Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Song of degrees.

¹ ¶ Unto thee I lift up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.

² Behold, as the eyes of slaves look unto the hand of their masters and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until he shall have mercy upon us.

³ Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we are exceedingly weary of being held in contempt.

⁴ Our soul is exceedingly weary of the scorning of those that are at ease and of the contempt of the proud.

21 ¶ But Job answered and said,

¹⁷ ¶ How often is the lamp of the wicked put out and their destruction comes upon them, and God distributes sorrows upon them in his anger.

¹⁸ They shall be as stubble before the wind and as chaff taken up by the whirlwind.

¹⁹ God shall lay up his violence for their sons; and he will reward him so that he shall know it.

²⁰ His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

²¹ For what delight shall he have in his house after him, being cut off in the number of his months?

²² Shall he teach God knowledge, seeing he judges those that are high?

²³ This one shall die in the full strength of his beauty, being completely at ease and quiet.

²⁴ His breasts are full of milk, and his bones are moistened with marrow.

²⁵ And another dies in the bitterness of his soul, never having eaten with pleasure.

²⁶ They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them.

²⁷ ¶ Behold, I know your thoughts and the imaginations which ye devise against me.

²⁸ For ye say, What is of the house of the prince, and what of the tent of the habitation of the wicked?

²⁹ Have ye not asked those that go by the way, and do ye not know their tokens?

³⁰ That the wicked is reserved for the day of destruction, they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.

³¹ Who shall declare his way to his face? And who shall repay him what he has done?

³² He shall yet be brought to the grave and shall remain in the tomb.

³³ The clods of the river valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall be drawn after him, as there were innumerable before him.

³⁴ How then do ye comfort me in vain, given that your answers remain as falsehood?

¹ ¶ The elder unto the chosen lady and her sons, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all those that have known the truth,

² for the truth’s sake, which abides in us and shall be with us for ever.

³ Grace be with you, mercy and peace, from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and charity.

⁴ I have rejoiced greatly, for I have found of thy sons that they walk in the truth, as we have received the commandment from the Father.

⁵ ¶ And now I beseech thee, lady, (not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning) that we love one another.

⁶ And this is charity, that we walk after his commandment. And this is the commandment, That ye walk in him, as ye have heard from the beginning.

⁷ ¶ For many deceivers are entered into the world, who do not confess Jesus Christ coming in flesh. This same is a deceiver and antichrist.

⁸ Look to yourselves, that we not lose those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a fulfilled reward.

⁹ Whosoever rebels and does not abide in the doctrine of the Christ, does not have God. He that abides in the doctrine of the Christ, the same has the Father and the Son.

¹⁰ ¶ If anyone comes unto you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house neither say unto him, Welcome:

¹¹ For he that says unto him, Welcome, is partaker of his evil deeds.

¹² ¶ Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink, but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

¹³ The sons of thy chosen sister greet thee. Amen.