Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

77 I cry to the Lord; I call and call to him. Oh, that he would listen. ² I am in deep trouble and I need his help so much. All night long I pray, lifting my hands to heaven, pleading. There can be no joy for me until he acts. ³ I think of God and moan, overwhelmed with longing for his help. ⁴ I cannot sleep until you act. I am too distressed even to pray!

⁵ I keep thinking of the good old days of the past, long since ended. ⁶ Then my nights were filled with joyous songs. I search my soul and meditate upon the difference now. ⁷ Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be favorable? ⁸ Is his loving-kindness gone forever? Has his promise failed? ⁹ Has he forgotten to be kind to one so undeserving? Has he slammed the door in anger on his love? ¹⁰ And I said: This is my fate, that the blessings of God have changed to hate.^{[a] 11} I recall the many miracles he did for me so long ago. ¹² Those wonderful deeds are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about them.

¹³ O God, your ways are holy. Where is there any other as mighty as you? ¹⁴ You are the God of miracles and wonders! You still demonstrate your awesome power.

¹⁵ You have redeemed us who are the sons of Jacob and of Joseph by your might. ¹⁶ When the Red Sea saw you, how it feared! It trembled to its depths! ¹⁷ The clouds poured down their rain, the thunder rolled and crackled in the sky. Your lightning flashed. ¹⁸ There was thunder in the whirlwind; the lightning lighted up the world! The earth trembled and shook.

¹⁹ Your road led by a pathway through the sea—a pathway no one knew was there! ²⁰ You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep, with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds.

4 A reply to Job from Eliphaz the Temanite:

² “Will you let me say a word? For who could keep from speaking out? ^3-4 In the past^[a] you have told many a troubled soul to trust in God and have encouraged those who are weak or falling, or lie crushed upon the ground or are tempted to despair. ⁵ But now when trouble strikes, you faint and are broken.

⁶ “At such a time as this should not trust in God still be your confidence? Shouldn’t you believe that God will care for those who are good?^{[b] 7-8} Stop and think! Have you ever known a truly good and innocent person who was punished? Experience teaches that it is those who sow sin and trouble who harvest the same. ⁹ They die beneath the hand of God. ¹⁰ Though they are fierce as young lions, they shall all be broken and destroyed. ¹¹ Like aged, helpless lions they shall starve, and all their children shall be scattered.

¹² “This truth was given me in secret, as though whispered in my ear. ¹³ It came in a nighttime vision as others slept. ¹⁴ Suddenly, fear gripped me; I trembled and shook with terror, ¹⁵ as a spirit passed before my face—my hair stood up on end. ¹⁶ I felt the spirit’s presence, but couldn’t see it standing there. Then out of the dreadful silence came this voice:

¹⁷ “‘Is mere man more just than God? More pure than his Creator?’

^18-19 “If God cannot trust his own messengers (for even angels make mistakes), how much less men made of dust, who are crushed to death as easily as moths! ²⁰ They are alive in the morning, but by evening they are dead, gone forever with hardly a thought from anyone. ²¹ Their candle of life is snuffed out. They die and no one cares.

2 Once you were under God’s curse, doomed forever for your sins. ² You went along with the crowd and were just like all the others, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air, who is at work right now in the hearts of those who are against the Lord. ³ All of us used to be just as they are, our lives expressing the evil within us, doing every wicked thing that our passions or our evil thoughts might lead us into. We started out bad, being born with evil natures, and were under God’s anger just like everyone else.

⁴ But God is so rich in mercy; he loved us so much ⁵ that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, he gave us back our lives again^[a] when he raised Christ from the dead—only by his undeserved favor have we ever been saved— ⁶ and lifted us up from the grave into glory along with Christ, where we sit with him in the heavenly realms—all because of what Christ Jesus did. ⁷ And now God can always point to us as examples of how very, very rich his kindness is, as shown in all he has done for us through Jesus Christ.

⁸ Because of his kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves;^[b] it too is a gift from God. ⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it. ¹⁰ It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.