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Psalm 106

1  Alleluia.
      Give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious, ♦︎
   for his faithfulness endures for ever.
2  Who can express the mighty acts of the Lord ♦︎
   or show forth all his praise?
3  Blessed are those who observe what is right ♦︎
   and always do what is just.
4  Remember me, O Lord, in the favour you bear for your people; ♦︎
   visit me in the day of your salvation;
5  That I may see the prosperity of your chosen
      and rejoice in the gladness of your people, ♦︎
   and exult with your inheritance.
6  We have sinned like our forebears; ♦︎
   we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.
7  In Egypt they did not consider your wonders,
      nor remember the abundance of your faithful love; ♦︎
   they rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.
8  But he saved them for his name’s sake, ♦︎
   that he might make his power to be known.
9  He rebuked the Red Sea and it was dried up; ♦︎
   so he led them through the deep as through the wilderness.
10  He saved them from the adversary’s hand ♦︎
   and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11  As for those that troubled them, the waters overwhelmed them; ♦︎
   there was not one of them left.
12  Then they believed his words ♦︎
   and sang aloud his praise.
13  But soon they forgot his deeds ♦︎
   and would not wait for his counsel.
14  A craving seized them in the wilderness, ♦︎
   and they put God to the test in the desert.
15  He gave them their desire, ♦︎
   but sent a wasting sickness among them.
16  They grew jealous of Moses in the camp ♦︎
   and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
17  So the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan ♦︎
   and covered the company of Abiram.
18  A fire was kindled in their company; ♦︎
   the flame burnt up the wicked.

Jericho Taken and Destroyed

6Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the Israelites; no one came out and no one went in. ²The Lord said to Joshua, ‘See, I have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers. ³You shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once. Thus you shall do for six days, ⁴with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets. ⁵When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, as soon as 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, and all the people shall charge straight ahead.’ ⁶So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, ‘Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.’ ⁷To the people he said, ‘Go forward and march around the city; have the armed men pass on before the ark of the Lord.’

8 As Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests carrying 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. ⁹And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets; the rearguard came after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. ¹⁰To the people Joshua gave this command: ‘You shall not shout or let your voice be heard, nor shall you utter a word, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.’ ¹¹So the ark of the Lord went around the city, circling it once; and they came into the camp, and spent the night in the camp.

12 Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord passed on, blowing the trumpets continually. The armed men went before them, and the rearguard came after the ark of the Lord, while the trumpets blew continually. ¹⁴On the second day they marched around the city once and then returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

15 On the seventh day they rose early, at dawn, 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. ¹⁶And 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. ¹⁷The city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers we sent. ¹⁸As for you, keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet^* and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it. ¹⁹But all silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are sacred to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.’ ²⁰So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat; so the people charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. ²¹Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.

22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, ‘Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring the woman out of it and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.’ ²³So the young men who had been spies went in and brought Rahab out, along with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all who belonged to her—they brought all her kindred out—and set them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴They burned down the city, and everything in it; only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the Lord. ²⁵But Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, Joshua spared. Her family^* has lived in Israel ever since. For she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

26 Joshua then pronounced this oath, saying,
‘Cursed before the Lord be anyone who tries
   to build this city—this Jericho!
At the cost of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation,
   and at the cost of his youngest he shall set up its gates!’

27 So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land.

Being Subject to Authorities

13Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. ²Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement. ³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; ⁴for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority^* does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. ⁶For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, busy with this very thing. ⁷Pay to all what is due to them—taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honour to whom honour is due.