Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord Answers Job
38 Then out of the storm the Lord spoke to Job.
The Lord
2 Who are you to question my wisdom
with your ignorant, empty words?
3 Now stand up straight
and answer the questions I ask you.
4 Were you there when I made the world?
If you know so much, tell me about it.
5 Who decided how large it would be?
Who stretched the measuring line over it?
Do you know all the answers?
6 What holds up the pillars that support the earth?
Who laid the cornerstone of the world?
7 (A)In the dawn of that day the stars sang together,
and the heavenly beings[a] shouted for joy.
34 Can you shout orders to the clouds
and make them drench you with rain?
35 And if you command the lightning to flash,
will it come to you and say, “At your service”?
36 Who tells the ibis[a] when the Nile will flood,
or who tells the rooster that rain will fall?[b]
37 Who is wise enough to count the clouds
and tilt them over to pour out the rain,
38 rain that hardens the dust into lumps?
39 Do you find food for lions to eat,
and satisfy hungry young lions
40 when they hide in their caves,
or lie in wait in their dens?
41 Who is it that feeds the ravens
when they wander about hungry,
when their young cry to me for food?
In Praise of the Creator
104 Praise the Lord, my soul!
O Lord, my God, how great you are!
You are clothed with majesty and glory;
2 you cover yourself with light.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent
3 and built your home on the waters above.[a]
You use the clouds as your chariot
and ride on the wings of the wind.
4 (A)You use the winds as your messengers
and flashes of lightning as your servants.
5 You have set the earth firmly on its foundations,
and it will never be moved.
6 You placed the ocean over it like a robe,
and the water covered the mountains.
7 When you rebuked the waters, they fled;
they rushed away when they heard your shout of command.
8 They flowed over the mountains and into the valleys,
to the place you had made for them.
9 You set a boundary they can never pass,
to keep them from covering the earth again.
24 Lord, you have made so many things!
How wisely you made them all!
The earth is filled with your creatures.
35 May sinners be destroyed from the earth;
may the wicked be no more.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
Praise the Lord!
5 Every high priest is chosen from his fellow-men and appointed to serve God on their behalf, to offer sacrifices and offerings for sins. 2 Since he himself is weak in many ways, he is able to be gentle with those who are ignorant and make mistakes. 3 (A)And because he is himself weak, he must offer sacrifices not only for the sins of the people but also for his own sins. 4 (B)No one chooses for himself the honor of being a high priest. It is only by God's call that a man is made a high priest—just as Aaron was.
5 (C)In the same way, Christ did not take upon himself the honor of being a high priest. Instead, God said to him,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.”
6 (D)He also said in another place,
“You will be a priest forever,
in the priestly order of Melchizedek.” [a]
7 (E)In his life on earth Jesus made his prayers and requests with loud cries and tears to God, who could save him from death. Because he was humble and devoted, God heard him. 8 But even though he was God's Son, he learned through his sufferings to be obedient. 9 When he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him, 10 and God declared him to be high priest, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.[b]
The Request of James and John(A)
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “there is something we want you to do for us.”
36 “What is it?” Jesus asked them.
37 They answered, “When you sit on your throne in your glorious Kingdom, we want you to let us sit with you, one at your right and one at your left.”
38 (B)Jesus said to them, “You don't know what you are asking for. Can you drink the cup of suffering that I must drink? Can you be baptized in the way I must be baptized?”
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup I must drink and be baptized in the way I must be baptized. 40 But I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right and my left. It is God who will give these places to those for whom he has prepared them.”
41 When the other ten disciples heard about it, they became angry with James and John. 42 (C)So Jesus called them all together to him and said, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority. 43 (D)This, however, is not the way it is among you. If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest; 44 and if one of you wants to be first, you must be the slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.”
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.