Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 65
God’s Care for the Earth
For the choir director. A psalm of David. A song.
1 Praise is rightfully yours,[a]
God, in Zion;
vows to you will be fulfilled.(A)
2 All humanity will come to you,
the one who hears prayer.(B)
3 Iniquities overwhelm me;
only you can atone for our rebellions.(C)
4 How happy is the one you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,(D)
the holiness of your temple.[b](E)
5 You answer us in righteousness,
with awe-inspiring works,
God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the distant seas.(F)
6 You establish the mountains by your power;
you are robed with strength.(G)
7 You silence the roar of the seas,
the roar of their waves,
and the tumult of the nations.(H)
8 Those who live far away are awed by your signs;
you make east and west shout for joy.(I)
9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly,
enriching it greatly.
God’s stream is filled with water,
for you prepare the earth in this way,
providing people with grain.(J)
10 You soften it with showers and bless its growth,
soaking its furrows and leveling its ridges.(K)
11 You crown the year with your goodness;
your carts overflow with plenty.[c](L)
12 The wilderness pastures overflow,
and the hills are robed with joy.(M)
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks
and the valleys covered with grain.(N)
They shout in triumph; indeed, they sing.(O)
The Day the Sun Stood Still
10 Now King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and completely destroyed(A) it, treating Ai and its king as he had Jericho and its king, and that the inhabitants of Gibeon(B) had made peace with Israel and were living among them.(C) 2 So Adoni-zedek and his people were[a] greatly alarmed because Gibeon was a large city like one of the royal cities;(D) it was larger than Ai, and all its men were warriors. 3 Therefore King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem sent word to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon, saying, 4 “Come up and help me. We will attack Gibeon, because they have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” 5 So the five Amorite kings—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces, advanced with all their armies, besieged Gibeon, and fought against it.
6 Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Don’t give up on your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, for all the Amorite kings living in the hill country have joined forces against us.” 7 So Joshua and all his troops, including all his best soldiers, came from Gilgal.(E)
8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them,(F) for I have handed them over to you.(G) Not one of them will be able to stand against you.”(H)
9 So Joshua caught them by surprise, after marching all night from Gilgal. 10 The Lord threw them into confusion(I) before Israel. He defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them through the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 As they fled before Israel, the Lord threw large hailstones on them(J) from the sky along the descent of Beth-horon all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died from the hail than the Israelites killed with the sword.
12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun,(K) stand still over Gibeon,
and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
13 And the sun stood still
and the moon stopped
until the nation took vengeance on its enemies.
Isn’t this written in the Book of Jashar?[b]
So the sun stopped
in the middle of the sky
and delayed its setting
almost a full day.
14 There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord listened to a man, because the Lord fought for Israel.(L)
Walking on the Water
45 Immediately(A) he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, to Bethsaida,(B) while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After he said good-bye to them, he went away to the mountain(C) to pray.(D) 47 Well into the night, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 He saw them straining(E) at the oars,[a] because the wind was against them. Very early in the morning[b] he came toward them walking on the sea and wanted to pass by them. 49 When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost(F) and cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.(G) Immediately he spoke with them and said, “Have courage!(H) It is I.(I) Don’t be afraid.”(J) 51 Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were completely astounded, 52 because they had not understood about the loaves. Instead, their hearts were hardened.(K)
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