Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 The eyes of Jehovah [are] unto the righteous, And His ears unto their cry.
16 (The face of Jehovah [is] on doers of evil, To cut off from earth their memorial.)
17 They cried, and Jehovah heard, And from all their distresses delivered them.
18 Near [is] Jehovah to the broken of heart, And the bruised of spirit He saveth.
19 Many [are] the evils of the righteous, Out of them all doth Jehovah deliver him.
20 He is keeping all his bones, One of them hath not been broken.
21 Evil doth put to death the wicked, And those hating the righteous are desolate.
22 Jehovah redeemeth the soul of His servants, And none trusting in Him are desolate!
21 And the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the half of the tribe of Manasseh, answer and speak with the heads of the thousands of Israel:
22 `The God of gods -- Jehovah, the God of gods -- Jehovah, He is knowing, and Israel, he doth know, if in rebellion, and if in trespass against Jehovah (Thou dost not save us this day!)
23 [we are] building for ourselves an altar to turn back from after Jehovah, and if to cause to go up on it burnt-offering and present, and if to make on it peace-offerings -- Jehovah Himself doth require [it].
24 `And if not, from fear of [this] thing we have done it, saying, Hereafter your sons do speak to ours sons, saying, What to you and to Jehovah God of Israel?
25 for a border hath Jehovah put between us and you, O sons of Reuben, and sons of Gad -- Jordan; ye have no portion in Jehovah -- and your sons have caused our sons to cease, not to fear Jehovah.
26 `And we say, Pray let us prepare for ourselves to build the altar -- not for burnt-offering nor for sacrifice --
27 but a witness it [is] between us and you, and between our generations after us, to do the service of Jehovah before Him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings, and your sons do not say hereafter to our sons, Ye have no portion in Jehovah.
28 `And we say, And it hath been, when they say [so] unto us, and unto our generations hereafter, that we have said, See the pattern of the altar of Jehovah, which our fathers made -- not for burnt-offering nor for sacrifice -- but a witness it [is] between us and you.
29 `Far be it from us to rebel against Jehovah, and to turn back to-day from after Jehovah, to build an altar for burnt-offering, for present, and for sacrifice, apart from the altar of Jehovah our God, which [is] before His tabernacle.'
30 And Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the company, and the heads of the thousands of Israel, who [are] with him, hear the words which the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh have spoken, and it is good in their eyes.
31 And Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest saith unto the sons of Reuben, and unto the sons of Gad, and unto the sons of Manasseh, `To-day we have known that Jehovah [is] in our midst, because ye have not committed against Jehovah this trespass -- then ye have delivered the sons of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah.'
32 And Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, turn back from the sons of Reuben, and from the sons of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, unto the sons of Israel, and bring them back word;
33 and the thing is good in the eyes of the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel bless God, and have not said to go up against them to war, to destroy the land which the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, are dwelling in.
34 And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad proclaim concerning the altar, that `it [is] a witness between us that Jehovah [is] God.'
5 And he said unto them, `Who of you shall have a friend, and shall go on unto him at midnight, and may say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves,
6 seeing a friend of mine came out of the way unto me, and I have not what I shall set before him,
7 and he from within answering may say, Do not give me trouble, already the door hath been shut, and my children with me are in the bed, I am not able, having risen, to give to thee.
8 `I say to you, even if he will not give to him, having risen, because of his being his friend, yet because of his importunity, having risen, he will give him as many as he doth need;
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 who is asking doth receive; and he who is seeking doth find; and to him who is knocking it shall be opened.
11 `And of which of you -- the father -- if the son shall ask a loaf, a stone will he present to him? and if a fish, will he instead of a fish, a serpent present to him?
12 and if he may ask an egg, will he present to him a scorpion?
13 If, then, ye, being evil, have known good gifts to be giving to your children, how much more shall the Father who is from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those asking Him!'