Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Book V
Psalms 107–150
107 Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.
His faithful love continues forever.
2 Let those who have been set free by the Lord tell their story.
He set them free from the power of the enemy.
3 He brought them back from other lands.
He brought them back from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some of them wandered in deserts that were dry and empty.
They couldn’t find a city where they could make their homes.
5 They were hungry and thirsty.
Their lives were slipping away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord because of their problems.
And he saved them from their troubles.
7 He led them straight
to a city where they could make their homes.
33 He turned rivers into a desert.
He turned flowing springs into thirsty ground.
34 He turned land that produced crops into a salty land where nothing could grow.
He did it because the people who lived there were evil.
35 He turned the desert into pools of water.
He turned the dry and cracked ground into flowing springs.
36 He brought hungry people there to live.
They built a city where they could make their homes.
37 They planted fields and vineyards
that produced large crops.
Rahab Helps the Spies
2 Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two spies from Shittim. He sent them in secret. He said to them, “Go and look over the land. Most of all, check out Jericho.” So they went to Jericho. They stayed at the house of a prostitute. Her name was Rahab.
2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight. They’ve come to check out the land.” 3 So the king sent a message to Rahab. It said, “Bring out the men who came into your house. They’ve come to check out the whole land.”
4 But the woman had hidden the two men. She said, “It’s true that the men came here. But I didn’t know where they had come from. 5 They left at sunset, when it was time to close the city gate. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You might catch up with them.” 6 But in fact she had taken them up on the roof. There she had hidden them under some flax she had piled up. 7 The king’s men left to hunt down the spies. They took the road that leads to where the Jordan River can be crossed. As soon as they had gone out of the city, the gate was shut.
8 Rahab went up on the roof before the spies settled down for the night. 9 She said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land. We are very much afraid of you. Everyone who lives in this country is weak with fear because of you. 10 We’ve heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt. We’ve heard what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings. They ruled east of the Jordan River. You completely destroyed them. 11 When we heard about it, we were terrified. Because of you, we aren’t brave anymore. The Lord your God is the God who rules in heaven above and on the earth below.
12 “Now then, please give me your word. Promise me in the name of the Lord that you will be kind to my family. I’ve been kind to you. Promise me 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother. Spare my brothers and sisters. Also spare everyone in their families. Promise that you won’t put any of us to death.”
14 So the men made a promise to her. “If you save our lives, we’ll save yours,” they said. “Just don’t tell anyone what we’re doing. Then we’ll be kind and faithful to you when the Lord gives us the land.”
False Teachers Will Be Destroyed
2 But there were also false prophets among the people. In the same way there will be false teachers among you. In secret they will bring in teachings that will destroy you. They will even turn against the Lord and Master who died to pay for their sins. So they will quickly destroy themselves. 2 Many people will follow their lead. These people will do the same evil things the false teachers do. They will cause people to think badly about the way of truth. 3 These teachers are never satisfied. They want to get something out of you. So they make up stories to take advantage of you. They have been under a sentence of death for a long time. The God who will destroy them has not been sleeping.
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