Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 I said, “Must I leave in the prime of my life?
Must I be consigned to the control[a] of Sheol?[b]
Bitter are[c] my years!”
11 I said, “I won’t see the Lord[d] in the land of the living;
and[e] I’ll no longer observe human beings
among the denizens of the grave.[f]
12 My house has been plucked up and vanishes[g] from me
like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver, I’ve taken account of[h] my life,
and he cuts me off from the loom—
day and night you make an end of me.
13 I’ve been swept bare[i] until morning;
just like a lion, he breaks all my bones—
day and night you make an end of me.
14 Like a swallow or a crane I chirp,
I moan like a dove.
My eyes look weakly upward.
O Lord,[j] I am oppressed, so[k] stand up for me!
15 What can I say, so I tell myself,[l]
since he has done this to me?[m]
I will walk slowly all my years
because of my soul’s anguish.
16 “My Lord is against them, yet they live,
and among all of them who live is his spirit.[n]
Now you have restored me to health,
so let me live!
17 Yes, it was for my own good
that I suffered extreme anguish.[o]
But in love you have held back[p] my life
from the Pit[q] in which it has been confined;[r]
you have tossed all my sins
behind your back.
18 For Sheol[s] cannot thank you,
death cannot[t] sing your praise;
and[u] those who go down to the Pit[v] cannot hope
for your faithfulness.
19 The living—yes the living—they thank you,
just as I am doing today;
fathers will tell their children
about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,[w]
and we will play my music on strings
all the days of our lives
in the Lord’s Temple.[x]
The Destruction of Ai
8 The Lord then told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid or lose heart! Take all the fighting men with you, and go up right now to Ai. Take note that I have handed over the king of Ai into your control, along with his people, his city, and his land. 2 Do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, but take its spoil and its livestock as war booty for yourselves. Set an ambush around the city.”
3 So Joshua and all of the fighting men prepared to go out against Ai. Joshua selected 30,000 valiant warriors and sent them out by night, 4 telling them, “Pay attention now! You are to set up an ambush around the city. Don’t go very far from the city, and all of you remain on alert. 5 I and all of the army with me will advance upon the city. When they come out after us like they did before, we’ll run away from them. 6 They’ll come after us until we’ve drawn them away from the city, because they’ll say, ‘They’re running away from us just like they did before.’ While we’re running away from them, 7 you get up from the ambush and seize the city, because the Lord your God will give it into your control. 8 When you’ve taken the city, set it on fire, just as the Lord ordered. Look! These are your orders!”[a] 9 So Joshua sent them out, and they set up an ambush between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai.
Joshua spent that night in the camp[b] among the army. 10 In the morning, Joshua got up early, mustered his army, and set off for Ai, accompanied by the elders of Israel in full view of the army. 11 The entire fighting force with him attacked, approaching the city, and camped on the north side of Ai, with a ravine between them and Ai. 12 Taking about 5,000 men, he set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai to the west of the city, 13 stationing their forces with its main encampment north of the city and its rear guard to the west. Joshua spent that night in the valley.
14 When the king of Ai saw what had happened,[c] he and his army quickly got up early and went out to meet Israel in battle. He and all his people met at the place adjacent to the desert plain. But he didn’t know about the ambush that had been set for him on the other side of the city. 15 Because Joshua and the entire fighting force of[d] Israel pretended to lose the battle by running away in front of them toward the wilderness, 16 everyone in the city followed after them. As they pursued Joshua, they were drawn away from the town. 17 There wasn’t a single man left in Ai or Bethel who didn’t run out after Israel. They left the city open and pursued Israel.
18 Then the Lord told Joshua, “Stretch out the battle lance[e] that’s in your hand toward Ai, because I will give it into your control.” So Joshua stretched out the battle lance[f] that was in his hand toward the city. 19 As soon as he stretched out his hand, the troops in ambush quickly got up from their place of hiding[g] and attacked. They entered the city, seized it, and immediately set it[h] on fire.
20 Then the men of Ai looked back behind them—and all of a sudden!—smoke from the city was rising into the sky. They were unable to run in any direction, because the Israelis[i] who had fled toward the wilderness had turned around to attack their pursuers. 21 When Joshua and the entire fighting force of[j] Israel observed that the men who had been in ambush had seized the city and that the smoke from the city was rising, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 22 Then the others came out from the city against them, so the men of Ai[k] were surrounded by the Israelis, some on one side and some on the other. Israel attacked them until no one was left to survive or escape. 23 But the king of Ai was taken alive and brought to Joshua.
The Father Disciplines Us
3 Think about the one who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you may not become tired and give up. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your[a] blood. 5 You have forgotten the encouragement that is addressed to you as sons:
“My son, do not think lightly of the Lord’s[b] discipline
or give up when you are corrected by him.
6 For the Lord[c] disciplines the one he loves,
and he punishes[d] every son he accepts.”[e]
7 What you endure disciplines you: God is treating you as sons. Is there a son whom his father does not discipline? 8 Now if you are without any discipline, in which all sons share, then you are illegitimate and not God’s[f] sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them for it. We should submit even more to the Father of our spirits and live, shouldn’t we? 10 For a short time they disciplined us as they thought best, but God[g] does it for our good, so that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, for those who have been trained by it, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.
Live as God’s People
12 Therefore, strengthen your tired arms and your weak knees, 13 and straighten the paths of your life,[h] so that your lameness may not become worse, but instead may be healed.
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