Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Prayer for a Safe Place

64 O God, hear my voice when I complain. Keep my life safe from the fear of those who hate me. ² Hide me from the secret plans of the sinful and from the noise of those who do bad things. ³ They have made their tongues sharp like a sword. They use poison words like arrows. ⁴ They shoot at the man without blame from their hiding place. They are quick to shoot at him and are not afraid. ⁵ They talk each other into doing sinful things. They talk about setting hidden traps. They say, “Who will see them?” ⁶ They think of ways to do bad things, and say, “We have made a perfect plan!” For the inside thoughts and the heart of a man are deep.

⁷ But God will shoot at them with an arrow. They will be hurt very soon. ⁸ They will be made to trip and fall. Their own tongue is against them. All who see them will shake their heads. ⁹ Then all men will be afraid. They will tell about the work of God. And they will think about what He has done. ¹⁰ The man who is right and good will be glad in the Lord and go to Him to be safe. All those whose hearts are right will give Him praise.

Job Talks

19 Then Job answered, ² “How long will you make me suffer and crush me with words? ³ Ten times you have put me to shame and are not ashamed to wrong me. ⁴ Even if it is true that I have done wrong, it stays with me. ⁵ You put yourselves up high against me, and try to prove my shame to me. ⁶ You will know then that God has wronged me, and has set a trap around me.

⁷ “See, I cry, ‘Someone is hurting me!’ but I get no answer. I call for help, but no one stands for what is right and fair. ⁸ He has built a wall in my way so that I cannot pass. And He has put darkness on my paths. ⁹ He has taken my honor from me, and taken the crown from my head. ¹⁰ He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone. He has pulled up my hope like a tree. ¹¹ He has made His anger burn against me, and thinks of me as one who fights against Him. ¹² His armies come together and build a path against me. They camp around my tent.

¹³ “He has taken my brothers far away from me and my friends have all left me. ¹⁴ My brothers have left me, and my close friends have forgotten me. ¹⁵ Those who live in my house and my women servants think of me as a stranger. I am like one from another country in their eyes. ¹⁶ I call to my servant, but he does not answer. I have to beg him. ¹⁷ My breath smells bad to my wife, and I am hated by my own brothers. ¹⁸ Even young children hate me. When I get up they speak against me. ¹⁹ All my friends hate me. Those I love have turned against me. ²⁰ I am only skin and flesh. And I have gotten away only by the skin of my teeth. ²¹ Have pity on me. Have pity on me, O you my friends. For the hand of God has hit me. ²² Why do you make it hard for me as God does? Have I not suffered enough to please you?

Followers Now Become the Body of Christ

¹¹ Do not forget that at one time you did not know God. The Jews, who had gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew by man’s hands, said you were people who do not know God. ¹² You were living without Christ then. The Jewish people who belonged to God had nothing to do with you. The promises He gave to them were not for you. You had nothing in this world to hope for. You were without God.

¹³ But now you belong to Christ Jesus. At one time you were far away from God. Now you have been brought close to Him. Christ did this for you when He gave His blood on the cross. ¹⁴ We have peace because of Christ. He has made the Jews and those who are not Jews one people. He broke down the wall that divided them. ¹⁵ He stopped the fighting between them by His death on the cross. He put an end to the Law. Then He made of the two people one new kind of people like Himself. In this way, He made peace. ¹⁶ He brought both groups together to God. Christ finished the fighting between them by His death on the cross. ¹⁷ Then Christ came and preached the Good News of peace to you who were far away from God. And He preached it to us who were near God. ¹⁸ Now all of us can go to the Father through Christ by way of the one Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ From now on you are not strangers and people who are not citizens. You are citizens together with those who belong to God. You belong in God’s family. ²⁰ This family is built on the teachings of the missionaries and the early preachers. Jesus Christ Himself is the cornerstone, which is the most important part of the building. ²¹ Christ keeps this building together and it is growing into a holy building for the Lord. ²² You are also being put together as a part of this building because God lives in you by His Spirit.