Joshua 11
Israel Defeats the Northern Armies
1When King Jabin of Hazor heard what had happened, he sent messages to the following kings: King Jobab of Madon; the king of Shimron; the king of Acshaph;
4All these kings came out to fight. Their combined armies formed a vast horde. And with all their horses and chariots, they covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore.
6Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel as dead men. Then you must cripple their horses and burn their chariots.”
7So Joshua and all his fighting men traveled to the water near Merom and attacked suddenly.
10Joshua then turned back and captured Hazor and killed its king. (Hazor had at one time been the capital of all these kingdoms.)
12Joshua slaughtered all the other kings and their people, completely destroying them, just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded.
16So Joshua conquered the entire region—the hill country, the entire Negev, the whole area around the town of Goshen, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley,*11:16 Hebrew the Shephelah, the Arabah. the mountains of Israel, and the Galilean foothills.
21During this period Joshua destroyed all the descendants of Anak, who lived in the hill country of Hebron, Debir, Anab, and the entire hill country of Judah and Israel. He killed them all and completely destroyed their towns.
23So Joshua took control of the entire land, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. He gave it to the people of Israel as their special possession, dividing the land among the tribes. So the land finally had rest from war.
Joshua 12
Kings Defeated East of the Jordan
1These are the kings east of the Jordan River who had been killed by the Israelites and whose land was taken. Their territory extended from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon and included all the land east of the Jordan Valley.*12:1 Hebrew the Arabah; also in 12:3, 8.
2King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, was defeated. His kingdom included Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, and extended from the middle of the Arnon Gorge to the Jabbok River, which serves as a border for the Ammonites. This territory included the southern half of the territory of Gilead.
4King Og of Bashan, the last of the Rephaites, lived at Ashtaroth and Edrei.
6Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the Israelites had destroyed the people of King Sihon and King Og. And Moses gave their land as a possession to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Kings Defeated West of the Jordan
7The following is a list of the kings that Joshua and the Israelite armies defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which leads up to Seir. (Joshua gave this land to the tribes of Israel as their possession,
9The king of Jericho
The king of Ai, near Bethel
10The king of Jerusalem
The king of Hebron
11The king of Jarmuth
The king of Lachish
12The king of Eglon
The king of Gezer
13The king of Debir
The king of Geder
14The king of Hormah
The king of Arad
15The king of Libnah
The king of Adullam
16The king of Makkedah
The king of Bethel
17The king of Tappuah
The king of Hepher
18The king of Aphek
The king of Lasharon
19The king of Madon
The king of Hazor
20The king of Shimron-meron
The king of Acshaph
21The king of Taanach
The king of Megiddo
22The king of Kedesh
The king of Jokneam in Carmel
23The king of Dor in the town of Naphoth-dor*12:23a Hebrew Naphath-dor, a variant spelling of Naphoth-dor.
The king of Goyim in Gilgal*12:23b Greek version reads Goyim in Galilee.
24The king of Tirzah.
In all, thirty-one kings were defeated.
Ten Healed of Leprosy
11As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria.
14He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”*17:14 See Lev 14:2-32. And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
15One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!”
17Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?
The Coming of the Kingdom
20One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”
Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs.*17:20 Or by your speculations.
22Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns,*17:22 Or long for even one day with the Son of Man. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself. but you won’t see it.
26“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.
28“And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building—
37“Where will this happen, Lord?”*17:37a Greek “Where, Lord?” the disciples asked.
Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”*17:37b Greek “Wherever the carcass is, the vultures gather.”
Psalm 84
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.*84: title Hebrew according to the gittith.
1How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
2I long, yes, I faint with longing
to enter the courts of the Lord.
With my whole being, body and soul,
I will shout joyfully to the living God.
3Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young
at a place near your altar,
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!
4What joy for those who can live in your house,
always singing your praises.
Interlude
5What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
6When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,*84:6 Or Valley of Poplars; Hebrew reads valley of Baca.
it will become a place of refreshing springs.
The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
7They will continue to grow stronger,
and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.*84:7 Hebrew Zion.
8O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer.
Listen, O God of Jacob.
Interlude
9O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield!
Show favor to the one you have anointed.
10A single day in your courts
is better than a thousand anywhere else!
I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God
than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
11For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.
He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold no good thing
from those who do what is right.
12O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
what joy for those who trust in you.
5The godly hate lies;
the wicked cause shame and disgrace.
6Godliness guards the path of the blameless,
but the evil are misled by sin.