Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Song of Ascents
A Prayer for Relief
123 To you, who sit enthroned in heaven,
I lift up my eyes.
2 Consider this: as the eyes of a servant focus
on what his master provides,[a]
and as the eyes of a female servant focus[b]
on what her mistress provides,[c]
so our eyes focus on the Lord our God,
until he has mercy on us.
3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
4 Our lives overflow
with scorn from those who live at ease,
with contempt from those who are proud.
Bildad Speaks a Third Time
25 Bildad from Shuah responded and said:
2 “Dominion and fear belong to God;[a]
who fashions peace in his high heaven.
3 Is there any limit to his armies?
On whom does his light not shine?[b]
4 How can a human being[c] become right with God?
How can a human being[d] be pure?
5 Behold, even the moon isn’t bright,
and the stars aren’t pure in his eyes.
6 How much less is man, who is only a maggot,
or a man’s children, who are only worms!”
Job Reasons with Bildad
26 In reply, Job responded:
2 “What a help you are to the weak!
How powerfully you deliver those without strength!
3 What counsel you provide to the fool!
What insight you provide so abundantly!
4 Who helped you say all of this?
Who inspired you?”
Job Acknowledges God’s Power
5 “The ghosts of the dead[e] writhe under the waters
along with those who live there with them.
6 Sheol[f] is naked before God[g]
and Abaddon[h] has no clothes.
7 He spreads out the north over empty space,
suspending the earth over nothing.
8 “He restricts the waters within clouds
and the clouds don’t burst open under them.
9 He has enclosed the face of the full moon
and spread his clouds over it.
10 He has delimited a boundary[i] over the surface of the oceans
as a limit between light and darkness.
11 The pillars of the heavens tremble
and are astounded at his rebuke.
12 By his power he disturbs the sea;
and with his skill he shatters the sea monster.[j]
13 He clears the skies with his wind;
his hands have pierced the fleeing serpent.
14 Indeed, these are the fringes of his ways,
and how faint is the whisper we’ve heard of it!
But who can comprehend the thunder of his might?”
The Authority of the Son
19 Jesus told them, “Truly, I tell all of you[a] emphatically, the Son can do nothing on his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing, What the Father does, the Son does likewise. 20 The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing, and he will show him even greater actions than these, so that you may be amazed. 21 Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to those he chooses. 22 The Father judges no one, but has given all authority to judge to the Son, 23 so that everyone may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
24 “Truly, I tell all of you[b] emphatically, whoever hears what I say and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged, but has passed from death to life. 25 Truly, I tell all of you[c] emphatically, the time approaches, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live. 26 Just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted the Son to have life in himself, 27 and he has given him authority to judge, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Don’t be amazed at this, because the time is approaching when everyone in their graves will hear the Son of Man’s[d] voice 29 and will come out—those who have done what is good to the resurrection that leads to[e] life, and those who have practiced what is evil to the resurrection that ends in[f] condemnation.[g]
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