Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Book 5: Psalms 107–150
God Saves from Many Dangers
107 Thank the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
2 That is what those whom the Lord has ·saved [redeemed] should say.
He has ·saved [redeemed] them from the ·enemy [foe]
3 and has gathered them from other lands,
from east and west, north and south [Is. 51:11; C perhaps after the Babylonian exile].
4 Some people had wandered in the ·desert lands [L wilderness, wasteland].
They found no way to a city in which to live.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and they were ·discouraged [faint].
6 In their ·misery [distress] they cried out to the Lord,
and he ·saved [rescued; protected] them from their troubles [vv. 13, 19, 28].
7 He led them on a straight road
to a city where they could live.
33 He ·changed [turned; L set] rivers into a ·desert [wilderness]
and springs of water into ·dry [parched; thirsty] ground.
34 He made ·fertile [fruitful] land salty
because the people there did evil [Gen. 19].
35 He ·changed [turned; L set] the ·desert [wilderness] into pools of water
and ·dry [parched] ground into springs of water.
36 He had the hungry settle there
so they could ·build [establish] a city in which to live.
37 They ·planted seeds in the fields and vineyards [L sowed fields and planted vineyards],
and they had a ·good harvest [fruitful crop].
God’s Command to Joshua
1 After Moses, the servant of the ·Lord [or Yahweh; C “Lord” (capital letters) represents the divine name YHWH, usually pronounced “Yahweh”], died, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ ·assistant [aide; servant]. 2 The Lord said, “My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people ·go across [get ready to cross; L arise and cross] the Jordan River into the land I am giving to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. 3 I promised Moses I would give you this land [Deut. 11:24], so I will give you every place ·you go [L the sole of your foot walks/treads] in the land. 4 All the land from the ·desert in the south [L desert; wilderness] to ·Lebanon in the north [L Lebanon] will be yours. All the land from the great river, the ·Euphrates, in the east [L Euphrates], to the ·Mediterranean [L Great] Sea ·in the west [L toward the going down of the sun] will be yours, too, ·including [or which is all] the land of the Hittites [C Palestine was known as “Hatti-land” (or “Hittite country”) by the Egyptians and Babylonians]. 5 No one will be able to ·defeat [resist; stand against] you all your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not ·leave [fail] you or ·forget [desert; forsake] you.
6 “Joshua, be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]! You must lead these people ·so they can take [to possess/inherit] the land that I promised their fathers I would give them. 7 Be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]. Be ·sure [careful] to obey all the ·teachings [law] my servant Moses ·gave [commanded] you. If you ·follow them exactly [L do not turn from it to the right or to the left], you will be successful in everything you do. 8 ·Always remember [L Do not let depart from your mouth] what is written in the Book of the ·Teachings [Law]. ·Study [Meditate on] it day and night to be ·sure [careful; diligent] to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be ·wise [prudent; successful] and ·successful [prosperous] ·in everything [or along life’s path; along the way]. 9 ·Remember that I [L Have I not…?] commanded you to be strong and ·brave [courageous; resolute]. Don’t be afraid or ·discouraged [dismayed], because the Lord your God will be with you ·everywhere you go [or in all you do].”
Joshua’s Orders to the People
10 Then Joshua gave orders to the ·officers [leaders] of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and ·tell [command] the people, ‘Get your ·supplies [provisions] ready. ·Three days from now [or Within a few days] you will cross the Jordan River and take the land the Lord your God is ·giving you [L giving you to inherit/possess].’”
The Jews and the Law
17 What about you? You call yourself a Jew. You ·trust in [rely on] the ·law of Moses [L law] and ·brag that you are close to God [L boast in God]. 18 You know ·what he wants you to do [his will] and ·what is important [can discern/test what is best/superior], because you have ·learned [been instructed in] the law. 19 You ·think [are convinced/confident that] you are a guide for the blind and a light for those who are in darkness. 20 You think you ·can show foolish people what is right [L are an instructor to the foolish] and ·teach [L a teacher for] ·those who know nothing [the immature/ignorant; or children/infants]. You have the law; so you think you ·know everything and have all truth [L have the embodiment/formulation of knowledge and truth]. 21 You teach others, so why don’t you teach yourself? You ·tell [preach to] others not to steal, but do you steal? 22 You say that others must not commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You ·hate [abhor; detest] idols, but do you steal from temples [C perhaps (1) profiting by selling stolen idols to Gentiles; or (2) withholding what is due to God and so “robbing” his temple]? 23 You ·brag [boast] about ·having God’s law [L the law], but do you ·bring shame to [dishonor] God by breaking his law? 24 It is just as the Scriptures say: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you [Is. 52:5; Ezek. 36:20].”
25 If you follow the law, your circumcision [C a key distinctive of Jewish identity; Gen. 17] has ·meaning [value; benefit]. But if you ·break [transgress; disobey] the law, it is as if you were never circumcised. 26 If those who are not circumcised ·do [keep; obey] ·what the law says [or the law’s righteous requirements], it is as if they were circumcised. 27 Those who are not circumcised in their bodies, but still ·obey [fulfill; carry out] the law, will ·pass judgment on [condemn] you who, though having the written law and circumcision, ·break [transgress; disobey] the law. 28 They can do this because a person is not a true Jew if he is only a Jew ·in his physical body [L by (physical) appearance]; true circumcision is not ·only on the outside of the body [L the appearance of the flesh]. 29 A person is a Jew only if he is a Jew ·inside [inwardly]; true circumcision is done in the heart by the Spirit, not by the written law. Such a person gets praise from God rather than from people.
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