Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 The Lord blesses the nation
that has him as their God.
He has chosen them to belong to him,
as his own special people.
13 The Lord looks down from heaven.
He sees every man, woman and child.
14 From the place where he lives,
he watches everyone that lives on the earth.
15 He made each person and all their thoughts.
He knows everything that they do.
16 A great army will not save their king.
A soldier does not stay alive because he is strong.
17 In war, do not hope that even a strong horse will help you to win.
You can not trust it to save you.
18 Remember, the Lord takes care of people who respect him.
Those people trust him for his faithful love.
19 They trust him to keep them safe from death,
and to keep them alive during a time of famine.
20 Yes! We will trust the Lord to come and help us.
He is our helper who keeps us safe,
like a soldier's shield.
21 We are happy because he loves us.
We trust in his holy name.
22 Lord, help us to know your faithful love,
because we are trusting in you.
Job replies to Zophar
21 Then Job replied. This is what he said:
2 ‘Listen carefully to the things that I am saying.
You can only help me if you do that.
3 Be patient with me so that I can speak.
After you have heard what I say,
you may choose to laugh at me.
4 It is not people that I want to argue with.[a]
So I have good reason to be upset.
5 When you look at me, you should be upset.
You should cover your mouth with your hand.
6 I think about what has happened to me.
It makes me very afraid.
My body shakes with fear.
7 Why do wicked people continue to live for a long time?
The older they become, the more power they have.
8 They see their own children grow and become strong.
Their children also have strong families.
9 They are safe in their homes
and they are not afraid.
God does not punish them.
10 Their cows give birth safely to many calves.
11 Their children run and play.
They jump like young lambs.
12 They enjoy the music of tambourines and harps.
They sing with joy to the sound of flutes.
13 Wicked people have plenty of money through their whole lives.
Even when they die, they do not suffer.
14 They say to God, “Leave us alone!
We do not want to know about your ways.
15 We do not need to serve the Almighty God.
If we pray to him,
there is nothing he can do to help us.”
16 They think that they have made themselves rich.
But it is not true.
So I do not listen to the things that wicked people say.
The Jews have not believed in Christ
9 What I am telling you is true. I speak as someone who belongs to Christ. I am not telling lies. God's Holy Spirit rules my thoughts and I am sure that I am right. 2 I tell you this: Deep inside myself, I am always very sad and upset because of Israel's people. 3 I belong to the same family as they do. They are my own people. I really want them to believe in Christ too. If it would help them, I would even ask God to curse me. I would ask him to make me separate from Christ.
4 They are Israelite people. God chose them to belong to him as his own children. He showed them that he is very great. He made many agreements with them and he gave his Law to them. He showed them how they should worship him. He promised many good things to them. 5 It was their ancestors that God chose to make great many years ago.[a] And Christ himself, as a man, was born to an Israelite family. Christ is God, who rules over all things. We should praise him for ever! This is true! Amen.
6 God promised good things to Israel's people. But I am not saying that what God promised did not happen. It is clear that not all of Israel's people are God's true people. 7 Not all of them are true descendants of Abraham. God told Abraham, ‘It is only Isaac that I will call the father of your descendants.’
8 This means that not all of Abraham's children are really God's children. It is only those children who were born as a result of God's promise. Only they are the people that God calls true descendants. 9 This is what God promised to Abraham: ‘At this time next year I will come back. Then Sarah, your wife, will have a son.’[b]
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