Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Praise for God’s Goodness

147 Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God. For it is pleasing and praise is right. ² The Lord builds up Jerusalem. He gathers those of Israel who had been taken away. ³ He heals those who have a broken heart. He heals their sorrows. ⁴ He knows the number of the stars. He gives names to all of them. ⁵ Great is our Lord, and great in power. His understanding has no end. ⁶ The Lord lifts up those who are suffering, and He brings the sinful down to the ground.

⁷ Sing to the Lord with thanks. Sing praises to our God on the harp. ⁸ He covers the heavens with clouds. He gives rain for the earth. He makes grass grow on the mountains. ⁹ He gives food to the animals, and to the young ravens that cry. ¹⁰ His joy is not in the strength of a horse. He does not find joy in the legs of a man. ¹¹ But the Lord favors those who fear Him and those who wait for His loving-kindness.

²⁰ He has not done this with any other nation. They do not know His Law. Praise the Lord!

Elihu Keeps On Speaking

36 Then Elihu spoke more and said, ² “Wait for me a little longer, and I will show you that there is yet more to be said for God. ³ I bring my learning from far away, and will tell how right and good my Maker is. ⁴ For sure my words are not false. One who is perfect in much learning is with you.

⁵ “See, God is powerful, but does not hate anyone. He is powerful in strength of understanding. ⁶ He does not keep the sinful alive, but gives what is right and fair to those who are troubled. ⁷ He does not turn His eyes away from those who are right with Him. He puts them on the throne with kings and they are honored forever. ⁸ If they are tied up in chains and caught in the ropes of trouble, ⁹ then He makes known to them their work and their sins, that they have shown pride. ¹⁰ He makes them listen to teaching, and tells them to turn away from sin. ¹¹ If they hear and serve Him, the rest of their days will be filled with what they need and their years with peace. ¹² But if they do not hear, they will die by the sword. They will die without learning.

¹³ “But those who do not know God keep anger in their heart. They do not cry for help when He puts them in chains. ¹⁴ They die when they are young. And their life ends among those who sell the use of their bodies in the houses of the false gods. ¹⁵ He takes those who suffer out of their suffering. He speaks to them in times of trouble. ¹⁶ He led you from being close to trouble to a wide place where you were free with your table full of food.

¹⁷ “But you wanted to punish the sinful. Punishment and being fair have taken hold of you. ¹⁸ Be careful or anger will tempt you to laugh at the truth. Do not take pay in secret for wrong-doing and be turned aside. ¹⁹ Will your riches or all your power keep you from trouble? ²⁰ Do not desire the night, when people are taken from their place. ²¹ Be careful, do not turn to sin. For you have chosen this instead of suffering. ²² See, God is honored in His power. Who is a teacher like Him? ²³ Who has told Him the way He should go? And who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?

A Missionary’s Rights

9 Am I not a missionary? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not Christians because of the work I have done for the Lord? ² Other people may not think of me as a missionary, but you do. It proves I am a missionary because you are Christians now. ³ When people ask questions about me, I say this: ⁴ Do we not have the right to have food and drink when we are working for the Lord? ⁵ Do we not have the right to take a Christian wife along with us? The other missionaries do. The Lord’s brothers do and Peter does. ⁶ Are Barnabas and I the only ones who should keep working for a living so we can preach?

⁷ Have you ever heard of a soldier who goes to war and pays for what he needs himself? Have you ever heard of a man planting a field of grapes and not eating some of the fruit? Have you ever heard of a farmer who feeds cattle and does not drink some of the milk? ⁸ These things are not just what men think are right to do. God’s Law speaks about this. ⁹ God gave Moses the Law. It says, “When the cow is made to walk on the grain to break it open, do not stop it from eating some.” ^(A) Does God care about the cow? ¹⁰ Did not God speak about this because of us. For sure, this was written for us. The man who gets the fields ready and the man who gathers in the grain should expect some of the grain. ¹¹ We have planted God’s Word among you. Is it too much to expect you to give us what we need to live each day? ¹² If other people have the right to expect this from you, do we not have more right? But we have not asked this of you. We have suffered many things. We did this so the Good News of Christ would not be held back.

¹³ You must know that those who work in the house of God get their food there. Those who work at the altar in the house of God get a part of the food that is given there. ¹⁴ The Lord has said also that those who preach the Good News should get their living from those who hear it.

¹⁵ I have not used any of these things. I am not writing now to get anything. I would rather die than lose the joy of preaching to you without you paying me. ¹⁶ I cannot be proud because I preach the Good News. I have been told to do it. It would be bad for me if I do not preach the Good News.