Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 I said, “I am in the middle of my life.
Do I have to go through the gates where the dead are now?
Will I have the rest of my life taken away from me?”
11 I said, “I will not see the Lord
in the land of the living again.
I will not again see the people
who live on the earth.
12 Like a shepherd’s tent,
my home has been pulled down and taken from me.
I am finished like the cloth
a weaver rolls up and cuts from the loom.
In one day you brought me to this end.
13 All night I cried loudly.
Like a lion, he crushed all my bones.
In one day you brought me to this end.
14 I cried like a bird.
I moaned like a dove.
My eyes became tired as I looked to the heavens.
Lord, I have troubles. Please help me.”
15 What can I say?
The Lord told me what would happen and then made it happen.
I have had these troubles in my soul.
So now I will be humble all my life.
16 Lord, because of you, men live.
Because of you, my spirit also lives.
You made me well and let me live.
17 It was for my own good
that I had such troubles.
Because you love me very much,
you did not let me die.
You threw my sins
far away.
18 People in the place where the dead are cannot praise you.
Those who have died cannot sing praises to you.
Those who die don’t trust you
to help them.
19 The people who are alive are the ones who praise you.
They praise you as I praise you today.
A father should tell his children
that you provide help.
20 The Lord saved me.
So we will sing and play songs.
We will make music in the Temple of the Lord
all the days of our lives.
The Fall of Jericho
6 Now the people of Jericho were afraid because the Israelites were near. So they closed the city gates and guarded them. No one went into the city. And no one came out.
2 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “Look, I have given you Jericho, its king and all its fighting men. 3 March around the city with your army one time every day. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets made from horns of male sheep. Tell them to march in front of the Ark of the Covenant. On the seventh day march around the city seven times. On that day tell the priests to blow the trumpets as they march. 5 They will make one long blast on the trumpets. When you hear that sound, have all the people give a loud shout. Then the walls of the city will fall. And the people will go straight into the city.”
6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests together. He said to them, “Carry the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord. Tell seven priests to carry trumpets and march in front of it.” 7 Then Joshua ordered the people, “Now go! March around the city. The soldiers with weapons should march in front of the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord.”
8 So Joshua finished speaking to the people. Then the seven priests began marching before the Lord. They carried the seven trumpets and blew them as they marched. The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant with the Lord followed them. 9 The soldiers with weapons marched in front of the priests. And armed men walked behind the Ark of the Covenant. They were blowing their trumpets. 10 But Joshua had told the people not to give a war cry. He said, “Don’t shout. Don’t say a word until the day I tell you. Then shout!” 11 So Joshua had the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord carried around the city one time. Then they went back to camp for the night.
12 Early the next morning Joshua got up. And the priests carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord again. 13 The seven priests carried the seven trumpets. They marched in front of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, blowing their trumpets. The soldiers with weapons marched in front of them. Other soldiers walked behind the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. All this time the priests were blowing their trumpets. 14 So on the second day they marched around the city one time. Then they went back to camp. They did this every day for six days.
15 On the seventh day they got up at dawn. They marched around the city seven times. They marched just as they had on the days before. But on that day they marched around the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around the priests blew their trumpets. Then Joshua gave the command: “Now, shout! The Lord has given you this city! 17 The city and everything in it are to be destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone in her house should remain alive. They must not be killed. This is because Rahab hid the two spies we sent out. 18 Don’t take any of the things that are to be destroyed as an offering to the Lord. If you take them and bring them into our camp, then you yourselves will be destroyed. You will also bring trouble to all of Israel. 19 All the silver and gold and things made from bronze and iron belong to the Lord. They must be saved for him.”
20 When the priests blew the trumpets, the people shouted. At the sound of the trumpets and the people’s shout, the walls fell. And everyone ran straight into the city. So the Israelites defeated that city. 21 They completely destroyed every living thing in the city. They killed men and women, young and old. They killed cattle, sheep and donkeys.
29 It was by faith that the people crossed the Red Sea as if it were dry land. The Egyptians also tried to do it, but they were drowned.
30 It was by faith that the walls of Jericho fell. They fell after the people had marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days.
31 It was by faith that Rahab, the prostitute, welcomed the spies and was not killed with those who refused to obey God.
32 Do I need to give more examples? I do not have time to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. 33 Through their faith they defeated kingdoms. They did what was right and received what God promised. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 stopped great fires and were saved from being killed with swords. They were weak, and yet were made strong. They were powerful in battle and defeated other armies. 35 Women received their dead relatives raised back to life. Others were tortured and refused to accept their freedom. They did this so that they could be raised from death to a better life. 36 Some were laughed at and beaten. Others were tied and put into prison. 37 They were killed with stones and they were cut in half.[a] They were killed with swords. Some wore the skins of sheep and goats. They were poor, abused, and treated badly. 38 The world was not good enough for them! They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the earth.
39 All these people are known for their faith. But none of them received what God had promised. 40 God planned to give us something better. Then they would be made perfect, but only together with us.
Follow Jesus’ Example
12 So we have many people of faith around us. Their lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way. And we should remove the sin that so easily catches us. 2 Let us look only to Jesus. He is the one who began our faith, and he makes our faith perfect. Jesus suffered death on the cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing. He did this because of the joy that God put before him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.