Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁵ The eyes of Jehovah are upon the righteous, and his ears are toward their cry;

¹⁶ The face of Jehovah is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth:

¹⁷ [The righteous] cry, and Jehovah heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸ Jehovah is nigh to those that are of a broken heart, and saveth them that are of a contrite spirit.

¹⁹ Many are the adversities of the righteous, but Jehovah delivereth him out of them all:

²⁰ He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken.

²¹ Evil shall destroy the wicked; and they that hate the righteous shall bear their guilt.

²² Jehovah redeemeth the soul of his servants; and none of them that trust in him shall bear guilt.

²¹ And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the thousands of Israel,

²² The God of gods, Jehovah, the God of gods, Jehovah, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know [it]; if it is in rebellion, or if in trespass against Jehovah,—save us not this day!

²³ —that we have built for ourselves an altar to turn from following Jehovah, and if it is to offer up burnt-offering and oblation on it, and if to offer peace-offerings thereon, let Jehovah himself require it [from us];

²⁴ and if we have not done it from fear of this thing, saying, In future your children will speak to our children, saying, What have ye to do with Jehovah the God of Israel?

²⁵ Jehovah hath made the Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad, ye have no portion in Jehovah! And so shall your children make our children cease from fearing Jehovah.

²⁶ And we said, Let us now set to work to build an altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice,

²⁷ but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we might do service to Jehovah before him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings; that your children may not say to our children in future, Ye have no portion in Jehovah.

²⁸ And we said, If it shall be that in future they so say to us and to our generations, we will say, Behold the pattern of the altar of Jehovah which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.

²⁹ Far be it from us that we should rebel against Jehovah, and turn this day from following Jehovah, in building an altar for burnt-offering, for oblation, and for sacrifice, besides the altar of Jehovah our God that is before his tabernacle.

³⁰ And when Phinehas the priest and the princes of the assembly and the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it was good in their sight.

³¹ And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that Jehovah is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against Jehovah: now have ye delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah.

³² And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.

³³ And the thing was good in the sight of the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God, and no more said that they would go up in warfare against them, to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad dwelt.

³⁴ And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad gave a name to the altar; for it is a witness between us that Jehovah is God.

⁵ And he said to them, Who among you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, let me have three loaves,

⁶ since a friend of mine on a journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him;

⁷ and he within answering should say, Do not disturb me; the door is already shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise up to give [it] thee?

⁸ —I say to you, Although he will not get up and give [them] to him because he is his friend, because of his shamelessness, at any rate, he will rise and give him as many as he wants.

⁹ And *I* say to you, Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.

¹⁰ For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it will be opened.

¹¹ But of whom of you that is a father shall a son ask bread, and [the father] shall give him a stone? or also a fish, and instead of a fish shall give him a serpent?

¹² or if also he shall ask an egg, shall give him a scorpion?

¹³ If therefore *ye*, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much rather shall the Father who is of heaven give [the] Holy Spirit to them that ask him?