Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

God Helps Men in Trouble

107 Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! His loving-kindness lasts forever! ² Let the people who have been saved say so. He has bought them and set them free from the hand of those who hated them. ³ He gathered them from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

²³ Some went out to sea in ships to buy and sell on the great waters. ²⁴ They have seen what the Lord can do and His great works on the sea. ²⁵ For He spoke and raised up a storm that lifted up the waves of the sea. ²⁶ They went up to the heavens and down to the deep. Their strength of heart left them in their danger. ²⁷ They could not walk straight but went from side to side like a drunk man. They did not know what to do. ²⁸ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble. And He took them out of all their problems. ²⁹ He stopped the storm, and the waves of the sea became quiet. ³⁰ Then they were glad because the sea became quiet. And He led them to the safe place they wanted. ³¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness and His great works to the children of men! ³² Let them honor Him in the meeting of the people and praise Him in the meeting of the leaders.

²¹ “Men listened to me and waited. They were quiet so they could hear my words of wisdom. ²² After I spoke, they did not speak again. My words stayed with them. ²³ They waited for me as for rain. And they opened their mouths as for the spring rain. ²⁴ I looked at them with joy when they were not sure of themselves, and the light of my face gave them comfort. ²⁵ I decided the way for them and sat as their leader. I lived as a king among his army, and like one who gives comfort to those in sorrow.

Job Keeps On Talking

30 “But now those who are younger than I make fun of me. I thought so little of their fathers that I did not want them with my sheep dogs. ² Yes, what good could I get from the strength of their hands? Their strength was gone. ³ Their bodies are thin and in need of food. At night they bite the dry ground in the waste land. ⁴ They pick plants that taste of salt among the bushes. And they eat the root of the broom bush. ⁵ They are driven away from people. Men call out against them as if they were robbers. ⁶ So they live in valleys made by floods, in caves of the earth and of the rocks. ⁷ Among the bushes they cry out. They gather together under the thistles. ⁸ They are fools and they have no name. They have been driven out of the land.

⁹ “Now they make fun of me in song. They laugh at me. ¹⁰ They hate me and keep away from me, but they spit in my face. ¹¹ Because God has made the string of my bow loose and has troubled me, they have thrown off their respect for me. ¹² Their bad group comes to my right. They push me away and trip my feet, and make ways to destroy me. ¹³ They break up my path. They make trouble for me, and no one stops them. ¹⁴ They come as if through a wide hole in the wall, and roll on with much noise. ¹⁵ Fears come upon me. They go after my honor like the wind. And my well-being has passed away like a cloud.

Paul Goes from Miletus to Tyre

21 After we left them, we got on a ship and came straight down to the island of Cos. The next day we came to the island of Rhodes and from there to the city of Patara. ² There we found a ship that was going over to the country of Phoenicia. We got on it and went along. ³ We saw the island of Cyprus to our left but went on to the country of Syria. We came to land at the city of Tyre. The ship was to leave its load of freight there.

⁴ We looked for the Christians and stayed with them seven days. The Christians had been told by the Holy Spirit to tell Paul not to go to Jerusalem. ⁵ When our time was up, we left there and went on our way. All of them with their wives and children went with us out of town. They got down on their knees on the shore and prayed. ⁶ After we said good-bye, we got on the ship and they went back to their houses.

Paul Goes from Tyre to Jerusalem

⁷ The same ship took us from Tyre to the city of Ptolemais. We stayed with the Christians there one day. ⁸ The next day we left and came to the city of Caesarea. We went to the house of Philip and stayed with him. He was a preacher who goes from town to town and was one of the seven church leaders. ⁹ Philip had four daughters who were not married. They spoke the Word of God.

¹⁰ While we were there a few days, a man who speaks for God named Agabus came down from the country of Judea. ¹¹ He came to see us. Then he took Paul’s belt and used it to tie his own feet and hands. He said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says, ‘The Jews at Jerusalem will tie the man who owns this belt. Then they will hand him over to the people who are not Jews.’”

¹² When we heard this, we and all the people living there begged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. ¹³ Then Paul said, “What do you mean by crying and breaking my heart? I am ready to be put in chains in Jerusalem. I am also ready to die for the name of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ Paul would not listen to us. So we stopped begging him and said, “May whatever God wants be done.”

Paul Is in Jerusalem

¹⁵ After this, we got ready and started up to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Some of the followers in Caesarea went with us. They took us to Mnason’s house. He was one of the first followers from Cyprus. We stayed with him.