Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 For the Eternal watches over the righteous,
and His ears are attuned to their prayers. He is always listening.
16 But He will punish evildoers,
and nothing they do will last. They will soon be forgotten.
17 When the upright need help and cry to the Eternal, He hears their cries
and rescues them from all of their troubles.
18 When someone is hurting or brokenhearted, the Eternal moves in close
and revives him in his pain.
19 Hard times may well be the plight of the righteous—
they may often seem overwhelmed—
but the Eternal rescues the righteous from what oppresses them.
20 He will protect all of their bones;
not even one bone will be broken.
21 Evil moves in and ultimately murders the wicked;
the enemies of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Eternal will liberate His servants;
those who seek refuge in Him will never be condemned.
10 When the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh came to the western bank of the Jordan, although still in the land of Canaan, they built an immense altar there by the river. 11 When the other people of Israel heard that the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built a huge altar on the frontier of Canaan on the side of the Jordan given to them, they feared the altar was going to be used to worship the gods of the land of Canaan. 12 So the Israelites all gathered at Shiloh and talked of going to war against the tribes across the Jordan. 13-14 But first they appointed the priest Phinehas, son of Eleazar, to travel with 10 chiefs, one from each Israelite tribe and each clan who were settled in the land of Canaan, to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead.
15 When they came to the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, Phinehas and the chiefs delivered the message.
Phinehas: 16 We bring a message from all the Eternal’s people in Canaan. How dare you! How can you commit this treachery against the True God of Israel by turning away from Him and building this altar to be used against Him? 17 Didn’t we learn our lessons about the sin of sacrificing to false gods in Peor? We have not yet cleansed ourselves of the stain or gotten over the plague that the Eternal sent among us because of it; 18 and now, already, you’re turning away from Him? Listen to me: If you rebel against Him today, He will punish the whole assembly of Israel tomorrow!
19 If the problem is that there is no holy site in your country, then come over to us in the country where the Eternal’s congregation tent is standing. Take an inheritance among us. Only don’t rebel against Him or rebel against us by building an altar that isn’t going to be used to sacrifice to the Eternal One, our True God. 20 Don’t you remember what happened when Achan, the son of Zerah, was unfaithful by keeping some of the spoil at Jericho and trying to deceive God and Joshua? His wrath fell upon the whole people, and he was not the only one who perished because of his sin!
Believers are not to have any obligation of any kind. Borrowed money and granted favors always come with strings attached. How many lives and families have been ruined by debts and deals made in haste! There is only one obligation Paul allows, and that is love. When we share God’s care and compassion with others, we fulfill His law whether we realize it or not. Fundamentally, God’s law has always been about love.
11 And now consider this. You know well the times you are living in. It is time for you to wake up and see what is right before your eyes: for salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The darkness of night is dissolving as dawn’s light draws near, so walk out on your old dark life and put on the armor of light. 13 May we all act as good and respectable people, living today the same way as we will in the day of His coming. Do not fall into patterns of dark living: wild partying, drunkenness, sexual depravity, decadent gratification, quarreling, and jealousy. 14 Instead, wrap yourselves in the Lord Jesus, God’s Anointed, and do not fuel your sinful imagination by indulging your self-seeking desire for the pleasures of the flesh.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.