Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹ I love You, Eternal One, source of my power.
² The Eternal is my rock, my fortress, and my salvation;
    He is my True God, the stronghold in which I hide,
    my strong shield, the horn that calls forth help, and my tall-walled tower.
³ I call out to the Eternal, who is worthy to be praised—
    that’s how I will be rescued from my enemies.

⁴ The bonds of death encircled me;
    the currents of destruction tugged at me;
⁵ The sorrows of the grave wrap around me;
    the traps of death lay in wait for me.

⁶ In my time of need, I called to the Eternal;
    I begged my True God for help.
He heard my voice echo up to His temple,
    and my cry came to His ears.

⁷ Because of His great anger, the earth shook and staggered;
    the roots of the mountains shifted.
⁸ Smoke poured out from His nose,
    and devouring fire burst from His mouth.
    Coals glowed from Him.
⁹ He bent the heavens and descended;
    inky darkness was beneath His feet.
¹⁰ He rode upon a heavenly creature,^[a] flying;
    He was carried quickly on the wings of the wind.
¹¹ He took darkness as His hiding place—
    both the dark waters of the seas and the dark clouds of the sky.
¹² Out from His brilliance
    hailstones and burning coals
    broke through the clouds.
¹³ The Eternal thundered in the heavens;
    the Highest spoke; His voice rumbled [in the midst of hail and lightning].^[b]
14 He shot forth His arrows and scattered the wicked;
    He flung forth His lightning and struck them.
¹⁵ Then the deepest channels of the seas were visible,
    and the very foundations of the world were uncovered
At Your rebuke, O Eternal One,
    at the blast of wind from Your nostrils.

¹⁶ He reached down His hand from above me; He held me.
    He lifted me from the raging waters.
¹⁷ He rescued me from my strongest enemy,
    from all those who sought my death,
    for they were too strong.
¹⁸ They came for me in the day of my destruction,
    but the Eternal was the support of my life.
¹⁹ He set me down in a safe place;
    He saved me to His delight; He took joy in me.

²⁴     Remember to praise His works,
        which generations have celebrated in song.
²⁵     All of humankind has seen them
        and has gazed upon them from far away.
²⁶     Look, God is exalted, beyond all knowing.
        The number of His years is vast, beyond all discovery.
²⁷     For He draws up drops of water,
        distills the rain from the mist
²⁸     Which pours down from the clouds,
        dripping a sky full of water over the whole of humanity.
²⁹     It is beyond comprehension: the fanning out of the clouds,
        the crashing thunder from His cloudy pavilion.
³⁰     Ah, and then He extends His lightning over the earth,
        striking even the sea to illumine its depths.
³¹     For with these, He judges the peoples—
        lightning punishing His enemies and rain blessing His people—
        but now with those same waters, He gives them food in abundance.
³²     In the palms of His hands He holds lightning
        and issues orders for it to strike its target.
³³     Thunder announces His presence;
        His jealous anger^[a] is against what is coming.

¹⁴     Hear this, Job.
        Pause where you are, and ponder the wonders of God.
¹⁵     Do you know how God orchestrates these marvels?
        How He makes the clouds flash with lightning?
¹⁶     Do you know how those same clouds are hung up in the sky or how they move?
        Do you know the wonders of God, who is perfect in His knowledge of such things?
¹⁷     You, who feel the wind of His voice even now,
        are the same one whose clothes are hot to the touch
        when God makes the land go still beneath the south wind.
¹⁸     Can you assist God in hammering out the silver sky
        until it appears as hard as cast metal mirror?^[a]
19     Job, tell us what to say to Him.
        We cannot draw up our argument before such impenetrable darkness.
²⁰     Shall He be told that I wish to speak to Him directly?
        Will it help if I admit I would be consumed if I did?

²¹     But now no one can see the brightness of the light through the thick clouds;
        as the wind changes and blows through the sky, it clears the air.
²²     From the north, the weather changes;
        golden skies encircle God, now clothed in awesome majesty.
²³     We cannot find the Highest One:^[b]
        He is exalted in power,
    Great in righteousness,
        and does not depreciate humanity.
²⁴     This is why mortals fear Him;
        He doesn’t see the wise of heart.^[c]