Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

Joshua Dies

^6 (A)When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land. ⁷ The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who ^[a]survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which He had done for Israel. ⁸ Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and ten. ⁹ And they buried him in the territory of ^(B)his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. ¹⁰ All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who ^(C)did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.

Israel Serves Baals

¹¹ Then the sons of Israel did ^(D)evil in the sight of the Lord and ^[b]served the ^(E)Baals, ¹² and ^(F)they forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger. ¹³ So they forsook the Lord and ^(G)served Baal and the Ashtaroth. ^14 (H)The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and ^(I)He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. ¹⁵ Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and ^(J)as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

Paul Describes Himself

10 Now ^(A)I, Paul, myself ^(B)urge you by the ^(C)meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who ^(D)am ^[a]meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! ² I ask that ^(E)when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against ^(F)some, who regard us as if we walked ^(G)according to the flesh. ³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war ^(H)according to the flesh, ⁴ for the ^(I)weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but ^[b]divinely powerful ^(J)for the destruction of fortresses. ⁵ We are destroying speculations and every ^(K)lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the ^(L)obedience of Christ, ⁶ and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever ^(M)your obedience is complete.

^7 [c](N)You are looking at ^[d]things as they are outwardly. ^(O)If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ’s, ^(P)so also are we. ⁸ For even if ^(Q)I boast somewhat ^[e]further about our ^(R)authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be put to shame, ^9 [f]for I do not wish to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters. ¹⁰ For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his ^[g]personal presence is ^(S)unimpressive and ^(T)his speech contemptible.” ¹¹ Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when absent, such persons we are also in deed when present.