The Tribes Renew the Covenant

24 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.^{(A) 2} And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods.^(B)

¹⁴ “Now, therefore, revere the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt and serve the Lord.^{(A) 15} Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living, but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”^(B)

¹⁶ Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, ¹⁷ for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went and among all the peoples through whom we passed, ¹⁸ and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

¹⁹ But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.^{(C) 20} If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.”^{(D) 21} And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!” ²² Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” ²³ He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”^{(E) 24} The people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey.”^{(F) 25} So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.^(G)

Psalm 16

Song of Trust and Security in God

A Miktam of David.

¹⁵ Be careful, then, how you live,^[a] not as unwise people but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of the time, because the days are evil.^{(A) 17} So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.^{(B) 18} Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,^{(C) 19} as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts,^{(D) 20} giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,^{(E) 21} being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

The Christian Household

²² Wives, be subject^[b] to your husbands as to the Lord,^{(F) 23} for the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.^{(G) 24} Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, so that she may be holy and without blemish.^{(H) 28} In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hates his own flesh, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, ³⁰ because we are members of his body.^{[c](I) 31} “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”^{(J) 32} This is a great mystery, but I am speaking about Christ and the church. ³³ Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect^[d] her husband.

Children and Parents

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord,^[a] for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother”—this is the first commandment with a promise^(A)— ³ “so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

⁴ And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.^(B)

Slaves and Masters

⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect^[b] and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ,^{(C) 6} not with a slavery performed merely for looks, to please people, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the soul. ⁷ Render service with enthusiasm, as for the Lord and not for humans, ⁸ knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are enslaved or free.

⁹ And, masters,^[c] do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Lord^[d] in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.^(D)

The Words of Eternal Life

⁶⁰ When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” ⁶¹ But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you?^{(A) 62} Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?^{(B) 63} It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. ⁶⁴ But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who were the ones who did not believe and who was the one who would betray him.^{(C) 65} And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”^(D)

⁶⁶ Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”^[a](E)