Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Book Five
The Lord Rescues People from Many Troubles.
107 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
For His compassion and lovingkindness endure forever!
2
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
3
And gathered them from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the [a]south.
23
Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters;
24
They have seen the works of the Lord,
And His wonders in the deep.
25
For He spoke and raised up a stormy wind,
Which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26
They went up toward the heavens [on the crest of the wave], they went down again to the depths [of the watery trough];
Their courage melted away in their misery.
27
They staggered and trembled like a drunken man,
And were at their wits’ end [all their wisdom was useless].
28
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brought them out of their distresses.
29
He hushed the storm to a gentle whisper,
So that the waves of the sea were still.(A)
30
Then they were glad because of the calm,
And He guided them to their desired haven (harbor).
31
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonderful acts to the children of men!
32
Let them exalt Him also in the congregation of the people,
And praise Him at the seat of the elders.
Job’s Past Was Glorious
29 And Job again took up his discussion and said,
2
“Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
As in the days when God watched over me,(A)
3
When His lamp shone upon my head
And by His light I walked through darkness;
4
As I was in the prime of my days,
When the friendship and counsel of God were over my tent,
5
When [a]the Almighty was still with me
And my boys were around me,
6
When my steps [through rich pastures] were washed with butter and cream [from my livestock],
And the rock poured out for me streams of oil [from my olive groves].
7
“When I went out to the gate of the city,
When I took my seat [as a city father] in the square,
8
The young men saw me and hid themselves,
The aged arose and stood [respectfully];
9
The princes stopped talking
And put their hands on their mouths;
10
The voices of the nobles were hushed,
And their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
11
“For when an ear heard [my name mentioned], it called me happy and fortunate;
And when an eye saw [me], it testified for me [approvingly],
12
Because I rescued the poor who cried for help,
And the orphan who had no helper.
13
“The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,
And I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.
14
“I put on [b]righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a turban!
15
“I was eyes to the blind
And I was feet to the lame.
16
“I was a father to the needy;
I investigated the case I did not know [and assured justice].
17
“And I smashed the jaws of the wicked
And snatched the prey from his teeth.
18
“Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest,
And I shall multiply my days as the sand.
19
‘My root is spread out and open to the waters,
And the dew lies all night upon my branch.
20
‘My glory and honor are fresh in me [being constantly renewed],
And my bow gains [ever] new strength in my hand.’
Paul in Macedonia and Greece
20 After the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had encouraged them he told them goodbye, and set off to go to [a]Macedonia. 2 After he had gone through those districts and had encouraged the believers, he came to Greece. 3 And he stayed three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia (northern Greece). 4 He was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and by Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. 5 These men went on ahead and were waiting for us (including Luke) at Troas. 6 We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread (Passover week), and within five days we reached them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
7 Now on the first day of the week (Sunday), when we were gathered together to break bread (share communion), Paul began talking with them, intending to leave the next day; and he kept on with his message until midnight. 8 Now there were many lamps in the upper room where we were assembled, 9 and there was a young man named Eutychus (“Lucky”) sitting on the window sill. He was sinking into a deep sleep, and as Paul [b]kept on talking longer and longer, he was completely overcome by sleep and fell down from the third story; and he was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down and threw himself on him and embraced him, and said [to those standing around him], “Do not be troubled, because [c]he is alive.” 11 When Paul had gone back upstairs and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked [informally and confidentially] with them for a long time—until daybreak [in fact]—and then he left. 12 They took the boy [Eutychus] home alive, and were greatly comforted and encouraged.
Troas to Miletus
13 But we went on ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there; for that was what he had arranged, intending himself to go [a shorter route] by land. 14 So when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and sailed on to Mitylene. 15 Sailing from there, we arrived the next day [at a point] opposite Chios; the following day we crossed over to Samos, and the next day we arrived at Miletus [about 30 miles south of Ephesus]. 16 Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus so that he would not end up spending time [unnecessarily] in [the province of] Asia (modern Turkey); for he was in a hurry to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of [d]Pentecost.
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