Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
23 [a] Some traveled on[b] the sea in ships,
and carried cargo over the vast waters.[c]
24 They witnessed the acts of the Lord,
his amazing feats on the deep water.
25 He gave the order for a windstorm,[d]
and it stirred up the waves of the sea.[e]
26 They[f] reached up to the sky,
then dropped into the depths.
The sailors’ strength[g] left them[h] because the danger was so great.[i]
27 They swayed[j] and staggered like drunks,
and all their skill proved ineffective.[k]
28 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
29 He calmed the storm,[l]
and the waves[m] grew silent.
30 The sailors[n] rejoiced because the waves[o] grew quiet,
and he led them to the harbor[p] they desired.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people.[q]
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people.
Let them praise him in the place where the leaders preside.[r]
IV. Job’s Concluding Soliloquy (29:1-31:40)
Job Recalls His Former Condition[a]
29 Then Job continued[b] his speech:
2 “O that I could be[c] as[d] I was
in the months now gone,[e]
in the days[f] when God watched over[g] me,
3 when[h] he caused[i] his lamp[j]
to shine upon my head,
and by his light
I walked[k] through darkness;[l]
4 just as I was in my most productive time,[m]
when God’s intimate friendship[n] was experienced in my tent,
5 when the Almighty[o] was still with me
and my children were[p] around me;
6 when my steps[q] were bathed[r] with butter[s]
and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil![t]
7 When I went out to the city gate
and secured my seat in the public square,[u]
8 the young men would see me and step aside,[v]
and the old men would get up and remain standing;
9 the chief men refrained from talking
and covered their mouths with their hands;
10 the voices of the nobles fell silent,[w]
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
Job’s Benevolence
11 “As soon as the ear heard these things,[x] it blessed me,[y]
and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me,
12 for I rescued the poor who cried out for help,
and the orphan who[z] had no one to assist him;
13 the blessing of the dying man descended on me,[aa]
and I made the widow’s heart rejoice;[ab]
14 I put on righteousness and it clothed me,[ac]
my just dealing[ad] was like a robe and a turban;
15 I was eyes for the blind
and feet for the lame;
16 I was a father[ae] to the needy,
and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;
17 I broke the fangs[af] of the wicked,
and made him drop[ag] his prey from his teeth.
Job’s Confidence
Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece
20 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging[a] them and saying farewell,[b] he left to go to Macedonia.[c] 2 After he had gone through those regions[d] and spoken many words of encouragement[e] to the believers there,[f] he came to Greece,[g] 3 where he stayed[h] for three months. Because the Jews had made[i] a plot[j] against him as he was intending[k] to sail[l] for Syria, he decided[m] to return through Macedonia.[n] 4 Paul[o] was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea,[p] Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica,[q] Gaius[r] from Derbe,[s] and Timothy, as well as Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.[t] 5 These had gone on ahead[u] and were waiting for us[v] in Troas.[w] 6 We[x] sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread,[y] and within five days[z] we came to the others[aa] in Troas,[ab] where we stayed for seven days. 7 On the first day[ac] of the week, when we met[ad] to break bread, Paul began to speak[ae] to the people, and because he intended[af] to leave the next day, he extended[ag] his message until midnight. 8 (Now there were many lamps[ah] in the upstairs room where we were meeting.)[ai] 9 A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window,[aj] was sinking[ak] into a deep sleep while Paul continued to speak[al] for a long time. Fast asleep,[am] he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down,[an] threw himself[ao] on the young man,[ap] put his arms around him,[aq] and said, “Do not be distressed, for he is still alive!”[ar] 11 Then Paul[as] went back upstairs,[at] and after he had broken bread and eaten, he talked with them[au] a long time, until dawn. Then he left. 12 They took the boy home alive and were greatly[av] comforted.
The Voyage to Miletus
13 We went on ahead[aw] to the ship and put out to sea[ax] for Assos,[ay] intending[az] to take Paul aboard there, for he had arranged it this way.[ba] He[bb] himself was intending[bc] to go there by land.[bd] 14 When he met us in Assos,[be] we took him aboard[bf] and went to Mitylene.[bg] 15 We set sail[bh] from there, and on the following day we arrived off Chios.[bi] The next day we approached[bj] Samos,[bk] and the day after that we arrived at Miletus.[bl] 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so as not to spend time[bm] in the province of Asia,[bn] for he was hurrying[bo] to arrive in Jerusalem, if possible,[bp] by the day of Pentecost.
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