Joshua 1; Joshua 2; Joshua 3; Mark 16

1 After Moses, the servant of the Lord, died, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' assistant.

2 The Lord said, "My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people go across the Jordan River into the land I am giving to the Israelites.

3 I promised Moses I would give you this land, so I will give you every place you go in the land.

4 All the land from the desert in the south to Lebanon in the north will be yours. All the land from the great river, the Euphrates, in the east, to the Mediterranean Sea in the west will be yours, too, including the land of the Hittites.

5 No one will be able to defeat you all your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forget you.

6 "Joshua, be strong and brave! You must lead these people so they can take the land that I promised their fathers I would give them.

7 Be strong and brave. Be sure to obey all the teachings my servant Moses gave you. If you follow them exactly, you will be successful in everything you do.

8 Always remember what is written in the Book of the Teachings. Study it day and night to be sure to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything.

9 Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don't be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go."

10 Then Joshua gave orders to the officers of the people:

11 "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan River and take the land the Lord your God is giving you.'"

12 Then Joshua said to the people of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh,

13 "Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, told you. He said the Lord your God would give you rest and would give you this land.

14 Now the Lord has given you this land east of the Jordan River. Your wives, children, and animals may stay here, but your fighting men must dress for war and cross the Jordan River ahead of your brothers to help them.

15 The Lord has given you a place to rest and will do the same for your brothers. But you must help them until they take the land the Lord their God is giving them. Then you may return to your own land east of the Jordan River, the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you."

16 Then the people answered Joshua, "Anything you command us to do, we will do. Any place you send us, we will go.

17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, we will obey you. We ask only that the Lord your God be with you just as he was with Moses.

18 Whoever refuses to obey your commands or turns against you will be put to death. Just be strong and brave!"

1 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent out two spies from Acacia and said to them, "Go and look at the land, particularly at the city of Jericho." So the men went to Jericho and stayed at the house of a prostitute named Rahab.

2 Someone told the king of Jericho, "Some men from Israel have come here tonight to spy out the land."

3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house. They have come to spy out our whole land."

4 But the woman had hidden the two men. She said, "They did come here, but I didn't know where they came from.

5 In the evening, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don't know where they went, but if you go quickly, maybe you can catch them."

6 (The woman had taken the men up to the roofn and had hidden them there under stalks of flax that she had spread out.)

7 So the king's men went out looking for the spies on the road that leads to the crossings of the Jordan River. The city gate was closed just after the king's men left the city.

8 Before the spies went to sleep for the night, Rahab went up to the roof.

9 She said to them, "I know the Lord has given this land to your people. You frighten us very much. Everyone living in this land is terribly afraid of you

10 because we have heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea when you came out of Egypt. We have heard how you destroyed Sihon and Og, two Amorite kings who lived east of the Jordan.

11 When we heard this, we were very frightened. Now our men are afraid to fight you because the Lord your God rules the heavens above and the earth below!

12 So now, promise me before the Lord that you will show kindness to my family just as I showed kindness to you. Give me some proof that you will do this.

13 Allow my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all of their families to live. Save us from death."

14 The men agreed and said, "It will be our lives for your lives if you don't tell anyone what we are doing. When the Lord gives us the land, we will be kind and true to you."

15 The house Rahab lived in was built on the city wall, so she used a rope to let the men down through a window.

16 She said to them, "Go into the hills so the king's men will not find you. Hide there for three days. After the king's men return, you may go on your way."

17 The men said to her, "You must do as we say. If not, we cannot be responsible for keeping this oath you have made us swear.

18 When we return to this land, you must tie this red rope in the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your family into your house.

19 If anyone leaves your house and is killed, it is his own fault. We cannot be responsible for him. If anyone in your house is hurt, we will be responsible.

