Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 How blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he has chosen as his own inheritance.
13 When the Lord looks down from heaven,
he observes every human being.
14 From his dwelling place,
he looks down on all the inhabitants of the earth.
15 He formed the hearts of them all;
he understands everything they do.
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a mighty soldier is not delivered by his great strength.
17 It is vain to trust in a horse for deliverance,
even with its great strength, it cannot deliver.
18 Indeed, the Lord watches those who fear him;
those who trust in his gracious love
19 to deliver them from death;
to keep them alive in times of famine.
20 We wait on the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 Indeed, our heart will rejoice in him,
because we have placed our trust in his holy name.
22 Lord, may your gracious love be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
Job Reasons with Zophar
21 In response, Job said:
2 “Listen carefully to my words;
let this encourage all of you.
3 Bear with me and let me speak!
Then, after I’ve spoken, you’ll be free to mock me.
4 After all, isn’t my complaint against a human being?
If so, why shouldn’t I be impatient?
5 Look at me, be appalled,
and then shut up!
6 When I think about this,[a] I’m petrified with terror
and my body shudders uncontrollably.”
The Wicked Prospers
7 “Why do the wicked live to reach old age
and increase in power and wealth, too?
8 Their children grow up while they’re alive,
and they live to see their grandchildren.
9 Their houses are safe from fear,
and God’s chastisement[b] never visits them.
10 Their bull breeds without fail,
and their cows calve without miscarriages.
11 They release their children to play like sheep;
their young ones[c] dance about,
12 singing[d] with tambourines and lyres
as they rejoice to the sound of flutes.
13 They grow old[e] in prosperity,
as they descend peacefully into the afterlife.[f]
14 “They say to God, ‘Turn away from us!
We have no desire to know your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
Where’s the profit in talking to him?’
16 Behold! Their prosperity isn’t in their control!
The counsel of the wicked will remain far from me.”
Paul’s Concern for the Jewish People
9 I am telling the truth because I belong to[a] the Messiah[b]—I am not lying, and my conscience confirms it by means of the Holy Spirit. 2 I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart, 3 for I could wish that I myself were condemned[c] and cut off from the Messiah[d] for the sake of my brothers, my own people,[e] 4 who are Israelis. To them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants,[f] the giving of the Law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To the Israelis[g] belong the patriarchs, and from them, the Messiah[h] descended,[i] who is God over all, the one who is forever blessed. Amen.
6 Now it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all Israelis truly belong to Israel, 7 and not all of Abraham’s descendants are his true descendants. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you.”[j] 8 That is, it is not merely the children born through natural descent who were regarded as God’s children, but it is the children born through the promise who were regarded as descendants. 9 For this is the language of the promise: “At this time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”[k]
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