Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the Director: A Davidic instruction[a] about Doeg, the Edomite, when he went to Saul and told him, “David went to the house of Abimelech.”
A Rebuke to the Deceitful
52 Why do you make evil
the foundation of your boasting, mighty one?[b]
God’s gracious love never ceases.[c]
2 Your tongue, like a sharp razor, devises wicked things
and crafts treachery.
3 You love evil rather than good,
falsehood rather than speaking uprightly.
4 You love all words that destroy, you deceitful tongue!
5 But God will tear you down forever;
he will take you away,
even snatching you out of your tent!
He will uproot you from the land of the living.
6 The righteous will fear when they see this,
but then they will laugh at him, saying,
7 “Look, here is a young man who refused to make God his strength;
instead, he trusted in his great wealth
and made his wickedness his strength.
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the gracious love of God forever and ever.
9 Therefore I will praise you forever
because of what you did;
I will proclaim that your name is good
in the midst of your faithful ones.
Joshua’s Final Exhortation
24 Then Joshua assembled together all of the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He called for the leaders, officials, judges, and tribal officers of Israel. They assembled in formation before God, 2 and Joshua told all of the people, “This is what the Lord God of Israel has to say:
‘Long ago your ancestors lived beyond the Euphrates[a] River, including Terah, father of both Abraham and Nahor, where they served other gods.
11 ‘Next, you crossed the Jordan River and arrived at Jericho. But the citizens of Jericho fought you, as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and the Jebusites, so I gave them into your control.
12 ‘Then I sent hornets ahead of you to drive out two kings of the Amorites before you without your using either sword or bow. 13 I gave you a land for which you never worked and cities that you didn’t build, but that you have lived in. You’re eating from vineyards and olive groves that you didn’t plant.’
14 “Now you must fear the Lord and serve him in faithfulness and truth. Throw away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates[a] River and in Egypt. Instead, serve the Lord. 15 If you think it’s the wrong thing for you to serve the Lord, then choose for yourselves today whom you will serve—the gods whom your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates[b] River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose territories you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
The Response of the People
16 In response, the people said, “Far be it from us that we should abandon the Lord to serve other gods, 17 since the Lord our God is the one who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, from a life of slavery. He did those great things right in front of us, preserving us along the way that we traveled and among all the peoples through whose territory we passed. 18 The Lord expelled all the people before us, including the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore, we also will serve the Lord, since he is our God.”
19 So Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord, because he is a God of Holiness. He is a jealous God, and he will forgive neither your transgressions nor your sins. 20 If you abandon the Lord and serve foreign deities, then he will turn and do you harm, consuming you after all[c] the good he has done for you.”
21 “No,” the people replied to Joshua. “We will serve the Lord.”
22 Joshua responded, “You are giving testimony against yourselves, that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”
They replied, “We are witnesses!”
23 Joshua said,[d] “Therefore abandon the foreign gods that are among you, and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 The people replied,[e] “We will serve the Lord our God and obey his voice.”
25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, making statutes and ordinances in Shechem. 26 He[f] wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God, took a large stone, moved it under the shade of[g] the oak tree that was near the sanctuary of the Lord, 27 and then[h] told all of the people, “Look! This stone will testify for us, because it has heard everything that the Lord has spoken to us. So it will stand as a witness against you in the event that you deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, and each man returned[i] to his territorial inheritance.
9 What, then, does this mean?[a] Are we Jews[b] any better off? Not at all! For we have already accused everyone, both Jews and Greeks, of being under the power of[c] sin. 10 As it is written,
“Not even one person is righteous.
11 No one understands.
No one searches for God.
12 All have turned away.
They have become completely worthless.
No one shows kindness, not even one person![d]
13 Their throats are open graves.
With their tongues they deceive.[e]
The venom of poisonous snakes is under their lips.[f]
14 Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.[g]
15 They run swiftly[h] to shed blood.
16 Ruin and misery characterize their lives.
17 They have not learned the path to peace.[i]
18 They don’t fear God.[j]
19 Now we know that whatever the Law says applies to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore, God[k] will not justify any human being by means of the actions prescribed by the Law, for through the Law comes the full knowledge of sin.
God Gives Us Righteousness through Faith
21 But now, apart from the Law, God’s righteousness is revealed and is attested by the Law and the Prophets— 22 God’s righteousness through the faithfulness of Jesus[l] the Messiah[m]— for all who believe. For there is no distinction among people,[n]
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