Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the Lord
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my [a]meditation;
Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,
3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
(A)And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
4 That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.
5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
(B)They say, “Who will see them?”
6 They devise iniquities:
“We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”
Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.
7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly they shall be wounded.
8 So He will make them stumble over their own tongue;
(C)All who see them shall flee away.
9 All men shall fear,
And shall (D)declare the work of God;
For they shall wisely consider His doing.
10 (E)The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him.
And all the upright in heart shall glory.
Job Trusts in His Redeemer
19 Then Job answered and said:
2 “How long will you torment my soul,
And break me in pieces with words?
3 These ten times you have [a]reproached me;
You are not ashamed that you [b]have wronged me.
4 And if indeed I have erred,
My error remains with me.
5 If indeed you (A)exalt yourselves against me,
And plead my disgrace against me,
6 Know then that (B)God has wronged me,
And has surrounded me with His net.
7 “If I cry out concerning [c]wrong, I am not heard.
If I cry aloud, there is no justice.
8 (C)He has [d]fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass;
And He has set darkness in my paths.
9 (D)He has stripped me of my glory,
And taken the crown from my head.
10 He breaks me down on every side,
And I am gone;
My (E)hope He has uprooted like a tree.
11 He has also kindled His wrath against me,
And (F)He counts me as one of His enemies.
12 His troops come together
And build up their road against me;
They encamp all around my tent.
13 “He(G) has removed my brothers far from me,
And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
14 My relatives have failed,
And my close friends have forgotten me.
15 Those who dwell in my house, and my maidservants,
Count me as a stranger;
I am an alien in their sight.
16 I call my servant, but he gives no answer;
I beg him with my mouth.
17 My breath is offensive to my wife,
And I am [e]repulsive to the children of my own body.
18 Even (H)young children despise me;
I arise, and they speak against me.
19 (I)All my close friends abhor me,
And those whom I love have turned against me.
20 (J)My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh,
And I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 “Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has struck me!
22 Why do you (K)persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?
Brought Near by His Blood
11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called (A)the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Christ Our Peace
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one (B)new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might (C)reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby (D)putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For (E)through Him we both have access (F)by one Spirit to the Father.
Christ Our Cornerstone
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been (G)built (H)on the foundation of the (I)apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being (J)the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into (K)a holy temple in the Lord, 22 (L)in whom you also are being built together for a (M)dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.