Day 66 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

Joshua 7

1 But the children of Israel committed a great trespass, and purloined [part] of the accursed thing; and Achar the son of Charmi, the son of Zambri, the son of Zara, of the tribe of Juda, took of the accursed thing; and the Lord was very angry with the children of Israel. 2 And Joshua sent men to Gai, which is by Bæthel, saying, Spy out Gai: and the men went up and spied Gai. 3 And they returned to Joshua, and said to him, Let not all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and take the city by siege: carry not up thither the whole people, for [the enemy] are few. 4 And there went up about three thousand men, and they fled from before the men of Gai. 5 And the men of Gai slew of them to the number of thirty-six men, and they pursued them from the gate, and destroyed them from the steep hill; and the heart of the people was alarmed and became as water. 6 And Joshua tore his garments; and Joshua fell on the earth on his face before the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they cast dust on their heads. 7 And Joshua said, I pray, Lord, wherefore has thy servant brought this people over Jordan to deliver them to the Amorite to destroy us? would we had remained and settled ourselves beyond Jordan. 8 And what shall I say since Israel has turned his back before his enemy? 9 And when the Chananite and all the inhabitants of the land hear it, they shall compass us round and destroy us from off the land: and what wilt thou do [for] thy great name? 10 And the Lord said to Joshua, Rise up; why hast thou fallen upon thy face? 11 The people has sinned, and transgressed the covenant which I made with them; they have stolen from the cursed thing, and put it into their store. 12 And the children of Israel will not be able to stand before their enemies; they will turn their back before their enemies, for they have become an accursed thing: I will not any longer be with you, unless ye remove the cursed thing from yourselves. 13 Rise, sanctify the people and tell them to sanctify themselves for the morrow: thus says the Lord God of Israel, The accursed thing is among you; ye shall not be able to stand before your enemies, until ye shall have removed the cursed thing from among you. 14 And ye shall all be gathered together by your tribes in the morning, and it shall come to pass that the tribe which the Lord shall shew, ye shall bring by families; and the family which the Lord shall shew, ye shall bring by households; and the household which the Lord shall shew, ye shall bring man by man. 15 And the man who shall be pointed out, shall be burnt with fire, and all that he has; because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and has wrought wickedness in Israel. 16 And Joshua rose up early, and brought the people by their tribes; and the tribe of Juda was pointed out. 17 And it was brought by their families, and the family of the Zaraites was pointed out. 18 And it was brought man by man, and Achar the son of Zambri the son of Zara was pointed out. 19 And Joshua said to Achar, Give glory this day to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession; and tell me what thou hast done, and hide it not from me. 20 And Achar answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel: thus and thus have I done: 21 I saw in the spoil an embroidered mantle, and two hundred didrachms of silver, and one golden wedge of fifty didrachms, and I desired them and took them; and, behold, they are hid in my tent, and the silver is hid under them. 22 And Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent into the camp; and these things were hidden in his tent, and the silver under them. 23 And they brought them out of the tent, and brought them to Joshua and the elders of Israel, and they laid them before the Lord. 24 And Joshua took Achar the son of Zara, and brought him to the valley of Achor, and his sons, and his daughters, and his calves, and his asses, and all his sheep, and his tent, and all his property, and all the people [were] with him; and he brought them to Emec Achor. 25 And Joshua said to Achar, Why hast thou destroyed us? the Lord destroy thee as at this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones. 26 And they set up over him a great heap of stones; and the Lord ceased from his fierce anger. Therefore he called the place Emecachor until this day.

