Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 Hezekiah: I thought for sure in the prime of my life
that I’d been brought to the gates of death,
that I’d miss out on the rest of my years.
11 I thought: That’s it. I will never again see the Eternal in the land of the living.
I will never again enjoy the company of those alive in this world.
12 My time on earth is folded up and packed away like a shepherd’s tent.
It’s as if a weaver has snipped me off from the loom and rolled me up.
From day to night You bring my life to an end.
13 I stay calm until morning arrives,
then like a lion He breaks all my bones.
From day to night You bring my life to an end.
14 Oh, how I argue and mourn for my passing life!
Like a swallow or a crane I twitter;
like a lonesome dove I moan.
My eyes become bleary from looking up to the heavens for help.
I cry, “O Lord, way up high, I am oppressed; come and help me!”
15 But what can I say? God has spoken to me.
Things are as He made them.
So I am determined to go slowly, make the most of my years,
even though I am bitter to the core.
16 But I so wanted to live! So I prayed, “Lord, by these things, people live
and my spirit is grounded in the same.
So heal me, let me live!”
17 Paradoxically, my bitter experience was pushing me toward wholeness.
For You, God, have put behind all my shortcomings and wrongdoings.
You have rescued me from death.
You pulled me from a black hole of nothingness and held me close to You.
18 And so I join the living in giving thanks to You.
After all, thankful voices never rise from the land of the dead.
After all, the songs of praise never soar from death’s dark realm.
Those who go down into the pit—that great black nothingness—
Hezekiah becomes confident that God will restore his health and bring him back from the edge of death. Ironically, many years earlier his father Ahaz refused to ask for a sign even though God insisted that he do so. The son, it seems, has learned a valuable lesson; so he asks for a sign because he wants to know when he will be well enough to return to God’s house and offer thanks to Him among the rest of his citizens. Unfortunately, with some people, it is only in the bitterness of disease and in death’s dark shadow that a person learns to embrace life and live it to the fullest. Hezekiah’s near-death experience embitters his soul, but it also moves him toward wholeness. What Hezekiah does not know is that the Babylonians have their eyes set on dominating the rest of the world. For years, the Assyrians and Babylonians have coexisted, but the Babylonians are not content to remain a regional power. As they build their empire—annexing lands, conquering peoples, gaining strength—they begin to take an interest in little Judah. Hezekiah doesn’t account for how his actions might affect his nation. He simply isn’t that shrewd.
They can’t even begin to hope for Your faithfulness.
19 But ah, the living! And I am among them today,
giving praise and thanks to You for life,
The old telling the young about the loyalty of Your love.
20 The Eternal will rescue me,
and we will break out the stringed instruments.
We will sing and make music for the rest of our lives,
right here in the house of the Eternal.
8 Eternal One (to Joshua): Don’t be afraid or discouraged. Take all of your fighters up to Ai. Watch; I will hand over the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land to you. 2 You will do to Ai exactly as you did to Jericho and its king, except you may keep only the cattle and spoil for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.
3 So Joshua and all his fighting force got ready to depart for Ai, and he chose 30,000 of them and sent them out by night 4 with instructions.
Joshua: I want you all to lie in wait behind the city in ambush. Stay close, and stay alert. 5 I will bring the others up to the front of the city; and when they come out to fight us, we will run from them. 6 Their forces will all come out of the city to chase us because they will think everything is happening the way it did the first time. But when we have lured them all out and away from the city, 7 I want you to move in and take it, for the Eternal One, your God will give it to us. 8 When you have taken the city, burn it. This is the word of the Eternal and my command.
9 The ambush force made its way into the hills and took a position between Bethel and Ai, while Joshua and the remaining fighters spent the night in the camp. 10 In the morning, Joshua rose early and roused the people, and he and the elders went on to Ai in front of the people. 11 All the fighting men with him went up and moved in close to the city and set up camp in front and north of Ai, with a ravine between the camp and Ai. 12 The other force, numbering about 5,000, remained hidden west of the city between Bethel and Ai. 13 With his forces situated with men to the north and west of the city, Joshua camped in the valley that night.
14 When the king of Ai arose the next morning and saw the Israelites lined up against him, he gathered his forces on the plain to bring the battle to Israel, not knowing that an ambush squad was hidden behind the city. 15 When the battle was joined, Joshua and the Israelites pretended they were defeated and once again were fleeing toward the wilderness. 16 All of the men of Ai came out to pursue them and were drawn farther and farther away from the city. 17 At last, not one man was left in Ai or Bethel, since all had gone out to pursue Israel, leaving the city open and defenseless.
Eternal One (to Joshua): 18 Raise your javelin toward Ai, for now I will give it into your hands.
Joshua raised his javelin toward the city; 19 and as he did so, the forces he had hidden in ambush rushed into the city, seizing it and setting it on fire.
20-21 The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke rising from their city into the sky; and when Joshua saw that his ambush had been successful, he turned the fleeing Israelites around to crush the disheartened men of Ai. There was nowhere for the men of the city to retreat. Before them, the Israelites turned to attack; 22 behind them, the ambush force came out against them from the burning city. So they were surrounded on all sides by their attackers, who killed all of them, 23 except for Ai’s king, who was captured alive and carried to Joshua.
3 Consider the life of the One who endured such personal attacks and hostility from sinners so that you will not grow weary or lose heart. 4 Among you, in your striving against sin, none has resisted the pressure to the point of death, as He did.
God “disciplines” His “disciples.” God is training us not just to live here and now, but to have life in the age to come, to share His life and holiness.
5 Indeed, you seem to have forgotten the proverb directed to you as children:
My child, do not ignore the instruction that comes from the Lord,
or lose heart when He steps in to correct you;
6 For the Lord disciplines those He loves,
and He corrects each one He takes as His own.[a]
7 Endure hardship as God’s discipline and rejoice that He is treating you as His children, for what child doesn’t experience discipline from a parent? 8 But if you are not experiencing the correction that all true children receive, then it may be that you are not His children after all. 9 Remember, when our human parents disciplined us, we respected them. If that was true, shouldn’t we respect and live under the correction of the Father of all spirits even more? 10 Our parents corrected us for a time as seemed good to them, but God only corrects us to our good so that we may share in His holiness.
11 When punishment is happening, it never seems pleasant, only painful. Later, though, it yields the peaceful fruit called righteousness to everyone who has been trained by it. 12 So lift up your hands that are dangling and brace your weakened knees. 13 Make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame in you won’t be put out of joint, but will heal.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.