Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 I thought, I must depart in the prime of my life;
I have been relegated to the gates of the underworld[a] for the rest of my life.
11 I thought, I won’t see the Lord.
The Lord is in the land of the living.
I won’t look upon humans again
or be with the inhabitants of the world.
12 My lifetime is plucked up
and taken from me like a shepherd’s tent.
My life is shriveled like woven cloth;
God cuts me off from the loom.
Between daybreak and nightfall
you carry out your verdict against me.
13 I cried out[b] until morning:
“Like a lion God crushes all my bones.
Between daybreak and nightfall
you carry out your verdict against me.
14 Like a swallow[c] I chirp;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes have grown weary looking to heaven.
Lord, I’m overwhelmed; support me!”
15 What can I say?
God has spoken to me;
he himself has acted.
I will wander[d] my whole life
with a bitter spirit.
16 The Lord Most High is the one who gives life to every heart,
who gives life to the spirit![e]
17 Look, he indeed exchanged my bitterness for wholeness.[f]
You yourself have spared[g] my whole being
from the pit of destruction,
because you have cast all my sins
behind your back.
18 The underworld[h] can’t thank you,
nor can death[i] praise you;
those who go down to the pit
can’t hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living can thank you, as I do today.
Parents will tell children about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord has truly saved me,
and we will make music[j] at the Lord’s house all the days of our lives.
Plan to capture Ai
8 The Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid or terrified. Take the entire army with you. Start to go up to Ai. Look! I have given the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land into your power. 2 Do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king. But you may take its booty and cattle as plunder. Set your ambush behind the city.”
3 So Joshua and the whole army got ready to go up to Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand brave soldiers. He sent them out by night. 4 He commanded them, “Look. You are to ambush the city from behind. Don’t move too far away from the city. Be ready, all of you. 5 I will approach the city with all the people. When they come out against us the same way as before, we will flee from them. 6 They will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city. They will think, They are fleeing from us as before. So we will flee from them. 7 But you will rise up from the ambush and take over the city. The Lord your God will give it into your power. 8 As soon as you seize the city, set it on fire. Act according to the Lord’s word. Indeed, I have given you an order!”
9 Joshua sent them off, and they went to set the ambush. They stayed between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. Joshua spent that night among the people. 10 Joshua got up early in the morning and mustered the people. Then he and the elders of Israel went up in front of the people to Ai. 11 The entire army that was with him went up. They moved in close, in front of the city. Then they camped north of Ai, with the valley between them and Ai. 12 He took about five thousand men and positioned them as an ambush between Bethel and Ai to the west of the city. 13 The people positioned the main camp on the north side of the city and its rear guard on its west side. That night, Joshua went into the middle of the valley.
Israel’s successful strategy
14 As soon as the king of Ai saw this, he and all his troops, the men of the city, hurried out early in the morning to meet Israel in battle. They moved out to the battleground on the slopes down toward the Jordan.[a] He didn’t know that there was an ambush set against him behind the city. 15 Then Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten before them. They fled in the direction of the desert. 16 Next, all the troops who were still in the city were called out to chase them. They chased after Joshua and so let themselves be drawn away from the city. 17 No one who hadn’t gone out after Israel was left in either Ai or Bethel. They left the city wide open and chased after Israel.
18 The Lord said to Joshua, “Point the dagger in your hand toward Ai, because I will give it into your power.” So Joshua pointed the dagger in his hand toward the city. 19 The ambush quickly rose from its place. As soon as he reached out his hand, it charged. They entered the city and captured it. They set the city on fire at once. 20 Then the men of Ai turned around. They caught sight of the smoke of the city rising toward the sky. They had no chance to flee one way or the other. The troops who were fleeing toward the desert turned against the pursuit. 21 Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city and that the smoke of the city was rising. So they turned and struck down the men of Ai. 22 When other Israelites came out of the city to confront them, the men of Ai were caught in the middle. Some Israelites were on one side of them and some on the other. The Israelites struck them down until there was no one left to escape. 23 But they seized the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
Run the race with discipline
3 Think about the one who endured such opposition from sinners so that you won’t be discouraged and you won’t give up. 4 In your struggle against sin, you haven’t resisted yet to the point of shedding blood, 5 and you have forgotten the encouragement that addresses you as sons and daughters:
My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline
or give up when you are corrected by him,
6 because the Lord disciplines whomever he loves,
and he punishes every son or daughter whom he accepts.[a]
7 Bear hardship for the sake of discipline. God is treating you like sons and daughters! What child isn’t disciplined by his or her father? 8 But if you don’t experience discipline, which happens to all children, then you are illegitimate and not real sons and daughters. 9 What’s more, we had human parents who disciplined us, and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live? 10 Our human parents disciplined us for a little while, as it seemed best to them, but God does it for our benefit so that we can share his holiness. 11 No discipline is fun while it lasts, but it seems painful at the time. Later, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who have been trained by it.
12 So strengthen your drooping hands and weak knees! 13 Make straight paths for your feet so that if any part is lame, it will be healed rather than injured more seriously.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible