Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Praise to God for His Everlasting Mercy

Israel Crosses the Jordan

3 Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out ^(A)from ^[a]Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. ² So it was, ^(B)after three days, that the officers went through the camp; ³ and they commanded the people, saying, ^(C)“When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, ^(D)and the priests, the Levites, ^[b]bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. ^4 (E)Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”

⁵ And Joshua said to the people, ^(F)“Sanctify^[c] yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” ⁶ Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, ^(G)“Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.”

So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.

⁷ And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to ^(H)exalt^[d] you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, ^(I)as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. ⁸ You shall command ^(J)the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, ^(K)you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”

⁹ So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” ¹⁰ And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that ^(L)the living God is among you, and that He will without fail ^(M)drive out from before you the ^(N)Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: ¹¹ Behold, the ark of the covenant of ^(O)the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. ¹² Now therefore, ^(P)take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. ¹³ And it shall come to pass, ^(Q)as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, ^(R)the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they ^(S)shall stand as a heap.”

¹⁴ So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ^(T)ark of the covenant before the people, ¹⁵ and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and ^(U)the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the ^(V)Jordan overflows all its banks ^(W)during the whole time of harvest), ¹⁶ that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away ^[e]at Adam, the city that is beside ^(X)Zaretan. So the waters that went down ^(Y)into the Sea of the Arabah, ^(Z)the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; ^(AA)and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.

He Is Risen^(A)

28 Now ^(B)after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene ^(C)and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake; for ^(D)an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone ^[a]from the door, and sat on it. ^3 (E)His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like ^(F)dead men.

⁵ But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, ^(G)as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. ⁷ And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed ^(H)He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

⁸ So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

The Women Worship the Risen Lord

⁹ And ^[b]as they went to tell His disciples, behold, ^(I)Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell ^(J)My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”