Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Song of Ascents

A Prayer for Mercy

Entrance is Denied

³⁴ “When the Lord heard your complaints, he became angry and declared, ³⁵ ‘I swear that not one man of this evil generation will see the good land that I promised to give to your ancestors, ³⁶ except Jephunneh’s son Caleb. He will see it and I will give to him and to his descendants the land on which he has walked because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’

³⁷ “The Lord was also furious with me because of you. He said: ‘You will not enter the land.^{[a] 38} However, Nun’s son Joshua, your assistant, will go there. Encourage him, for he will cause Israel to take possession of it. ³⁹ Your little ones—whom you said would be taken captive—and your children who do not yet^[b] know right from wrong will enter the land.^[c] I will give it to them and they themselves will possess it. ⁴⁰ But as for you, prepare to set out for the desert on the way to the Reed^[d] Sea.’

5 We know that if the earthly tent we live in is torn down, we have a building in heaven that comes from God, an eternal house not built by human^[a] hands. ² For in this one we sigh, since we long to put on our heavenly dwelling. ³ Of course, if we do put it on, we will not be found without a body.^{[b] 4} So while we are still in this tent, we sigh under our burdens, because we do not want to put it off but to put it on, so that our dying bodies may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ God has prepared us for this and has given us his Spirit as a guarantee.