Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Protection[a]
64 I am in trouble, God—listen to my prayer!
I am afraid of my enemies—save my life!
2 Protect me from the plots of the wicked,
from mobs of evil people.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim cruel words like arrows.
4 They are quick to spread their shameless lies;
they destroy good people with cowardly slander.
5 They encourage each other in their evil plots;
they talk about where they will place their traps.
“No one can see them,” they say.
6 They make evil plans and say,
“We have planned a perfect crime.”
The human heart and mind are a mystery.
7 But God shoots his arrows at them,
and suddenly they are wounded.
8 He will destroy them because of those words;[b]
all who see them will shake their heads.
9 They will all be afraid;
they will think about what God has done
and tell about his deeds.
10 All righteous people will rejoice
because of what the Lord has done.
They will find safety in him;
all good people will praise him.
18 1-2 Job, can't people like you ever be quiet?
If you stopped to listen, we could talk to you.
3 What makes you think we are as stupid as cattle?
4 You are only hurting yourself with your anger.
Will the earth be deserted because you are angry?
Will God move mountains to satisfy you?
5 (A)The light of the wicked will still be put out;
its flame will never burn again.
6 The lamp in their tents will be darkened.
7 Their steps were firm, but now they stumble;
they fall—victims of their own advice.
8 They walk into a net, and their feet are caught;
9 a trap catches their heels and holds them.
10 On the ground a snare is hidden;
a trap has been set in their path.
11 All around them terror is waiting;
it follows them at every step.
12 They used to be rich, but now they go hungry;
disaster stands and waits at their side.
13 A deadly disease spreads over their bodies
and causes their arms and legs to rot.
14 They are torn from the tents where they lived secure,
and are dragged off to face King Death.
15 Now anyone may live in their tents—[a]
after sulfur is sprinkled to disinfect them![b]
16 Their roots and branches are withered and dry.
17 Their fame is ended at home and abroad;
no one remembers them any more.
18 They will be driven out of the land of the living,
driven from light into darkness.
19 They have no descendants, no survivors.
20 From east to west, all who hear of their fate
shudder and tremble with fear.
21 That is the fate of evil people,
the fate of those who care nothing for God.
Christ the Power and the Wisdom of God
18 For the message about Christ's death on the cross is nonsense to those who are being lost; but for us who are being saved it is God's power. 19 (A)The scripture says,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and set aside the understanding of the scholars.”
20 (B)So then, where does that leave the wise? or the scholars? or the skillful debaters of this world? God has shown that this world's wisdom is foolishness!
21 (C)For God in his wisdom made it impossible for people to know him by means of their own wisdom. Instead, by means of the so-called “foolish” message we preach, God decided to save those who believe. 22 Jews want miracles for proof, and Greeks look for wisdom. 23 As for us, we proclaim the crucified Christ, a message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles; 24 but for those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, this message is Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For what seems to be God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and what seems to be God's weakness is stronger than human strength.
26 Now remember what you were, my friends, when God called you. From the human point of view few of you were wise or powerful or of high social standing. 27 God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise, and he chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful. 28 He chose what the world looks down on and despises and thinks is nothing, in order to destroy what the world thinks is important. 29 This means that no one can boast in God's presence. 30 But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom. By him we are put right with God; we become God's holy people and are set free. 31 (D)So then, as the scripture says, “Whoever wants to boast must boast of what the Lord has done.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.