20 But if you tell anyone about this, we will be free from the oath you made us swear."

21 Rahab answered, "I agree to this." So she sent them away, and they left. Then she tied the red rope in the window.

22 The men left and went into the hills where they stayed for three days. The king's men looked for them all along the road, but after three days, they returned to the city without finding them.

23 Then the two men started back. They left the hills and crossed the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them.

24 They said, "The Lord surely has given us all of the land. All the people in that land are terribly afraid of us."

1 Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia. They traveled to the Jordan River and camped there before crossing it.

2 After three days the officers went through the camp

3 and gave orders to the people: "When you see the priests and Levites carrying the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord your God, leave where you are and follow it.

4 That way you will know which way to go since you have never been here before. But do not follow too closely. Stay about a thousand yards behind the Ark."

5 Then Joshua told the people, "Make yourselves holy, because tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you."

6 Joshua said to the priests, "Take the Ark of the Agreement and go ahead of the people." So the priests lifted the Ark and carried it ahead of the people.

7 Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to make you great in the opinion of all the Israelites so the people will know I am with you just as I was with Moses.

8 Tell the priests who carry the Ark of the Agreement to go to the edge of the Jordan River and stand in the water."

9 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, "Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.

10 Here is proof that the living God is with you and that he will force out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.

11 The Ark of the Agreement with the Lord of the whole world will go ahead of you into the Jordan River.

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

13 The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Master of the whole world, into the Jordan ahead of you. When they step into the water, it will stop. The river will stop flowing and will stand up in a heap."

14 So the people left the place where they had camped, and they followed the priests who carried the Ark of the Agreement across the Jordan River.

15 During harvest the Jordan overflows its banks. When the priests carrying the Ark came to the edge of the river and stepped into the water,

16 the water upstream stopped flowing. It stood up in a heap a great distance away at Adam, a town near Zarethan. The water flowing down to the Sea of Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed the river near Jericho.

17 The priests carried the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord to the middle of the river and stood there on dry ground. They waited there while all the people of Israel walked across the Jordan River on dry land.

1 The day after the Sabbath day, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought some sweet-smelling spices to put on Jesus' body.

2 Very early on that day, the first day of the week, soon after sunrise, the women were on their way to the tomb.

3 They said to each other, "Who will roll away for us the stone that covers the entrance of the tomb?"

4 Then the women looked and saw that the stone had already been rolled away, even though it was very large.

5 The women entered the tomb and saw a young man wearing a white robe and sitting on the right side, and they were afraid.

6 But the man said, "Don't be afraid. You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, who has been crucified. He has risen from the dead; he is not here. Look, here is the place they laid him.

7 Now go and tell his followers and Peter, 'Jesus is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there as he told you before.'"

8 The women were confused and shaking with fear, so they left the tomb and ran away. They did not tell anyone about what happened, because they were afraid. Verses

9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on the first day of the week, he showed himself first to Mary Magdalene. One time in the past, he had forced seven demons out of her.

10 After Mary saw Jesus, she went and told his followers, who were very sad and were crying.

11 But Mary told them that Jesus was alive. She said that she had seen him, but the followers did not believe her.

12 Later, Jesus showed himself to two of his followers while they were walking in the country, but he did not look the same as before.

13 These followers went back to the others and told them what had happened, but again, the followers did not believe them.

14 Later Jesus showed himself to the eleven apostles while they were eating, and he criticized them because they had no faith. They were stubborn and refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen from the dead.

15 Jesus said to his followers, "Go everywhere in the world, and tell the Good News to everyone.

16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved, but anyone who does not believe will be punished.

17 And those who believe will be able to do these things as proof: They will use my name to force out demons. They will speak in new languages.

18 They will pick up snakes and drink poison without being hurt. They will touch the sick, and the sick will be healed."

19 After the Lord Jesus said these things to his followers, he was carried up into heaven, and he sat at the right side of God.

20 The followers went everywhere in the world and told the Good News to people, and the Lord helped them. The Lord proved that the Good News they told was true by giving them power to work miracles.]