Today's Reading

¹Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. The Lord showed him all the land of Gilead, to Dan,

²and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the hinder sea,

³and the Negev, and the Plain of the valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, to Zoar.

⁴The Lord said to him, "This is the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your seed.' I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there."

⁵So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.

⁶And he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab over against Beth Peor: but no man knows of his tomb to this day.

⁷Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

⁸The children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping in the mourning for Moses were ended.

⁹Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands on him: and the children of Israel listened to him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.

¹⁰There has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,

¹¹in all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land,

¹²and in all the mighty hand, and in all the great terror, which Moses worked in the sight of all Israel.

¹Now it happened after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying,

²Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you, and all this people, to the land which I give to them, even to the children of Israel.

³I have given you every place that the sole of your foot will tread on, as I told Moses.

⁴From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.

⁵No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you.

⁶Be strong and of good courage; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

⁷Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

⁸This scroll of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.

⁹Haven't I commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid, neither be dismayed: for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

¹⁰Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,

¹¹"Pass through the midst of the camp, and command the people, saying, 'Prepare food; for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God gives you to possess it.'"

¹²Joshua spoke to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, saying,

¹³"Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, 'The Lord your God gives you rest, and will give you this land.

¹⁴Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock, shall live in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan; but you shall pass over before your brothers armed, all the mighty men of valor, and shall help them

¹⁵until the Lord has given your brothers rest, as he has given you, and they have also possessed the land which the Lord your God gives them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession, and possess it, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.'"

¹⁶They answered Joshua, saying, "All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.

¹⁷Just as we listened to Moses in all things, so will we listen to you. Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses.

¹⁸Whoever rebels against your commandment, and doesn't listen to your words in all that you command him, he shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage."

¹Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim as spies, saying, "Go, view the land, and Jericho." They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there.

²The king of Jericho was told, "Behold, men of the children of Israel came in here tonight to spy out the land."

³The king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered into your house; for they have come to spy out all the land."

⁴The woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from.

⁵It happened about the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went, I do not know. Pursue them quickly; for you will overtake them."

⁶But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.

⁷The men pursued them the way to the Jordan to the fords: and as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.

⁸Before they had lain down, she came up to them on the roof;

⁹and she said to the men, "I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.

¹⁰For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed.

¹¹As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.

¹²Now therefore, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a true token;

¹³and that you will save alive my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death."

¹⁴The men said to her, "Our life for yours, if you do not talk about this business of ours; and it shall be, when the Lord gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you."

¹⁵Then she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was on the side of the wall, and she lived on the wall.

¹⁶She said to them, "Go to the mountain, lest the pursuers find you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward, you may go your way."

¹⁷The men said to her, "We will be guiltless of this your oath which you have made us to swear.

¹⁸Behold, when we come into the land, you shall bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which you did let us down by. You shall gather to yourself into the house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household.

¹⁹It shall be that whoever goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be on his head, and we will be guiltless. Whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand is on him.

²⁰But if you talk about this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless of your oath which you have made us to swear."

²¹She said, "According to your words, so be it." She sent them away, and they departed. She tied the scarlet line in the window.

²²They went, and came to the mountain, and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but did not find them.

²³Then the two men returned, descended from the mountain, passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun; and they told him all that had happened to them.

²⁴They said to Joshua, "Truly the Lord has delivered into our hands all the land. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt away before us."

¹He entered and was passing through Jericho.

²There was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich.

³He was trying to see who Jesus was, and could not because of the crowd, because he was short.

⁴He ran on ahead, and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way.

⁵When Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house."

⁶He hurried, came down, and received him joyfully.

⁷And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, "He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner."

⁸Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much."

⁹Jesus said to him, "Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.

¹⁰For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost."

¹¹As they heard these things, he went on and told a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the Kingdom of God would be revealed immediately.

¹²He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

¹³He called ten servants of his, and gave them ten mina coins, and told them, 'Conduct business until I come.'

¹⁴But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'

¹⁵"It happened when he had come back again, having received the kingdom, that he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by conducting business.

¹⁶The first came before him, saying, 'Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.'

¹⁷"He said to him, 'Well done, you good servant! Because you were found faithful with very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.'

