Joshua's Charge to Israel's Leaders

¹A long time afterward, when the Lord had given erest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua fwas old and well advanced in years, ²Joshua gsummoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. ³And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, hfor it is the Lord your God who has fought for you. ⁴Behold, iI have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. ⁵The Lord your God jwill push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, kjust as the Lord your God promised you. ⁶Therefore, lbe very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, mturning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, ⁷nthat you may not mix with these nations remaining among you oor make mention of the names of their gods por swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, ⁸qbut you shall cling to the Lord your God just as you have done to this day. ⁹rFor the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, sno man has been able to stand before you to this day. ¹⁰tOne man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God uwho fights for you, just as he promised you. ¹¹vBe very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. ¹²For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you wand make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, ¹³know for certain that xthe Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, ybut they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴“And now zI am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that anot one word has failed of all the good things1 that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. ¹⁵But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you ball the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, ¹⁶if you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.”

The Lame Beggar Healed

¹Now Peter and John were ogoing up to the temple at pthe hour of prayer, qthe ninth hour.1 ²And a man rlame from birth was being carried, swhom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate tto ask alms of those entering the temple. ³Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. ⁴And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” ⁵And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶But Peter said, u“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. vIn the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” ⁷And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. ⁸And wleaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. ⁹And xall the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter Speaks in Solomon's Portico

¹¹yWhile he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in zthe portico called Solomon's. ¹²And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? ¹³aThe God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, bthe God of our fathers, cglorified his servant2 Jesus, whom dyou delivered over and edenied in the presence of Pilate, fwhen he had decided to release him. ¹⁴But you denied gthe Holy and hRighteous One, and iasked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵and you killed jthe Author of life, kwhom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. ¹⁶And lhis name—by mfaith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is nthrough Jesus3 has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

¹⁷“And now, brothers, I know that oyou acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. ¹⁸But what God pforetold qby the mouth of all the prophets, that rhis Christ would ssuffer, he thus fulfilled. ¹⁹tRepent therefore, and uturn back, that vyour sins may be blotted out, ²⁰that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ wappointed for you, Jesus, ²¹xwhom heaven must receive until the time for yrestoring all the things about which zGod spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. ²²Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you aa prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen bto him in whatever he tells you. ²³And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet cshall be destroyed from the people.’ ²⁴And dall the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. ²⁵eYou are the sons of the prophets and of fthe covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, g‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ ²⁶hGod, ihaving raised up his servant, sent him to you first, jto bless you kby turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Jeremiah's Complaint

¹mRighteous are you, O Lord,

when I complain to you;

yet I would plead my case before you.

nWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all owho are treacherous thrive?

²You plant them, and they take root;

they grow and produce fruit;

pyou are near in their mouth

and far from their heart.

³qBut you, O Lord, know me;

ryou see me, and test my heart toward you.

sPull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

and set them apart for tthe day of slaughter.

⁴uHow long will the land mourn

and the grass of every field wither?

vFor the evil of those who dwell in it

wthe beasts and the birds are swept away,

because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

The Lord Answers Jeremiah

⁵“If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,

how will you compete with horses?

And if in a safe land you are so trusting,

what will you do in xthe thicket of the Jordan?

⁶For yeven your brothers and the house of your father,

oeven they have dealt treacherously with you;

they are in full cry after you;

zdo not believe them,

though they speak friendly words to you.”

⁷“I have forsaken my house;

I have abandoned amy heritage;

I have given bthe beloved of my soul

into the hands of her enemies.

⁸aMy heritage has become to me

like a lion in the forest;

she has lifted up her voice against me;

therefore I hate her.

⁹Is amy heritage to me like ca hyena's lair?

Are the cbirds of prey against her all around?

Go, dassemble all the wild beasts;

bring them to devour.

¹⁰Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;

ethey have trampled down my portion;

they have made my pleasant portion

a desolate wilderness.

¹¹They have made it a desolation;

desolate, uit mourns to me.

The whole land is made desolate,

fbut no man lays it to heart.

¹²Upon all the bare heights in the desert

destroyers have come,

for the sword of the Lord devours

from one end of the land to the other;

no flesh has peace.

¹³gThey have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;

hthey have tired themselves out but profit nothing.

They shall be ashamed of their1 harvests

ibecause of the fierce anger of the Lord.”

¹⁴Thus says the Lord concerning all jmy evil neighbors kwho touch the heritage that lI have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. ¹⁵And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, mand I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. ¹⁶And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, nto swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, othen they shall be built up in the midst of my people. ¹⁷pBut if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the Lord.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

¹When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, ²m“You know that after two days nthe Passover is coming, and othe Son of Man pwill be delivered up to be crucified.”

