Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 118

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!

² Let Israel now say that His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.

¹⁴ The Lord is my Strength and Song; and He has become my Salvation.

¹⁵ The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents and private dwellings of the [uncompromisingly] righteous: the right hand of the Lord does valiantly and achieves strength!

¹⁶ The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly and achieves strength!

¹⁷ I shall not die but live, and shall declare the works and recount the illustrious acts of the Lord.

¹⁸ The Lord has chastened me sorely, but He has not given me over to death.^(A)

¹⁹ Open to me the [temple] gates of righteousness; I will enter through them, and I will confess and praise the Lord.

²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord; the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall enter through it.^(B)

²¹ I will confess, praise, and give thanks to You, for You have heard and answered me; and You have become my Salvation and Deliverer.

²² The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

²³ This is from the Lord and is His doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.^(C)

²⁴ This is the day which the Lord has brought about; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

¹⁶ Those five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave of Makkedah.

¹⁷ And it was told Joshua, The five kings are hidden in the cave at Makkedah.

¹⁸ Joshua said, Roll great stones to the cave’s mouth, and set men to guard them.

¹⁹ But do not stay. Pursue your enemies and fall upon their rear; do not allow them to enter their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.

²⁰ When Joshua and the Israelites had ended slaying them until they were wiped out and the remnant remaining of them had entered into fortified cities,

²¹ All the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace; none moved his tongue against any of the Israelites.

²² Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave and bring out those five kings to me from the cave.

²³ They brought the five kings out of the cave to him—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.

²⁴ When they brought out those kings to Joshua, [he] called for all the Israelites and told the commanders of the men of war who went with him, Come, put your feet on the necks of these kings. And they came and put their feet on the [kings’] necks.

²⁵ Joshua said to them, Fear not nor be dismayed; be strong and of good courage. For thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom you fight.

²⁶ Afterward Joshua smote and slew them and hanged their bodies on five trees, and they hung on the trees until evening.

²⁷ At sunset Joshua ordered and they took the bodies down from the trees and cast them into the cave where the kings had hidden and laid great stones on the cave’s mouth, which remain to this very day.

⁶ [About the condition of your church] your boasting is not good [indeed, it is most unseemly and entirely out of place]. Do you not know that [just] a little leaven will ferment the whole lump [of dough]?

⁷ Purge (clean out) the old leaven that you may be fresh (new) dough, still uncontaminated [as you are], for Christ, our Passover [Lamb], has been sacrificed.

⁸ Therefore, let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of vice and malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened [bread] of purity (nobility, honor) and sincerity and [unadulterated] truth.^(A)