¹Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. ²And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.” ³So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.” ⁴Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. ⁵And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” ⁶(But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) ⁷Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. ⁸Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, ⁹and said to the men: “I know that the Lᴏʀᴅ has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. ¹⁰For we have heard how the Lᴏʀᴅ dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. ¹¹And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lᴏʀᴅ your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. ¹²Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lᴏʀᴅ, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, ¹³and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.” ¹⁴So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the Lᴏʀᴅ has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.” ¹⁵Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. ¹⁶And she said to them, “Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way.” ¹⁷So the men said to her: “We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, ¹⁸unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household to your own home. ¹⁹So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. ²⁰And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear.” ²¹Then she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window. ²²They departed and went to the mountain, and stayed there three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but did not find them. ²³So the two men returned, descended from the mountain, and crossed over; and they came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all that had befallen them. ²⁴And they said to Joshua, “Truly the Lᴏʀᴅ has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us.”

¹A Song of Ascents. Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. ²Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the Lᴏʀᴅ our God, Until He has mercy on us. ³Have mercy on us, O Lᴏʀᴅ, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. ⁴Our soul is exceedingly filled With the scorn of those who are at ease, With the contempt of the proud.

¹A Song of Ascents. Of David. “If it had not been the Lᴏʀᴅ who was on our side,” Let Israel now say— ²“If it had not been the Lᴏʀᴅ who was on our side, When men rose up against us, ³Then they would have swallowed us alive, When their wrath was kindled against us; ⁴Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our soul; ⁵Then the swollen waters Would have gone over our soul.” ⁶Blessed be the Lᴏʀᴅ, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth. ⁷Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped. ⁸Our help is in the name of the Lᴏʀᴅ, Who made heaven and earth.

¹A Song of Ascents. Those who trust in the Lᴏʀᴅ Are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever. ²As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the Lᴏʀᴅ surrounds His people From this time forth and forever. ³For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest On the land allotted to the righteous, Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity. ⁴Do good, O Lᴏʀᴅ, to those who are good, And to those who are upright in their hearts. ⁵As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways, The Lᴏʀᴅ shall lead them away With the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel!

¹For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns. ²The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the Lᴏʀᴅ will name. ³You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the Lᴏʀᴅ, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God. ⁴You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lᴏʀᴅ delights in you, And your land shall be married. ⁵For as a young man marries a virgin, So shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you. ⁶I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lᴏʀᴅ, do not keep silent, ⁷And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. ⁸The Lᴏʀᴅ has sworn by His right hand And by the arm of His strength: “Surely I will no longer give your grain As food for your enemies; And the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine, For which you have labored. ⁹But those who have gathered it shall eat it, And praise the Lᴏʀᴅ; Those who have brought it together shall drink it in My holy courts.” ¹⁰Go through, Go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, Lift up a banner for the peoples! ¹¹Indeed the Lᴏʀᴅ has proclaimed To the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.’ ” ¹²And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lᴏʀᴅ; And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.

¹And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. ²Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; ⁴Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. ⁵These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. ⁶But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ⁸Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. ⁹Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, ¹⁰nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. ¹¹Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. ¹²And when you go into a household, greet it. ¹³If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. ¹⁵Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city! ¹⁶“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. ¹⁷But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. ¹⁸You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; ²⁰for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. ²¹Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²²And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. ²³When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. ²⁴A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! ²⁶Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. ²⁷“Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. ²⁸And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ³⁰But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. ³²“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. ³³But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. ³⁴“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; ³⁶and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ ³⁷He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. ⁴⁰“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. ⁴¹He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴²And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”