Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 How blessed[a] is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession.[b]
13 The Lord watches[c] from heaven;
he sees all people.[d]
14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully
at all the earth’s inhabitants.
15 He is the one who forms every human heart,[e]
and takes note of all their actions.
16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory;[f]
despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.
18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers,[g]
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness[h]
19 by saving their lives from death[i]
and sustaining them during times of famine.[j]
20 We[k] wait for the Lord;
he is our deliverer[l] and shield.[m]
21 For our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord,[n]
for[o] we wait for you.
Job’s Reply to Zophar[a]
21 Then Job answered:
2 “Listen carefully[b] to my words;
let this be[c] the consolation you offer me.[d]
3 Bear with me[e] and I[f] will speak,
and after I have spoken[g] you may mock.[h]
4 Is my[i] complaint against a man?[j]
If so,[k] why should I not be impatient?[l]
5 Look[m] at me and be appalled;
put your hands over your mouths.[n]
6 For, when I think about[o] this, I am terrified[p]
and my body feels a shudder.[q]
The Wicked Prosper
7 “Why do the wicked go on living,[r]
grow old,[s] even increase in power?
8 Their children[t] are firmly established in their presence,[u]
their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses are safe[v] and without fear;[w]
and no rod of punishment[x] from God is upon them.[y]
10 Their bulls[z] breed[aa] without fail;[ab]
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11 They allow their children to run[ac] like a flock;
their little ones dance about.
12 They sing[ad] to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp,
and make merry to the sound of the flute.
13 They live out[ae] their years in prosperity
and go down[af] to the grave[ag] in peace.
14 So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us!
We do not want to know your ways.[ah]
15 Who is the Almighty, that[ai] we should serve him?
What would we gain
if we were to pray[aj] to him?’[ak]
16 But their prosperity is not their own doing.[al]
The counsel of the wicked is far from me![am]
Israel’s Rejection Considered
9 [a] I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me[b] in the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.[c] 3 For I could wish[d] that I myself were accursed—cut off from Christ—for the sake of my people,[e] my fellow countrymen,[f] 4 who are Israelites. To them belong[g] the adoption as sons,[h] the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple worship,[i] and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs,[j] and from them,[k] by human descent,[l] came the Christ,[m] who is God over all, blessed forever![n] Amen.
6 It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel,[o] 7 nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; rather “through Isaac will your descendants be counted.”[p] 8 This means[q] it is not the children of the flesh[r] who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants. 9 For this is what the promise declared:[s] “About a year from now[t] I will return and Sarah will have a son.”[u]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.