Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 39[a]
The Vanity of Life
1 For the leader, for Jeduthun.(A) A psalm of David.
I
2 I said, “I will watch my ways,
lest I sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth.”
3 Mute and silent before the wicked,
I refrain from good things.
But my sorrow increases;
4 my heart smolders within me.(B)
In my sighing a fire blazes up,
and I break into speech:
II
5 Lord, let me know my end, the number of my days,
that I may learn how frail I am.
6 To be sure, you establish the expanse of my days;
indeed, my life is as nothing before you.
Every man is but a breath.(C)
Selah
III
7 Man goes about as a mere phantom;
they hurry about, although in vain;
he heaps up stores without knowing for whom.
8 And now, Lord, for what do I wait?
You are my only hope.
9 From all my sins deliver me;
let me not be the taunt of fools.
10 I am silent and do not open my mouth
because you are the one who did this.
11 Take your plague away from me;
I am ravaged by the touch of your hand.
12 You chastise man with rebukes for sin;
like a moth you consume his treasures.
Every man is but a breath.
Selah
13 Listen to my prayer, Lord, hear my cry;
do not be deaf to my weeping!
For I am with you like a foreigner,
a refugee, like my ancestors.(D)
14 Turn your gaze from me, that I may smile
before I depart to be no more.
Chapter 26
Job’s Reply. 1 Then Job answered and said:[a]
2 What help you give to the powerless,
what strength to the feeble arm!
3 How you give counsel to one without wisdom;
how profuse is the advice you offer!
4 With whose help have you uttered those words,
whose breath comes forth from you?(A)
5 The shades[b] beneath writhe in terror,(B)
the waters, and their inhabitants.
6 Naked before him is Sheol,[c]
and Abaddon has no covering.(C)
7 He stretches out Zaphon[d] over the void,
and suspends the earth over nothing at all;
8 He binds up the waters in his clouds,
yet the cloud is not split by their weight;
9 He holds back the appearance of the full moon
by spreading his clouds before it.
10 He has marked out a circle[e] on the surface of the deep(D)
as the boundary of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of the heavens tremble
and are stunned at his thunderous rebuke;(E)
12 By his power he stilled Sea,
by his skill he crushed Rahab;[f]
13 By his wind the heavens were made clear,
his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.[g](F)
14 Lo, these are but the outlines of his ways,
and what a whisper of a word we hear of him:
Who can comprehend the thunder of his power?
Triumph of the Elect. 9 After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches[a] in their hands. 10 They cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation comes from[b] our God, who is seated on the throne,
and from the Lamb.”
11 All the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They prostrated themselves before the throne, worshiped God, 12 and exclaimed:
“Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor, power, and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me, “Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?” 14 I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.” He said to me, “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;[c] they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.(A)
15 “For this reason they stand before God’s throne
and worship him day and night in his temple.
The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.
16 They will not hunger or thirst anymore,
nor will the sun or any heat strike them.(B)
17 For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them
and lead them to springs of life-giving water,[d]
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”(C)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.