Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Director of music: A Psalm. A song.
A Song of Praise to God
68 God arises,
and his enemies are scattered.
Those who hate him flee from his presence.[a]
2 As smoke is driven away, so you drive them away.
As wax melts in the presence of fire,
so the wicked die in the presence of God.
3 But the righteous rejoice and exult before God;
they are overwhelmed with joy.
4 Sing to God!
Sing praise to his name!
Exalt the one who rides on the clouds.
The Lord is his name.
Be jubilant in his presence.
5 A father to orphans and an advocate for widows
is God in his holy dwelling place.
6 God causes the lonely to dwell in families.[b]
He leads prisoners into prosperity,
but rebels live on parched land.
7 God, when you led out your people,
when you marched through the desert,
8 the land quaked.
Indeed, the heavens poured down rain
from the presence of God,
this God of Sinai,
from the presence of God,
the God of Israel.
9 God, you poured out abundant rain on your inheritance.
When Israel[c] was weary, you sustained her.
10 Your people live[d] there;
you sustain the needy[e] with your goodness, God.
19 Blessed be the Lord who daily carries us.
God is our deliverer.
20 God is for us the God of our deliverance.
The Lord God rescues us from death.
Eliphaz Speaks a Third Time
22 Then in response, Eliphaz from Teman said:
2 “Can a human being be useful to God,
since he, who is wise, is sufficient to himself?
3 Will it please the Almighty if you are innocent,
or does he profit if your life is[a] blameless?
4 Will he acquit you just because you fear him,
and render a verdict on your behalf?
5 Your wickedness is great, isn’t it?
There’s no limit to your iniquity, is there?
6 “After all, you’ve taken collateral from your relatives for no reason;
you stripped the naked of their clothing.[b]
7 You’ve neglected to give water to the weary,[c]
and you’ve withheld food from the hungry.
8 The land belongs to the powerful,
and the privileged[d] thrive in it.
9 You sent away widows empty-handed,
and broke the outstretched arms of orphans.
10 That’s why disaster surrounds you,
terror suddenly overwhelms you,
11 you see nothing but darkness,
and a flood of troubles[e] drowns you.”
Eliphaz Acknowledges God but Issues an Imprecatory Prayer
12 “Isn’t God in heaven above?
Consider how far away the stars are,
and how lofty they are!
13 You’ve asked, ‘What does God know?
Can he sort through pitch black darkness?’[f]
14 Thick clouds cover him so he can’t see
as he walks back and forth at heaven’s horizon.
15 “Will you keep walking on the traditional path
that sinners[g] have tread,
16 who were snatched away before their time;
when their foundation was swept away by a river?
17 They told God, ‘Get away from us!’
and ‘What will the Almighty do to them?’
How Paul Was Accepted by the Apostles in Jerusalem
2 Then fourteen years later, I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus with me. 2 I went in response to a revelation, and in a private meeting with the reputed leaders, I explained to them the gospel that I’m proclaiming to the gentiles. I did this because I was afraid that[a] I was running or had run my life’s race[b] for nothing. 3 But not even Titus, who was with me, was forced to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 However, false brothers were secretly brought in. They slipped in to spy on the freedom we have in the Messiah[c] Jesus so that they might enslave us. 5 But we did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you.
6 Now those who were reputed to be important added nothing to my message.[d] (What sort of people they were makes no difference to me, since God pays no attention to outward appearances.) 7 In fact, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised. 8 For the one who worked through Peter by making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me by sending me to the gentiles. 9 So when James, Cephas,[e] and John (who were reputed to be leaders)[f] recognized the grace that had been given me, they gave Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 The only thing they asked us to do was to remember the destitute, the very thing I was eager to do.
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