Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 Blessed is the (A)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has (B)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord (C)looks from heaven;
He (D)sees all the sons of mankind;
14 From (E)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (F)fashions [a]the hearts of them all,
He who (G)understands all their works.
16 (H)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not rescued by great strength.
17 A (I)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (J)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who (K)wait for His faithfulness,
19 To (L)rescue their soul from death
And to keep them alive (M)in famine.
20 Our soul (N)waits for the Lord;
He is our (O)help and our shield.
21 For our (P)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your favor, Lord, be upon us,
Just as we have waited for You.
Job Says God Will Deal with the Wicked
21 Then Job responded,
2 “Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your way of consolation.
3 Bear with me that I may speak;
Then after I have spoken, you may (A)mock me.
4 As for me, is (B)my complaint [a]to a mortal?
Or (C)why should [b]I not be impatient?
5 Look at me, and be astonished,
And (D)put your hand over your mouth.
6 Even when I remember, I am disturbed,
And (E)horror takes hold of my flesh.
7 Why (F)do the wicked still live,
Grow old, and also become very [c](G)powerful?
8 Their [d](H)descendants endure with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes,
9 Their houses (I)are safe from fear,
And the [e]rod of God is not on them.
10 His ox mates [f]without fail;
His cow calves and does not miscarry.
11 They send out their boys like the flock,
And their children dance.
12 They [g]sing with the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
13 They (J)spend their days in prosperity,
And [h]suddenly they go down to [i]Sheol.
14 Yet they say to God, ‘(K)Go away from us!
We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15 [j]Who is [k]the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
And (L)what would we gain if we plead with Him?’
16 Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;
The (M)advice of the wicked is far from me.
Deep Concern for Israel
9 (A)I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For (B)I could [a]wish that I myself were (C)accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my countrymen, my kinsmen (D)according to the flesh, 4 who are (E)Israelites, to whom belongs (F)the adoption as sons and daughters, (G)the glory, (H)the covenants, (I)the giving of the Law, (J)the temple service, and (K)the promises; 5 whose are (L)the fathers, and (M)from whom is the [b]Christ according to the flesh, (N)who is over all, (O)God (P)blessed [c]forever. Amen.
6 But it is not as though (Q)the word of God has failed. (R)For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; 7 nor are they all children (S)because they are Abraham’s [d](T)descendants, but: “[e](U)through Isaac your [f]descendants shall be named.” 8 That is, it is not the children of the flesh [g]who are (V)children of God, but the (W)children of the promise are regarded as [h](X)descendants. 9 For this is the word of promise: “(Y)At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.”
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