Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

²¹ Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke to the heads of the thousands of Israel: ²² “God of gods is Adonai! God of gods is Adonai! He knows, and may Israel itself know! If we acted in rebellion or in treachery against Adonai, don’t spare us this day! ²³ If we have built an altar to turn away from following Adonai, or if it was to offer burnt offering or grain offering on it, or to offer sacrifices of fellowship offerings on it, let Adonai Himself require it. ²⁴ But we have done this rather out of anxious concern, for a reason, saying: ‘In the future, your children might say to our children: “What have you to do with Adonai, God of Israel? ²⁵ For Adonai has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you children of Reuben and children of Gad—you have no share in Adonai!” So your children may make our children stop fearing Adonai.

²⁶ “Therefore we said: ‘Let’s now build an altar for ourselves—not for burnt offering or for sacrifice— ²⁷ but as a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, so that we may do the service of Adonai before Him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices and with our fellowship offerings. Then your children may not say to our children in times to come. “You have no share in Adonai!”’ ²⁸ Therefore we said: ‘If they say such to us or to our future generations, then we will say, “See the replica of the altar of Adonai which our fathers made—not for burnt offering or for sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.”’ ²⁹ Far be it from us that we should rebel against Adonai and turn away this day from following Adonai, by building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering or for sacrifice, besides the altar of Adonai our God that stands before His Tabernacle.”

³⁰ So when Phinehas the kohen and the leaders of the congregation—the heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him—heard the words that the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them well. ³¹ So Phinehas son of Eleazar the kohen said to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh, “Today we know that Adonai is in the midst of us, because you have not committed this treachery against Adonai. Now you have delivered Bnei-Yisrael from the hand of Adonai.”

³² Then Phinehas son of Eleazar the kohen and the leaders returned from the children of Reuben and from the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to Bnei-Yisrael, and brought back a report to them. ³³ The report pleased Bnei-Yisrael, and Bnei-Yisrael blessed God, and they did not speak of going up against them in war, to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad were living. ³⁴ So the children of Reuben and the children of Gad named the altar, “for it is a witness between us that Adonai is God.”

⁵ Then Yeshua said to them, “Which of you has a friend and will go to him in the middle of the night and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, ⁶ because a friend of mine has come to me on his journey and I have nothing to set before him.’ ⁷ Then from within he may answer, saying, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even if the friend will not get up and give him anything out of friendship, yet because of the man’s persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

⁹ “So I say to you, ‘Ask, and it shall be given to you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.’ ¹¹ What father, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹² And if he asks for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Ruach ha-Kodesh^[a] to those who ask Him!”