Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 The[a] Lord looks on the righteous,
and he listens to their cries.
16 The face of the Lord is set against those who do evil,
and he will remove people’s recollection of them from the earth.
17 The Lord hears those who cry out,
and he delivers them from all their distress.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
and he delivers those whose spirit has been crushed.
19 A righteous person will have many troubles,
but the Lord will deliver him from them all.
20 God[b] protects all his bones;
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will kill the wicked;
those who hate the righteous will be held guilty.
22 The Lord redeems the lives of his servants;
and none of those who trust in him will be held guilty.
The Tribes East of the Jordan
22 Later, Joshua called together the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh 2 and told them, “You have done everything that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and you have listened to me in everything that I commanded you. 3 You haven’t abandoned your relatives these past days to the present, and you have met the obligation contained in[a] the commands of the Lord your God. 4 Now the Lord has given peace[b] to your relatives, just as he told them. Therefore, proceed to your tents—to the land that is yours to possess—that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of[c] the Jordan River. 5 Only be very careful to keep the commands and the Law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you—that is,[d] to love the Lord your God, to follow in all of his ways, to keep his commands, to stay close to him, and to serve him with all your heart and soul.” 6 That’s how Joshua blessed them. Then he sent them on their way and they returned to their tents.
7 Now Moses had made an allotment in Bashan to one half-tribe of Manasseh, but Joshua made an allotment west of the Jordan River to the other half-tribe of their relatives. So when Joshua sent them on their way back to their tents, he also blessed them by saying 8 “Return to your tents with great wealth, plenty of livestock, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and lots of clothing. Divide the spoil from your enemies among your relatives.”
9 The descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh went back to the land of Gilead, leaving the Israelis at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, for their territorial possession that they had inherited in accordance with the command of the Lord given through Moses.
Be Ready for the Day of the Lord
5 Now you do not need to have anything written to you about times and dates, brothers, 2 for you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When people[a] say, “There is peace and security,” destruction will strike them as suddenly as labor pains come[b] to a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape.
4 However, brothers, you are not in the darkness, in order that the Day of the Lord[c] might surprise you like a thief. 5 For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to darkness. 6 Therefore, let’s not fall asleep like others do, but let’s stay awake and be sober. 7 For people who go to sleep, go to sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let’s be sober. We must put on the breastplate of faith and love, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God has not destined us to receive[d] wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[e] 10 who died for us in order that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 So then, encourage one another and build each other up, as you are doing.
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