Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Confession of a Sufferer[a]
39 I said, “I will be careful about what I do
and will not let my tongue make me sin;
I will not say anything
while evil people are near.”
2 I kept quiet, not saying a word,
not even about anything good!
But my suffering only grew worse,
3 and I was overcome with anxiety.
The more I thought, the more troubled I became;
I could not keep from asking:
4 “Lord, how long will I live?
When will I die?
Tell me how soon my life will end.”
5 How short you have made my life!
In your sight my lifetime seems nothing.
Indeed every living being is no more than a puff of wind,
6 no more than a shadow.
All we do is for nothing;
we gather wealth, but don't know who will get it.
7 What, then, can I hope for, Lord?
I put my hope in you.
8 Save me from all my sins,
and don't let fools make fun of me.
9 I will keep quiet, I will not say a word,
for you are the one who made me suffer like this.
10 Don't punish me any more!
I am about to die from your blows.
11 You punish our sins by your rebukes,
and like a moth you destroy what we love.
Indeed we are no more than a puff of wind!
12 Hear my prayer, Lord,
and listen to my cry;
come to my aid when I weep.
Like all my ancestors
I am only your guest for a little while.
13 Leave me alone so that I may have some happiness
before I go away and am no more.
The Speeches of Elihu(A)
32 Because Job was convinced of his own innocence, the three men gave up trying to answer him. 2 But a bystander named Elihu could not control his anger any longer, because Job was justifying himself and blaming God. (Elihu was the son of Barakel, a descendant of Buz, and belonged to the clan of Ram.) 3 He was also angry with Job's three friends. They could not find any way to answer Job, and this made it appear that God was in the wrong. 4 Because Elihu was the youngest one there, he had waited until everyone finished speaking. 5 When he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he was angry 6 and began to speak.
Elihu
I am young, and you are old,
so I was afraid to tell you what I think.
7 I told myself that you ought to speak,
that you older men should share your wisdom.
8 But it is the spirit of Almighty God
that comes to us and gives us wisdom.
9 It is not growing old that makes us wise
or helps us to know what is right.
10 So now I want you to listen to me;
let me tell you what I think.
11 I listened patiently while you were speaking
and waited while you searched for wise phrases.
12 I paid close attention and heard you fail;
you have not disproved what Job has said.
13 How can you claim you have discovered wisdom?
God must answer Job, for you have failed.
14 Job was speaking to you, not to me,
but I would never answer the way you did.
15 Words have failed them, Job;
they have no answer for you.
16 Shall I go on waiting when they are silent?
They stand there with nothing more to say.
17 No, I will give my own answer now
and tell you what I think.
18 I can hardly wait to speak.
I can't hold back the words.
19 If I don't get a chance to speak,
I will burst like a wineskin full of new wine.
20 I can't stand it; I have to speak.
21 I will not take sides in this debate;
I am not going to flatter anyone.
22 I don't know how to flatter,
and God would quickly punish me if I did.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was once a rich man who dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day. 20 There was also a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who used to be brought to the rich man's door, 21 hoping to eat the bits of food that fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to sit beside Abraham at the feast in heaven. The rich man died and was buried, 23 (A)and in Hades,[a] where he was in great pain, he looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side. 24 So he called out, ‘Father Abraham! Take pity on me, and send Lazarus to dip his finger in some water and cool off my tongue, because I am in great pain in this fire!’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Remember, my son, that in your lifetime you were given all the good things, while Lazarus got all the bad things. But now he is enjoying himself here, while you are in pain. 26 Besides all that, there is a deep pit lying between us, so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so, nor can anyone cross over to us from where you are.’ 27 The rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28 where I have five brothers. Let him go and warn them so that they, at least, will not come to this place of pain.’ 29 Abraham said, ‘Your brothers have Moses and the prophets to warn them; your brothers should listen to what they say.’ 30 The rich man answered, ‘That is not enough, father Abraham! But if someone were to rise from death and go to them, then they would turn from their sins.’ 31 But Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone were to rise from death.’”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.