Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
A Prayer for Protection
64 Hear, God, as I express my concern;
protect me[a] from fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
from the mob of those who practice evil,
3 who sharpen their tongues like swords,
and aim their bitter words like arrows,
4 shooting at the innocent from concealment.
Suddenly they shoot, fearing nothing.
5 They concoct an evil scheme for themselves;
they enumerate their hidden snares;
they say, “Who will see them?”[b]
6 They devise wicked schemes, saying,
“We have completed our plans,
hiding them deep in our hearts.”
7 But God shot an arrow at them,
and they were wounded immediately.
8 They tripped over their own tongues,
and everyone who was watching ran away.
9 Everyone was gripped with fear
and acknowledged God’s deeds,
understanding what he had done.
10 The righteous rejoiced in the Lord,
because they had fled to him for refuge.
Let all the upright in heart exult.
Bildad Speaks Again
18 Bildad from Shuah replied, saying:
2 “When are you going to stop your word hunt?
Think first, and then we can talk.
3 Why do you think we’re like dumb animals?
Do you think we’re stupid?
4 You’re tearing yourself to pieces in your anger.
Will the land be abandoned because of you,
or the rock be moved from its place?”
The Wicked are Trapped
5 “Indeed, the light of the wicked is extinguished;
the flame from his fire doesn’t shine.
6 Light in his tent is dark,
and his lamp goes out above him.
7 His strong steps are restricted,
and his own advice trips him up.
8 “For he has stumbled into a net with his own feet;
he walked right into the network!
9 The trap seizes him by the heel;
a snare tightens its hold on him.
10 A rope lies hidden in the dirt;
a trap lies[a] waiting for him where he is walking.”
The Wicked Perish without Descendants
11 “He is petrified by terror that surrounds him on all sides;
they chase at his heels.
12 He is starved for strength;
and is ripe for a fall.
13 Something gnaws on his skin;
a deadly disease[b] consumes his limbs.
14 Torn from the security of his home,[c]
he is brought before the king of terrors.
15 “There’s nothing in his tent that belongs to him;
sulfur is scattered all over his dwelling place.
16 His roots wither underneath,
while his branches above are being cut off.
17 No one remembers him anywhere in the land;
no one names streets in his honor.
18 He is driven away from light to darkness,
made to wander the landscape.
19 He has no children or descendants within his own people;
and no survivors where he once lived.
20 People[d] who live west of him are appalled at his fate;[e]
those who live east of him are seized with terror.
21 Indeed, the residences of the wicked are like this;
and so are the homes of those who don’t know God.”
The Messiah is God’s Power and Wisdom
18 For the message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the intelligence of the intelligent I will reject.”[a]
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? God has turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense, hasn’t he? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know God,[b] God was pleased to save those who believe through the nonsense of our preaching. 22 Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach the Messiah[c] crucified. He is a stumbling block to Jews and nonsense to gentiles, 24 but to those who are called,[d] both Jews and Greeks, the Messiah[e] is God’s power and God’s wisdom. 25 For God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom,[f] and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.[g]
26 Brothers, think about your own calling. Not many of you were wise by human standards,[h] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is nonsense in the world to make the wise feel ashamed. God chose what is weak in the world to make the strong feel ashamed. 28 And God chose what is insignificant in the world, what is despised, what is nothing, in order to destroy what is something, 29 so that no one[i] may boast in God’s presence. 30 It is because of God[j] that you are in union with the Messiah[k] Jesus, who for us has become wisdom from God, as well as our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written, “The person who boasts must boast in the Lord.”[l]
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