Joshua 1; Joshua 2; Joshua 3; Mark 16

1 After the death of the Lord's servant Moses, the Lord spoke to Moses' helper, Joshua son of Nun.

2 He said, "My servant Moses is dead. Get ready now, you and all the people of Israel, and cross the Jordan River into the land that I am giving them.

3 As I told Moses, I have given you and all my people the entire land that you will be marching over.

4 Your borders will reach from the desert in the south to the Lebanon Mountains in the north; from the great Euphrates River in the east, through the Hittite country, to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

5 Joshua, no one will be able to defeat you as long as you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will always be with you; I will never abandon you.

6 Be determined and confident, for you will be the leader of these people as they occupy this land which I promised their ancestors.

7 Just be determined, be confident; and make sure that you obey the whole Law that my servant Moses gave you. Do not neglect any part of it and you will succeed wherever you go.

8 Be sure that the book of the Law is always read in your worship. Study it day and night, and make sure that you obey everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

9 Remember that I have commanded you to be determined and confident! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I, the Lord your God, am with you wherever you go."

10 Then Joshua ordered the leaders to

11 go through the camp and say to the people, "Get some food ready, because in three days you are going to cross the Jordan River to occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you."

12 Joshua said to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to half the tribe of Manasseh,

13 "Remember how the Lord's servant Moses told you that the Lord your God would give you this land on the east side of the Jordan as your home.

14 Your wives, your children, and your livestock will stay here, but your soldiers, armed for battle, will cross over ahead of the other Israelites in order to help them

15 until they have occupied the land west of the Jordan that the Lord your God has given them. When he has given safety to all the tribes of Israel, then you may come back and settle here in your own land east of the Jordan, which Moses, the Lord's servant, gave to you."

16 They answered Joshua, "We will do everything you have told us and will go anywhere you send us.

17 We will obey you, just as we always obeyed Moses, and may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses!

18 Whoever questions your authority or disobeys any of your orders will be put to death. Be determined and confident!"

1 Then Joshua sent two spies from the camp at Acacia with orders to go and secretly explore the land of Canaan, especially the city of Jericho. When they came to the city, they went to spend the night in the house of a prostitute named Rahab.

2 The king of Jericho heard that some Israelites had come that night to spy out the country,

3 so he sent word to Rahab: "The men in your house have come to spy out the whole country! Bring them out!"

4 "Some men did come to my house," she answered, "but I don't know where they were from. They left at sundown before the city gate was closed. I didn't find out where they were going, but if you start after them quickly, you can catch them." (Now Rahab had taken the two spies up on the roof and hidden them under some stalks of flax that she had put there.)

7 The king's men left the city, and then the gate was shut. They went looking for the Israelite spies as far as the place where the road crosses the Jordan.

8 Before the spies settled down for the night, Rahab went up on the roof

9 and said to them, "I know that the Lord has given you this land. Everyone in the country is terrified of you.

10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea in front of you when you were leaving Egypt. We have also heard how you killed Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan.

11 We were afraid as soon as we heard about it; we have all lost our courage because of you. The Lord your God is God in heaven above and here on earth.

12 Now swear by him that you will treat my family as kindly as I have treated you, and give me some sign that I can trust you.

13 Promise me that you will save my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families! Don't let us be killed!"

14 The men said to her, "May God take our lives if we don't do as we say! If you do not tell anyone what we have been doing, we promise you that when the Lord gives us this land, we will treat you well."

15 Rahab lived in a house built into the city wall, so she let the men down from the window by a rope.

16 "Go into the hill country," she said, "or the king's men will find you. Hide there for three days until they come back. After that, you can go on your way."

17 The men said to her, "We will keep the promise that you have made us give.

18 This is what you must do. When we invade your land, tie this red cord to the window you let us down from. Get your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's family together in your house.

19 If anyone goes out of the house, his death will be his own fault, and we will not be responsible; but if anyone in the house with you is harmed, then we will be responsible.

20 However, if you tell anyone what we have been doing, then we will not have to keep our promise which you have made us give you."

21 She agreed and sent them away. When they had gone, she tied the red cord to the window.

22 The spies went into the hills and hid. The king's men looked for them all over the countryside for three days, but they did not find them, so they returned to Jericho.

23 Then the two spies came down from the hills, crossed the river, and went back to Joshua. They told him everything that had happened,

24 and then said, "We are sure that the Lord has given us the whole country. All the people there are terrified of us."

1 The next morning Joshua and all the people of Israel got up early, left the camp at Acacia, and went to the Jordan, where they camped while waiting to cross it.

2 Three days later the leaders went through the camp

3 and told the people, "When you see the priests carrying the Covenant Box of the Lord your God, break camp and follow them.

4 You have never been here before, so they will show you the way to go. But do not get near the Covenant Box; stay about half a mile behind it."

5 Joshua told the people, "Purify yourselves, because tomorrow the Lord will perform miracles among you."

6 Then he told the priests to take the Covenant Box and go with it ahead of the people. They did as he said.

7 The Lord said to Joshua, "What I do today will make all the people of Israel begin to honor you as a great man, and they will realize that I am with you as I was with Moses.

8 Tell the priests carrying the Covenant Box that when they reach the river, they must wade in and stand near the bank."

9 Then Joshua said to the people, "Come here and listen to what the Lord your God has to say.

10 As you advance, he will surely drive out the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. You will know that the living God is among you

11 when the Covenant Box of the Lord of all the earth crosses the Jordan ahead of you.

12 Now choose twelve men, one from each of the tribes of Israel.

13 When the priests who carry the Covenant Box of the Lord of all the earth put their feet in the water, the Jordan will stop flowing, and the water coming downstream will pile up in one place."

14 It was harvest time, and the river was in flood. When the people left the camp to cross the Jordan, the priests went ahead of them, carrying the Covenant Box. As soon as the priests stepped into the river,

16 the water stopped flowing and piled up, far upstream at Adam, the city beside Zarethan. The flow downstream to the Dead Sea was completely cut off, and the people were able to cross over near Jericho.

17 While the people walked across on dry ground, the priests carrying the Lord's Covenant Box stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan until all the people had crossed over.

1 After the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices to go and anoint the body of Jesus.

2 Very early on Sunday morning, at sunrise, they went to the tomb.

3 On the way they said to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?" (It was a very large stone.) Then they looked up and saw that the stone had already been rolled back.

5 So they entered the tomb, where they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe - and they were alarmed.

6 "Don't be alarmed," he said. "I know you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is not here - he has been raised! Look, here is the place where he was placed.

7 Now go and give this message to his disciples, including Peter: "He is going to Galilee ahead of you; there you will see him, just as he told you.' "

8 So they went out and ran from the tomb, distressed and terrified. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

9 After Jesus rose from death early on Sunday, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons.

10 She went and told his companions. They were mourning and crying;

11 and when they heard her say that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe her.

12 After this, Jesus appeared in a different manner to two of them while they were on their way to the country.

13 They returned and told the others, but these would not believe it.

14 Last of all, Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating. He scolded them, because they did not have faith and because they were too stubborn to believe those who had seen him alive.

15 He said to them, "Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all people.

16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.

17 Believers will be given the power to perform miracles: they will drive out demons in my name; they will speak in strange tongues;

18 if they pick up snakes or drink any poison, they will not be harmed; they will place their hands on sick people, and these will get well."

19 After the Lord Jesus had talked with them, he was taken up to heaven and sat at the right side of God.

20 The disciples went and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and proved that their preaching was true by the miracles that were performed.