¹Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. ²And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods. ³Then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. ⁴‘To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. ⁵‘Also I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out. ⁶‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. ⁷‘So they cried out to the Lᴏʀᴅ; and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, and covered them. And your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time. ⁸‘And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you. ⁹‘Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. ¹⁰‘But I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand. ¹¹‘Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And the men of Jericho fought against you—also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I delivered them into your hand. ¹²‘I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow. ¹³‘I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’ ¹⁴“Now therefore, fear the Lᴏʀᴅ, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lᴏʀᴅ! ¹⁵And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lᴏʀᴅ, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lᴏʀᴅ.” ¹⁶So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lᴏʀᴅ to serve other gods; ¹⁷for the Lᴏʀᴅ our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. ¹⁸And the Lᴏʀᴅ drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the Lᴏʀᴅ, for He is our God.” ¹⁹But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lᴏʀᴅ, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. ²⁰If you forsake the Lᴏʀᴅ and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good.” ²¹And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lᴏʀᴅ!” ²²So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lᴏʀᴅ for yourselves, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses!” ²³“Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the Lᴏʀᴅ God of Israel.” ²⁴And the people said to Joshua, “The Lᴏʀᴅ our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!” ²⁵So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. ²⁶Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lᴏʀᴅ. ²⁷And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lᴏʀᴅ which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” ²⁸So Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance. ²⁹Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lᴏʀᴅ, died, being one hundred and ten years old. ³⁰And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. ³¹Israel served the Lᴏʀᴅ all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lᴏʀᴅ which He had done for Israel. ³²The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph. ³³And Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim.

¹Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, ²being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. ⁵And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, ⁶as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. ⁷And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” ⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: ⁹If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, ¹⁰let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ ¹²Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” ¹³Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. ¹⁵But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” ¹⁸And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. ²⁰For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” ²¹So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. ²²For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. ²³And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. ²⁴So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, ²⁵who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? ²⁶The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’ ²⁷“For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together ²⁸to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. ²⁹Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, ³⁰by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” ³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. ³²Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. ³³And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. ³⁴Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, ³⁵and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. ³⁶And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, ³⁷having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

¹Thus the Lᴏʀᴅ said to me: “Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” ²So I got a sash according to the word of the Lᴏʀᴅ, and put it around my waist. ³And the word of the Lᴏʀᴅ came to me the second time, saying, ⁴“Take the sash that you acquired, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.” ⁵So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lᴏʀᴅ commanded me. ⁶Now it came to pass after many days that the Lᴏʀᴅ said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the sash which I commanded you to hide there.” ⁷Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing. ⁸Then the word of the Lᴏʀᴅ came to me, saying, ⁹“Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ: ‘In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. ¹⁰This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing. ¹¹For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the Lᴏʀᴅ, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.’ ¹²“Therefore you shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ God of Israel: “Every bottle shall be filled with wine.” ’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not certainly know that every bottle will be filled with wine?’ ¹³Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ: “Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land—even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness! ¹⁴And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ. “I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy, but will destroy them.” ‘ ” ¹⁵Hear and give ear: Do not be proud, For the Lᴏʀᴅ has spoken. ¹⁶Give glory to the Lᴏʀᴅ your God Before He causes darkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death And makes it dense darkness. ¹⁷But if you will not hear it, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And run down with tears, Because the Lᴏʀᴅ’s flock has been taken captive. ¹⁸Say to the king and to the queen mother, “Humble yourselves; Sit down, For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.” ¹⁹The cities of the South shall be shut up, And no one shall open them; Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it; It shall be wholly carried away captive. ²⁰Lift up your eyes and see Those who come from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, Your beautiful sheep? ²¹What will you say when He punishes you? For you have taught them To be chieftains, to be head over you. Will not pangs seize you, Like a woman in labor? ²²And if you say in your heart, “Why have these things come upon me?” For the greatness of your iniquity Your skirts have been uncovered, Your heels made bare. ²³Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil. ²⁴“Therefore I will scatter them like stubble That passes away by the wind of the wilderness. ²⁵This is your lot, The portion of your measures from Me,” says the Lᴏʀᴅ, “Because you have forgotten Me And trusted in falsehood. ²⁶Therefore I will uncover your skirts over your face, That your shame may appear. ²⁷I have seen your adulteries And your lustful neighings, The lewdness of your harlotry, Your abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! Will you still not be made clean?”

¹When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. ²And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. ³Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ⁴saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” ⁵Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. ⁶But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” ⁷And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. ⁸Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, ¹⁰and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.” ¹¹Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” So Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.” ¹²And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. ¹³Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” ¹⁴But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. ¹⁵Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. ¹⁶And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. ¹⁹While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him.” ²⁰But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!” ²²Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” ²³Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!” ²⁴When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.” ²⁵And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” ²⁶Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified. ²⁷Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. ²⁸And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. ²⁹When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. ³¹And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. ³²Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. ³³And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, ³⁴they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink. ³⁵Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” ³⁶Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. ³⁷And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. ³⁸Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. ³⁹And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, ⁴²“He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. ⁴³He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” ⁴⁴Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. ⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. ⁴⁶And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ⁴⁷Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” ⁴⁸Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. ⁴⁹The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” ⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. ⁵¹Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, ⁵²and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!” ⁵⁵And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, ⁵⁶among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. ⁵⁷Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. ⁵⁹When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. ⁶¹And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb. ⁶²On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, ⁶³saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.