Thursday, 20 June

1.   After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: 2.   "Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them––the children of Israel. 3.   "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4.   "From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as 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 territory. 5.   "No man shall 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 leave you nor forsake you. 6.   "Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7.   "Only be strong and very courageous, that you may 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 prosper wherever you go. 8.   "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9.   "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." 10.   Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11.   "Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’" 12.   And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh Joshua spoke, saying, 13.   "Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, ‘The LORD your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.’ 14.   "Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them, 15.   "until the LORD has given your brethren rest, as He gave you, and they also have taken possession of the land which the LORD your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD’S servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise." 16.   So they answered Joshua, saying, "All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17.   "Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. 18.   "Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage."

1.   Now 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. 2.   And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country." 3.   So 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." 4.   Then 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. 5.   "And 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.) 7.   Then 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. 8.   Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9.   and said to the men: "I know that the LORD 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. 10.   "For we have heard how the LORD 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. 11.   "And as soon as we heard these things , our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. 12.   "Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, 13.   "and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death." 14.   So the men answered her, "Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you." 15.   Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall. 16.   And 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." 17.   So the men said to her: "We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear, 18.   "unless, 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. 19.   "So 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. 20.   "And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear." 21.   Then 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. 22.   They 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 . 23.   So 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. 24.   And they said to Joshua, "Truly the LORD has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us."

1.   The burden against Egypt. Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst. 2.   "I will set Egyptians against Egyptians; Everyone will fight against his brother, And everyone against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom. 3.   The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst; I will destroy their counsel, And they will consult the idols and the charmers, The mediums and the sorcerers. 4.   And the Egyptians I will give Into the hand of a cruel master, And a fierce king will rule over them," Says the Lord, the LORD of hosts. 5.   The waters will fail from the sea, And the river will be wasted and dried up. 6.   The rivers will turn foul; The brooks of defense will be emptied and dried up; The reeds and rushes will wither. 7.   The papyrus reeds by the River, by the mouth of the River, And everything sown by the River, Will wither, be driven away, and be no more. 8.   The fishermen also will mourn; All those will lament who cast hooks into the River, And they will languish who spread nets on the waters. 9.   Moreover those who work in fine flax And those who weave fine fabric will be ashamed; 10.   And its foundations will be broken. All who make wages will be troubled of soul. 11.   Surely the princes of Zoan are fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give foolish counsel. How do you say to Pharaoh, "I am the son of the wise, The son of ancient kings?" 12.   Where are they? Where are your wise men? Let them tell you now, And let them know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt. 13.   The princes of Zoan have become fools; The princes of Noph are deceived; They have also deluded Egypt, Those who are the mainstay of its tribes. 14.   The LORD has mingled a perverse spirit in her midst; And they have caused Egypt to err in all her work, As a drunken man staggers in his vomit. 15.   Neither will there be any work for Egypt, Which the head or tail, Palm branch or bulrush, may do. 16.   In that day Egypt will be like women, and will be afraid and fear because of the waving of the hand of the LORD of hosts, which He waves over it. 17.   And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the LORD of hosts which He has determined against it. 18.   In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear by the LORD of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction. 19.   In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. 20.   And it will be for a sign and for a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the LORD because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty One, and He will deliver them. 21.   Then the LORD will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes, they will make a vow to the LORD and perform it . 22.   And the LORD will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it ; they will return to the LORD, and He will be entreated by them and heal them. 23.   In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. 24.   In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria––a blessing in the midst of the land, 25.   whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, "Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance."

1.   Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here !" 2.   And Jesus answered and said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down." 3.   Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4.   "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?" 5.   And Jesus, answering them, began to say: "Take heed that no one deceives you. 6.   "For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He ,’ and will deceive many. 7.   "But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. 8.   "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. 9.   "But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. 10.   "And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. 11.   "But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12.   "Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 13.   "And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14.   "So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not" (let the reader understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15.   "Let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house, nor enter to take anything out of his house. 16.   "And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 17.   "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18.   "And pray that your flight may not be in winter. 19.   "For in those days there will be tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be. 20.   "And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.