Friday, 21 June

1.   Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. 2.   So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; 3.   and they commanded the people, saying, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. 4.   "Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before." 5.   And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you." 6.   Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. 7.   And the LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8.   "You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’" 9.   So Joshua said to the children of Israel, "Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God." 10.   And Joshua said, "By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: 11.   "Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. 12.   "Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. 13.   "And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap." 14.   So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15.   and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), 16.   that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17.   Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.

1.   And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying: 2.   "Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, 3.   "and command them, saying, ‘Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight.’" 4.   Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the children of Israel, one man from every tribe; 5.   and Joshua said to them: "Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6.   "that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7.   "Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever." 8.   And the children of Israel did so, just as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan, as the LORD had spoken to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them to the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. 9.   Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there to this day. 10.   So the priests who bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan until everything was finished that the LORD had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua; and the people hurried and crossed over. 11.   Then it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over, that the ark of the LORD and the priests crossed over in the presence of the people. 12.   And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. 13.   About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the LORD for battle, to the plains of Jericho. 14.   On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they had feared Moses, all the days of his life. 15.   Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 16.   "Command the priests who bear the ark of the Testimony to come up from the Jordan." 17.   Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, "Come up from the Jordan." 18.   And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before. 19.   Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20.   And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21.   Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22.   "then you shall let your children know, saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land’; 23.   "for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, 24.   "that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever."

1.   In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, 2.   at the same time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet." And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. 3.   Then the LORD said, "Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, 4.   "so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. 5.   "Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory. 6.   "And the inhabitant of this territory will say in that day, ‘Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?’"

1.   The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea. As whirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. 2.   A distressing vision is declared to me; The treacherous dealer deals treacherously, And the plunderer plunders. Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All its sighing I have made to cease. 3.   Therefore my loins are filled with pain; Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor. I was distressed when I heard it ; I was dismayed when I saw it . 4.   My heart wavered, fearfulness frightened me; The night for which I longed He turned into fear for me. 5.   Prepare the table, Set a watchman in the tower, Eat and drink. Arise, you princes, Anoint the shield! 6.   For thus has the Lord said to me: "Go, set a watchman, Let him declare what he sees." 7.   And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen, A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels, And he listened earnestly with great care. 8.   Then he cried, "A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night. 9.   And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!" Then he answered and said, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground." 10.   Oh, my threshing and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard from the LORD of hosts, The God of Israel, I have declared to you. 11.   The burden against Dumah. He calls to me out of Seir, "Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?" 12.   The watchman said, "The morning comes, and also the night. If you will inquire, inquire; Return! Come back!" 13.   The burden against Arabia. In the forest in Arabia you will lodge, O you traveling companies of Dedanites. 14.   O inhabitants of the land of Tema, Bring water to him who is thirsty; With their bread they met him who fled. 15.   For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, From the bent bow, and from the distress of war. 16.   For thus the Lord has said to me: "Within a year, according to the year of a hired man, all the glory of Kedar will fail; 17.   "and the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the people of Kedar, will be diminished; for the LORD God of Israel has spoken it ."

21.   "Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. 22.   "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23.   "But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand. 24.   "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25.   "the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26.   "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27.   "And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven. 28.   "Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 29.   "So you also, when you see these things happening, know that it is near––at the doors! 30.   "Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 31.   "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. 32.   "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33.   "Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34.   " It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35.   "Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming––in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning–– 36.   "lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37.   "And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"