Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 But you, O Lord, remain forever.
You are remembered throughout every generation.
13 You will rise and have compassion on Zion,
because it is time to grant a favor to it.
Indeed, the appointed time has come.
14 Your servants value Zion’s stones,
and they pity its rubble.
15 The nations will fear the Lord’s name.
All the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 When the Lord builds Zion,
he will appear in his glory.
17 He will turn his attention to the prayers
of those who have been abandoned.
He will not despise their prayers.
18 This will be written down for a future generation
so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his holy place high above.
From heaven he looked at the earth.
20 He heard the groans of the prisoners
and set free those who were condemned to death.
21 The Lord’s name is announced in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when nations and kingdoms gather
to worship the Lord.”
23 He has weakened my strength along the way.
He has reduced ⌞the number of⌟ my days.
24 I said, “My God, don’t take me now in the middle of my life.
Your years ⌞continue on⌟ throughout every generation.
25 Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth.
Even the heavens are the works of your hands.
26 They will come to an end, but you will still go on.
They will all wear out like clothing.
You will change them like clothes,
and they will be thrown away.
27 But you remain the same, and your life will never end.
28 The children of your servants will go on living ⌞here⌟.
Their descendants will be secure in your presence.”
Job Speaks: God Has Attacked Me Without Cause
6 Then Job replied ⌞to his friends⌟,
2 “If only my grief could be weighed,
if only my misery could be laid on the scales with it,
3 then they would be heavier than the sand of the seas.
I spoke carelessly
4 because the arrows of the Almighty ⌞have found their target⌟ in me,
and my spirit is drinking their poison.
God’s terrors line up in battle against me.
5 “Does a wild donkey bray when it’s ⌞eating⌟ grass,
or does an ox make a sound over its hay?
6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
or is there any flavor in the white of an egg?
7 I refuse to touch such things.
They are disgusting to me.
8 “How I wish that my prayer would be answered—
that God would give me what I’m hoping for,
9 that God would ⌞finally⌟ be willing to crush me,
that he would reach out to cut me off.
10 Then I would still have comfort.
I would be happy despite my endless pain,
because I have not rejected the words of the Holy One.
11 What strength do I have ⌞left⌟ that I can go on hoping?
What goal do I have that I would want to prolong my life?
12 Do I have the strength of rocks?
Does my body have the strength of bronze?
13 Am I not completely helpless?
Haven’t my skills been taken away from me?
Many People Are Cured(A)
7 Jesus left with his disciples for the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd from Galilee, Judea, 8 Jerusalem, Idumea, and from across the Jordan River, and from around Tyre and Sidon followed him. They came to him because they had heard about everything he was doing. 9 Jesus told his disciples to have a boat ready so that the crowd would not crush him. 10 He had cured so many that everyone with a disease rushed up to him in order to touch him. 11 Whenever people with evil spirits saw him, they would fall down in front of him and shout, “You are the Son of God!” 12 He gave them orders not to tell people who he was.
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