Joshua 5

The New Generation Circumcised

¹As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites owho were by the sea, pheard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts qmelted and rthere was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.

²At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make sflint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” ³So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.1 ⁴And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: tall the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. ⁵Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. ⁶For the people of Israel walked uforty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord; the Lord vswore to them that he would not let them see the land that the Lord had sworn to their fathers to give to us, wa land flowing with milk and honey. ⁷So it was xtheir children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way.

⁸When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. ⁹And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the yreproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called zGilgal2 to this day.

First Passover in Canaan

¹⁰While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover aon the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. ¹¹And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. ¹²And bthe manna ceased the day after they ate of the produce of the land. And there was no longer manna for the people of Israel, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

The Commander of the Lord's Army

¹³When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, ca man was standing before him dwith his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” ¹⁴And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua efell on his face to the earth and worshiped3 and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” ¹⁵And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, f“Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Joshua 6:1–5

The Fall of Jericho

¹Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. ²And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, gI have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. ³You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. ⁴Seven priests shall bear seven htrumpets of irams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and jthe priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat,1 and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.”

Psalm 132

The Lord Has Chosen Zion

A Song of mAscents.

¹Remember, O Lord, in David's favor,

all ythe hardships he endured,

²how he swore to the Lord

and zvowed to athe Mighty One of Jacob,

³“I will not enter my house

or get into my bed,

⁴I will not bgive sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

⁵until I cfind a place for the Lord,

a dwelling place for athe Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶Behold, we heard of it in dEphrathah;

we found it in ethe fields of Jaar.

⁷“Let us go to his dwelling place;

let us fworship at his gfootstool!”

⁸hArise, O Lord, and go to your iresting place,

you and the ark of your jmight.

⁹Let your kpriests be lclothed with righteousness,

and let your msaints shout for joy.

¹⁰For the sake of your servant David,

ndo not turn away the face of oyour anointed one.

¹¹pThe Lord swore to David a sure oath

qfrom which he will not turn back:

r“One of the sons of your body1

I will set on your throne.

¹²If your sons keep my covenant

and my testimonies that I shall teach them,

their sons also forever

shall ssit on your throne.”

¹³For the Lord has tchosen Zion;

he has udesired it for his dwelling place:

¹⁴“This is my vresting place forever;

here I will wdwell, for I have desired it.

¹⁵I will abundantly xbless her provisions;

I will ysatisfy her poor with bread.

¹⁶Her zpriests I will clothe with salvation,

and her zsaints will shout for joy.

¹⁷There I will make aa horn to sprout for David;

I have prepared ba lamp for cmy anointed.

¹⁸His enemies I will dclothe with shame,

but on him his crown will shine.”

Psalm 133

When Brothers Dwell in Unity

A Song of mAscents. Of David.

¹Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when ebrothers dwell in unity!1

²It is like the precious foil on gthe head,

running down on the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down on hthe collar of his robes!

³It is like ithe dew of jHermon,

which falls on kthe mountains of Zion!

For there the Lord lhas commanded the blessing,

life forevermore.

Psalm 134

Come, Bless the Lord

A Song of mAscents.

¹Come, bless the Lord, all you mservants of the Lord,

who nstand oby night in the house of the Lord!

²pLift up your hands to qthe holy place

and bless the Lord!

³May the Lord rbless you sfrom Zion,

he who tmade heaven and earth!

Judgment and Salvation

¹gI was ready to be sought by hthose who did not ask for me;

I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.

I said, “Here I am, here I am,”

to a nation that was not called by1 my name.

²iI spread out my hands all the day

to a rebellious people,

who walk in a way that is not good,

following their own devices;

³a people who provoke me

to my face continually,

jsacrificing in gardens

and making offerings on bricks;

⁴who sit in tombs,

and spend the night in secret places;

kwho eat pig's flesh,

and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;

⁵who say, “Keep to yourself,

do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”

lThese are a smoke in my nostrils,

a fire that burns all the day.

⁶Behold, mit is written before me:

n“I will not keep silent, but I will repay;

oI will indeed repay into their lap

⁷both your iniquities pand your fathers' iniquities together,

says the Lord;

qbecause they made offerings on the mountains

qand insulted me on the hills,

I will measure into their lap

payment for their former deeds.”2

⁸Thus says the Lord:

r“As the new wine is found in the cluster,

and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,

for there is a blessing in it,’

so I will do for my servants' sake,

sand not destroy them all.

⁹tI will bring forth offspring from Jacob,

and from Judah possessors of my mountains;

my chosen shall possess it,

and my servants shall dwell there.

¹⁰uSharon shall become a pasture for flocks,

and vthe Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,

for my people wwho have sought me.

