קֶ֫רֶב

After three days the officers went through the camp

Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”

He continued, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will surely drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.

…to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’

And Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her father’s household and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho. So she has lived among the Israelites to this day.

This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.

Get up and consecrate the people, saying, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Among you, O Israel, there are things devoted to destruction. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua failed to read before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, the little ones, and the foreigners who lived among them.

But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell near us. How can we make a treaty with you?”

Three days after they had made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites learned that they were neighbors, living among them.

Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us?

Now Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and devoted it to destruction—doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king—and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living near them.

…but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath dwell among the Israelites to this day.

But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.

The Levites, however, have no portion among you, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received the inheritance that Moses the servant of the LORD gave them beyond the Jordan to the east.”

Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and afterward I brought you out.

For the LORD our God brought us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us throughout our journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.

“Now, therefore,” he said, “get rid of the foreign gods among you and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.”

Ephraim also failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer; so the Canaanites continued to dwell among them in Gezer.

Zebulun failed to drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced laborers.

So the Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, because they did not drive them out.

Naphtali failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath. So the Naphtalites also lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, but the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served them as forced laborers.

Thus the Israelites continued to live among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and He could no longer bear the misery of Israel.

So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone.

So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people.

When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the LORD brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.”

So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him, and he became like a stone.

When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

Then he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”

And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, and the child’s life returned to him, and he lived.

As the king passed by, he cried out to the king: “Your servant had marched out into the middle of the battle, when suddenly a man came over with a captive and told me, ‘Guard this man! If he goes missing for any reason, your life will be exchanged for his life, or you will weigh out a talent of silver.’

…yet in his stomach his food sours into the venom of cobras within him.

For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes.

My heart grew hot within me; as I mused, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:

God is within her; she will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns.

Within Your temple, O God, we contemplate Your loving devotion.

Their graves are their eternal homes—their dwellings for endless generations—even though their lands were their namesakes.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

My heart pounds within me, and the terrors of death assail me.

Day and night they encircle the walls, while malice and trouble lie within.

Destruction is within; oppression and deceit never leave the streets.

Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.

They fully intend to cast him down from his lofty perch; they delight in lies; with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse. Selah

They devise injustice and say, “We have perfected a secret plan.” For the inner man and the heart are mysterious.

Your foes have roared within Your meeting place; they have unfurled their banners as signs,

Why do You withdraw Your strong right hand? Stretch it out to destroy them!