Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
12
Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has chosen as His own inheritance.(A)
13
The Lord looks [down] from heaven;
He sees all the sons of man;
14
From His dwelling place He looks closely
Upon all the inhabitants of the earth—
15
He who fashions the hearts of them all,
Who considers and understands all that they do.
16
The king is not saved by the great size of his army;
A warrior is not rescued by his great strength.
17
A horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
18
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him [and worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and obedience],
On those who hope [confidently] in His compassion and lovingkindness,
19
To rescue their lives from death
And keep them alive in famine.
20
We wait [expectantly] for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21
For in Him our heart rejoices,
Because we trust [lean on, rely on, and are confident] in His holy name.
22
Let Your [steadfast] lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,
In proportion as we have [a]hoped in You.
Job’s Dialogue Regarding the Wicked
21 Then Job answered and said,
2
“Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be the consolation.
3
“Bear with me, and I also will speak;
And after I have spoken, you may [continue to] mock [me].
4
“As for me, is my complaint to man or about him?
And why should I not be impatient and my spirit troubled?
5
“Look at me and be astonished and appalled;
And put your hand over your mouth.
6
“Even when I remember, I am troubled and afraid;
Horror and trembling take hold of my flesh.
7
“Why do the wicked still live,
Become old, and become mighty in power?
8
“Their children and descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.
9
“Their houses are safe from fear;
And the rod of God is not on them.
10
“His bull breeds and does not fail;
His cow calves and does not miscarry.
11
“They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children skip about.
12
“They lift up their voices and sing to the tambourine and the lyre
And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
13
“They fully enjoy their days in prosperity,
And so go down to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) in a [peaceful] moment.
14
“Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15
‘Who [and what] is [a]the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’(A)
16
“But notice, the prosperity of the wicked is not in their hand (in their power);
The counsel of the wicked [and the mystery of God’s dealings with the ungodly] is far from my comprehension.
Concern for Israel
9 I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me [enlightened and prompted] by the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For [if it were possible] I would wish that I myself were accursed, [separated, banished] from Christ for the sake [of the salvation] of my brothers, my natural kinsmen,(A) 4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, the glory ([a]Shekinah), the [special] covenants [with Abraham, Moses, and David], the giving of the Law, the [system of temple] worship, and the [original] promises.(B) 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to His natural descent, came the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), He who is exalted and supreme over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
6 However, it is not as though God’s word has failed [coming to nothing]. For not all who are descended from Israel (Jacob) are [the true] Israel; 7 and they are not all the children of Abraham because they are his descendants [by blood], but [the promise was]: “Your descendants will be named through Isaac” [though Abraham had other sons].(C) 8 That is, it is not the children of the body [Abraham’s natural descendants] who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are counted as [Abraham’s true] descendants. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time [next year] I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.”(D)
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