Joshua 10 - 11, Galatians 5 - 6, Psalms 137 - 138

Five Kings Attack Gibeon

10Now it happened that when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and had devoted it to destruction (just ^aas he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had ^bmade peace with Israel and were ¹within their land, ²they ^afeared exceedingly because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. ³Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word ^ato Hoham king of Hebron and to Piram king of Jarmuth and 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 it has ^amade peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel.” ⁵So the five kings of ^athe Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it.

⁶Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Do not ¹abandon your slaves; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us.” ⁷So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and ^aall the people of war with him and all the valiant warriors. ⁸And Yahweh said to Joshua, “^aDo not fear them, for I have given them into your hands; not ¹one of them shall stand before you.” ⁹So Joshua came upon them suddenly—he had gone up, marching all night from Gilgal. ¹⁰^aAnd Yahweh threw them into confusion before Israel, and He struck them with a great slaughter at Gibeon and pursued them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹Now it happened as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, that ^aYahweh threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died ¹from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

¹²Then Joshua spoke to Yahweh in the day when Yahweh gave over the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “O ^asun, stand still at Gibeon,And O moon in the valley of Aijalon.”

¹³^aSo the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in ^bthe book of Jashar? And ^cthe sun stood in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.

¹⁴And there was no day like that before it or after it, when Yahweh listened to the voice of a man; for ^aYahweh fought for Israel.

¹⁵Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp to Gilgal.

Joshua Captures Makkedah

¹⁶And these ^afive kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷Then it was told Joshua, saying, “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 assign men by it to keep watch over them, ¹⁹but as for you, do not stand there; pursue your enemies and ¹attack them in the rear. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for Yahweh your God has given them into your hand.” ²⁰Now it happened when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished striking them with a very great slaughter ^auntil they were completely destroyed, and the survivors—those of them who survived—¹had entered the fortified cities, ²¹that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one so much as ¹lifted his tongue against any of the sons of Israel.

²²Then Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave.” ²³And they did so and ^abrought these 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. ²⁴Now it happened that when they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near, ^aput your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came near and put their feet on their necks. ²⁵Joshua then said to them, “^aDo not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for thus Yahweh will do to all your enemies with whom you fight.” ²⁶So afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he ^ahanged them on five trees; and they hung on the trees until evening. ²⁷Now it happened that at ¹sunset Joshua gave a command, and ^athey took them down from the trees and threw them down into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and they put large stones over the mouth of the cave, to this very day.

²⁸Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; ^ahe ¹devoted ²it to destruction and every ³person who was in it. He left no survivor. Thus he did to the king of Makkedah ^bjust as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Israel Captures Kings by Yahweh’s Sword

²⁹Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to ^aLibnah and fought against Libnah. ³⁰And Yahweh gave it also with its king into the hands of Israel, and he struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor remaining in it. Thus he did to its king just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it. ³²And Yahweh gave Lachish into the hands of Israel; and he captured it on the second day and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah.

³³Then Horam king of ^aGezer came up to help Lachish, and Joshua struck him and his people down until ¹there was no survivor remaining for him.

³⁴And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it. ³⁵And they captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and every person who was in it, he devoted to destruction on that day according to all that he had done to Lachish.

³⁶Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to ^aHebron, and they fought against it. ³⁷And they captured it and struck it and its king and all its cities and all the persons who were in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon. And he devoted it and every person who was in it to destruction.

³⁸Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to ^aDebir, and they fought against it. ³⁹And he captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted every person who was in it to destruction. He left no survivor remaining. Just as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had also done to Libnah and its king.

⁴⁰Thus Joshua struck all the land—^athe hill country and the ¹Negev and the ²Shephelah and the slopes—as well as ^ball their kings. He left no survivor remaining, but ^che devoted to destruction all who breathed, just as Yahweh, the God of Israel, had commanded. ⁴¹And Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of ^aGoshen even as far as Gibeon. ⁴²And Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time because ^aYahweh, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. ⁴³So Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.

