Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 The (A)eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The (B)face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To (C)cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous (D)cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of 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)Many are the (I)afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord (J)delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones,
(K)Not one of them is broken.
21 (L)Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be [b]condemned.
22 The Lord (M)redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who (N)take refuge in Him will be [c]condemned.
The Offensive Altar
10 When they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a large altar in appearance. 11 And the sons of Israel heard it [a]said, “Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have (A)built an altar at the [b]frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the sons of Israel.” 12 When the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered themselves at (B)Shiloh to go up against them in war.
13 Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, (C)Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 and with him ten chiefs, one chief 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 [c]thousands of Israel. 15 They came to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them saying, 16 “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘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 not (F)the iniquity of Peor [d]enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although 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 whole congregation of Israel tomorrow. 19 If, however, the land of your possession is unclean, then [e]cross into the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord’s tabernacle [f]stands, and take possession 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 not (I)Achan the son of Zerah act unfaithfully in the things under the ban, and wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.’”
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 believed. 12 (C)The night is almost gone, and (D)the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside (E)the deeds of darkness and put on (F)the armor of light. 13 Let us [b](G)behave properly as in the day, (H)not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, 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.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.