Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom He has chosen as His inheritance.
13 The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
14 From the place of His habitation He gazes
on all the inhabitants of the earth;
15 He fashions their hearts alike;
He considers all their works.
16 No king is saved by a great army;
a mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for safety;
it will not deliver by its great strength.
18 The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
on those who hope in His lovingkindness,
19 to deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart will rejoice in Him,
because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be on us,
just as we hope in You.
Job Replies: The Wicked Do Prosper
21 But Job answered:
2 “Listen carefully to my speech,
and let this be your consolation.
3 Bear with me that I may speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.
4 “As for me, is my complaint against man?
And if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?
5 Look at me and be astonished,
and put your hand over your mouth.
6 Even when I remember I am afraid,
and trembling takes hold of my body.
7 Why do the wicked live and become old;
yes, become mighty in power?
8 Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
and their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses are safe from fear,
nor is the rod of God upon them.
10 Their bull breeds without failure;
their cow gives calves without miscarriage.
11 They send forth their little ones like a flock,
and their children dance.
12 They take up the tambourine and harp
and rejoice at the sound of the flute.
13 They spend their days in wealth,
and in a moment go down to Sheol.
14 Therefore they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
for we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’
16 Indeed, their prosperity is not in their hand.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
God’s Election of Israel
9 I am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brothers, my kinsmen by race, 4 who are Israelites, to whom belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises, 5 to whom belong the patriarchs, and from whom, according to the flesh, is Christ, who is over all, God forever blessed. Amen.
6 It is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are descendants of Abraham, but “In Isaac shall your descendants be called.”[a] 8 So those who are the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. 9 For this is the word of promise, “At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.”[b]
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.