¹¹But xyou who forsake the Lord,

who forget ymy holy mountain,

who zset a table for Fortune

and zfill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,

¹²I will destine you to the sword,

and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,

abecause, when I called, you did not answer;

when I spoke, you did not listen,

bbut you did what was evil in my eyes

and chose what I did not delight in.”

¹³Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, cmy servants shall eat,

but you shall be hungry;

behold, my servants shall drink,

but you shall be thirsty;

behold, my servants shall rejoice,

but you shall be put to shame;

¹⁴behold, dmy servants shall sing for gladness of heart,

but you shall cry out for pain of heart

and shall wail for breaking of spirit.

¹⁵You shall leave your name to emy chosen ffor a curse,

and the Lord God will put you to death,

but his servants ghe will call by another name,

¹⁶so that he who hblesses himself in the land

shall bless himself by hthe God of truth,

and he who takes an oath in the land

shall swear by ithe God of truth;

jbecause the former troubles are forgotten

and are hidden from my eyes.

New Heavens and a New Earth

¹⁷“For behold, kI create new heavens

and a new earth,

and the former things shall not be remembered

or come into mind.

¹⁸But be glad and rejoice forever

in that which I create;

for behold, lI create Jerusalem to be a joy,

and her people to be a gladness.

¹⁹mI will rejoice in Jerusalem

and be glad in my people;

nno more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping

and the cry of distress.

²⁰No more shall there be in it

an infant who lives but a few days,

or an old man who does not fill out his days,

for othe young man shall die a hundred years old,

and pthe sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.

²¹qThey shall build houses and inhabit them;

they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

²²qThey shall not build and another inhabit;

they shall not plant and another eat;

rfor like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,

and my chosen shall long enjoy3 the work of their hands.

²³sThey shall not labor in vain

tor bear children for calamity,4

for uthey shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,

and their descendants with them.

²⁴vBefore they call I will answer;

wwhile they are yet speaking I will hear.

²⁵xThe wolf and the lamb shall graze together;

the lion shall eat straw like the ox,

and ydust shall be the serpent's food.

zThey shall not hurt or destroy

in all my holy mountain,”

says the Lord.

The Parable of the Sower

¹That same day Jesus went out of the house oand sat beside the sea. ²And great crowds gathered about him, pso that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³And qhe told them many things in parables, saying: r“A sower went out to sow. ⁴And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶but swhen the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, tthey withered away. ⁷Other seeds fell among uthorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some va hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹wHe who has ears,1 let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹And he answered them, x“To you it has been given to know ythe secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ¹²zFor to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, aeven what he has will be taken away. ¹³This is why I speak to them in parables, because bseeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, cnor do they understand. ¹⁴Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

d“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

¹⁵For this people's heart has grown dull,

and with their ears ethey can barely hear,

and ftheir eyes they have closed,

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and gunderstand with their heart

and hturn, and I would heal them.’

¹⁶But iblessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷iFor truly, I say to you, jmany prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

¹⁸k“Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of lthe kingdom and mdoes not understand it, nthe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. ²⁰As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately oreceives it with joy, ²¹yet he has no root in himself, but pendures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately qhe falls away.2 ²²As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but rthe cares of sthe world and tthe deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²³As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and munderstands it. He indeed ubears fruit and yields, in one case va hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴He put another parable before them, saying, w“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds3 among the wheat and went away. ²⁶So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. ²⁷And the servants4 of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ ²⁸He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹But he said, x‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, y“Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

³¹He put another parable before them, saying, z“The kingdom of heaven is like aa grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³²It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

³³He told them another parable. b“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in cthree measures of flour, till it was dall leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

³⁴eAll these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. ³⁵This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:5

f“I will open my mouth in parables;

gI will utter what has been hidden hsince the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into ithe house. And his disciples came to him, saying, j“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed is kthe sons of the kingdom. The weeds are lthe sons of the evil one, ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. mThe harvest is nthe end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Just as the weeds oare gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at nthe end of the age. ⁴¹pThe Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all qcauses of sin and rall law-breakers, ⁴²sand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place tthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then uthe righteous will shine like the sun vin the kingdom of their Father. wHe who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven xis like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy yhe goes and sells all that he has and zbuys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶who, on finding aone pearl of great value, ywent and sold all that he had and zbought it.

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is blike a net that was thrown into the sea and cgathered fish of every kind. ⁴⁸When it was full, dmen drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. ⁴⁹So it will be at ethe end of the age. The angels will come out and fseparate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰gand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place gthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

⁵¹h“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” ⁵²And he said to them, “Therefore every iscribe jwho has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who kbrings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

⁵³And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, ⁵⁴land coming to mhis hometown nhe taught them in their synagogue, so that othey were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ⁵⁵pIs not this qthe carpenter's6 son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not rhis brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷And sthey took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, t“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸And he did not do many mighty works there, ubecause of their unbelief.