Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁵ For the eyes of the Lord are intently watching all who live good lives, and he gives attention when they cry to him. ¹⁶ But the Lord has made up his mind to wipe out even the memory of evil men from the earth. ¹⁷ Yes, the Lord hears the good man when he calls to him for help and saves him out of all his troubles.

¹⁸ The Lord is close to those whose hearts are breaking; he rescues those who are humbly sorry for their sins. ¹⁹ The good man does not escape all troubles—he has them too. But the Lord helps him in each and every one. ²⁰ Not one of his bones is broken.

²¹ Calamity will surely overtake the wicked; heavy penalties are meted out to those who hate the good. ²² But as for those who serve the Lord, he will redeem them; everyone who takes refuge in him will be freely pardoned.

²¹ This was the reply of the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to these high officials:

^22-23 “We swear by Jehovah, the God of gods, that we have not built the altar in rebellion against the Lord. He knows (and let all Israel know it too) that we have not built the altar to sacrifice burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings—may the curse of God be on us if we did. ^24-25 We have done it because we love the Lord and because we fear that in the future your children will say to ours, ‘What right do you have to worship the Lord God of Israel? The Lord has placed the Jordan River as a barrier between our people and your people! You have no part in the Lord.’ And your children may make our children stop worshiping him. ^26-27 So we decided to build the altar as a symbol to show our children and your children that we, too, may worship the Lord with our burnt offerings and peace offerings and sacrifices, and your children will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no part in the Lord our God.’ ²⁸ If they say this, our children can reply, ‘Look at the altar of the Lord that our fathers made, patterned after the altar of Jehovah. It is not for burnt offerings or sacrifices but is a symbol of the relationship with God that both of us have.’ ²⁹ Far be it from us to turn away from the Lord or to rebel against him by building our own altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices. Only the altar in front of the Tabernacle may be used for that.”

³⁰ When Phinehas the priest and the high officials heard this from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, they were very happy.

³¹ Phinehas replied to them, “Today we know that the Lord is among us because you have not sinned against the Lord as we thought; instead, you have saved us from destruction!”

³² Then Phinehas and the ten ambassadors went back to the people of Israel and told them what had happened, ³³ and all Israel rejoiced and praised God and spoke no more of war against Reuben and Gad. ³⁴ The people of Reuben and Gad named the altar “The Altar of Witness,” for they said, “It is a witness between us and them that Jehovah is our God too.”

^5-6 Then, teaching them more about prayer,^[a] he used this illustration: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You would shout up to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit and I’ve nothing to give him to eat.’ ⁷ He would call down from his bedroom, ‘Please don’t ask me to get up. The door is locked for the night and we are all in bed. I just can’t help you this time.’

⁸ “But I’ll tell you this—though he won’t do it as a friend, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you everything you want—just because of your persistence. ⁹ And so it is with prayer—keep on asking and you will keep on getting; keep on looking and you will keep on finding; knock and the door will be opened. ¹⁰ Everyone who asks, receives; all who seek, find; and the door is opened to everyone who knocks.

¹¹ “You men who are fathers—if your boy asks for bread, do you give him a stone? If he asks for fish, do you give him a snake? ¹² If he asks for an egg, do you give him a scorpion? Of course not!^[b]

¹³ “And if even sinful persons like yourselves give children what they need, don’t you realize that your heavenly Father will do at least as much, and give the Holy Spirit to those who ask for him?”