Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴ My heart shudders within me;^(E)
terrors of death sweep over me.
⁵ Fear and trembling grip me;
horror has overwhelmed me.^(F)
6 I said, “If only I had^[d] wings like a dove!
I would fly away and find rest.^(G)
7 How far away I would flee;
I would stay in the wilderness.^(H)Selah
⁸ I would hurry to my shelter
from the raging wind and the storm.”^(I)

⁹ Lord, confuse^[e] and confound their speech,^[f](J)
for I see violence and strife in the city;
¹⁰ day and night they make the rounds on its walls.
Crime and trouble are within it;^(K)
11 destruction is inside it;
oppression and deceit never leave its marketplace.^(L)

¹² Now it is not an enemy who insults me—
otherwise I could bear it;
it is not a foe who rises up against me—
otherwise I could hide from him.
¹³ But it is you, a man who is my peer,
my companion and good friend!^(M)
14 We used to have close fellowship;
we walked with the crowd into the house of God.^(N)

¹⁵ Let death take them by surprise;^(O)
let them go down to Sheol alive,
because evil is in their homes and within them.^(P)

² Should this stream of words^(A) go unanswered
and such a talker^[a] be acquitted?
³ Should your babbling put others to silence,
so that you can keep on ridiculing
with no one to humiliate you?
⁴ You have said, “My teaching^(B) is sound,
and I am pure in Your sight.”
⁵ But if only God would speak
and declare His case^[b] against you,
⁶ He would show you the secrets of wisdom,^(C)
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your sin.^(D)

⁷ Can you fathom the depths of God
or discover the limits of the Almighty?^(E)
8 They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?^(F)
9 Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.

¹⁰ If He passes by and throws someone in prison
or convenes a court, who can stop Him?^(G)
11 Surely He knows which people are worthless.
If He sees iniquity, will He not take note of it?^(H)
12 But a stupid man will gain understanding
as soon as a wild donkey is born a man!

¹³ As for you, if you redirect your heart
and lift up your hands to Him in prayer—
¹⁴ if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it,
and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents—
¹⁵ then you will hold your head high, free from fault.
You will be firmly established and unafraid.^(I)
16 For you will forget your suffering,
recalling it only as waters that have flowed by.
¹⁷ Your life will be brighter than noonday;
its darkness^[c] will be like the morning.^(J)
18 You will be confident, because there is hope.^(K)
You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.^(L)

¹⁹ You will lie down without fear,
and many will seek your favor.^(M)
20 But the sight of the wicked^(N) will fail.
Their way of escape will be cut off,
and their only hope is their last breath.^(O)