Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
9 You who belong to the Lord, fear him!
Those who fear him will have everything they need.
10 Even lions may get weak and hungry,
but those who look to the Lord will have every good thing.
11 Children, come and listen to me.
I will teach you to worship the Lord.
12 You must do these things
to enjoy life and have many happy days.
13 You must not say evil things,
and you must not tell lies.
14 Stop doing evil and do good.
Look for peace and work for it.
13 “Now my eyes have seen all this;
my ears have heard and understood it.
2 What you know, I also know.
You are not better than I am.
3 But I want to speak to the Almighty
and to argue my case with God.
4 But you smear me with lies.
You are worthless doctors, all of you!
5 I wish you would just stop talking;
then you would really be wise!
6 Listen to my argument,
and hear the pleading of my lips.
7 You should not speak evil in the name of God;
you cannot speak God’s truth by telling lies.
8 You should not unfairly choose his side against mine;
you should not argue the case for God.
9 You will not do well if he examines you;
you cannot fool God as you might fool humans.
10 God would surely scold you
if you unfairly took one person’s side.
11 His bright glory would scare you,
and you would be very much afraid of him.
12 Your wise sayings are worth no more than ashes,
and your arguments are as weak as clay.
13 “Be quiet and let me speak.
Let things happen to me as they will.
14 Why should I put myself in danger
and take my life in my own hands?
15 Even if God kills me, I have hope in him;
I will still defend my ways to his face.
16 This is my salvation.
The wicked cannot come before him.
17 Listen carefully to my words;
let your ears hear what I say.
18 See, I have prepared my case,
and I know I will be proved right.
19 No one can accuse me of doing wrong.
If someone can, I will be quiet and die.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to the well to get some water, Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 (This happened while Jesus’ followers were in town buying some food.)
9 The woman said, “I am surprised that you ask me for a drink, since you are a Jewish man and I am a Samaritan woman.” (Jewish people are not friends with Samaritans.[a])
10 Jesus said, “If you only knew the free gift of God and who it is that is asking you for water, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said, “Sir, where will you get this living water? The well is very deep, and you have nothing to get water with. 12 Are you greater than Jacob, our father, who gave us this well and drank from it himself along with his sons and flocks?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty. The water I give will become a spring of water gushing up inside that person, giving eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so I will never be thirsty again and will not have to come back here to get more water.”
16 Jesus told her, “Go get your husband and come back here.”
17 The woman answered, “I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You are right to say you have no husband. 18 Really you have had five husbands, and the man you live with now is not your husband. You told the truth.”
19 The woman said, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that Jerusalem is the place where people must worship.”
21 Jesus said, “Believe me, woman. The time is coming when neither in Jerusalem nor on this mountain will you actually worship the Father. 22 You Samaritans worship something you don’t understand. We understand what we worship, because salvation comes from the Jews. 23 The time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, and that time is here already. You see, the Father too is actively seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that the Messiah is coming.” (Messiah is the One called Christ.) “When the Messiah comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus said, “I am he—I, the one talking to you.”
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.