Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.
To the Chief Musician; with stringed instruments. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of David.
55 Listen to my prayer, O God,
And do not hide Yourself from my plea.
2
Listen to me and answer me;
I am restless and distraught in my complaint and distracted
3
Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the pressure of the wicked;
For they bring down trouble on me,
And in anger they persecute me.
4
My heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5
Fear and trembling have come upon me;
Horror has overwhelmed me.
6
And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
7
“I would wander far away,
I would lodge in the [peace of the] wilderness. Selah.
8
“I would hurry to my refuge [my tranquil shelter far away]
From the stormy wind and from the tempest.”
9
[a]Confuse [my enemies], O Lord, divide their tongues [destroying their schemes],
For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
10
Day and night they go around her walls;
Wickedness and mischief are in her midst.
11
Destruction is within her;
Oppression and deceit do not depart from her streets and market places.
12
For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who has hated me who insolently exalts himself against me—
Then I could hide from him.
13
But it is you, a man my equal and my counsel,
My companion and my familiar friend;
14
We who had sweet [b]fellowship together,
Who walked to the house of God in company.
15
Let death come deceitfully upon them;
Let them go down alive to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
For evil [of every kind] is in their dwelling and in their hearts, in their midst.
Zophar Rebukes Job
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,
2
“Shall a multitude of words not be answered?
And should a talkative man [making such a long-winded defense] be acquitted?
3
“Should your boasts and babble silence men?
And shall you scoff and no one put you to shame?
4
“For you have said, ‘My teaching (doctrine) [that God knowingly afflicts the righteous] is pure,
And I am innocent in your eyes.’(A)
5
“But oh, that God would speak,
And open His lips [to speak] against you,
6
And [that He would] show you the secrets of wisdom!
For sound wisdom [a]has two sides.
Know therefore that God forgets a part of your wickedness and guilt.
7
“Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you [by searching] discover the limits of the Almighty [ascend to His heights, extend to His widths, and comprehend His infinite perfection]?
8
“His wisdom is as high as the heights of heaven. What can you do?
It is deeper than Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead). What can you know?
9
“It is longer in measure [and scope] than the earth,
And broader than the sea.
10
“If God passes by or arrests,
Or calls an assembly [of judgment], who can restrain Him?
[If He is against a man, who can call Him to account for it?]
11
“For He recognizes and knows false and worthless men,
And He sees wickedness, will He not consider it?
12
“But a hollow (empty-headed) man will become intelligent and wise
[Only] when the [b]colt of a wild donkey is born as a man.
13
“If you direct your heart [on the right path]
And stretch out your hands to Him,
14
If sin is in your hand, put it far away [from you],
And do not let wrongdoing dwell in your tents;
15
Then, indeed, you could lift up your face [to Him] without moral defect,
And you would be firmly established and secure and not fear.
16
“For you would forget your trouble;
You would remember it as waters that have passed by.
17
“And your [c]life would be brighter than the noonday;
Darkness [then] would be like the morning.
18
“Then you would trust [with confidence], because there is hope;
You would look around you and rest securely.
19
“You would lie down with no one to frighten you,
And many would entreat and seek your favor.
20
“But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
And they will not escape [the justice of God];
And their hope is to breathe their last [and die].”
10 But to the [a]married [believers] I give instructions—not I, but the Lord—that the wife is not to separate from her husband, 11 (but even if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be [b]reconciled to her husband) and that the husband should not leave his wife.
12 To the [c]rest I declare—I, not the Lord [since Jesus did not discuss this]—that if any [believing] brother has a wife who does not believe [in Christ], and she consents to live with him, he must not leave her. 13 And if any [believing] woman has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not leave him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is [d]sanctified [that is, he receives the blessings granted] through his [Christian] wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be [ceremonially] [e]unclean, but as it is they are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner leaves, let him leave. In such cases the [remaining] brother or sister is not [spiritually or morally] bound. But God has called us to [f]peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband [by leading him to Christ]? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife [by leading her to Christ]?
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.