The Gibeonite Deception

1 As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan ^jin the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast ^kof the Great Sea toward Lebanon, ^lthe Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, 2 they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.

3 But when the inhabitants of ^mGibeon heard what Joshua had done ⁿto Jericho and ^oto Ai, 4 they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, 5 with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. 6 And they went to Joshua in ^pthe camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” 7 But the men of Israel said to ^qthe Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then ^rhow can we make a covenant with you?” 8 They said to Joshua, ^s“We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” 9 They said to him, ^t“From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. ^uFor we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 ^vand all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in ^wAshtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.”’ 12 Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” 14 So the men took some of their provisions, but ^xdid not ask counsel from the Lord. 15 And Joshua ^ymade peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.

16 At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors ^zand that they lived among them. 17 And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. ^aNow their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the people of Israel did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders. 19 But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them: let them live, lest ^bwrath be upon us, ^cbecause of the oath that we swore to them.” 21 And the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became ^dcutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders ^ehad said of them.

22 Joshua summoned them, and he said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ^f‘We are very far from you,’ when ^gyou dwell among us? 23 Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, ^hcutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.” 24 They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had ⁱcommanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you—so ^jwe feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. 25 And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.” 26 So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. 27 But Joshua made them that day ^kcutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, ^lin the place that he should choose.

Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

Give Ear to My Voice

A Psalm of David.

Faithless Israel Called to Repentance

6 The Lord said to me in the days of ^pKing Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, ^qhow she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there ⁱplayed the whore? 7 And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous ^rsister Judah saw it. 8 She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, ^sI had sent her away with ^ta decree of divorce. ^uYet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went ⁱand played the whore. 9 Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with ^vstone and tree. 10 Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me ^wwith her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.”

11 And the Lord said to me, ^x“Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward ^ythe north, and say,

15 “‘And ^gI will give you shepherds after my own heart, ^hwho will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. 17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, ⁱand all nations shall gather to it, ^jto the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. 18 ^kIn those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land ^lof the north to ^mthe land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.

24 “But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 ^vLet us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For ^wwe have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”

The Transfiguration

1 ^gAnd after six days Jesus took with him ^hPeter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was ⁱtransfigured before them, and ^jhis face shone like the sun, and ^khis clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for ^lElijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, ^ma bright cloud overshadowed them, and ^ma voice from the cloud said, ⁿ“This is my beloved Son,¹ with whom I am well pleased; ^olisten to him.” 6 When ^pthe disciples heard this, ^qthey fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and ^rtouched them, saying, “Rise, and ^shave no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

9 ^tAnd as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, ^u“Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say ^vthat first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and ^whe will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but ^xdid to him whatever they pleased. ^ySo also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 ^zThen the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon

14 ^aAnd when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has ^bseizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and ^cthey could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and ^dtwisted generation, how long am I to be with you? ^eHow long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus ^frebuked the demon,² and it³ came out of him, and ^gthe boy was healed instantly.⁴ 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, ^h“Because of your little faith. For ⁱtruly, I say to you, ^jif you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, ^kyou will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and ^lnothing will be impossible for you.”⁵

Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection

22 ^mAs they were gathering⁶ in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on ⁿthe third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

The Temple Tax

24 ^oWhen they came to Capernaum, the collectors of ^pthe two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, ^q“What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or ^rtax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. 27 However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.⁷ Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”