Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 The Lord looks with favor on those who are godly.
His ears are open to their cry.
16 But the Lord doesn’t look with favor on those who do evil.
He removes all memory of them from the earth.
17 Godly people cry out, and the Lord hears them.
He saves them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to those whose hearts have been broken.
He saves those whose spirits have been crushed.
19 The person who does what is right may have many troubles.
But the Lord saves him from all of them.
20 The Lord watches over all his bones.
Not one of them will be broken.
21 Sinners will be killed by their own evil.
The enemies of godly people will be judged.
22 The Lord will save those who serve him.
No one who goes to him for safety will be found guilty.
The Eastern Tribes Return Home
22 Joshua sent for the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh. 2 He said to them, “You have done everything that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded. You have also obeyed everything I commanded. 3 For a long time now you haven’t deserted the other Israelites. Instead, you have done what the Lord your God sent you to do. You have obeyed him right up to this day. 4 Now the Lord your God has given the other tribes peace and rest. That’s what he promised to do. So return to your homes. They are in the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you. It’s on the east side of the Jordan River. 5 Be very careful to obey the law that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you. He commanded you to love the Lord your God. He told you to live exactly as the Lord wants you to. He told you to obey the Lord’s commands. He told you to remain faithful to the Lord. And he told you to serve the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul.”
6 Joshua gave the eastern tribes his blessing. Then he sent them home. So they went. 7 Moses had given land in Bashan to half of the tribe of Manasseh. Joshua had given land to the other half of the tribe. He had given it to them along with the other tribes on the west side of the Jordan River. When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them. 8 He said, “Return to your homes. Take your great wealth with you. Return with your large herds of livestock. Take your silver, gold, bronze and iron with you. Return with all the extra clothes you acquired. Divide up the things you have taken from your enemies. Share them with your people.”
9 So the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh went home. They left the other Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan. They returned to Gilead. That was their own land. They had acquired it according to the Lord’s command through Moses.
The Day of the Lord Is Coming
5 Brothers and sisters, we don’t have to write to you about times and dates. 2 You know very well how the day of the Lord will come. It will come like a thief in the night. 3 People will be saying that everything is peaceful and safe. Then suddenly they will be destroyed. It will happen like birth pains coming on a pregnant woman. None of the people will escape.
4 Brothers and sisters, you are not in darkness. So that day should not surprise you as a thief would. 5 All of you are children of the light. You are children of the day. We don’t belong to the night. We don’t belong to the darkness. 6 So let us not be like the others. They are asleep. Instead, let us be wide awake and in full control of ourselves. 7 Those who sleep, sleep at night. Those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But we belong to the day. So let us control ourselves. Let us put on our chest the armor of faith and love. Let us put on the hope of salvation like a helmet. 9 God didn’t choose us to receive his anger. He chose us to receive salvation because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. 10 Jesus died for us. Some will be alive when he comes. Others will be dead. Either way, we will live together with him. 11 So encourage one another with the hope you have. Build each other up. In fact, that’s what you are doing.
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