Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 Once I said,
“In the noontime of my life
I must depart.
I will be consigned to the gates of Sheol
for the rest of my years.”
11 I said, “I will no longer see the Lord
in the land of the living.
I will no longer see any of my fellow men
as I did when I dwelled in the world.
12 “My dwelling has been torn down and thrown away
like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver I have rolled up my life
and the last thread has been severed.
Day and night I am subject to torment;
13 I cry out for help until the dawn.
All my bones are crushed, as if by a lion;
day and night I suffer in torment.
14 “Like a swallow I twitter;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes have grown dim looking up to heaven;
O Lord, come to my aid in my suffering.
15 Yet how can I complain? What should I say?
He himself has done this.
I will wander aimlessly for the rest of my years
because of the bitterness of my soul.
16 “However, you, O Lord, are always present to protect me,
and you grant life to my spirit;
you will restore me to health
and enable me to live.
17 Clearly it was for my benefit
that I suffered such anguish,
but you have preserved my life
from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
18 For Sheol cannot give you thanks,
nor can death praise you.
Those who go down into the pit
cannot hope for your kindness.
19 It is the living, only the living, who can thank you
as I am doing today,
just as fathers make known to their sons
your faithfulness, O God.
20 “The Lord is my savior,
and we will sing to stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
in the house of the Lord.”
Chapter 6[a]
Jericho Overtaken. 1 Now Jericho was shut up tight on account of the people of Israel, none went out and none came in. 2 The Lord said to Joshua, “Behold, I have given Jericho, its king, and its mighty warriors into your hands. 3 Your soldiers are to march all around the city once, doing that for six days. 4 Seven priests will carry seven trumpets made from ram’s horns in front of the Ark. On the seventh day you are to march around the city seven times while the priests blow their trumpets.[b] 5 Then they will make a long blast on the ram’s horns. As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, have all of the people give a great shout. The walls will fall down, and the people will go on up, every man in a straight line.”
6 So Joshua, the son of Nun, summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the Ark of the Covenant. Have seven priests holding trumpets made from rams’ horns precede the Ark of the Lord.” 7 He gave the command to the people, “Advance! March around the city with the armed soldiers walking in front of the Ark of the Lord.” 8 When Joshua finished speaking to the people, the seven priests carrying trumpets made from rams’ horns walked in front of the Lord and moved forward, blowing their trumpets, and the Ark of the Lord followed them. 9 The armed soldiers marched in front of the priests who were blowing their trumpets, and a rear guard followed the Ark. The whole time the trumpets were being blown. 10 But Joshua commanded the people, “Do not shout or raise your voices. Do not say a thing until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout.”
11 So he had the Ark of the Lord carried around the city once. They then went back into the camp where they spent the night. 12 Joshua rose early the next morning, and the priests took the Ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests carrying the trumpets made from rams’ horns went ahead of the Ark of the Lord, blowing on their trumpets as they went. The armed soldiers marched in front of them, and a rear guard followed the Ark of the Lord, with the trumpets being blown the whole time. 14 Thus they went around the city once on the second day, and then they returned to the camp. They did this for six days in a row.
15 On the seventh day they rose at daybreak and went around the city seven times just as they had before, but that day they went around the city seven times. 16 On the seventh time around when the priests blew their trumpets, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout out, for the Lord has given you the city. 17 The city and all that is in it are devoted[c] to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute shall live, she and all who are in her household, for she hid the spies whom we sent there. 18 But avoid those things that are dedicated, lest you call a curse on yourself when you take something that is dedicated and you bring a curse and destruction upon the camp of Israel. 19 All the silver and gold and objects of bronze and iron are dedicated to the Lord. They must go into the treasury of the Lord.”
20 The people shouted and the priests blew their trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpets and the people let out a great shout, the wall collapsed, and each man went up in a straight line and they took the city. 21 They wiped out everything that was in the city, men and women, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, by the edge of the sword.
29 The Faith of the Israelites and Rahab. By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as though it were dry land. However, when the Egyptians attempted to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho[a] fell when the people had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith Rahab[b] the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace.
32 The Faith of the Judges and Prophets. What more shall I say? Time is too short for me to speak of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the Prophets,[c] 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and obtained the promises. They closed the mouths of lions,[d] 34 quenched raging fires,[e] and escaped the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned into strength as they became mighty in battle and put foreign armies to flight.
35 Women received their dead[f] back through resurrection. Others who were tortured refused to accept release in order to obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others were mocked and scourged, even to the point of enduring chains and imprisonment.
37 They were stoned,[g] or sawed in two, or put to death by the sword. They went about in skins of sheep or goats—destitute, persecuted, and tormented. 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered about in desert areas and on mountains, and they lived in dens and caves of the earth.
39 Yet all these, even though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised. 40 For God had made provision for us to have something better, and they were not to achieve perfection except with us.[h]
Let Us Run with Eyes Fixed on Jesus[i]
Chapter 12
You Have Not Yet Resisted to the Point of Bloodshed. 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,[j] let us throw off everything that weighs us down and the sins that so easily distract us and with perseverance run the race that lies ahead of us, 2 with our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, ignoring its shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
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