Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Mercy
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
123 Lord, I ·look upward [L lift up my eyes] to you,
you who ·live [are enthroned; L sit] in heaven.
2 ·Slaves depend on their masters [L Like the eyes of servants/slaves to the hand of their master],
and ·a female servant depends on her mistress [L like the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress].
·In the same way, we depend on the Lord our God [L …thus our eyes are to the Lord our God as…];
we wait for him to show us ·mercy [grace].
3 ·Have mercy on [Be gracious to] us, Lord. ·Have mercy on [Be gracious to] us,
because we have been insulted.
4 We ·have suffered [are filled with the] ·many insults [much ridicule] from ·lazy [untroubled; unworried] people
and much ·cruelty [scorn] from the proud.
Bildad Answers
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “·God rules and he must be honored [L Rule/Dominion and dread are with him];
he ·set up order [establishes peace] in his high heaven.
3 ·No one can count God’s armies [L Is there a number to his troops?].
·His light shines on all people [L Upon whom does his light not rise?].
4 ·So no one can be good [What mortal can be righteous…?] in the presence of God,
and ·no one [who…?] born to a woman can be pure.
5 Even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his eyes.
6 People are much less! They are like ·insects [L maggots].
They are only worms!”
Job Answers Bildad
26 Then Job answered:
2 “You are no help to the ·helpless [powerless]!
You have not ·aided [rescued] the ·weak [L weak armed]!
3 ·Your advice lacks wisdom [or You have brought no counsel to those without wisdom]!
You have shown little understanding!
4 ·Who has helped you say these words [L Whose words do you speak]?
And ·where did you get these ideas [L whose breath comes from you]?
5 “The ·spirits of the dead [shades; L Rephaim; C departed ancestors] tremble,
·those who are beneath and in the waters [L the waters and their inhabitants are terrified; C symbol for the forces of evil].
6 ·Death [L The grave; Sheol] ·is naked [lies exposed] before God;
·destruction [Abaddon; C the underworld] is uncovered before him [C God is in control of them].
7 God stretches ·the northern sky [or Zaphon; C a reference to Baal’s mountain; indicating God’s control over it] out over empty space
and hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He wraps up the waters in his thick clouds,
but the clouds do not ·break under their weight [L burst under them].
9 He covers the face of the ·moon [or throne],
spreading his clouds over it.
10 He draws the horizon like a circle on the water
at the place where light and darkness meet.
11 ·Heaven’s foundations [L The pillars of heavens; C perhaps mountains] ·shake [quake]
·when he thunders at them [L astounded by his rebuke/blast].
12 With his power he ·quiets [stills] the ·sea [or Sea; C the powers of chaos];
by his ·wisdom [understanding] he ·destroys [struck] Rahab, the sea monster [9:13].
13 He breathes, and ·the sky clears [L he makes the heavens beautiful].
His hand ·stabs [slays] the fleeing ·snake [serpent; C Leviathan, another sea monster representing chaos; 3:8; Is. 27:1].
14 And these are ·only a small part of God’s works [L fringes of his way].
We only hear a small whisper of him.
Who could understand God’s thundering power?”
Jesus Has God’s Authority
19 But Jesus ·said [answered them], “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], the Son can do nothing ·alone [on his own initiative; by himself]. The Son does only what he sees the Father doing, ·because the Son does whatever the Father does [L for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise]. 20 [L For] The Father loves the Son and shows the Son all the things he himself does. But the Father will show the Son even greater things than this so that you can all ·be amazed [marvel; be astonished]. 21 [L For] Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to those he ·wants to [wishes; wills]. 22 ·In fact, [or For] the Father judges no one, but he has ·given [entrusted to] the Son ·power to do all the judging [L all judgment; Rev. 20:11–15] 23 so that all people will honor the Son as much as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
24 “·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], whoever ·hears [obeys] ·what I say [L my word/message] and believes in the One who sent me has eternal life. That person will not ·be judged guilty [L come into judgment/condemnation] but has ·already left death and entered life [L passed from death into life]. 25 ·I tell you the truth [L Truly, truly I say to you], the ·time [L hour] is coming and is already here when the dead will ·hear [obey] the voice of the Son of God, and those who ·hear [obey] will ·have life [live]. 26 [L For] ·Life comes from the Father himself [just as the Father has life], ·and [so] he has ·allowed the Son to have [given the Son] life in himself as well. 27 And the Father has given the Son the ·approval [authority; power; right] to ·judge [execute judgment], because he is the Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14]. 28 Don’t ·be surprised [marvel; be amazed] at this: A ·time [L hour] is coming when all who are dead and in their graves will hear his voice. 29 Then they will come out of their graves. Those who did good ·will rise and have life forever [L to the resurrection resulting in life], but those who did evil ·will rise to be judged guilty [L to the resurrection resulting in condemnation/judgment].
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