOf how much more value is a man than a sheep! So mit is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And nthe man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.
God’s Chosen Servant
15 Jesus, aware of this, owithdrew from there. And pmany followed him, and he healed them all 16 and qordered them not to make him known. 17 rThis was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
18 s“Behold, my tservant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
uI will put my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
20 a bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory;
21 vand in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
22 wThen a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 xAnd all the people were amazed, and said, x“Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, y“It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 zKnowing their thoughts, ahe said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, bby whom do cyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is dby the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then ethe kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or fhow can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed ghe may plunder his house. 30 hWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 iTherefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but jthe blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word kagainst the Son of Man lwill be forgiven, but jwhoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in mthis age or in the age to come.
A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit
33 n“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, ofor the tree is known by its fruit. 34 pYou brood of vipers! How can you speak good, qwhen you are evil? rFor out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 rThe good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, son the day of judgment tpeople will give account for uevery careless word they speak, 37 for vby your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, wwe wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, x“An evil and yadulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For zjust as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, aso will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 bThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ccondemn it, for dthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, esomething greater than Jonah is here. 42 fThe queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, esomething greater than Solomon is here.
Return of an Unclean Spirit
43 “When gthe unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through hwaterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and ithe last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this jevil generation.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, khis mother and his lbrothers1 stood outside, asking to speak to him.2 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For mwhoever ndoes the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
