Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalms 9–10[a]
Psalm 9[b]
Thanksgiving for the Triumph of Justice
1 For the director.[c] According to Muth Labben. A psalm of David.
2 I will offer praise to you, O Lord,
with my whole heart;
I will recount all your wondrous deeds.[d]
3 I will rejoice and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name,[e] O Most High.
4 For my enemies have turned back;
in your presence they stumble and perish.
5 But you have upheld my just cause,
you who are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.
6 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked,
erasing their name forever and ever.
7 The enemies have suffered endless ruin;
their cities have been utterly destroyed,
and not even their memory remains.
8 The Lord is enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
9 He governs the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
10 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of distress.
11 Those who revere your name place their trust in you,
for you never abandon those who seek you, O Lord.
12 Sing praise to the Lord enthroned in Zion;[f]
proclaim to the nations his wondrous deeds.
13 For the avenger of blood remembers them;
he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
14 Have mercy on me, O Lord;
behold how my enemies afflict me,
you who save me from the gates of death.
Job’s Fourth Response[a]
Chapter 16
If You Were in My Place . . . 1 Job then answered with these words:
2 “I have heard similar comments on many occasions;
what wretched comforters you all are!
3 When will you cease your endless flow of foolish words?
Or what sickness afflicts you that you never cease babbling?
4 “I could also rant on as you do,
if you were in my place.
I could exhaust you with my words
and shake my head at you.[b]
5 But I would offer words of encouragement,
and comfort from my lips would alleviate your pain.
6 When I speak, my suffering is not eased,
and if I remain silent, my pain does not stop.
You Have Risen Up as a Witness against Me[c]
7 “Truly, my pain has left me exhausted,
and you have devastated my entire family.
8 You have risen up as a witness against me;
my gaunt appearance offers clear testimony to my plight.
9 Your anger has caused you to assail me,
and you gnash your teeth against me.
My enemies lord it over me;
10 they open their mouths to mock me.
They strike me insolently on the cheek;
they have all joined in league against me.
11 “God has left me as prey for the godless
and handed me over to the power of the wicked.
12 I was living at peace until he crushed me;
he seized me by the neck and broke me into pieces,
setting me up as a target.
13 His archers encompass me on every side;
he pierces my loins without mercy
and pours out my gall upon the ground.
14 He repeatedly bludgeons his way through my defenses
and rushes upon me like a warrior.
My Witness Is in Heaven[d]
15 “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin
and laid my forehead in the dust.
16 My face is red from incessant weeping,
and dark shadows ring my eyelids,
17 even though my hands are free of violence
and my prayer is pure.
18 “O earth, do not cover my blood;[e]
let my cries never cease to be heard.
19 Even now my witness is in heaven;
my defender is on high.
20 Although my friends scorn me,
I pour out tears before God,
21 pleading that he may listen to me
as a person would listen to a neighbor.
45 The Parable of the Faithful Servant.[a]“Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give its members their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant if his master finds him doing so when he returns home. 47 Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
48 “But if that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is detained,’ 49 and he proceeds to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will return on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. 51 He will punish him and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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