Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Prayer of a Suffering Man
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of Dawn.” A song of David.
22 My God, my God, why have you left me alone?
You are too far away to save me.
You are too far away to hear my moans.
2 My God, I call to you during the day.
But you do not answer.
And I call at night.
I am not silent.
3 You sit as the Holy One.
The praises of Israel are your throne.
4 Our ancestors trusted you.
They trusted you, and you saved them.
5 They called to you for help.
And they were rescued.
They trusted you.
And they were not disappointed.
6 But I am like a worm instead of a man.
Men make fun of me.
They look down on me.
7 Everyone who looks at me laughs.
They stick out their tongues.
They shake their heads.
8 They say, “Turn to the Lord for help.
Maybe he will save you.
If he likes you,
maybe he will rescue you.”
9 You had my mother give birth to me.
You made me trust you
while I was just a baby.
10 I have leaned on you since the day I was born.
You have been my God since my mother gave birth to me.
11 So don’t be far away from me.
Now trouble is near,
and there is no one to help.
12 Men have surrounded me like angry bulls.
The strong bulls of Bashan are on every side.
13 Like hungry, roaring lions
they open their jaws at me.
14 My strength is gone
like water poured out onto the ground.
All my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax.
It has melted inside me.
15 My strength has dried up like a piece of a broken pot.
My tongue sticks to the top of my mouth.
You laid me in the dust of death.
Zophar Answers
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 “My troubled thoughts cause me to answer.
I am very upset.
3 I hear you criticize, and I am insulted.
But I understand how to answer you.
4 “You know how it has been for a long time.
It has been this way since man was put on the earth.
5 The happiness of an evil person is very short.
The joy of a person without God lasts only a moment.
6 His pride may be as high as the heavens.
His head may touch the clouds.
7 But he will be gone forever, like his own dung.
People who knew him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 He will fly away like a dream.
He will not be found again.
He will be chased away like a vision in the night.
9 Those who saw him will not see him again.
The place where he lived will see him no more.
10 His children will have to make up for how he mistreated the poor.
He will have to give his wealth back with his own hands.
11 He has the strength of his youth in his bones.
But it will lie with him in the dust of death.
12 “Evil may taste sweet in the evil person’s mouth.
He may hide it under his tongue.
13 He cannot stand to let go of it.
So he keeps it in his mouth.
14 But his food will turn sour in his stomach.
It will be like the poison of a snake inside him.
15 He has swallowed riches, but he will spit them out.
God will make the evil person’s stomach vomit them up.
16 He will suck the poison of snakes.
The snake’s poisonous fangs will kill him.
17 He will not admire the sparkling streams
or the rivers flowing with honey and cream.
18 He must give back what he worked for without eating it.
He will not enjoy the money he made from his trading.
19 This is because he has troubled the poor people and left them with nothing.
He has taken houses he did not build.
20 “The evil person has no rest from his desire.
Nothing escapes his selfishness.
21 But nothing will be left for him to eat.
His riches will not continue.
22 When he still has plenty, trouble will catch up to him.
Great misery will come down on him.
23 The evil person may eat until his stomach is full.
But then God will send his burning anger against him.
God will send blows of punishment down on him like rain.
24 The evil person may run away from an iron weapon.
But then a bronze arrow will stab him.
25 He will pull the arrow out of his back.
He will pull its point out of his liver.
Terrors will come over him.
26 Total darkness waits for his treasure.
A fire not fanned by people will destroy him.
That fire will burn up what is left of his tent.
27 The heavens will show his guilt.
The earth will rise up against him.
28 A flood will carry his house away.
The rushing waters will come on the day of God’s anger.
29 This is what God plans for evil people.
This is what he has decided they will receive.”
Obey God’s Law Not Men’s
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, 2 “Why do your followers not obey the rules given to us by the great people who lived before us? Your followers don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus answered, “And why do you refuse to obey God’s command so that you can follow those rules you have? 4 God said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’[a] And God also said, ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say that a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.’ 6 You teach that person not to honor his father. You teach that it is not important to do what God said. You think that it is more important to follow the rules you have. 7 You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he spoke about you:
8 ‘These people show honor to me with words.
But their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are nothing
but human rules they have memorized.’” Isaiah 29:13
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.