JOSHUA 9

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The Gibeonite Deception  9:1 As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, 2 they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.
    3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 4 they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, 5 with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. 6 And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” 7 But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?” 8 They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” 9 They said to him, “From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.’ 12 Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” 14 So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. 15 And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.
    16 At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and that they lived among them. 17 And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the people of Israel did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders. 19 But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them: let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath that we swore to them.” 21 And the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became cutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders had said of them.
    22 Joshua summoned them, and he said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you dwell among us? 23 Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, cutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.” 24 They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you—so we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. 25 And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.” 26 So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. 27 But Joshua made them that day cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, in the place that he should choose.

PSALM 80

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Restore Us, O GodTo the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm.
80:1

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

you who lead Joseph like a flock.

You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. 2

Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,

stir up your might

and come to save us!
3

Restore us, O God;

let your face shine, that we may be saved!
4

O Lord God of hosts,

how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? 5

You have fed them with the bread of tears

and given them tears to drink in full measure. 6

You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,

and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7

Restore us, O God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved!
8

You brought a vine out of Egypt;

you drove out the nations and planted it. 9

You cleared the ground for it;

it took deep root and filled the land. 10

The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches. 11

It sent out its branches to the sea

and its shoots to the River. 12

Why then have you broken down its walls,

so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 13

The boar from the forest ravages it,

and all that move in the field feed on it.
14

Turn again, O God of hosts!

Look down from heaven, and see;

have regard for this vine, 15

the stock that your right hand planted,

and for the son whom you made strong for yourself. 16

They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;

may they perish at the rebuke of your face! 17

But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,

the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself! 18

Then we shall not turn back from you;

give us life, and we will call upon your name!
19

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!

Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

PSALM 81

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Oh, That My People Would Listen to MeTo the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph.
81:1

Sing aloud to God our strength;

shout for joy to the God of Jacob! 2

Raise a song; sound the tambourine,

the sweet lyre with the harp. 3

Blow the trumpet at the new moon,

at the full moon, on our feast day.
4

For it is a statute for Israel,

a rule of the God of Jacob. 5

He made it a decree in Joseph

when he went out over the land of Egypt.

I hear a language I had not known: 6

“I relieved your shoulder of the burden;

your hands were freed from the basket. 7

In distress you called, and I delivered you;

I answered you in the secret place of thunder;

I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah 8

Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!

O Israel, if you would but listen to me! 9

There shall be no strange god among you;

you shall not bow down to a foreign god. 10

I am the Lord your God,

who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11

“But my people did not listen to my voice;

Israel would not submit to me. 12

So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,

to follow their own counsels. 13

Oh, that my people would listen to me,

that Israel would walk in my ways! 14

I would soon subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes. 15

Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him,

and their fate would last forever. 16

But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,

and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

PROVERBS 17

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17:1

Better is a dry morsel with quiet

than a house full of feasting with strife. 2

A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully

and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers. 3

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

and the Lord tests hearts. 4

An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue. 5

Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker;

he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. 6

Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,

and the glory of children is their fathers. 7

Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;

still less is false speech to a prince. 8

A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;

wherever he turns he prospers. 9

Whoever covers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. 10

A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding

than a hundred blows into a fool. 11

An evil man seeks only rebellion,

and a cruel messenger will be sent against him. 12

Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs

rather than a fool in his folly. 13

If anyone returns evil for good,

evil will not depart from his house. 14

The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

so quit before the quarrel breaks out. 15

He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous

are both alike an abomination to the Lord. 16

Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom

when he has no sense? 17

A friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for adversity. 18

One who lacks sense gives a pledge

and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor. 19

Whoever loves transgression loves strife;

he who makes his door high seeks destruction. 20

A man of crooked heart does not discover good,

and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity. 21

He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,

and the father of a fool has no joy. 22

A joyful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. 23

The wicked accepts a bribe in secret

to pervert the ways of justice. 24

The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,

but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. 25

A foolish son is a grief to his father

and bitterness to her who bore him. 26

To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,

nor to strike the noble for their uprightness. 27

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,

and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. 28

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;

when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.