Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 I said: In the prime[a] of my life[b](A)
I must go to the gates of Sheol;(B)
I am deprived of the rest of my years.
11 I said: I will never see the Lord,
the Lord in the land of the living;(C)
I will not look on humanity any longer
with the inhabitants of what is passing away.[c]
12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me
like a shepherd’s tent.(D)
I have rolled up my life like a weaver;(E)
He cuts me off from the loom.[d](F)
You make an end of me from day until night.(G)
13 I thought until the morning:
He will break all my bones like a lion;
You make an end of me day and night.
14 I chirp like a swallow or a crane;
I moan like a dove.(H)
My eyes grow weak looking upward.
Lord, I am oppressed; support me.(I)
15 What can I say?
He has spoken to me,
and He Himself has done it.
I walk along slowly all my years(J)
because of the bitterness of my soul,(K)
16 Lord, because of these promises people live,(L)
and in all of them is the life of my spirit as well;
You have restored me to health(M)
and let me live.(N)
17 Indeed, it was for my own welfare
that I had such great bitterness;(O)
but Your love has delivered me
from the Pit of destruction,(P)
for You have thrown all my sins behind Your back.(Q)
18 For Sheol cannot thank You;
Death cannot praise You.(R)
Those who go down to the Pit
cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
19 The living, only the living can thank You,
as I do today;
a father will make Your faithfulness known to children.(S)
20 The Lord will[e] save me;
we will play stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
at the house of the Lord.(T)
The Conquest of Jericho
6 Now Jericho was strongly fortified because of the Israelites—no one leaving or entering. 2 The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its fighting men over to you.(A) 3 March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry seven ram’s-horn trumpets in front of the ark. But on the seventh day, march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the trumpets.(B) 5 When there is a prolonged blast of the horn and you hear its sound, have all the people give a mighty shout. Then the city wall will collapse, and the people will advance, each man straight ahead.”
6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant and have seven priests carry seven trumpets in front of the ark of the Lord.” 7 He said to the people, “Move forward, march around the city, and have the armed troops go ahead of the ark of the Lord.”
8 After Joshua had spoken to the people, seven priests carrying seven trumpets before the Lord moved forward and blew the trumpets; the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. 9 While the trumpets were blowing, the armed troops went in front of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard went behind the ark.(C) 10 But Joshua had commanded the people: “Do not shout or let your voice be heard. Don’t let one word come out of your mouth until the time I say, ‘Shout!’ Then you are to shout.” 11 So the ark of the Lord was carried around the city, circling it once. They returned to the camp and spent the night there.[a]
12 Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests took the ark of the Lord, 13 and the seven priests carrying seven trumpets marched in front of the ark of the Lord. While the trumpets were blowing, the armed troops went in front of them, and the rear guard went behind the ark of the Lord. 14 On the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. They did this for six days.
15 Early on the seventh day, they started at dawn and marched around the city seven times in the same way. That was the only day they marched around the city seven times. 16 After the seventh time, the priests blew the trumpets, and Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. 17 But the city and everything in it are set apart to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and everyone with her in the house will live,(D) because she hid the men[b] we sent. 18 But keep yourselves from the things set apart, or you will be set apart for destruction. If you[c] take any of those things, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster on it. 19 For all the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, are dedicated to the Lord and must go into the Lord’s treasury.”
20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets sounded. When they heard the blast of the trumpet, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed.(E) The people advanced into the city, each man straight ahead, and they captured the city. 21 They completely destroyed(F) everything in the city with the sword—every man and woman, both young and old, and every ox, sheep, and donkey.
29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned.(A)
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being encircled by the Israelites for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute received the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed.(B)
32 And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah,(C) David, Samuel, and the prophets,(D) 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms,(E) administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,(F) 34 quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.(G) 35 Women received their dead—they were raised to life again. Some men were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection, 36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment.(H) 37 They were stoned,[a](I) they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins,(J) destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. 38 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
39 All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.(K)
The Call to Endurance
12 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses(L) surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance(M) the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus,[b] the source and perfecter[c] of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him[d] endured a cross and despised the shame(N) and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.