Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK FIVE
Psalms 107–150
Thanksgiving to the Lord for His Great Works of Deliverance
107 Oh, (A)give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His [a]mercy endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
3 And (B)gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.
4 They wandered in (C)the wilderness in a desolate way;
They found no city to dwell in.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.
6 (D)Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.
7 And He led them forth by the (E)right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.
33 He (A)turns rivers into a wilderness,
And the watersprings into dry ground;
34 A (B)fruitful land into [a]barrenness,
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 (C)He turns a wilderness into pools of water,
And dry land into watersprings.
36 There He makes the hungry dwell,
That they may establish a city for a dwelling place,
37 And sow fields and plant vineyards,
That they may yield a fruitful harvest.
God’s Commission to Joshua
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ (A)assistant, saying: 2 (B)“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. 3 (C)Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. 4 (D)From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. 5 (E)No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; (F)as I was with Moses, so (G)I will be with you. (H)I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 (I)Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall [a]divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law (J)which Moses My servant commanded you; (K)do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may [b]prosper wherever you go. 8 (L)This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but (M)you[c] shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 (N)Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; (O)do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
The Order to Cross the Jordan
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for (P)within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ”
The Jews Guilty as the Gentiles
17 [a]Indeed (A)you are called a Jew, and (B)rest[b] on the law, (C)and make your boast in God, 18 and (D)know His will, and (E)approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, 19 and (F)are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, (G)having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. 21 (H)You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, (I)do you rob temples? 23 You who (J)make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? 24 For (K)“the name of God is (L)blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.
Circumcision of No Avail
25 (M)For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore, (N)if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, (O)judge you who, even with your [c]written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? 28 For (P)he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew (Q)who is one inwardly; and (R)circumcision is that of the heart, (S)in the Spirit, not in the letter; (T)whose [d]praise is not from men but from God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.