¹⁸"The second came, saying, 'Your mina, Lord, has made five minas.'

¹⁹"So he said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities.'

²⁰Another came, saying, 'Lord, behold, your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief,

²¹for I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You take up that which you did not lay down, and reap that which you did not sow.'

²²"He said to him, 'Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I did not lay down, and reaping that which I did not sow.

²³Then why did you not deposit my money in the bank, and at my coming, I might have earned interest on it?'

²⁴He said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina away from him, and give it to him who has the ten minas.'

²⁵"They said to him, 'Lord, he has ten minas!'

²⁶'For I tell you that to everyone who has, will more be given; but from him who does not have, even that which he has will be taken away.

²⁷But bring those enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.'"

²⁸Having said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

²⁹It happened, when he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain that is called Olivet, he sent two of his disciples,

³⁰saying, "Go your way into the village on the other side, in which, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, whereon no man ever yet sat. Untie it, and bring it.

³¹If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' say to him: 'The Lord needs it.'"

³²Those who were sent went away, and found things just as he had told them.

³³As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying the colt?"

³⁴They said, "The Lord needs it."

³⁵They brought it to Jesus. They threw their cloaks on the colt, and set Jesus on them.

³⁶As he went, they spread their cloaks in the way.

³⁷As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen,

³⁸saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!"

³⁹Some of the Pharisees from the multitude said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

⁴⁰He answered them, "I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would cry out."

⁴¹When he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it,

⁴²saying, "If you, even you, had known today the things which belong to your peace! But now, they are hidden from your eyes.

⁴³For the days will come on you, when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side,

⁴⁴and will dash you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone on another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

⁴⁵He entered into the temple, and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it,

⁴⁶saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of robbers'!"

⁴⁷He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people sought to destroy him.

⁴⁸They could not find what they might do, for all the people hung on to every word that he said.

¹ God, you are my God. I will earnestly seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land, where there is no water.

²So I have seen you in the sanctuary, watching your power and your glory.

³Because your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you.

⁴So I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name.

⁵My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food. My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,

⁶when I remember you on my bed, and think about you in the night watches.

⁷For you have been my help. I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.

⁸My soul stays close to you. Your right hand holds me up.

⁹But those who seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

¹⁰They shall be given over to the power of the sword. They shall be jackal food.

¹¹But the king shall rejoice in God. Everyone who swears by him will praise him, for the mouth of those who speak lies shall be silenced.

¹The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel:

²to know wisdom and instruction; to discern the words of understanding;

³to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;

⁴to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young man:

⁵that the wise man may hear, and increase in learning; that the man of understanding may attain to sound counsel:

⁶to understand a proverb, and parables, the words and riddles of the wise.

⁷The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.

⁸My son, listen to your father's instruction, and do not forsake your mother's teaching:

⁹for they will be a garland to grace your head, and chains around your neck.

¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.

¹¹If they say, "Come with us, Let's lie in wait for blood; let's lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;

¹²let's swallow them up alive like Sheol, and whole, like those who go down into the pit.

¹³We'll find all valuable wealth. We'll fill our houses with spoil.

¹⁴You shall cast your lot among us. We'll all have one purse."

¹⁵My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your foot from their path,

¹⁶for their feet run to evil. They hurry to shed blood.

¹⁷For in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird:

¹⁸but these lie in wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives.

¹⁹So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners.

²⁰Wisdom calls aloud in the street. She utters her voice in the public squares.

²¹She calls at the head of noisy places. At the entrance of the city gates, she utters her words:

²²"How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? How long will mockers delight themselves in mockery, and fools hate knowledge?

²³Turn at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you. I will make known my words to you.

²⁴Because I have called, and you have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no one has paid attention;

²⁵but you have ignored all my counsel, and wanted none of my reproof;

²⁶I also will laugh at your disaster. I will mock when calamity overtakes you;

²⁷when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when your disaster comes on like a whirlwind; when distress and anguish come on you.

²⁸Then will they call on me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me;

²⁹because they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.

³⁰They wanted none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof.

³¹Therefore they will eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own schemes.

³²For the backsliding of the simple will kill them. The careless ease of fools will destroy them.

³³But whoever listens to me will dwell securely, and will be at ease, without fear of harm."