Proclaiming Christ Crucified

2 And I, when I came to you, brothers,^{[a] (A)}did not come proclaiming to you ^(B)the testimony^[b] of God with lofty speech or wisdom. ² For I decided to know nothing among you except ^(C)Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ And ^(D)I was with you ^(E)in weakness and in fear and much trembling, ⁴ and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of ^(F)the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men^[c] but ^(G)in the power of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit

⁶ Yet among ^(H)the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not ^(I)a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, ^(J)who are doomed to pass away. ⁷ But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, ^(K)which God decreed before the ages for our glory. ⁸ None of ^(L)the rulers of this age understood this, for ^(M)if they had, they would not have crucified ^(N)the Lord of glory. ⁹ But, as it is written,

¹⁰ these things ^(R)God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even ^(S)the depths of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person's thoughts ^(T)except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now ^(U)we have received not ^(V)the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³ And we impart this ^(W)in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, ^(X)interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.^[d]

¹⁴ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are ^(Y)folly to him, and ^(Z)he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ The ^(AA)spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ^16 (AB)“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But ^(AC)we have the mind of Christ.

The Fall of Jericho

6 Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. ² And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, ^(A)I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. ³ You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. ⁴ Seven priests shall bear seven ^(B)trumpets of ^(C)rams' horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and ^(D)the priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵ And when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat,^[a] and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.” ⁶ So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord.” ⁷ And he said to the people, “Go forward. March around the city and let ^(E)the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.”

⁸ And just as Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the Lord went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord following them. ⁹ The armed men were walking before the priests who were blowing the trumpets, and the ^(F)rear guard was walking after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. ¹⁰ But Joshua commanded the people, “You shall not shout or make your voice heard, neither shall any word go out of your mouth, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” ¹¹ So he caused the ark of the Lord to circle the city, going about it once. And they came into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

¹² Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and ^(G)the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³ And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the Lord walked on, and they blew the trumpets continually. And the armed men were walking before them, and the rear guard was walking after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets blew continually. ¹⁴ And the second day they marched around the city once, and returned into the camp. So they did for six days.

¹⁵ On the seventh day they rose early, at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. ¹⁷ And the city and all that is within it shall be ^(H)devoted to the Lord for destruction.^[b] Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she ^(I)hid the messengers whom we sent. ¹⁸ But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel ^(J)a thing for destruction and ^(K)bring trouble upon it. ¹⁹ But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” ²⁰ So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and ^(L)the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. ²¹ Then they ^(M)devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.

²² But to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, “Go into the prostitute's house and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her, ^(N)as you swore to her.” ²³ So the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab and ^(O)her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. And they brought all her relatives and put them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴ And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it. ^(P)Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. ²⁵ But Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And ^(Q)she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

²⁶ Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, ^(R)“Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho.

^27 (S)So the Lord was with Joshua, and ^(T)his fame was in all the land.

Israel Defeated at Ai

7 But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for ^(U)Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.

² Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near ^(V)Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. ³ And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few.” ⁴ So about three thousand men went up there from the people. And ^(W)they fled before the men of Ai, ⁵ and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people ^(X)melted and became as water.

⁶ Then Joshua ^(Y)tore his clothes and ^(Z)fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel. And they put ^(AA)dust on their heads. ⁷ And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, ^(AB)why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! ⁸ O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! ⁹ For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and ^(AC)cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?”

The Sin of Achan

¹⁰ The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? ¹¹ Israel has sinned; they have ^(AD)transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the ^(AE)devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. ^12 (AF)Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They ^(AG)turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become ^(AH)devoted for destruction.^[c] I will be with you no more, unless you destroy ^(AI)the devoted things from among you. ¹³ Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ^(AJ)‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” ¹⁴ In the morning therefore you shall be brought near ^(AK)by your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man. ^15 (AL)And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has ^(AM)transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done ^(AN)an outrageous thing in Israel.’”

¹⁶ So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. ¹⁷ And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the ^(AO)Zerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. ¹⁸ And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. ¹⁹ Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, ^(AP)give glory to the Lord God of Israel and ^(AQ)give praise^[d] to him. And ^(AR)tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” ²⁰ And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly ^(AS)I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: ²¹ when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels,^[e] then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

²² So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. ²³ And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the Lord. ²⁴ And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the ^(AT)Valley of Achor. ²⁵ And Joshua said, “Why did you ^(AU)bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel ^(AV)stoned him with stones. ^(AW)They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. ²⁶ And they raised over him ^(AX)a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then ^(AY)the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor.^[f]