Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 39
Show Me My Life’s End
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For the choir director. For Jeduthun.[a] A psalm by David.
The Psalmist’s Anguish
1 I said, “I will guard my ways
so that I do not sin with my tongue.
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are confronting me.”
2 I said nothing. I kept silent.
I did not even say anything good,
but my pain became worse.
3 Inside me my heart grew hot.
As I fretted, the fire burned.
So I spoke with my tongue.
The Shortness of Human Life
4 Lord, help me understand my end.
What is the limit of my days?
Let me know how fleeting I am.
5 See, you have cut short my days.[b]
My brief time before you is like nothing.
Indeed, every person, even at his best,
is just a puff of air.[c] Interlude
6 A man flickers like a mirage.
He really has no more effect than a breeze.[d]
He piles things up, never knowing who will get them.
The Enduring Goodness of God
7 But now what do I wait for, Lord?
My hope is in you.
8 Save me from all my rebellious acts.
Do not let fools scorn me.
9 I said nothing.
I did not open my mouth,
because you are the one who caused this.
10 Stop punching me.
By the attack of your hand I am finished.
11 By your rebuke against guilt you discipline a man.
Like a moth you consume what he desires.
Indeed, every person is nothing but a puff of air. Interlude
Closing Prayer
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord.
Listen to my cry.
Do not ignore my tears,
for with you I am an alien,
just a visitor, as were all my ancestors.
13 Look away from me, so I can smile again
before I depart and am no more.
Elihu’s Monologues
32 These three men gave up trying to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
2 So Elihu son of Barakel, the Buzite from the clan of Ram, burned with anger. His anger burned against Job because Job had justified himself rather than God. 3 His anger also burned against his three companions, because they had no answer for Job, but they nevertheless had condemned him.
4 Up to this point, Elihu had held back, and he had not spoken to Job, because the others were older and more experienced than he was.
5 When Elihu saw that the three men had no ready answer, his anger burned. 6 So Elihu son of Barakel, the Buzite, responded. He said:
I am young and inexperienced, and you are aged.
That is why I held back,
and I was afraid to tell you what I know.
7 I thought that experience should speak.
Many years should give a man wisdom.
8 However, it is the spirit[a] in a man
and the breath of the Almighty that give a man understanding.
9 It is not just the important men who are wise.
The elderly are not the only ones who know how to judge cases.
10 That is why I now say, “Listen to me.”
I will declare what I know—yes, I will.
11 Notice that I waited for you to finish your words.
I have listened carefully to your conclusions.
The whole time you were searching for the right words,
12 I paid attention to you.
But look, not one of you showed Job that he was wrong
or came up with an answer for Job.
13 So do not say, “We have found wisdom,
but it is God, not a man, who will have to refute him.”
14 Job has not drawn up his speeches against me,
so I will not respond to him with arguments like yours.
15 Those three are shattered. They no longer respond.
They have run out of words.
16 I have waited patiently,
but since they no longer speak,
and they just stand there and do not answer anymore,
17 I will now respond with my contribution.
I will now declare what I know,
18 for I am full of words.
A wind[b] in my belly is building up pressure.
19 My belly is like unvented wine.
I am like a new wineskin ready to burst.
20 I intend to speak, so that I can find relief for myself.
Let me open my lips and answer.
21 I will certainly not show favoritism to any man.
I will not address any man with flattering titles,
22 because I do not know how to pass out flattering titles.
If I did so, my Maker would quickly carry me away.
The Rich Man and Poor Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. 20 A beggar named Lazarus had been laid at his gate. Lazarus was covered with sores and 21 longed to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Besides this, the dogs also came and licked his sores. 22 Eventually the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell,[a] where he was in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus at his side. 24 He called out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in misery in this flame.’
25 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in misery. 26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been set in place between us and you, so that those who want to cross from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s home, 28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “Abraham replied to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.