The Sun Stands Still

¹As soon as Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction,1 mdoing to Ai and its king nas he had done to Jericho and its king, and ohow the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, ²phe2 feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors. ³So Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, ⁴“Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For qit has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.” ⁵Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, rgathered their forces and went up with all their armies and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it.

⁶And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua sat the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not relax your hand from your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the hill country are gathered against us.” ⁷So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and tall the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. ⁸And the Lord said to Joshua, u“Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands. vNot a man of them shall stand before you.” ⁹So Joshua came upon them suddenly, having marched up all night from Gilgal. ¹⁰wAnd the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who3 struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of xthe ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹And as they fled before Israel, while they were xgoing down the ascent of Beth-horon, ythe Lord threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died because of the hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

¹²At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

z“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,

and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”

¹³And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,

until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. ¹⁴aThere has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for bthe Lord fought for Israel.

¹⁵So cJoshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Five Amorite Kings Executed

¹⁶These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at dMakkedah. ¹⁷And it was told to Joshua, “The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at Makkedah.” ¹⁸And Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave and set men by it to guard them, ¹⁹but do not stay there yourselves. Pursue your enemies; eattack their rear guard. Do not let them enter their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.” ²⁰When Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a great blow funtil they were wiped out, and when the remnant that remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, ²¹then all the people returned safe to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah. gNot a man moved his tongue against any of the people of Israel.

²²Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.” ²³And they did so, and brought those five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. ²⁴And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. ²⁵And Joshua said to them, h“Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. iFor thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.” ²⁶And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And jthey hung on the trees until evening. ²⁷But at the time of the going down of the sun, Joshua commanded, and kthey took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day.

²⁸As for lMakkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah mjust as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Conquest of Southern Canaan

²⁹Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to nLibnah and fought against Libnah. ³⁰And the Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king mas he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to oLachish and laid siege to it and fought against it. ³²And the Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.

³³Then Horam king of pGezer came up to help Lachish. And Joshua struck him and his people, until he left none remaining.

³⁴Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to qEglon. And they laid siege to it and fought against it. ³⁵And they captured it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword. And he devoted every person in it to destruction that day, as he had done to Lachish.

³⁶Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to rHebron. And they fought against it ³⁷and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it. He left none remaining, as he had done to Eglon, and devoted it to destruction and every person in it.

³⁸Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to sDebir and fought against it ³⁹and he captured it with its king and all its towns. And they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. Just as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and to its king.

⁴⁰So Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland tand the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, ubut devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded. ⁴¹And Joshua struck them from vKadesh-barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of wGoshen, as far as Gibeon. ⁴²And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, xbecause the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. ⁴³yThen Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Psalm 142

You Are My Refuge

A Maskil1 of David, when he was in kthe cave. A Prayer.

¹With my voice I lcry out to the Lord;

with my voice I mplead for mercy to the Lord.

²I npour out my complaint before him;

I tell my trouble before him.

³When my spirit ofaints within me,

you know my way!

In the path where I walk

they have phidden a trap for me.

⁴qLook to the rright and see:

sthere is none who takes notice of me;

tno refuge remains to me;

no one cares for my soul.

⁵I cry to you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my urefuge,

my vportion in wthe land of the living.”

⁶xAttend to my cry,

for yI am brought very low!

Deliver me from my persecutors,

zfor they are too strong for me!

⁷aBring me out of prison,

that I may give thanks to your name!

The righteous will surround me,

for you will bdeal bountifully with me.

Psalm 143

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.

¹Hear my prayer, O Lord;

cgive ear to my pleas for mercy!

In your dfaithfulness answer me, in your drighteousness!

²eEnter not into judgment with your servant,

for no one living is righteous fbefore you.

³For the enemy has pursued my soul;

ghe has crushed my life to the ground;

hhe has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

⁴Therefore my spirit ifaints within me;

my heart within me is appalled.

⁵jI remember the days of old;

kI meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands.

⁶lI stretch out my hands to you;

mmy soul thirsts for you like na parched land. Selah

⁷oAnswer me quickly, O Lord!

pMy spirit fails!

qHide not your face from me,

rlest I be like those who go down to the pit.

⁸sLet me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,

for in you I ttrust.

uMake me know the way I should go,

vfor to you I lift up my soul.

⁹wDeliver me from my enemies, O Lord!

I have fled to you for refuge.1

¹⁰xTeach me to do your will,

for you are my God!

yLet your good Spirit zlead me

on alevel ground!

¹¹bFor your name's sake, O Lord, cpreserve my life!

In your righteousness dbring my soul out of trouble!

¹²And in your steadfast love you will ecut off my enemies,

and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,

for I am your fservant.

¹“If you return, O Israel,

declares the Lord,

xto me you should return.

If you remove your detestable things from my presence,

yand do not waver,

²zand if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’

in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,

then anations shall bless themselves in him,

band in him shall they glory.”

³For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

c“Break up your fallow ground,

and dsow not among thorns.