Joshua 8

1 And the Lord said to Joshua, Fear not, nor be timorous: take with thee all the men of war, and arise, go up to Gai; behold, I have given into thy hands the king of Gai, and his land. 2 And thou shalt do to Gai, as thou didst to Jericho and its king; and thou shalt take to thyself the spoil of its cattle; set now for thyself an ambush for the city behind. 3 And Joshua and all the men of war rose to go up to Gai; and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men, and he sent them away by night. 4 And he charged them, saying, Do ye lie in ambush behind the city: do not go far from the city, and ye shall all be ready. 5 And I and all with me will draw near to the city: and it shall come to pass when the inhabitants of Gai shall come forth to meet us, as before, that we will flee from before them. 6 And when they shall come out after us, we will draw them away from the city; and they will say, These men flee from before us, as also before. 7 And ye shall rise up out of the ambuscade, and go into the city. 8 Ye shall do according to this word, lo! I have commanded you. 9 And Joshua sent them, and they went to lie in ambush; and they lay between Bæthel and Gai, westward of Gai. 10 And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and numbered the people; and he went up, he and the elders before the people to Gai. 11 And all the men of war went up with him, and they went forward and came over against the city eastward. 12 And the ambuscade [was] on the west side of the city. 14 And it came to pass when the king of Gai saw [it], he hasted and went out to meet them direct to the battle, he and all the people [that were] with him: and he knew not that there was an ambuscade [formed] against him behind the city. 15 And Joshua and Israel saw, and retreated from before them. 16 And they pursued after the children of Israel, and they themselves went to a distance from the city. 17 There was no one left in Gai who did not pursue after Israel; and they left the city open, and pursued after Israel. 18 And the Lord said to Joshua, Stretch forth thy hand with the spear that is in thy hand toward the city, for I have delivered it into thy hands; and the liers in wait shall rise up quickly out of their place. 19 And Joshua stretched out his hand [and] his spear toward the city, and the ambuscade rose up quickly out of their place; and they came forth when he stretched out his hand; and they entered into the city, and took it; and they hasted and burnt the city with fire. 20 And when the inhabitants of Gai looked round behind them, then they saw the smoke going up out of the city to heaven, and they were no longer able to flee this way or that way. 21 And Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambuscade had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city went up to heaven; and they turned and smote the men of Gai. 22 And these came forth out of the city to meet them; and they were in the midst of the army, some [being] on this side, and some on that; and they smote them until there was not left of them one who survived and escaped. 23 And they took the king of Gai alive, and brought him to Joshua. 24 And when the children of Israel had ceased slaying all that were in Gai, and in the fields, and in the mountain on the descent, from whence they pursued them [even] to the end, then Joshua returned to Gai, and smote it with the edge of the sword. 25 And they that fell in that day, men and women, were twelve thousand: [they slew] all the inhabitants of Gai. 27 Beside the spoils that were in the city, all things which the children of Israel took as spoil for themselves according to the command of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Joshua. 28 And Joshua burnt the city with fire: he made it an uninhabited heap for ever, [even] to this day. 29 And he hanged the king of Gai on a gallows; and he remained on the tree till evening: and when the sun went down, Joshua gave charge, and they took down his body from the tree, and cast it into a pit, and they set over him a heap of stones until this day.

