The Continuing Conquest of Canaan

¹After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel ainquired of the Lord, b“Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” ²The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” ³And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. cAnd I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. ⁴Then Judah went up and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. ⁵They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. ⁶Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. ⁷And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off dused to pick up scraps under my table. eAs I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

⁸fAnd the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. ⁹And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in gthe hill country, in the Negeb, and in gthe lowland. ¹⁰hAnd Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron i(now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated jSheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

¹¹From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. ¹²And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.” ¹³And Othniel the son of Kenaz, kCaleb's younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. ¹⁴When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” ¹⁵She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

¹⁶And the descendants of the lKenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah mfrom the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near nArad, oand they went and settled with the people. ¹⁷pAnd Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called qHormah.1 ¹⁸Judah also rcaptured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. ¹⁹pAnd the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the shill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had tchariots of iron. ²⁰uAnd Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it vthe three sons of Anak. ²¹But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, wso the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

²²The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, xand the Lord was with them. ²³And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (yNow the name of the city was formerly Luz.) ²⁴And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, zand we will deal kindly with you.” ²⁵And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. ²⁶And the man went to athe land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day.

Failure to Complete the Conquest

²⁷bManasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. ²⁸When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

²⁹cAnd Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

³⁰Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of dNahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.

³¹eAsher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, ³²so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

³³Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of fBeth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.

³⁴gThe Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. ³⁵The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, hin Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. ³⁶And the border of the Amorites ran from ithe ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Ananias and Sapphira

¹But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, ²and with his wife's knowledge vhe kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and wlaid it at the apostles' feet. ³But Peter said, “Ananias, why has xSatan filled your heart to lie yto the Holy Spirit and zto keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? ⁴While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but ato God.” ⁵When Ananias heard these words, he bfell down and breathed his last. And cgreat fear came upon all who heard of it. ⁶The young men rose and dwrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

⁷After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you1 sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” ⁹But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together eto test fthe Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” ¹⁰Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹And ggreat fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

Many Signs and Wonders Done

¹²Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people hby the hands of the apostles. And they were all itogether in jSolomon's Portico. ¹³None of the rest dared join them, but kthe people held them in high esteem. ¹⁴And lmore than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, ¹⁵mso that they even ncarried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by oat least his shadow might fall on some of them. ¹⁶The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, pbringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

The Apostles Arrested and Freed

¹⁷But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of qthe Sadducees), and filled with rjealousy ¹⁸they arrested the apostles and sput them in the public prison. ¹⁹But during the night tan angel of the Lord uopened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ²⁰“Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all vthe words of wthis xLife.” ²¹And when they heard this, ythey entered the temple zat daybreak and began to teach.

Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. ²²But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, ²³“We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” ²⁴Now when athe captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. ²⁵And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison bare standing in the temple and teaching the people.” ²⁶Then cthe captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for dthey were afraid of being stoned by the people.

²⁷And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, ²⁸saying, e“We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you fintend to bring this man's blood upon us.” ²⁹But Peter and the apostles answered, g“We must obey God rather than men. ³⁰hThe God of our fathers iraised Jesus, jwhom you killed by hanging him on ka tree. ³¹God exalted lhim at his right hand as mLeader and nSavior, oto give prepentance to Israel and oforgiveness of sins. ³²And qwe are witnesses to these things, and rso is the Holy Spirit, swhom God has given to those who obey him.”

³³When they heard this, they twere enraged and wanted to kill them. ³⁴But a Pharisee in the council named uGamaliel, va teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. ³⁵And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. ³⁶For wbefore these days Theudas rose up, xclaiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. ³⁷After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of ythe census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. ³⁸So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for zif this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; ³⁹but aif it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You bmight even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, ⁴⁰and cwhen they had called in the apostles, dthey beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. ⁴¹Then they left the presence of the council, erejoicing that they were counted worthy fto suffer dishonor for gthe name. ⁴²And every day, hin the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and ipreaching jthat the Christ is Jesus.

Famine, Sword, and Pestilence

¹The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning ythe drought:

²z“Judah mourns,

and aher gates languish;

her people lament on the ground,

and bthe cry of Jerusalem goes up.

³Her nobles send their servants for water;

they come to the cisterns;

they find no water;

they return with their vessels empty;

they are cashamed and confounded

and dcover their heads.

⁴Because of the ground that is dismayed,

since there is eno rain on the land,

the farmers are ashamed;

they cover their heads.

⁵Even fthe doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn

because there is no grass.

⁶gThe wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;

they pant for air like jackals;

their eyes fail

because there is no vegetation.

⁷“Though our iniquities testify against us,

act, O Lord, hfor your name's sake;

ifor our backslidings are many;

jwe have sinned against you.

⁸kO you hope of Israel,

its savior in time of trouble,

why should you be like a stranger in the land,

like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

⁹Why should you be like a man confused,

llike a mighty warrior who cannot save?

Yet myou, O Lord, are in the midst of us,

and nwe are called by your name;

odo not leave us.”

¹⁰Thus says the Lord concerning this people:

“They have loved to wander thus;

they have not restrained their feet;

ptherefore the Lord does not accept them;

qnow he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins.”

¹¹The Lord said to me: r“Do not pray for the welfare of this people. ¹²Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, sand though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them tby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”

Lying Prophets

¹³Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets usay to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” ¹⁴And the Lord said to me: “The vprophets are prophesying lies in my name. wI did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, xworthless divination, and ythe deceit of their own minds. ¹⁵Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although wI did not send them, and who say, t‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: zBy sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. ¹⁶And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, awith none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.

¹⁷“You shall say to them this word:

b‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,

and let them not cease,

for the virgin cdaughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,

dwith a very grievous blow.

¹⁸eIf I go out into the field,

behold, those pierced by the sword!

eAnd if I enter the city,

behold, the diseases of famine!

fFor both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land

and have no knowledge.’”

¹⁹gHave you utterly rejected Judah?

Does your soul loathe Zion?

Why have you struck us down

hso that there is no healing for us?

iWe looked for peace, but no good came;

ifor a time of healing, but behold, terror.

²⁰jWe acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,

and the iniquity of our fathers,

jfor we have sinned against you.

²¹Do not spurn us, kfor your name's sake;

do not dishonor your glorious throne;

lremember and do not break your covenant with us.

²²Are there any among mthe false gods of the nations nthat can bring rain?

Or can the heavens give showers?

Are you not he, O Lord our God?

We set our hope on you,

ofor you do all these things.

The Resurrection

¹mNow after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and nthe other Mary went to see the tomb. ²And behold, there was a great earthquake, for oan angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³pHis appearance was like lightning, and qhis clothing white as snow. ⁴And for fear of him the guards trembled and rbecame like dead men. ⁵But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶He is not here, for he has risen, sas he said. Come, see the place where he1 lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, the is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸So they departed quickly from the tomb uwith fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹And behold, Jesus vmet them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and wtook hold of his feet and xworshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; ygo and tell zmy brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Report of the Guard

¹¹While they were going, behold, some of athe guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. ¹²And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers ¹³and said, “Tell people, b‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴And if this comes to cthe governor's ears, we will dsatisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews eto this day.

The Great Commission

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples fwent to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷And when they saw him they gworshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, h“All authority iin heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹jGo therefore and kmake disciples of lall nations, jbaptizing them min2 nthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them oto observe all that pI have commanded you. And behold, qI am with you always, to rthe end of the age.”