One Year Bible.

Conquest of the Northern Cities

¹Now when Jabin king of Hazor heard about these things, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon; to the kings of Shimron and Achshaph; ²to the kings of the north in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Chinnereth, in the foothills, and in Naphoth-dor to the west; ³to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah.

⁴So these kings came out with all their armies, a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore, along with a great number of horses and chariots. ⁵All these kings joined forces and encamped at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

⁶Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for by this time tomorrow I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn up their chariots.”

⁷So by the waters of Merom, Joshua and his whole army came upon them suddenly and attacked them, ⁸and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who struck them down and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. They struck them down, leaving no survivors. ⁹Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots.

¹⁰At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword, because Hazor was formerly the head of all these kingdoms. ¹¹The Israelites put everyone in Hazor to the sword, devoting them to destruction. Nothing that breathed remained, and Joshua burned down Hazor itself.

¹²Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and put them to the sword. He devoted them to destruction, as Moses the LORD’s servant had commanded. ¹³Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds, except Hazor, which Joshua burned.

¹⁴The Israelites took for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but they put all the people to the sword until they had completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone who breathed. ¹⁵As the LORD had commanded His servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. That is what Joshua did, leaving nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.

Joshua Takes the Whole Land

¹⁶So Joshua took this entire region: the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah, and the mountains of Israel and their foothills, ¹⁷from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death.

¹⁸Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long period of time. ¹⁹No city made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites living in Gibeon; all others were taken in battle. ²⁰For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be set apart for destruction and would receive no mercy, being annihilated as the LORD had commanded Moses.

²¹At that time Joshua proceeded to eliminate the Anakim from the hill country of Hebron, Debir, and Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction, along with their cities. ²²No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod did any survive.

²³So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to the allotments to their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.

Lawsuits among Believers

¹If any of you has a grievance against another, how dare he go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints! ²Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? ³Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

⁴So if you need to settle everyday matters, do you appoint as judges those of no standing in the church? ⁵I say this to your shame. Is there really no one among you wise enough to arbitrate between his brothers? ⁶Instead, one brother goes to law against another, and this in front of unbelievers!

⁷The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means that you are thoroughly defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? ⁸Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, even against your own brothers!

Members of Christ

⁹Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, ¹⁰nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

¹²“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything. ¹³“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy them both. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴By His power God raised the Lord from the dead, and He will raise us also.

¹⁵Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” ¹⁷But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.

The Temple of the Holy Spirit

¹⁸Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. ¹⁹Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.

The LORD Exalts the Humble

¹Hallelujah!

Give praise, O servants of the LORD;

praise the name of the LORD.

²Blessed be the name of the LORD

both now and forevermore.

³From where the sun rises to where it sets,

the name of the LORD is praised.

⁴The LORD is exalted over all the nations,

His glory above the heavens.

⁵Who is like the LORD our God,

the One enthroned on high?

⁶He humbles Himself to behold

the heavens and the earth.

⁷He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the dump

⁸to seat them with nobles,

with the princes of His people.

⁹He settles the barren woman in her home

as a joyful mother to her children.

Hallelujah!

Children Are a Heritage from the LORD

¹A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

Unless the LORD builds the house,

its builders labor in vain;

unless the LORD protects the city,

its watchmen stand guard in vain.

²In vain you rise early

and stay up late,

toiling for bread to eat —

for He gives sleep to His beloved.

³Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD,

and the fruit of the womb is His reward.

⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

so are children born in one’s youth.

⁵Blessed is the man

whose quiver is full of them.

He will not be put to shame

when he confronts the enemies at the gate.