Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Hymn of Thanksgiving
For the director of music. A song of David.
65 God, you will be praised in Jerusalem.
We will keep our promises to you.
2 You hear our prayers.
All people will come to you.
3 Our guilt overwhelms us.
But you forgive our sins.
4 Happy are the people you choose.
You have them stay in your courtyards.
We are filled with good things in your house,
your holy Temple.
5 You answer us in amazing ways,
God our Savior.
People everywhere on the earth
and beyond the sea trust you.
6 You made the mountains by your strength.
You have great power.
7 You stopped the roaring seas,
the roaring waves and the uproar of the nations.
8 Even those people at the ends of the earth fear your miracles.
You are praised from where the sun rises to where it sets.
9 You take care of the land and water it.
You make it very fertile.
The rivers of God are full of water.
Grain grows because you make it grow.
10 You cause rain to fall on the plowed fields.
You soak them with water.
You soften the ground with rain.
And then you bless it.
11 You give the year a good harvest.
You load the wagons with many crops.
12 The desert is covered with grass.
The hills are covered with happiness.
13 The pastures are full of sheep.
The valleys are covered with grain.
Everything shouts and sings for joy.
The Sun Stands Still
10 At this time Adoni-Zedek was the king of Jerusalem. He heard that Joshua had defeated Ai and completely destroyed it. He learned that Joshua had done the same thing to Jericho and its king. The king also learned that the Gibeonites had made a peace agreement with Israel. And they lived very near Jerusalem. 2 So Adoni-Zedek and his people were very afraid because of this. Gibeon was not a little town like Ai. It was a large city. It was as big as a city that had a king. All its men were good fighters. 3 So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent a message to Hoham king of Hebron. He also sent it to Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon. The king of Jerusalem begged these men, 4 “Come with me and help me attack Gibeon. Gibeon has made a peace agreement with Joshua and the Israelites.”
5 Then these five Amorite kings joined their armies. They were the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. These armies went to Gibeon, surrounded it and attacked it.
6 The Gibeonites sent a message to Joshua in his camp at Gilgal. The message said: “We are your servants. Don’t let us be destroyed. Come quickly and help us! Save us! All the Amorite kings from the mountains have joined their armies. They are fighting against us.”
7 So Joshua marched out of Gilgal with his whole army. His best fighting men were with him. 8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of those armies. I will allow you to defeat them. None of them will be able to defeat you.”
9 Joshua and his army marched all night to Gibeon. So Joshua surprised them when he attacked. 10 The Lord confused those armies when Israel attacked. So Israel defeated them in a great victory. They chased them from Gibeon on the road going to Beth Horon. The army of Israel killed men all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 11 They chased the enemy down the road from Beth Horon to Azekah. While they were chasing them, the Lord threw large hailstones on them from the sky. Many of the enemy were killed by the hailstones. More men were killed by the hailstones than the Israelites killed with their swords.
12 That day the Lord allowed the Israelites to defeat the Amorites. And that day Joshua stood before all the people of Israel and said to the Lord:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon.
Moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 So the sun stood still.
And the moon stopped
until the people defeated their enemies.
These words are written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky. It waited to go down for a full day. 14 That has never happened at any time before that day or since. That was the day the Lord listened to a man. Truly the Lord was fighting for Israel!
Jesus Walks on the Water
45 Then Jesus told his followers to get into the boat and go to Bethsaida on the other side of the lake. Jesus said that he would come later. He stayed there to tell the people they could go home. 46 After sending them away, he went into the hills to pray.
47 That night, the boat was in the middle of the lake. Jesus was alone on the land. 48 He saw the followers working hard to row the boat because the wind was blowing against them. At some time between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the water. He continued walking until he was almost past the boat. 49 But when his followers saw him walking on the water, they thought he was a ghost and cried out. 50 They all saw him and were terrified. But Jesus spoke to them and said, “Have courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.” 51 Then he got into the boat with them. And the wind became calm. The followers were greatly amazed. 52 They had seen Jesus make more bread from the five loaves. But they did not understand what it meant. Their minds were closed.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.