To The Word – Day 61

₁The second assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Simeon. Its territory extended into the land assigned to the tribe of Judah. ₂It included Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, ₃Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, ₄Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ₅Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, ₆Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen: thirteen cities, along with the towns round them.

₇There were also Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan: four cities, along with the towns round them. ₈This included all the towns round these cities as far as Baalath Beer (or Ramah), in the south. This was the land which the families of the tribe of Simeon received as their possession. ₉Since Judah's assignment was larger than was needed, part of its territory was given to the tribe of Simeon.

₁₀The third assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Zebulun. The land which they received reached as far as Sarid. ₁₁From there the border went west to Mareal, touching Dabbesheth and the stream east of Jokneam. ₁₂On the other side of Sarid it went east to the border of Chisloth Tabor, then to Daberath and up to Japhia. ₁₃It continued east from there to Gath Hepher and Ethkazin, turning in the direction of Neah on the way to Rimmon. ₁₄On the north the border turned towards Hannathon, ending at the Valley of Iphtahel. ₁₅It included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities, along with the towns round them. ₁₆These cities and their towns were in the land which the families of the tribe of Zebulun received as their possession.

₁₇The fourth assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Issachar. ₁₈Its area included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, ₁₉Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ₂₀Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ₂₁Remeth, Engannim, Enhaddah, and Bethpazzez. ₂₂The border also touched Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh, ending at the Jordan. It included sixteen cities along with the towns round them. ₂₃These cities and their towns were in the land which the families of the tribe of Issachar received as their possession.

₂₄The fifth assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Asher. ₂₅Its area included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, ₂₆Allam Melech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west it touched Carmel and Shihor Libnath. ₂₇As it turned east, the border went to Bethdagon, touching Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtahel on the way north to Bethemek and Neiel. It continued north to Cabul, ₂₈Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as Sidon. ₂₉The border then turned to Ramah, reaching the fortified city of Tyre; then it turned to Hosah and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. It included Mahalab, Achzib, ₃₀Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob: 22 cities, along with the towns round them. ₃₁These cities and their towns were in the land which the families of the tribe of Asher received as their possession.

₃₂The sixth assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Naphtali. ₃₃Its border went from Heleph to the oak in Zaanannim, on to Adaminekeb and to Jamnia, as far as Lakkum, and ended at the Jordan. ₃₄There the border turned west to Aznoth Tabor, from there to Hukkok, touching Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and the Jordan on the east. ₃₅The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, ₃₆Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ₃₇Kedesh, Edrei, Enhazor, ₃₈Yiron, Migdalel, Horem, Bethanath, and Beth Shemesh: nineteen cities, along with the towns round them. ₃₉These cities and their towns were in the land which the families of the tribe of Naphtali received as their possession.

₄₀The seventh assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Dan. ₄₁Its area included Zorah, Eshtaol, Irshemesh, ₄₂Shaalbim, Aijalon, Ithlah, ₄₃Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ₄₄Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ₄₅Jehud, Beneberak, Gathrimmon, ₄₆Mejarkon, and Rakkon, as well as the territory round Joppa. ₄₇When the people of Dan lost their land, they went to Laish and attacked it. They captured it, killed its people, and claimed it for themselves. They settled there and changed the name of the city from Laish to Dan, naming it after their ancestor Dan. ₄₈These cities and their towns were in the land which the families of the tribe of Dan received as their possession.

₄₉When the people of Israel finished dividing up the land, they gave Joshua son of Nun a part of the land as his own. ₅₀As the LORD had commanded, they gave him the city he asked for: Timnath Serah, in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the city and settled there.

₅₁Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the families of the tribes of Israel assigned these parts of the land by drawing lots to consult the LORD at Shiloh, at the entrance of the Tent of the LORD's presence. In this way they finished dividing the land.

₁Then the LORD told Joshua ₂to say to the people of Israel, “Choose the cities of refuge that I commanded Moses to tell you about. ₃A person who kills someone accidentally can go there and escape the one who is looking for revenge. ₄He or she can run away to one of these cities, go to the place of judgement at the entrance to the city, and explain to the leaders what happened. Then they will let him or her into the city and give them a place to live in, so that they can stay there. ₅If the one looking for revenge follows them there, the people of the city must not hand them over to them. They must protect them because they killed the person accidentally and not out of anger. ₆They may stay in the city until they have received a public trial and until the death of the man who is then the High Priest. Then they may go back home to their own town, from which they had run away.”

