Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Book V
Psalms 107–150
Psalm 107
He Redeemed Them From Trouble
Invocation to Give Thanks
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say this,
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.[a]
First Crisis: The Wilderness
4 They wandered in the wilderness, in the wasteland.
They did not find the way to a city where they could live.
5 They were hungry and also thirsty,
so their lives were draining away.
Refrain
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress.
He delivered them from their troubles.
7 He led them by a straight way to come to a city where they could live.
Curses and Blessings
33 He turned rivers into a wilderness
and flowing springs into thirsty ground.
34 He turned fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived in it.
35 He turned the wilderness into pools of water
and the desert into flowing springs.
36 Then he let the hungry live there,
and they founded a city where they could live.
37 Then they sowed fields, and they planted vineyards,
which produced abundant fruit.
The Spies and Jericho
2 Now Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men from Shittim to be spies. He said, “Go and look over the land and Jericho.” So they set out and came to the house of a woman who was a prostitute. Her name was Rahab. They settled in to spend the night there.
2 It was reported to the king of Jericho: “Some Israelite men came here tonight to spy on the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent messengers to Rahab. They said, “Bring out the men who came to you, the ones who came to your house, because they have come to spy on the whole land.”
4 Now the woman had taken the two men and had hidden both of them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 When the gate was about to be shut at dark, the men left. I do not know where the men went. Go after them quickly so you can overtake them.”
6 But she actually had taken them up to the roof and had concealed them among the stalks of flax that she had spread out on the roof. 7 The men of Jericho then went to pursue them along the route to the Jordan that led to the fords. The city gate was closed just after the pursuers had gone out to pursue the spies.
8 But before the men lay down, Rahab came up to them on the roof. 9 She said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land. Because of you, terror has fallen upon us, and all the inhabitants of the land are melting in fear before you. 10 Indeed, we have heard that the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea in front of you when you came out of Egypt, and we heard what you did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan—to Sihon and to Og. We heard that you devoted them to destruction. 11 We heard, and our hearts melted, and no one’s courage could hold up anymore against you, because the Lord your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below. 12 So now, please swear to me by the Lord that since I have shown kindness to you, you in turn will show kindness to my father’s house. Give me a trustworthy sign 13 that you will preserve the lives of my father and mother and my brothers and sisters and everyone who belongs to them, and that you will spare our lives.”
14 The men said to her, “If you do not reveal what we are doing, our lives are pledged for your lives, even to the point of death. Then when the Lord gives us the land, we will show mercy and faithfulness to you.”
A Warning About False Teachers
2 There were false prophets also among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved ways, and because of them the way of the truth will be blasphemed. 3 In their greed they will exploit you with fabricated messages. Their condemnation announced long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.