Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
BOOK FIVE
(Psalms 107–150)
107 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.
2 Let the people the Lord defended repeat these words.
They are the people he defended from the power of their enemies
3 and gathered from other countries,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4 They wandered around the desert on a deserted road
without finding an inhabited city.
5 They were hungry and thirsty.
They began to lose hope.
6 In their distress they cried out to the Lord.
He rescued them from their troubles.
7 He led them on a road that went straight to an inhabited city.
33 He changes rivers into a desert,
springs into thirsty ground,
34 and fertile ground into a layer of salt
because of the wickedness of the people living there.
35 He changes deserts into lakes
and dry ground into springs.
36 There he settles those who are hungry,
and they build cities to live in.
37 They plant in fields and vineyards
that produce crops.
15 So she let them down by a rope from her window since her house was built into the city wall. (She lived in the city wall.) 16 She told them, “Go to the mountains so that the men who are pursuing you will not find you. Hide there for three days until they return to Jericho. Then you can go on your way.”
17 The men told her, “We will be free from the oath which you made us swear, ⌞if you tell anyone what we’re doing here⌟. 18 When we invade your land, tie this red cord in the window through which you let us down. Also, gather your father, mother, brothers, and all your father’s family into your house. 19 Whoever leaves your house will be responsible for his own life. We will be free from that responsibility. But we will take responsibility if anyone inside your house is harmed. 20 If you tell anyone what we’re doing here, we will be free from the oath which you made us swear.”
21 “I agree,” she said. So she let them go and tied the red cord in the window.
22 The men went to the mountains and stayed there for three days until the king’s men returned to Jericho. The king’s men had searched for them all along the road but had not found them. 23 Then the two spies came down out of the mountains, crossed the Jordan River, and returned to Joshua, son of Nun. They told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They told Joshua, “The Lord has given us the whole country. The people who live there are deathly afraid of us.”
The Hypocrisy of the Jewish Leaders
13 “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. You don’t enter it yourselves, and you don’t permit others to enter when they try.[a]
15 “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You cross land and sea to recruit a single follower, and when you do, you make that person twice as fit for hell as you are.
16 “How horrible it will be for you, you blind guides! You say, ‘To swear an oath by the temple doesn’t mean a thing. But to swear an oath by the gold in the temple means a person must keep his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! What is more important, the gold or the temple that made the gold holy? 18 Again you say, ‘To swear an oath by the altar doesn’t mean a thing. But to swear an oath by the gift on the altar means a person must keep his oath.’ 19 You blind men! What is more important, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? 20 To swear an oath by the altar is to swear by it and by everything on it. 21 To swear an oath by the temple is to swear by it and by the one who lives there. 22 And to swear an oath by heaven is to swear by God’s throne and the one who sits on it.
23 “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give ⌞God⌟ one-tenth of your mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These are the most important things in Moses’ Teachings. You should have done these things without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides! You strain gnats ⌞out of your wine⌟, but you swallow camels.
25 “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of cups and dishes. But inside they are full of greed and uncontrolled desires. 26 You blind Pharisees! First clean the inside of the cups and dishes so that the outside may also be clean.
27 “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed graves that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead people’s bones and every kind of impurity. 28 So on the outside you look as though you have God’s approval, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
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