Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 The (A)eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears are toward their cry for help.
16 The (B)face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To (C)eliminate the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous (D)cry out, and the Lord hears
And rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord (E)is near to the (F)brokenhearted
And saves those who are [a](G)crushed in spirit.
19 (H)The (I)afflictions of the righteous are many,
But the Lord (J)rescues him from them all.
20 He protects all his bones,
(K)Not one of them is broken.
21 (L)Evil will bring death to the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will suffer for their guilt.
22 The Lord (M)redeems the souls of His servants,
And none of those who (N)take refuge in Him will suffer for their guilt.
The Offensive Altar
10 When they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, [a]a large altar in appearance. 11 But the sons of Israel [b]heard a report: “Behold, the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have (A)built an altar at the [c]frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the sons of Israel.” 12 And when the sons of Israel heard about it, the entire congregation of the sons of Israel assembled at (B)Shiloh to go up against them in battle.
13 Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben, to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, (C)Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 and with him ten leaders, one leader for each father’s household from each of the tribes of Israel; and (D)each one of them was the head of his father’s household among the [d]thousands of Israel. 15 They came to the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, 16 “This is what the whole congregation of the Lord says: ‘What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the Lord this day, by (E)building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the Lord this day? 17 Is (F)the wrongdoing of Peor [e]not enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although [f]a plague came on the congregation of the Lord, 18 that you must turn away this day from following the Lord? If you rebel against the Lord today, (G)He will be angry with the entire congregation of Israel tomorrow. 19 If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then [g]cross into the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord’s [h]tabernacle [i]stands, and settle among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord, or rebel against us, by (H)building an altar for yourselves besides the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Did (I)Achan the son of Zerah not act unfaithfully in the things designated for destruction, and wrath fall on the entire congregation of Israel? So that man did not perish alone in his guilt.’”
11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is (A)already the hour for you to (B)awaken from sleep; for now [a]salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. 12 (C)The night is almost gone, and (D)the day is near. Therefore let’s rid ourselves of (E)the deeds of darkness and put on (F)the armor of light. 13 Let’s [b](G)behave properly as in the day, (H)not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But (I)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh (J)in regard to its lusts.
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