Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the director of music. A psalm of David to the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.”
22 My God, my God, why have you deserted me?
Why do you seem so far away when I need you to save me?
Why do you seem so far away that you can’t hear my groans?
2 My God, I cry out in the daytime. But you don’t answer.
I cry out at night. But you don’t let me sleep.
3 But you rule from your throne as the Holy One.
You are the God Israel praises.
4 Our people of long ago put their trust in you.
They trusted in you, and you saved them.
5 They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you, and you didn’t let them down.
6 Everyone treats me like a worm and not a man.
They hate me and look down on me.
7 All those who see me laugh at me.
They shout at me and make fun of me.
They shake their heads at me.
8 They say, “He trusts in the Lord.
Let the Lord help him.
If the Lord is pleased with him,
let him save him.”
9 But you brought me out of my mother’s body.
You made me trust in you
even when I was at my mother’s breast.
10 From the time I was born, you took good care of me.
Ever since I came out of my mother’s body, you have been my God.
11 Don’t be far away from me.
Trouble is near,
and there is no one to help me.
12 Many enemies are all around me.
They are like strong bulls from the land of Bashan.
13 They are like roaring lions that tear to pieces what they kill.
They open their mouths wide to attack me.
14 My strength is like water that is poured out on the ground.
I feel as if my bones aren’t connected.
My heart has turned to wax.
It has melted away inside me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a piece of broken pottery.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You bring me down to the edge of the grave.
The Second Speech of Zophar
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied,
2 “My troubled thoughts force me to answer you.
That’s because I’m very upset.
3 What you have just said dishonors me.
So I really have to reply to you.
4 “I’m sure you must know how things have always been.
They’ve been that way
ever since human beings were placed on this earth.
5 Those who are evil are happy for only a short time.
The joy of ungodly people lasts only for a moment.
6 Their pride might reach all the way up to the heavens.
Their heads might touch the clouds.
7 But they will disappear forever,
like the waste from their own bodies.
Anyone who has seen them will say,
‘Where did they go?’
8 Like a dream they will fly away.
They will never be seen again.
They will be driven away like visions in the night.
9 The eyes that saw them won’t see them anymore.
Even their own families won’t remember them.
10 Their children must pay back what they took from poor people.
Their own hands must give back the wealth they stole.
11 They might feel young and very strong.
But they will soon lie down in the dust of their graves.
12 “Anything that is evil tastes sweet to them.
They keep it under their tongues for a while.
13 They can’t stand to let it go.
So they hold it in their mouths.
14 But their food will turn sour in their stomachs.
It will become like the poison of a serpent inside them.
15 They will spit out the rich food they swallowed.
God will make their stomachs throw it up.
16 They will suck the poison of a serpent.
The fangs of an adder will kill them.
17 They won’t enjoy streams that flow with honey.
They won’t enjoy rivers that flow with cream.
18 What they worked for they must give back
before they can eat it.
They won’t enjoy what they have earned.
19 They’ve crushed poor people and left them with nothing.
They’ve taken over houses they didn’t even build.
20 “No matter how much they have,
they always long for more.
But their treasure can’t save them.
21 There isn’t anything left for them to eat up.
Their success won’t last.
22 While they are enjoying the good life,
trouble will catch up with them.
Terrible suffering will come on them.
23 When they’ve filled their stomachs,
God will pour out his great anger on them.
He’ll strike them down with blow after blow.
24 They might run away from iron weapons.
But arrows that have bronze tips will wound them.
25 They will pull the arrows out of their backs.
They will remove the shining tips from their livers.
They will be filled with terror.
26 Total darkness hides and waits for their treasures.
God will send a fire that will destroy them.
It will burn up everything that’s left in their tents.
27 Heaven will show their guilt to everyone.
The earth will be a witness against them.
28 A flood will carry their houses away.
Rushing water will wash them away
on the day when God judges.
29 Now you know what God will do to sinful people.
Now you know what he has planned for them.”
What Makes People “Unclean”?
15 Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked, 2 “Why don’t your disciples obey what the elders teach? Your disciples don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus replied, “And why don’t you obey God’s command? You would rather follow your own teachings! 4 God said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’ (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16) He also said, ‘Anyone who asks for bad things to happen to their father or mother must be put to death.’ (Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9) 5 But suppose people have something that might be used to help their parents. You allow them to say it is instead ‘a gift set apart for God.’ 6 So they do not need to honor their father or mother with their gift. You make the word of God useless in order to follow your own teachings. 7 You pretenders! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you. He said,
8 “ ‘These people honor me by what they say.
But their hearts are far away from me.
9 Their worship doesn’t mean anything to me.
They teach nothing but human rules.’ ” (Isaiah 29:13)
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