Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Job Speaks of the Finality of Death
14 “(A)Man, who is born of woman,
Is [a]short-lived and (B)full of turmoil.
2 “(C)Like a flower he comes forth and withers.
He also flees like (D)a shadow and does not remain.
3 “You also (E)open Your eyes on him
And (F)bring [b]him into judgment with Yourself.
4 “(G)Who can make the clean out of the unclean?
No one!
5 “Since his days are determined,
The (H)number of his months is with You;
And his limits You have [c]set so that he cannot pass.
6 “(I)Turn Your gaze from him that he may [d]rest,
Until he [e]fulfills his day like a hired man.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not [f]fail.
8 “Though its roots grow old in the ground
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
9 At the scent of water it will flourish
And put forth sprigs like a plant.
10 “But (J)man dies and lies prostrate.
Man (K)expires, and where is he?
11 “As (L)water [g]evaporates from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dried up,
12 So (M)man lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens are no longer,
[h]He will not awake nor be aroused out of [i]his sleep.
Jeremiah Shares Israel’s Affliction
3 I am the man who has (A)seen affliction
Because of the rod of His wrath.
2 He has driven me and made me walk
In (B)darkness and not in light.
3 Surely against me He has (C)turned His hand
Repeatedly all the day.
4 He has caused my (D)flesh and my skin to waste away,
He has (E)broken my bones.
5 He has (F)besieged and encompassed me with (G)bitterness and hardship.
6 In (H)dark places He has made me dwell,
Like those who have long been dead.
7 He has (I)walled me in so that I cannot go out;
He has made my [a](J)chain heavy.
8 Even when I cry out and call for help,
He (K)shuts out my prayer.
9 He has (L)blocked my ways with hewn stone;
He has made my paths crooked.
Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy
19 Remember my affliction and my [a]wandering, the (A)wormwood and bitterness.
20 Surely (B)my soul remembers
And is (C)bowed down within me.
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have (D)hope.
22 The Lord’s (E)lovingkindnesses [b]indeed never cease,
(F)For His compassions never fail.
23 They are new (G)every morning;
Great is (H)Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my (I)portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I (J)have hope in Him.”
A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
31 (A)In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never (B)be ashamed;
(C)In Your righteousness deliver me.
2 (D)Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be to me a (E)rock of [a]strength,
A stronghold to save me.
3 For You are my [b]rock and (F)my fortress;
For (G)Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.
4 You will (H)pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my (I)strength.
Keep Fervent in Your Love
4 Therefore, since (A)Christ has [a]suffered in the flesh, (B)arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because (C)he who has [b]suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 (D)so as to live (E)the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the (F)will of God. 3 For (G)the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, [c](H)having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and [d]abominable idolatries. 4 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of (I)dissipation, and they (J)malign you; 5 but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge (K)the living and the dead. 6 For (L)the gospel has for this purpose been [e]preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.
7 (M)The end of all things [f]is near; therefore, (N)be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of [g]prayer. 8 Above all, (O)keep fervent in your love for one another, because (P)love covers a multitude of sins.
Jesus Is Buried
57 (A)When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled (B)a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 And (C)Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.
62 Now on the next day, [a]the day after (D)the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘(E)After three days I am to rise again.’ 64 Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a (F)guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 And they went and made the grave secure, and along with (G)the guard they set a (H)seal on (I)the stone.
38 (A)After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a (B)secret one for (C)fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. 39 (D)Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, (E)bringing a [a]mixture of (F)myrrh and aloes, about a (G)hundred [b]pounds weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and (H)bound it in (I)linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a (J)new tomb (K)in which no one had yet been laid. 42 Therefore because of the Jewish day of (L)preparation, since the tomb was (M)nearby, they laid Jesus there.
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