Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
55 Hear my prayer, O God, and do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Hear me and answer me. I mourn in my prayer and make a noise
3 for the voice of the enemy, for the troubling of the wicked; because they have brought iniquity upon me and furiously hate me.
4 My heart trembles within me; and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling have come upon me; and a horrible fear has covered me.
6 And I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then I would fly away and rest!
7 “Behold, I would wander far off and lodge in the wilderness. Selah.
8 “He would hurry for my deliverance from the stormy wind and tempest.”
9 Destroy, O LORD, and divide their tongues; for I have seen cruelty and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof. Both iniquity and mischief are in the midst of it.
11 Wickedness is in the midst thereof. Deceit and guile do not depart from her streets.
12 Surely my enemy did not defame me (for I could have borne it); nor did my adversary exalt himself against me (for I would have hidden myself from him).
13 But it was you, O man, even my companion, my guide, and my intimate.
14 We delighted in consulting together; and went into the House of God as companions.
15 Let death seize them. Let them go down quick into the grave; for wickedness is in their dwellings, even in the midst of them.
11 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
2 “Should not the multitude of words be answered? Or should a great talker be justified?
3 “Should men hold their peace at your lies? And when you mock, shall no one make you ashamed?
4 “For you have said, ‘My doctrine is pure and I am clean in Your eyes.’
5 “But, oh that God would speak and open His Lips against you!
6 “So that He might show you the secrets of wisdom. How you have double, according to right. Know, therefore, that God has exacted from you less than your iniquity deserves.
7 “Can you search out the depths of God? Can you learn the limits of the Almighty?
8 “They are higher than the heavens. What can you do? They are deeper than Sheol. How can you know them?
9 “Their measure is longer than the Earth. And they are broader than the sea.
10 “If He cuts off and shuts up, or gathers together, who can turn Him back?
11 “For He knows vain men, and sees iniquity, and he who understands nothing.
12 “Yet vain man would be wise (though a man born is like a wild donkey colt)
13 “if you prepared your heart and stretched out your hands toward Him.
14 “If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away and let no wickedness dwell in your tent.
15 “Then, truly shall you lift up your face without spot, and shall be stable, and shall not fear.
16 “And you shall forget misery and remember it as waters that are past.
17 “Your lifetime shall appear clearer than the noonday, and shall shine as the morning.
18 “And you shall be bold because there is hope. And you shall dig pits and shall lie down safely.
19 “For when you take your rest, no one shall make you afraid. Yea, many shall pursue you.
20 “But the eyes of the wicked shall fail. And their refuge shall perish. And their hope shall be the giving up of the ghost.”
10 And to the married, I command: (not I, but the Lord) Let not the wife leave her husband.
11 But if she does leave, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. And let not the husband leave his wife.
12 Now, to the rest I speak (I, not the Lord). If any brother has a wife who does not believe, if she is content to dwell with him, let him not leave her.
13 And the woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is content to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in the husband, or else your children would be unclean. But now they are holy.
15 But, if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. A brother or a sister is not in bondage in such cases. But God has called us into peace.
16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you shall save your husband? Or how do you know, O man, whether you shall save your wife?
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