₇So, on the west side of the Jordan they set aside Kedesh in Galilee, in the hill country of Naphtali; Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim; and Hebron, in the hill country of Judah. ₈East of the Jordan, on the desert plateau east of Jericho, they chose Bezer in the territory of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead, in the territory of Gad; and Golan in Bashan, in the territory of Manasseh. ₉These were the cities of refuge chosen for all the people of Israel and for any foreigner living among them. Anyone who killed a person accidentally could find protection there from the one looking for revenge; no one could be killed without first receiving a public trial.

₁The leaders of the Levite families went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of all the tribes of Israel. ₂There at Shiloh in the land of Canaan they said to them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we were to be given cities to live in, as well as pasture land round them for our livestock.” ₃So in accordance with the LORD's command the people of Israel gave the Levites certain cities and pasture lands out of their own territories.

₄The families of the Levite clan of Kohath were the first to be assigned cities. The families who were descended from Aaron the priest were assigned thirteen cities from the territories of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. ₅The rest of the clan of Kohath was assigned ten cities from the territories of Ephraim, Dan, and West Manasseh.

₆The clan of Gershon was assigned thirteen cities from the territories of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and East Manasseh.

₇The families of the clan of Merari were assigned twelve cities from the territories of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

₈By drawing lots, the people of Israel assigned these cities and their pasture lands to the Levites, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

₉These are the names of the cities from the territories of Judah and Simeon which were given ₁₀to the descendants of Aaron who were of the clan of Kohath, which was descended from Levi. Their assignment was the first to be made. ₁₁They were given the city of Arba (Arba was Anak's father), now called Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, along with the pasture land surrounding it. ₁₂However, the fields of the city, as well as its towns, had already been given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.

₁₃In addition to Hebron (one of the cities of refuge), the following cities were assigned to the descendants of Aaron the priest: Libnah, ₁₄Jattir, Eshtemoa, ₁₅Holon, Debir, ₁₆Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, with their pasture lands: nine cities from the tribes of Judah and Simeon. ₁₇From the territory of Benjamin they were given four cities: Gibeon, Geba, ₁₈Anathoth, and Almon, with their pasture lands. ₁₉Thirteen cities in all, with their pasture lands, were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

₂₀The other families of the Levite clan of Kohath were assigned some cities from the territory of Ephraim. ₂₁They were given four cities: Shechem and its pasture lands in the hill country of Ephraim (one of the cities of refuge), Gezer, ₂₂Kibzaim, and Beth Horon, with their pasture lands. ₂₃From the territory of Dan they were given four cities: Eltekeh, Gibbethon, ₂₄Aijalon, and Gathrimmon, with their pasture lands. ₂₅From the territory of West Manasseh they were given two cities: Taanach and Gathrimmon, with their pasture lands. ₂₆These families of the clan of Kohath received ten cities in all, with their pasture lands.

₂₇Another group of Levites, the clan of Gershon, received from the territory of East Manasseh two cities: Golan in Bashan (one of the cities of refuge) and Beeshterah, with their pasture lands. ₂₈From the territory of Issachar they received four cities: Kishion, Daberath, ₂₉Jarmuth, and Engannim, with their pasture lands. ₃₀From the territory of Asher they received four cities: Mishal, Abdon, ₃₁Helkath, and Rehob, with their pasture lands. ₃₂From the territory of Naphtali they received three cities: Kedesh in Galilee, with its pasture lands (one of the cities of refuge), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan, with their pasture lands. ₃₃The various families of the clan of Gershon received a total of thirteen cities with their pasture lands.

₃₄The rest of the Levites, the clan of Merari, received from the territory of Zebulun four cities: Jokneam, Kartah, ₃₅Dimnah, and Nahalal, with their pasture lands. ₃₆From the territory of Reuben they received four cities: Bezer, Jahaz, ₃₇Kedemoth, and Mephaath, with their pasture lands. ₃₈From the tribe of Gad they received four cities: Ramoth in Gilead, with its pasture lands (one of the cities of refuge), Mahanaim, ₃₉Heshbon, and Jazer, with their pasture lands. ₄₀So the clan of Merari was assigned a total of twelve cities.

