Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise to Yahweh for His Providence
147 Praise Yah.[a]
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant; praise is fitting.
2 Yahweh is building Jerusalem;
he gathers the scattered ones of Israel.
3 He is the one who heals the brokenhearted,
and binds up their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars;
he gives names to all of them.
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is unlimited.
6 Yahweh helps the afflicted up;
he brings the wicked down to the ground.
7 Sing to Yahweh with thanksgiving;
sing praises to our God with lyre,
8 who covers the heavens with clouds,
who provides rain for the earth,
who causes grass to grow on the mountains.
9 He gives to the animal its food,
and to the young ravens that cry.
10 He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
he takes no pleasure in the legs of the man.
11 Yahweh takes pleasure in those who fear him,
the ones who hope[b] for his loyal love.
20 He has not done so for any nation,
and they do not know his ordinances.
Praise Yah.[a]
Elihu Extols God’s Greatness
36 Then[a] Elihu continued and said,
2 “Bear with me a little longer, and I will explain,[b]
for I still have something to say on God’s behalf.[c]
3 I will bring my knowledge from far away,
and I will ascribe righteousness to my maker,
4 for truly my words[d] are not falsehood;
one who has perfect knowledge is with you.[e]
5 Look, God is mighty but[f] does not despise anyone;
he is mighty and good in understanding.[g]
6 He does not keep the wicked alive
but[h] grants justice to the afflicted.
7 He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous,
but[i] he sets them forever with kings on the throne, and they are exalted.
8 “And if they are tied up with fetters,
if they are caught in the cords of misery,
9 then[j] he declares their work to them,
and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.
10 So[k] he opens their ear to the discipline,
and he commands that they return from mischief.
11 If they listen and serve him,
they complete their days in prosperity and their years in pleasantness.
12 But[l] if they do not listen, they perish by the sword,
and they pass away without knowledge.
13 And the godless of heart cherish anger;
they do not cry for help when he binds them.
14 They die in their youth,[m]
and their life ends among the male shrine prostitutes.
15 He delivers the afflicted by his misery,
and he opens their ears by the adversity.
16 And what’s more, he allured you out of distress[n]
into a broad place, where in place of it was no constraint;
and what was set on your table is full of fatness.
17 But[o] you are obsessed with the judgment of the wicked;
judgment and justice take hold of you.
18 Yes,[p] it is wrath, so that it will not incite you into mockery;
and do not let the ransom’s greatness turn you aside.
19 Will your cry for help sustain you without distress,
or[q] all the efforts of your strength?
20 You must not long for the night,
to cut off people in their place.[r]
21 Take care, you must not turn to mischief,
for because of this you have been tried by misery.
22 “Look, God is exalted in his power;
who is a teacher like him?
23 Who has prescribed his way for him?
Or[s] who says, ‘You have done wrong’?
Paul Gives Up His Rights as an Apostle
9 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, yet indeed I am to you, for you are my seal of apostleship in the Lord. 3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to take along a sister as wife, like the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or do only I and Barnabas not have the right to refrain from working[a]? 7 Who ever serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Who[b] shepherds a flock and does not drink[c] from the milk of the flock? 8 I am not saying these things according to a human perspective. Or does the law not also say these things? 9 For in the law of Moses it is written, “You must not muzzle an ox while it[d] is threshing.”[e] It is not about oxen God is concerned, is it?[f] 10 Or doubtless does he speak for our sake[g]? For it is written for our sake[h], because the one who plows ought to plow in hope and the one who threshes ought to do so in hope of a share. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too great a thing if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this right over you, do we not do so even more? Yet we have not made use of this right, but we endure all things, in order that we may not cause any hindrance to the gospel of Christ.
13 Do you not know that those performing the holy services eat the things from the temple, and those attending to the altar have a share with the altar? 14 In the same way also the Lord ordered those who proclaim the gospel to live from the gospel. 15 But I have not made use of any of these rights. And I am not writing these things in order that it may be thus with me. For it would be better to me rather to die than for anyone to deprive me of my reason for boasting. 16 For if I proclaim the gospel, it is not to me a reason for boasting, for necessity is imposed on me. For woe is to me if I do not proclaim the gospel.
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