Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

9 O Lord, I will praise you with all my heart and tell everyone about the marvelous things you do. ² I will be glad, yes, filled with joy because of you. I will sing your praises, O Lord God above all gods.^[a]

³ My enemies will fall back and perish in your presence; ⁴ you have vindicated me; you have endorsed my work, declaring from your throne that it is good.^{[b] 5} You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked, blotting out their names forever and ever. ⁶ O enemies of mine, you are doomed forever. The Lord will destroy your cities; even the memory of them will disappear.

^7-8 But the Lord lives on forever; he sits upon his throne to judge justly the nations of the world. ⁹ All who are oppressed may come to him. He is a refuge for them in their times of trouble. ¹⁰ All those who know your mercy, Lord, will count on you for help. For you have never yet forsaken those who trust in you.

¹¹ Oh, sing out your praises to the God who lives in Jerusalem.^[c] Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds. ¹² He who avenges murder has an open ear to those who cry to him for justice. He does not ignore the prayers of men in trouble when they call to him for help.

¹³ And now, O Lord, have mercy on me; see how I suffer at the hands of those who hate me. Lord, snatch me back from the jaws of death. ¹⁴ Save me, so that I can praise you publicly before all the people at Jerusalem’s gates^[d] and rejoice that you have rescued me.

16 Job’s reply:

² “I have heard all this before. What miserable comforters all of you are. ³ Won’t you ever stop your flow of foolish words? What have I said that makes you speak so endlessly? ⁴ But perhaps I’d sermonize the same as you—if you were I and I were you. I would spout off my criticisms against you and shake my head at you. ⁵ But no! I would speak in such a way that it would help you. I would try to take away your grief.

⁶ “But now my grief remains no matter how I defend myself; nor does it help if I refuse to speak. ⁷ For God has ground me down and taken away my family. ⁸ O God, you have turned me to skin and bones—as a proof, they say, of my sins. ⁹ God hates me and angrily tears at my flesh; he has gnashed upon me with his teeth and watched to snuff out any sign of life. ¹⁰ These ‘comforters’ have gaping jaws to swallow me; they slap my cheek. My enemies gather themselves against me. ¹¹ And God has delivered me over to sinners, into the hands of the wicked.

¹² “I was living quietly until he broke me apart. He has taken me by the neck and dashed me to pieces, then hung me up as his target. ¹³ His archers surround me, letting fly their arrows, so that the ground is wet from my blood. ¹⁴ Again and again he attacks me, running upon me like a giant. ¹⁵ Here I sit in sackcloth; and have laid all hope in the dust. ¹⁶ My eyes are red with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death.

¹⁷ “Yet I am innocent, and my prayer is pure. ¹⁸ O Earth, do not conceal my blood. Let it protest on my behalf.

¹⁹ “Yet even now the witness to my innocence is there in heaven; my advocate is there on high. ²⁰ My friends scoff at me, but I pour out my tears to God, ²¹ pleading that he will listen as a man would listen to his neighbor.

⁴⁵ “Are you a wise and faithful servant of the Lord? Have I given you the task of managing my household, to feed my children day by day? ⁴⁶ Blessings on you if I return and find you faithfully doing your work. ⁴⁷ I will put such faithful ones in charge of everything I own!

⁴⁸ “But if you are evil and say to yourself, ‘My Lord won’t be coming for a while,’ ⁴⁹ and begin oppressing your fellow servants, partying and getting drunk, ⁵⁰ your Lord will arrive unannounced and unexpected, ⁵¹ and severely whip you and send you off to the judgment of the hypocrites; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.