The Death of Joshua

6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 ^pAnd the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of ^qhis inheritance in Timnath-heres, ^rin the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

Israel’s Unfaithfulness

11 ^sAnd the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 ^tAnd they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. ^uThey went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and ^vbowed down to them. ^wAnd they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord ^xand served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 ^ySo the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he ^zgave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. ^aAnd he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, ^bso that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, ^cand as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.

The Lord Raises Up Judges

16 ^dThen the Lord raised up judges, ^ewho saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for ^fthey whored after other gods and bowed down to them. ^gThey soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, ^hthe Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. ⁱFor the Lord was moved to pity by ^jtheir groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But ^kwhenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 ^lSo the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people ^mhave transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 ⁿI will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order ^oto test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

Paul and Barnabas at Antioch in Pisidia

13 Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And ^mJohn left them and returned ⁿto Jerusalem, 14 but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And ^oon the Sabbath day ^pthey went into the synagogue and sat down. 15 After ^qthe reading from ^rthe Law and the Prophets, ^sthe rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any ^tword of encouragement for the people, say it.” 16 So Paul stood up, and ^umotioning with his hand said:

“Men of Israel and ^vyou who fear God, listen. 17 ^wThe God of this people Israel ^xchose our fathers and ^ymade the people great ^zduring their stay in the land of Egypt, and ^awith uplifted arm he led them out of it. 18 And for about ^bforty years ^che put up with¹ them in the wilderness. 19 And ^dafter destroying ^eseven nations in the land of Canaan, ^fhe gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. And after that ^ghe gave them judges until ^hSamuel the prophet. 21 Then ⁱthey asked for a king, and God gave them Saul ^jthe son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 And ^kwhen he had removed him, ^lhe raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ^m‘I have found in David the son of Jesse ⁿa man after my heart, ^owho will do all my will.’ 23 ^pOf this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel ^qa Savior, Jesus, ^ras he promised. 24 Before his coming, ^sJohn had proclaimed ^ta baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. 25 And as John was finishing his course, ^uhe said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’

26 “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you ^vwho fear God, to us has been sent ^wthe message of ^xthis salvation. 27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because ^ythey did not recognize him nor understand ^zthe utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, ^afulfilled them by condemning him. 28 And ^bthough they found in him no guilt worthy of death, ^cthey asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 And when ^dthey had carried out all that was written of him, ^ethey took him down from ^fthe tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But ^gGod raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days ^hhe appeared to those ⁱwho had come up with him ^jfrom Galilee to Jerusalem, ^kwho are now ^lhis witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news ^mthat what God promised to the fathers, 33 ⁿthis he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,

34 And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, ^pqno more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,

35 Therefore he says also in another psalm,

36 For David, after he had ^tserved the purpose of God in his own generation, ^ufell asleep and ^vwas laid with his fathers and saw corruption, 37 but he whom ^wGod raised up did not see corruption. 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, ^xthat through this man ^yforgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him ^zeveryone who believes is freed² from everything ^afrom which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. 40 Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about: