Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A maskil of David.
32 It is a great blessing
when people are forgiven for the wrongs they have done,
when their sins are erased.[a]
2 It is a great blessing
when the Lord says they are not guilty,
when they don’t try to hide their sins.
3 Lord, I prayed to you again and again,
but I did not talk about my sins.
So I only became weaker and more miserable.
4 Every day you made life harder for me.
I became like a dry land in the hot summertime. Selah
5 But then I decided to confess my sins to the Lord.
I stopped hiding my guilt and told you about my sins.
And you forgave them all! Selah
6 That is why your loyal followers pray to you while there is still time.
Then when trouble rises like a flood, it will not reach them.
7 You are a hiding place for me.
You protect me from my troubles.
You surround me and protect me,
so I sing about the way you saved me. Selah
21 “Now, Job, give yourself to God and make peace with him.
Do this, and you will get many good things.
22 Accept his teaching.
Pay attention to what he says.
23 If you return to God All-Powerful, you will be restored.
But remove the evil from your house.
24 Think of your gold as nothing but dirt.
Think of your finest gold as rocks from a stream.
25 And let God All-Powerful be your gold.
Let him be your pile of silver.
26 Then you will enjoy God All-Powerful,
and you will look up to him.
27 When you pray, he will hear you.
And you will be able to do all that you promised him.
28 If you decide to do something, it will be successful.
And your future will be very bright!
29 When people are brought down and you ask God to help them,
he will rescue those who have been humbled.
30 Even those who are guilty will be forgiven.
They will be saved because you did what was right.”
Job Answers
23 Then Job answered:
2 “I am still complaining today.
I groan because God is still making me suffer.
3 I wish I knew where to find him.
I wish I knew how to go to where he lives.
4 I would present my case to him.
I would make my arguments to show that I am innocent.
5 He could give his response, and I would understand.
I would listen closely to what he says.
6 Would God use his power against me?
No, he would listen to me!
7 Since I am an honest man, he would let me tell my story.
Then my Judge would set me free!
8 “If I go to the east, God is not there.
If I go to the west, I still don’t see him.
9 When he is working in the north, I don’t see him.
When he turns to the south, I still don’t see him.
10 But God knows me.
He is testing me and will see that I am as pure as gold.
11 I have always lived the way God wants.
I have never stopped following him.
12 I always obey his commands.
I love the words from his mouth more than I love my food.
13 “But God never changes,
and who can stand against him?
He does anything he wants.
14 He will do to me what he planned,
and he has many other plans for me.
15 That is why I am terrified to stand before him.
Just thinking about it makes me afraid.
16 The fear of God has made me lose my courage.
God All-Powerful makes me afraid.
17 What has happened to me is like a dark cloud over my face.
But the darkness will not keep me quiet.
1 Greetings from Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.
To all of you who share in the same valuable faith that we have. This faith was given to us because our God and Savior Jesus Christ always does what is good and right.
2 Grace and peace be given to you more and more, because now you know God and Jesus our Lord.
God Has Given Us Everything We Need
3 Jesus has the power of God. And his power has given us everything we need to live a life devoted to God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus chose us by his glory and goodness, 4 through which he also gave us the very great and rich gifts that he promised us. With these gifts you can share in being like God. And so you will escape the ruin that comes to people in the world because of the evil things they want.
5 Because you have these blessings, do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; 6 to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God; 7 to your devotion add kindness toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to this kindness add love. 8 If all these things are in you and growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit that should come from your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who don’t grow in these blessings are blind. They cannot see clearly what they have. They have forgotten that they were cleansed from their past sins.
10 My brothers and sisters, God called you and chose you to be his. Do your best to live in a way that shows you really are God’s called and chosen people. If you do all this, you will never fall. 11 And you will be given a very great welcome into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, a kingdom that never ends.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International