Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord—
the people he has chosen to be his own possession!(A)
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he observes everyone.(B)
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from his dwelling place.(C)
15 He forms the hearts of them all;
he considers all their works.(D)
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be rescued by great strength.(E)
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.(F)
Job’s Reply to Zophar
21 Then Job answered:
2 Pay close attention to my words;
let this be the consolation you offer.
3 Bear with me while I speak;
then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.
4 As for me, is my complaint(A) against a human being?
Then why shouldn’t I be impatient?
5 Look at me and shudder;(B)
put your hand over your mouth.(C)
6 When I think about it, I am terrified
and my body trembles(D) in horror.
7 Why do the wicked continue to live,
growing old and becoming powerful?
8 Their children are established while they are still alive,[a]
and their descendants, before their eyes.
9 Their homes are secure and free of fear;(E)
no rod from God strikes them.(F)
10 Their bulls breed without fail;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11 They let their little ones run around like lambs;
their children skip about,
12 singing to the tambourine and lyre
and rejoicing at the sound of the flute.(G)
13 They spend[b] their days in prosperity(H)
and go down to Sheol in peace.
14 Yet they say to God, “Leave us alone!
We don’t want to know your ways.(I)
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him,
and what will we gain by pleading with him?” (J)
16 But their prosperity is not of their own doing.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!(K)
Israel’s Rejection of Christ
9 I speak the truth in Christ(A)—I am not lying; my conscience testifies to me through the Holy Spirit[a]— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish(B) that I myself were cursed(C) and cut off[b] from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood. 4 They are Israelites,(D) and to them belong the adoption,(E) the glory,(F) the covenants,(G) the giving of the law,(H) the temple service,(I) and the promises.(J) 5 The ancestors are theirs,(K) and from them, by physical descent,[c] came the Christ,(L) who is God(M) over all,(N) praised forever.[d](O) Amen.
God’s Gracious Election of Israel
6 Now it is not as though the word of God has failed,(P) because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.(Q) 7 Neither is it the case that all of Abraham’s children are his descendants.[e](R) On the contrary, your offspring will be traced[f] through Isaac.[g](S) 8 That is, it is not the children by physical descent[h] who are God’s children,(T) but the children of the promise(U) are considered to be the offspring. 9 For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.[i](V)
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