Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 52[a]
For the music director, a well-written song[b] by David. It was written when Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: “David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech.”[c]
52 Why do you boast about your evil plans,[d] O powerful man?
God’s loyal love protects me all day long.[e]
2 Your tongue carries out your destructive plans;[f]
it is as effective as a sharp razor, O deceiver.[g]
3 You love evil more than good,
lies more than speaking the truth.[h] (Selah)
4 You love to use all the words that destroy,[i]
and the tongue that deceives.
5 Yet[j] God will make you a permanent heap of ruins.[k]
He will scoop you up[l] and remove you from your home;[m]
he will uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)
6 When the godly see this, they will be filled with awe,
and will mock the evildoer, saying:[n]
7 “Look, here is the man who would not make[o] God his protector.
He trusted in his great wealth
and was confident about his plans to destroy others.”[p]
8 But I[q] am like a flourishing[r] olive tree in the house of God;
I continually[s] trust in God’s loyal love.
9 I will continually[t] thank you when[u] you execute judgment;[v]
I will rely on[w] you,[x] for your loyal followers know you are good.[y]
Israel Renews its Commitment to the Lord
24 Joshua assembled all the Israelite tribes at Shechem. He summoned Israel’s elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and they appeared before God. 2 Joshua told all the people, “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘In the distant past your ancestors lived beyond the Euphrates River,[a] including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped[b] other gods,
11 You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The leaders[a] of Jericho, as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, fought with you, but I handed them over to you. 12 I sent terror[b] ahead of you to drive out before you the two[c] Amorite kings. I gave you the victory; it was not by your swords or bows.[d] 13 I gave you a land in[e] which you had not worked hard; you took up residence in cities you did not build, and you are eating the produce of[f] vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’
14 “Now[g] obey[h] the Lord and worship[i] him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors[j] worshiped[k] beyond the Euphrates[l] and in Egypt, and worship[m] the Lord. 15 If you have no desire[n] to worship[o] the Lord, then choose today whom you will worship,[p] whether it be the gods whom your ancestors[q] worshiped[r] beyond the Euphrates,[s] or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family[t] will worship[u] the Lord.”
16 The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can[v] worship[w] other gods! 17 For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slavery[x] in the land of Egypt[y] and performed these awesome miracles[z] before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations.[aa] 18 The Lord drove out from before us all the nations, including the Amorites who lived in the land. So we too will worship[ab] the Lord, for he is our God!”
19 Joshua warned[ac] the people, “You will not keep worshiping[ad] the Lord, for[ae] he is a holy God.[af] He is a jealous God who will not forgive[ag] your rebellion or your sins. 20 If[ah] you abandon the Lord and worship[ai] foreign gods, he will turn against you;[aj] he will bring disaster on you and destroy you,[ak] though he once treated you well.”[al]
21 The people said to Joshua, “No! We really will[am] worship[an] the Lord.” 22 Joshua said to the people, “Do you agree to be witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to worship the Lord?”[ao] They replied, “We are witnesses!”[ap] 23 Joshua said,[aq] “Now put aside the foreign gods that are among you and submit to[ar] the Lord God of Israel.”
24 The people said to Joshua, “We will worship[as] the Lord our God and obey him.”[at]
25 That day Joshua drew up an agreement[au] for the people, and he established rules and regulations[av] for them in Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these words in the Law Scroll of God. He then took a large stone and set it up there under the oak tree near the Lord’s sanctuary. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against us, for it has heard everything the Lord said to us.[aw] It will be a witness against you if[ax] you deny your God.” 28 When Joshua dismissed the people, they went to their allotted portions of land.[ay]
The Condemnation of the World
9 What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin, 10 just as it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one,
11 there is no one who understands,
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
together they have become worthless;
there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.”[a]
13 “Their throats are open graves,[b]
they deceive with their tongues,
the poison of asps is under their lips.”[c]
14 “Their mouths are[d] full of cursing and bitterness.”[e]
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 ruin and misery are in their paths,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”[f]
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”[g]
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under[h] the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For no one is declared righteous before him[i] by the works of the law,[j] for through the law comes[k] the knowledge of sin. 21 But now[l] apart from the law the righteousness of God (although it is attested by the law and the prophets)[m] has been disclosed— 22 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ[n] for all who believe. For there is no distinction,
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.