Joshua 9

1 And when the kings of the Amorites on the other side of Jordan, who were in the mountain country, and in the plain, and in all the coast of the great sea, and those who were near Antilibanus, and the Chettites, and the Chananites, and the Pherezites, and the Evites, and the Amorites, and the Gergesites, and the Jebusites, heard [of it], 2 they came all together at the same time to make war against Joshua and Israel. 2a Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in mount Gæbal, 2b as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the law of Moses, an altar of unhewn stones, on which iron had not been lifted up; and he offered there whole-burnt-offerings to the Lord, and a peace-offering. 2c And Joshua wrote upon the stones a copy of the law, [even] the law of Moses, before the children of Israel. 2d And all Israel, and their elders, and their judges, and their scribes, passed on one side and on the other before the ark; and the priests and the Levites took up the ark of the covenant of the Lord; and the stranger and the native [were there], who were half of them near mount Garizin, and half near mount Gæbal, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded at first, to bless the people. 2e And afterwards Joshua read accordingly all the words of this law, the blessings and the curses, according to all things written in the law of Moses. 2f There was not a word of all that Moses charged Joshua, which Joshua read not in the ears of all the assembly of the children of Israel, the men, and the women, and the children, and the strangers that joined themselves to Israel. 3 And the inhabitants of Gabaon heard of all that the Lord did to Jericho and Gai. 4 And they also wrought craftily, and they went and made provision and prepared themselves; and having taken old sacks on their shoulders, and old and rent and patched bottles of wine, 5 and the upper part of their shoes and their sandals old and clouted on their feet, and their garments old upon them—and the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy and corrupt. 6 And they came to Joshua into the camp of Israel to Galgala, and said to Joshua and Israel, We are come from a far land: now then make a covenant with us. 7 And the children of Israel said to the Chorrhæan, Peradventure thou dwellest amongst us; and how should I make a covenant with thee? 8 And they said to Joshua, We are thy servants: and Joshua said to them, Whence are ye, and whence have ye come? 9 And they said, Thy servants are come from a very far country in the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard his name, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond Jordan, to Seon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Basan, who dwelt in Astaroth and in Edrain. 11 And our elders and all that inhabit our land when they heard spoke to us, saying, Take to yourselves provision for the way, and go to meet them; and ye shall say to them, We are thy servants, and now make a covenant with us. 12 These [are] the loaves—we took them hot for our journey on the day on which we came out to come to you; and now they are dried and become mouldy. 13 And these [are] the skins of wine which we filled when new, and they are rent; and our garments and our shoes are worn out because of the very long journey. 14 And the chiefs took of their provision, and asked not [counsel of] the Lord. 15 And Joshua made peace with them, and they made a covenant with them to preserve them; and the princes of the congregation sware to them. 16 And it came to pass three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were near neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. 17 And the children of Israel departed and came to their cities; and their cities [were] Gabaon, and Kephira, and Berot, and the cities of Jarin. 18 And the children of Israel fought not with them, because all the princes sware to them by the Lord God of Israel; and all the congregation murmured at the princes. 19 And the princes said to all the congregation: We have sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel, and now we shall not be able to touch them. 20 This we will do; take them alive, and we will preserve them: so there shall not be wrath against us by reason of the oath which we swore to them. 21 They shall live, and shall be hewers of wood and drawers of water to all the congregation, as the princes said to them. 22 And Joshua called them together and said to them, Why have ye deceived me, saying, We live very far from you; whereas ye are fellow-countrymen of those who dwell among us? 23 And now ye are cursed: there shall not fail of you a slave, or a hewer of wood, or a drawer of water to me and my God. 24 And they answered Joshua, saying, It was reported to us what the Lord thy God charged his servant Moses, to give you this land, and to destroy us and all that dwelt on it from before you; and we feared very much for our lives because of you, and [therefore] we did this thing. 25 And now, behold, we [are] in your power; do to us as it is pleasing to you, and as it seems [good] to you. 26 And they did so to them; and Joshua rescued them in that day out of the hands of the children of Israel, and they did not slay them. 27 And Joshua made them in that day hewers of wood and drawers of water to the whole congregation, and for the altar of God: therefore the inhabitants of Gabaon became hewers of wood and drawers of water for the altar of God until this day, even for the place which the Lord should choose.

Luke 4

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” 5 The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I want. 7 If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’” 9 He led him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you;’ 11 and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest perhaps you dash your foot against a stone.’” 12 Jesus answering, said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” 13 When the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until another time. 14 Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area. 15 He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 16 He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, 19 and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” 20 He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All testified about him and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” 23 He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.’” 24 He said, “Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land. 26 Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.” 28 They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue as they heard these things. 29 They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff. 30 But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way. 31 He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. He was teaching them on the Sabbath day, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon; and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 saying, “Ah! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God!” 35 Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down in the middle of them, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 Amazement came on all and they spoke together, one with another, saying, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 News about him went out into every place of the surrounding region. 38 He rose up from the synagogue and entered into Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a great fever, and they begged him to help her. 39 He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them. 40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. 41 Demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Rebuking them, he didn’t allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. 42 When it was day, he departed and went into an uninhabited place and the multitudes looked for him, and came to him, and held on to him, so that he wouldn’t go away from them. 43 But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent.” 44 He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.