Joshua 1, Psalm 120, 121, 122, Isaiah 61, Matthew 9

Joshua 1,

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide:
 
2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them-to the Israelites.
 
3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.
 
4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates-all the Hittite country-to the Great Sea on the west.
 
5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
 
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.
 
7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
 
8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
 
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
 
10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people:
 
11 "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.' "
 
12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said,
 
13 "Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: 'The LORD your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.'
 
14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers
 
15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise."
 
16 Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
 
17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses.
 
18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!"

Psalm 120, 121, 122,

1 I call on the LORD in my distress, and he answers me.
 
2 Save me, O LORD, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.
 
3 What will he do to you, and what more besides, O deceitful tongue?
 
4 He will punish you with a warrior's sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom tree.
 
5 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the tents of Kedar!
 
6 Too long have I lived among those who hate peace.
 
7 I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war.

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my help come from?
 
2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
 
3 He will not let your foot slip-he who watches over you will not slumber;
 
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
 
5 The LORD watches over you-the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
 
6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
 
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm-he will watch over your life;
 
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

1 I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD."
 
2 Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.
 
3 Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together.
 
4 That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel.
 
5 There the thrones for judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David.
 
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure.
 
7 May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels."
 
8 For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, "Peace be within you."
 
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.

Isaiah 61,

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
 
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
 
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion-to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
 
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
 
5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
 
6 And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
 
7 Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.
 
8 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them.
 
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed."
 
10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
 
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations

Matthew 9

1 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town.
 
2 Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
 
3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"
 
4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?
 
5 Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?
 
6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home."
 
7 And the man got up and went home.
 
8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.
 
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
 
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples.
 
11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
 
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
 
13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
 
14 Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"
 
15 Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.
 
16 "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.
 
17 Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
 
18 While he was saying this, a ruler came and knelt before him and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live."
 
19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
 
20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.
 
21 She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."
 
22 Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment.
 
23 When Jesus entered the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd,
 
24 he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him.
 
25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.
 
26 News of this spread through all that region.
 
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"
 
28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" "Yes, Lord," they replied.
 
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you";
 
30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this."
 
31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.
 
32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus.
 
33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel."
 
34 But the Pharisees said, "It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons."
 
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.
 
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
 
37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
 
38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."