Joshua Takes the Whole Land

11Now it happened, when Jabin king of ^aHazor heard of it, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon and to the king of Shimron and to the king of Achshaph, ²and to the kings who were of the north in the hill country and in the ^aArabah—south of ¹Chinneroth and in the ²Shephelah and on the ³heights of Dor on the west— ³to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite in the hill country, and ^athe Hivite ¹at the foot of ^bHermon in the land of ^cMizpeh. ⁴Then they came out, they and all their armies with them, ^aas many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. ⁵So all of these kings agreed to meet, and they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

⁶Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “^aDo not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give all of them over, slain, before Israel; you shall ^bhamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” ⁷So Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and they fell upon them. ⁸And Yahweh gave them into the hand of Israel, so that they struck them down, and they pursued them as far as Great Sidon and ^aMisrephoth-maim and the valley of ^bMizpeh to the east; and they struck them until ¹there was no survivor remaining for them. ⁹And Joshua did to them as Yahweh had said to him; he ^ahamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

¹⁰Then Joshua turned back at that time and captured ^aHazor and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor formerly was the head of all these kingdoms. ¹¹^aAnd they struck every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, ¹devoting them to destruction; there was no one left who breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. ¹²And Joshua captured all the cities of these kings and all their kings, and he struck them with the edge of the sword, and he devoted them to destruction, just ^aas Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded. ¹³However, Israel did not burn any cities that stood on their mounds, except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned. ¹⁴^aNow all the spoil of these cities and the cattle, the sons of Israel took as their plunder; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them. They left no one remaining who breathed. ¹⁵Just as Yahweh had commanded Moses His servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that Yahweh had commanded Moses.

¹⁶Thus Joshua took all that land: ^athe hill country and all the ¹Negev, all that land of Goshen, the ²Shephelah, ^bthe Arabah, the hill country of Israel and its ³Shephelah ¹⁷from ^aMount Halak, that rises toward Seir, even as far as Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon ¹at the foot of Mount Hermon. And he captured ^ball their kings and struck them down and put them to death. ¹⁸Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings. ¹⁹There was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except ^athe Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle. ²⁰^aFor it was of Yahweh to strengthen their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might ^bdevote them to destruction, that they might ¹receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

²¹Then Joshua came at that time and cut off ^athe Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab and from all the hill country of Judah and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. ²²There were no Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, in ^aGath, and in ^bAshdod some remained. ²³So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that Yahweh had spoken to Moses, and ^aJoshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. ^bThus the land was quiet from war.

Christ Set Us Free

5¹^,^aIt was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore, ^bstand firm and do not be subject again to a ^cyoke of slavery.

²Behold I, ^aPaul, say to you that if you receive ^bcircumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. ³And I ^atestify again to every man who receives ^bcircumcision, that he is under obligation to ^ckeep the whole Law. ⁴You have been ¹severed from Christ, you who are being justified by law; you have ^afallen from grace! ⁵For we ¹through the Spirit, ²by faith, are ^aeagerly waiting for the hope of righteousness. ⁶For in ^aChrist Jesus ^bneither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but ^cfaith working through love.

⁷You were ^arunning well; who hindered you from ¹obeying the truth? ⁸This persuasion is not from ^aHim who calls you. ⁹^aA little leaven leavens the whole lump. ¹⁰^aI have confidence ¹in you in the Lord that you ^bwill adopt no other view. But the one who is ^cdisturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is. ¹¹But I, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still ^apersecuted? Then ^bthe stumbling block of the cross would have been abolished. ¹²I wish that ^athose who are upsetting you would even ¹^,^bmutilate themselves.

¹³For you were called to ^afreedom, brothers; ^bonly do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love ^cserve one another. ¹⁴For ^athe whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “^bYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵But if you ^abite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.

Walk by the Spirit

¹⁶But I say, ^awalk by the Spirit and you will not carry out ^bthe desire of the flesh. ¹⁷For ^athe flesh ¹sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, ^bso that you do not do the things that you want. ¹⁸But if you are ^aled by the Spirit, ^byou are not under the Law. ¹⁹Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: ^asexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰idolatry, ^asorcery, enmities, ^bstrife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, ^cselfish ambition, dissensions, ¹^,^dfactions, ²¹envying, ^adrunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not ^binherit the kingdom of God. ²²But ^athe fruit of the Spirit is ^blove, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, ^aself-control. Against such things ^bthere is no law. ²⁴Now those who ¹belong to ^aChrist Jesus ^bcrucified the flesh with its passions and ^cdesires.

