Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Death.
116 (A)I love the Lord, because He (B)hears
My voice and my supplications.
2 Because He has (C)inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.
3 The (D)cords of death encompassed me
And the [a]terrors of [b]Sheol [c]came upon me;
I found distress and sorrow.
4 Then (E)I called upon the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I beseech You, [d](F)save my life!”
5 (G)Gracious is the Lord, and (H)righteous;
Yes, our God is (I)compassionate.
6 The Lord preserves (J)the simple;
I was (K)brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your (L)rest, O my soul,
For the Lord has (M)dealt bountifully with you.
8 For You have (N)rescued my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
My feet from stumbling.
9 I shall walk before the Lord
In the [e](O)land of the living.
The Promise to Rahab
15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. 16 She said to them, “(A)Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.” 17 The men said to her, “(B)We shall be free from this oath [a]to you which you have made us swear, 18 [b]unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and (C)gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household. 19 It shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be free; but anyone who is with you in the house, (D)his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. 20 But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be free from the oath which you have made us swear.” 21 She said, “According to your words, so be it.” So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
22 They departed and came to the hill country, and remained there for three days until the pursuers returned. Now the pursuers had sought them [c]all along the road, but had not found them. 23 Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country and crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they related to him all that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “Surely the Lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover, (E)all the inhabitants of the land have [d]melted away before us.”
17 Even so (A)faith, if it has no works, is [a]dead, being by itself.
18 (B)But someone [b]may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your (C)faith without the works, and I will (D)show you my faith (E)by my works.” 19 You believe that [c](F)God is one. (G)You do well; (H)the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, (I)you foolish fellow, that (J)faith without works is useless? 21 (K)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that (L)faith was working with his works, and [d]as a result of the (M)works, faith was [e]perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “(N)And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called (O)the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not (P)Rahab the harlot also justified by works (Q)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also (R)faith without works is dead.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.