Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁵ For the eyes of the Lord are intently watching all who live good lives, and he gives attention when they cry to him. ¹⁶ But the Lord has made up his mind to wipe out even the memory of evil men from the earth. ¹⁷ Yes, the Lord hears the good man when he calls to him for help and saves him out of all his troubles.

¹⁸ The Lord is close to those whose hearts are breaking; he rescues those who are humbly sorry for their sins. ¹⁹ The good man does not escape all troubles—he has them too. But the Lord helps him in each and every one. ²⁰ Not one of his bones is broken.

²¹ Calamity will surely overtake the wicked; heavy penalties are meted out to those who hate the good. ²² But as for those who serve the Lord, he will redeem them; everyone who takes refuge in him will be freely pardoned.

22 Joshua now called together the troops from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ^2-3 and addressed them as follows:

“You have done as the Lord’s disciple Moses commanded you, and have obeyed every order I have given you—every order of the Lord your God. You have not deserted your brother tribes, even though the campaign has lasted for such a long time. ⁴ And now the Lord our God has given us success and rest as he promised he would. So go home now to the land given you by the Lord’s servant Moses, on the other side of the Jordan River. ⁵ Be sure to continue to obey all of the commandments Moses gave you. Love the Lord and follow his plan for your lives. Cling to him and serve him enthusiastically.”

⁶ So Joshua blessed them and sent them home. ^7-8 (Moses had assigned the land of Bashan to the half-tribe of Manasseh, although the other half of the tribe was given land on the west side of the Jordan.) As Joshua sent away these troops, he blessed them and told them to share their great wealth with their relatives back home—their loot of cattle, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and clothing.

⁹ So the troops of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the army of Israel at Shiloh in Canaan and crossed the Jordan River to their own homeland of Gilead.

5 When is all this going to happen? I really don’t need to say anything about that, dear brothers, ² for you know perfectly well that no one knows. That day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. ³ When people are saying, “All is well; everything is quiet and peaceful”—then, all of a sudden, disaster will fall upon them as suddenly as a woman’s birth pains begin when her child is born. And these people will not be able to get away anywhere—there will be no place to hide.

⁴ But, dear brothers, you are not in the dark about these things, and you won’t be surprised as by a thief when that day of the Lord comes. ⁵ For you are all children of the light and of the day, and do not belong to darkness and night. ⁶ So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Watch for his return and stay sober. ⁷ Night is the time for sleep and the time when people get drunk. ⁸ But let us who live in the light keep sober, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the happy hope of salvation.

⁹ For God has not chosen to pour out his anger upon us but to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ; ¹⁰ he died for us so that we can live with him forever, whether we are dead or alive at the time of his return. ¹¹ So encourage each other to build each other up, just as you are already doing.