_41-42From the land that the people of Israel possessed, a total of 48 cities, with the pasture lands round them, was given to the Levites.

₄₃So the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he had solemnly promised their ancestors he would give them. When they had taken possession of it, they settled down there. ₄₄The LORD gave them peace throughout the land, just as he had promised their ancestors. Not one of all their enemies had been able to stand against them, because the LORD gave the Israelites the victory over all their enemies. ₄₅The LORD kept every one of the promises that he had made to the people of Israel.

₁While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul travelled through the interior of the province and arrived in Ephesus. There he found some disciples ₂and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?”

“We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit,” they answered.

₃“Well, then, what kind of baptism did you receive?” Paul asked.

“The baptism of John,” they answered.

₄Paul said, “The baptism of John was for those who turned from their sins; and he told the people of Israel to believe in the one who was coming after him — that is, in Jesus.”

₅When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ₆Paul placed his hands on them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them; they spoke in strange tongues and also proclaimed God's message. ₇They were about twelve men in all.

₈Paul went into the synagogue and during three months spoke boldly with the people, holding discussions with them and trying to convince them about the Kingdom of God. ₉But some of them were stubborn and would not believe, and before the whole group they said evil things about the Way of the Lord. So Paul left them and took the believers with him, and every day he held discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. ₁₀This went on for two years, so that all the people who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Gentiles, heard the word of the Lord.

₁₁God was performing unusual miracles through Paul. ₁₂Even handkerchiefs and aprons he had used were taken to those who were ill, and their diseases were driven away, and the evil spirits would go out of them. ₁₃Some Jews who travelled round and drove out evil spirits also tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus to do this. They said to the evil spirits, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches.” ₁₄Seven brothers, who were the sons of a Jewish High Priest named Sceva, were doing this.

₁₅But the evil spirit said to them, “I know Jesus, and I know about Paul; but you — who are you?”

₁₆The man who had the evil spirit in him attacked them with such violence that he overpowered them all. They ran away from his house, wounded and with their clothes torn off. ₁₇All the Jews and Gentiles who lived in Ephesus heard about this; they were all filled with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was given greater honour. ₁₈Many of the believers came, publicly admitting and revealing what they had done. ₁₉Many of those who had practised magic brought their books together and burnt them in public. They added up the price of the books, and the total came to 50,000 silver coins. ₂₀In this powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing stronger.

₂₁After these things had happened, Paul made up his mind to travel through Macedonia and Achaia and go on to Jerusalem. “After I go there,” he said, “I must also see Rome.” ₂₂So he sent Timothy and Erastus, two of his helpers, to Macedonia, while he spent more time in the province of Asia.

₂₃It was at this time that there was serious trouble in Ephesus because of the Way of the Lord. ₂₄A certain silversmith named Demetrius made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis, and his business brought a great deal of profit to the workers. ₂₅So he called them all together with others whose work was like theirs and said to them, “Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this work. ₂₆Now, you can see and hear for yourselves what this fellow Paul is doing. He says that gods made by human hands are not gods at all, and he has succeeded in convincing many people, both here in Ephesus and in nearly the whole province of Asia. ₂₇There is the danger, then, that this business of ours will get a bad name. Not only that, but there is also the danger that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will come to mean nothing and that her greatness will be destroyed — the goddess worshipped by everyone in Asia and in all the world!”

₂₈As the crowd heard these words, they became furious and started shouting, “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!” ₂₉The uproar spread throughout the whole city. The mob seized Gaius and Aristarchus, two Macedonians who were travelling with Paul, and rushed with them to the theatre. ₃₀Paul himself wanted to go before the crowd, but the believers would not let him. ₃₁Some of the provincial authorities, who were his friends, also sent him a message begging him not to show himself in the theatre. ₃₂Meanwhile the whole meeting was in an uproar: some people were shouting one thing, others were shouting something else, because most of them did not even know why they had come together. ₃₃Some of the people concluded that Alexander was responsible, since the Jews made him go up to the front. Then Alexander motioned with his hand for the people to be silent, and he tried to make a speech of defence. ₃₄But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted together the same thing for two hours: “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!”

