◀ All Reading Plans / Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous) / Joshua 3:7-17 (Crossing into the promised land); Psalm 107:1-7 33-37 (Thanks for a beautiful land); 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 (The apostle’s teaching); Matthew 23:1-12 (Humble yourselves) (New American Bible (Revised Edition))

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with sequential stories told across multiple weeks.

Duration: 1245 days

Joshua 3:7-17

⁷^(A)Then the Lord said to Joshua: Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.^(B) ⁸Now command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, “When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, there take your stand.”

⁹So Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord, your God.” ¹⁰He continued: “By this you will know that there is a living God in your midst: he will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.^(C) ¹¹The ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth will cross the Jordan before you. ¹²Now choose twelve men,^(D) one from each of the tribes of Israel. ¹³When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth, touch the waters of the Jordan, it will cease to flow; the water flowing down from upstream will halt in a single heap.”^[a]

The Crossing Begun. ¹⁴The people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of them. ¹⁵When those bearing the ark came to the Jordan and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were immersed in the waters of the Jordan—which overflows all its banks during the entire season of the harvest—^[b] ¹⁶the waters flowing from upstream halted, standing up in a single heap^(E) for a very great distance indeed, from Adam, a city in the direction of Zarethan; those flowing downstream toward the Salt Sea of the Arabah disappeared entirely.^[c] Thus the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the Jordan riverbed^(F) while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until the whole nation had completed the crossing of the Jordan.

Psalm 107:1-7

Fifth Book—Psalms 107–150

Psalm 107^[a]

God the Savior of Those in Distress

¹“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
    his mercy endures forever!”^(A)
²Let that be the prayer of the Lord’s redeemed,
    those redeemed from the hand of the foe,^(B)
³Those gathered from foreign lands,
    from east and west, from north and south.^(C)

I

⁴Some had lost their way in a barren desert;
    found no path toward a city to live in.
⁵They were hungry and thirsty;
    their life was ebbing away.^(D)
⁶In their distress they cried to the Lord,
    who rescued them in their peril,
⁷^(E)Guided them by a direct path
    so they reached a city to live in.^(F)

Psalm 107:33-37

V

³³^[a]God changed rivers into desert,
    springs of water into thirsty ground,^(A)
³⁴Fruitful land into a salty waste,
    because of the wickedness of its people.^(B)
³⁵He changed the desert into pools of water,
    arid land into springs of water,^(C)
³⁶And settled the hungry there;
    they built a city to live in.^(D)
³⁷They sowed fields and planted vineyards,
    brought in an abundant harvest.^(E)

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13

⁹You recall, brothers, our toil and drudgery. Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.^(A) ¹⁰You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers. ¹¹As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children,^(B) ¹²exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you conduct yourselves as worthy of the God who calls you into his kingdom and glory.^(C)

Further Thanksgiving. ¹³And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe.

Matthew 23:1-12

Chapter 23^[a]

Denunciation of the Scribes and Pharisees. ¹^(A)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, ²^[b]saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. ³Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. ⁴^(B)They tie up heavy burdens^[c] [hard to carry] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. ⁵^[d]^(C)All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. ⁶^[e]^(D)They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, ⁷greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ ⁸^[f]As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. ¹⁰Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Messiah. ¹¹^(E)The greatest among you must be your servant. ¹²^(F)Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Footnotes

23:1–39 The final section of the narrative part of the fifth book of the gospel is a denunciation by Jesus of the scribes and the Pharisees (see note on Mt 3:7). It depends in part on Mark and Q (cf. Mk 12:38–39; Lk 11:37–52; 13:34–35), but in the main it is peculiar to Matthew. (For the reasons against considering this extensive body of sayings-material either as one of the structural discourses of this gospel or as part of the one that follows in Mt 24–25, see note on Mt 19:1–23:39.) While the tradition of a deep opposition between Jesus and the Pharisees is well founded, this speech reflects an opposition that goes beyond that of Jesus’ ministry and must be seen as expressing the bitter conflict between Pharisaic Judaism and the church of Matthew at the time when the gospel was composed. The complaint often made that the speech ignores the positive qualities of Pharisaism and of its better representatives is true, but the complaint overlooks the circumstances that gave rise to the invective. Nor is the speech purely anti-Pharisaic. The evangelist discerns in his church many of the same faults that he finds in its opponents and warns his fellow Christians to look to their own conduct and attitudes.
23:2–3 Have taken their seat…Moses: it is uncertain whether this is simply a metaphor for Mosaic teaching authority or refers to an actual chair on which the teacher sat. It has been proved that there was a seat so designated in synagogues of a later period than that of this gospel. Do and observe…they tell you: since the Matthean Jesus abrogates Mosaic law (Mt 5:31–42), warns his disciples against the teaching of the Pharisees (Mt 14:1–12), and, in this speech, denounces the Pharisees as blind guides in respect to their teaching on oaths (Mt 23:16–22), this commandment to observe all things whatsoever they (the scribes and Pharisees) tell you cannot be taken as the evangelist’s understanding of the proper standard of conduct for his church. The saying may reflect a period when the Matthean community was largely Jewish Christian and was still seeking to avoid a complete break with the synagogue. Matthew has incorporated this traditional material into the speech in accordance with his view of the course of salvation history, in which he portrays the time of Jesus’ ministry as marked by the fidelity to the law, although with significant pointers to the new situation that would exist after his death and resurrection (see note on Mt 5:17–20). The crowds and the disciples (Mt 23:1) are exhorted not to follow the example of the Jewish leaders, whose deeds do not conform to their teaching (Mt 23:3).
23:4 Tie up heavy burdens: see note on Mt 11:28.
23:5 To the charge of preaching but not practicing (Mt 23:3), Jesus adds that of acting in order to earn praise. The disciples have already been warned against this same fault (see note on Mt 6:1–18). Phylacteries: the Mosaic law required that during prayer small boxes containing parchments on which verses of scripture were written be worn on the left forearm and the forehead (see Ex 13:9, 16; Dt 6:8; 11:18). Tassels: see note on Mt 9:20. The widening of phylacteries and the lengthening of tassels were for the purpose of making these evidences of piety more noticeable.
23:6–7 Cf. Mk 12:38–39. ‘Rabbi’: literally, “my great one,” a title of respect for teachers and leaders.
23:8–12 These verses, warning against the use of various titles, are addressed to the disciples alone. While only the title ‘Rabbi’ has been said to be used in addressing the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23:7), the implication is that Father and ‘Master’ also were. The prohibition of these titles to the disciples suggests that their use was present in Matthew’s church. The Matthean Jesus forbids not only the titles but the spirit of superiority and pride that is shown by their acceptance. Whoever exalts…will be exalted: cf. Lk 14:11.

New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

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Cross references

Fifth Book—Psalms 107–150

Psalm 107^[a]

God the Savior of Those in Distress

I

Footnotes

Cross references

V

Footnotes

Cross references

Cross references

Chapter 23^[a]

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Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Footnotes

Cross references

Fifth Book—Psalms 107–150

Psalm 107[a]

God the Savior of Those in Distress

I

Footnotes

Cross references

V

Footnotes

Cross references

Cross references

Chapter 23[a]

Footnotes

Cross references

Psalm 107^[a]

Chapter 23^[a]