³qThen the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in rthe palace of the high priest, whose name was sCaiaphas, ⁴tand plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. ⁵But they said, “Not during the feast, ulest there be an uproar among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

⁶vNow when Jesus was at wBethany in the house of Simon the leper,1 ⁷a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. ⁸And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? ⁹For this could have been sold for a large sum and xgiven to the poor.” ¹⁰But yJesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. ¹¹For zyou always have the poor with you, but ayou will not always have me. ¹²In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it bto prepare me for burial. ¹³Truly, I say to you, wherever cthis gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told din memory of her.”

Judas to Betray Jesus

¹⁴eThen one of the twelve, whose name was fJudas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they gpaid him hthirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶And from that moment he sought an opportunity ito betray him.

The Passover with the Disciples

¹⁷jNow on kthe first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹⁸He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, l‘The Teacher says, mMy time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’” ¹⁹And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover.

²⁰nWhen it was evening, he reclined at table with the twelve.2 ²¹And as they were eating, ohe said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” ²²And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, “Is it I, Lord?” ²³He answered, p“He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. ²⁴The Son of Man goes qas it is written of him, but rwoe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! sIt would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” ²⁵Judas, who would betray him, answered, “Is it I, tRabbi?” He said to him, u“You have said so.”

Institution of the Lord's Supper

²⁶vNow as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and wafter blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; xthis is my body.” ²⁷And he took a cup, and when he yhad given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, ²⁸for xthis is my zblood of the3 covenant, which is poured out for amany bfor the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you cin my Father's kingdom.”

Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial

³⁰dAnd when they had sung a hymn, ethey went out to fthe Mount of Olives. ³¹Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will gstrike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ ³²But after I am raised up, hI will go before you to Galilee.” ³³iPeter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” ³⁴jJesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, kbefore the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” ³⁵lPeter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

³⁶mThen Jesus went with them eto a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” ³⁷And taking with him nPeter and othe two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸Then he said to them, p“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and qwatch4 with me.” ³⁹And going a little farther he fell on his face rand prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let sthis cup pass from me; tnevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” ⁴⁰And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? ⁴¹qWatch and upray that you vmay not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ⁴²Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, wyour will be done.” ⁴³And again he came and found them sleeping, for xtheir eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for ythe third time, saying the same words again. ⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on.5 See, zthe hour is at hand, and athe Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

⁴⁷bWhile he was still speaking, cJudas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” ⁴⁹And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, dRabbi!” And he kissed him. ⁵⁰Jesus said to him, e“Friend, fdo what you came to do.”6 Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. ⁵¹And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his gsword and struck the servant7 of the high priest and cut off his ear. ⁵²Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For hall who take the sword will perish by the sword. ⁵³iDo you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me jmore than twelve klegions of angels? ⁵⁴lBut how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” ⁵⁵At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day mI sat in the temple nteaching, and you did not seize me. ⁵⁶But lall this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” oThen all the disciples left him and fled.

Jesus Before Caiaphas and the Council

⁵⁷pThen qthose who had seized Jesus led him to rCaiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. ⁵⁸And sPeter was following him at a distance, as far as rthe courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with tthe guards to see the end. ⁵⁹Now the chief priests and the whole council8 uwere seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, ⁶⁰but they found none, vthough many false witnesses came forward. At last wtwo came forward ⁶¹and said, “This man said, x‘I am able to ydestroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days.’” ⁶²And the high priest stood up and said, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”9 ⁶³zBut Jesus remained silent. aAnd the high priest said to him, b“I adjure you by cthe living God, dtell us if you are ethe Christ, fthe Son of God.” ⁶⁴Jesus said to him, g“You have said so. But I tell you, from now on hyou will see the Son of Man iseated at the right hand of Power and hcoming on the clouds of heaven.” ⁶⁵Then the high priest jtore his robes and said, k“He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. ⁶⁶What is your judgment?” They answered, l“He deserves death.” ⁶⁷Then mthey spit in his face nand ostruck him. And some slapped him, ⁶⁸saying, “Prophesy to us, you pChrist! Who is it that struck you?”

Peter Denies Jesus

⁶⁹qNow Peter was sitting outside rin the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” ⁷¹And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus sof Nazareth.” ⁷²And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” ⁷³After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for tyour accent betrays you.” ⁷⁴Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. ⁷⁵And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, u“Before the rooster crows, you will vdeny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.