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ing, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore. And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to-morrow the Lord will • do wonders among you. And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.

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CH. VI.

And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.

And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people: And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan; and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

LESSON XLVI.

The Taking of Jericho.

Now Jericho was straitly shut up, because of the chilV. 1–2.dren of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men

V. 6.

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of valour.

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And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout: and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every 16 man straight before him. And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath 20 given you the city. So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

LESSON XLVII.

The Sun and Moon stand still.

CH. X. And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are 7 gathered together against us. So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour.

And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a 9 man of them stand before thee. Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night. 10 And the Lord discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Beth-horon, and smote

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them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah. And it came to pass as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.

Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down 14 about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.

CH. XXI

V. 43.

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LESSON XLVIII.

Joshua's Exhortation.-His Death.-B.C. 1443.

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And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers: and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers. and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their 45 hand. There failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

CH. XXIII.

V. 1.

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And it came to pass, a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age. 3 And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, 8 and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age: And ye have seen all that the Lord your God hath done unto

all these nations because of you; for the Lord your God 4 is he that hath fought for you. Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward. And the Lord your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord your God hath promised unto 6 you. Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the 7 left; That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve 8 them, nor bow yourselves unto them: But cleave unto the 9 Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day. For the Lord hath driven out from before you great nations and strong but as for you, no man hath been able to stand

10 before you unto this day. One man of you shall chase a thousand for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth

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u for you, as he hath promised you. Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God.

CH. XXIV.

V. 29.

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And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash. And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.

LESSON XLIX.

The Rule of the Judges.-B. C. 1406-1095.

CH. II. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the 7. 11-12. Lord, and served Baalim; And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land

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of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand be15 fore their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the

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hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. 18 And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: (for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.) And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

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V. 1-2.

LESSON L.

The People ask a King.

CH. VIII. And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, 8 Abiah: they were judges in Beer-sheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and 4 took bribes, and perverted judgment. Then all the elders

of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Sam. 8 uel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.

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