Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

You have set your glory
    in the heavens.
² You have made sure that children
    and infants praise you.
Their praise is a wall
    that stops the talk of your enemies.

³ I think about the heavens.
    I think about what your fingers have created.
I think about the moon and stars
    that you have set in place.
⁴ What are human beings that you think about them?
    What is a son of man that you take care of him?
⁵ You have made them a little lower than the angels.
    You placed on them a crown of glory and honor.

⁶ You made human beings rule over everything your hands created.
    You put everything under their control.
⁷ They rule over all flocks and herds
    and over the wild animals.
⁸ They rule over the birds in the sky
    and over the fish in the ocean.
    They rule over everything that swims in the oceans.

⁹ Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in the whole earth!

²² “Have you entered the places where the snow is kept?
    Have you seen the storerooms for the hail?
²³ I store up snow and hail for times of trouble.
    I keep them for days of war and battle.
²⁴ Where does lightning come from?
    Where do the east winds live that blow across the earth?
²⁵ Who tells the rain where it should fall?
    Who makes paths for the thunderstorms?
²⁶ They bring water to places where no one lives.
    They water deserts that do not have anyone in them.
²⁷ They satisfy the needs of dry and empty lands.
    They make grass start growing there.
²⁸ Does the rain have a father?
    Who is the father of the drops of dew?
²⁹ Does the ice have a mother?
    Who is the mother of the frost from the heavens?
³⁰ The waters become as hard as stone.
    The surface of the ocean freezes over.

³¹ “Can you tie up the cords of the Pleiades?
    Can you untie the belt that Orion wears?
³² Can you bring out all the stars in their seasons?
    Can you lead out the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper?
³³ Do you know the laws that govern the heavens?
    Can you rule over the earth the way I do?

³⁴ “Can you give orders to the clouds?
    Can you make them pour rain down on you?
³⁵ Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
    Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
³⁶ Who gives the ibis wisdom?
    Who gives the rooster understanding?
³⁷ Who is wise enough to count the clouds?
    Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens?
³⁸ I tip them over when the ground becomes hard.
    I do it when the dirt sticks together.