₃₅At last the town clerk was able to calm the crowd. “Fellow-Ephesians!” he said. “Everyone knows that the city of Ephesus is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of the sacred stone that fell down from heaven. ₃₆Nobody can deny these things. So then, you must calm down and not do anything reckless. ₃₇You have brought these men here even though they have not robbed temples or said evil things about our goddess. ₃₈If Demetrius and his workers have an accusation against anyone, we have the authorities and the regular days for court; charges can be made there. ₃₉But if there is something more that you want, it will have to be settled in a legal meeting of citizens. ₄₀For after what has happened today, there is the danger that we will be accused of a riot. There is no excuse for all this uproar, and we would not be able to give a good reason for it.” ₄₁After saying this, he dismissed the meeting.

₁After the uproar died down, Paul called together the believers and with words of encouragement said goodbye to them. Then he left and went on to Macedonia. ₂He went through those regions and encouraged the people with many messages. Then he came to Achaia, ₃where he stayed three months. He was getting ready to go to Syria when he discovered that there were Jews plotting against him; so he decided to go back through Macedonia. ₄Sopater son of Pyrrhus, from Berea, went with him; so did Aristarchus and Secundus, from Thessalonica; Gaius, from Derbe; Tychicus and Trophimus, from the province of Asia; and Timothy. ₅They went ahead and waited for us in Troas. ₆We sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later we joined them in Troas, where we spent a week.

₇On Saturday evening we gathered together for the fellowship meal. Paul spoke to the people and kept on speaking until midnight, since he was going to leave the next day. ₈Many lamps were burning in the upstairs room where we were meeting. ₉A young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window, and as Paul kept on talking, Eutychus got sleepier and sleepier, until he finally went sound asleep and fell from the third storey to the ground. When they picked him up, he was dead. ₁₀But Paul went down and threw himself on him and hugged him. “Don't worry,” he said, “he is still alive!” ₁₁Then he went back upstairs, broke bread, and ate. After talking with them for a long time, even until sunrise, Paul left. ₁₂They took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.

₁₃We went on ahead to the ship and sailed off to Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had told us to do this, because he was going there by land. ₁₄When he met us in Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. ₁₅We sailed from there and arrived off Chios the next day. A day later we came to Samos, and the following day we reached Miletus. ₁₆Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, so as not to lose any time in the province of Asia. He was in a hurry to arrive in Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost, if at all possible.

₁₇From Miletus Paul sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him. ₁₈When they arrived, he said to them, “You know how I spent the whole time I was with you, from the first day I arrived in the province of Asia. ₁₉With all humility and many tears I did my work as the Lord's servant during the hard times that came to me because of the plots of some Jews. ₂₀You know that I did not hold back anything that would be of help to you as I preached and taught in public and in your homes. ₂₁To Jews and Gentiles alike I gave solemn warning that they should turn from their sins to God and believe in our Lord Jesus. ₂₂And now, in obedience to the Holy Spirit I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. ₂₃I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit has warned me that prison and troubles wait for me. ₂₄But I reckon my own life to be worth nothing to me; I only want to complete my mission and finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do, which is to declare the Good News about the grace of God.

₂₅“I have gone about among all of you, preaching the Kingdom of God. And now I know that none of you will ever see me again. ₂₆So I solemnly declare to you this very day: if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible. ₂₇For I have not held back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God. ₂₈So keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock which the Holy Spirit has placed in your care. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he made his own through the blood of his Son. ₂₉I know that after I leave, fierce wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. ₃₀The time will come when some men from your own group will tell lies to lead the believers away after them. ₃₁Watch, then, and remember that with many tears, day and night, I taught every one of you for three years.

₃₂“And now I commend you to the care of God and to the message of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you the blessings God has for all his people. ₃₃I have not wanted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. ₃₄You yourselves know that I have worked with these hands of mine to provide everything that my companions and I have needed. ₃₅I have shown you in all things that by working hard in this way we must help the weak, remembering the words that the Lord Jesus himself said, ‘There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.’ ”

₃₆When Paul finished, he knelt down with them and prayed. ₃₇They were all crying as they hugged him and kissed him goodbye. ₃₈They were especially sad because he had said that they would never see him again. And so they went with him to the ship.

