Joshua 10, Psalm 142, 143, Jeremiah 4, Matthew 18

Joshua 10,

1 Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and were living near them.
 
2 He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters.
 
3 So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon.
 
4 "Come up and help me attack Gibeon," he said, "because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites."
 
5 Then the five kings of the Amorites-the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon-joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.
 
6 The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: "Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us."
 
7 So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men.
 
8 The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."
 
9 After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise.
 
10 The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.
 
11 As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
 
12 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."
 
13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.
 
14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!
 
15 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
 
16 Now the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah.
 
17 When Joshua was told that the five kings had been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah,
 
18 he said, "Roll large rocks up to the mouth of the cave, and post some men there to guard it.
 
19 But don't stop! Pursue your enemies, attack them from the rear and don't let them reach their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand."
 
20 So Joshua and the Israelites destroyed them completely-almost to a man-but the few who were left reached their fortified cities.
 
21 The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one uttered a word against the Israelites.
 
22 Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me."
 
23 So they brought the five kings out of the cave-the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon.
 
24 When they had brought these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, "Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks.
 
25 Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight."
 
26 Then Joshua struck and killed the kings and hung them on five trees, and they were left hanging on the trees until evening.
 
27 At sunset Joshua gave the order and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave they placed large rocks, which are there to this day.
 
28 That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
 
29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it.
 
30 The LORD also gave that city and its king into Israel's hand. The city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
 
31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish; he took up positions against it and attacked it.
 
32 The LORD handed Lachish over to Israel, and Joshua took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah.
 
33 Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer had come up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army-until no survivors were left.
 
34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon; they took up positions against it and attacked it.
 
35 They captured it that same day and put it to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Lachish.
 
36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it.
 
37 They took the city and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Eglon, they totally destroyed it and everyone in it.
 
38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned around and attacked Debir.
 
39 They took the city, its king and its villages, and put them to the sword. Everyone in it they totally destroyed. They left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king as they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron.
 
40 So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.
 
41 Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon.
 
42 All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
 
43 Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

Psalm 142, 143,

1 I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.
 
2 I pour out my complaint before him; before him I tell my trouble.
 
3 When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way. In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me.
 
4 Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.
 
5 I cry to you, O LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."
 
6 Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.
 
7 Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.

1 O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.
 
2 Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you.
 
3 The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead.
 
4 So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.
 
5 I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.
 
6 I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
 
7 Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
 
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
 
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you.
 
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
 
11 For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
 
12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.

Jeremiah 4,

1 "If you will return, O Israel, return to me," declares the LORD. "If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray,
 
2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives,' then the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory."
 
3 This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: "Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.
 
4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts, you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done-burn with no one to quench it.
 
5 "Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say: 'Sound the trumpet throughout the land!' Cry aloud and say: 'Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities!'
 
6 Raise the signal to go to Zion! Flee for safety without delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, even terrible destruction."
 
7 A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to lay waste your land. Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant.
 
8 So put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.
 
9 "In that day," declares the LORD, "the king and the officials will lose heart, the priests will be horrified, and the prophets will be appalled."
 
10 Then I said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, how completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'You will have peace,' when the sword is at our throats."
 
11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, "A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse;
 
12 a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them."
 
13 Look! He advances like the clouds, his chariots come like a whirlwind, his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! We are ruined!
 
14 O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?
 
15 A voice is announcing from Dan, proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.
 
16 "Tell this to the nations, proclaim it to Jerusalem: 'A besieging army is coming from a distant land, raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.
 
17 They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me,' " declares the LORD.
 
18 "Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!"
 
19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry.
 
20 Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins. In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment.
 
21 How long must I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?
 
22 "My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good."
 
23 I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone.
 
24 I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.
 
25 I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away.
 
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger.
 
27 This is what the LORD says: "The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely.
 
28 Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back."
 
29 At the sound of horsemen and archers every town takes to flight. Some go into the thickets; some climb up among the rocks. All the towns are deserted; no one lives in them.
 
30 What are you doing, O devastated one? Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold? Why shade your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.
 
31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor, a groan as of one bearing her first child-the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands and saying, "Alas! I am fainting; my life is given over to murderers."

Matthew 18

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
 
2 He called a little child and had him stand among them.
 
3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
 
4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
 
5 "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.
 
6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
 
7 "Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!
 
8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.
 
9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
 
10 "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
 
11 NONE
 
12 "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?
 
13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.
 
14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
 
15 "If your brother sins against you,go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
 
16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'
 
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
 
18 "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will bebound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
 
19 "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
 
20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
 
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
 
22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
 
23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
 
24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.
 
25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
 
26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.'
 
27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
 
28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
 
29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
 
30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
 
31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
 
32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.
 
33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'
 
34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
 
35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."