Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Book 5 (Psalms 107-150)
Psalm 107[a]
107 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.[b]
2 Let those delivered by the Lord speak out,[c]
those whom he delivered[d] from the power[e] of the enemy,
3 and gathered from foreign lands,[f]
from east and west,
from north and south.
4 They wandered through the wilderness, in a wasteland;[g]
they found no road to a city in which to live.
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
they fainted from exhaustion.[h]
6 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
7 He led them on a level road,[i]
that they might find a city in which to live.
33 He turned[a] streams into a desert,
springs of water into arid land,
34 and a fruitful land into a barren place,[b]
because of the sin of its inhabitants.
35 As for his people,[c] he turned[d] a desert into a pool of water,
and a dry land into springs of water.
36 He allowed the hungry to settle there,
and they established a city in which to live.
37 They cultivated[e] fields,
and planted vineyards,
which yielded a harvest of fruit.[f]
The Lord Commissions Joshua
1 After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Get ready![a] Cross the Jordan River.[b] Lead these people into the land that I am ready to hand over to them.[c] 3 I am handing over to you every place you set foot, as I promised Moses.[d] 4 Your territory will extend from the desert[e] in the south to Lebanon in the north. It will extend all the way to the great River Euphrates in the east (including all Syria)[f] and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea[g] in the west.[h] 5 No one will be able to resist you[i] all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not abandon you or leave you alone. 6 Be strong and brave! You must lead these people in the conquest of this land that I solemnly promised their ancestors I would hand over to them.[j] 7 Make sure you are[k] very strong and brave! Carefully obey[l] all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep.[m] Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful[n] in all you do.[o] 8 This law scroll must not leave your lips.[p] You must memorize it[q] day and night so you can carefully obey[r] all that is written in it. Then you will prosper[s] and be successful.[t] 9 I repeat,[u] be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic,[v] for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.”[w]
Joshua Prepares for the Invasion
10 Joshua instructed[x] the leaders of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your supplies, for within three days you will cross the Jordan River and begin the conquest of the land the Lord your God is ready to hand over to you.’”[y]
The Condemnation of the Jew
17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law[a] and boast of your relationship to God[b] 18 and know his will[c] and approve the superior things because you receive instruction from the law,[d] 19 and if you are convinced[e] that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth— 21 therefore[f] you who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who tell others not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor[g] idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law! 24 For just as it is written, “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”[h]
25 For circumcision[i] has its value if you practice the law, but[j] if you break the law,[k] your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore if the uncircumcised man obeys[l] the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 And the physically uncircumcised man,[m] by keeping the law, will judge you to be the transgressor of the law, even though[n] you have the letter[o] and circumcision! 28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something that is outward in the flesh, 29 but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart[p] by the Spirit[q] and not by the letter.[r] This person’s[s] praise is not from people but from God.
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