Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 Turn from evil and do good;(A)
seek peace and pursue it.
16 The eyes of the Lord are directed toward the righteous(B)
and his ears toward their cry.
17 The Lord’s face is against evildoers
to wipe out their memory from the earth.
18 The righteous cry out, the Lord hears
and he rescues them from all their afflictions.
19 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,
saves those whose spirit is crushed.
20 Many are the troubles of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.
21 He watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.(C)
22 Evil will slay the wicked;
those who hate the righteous are condemned.
III. Return of the Transjordan Tribes and Joshua’s Farewell
Chapter 22
The Eastern Tribes Dismissed. 1 At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh 2 and said to them:(A) “You have observed all that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you, and have listened to my voice in everything I commanded you. 3 For many years now, even until today, you have not abandoned your allies, but have taken care to observe the commands of the Lord, your God. 4 Now that the Lord, your God, has settled your allies as he promised them, you may return to your tents, to your own land, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you, across the Jordan.(B) 5 But be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you: love the Lord, your God,(C) follow him in all his ways, keep his commandments, hold fast to him, and serve him with your whole heart and your whole self.” 6 Joshua then blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.
7 (For, to half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had assigned land in Bashan;(D) and to the other half Joshua had given a portion along with their allies west of the Jordan.) When Joshua sent them away to their tents and blessed them, 8 he said, “Now that you are returning to your own tents with great wealth, with abundant livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and with a very large supply of clothing, divide these spoils of your enemies with your allies there.”(E) 9 So the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the other Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and returned to the land of Gilead, their own land, which they had received according to the Lord’s command through Moses.(F)
Chapter 5
Vigilance. 1 Concerning times and seasons, brothers, you have no need for anything to be written to you.(A) 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.(B) 3 When people are saying, “Peace and security,” then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief.(C) 5 For all of you are children of the light[a] and children of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. 6 Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober.(D) 7 Those who sleep go to sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation.(E) 9 For God did not destine us for wrath, but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live together with him.[b] 11 Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do.(F)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.