₁We said goodbye to them and left. After sailing straight across, we came to Cos; the next day we reached Rhodes, and from there we went on to Patara. ₂There we found a ship that was going to Phoenicia, so we went aboard and sailed away. ₃We came to where we could see Cyprus, and then sailed south of it on to Syria. We went ashore at Tyre, where the ship was going to unload its cargo. ₄There we found some believers and stayed with them a week. By the power of the Spirit they told Paul not to go to Jerusalem. ₅But when our time with them was over, we left and went on our way. All of them, together with their wives and children, went with us out of the city to the beach, where we all knelt and prayed. ₆Then we said goodbye to one another, and we went on board the ship while they went back home.

₇We continued our voyage, sailing from Tyre to Ptolemais, where we greeted the believers and stayed with them for a day. ₈On the following day we left and arrived in Caesarea. There we stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen as helpers in Jerusalem. ₉He had four unmarried daughters who proclaimed God's message. ₁₀We had been there for several days when a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea. ₁₁He came to us, took Paul's belt, tied up his own feet and hands with it, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: The owner of this belt will be tied up in this way by the Jews in Jerusalem, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles.”

₁₂When we heard this, we and the others there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. ₁₃But he answered, “What are you doing, crying like this and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem but even to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus.”

₁₄We could not convince him, so we gave up and said, “May the Lord's will be done.”

₁₅After spending some time there, we got our things ready and left for Jerusalem. ₁₆Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us and took us to the house of the man we were going to stay with — Mnason, from Cyprus, who had been a believer since the early days.

₁₇When we arrived in Jerusalem, the believers welcomed us warmly. ₁₈The next day Paul went with us to see James; and all the church elders were present. ₁₉Paul greeted them and gave a complete report of everything that God had done among the Gentiles through his work. ₂₀After hearing him, they all praised God. Then they said, “Brother Paul, you can see how many thousands of Jews have become believers, and how devoted they all are to the Law. ₂₁They have been told that you have been teaching all the Jews who live in Gentile countries to abandon the Law of Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or follow the Jewish customs. ₂₂They are sure to hear that you have arrived. What should be done, then? ₂₃This is what we want you to do. There are four men here who have taken a vow. ₂₄Go along with them and join them in the ceremony of purification and pay their expenses; then they will be able to shave their heads. In this way everyone will know that there is no truth in any of the things that they have been told about you, but that you yourself live in accordance with the Law of Moses. ₂₅But as for the Gentiles who have become believers, we have sent them a letter telling them we decided that they must not eat any food that has been offered to idols, or any blood, or any animal that has been strangled, and that they must keep themselves from sexual immorality.”

₂₆So Paul took the men and the next day performed the ceremony of purification with them. Then he went into the Temple and gave notice of how many days it would be until the end of the period of purification, when a sacrifice would be offered for each one of them.

₂₇But just when the seven days were about to come to an end, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized Paul. ₂₈“Men of Israel!” they shouted. “Help! This is the man who goes everywhere teaching everyone against the people of Israel, the Law of Moses, and this Temple. And now he has even brought some Gentiles into the Temple and defiled this holy place!” ₂₉(They said this because they had seen Trophimus from Ephesus with Paul in the city, and they thought that Paul had taken him into the Temple.)

₃₀Confusion spread through the whole city, and the people all ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the Temple. At once the Temple doors were closed. ₃₁The mob was trying to kill Paul, when a report was sent up to the commander of the Roman troops that all Jerusalem was rioting. ₃₂At once the commander took some officers and soldiers and rushed down to the crowd. When the people saw him with the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ₃₃The commander went over to Paul, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked, “Who is this man, and what has he done?” ₃₄Some in the crowd shouted one thing, others something else. There was such confusion that the commander could not find out exactly what had happened, so he ordered his men to take Paul up into the fort. ₃₅They got as far as the steps with him, and then the soldiers had to carry him because the mob was so wild. ₃₆They were all coming after him and screaming, “Kill him!”

₃₇As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the fort, he spoke to the commander: “May I say something to you?”

“You speak Greek, do you?” the commander asked. ₃₈“Then you are not that Egyptian fellow who some time ago started a revolution and led 4,000 armed terrorists out into the desert?”

₃₉Paul answered, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. Please let me speak to the people.”

₄₀The commander gave him permission, so Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand for the people to be silent. When they were quiet, Paul spoke to them in Hebrew: