Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
8 O Lord our God, the majesty and glory of your name fills all the earth and overflows the heavens. 2 You have taught the little children to praise you perfectly. May their example shame and silence your enemies!
3 When I look up into the night skies and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you have made— 4 I cannot understand how you can bother with mere puny man, to pay any attention to him!
5 And yet you have made him only a little lower than the angels[a] and placed a crown of glory and honor upon his head.
6 You have put him in charge of everything you made; everything is put under his authority: 7 all sheep and oxen, and wild animals too, 8 the birds and fish, and all the life in the sea. 9 O Jehovah, our Lord, the majesty and glory of your name fills the earth.
12 “Have you ever once commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east? 13 Have you ever told the daylight to spread to the ends of the earth, to end the night’s wickedness? 14 Have you ever robed the dawn in red, 15 and disturbed the haunts of wicked men, and stopped the arm raised to strike?
16 “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come, or walked in the sources of their depths? 17-18 Has the location of the gates of death been revealed to you? Do you realize the extent of the earth? Tell me about it if you know! 19 Where does the light come from, and how do you get there? Or tell me about the darkness. Where does it come from? 20 Can you find its boundaries, or go to its source? 21 But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!
12 That is why I am suffering here in jail, and I am certainly not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to safely guard all that I have given him until the day of his return.
13 Hold tightly to the pattern of truth I taught you, especially concerning the faith and love Christ Jesus offers you.[a] 14 Guard well the splendid, God-given ability you received as a gift from the Holy Spirit who lives within you.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.