Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 “I thought,[a]
‘In the middle of my life[b] I must walk through the gates of Sheol,
I am deprived[c] of the rest of my years.’
11 “I thought,
‘I will no longer see the Lord[d] in the land of the living,
I will no longer look on humankind with the inhabitants of the world.[e]
12 My dwelling place[f] is removed and taken away[g] from me
as a shepherd’s tent.
I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth;[h]
from the loom he cuts me off.[i]
You turn day into night and end my life.[j]
13 I cry out[k] until morning;
like a lion he shatters all my bones;
you turn day into night and end my life.[l]
14 Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp,
I coo[m] like a dove;
my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky.[n]
O Lord,[o] I am oppressed;
help me![p]
15 What can I say?
He has decreed and acted.[q]
I will walk slowly all my years because I am overcome with grief.[r]
16 O Lord, your decrees can give men life;
may years of life be restored to me.[s]
Restore my health[t] and preserve my life.’
17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit.[u]
You delivered me[v] from the Pit of oblivion.[w]
For you removed all my sins from your sight.[x]
18 Indeed[y] Sheol does not give you thanks;
death does not[z] praise you.
Those who descend into the Pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.
19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks,
as I do today.
A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord is about to deliver me,[aa]
and we will celebrate with music[ab]
for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.”[ac]
Israel Conquers Ai
8 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic![a] Take the whole army with you and march against Ai![b] See, I am handing over to you[c] the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land. 2 Do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king, except you may plunder its goods and cattle. Set an ambush behind the city.”
3 Joshua and the whole army marched against Ai.[d] Joshua selected 30,000 brave warriors and sent them out at night. 4 He ordered them, “Look, set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city; all of you be ready! 5 I and all the troops[e] who are with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like before, we will retreat from them. 6 They will attack[f] us until we have lured them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are retreating from us like before.’ We will retreat from them. 7 Then you rise up from your hiding place[g] and seize[h] the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. 8 When you capture the city, set it[i] on fire in keeping with the Lord’s message. See, I have given you orders.”[j] 9 Joshua sent them away and they went to their hiding place[k] west of Ai, between Bethel and Ai.[l] Joshua spent that night with the army.[m]
10 Bright and early the next morning Joshua gathered[n] the army,[o] and he and the leaders[p] of Israel marched[q] at the head of it[r] to Ai. 11 All the troops that were with him marched up and drew near the city.[s] They camped north of Ai on the other side of the valley.[t] 12 He took 5,000 men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel and Ai. 13 The army was in position—the main army north of the city and the rear guard west of the city. That night Joshua went into[u] the middle of the valley.
14 When the king of Ai and all his people saw Israel, they rushed to get up early. Then the king and the men of the city went out to meet Israel in battle, at the meeting place near the rift valley.[v] But he did not realize an ambush was waiting for him behind the city.[w] 15 Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated by them, and they retreated along the way to the wilderness. 16 All the reinforcements[x] in Ai[y] were ordered[z] to chase them; they chased Joshua and were lured away from the city. 17 No men were left in Ai or Bethel;[aa] they all went out after Israel.[ab] They left the city wide open and chased Israel.
18 The Lord told Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the curved sword[ac] in your hand, for I am handing the city[ad] over to you.” So Joshua held out toward Ai the curved sword in his hand. 19 When he held out his hand, the men waiting in ambush rose up quickly from their place and attacked.[ae] They entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire. 20 When the men of Ai turned around, they saw[af] the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction.[ag] In the meantime the men who were retreating to the wilderness turned against their pursuers. 21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the city was going up in smoke,[ah] they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. 22 At the same time the men who had taken the city came out to fight, and the men of Ai were trapped in the middle.[ai] The Israelites struck them down, leaving no survivors or refugees. 23 But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
3 Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of bloodshed[a] in your struggle against sin. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as sons?
“My son, do not scorn[b] the Lord’s discipline
or give up when he corrects[c] you.
6 “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts.”[d]
7 Endure your suffering[e] as discipline;[f] God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? 8 But if you do not experience discipline,[g] something all sons[h] have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons. 9 Besides, we have experienced discipline from[i] our earthly fathers[j] and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life?[k] 10 For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness. 11 Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful.[l] But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness[m] for those trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen[n] your listless hands and your weak knees,[o] 13 and make straight paths for your feet,[p] so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.
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