⁴eCircumcise yourselves to the Lord;

remove the foreskin of your hearts,

O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;

flest my wrath go forth like fire,

and burn with none to quench it,

gbecause of the evil of your deeds.”

Disaster from the North

⁵Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,

h“Blow the trumpet through the land;

cry aloud and say,

i‘Assemble, and let us go

into the fortified cities!’

⁶jRaise a standard toward Zion,

flee for safety, stay not,

for I bring disaster from kthe north,

land great destruction.

⁷mA lion has gone up from his thicket,

a destroyer of nations has set out;

he has gone out from his place

to make your land a waste;

your cities will be ruins

nwithout inhabitant.

⁸For this oput on sackcloth,

lament and wail,

for pthe fierce anger of the Lord

has not turned back from us.”

⁹“In that day, declares the Lord, qcourage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.” ¹⁰Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, rsurely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life.”

¹¹At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from sthe bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse, ¹²a wind too full for this comes for me. Now it is I who tspeak in judgment upon them.”

¹³Behold, he comes up like clouds;

uhis chariots like the whirlwind;

his horses are vswifter than eagles—

woe to us, wfor we are ruined!

¹⁴O Jerusalem, xwash your heart from evil,

that you may be saved.

How long shall your wicked thoughts

lodge within you?

¹⁵For a voice ydeclares from Dan

and proclaims trouble from zMount Ephraim.

¹⁶Warn the nations that he is coming;

announce to Jerusalem,

“Besiegers come afrom a distant land;

they shout against the cities of Judah.

¹⁷Like keepers of a field bare they against her all around,

because she has rebelled against me,

declares the Lord.

¹⁸Your ways and your deeds

have brought this upon you.

This is your doom, and cit is bitter;

it has reached your very heart.”

Anguish over Judah's Desolation

¹⁹dMy anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!

Oh the walls of my heart!

My heart is beating wildly;

I cannot keep silent,

for I hear the sound of the trumpet,

the alarm of war.

²⁰eCrash follows hard on crash;

the whole land is laid waste.

fSuddenly my tents are laid waste,

my curtains in a moment.

²¹How long must I see the standard

and hear the sound of the trumpet?

²²“For gmy people are foolish;

they know me not;

they are stupid children;

they have no understanding.

hThey are ‘wise’—in doing evil!

But how to do good they know not.”

²³I looked on the earth, and behold, it was iwithout form and void;

jand to the heavens, and they had no light.

²⁴I looked on kthe mountains, and behold, they were quaking,

and all the hills moved to and fro.

²⁵lI looked, and behold, there was no man,

and all the birds of the air had fled.

²⁶I looked, and behold, the mfruitful land was a desert,

and all its cities were laid in ruins

before the Lord, before nhis fierce anger.

²⁷For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation; oyet I will not make a full end.

²⁸p“For this the earth shall mourn,

qand the heavens above be dark;

for I have spoken; I have purposed;

rI have not relented, nor will I turn back.”

²⁹At the noise of horseman and archer

every city takes to flight;

they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;

all the cities are forsaken,

and sno man dwells in them.

³⁰And you, O desolate one,

what do you mean that you dress in scarlet,

tthat you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,

uthat you enlarge your eyes with paint?

In vain you beautify yourself.

vYour lovers despise you;

they seek your life.

³¹For I heard wa cry as of a woman in labor,

anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,

the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,

xstretching out her hands,

“Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.”

Who Is the Greatest?

¹tAt that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you uturn and vbecome like children, you wwill never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴xWhoever humbles himself like this child is the wgreatest in the kingdom of heaven.

⁵y“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ⁶but zwhoever causes one of these alittle ones who believe in me to sin,1 it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Temptations to Sin

⁷“Woe to the world for btemptations to sin!2 cFor it is necessary that temptations come, dbut woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! ⁸eAnd if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into fthe eternal fire. ⁹eAnd if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the fhell3 of fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹⁰“See that you do not despise gone of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven htheir angels always isee the face of my Father who is in heaven.4 ¹²jWhat do you think? kIf a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴So lit is not the will of my5 Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If Your Brother Sins Against You

¹⁵m“If your brother sins against you, ngo and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have ogained your brother. ¹⁶But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established pby the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, qtell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, rlet him be to you as sa Gentile and sa tax collector. ¹⁸Truly, I say to you, twhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed6 in heaven. ¹⁹Again I say to you, if two of you uagree on earth about anything they ask, vit will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are wgathered in my name, xthere am I among them.”

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

²¹Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often ywill my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? zAs many as seven times?” ²²Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished ato settle accounts with his servants.7 ²⁴When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him bten thousand ctalents.8 ²⁵dAnd since he could not pay, his master ordered him eto be sold, with his wife and fchildren and all that he had, and payment to be made. ²⁶So the servant9 gfell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and dforgave him the debt. ²⁸But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred hdenarii,10 and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ ²⁹So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ ³⁰He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. ³¹When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. ³²Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ³³iAnd should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴jAnd in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,11 kuntil he should pay all his debt. ³⁵lSo also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother mfrom your heart.”