Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁴ The ropes of death bound me.
    The deadly rivers overwhelmed me.
⁵ The ropes of death wrapped around me.
    The traps of death were before me.
⁶ In my trouble I called to the Lord.
    I cried out to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice.
    My call for help reached his ears.

⁷ The earth trembled and shook.
    The foundations of the mountains began to shake.
    They shook because the Lord was angry.
⁸ Smoke came out of his nose.
    Burning fire came out of his mouth.
    Burning coals went before him.
⁹ He tore open the sky and came down.
    Dark clouds were under his feet.
¹⁰ He rode a creature with wings and flew.
    He flew on the wings of the wind.
¹¹ He made darkness his covering, his shelter around him,
    surrounded by fog and clouds.
¹² Out of the brightness of his presence came clouds.
    They came with hail and lightning.
¹³ The Lord thundered from heaven.
    God Most High raised his voice.
    And there was hail and lightning.
¹⁴ He shot his arrows and scattered his enemies.
    His many bolts of lightning confused them with fear.
¹⁵ Lord, you spoke strongly.
    The wind blew from your nose.
The valleys of the sea appeared.
    The foundations of the earth were seen.

¹⁶ The Lord reached down from above and took me.
    He pulled me from the deep water.
¹⁷ He saved me from my powerful enemies.
    Those who hated me were too strong for me.
¹⁸ They attacked me at my time of trouble.
    But the Lord supported me.
¹⁹ He took me to a safe place.
    Because he delights in me, he saved me.

²⁷ “God takes up the drops of water from the earth.
    And he turns them into drops of rain.
²⁸ Then the rain pours down from the clouds.
    And showers fall on people.
²⁹ No one understands how God spreads out the clouds.
    No one understands how he thunders from where he lives.
³⁰ Watch how God scatters his lightning around him.
    It even lights up the deepest parts of the sea.
³¹ This is the way God governs the nations.
    This is how he gives us enough food.
³² God fills his hands with lightning.
    And he commands it to strike its target.
³³ His thunder announces that a storm is coming.
    Even the cattle show that the storm is coming.

¹⁴ “Job, listen to this.
    Stop and notice God’s miracles.
¹⁵ Do you know how God controls the clouds
    and makes his lightning flash?
¹⁶ Do you know how the clouds hang in the sky?
    They are the miracles of God, who knows everything.
¹⁷ You suffer in your clothes
    when the land is made quiet by the hot, south wind.
¹⁸ You cannot stretch out the sky like God
    and make it look as hard as polished bronze.
¹⁹ Tell us what we should say to God.
    We cannot get our arguments ready because we do not have enough understanding.
²⁰ Should God be told that I want to speak?
    A man might try to speak to God, but he would surely be
swallowed up.
²¹ No one can look at the sun
    when it is bright in the sky
    after the wind has blown all the clouds away.
²² God comes out of the north in golden light.
    He comes in overwhelming greatness.
²³ God All-Powerful is too high for us to reach.
    He has great strength.
    He is always right and never punishes unfairly.
²⁴ That is why people honor God.
    He does not respect those who say they are wise.”