²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also ¹walk in step with ^athe Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become those with ^avain glory, challenging one another, envying one another.

Bear One Another’s Burdens

6^aBrothers, even if ¹anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are ^bspiritual, ^crestore such a one ^din a spirit of gentleness, each of you looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. ²^aBear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill ^bthe law of Christ. ³For ^aif anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. ⁴But each one must ^aexamine his own work, and then he will have reason for ^bboasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. ⁵For ^aeach one will bear his own load.

⁶^aAnd the one who is instructed in ^bthe word is to share in all good things with the one who instructs him. ⁷^aDo not be deceived, ^bGod is not mocked, for ^cwhatever a man sows, this he will also reap. ⁸^aFor the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap ^bcorruption, but ^cthe one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. ⁹^aAnd let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we ^bdo not grow weary. ¹⁰So then, ¹^,^awhile we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the ^bhousehold of ^cthe faith.

¹¹See with what large letters I ¹am writing to you ^awith my own hand! ¹²As many as are wanting ^ato make a good showing in the flesh, these are trying to ^bcompel you to be circumcised, simply so that they ^cwill not be persecuted ¹for the cross of Christ. ¹³For those who ¹are circumcised do not even ^akeep ²the Law themselves, but they want to have you circumcised so that they may ^bboast in your flesh. ¹⁴But ^amay it never be that I would boast, ^bexcept in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^cthrough ¹which the world has been crucified to me, and ^dI to the world. ¹⁵For ^aneither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a ^bnew ¹creation. ¹⁶And those who will ¹walk in step with this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the ^aIsrael of God.

¹⁷From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the ^amarks of Jesus.

¹⁸^aThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be ^bwith your spirit, ^cbrothers. Amen.

We Wept When We Remembered Zion

137By the ^arivers of Babylon,There we sat and also ^bwept,When we remembered Zion.²Upon the ¹^,^awillows in the midst of itWe ^bhung our lyres.³For there our captors ^aasked us about the words of a song,And ^bour tormentors asked joyfully, saying,“Sing for us one of the songs of Zion.”⁴How can we sing a song of ^aYahwehIn a foreign land?⁵If I ^aforget you, O Jerusalem,May my right hand ¹forget her skill.⁶May my ^atongue cling to the roof of my mouthIf I do not remember you,If I do not ¹^,^bexalt JerusalemAbove my chief joy.⁷Remember, O Yahweh, against the sons of ^aEdomThe day of Jerusalem,Who said, “Tear it down! Tear it down^bTo its very foundation.”⁸O daughter of Babylon, you ^adevastated one,How blessed will be the one who ^brepays youWith ¹the recompense with which you have recompensed us.⁹How blessed will be the one who seizes and ^adashes your infantsAgainst the cliff.

I Will Give Thanks to Your Name

138

Of David.

^aI will give You thanks with all my heart;I will sing praises to You before the ^bgods.²I will worship ^atoward Your holy templeAnd ^bgive thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your ¹truth;For You have ^cmagnified Your ²word ³according to all Your name.³On the day I ^acalled, You answered me;You made me bold with ^bstrength in my soul.⁴^aAll the kings of the earth, O Yahweh, will give You thanks,When they hear the words of Your mouth.⁵And they will ^asing of the ways of Yahweh,For ^bgreat is the glory of Yahweh.⁶For ^aYahweh is high,Yet He ^bsees the lowly,But the ^cone who exalts himself He knows from afar.⁷Though I ^awalk in the midst of ¹distress, You will ²^,^brevive me;You will ^cstretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,And Your right hand will ^dsave me.⁸Yahweh will ^aaccomplish what concerns me;O Yahweh, Your ^blovingkindness endures forever;^cDo not fail the ^dworks of Your hands.