Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Cast Your Burden on the Lord
To the choirmaster: with (A)stringed instruments. A Maskil[a] of David.
55 (B)Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2 Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless (C)in my complaint and I (D)moan,
3 because of the noise of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they (E)drop trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
4 My heart is in anguish within me;
(F)the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
and (G)horror (H)overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7 (I)yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter
from (J)the raging wind and tempest.”
9 Destroy, O Lord, (K)divide their tongues;
for I see (L)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and (M)iniquity and trouble are within it;
11 ruin is in its midst;
(N)oppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.
12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who (O)deals insolently with me—
then I could hide from him.
13 (P)But it is you, a man, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend.
14 We used to take sweet counsel together;
within God's house we walked in (Q)the throng.
15 Let death steal over them;
let them go down to Sheol (R)alive;
for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
Bildad Speaks: Job Should Repent
8 Then (A)Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “How long will you say these things,
and the words of your mouth be a (B)great wind?
3 (C)Does God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert the right?
4 If your (D)children have sinned against him,
he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.
5 If you will seek God
and (E)plead with the Almighty for mercy,
6 if you are pure and upright,
surely then he will (F)rouse himself for you
and (G)restore your rightful habitation.
7 And though your beginning was small,
(H)your latter days will be very great.
8 “For (I)inquire, please, of bygone ages,
and consider what (J)the fathers have searched out.
9 For we are but of yesterday and know nothing,
for our days on earth are (K)a shadow.
10 Will they not teach you and tell you
and utter words out of their understanding?
11 “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Can reeds flourish where there is no water?
12 While yet in flower and not cut down,
they (L)wither before any other plant.
13 Such are the paths of all who (M)forget God;
(N)the hope of (O)the godless shall perish.
14 His confidence is severed,
and his trust is (P)a spider's web.[a]
15 He leans against his (Q)house, but it does not stand;
he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.
16 He is a lush plant before the sun,
and his (R)shoots spread over his garden.
17 His roots entwine the stone heap;
he looks upon a house of stones.
18 If he is destroyed from his (S)place,
then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never (T)seen you.’
19 Behold, this is the joy of his way,
and out of (U)the soil others will spring.
Principles for Marriage
7 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: (A)“It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 (B)The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 (C)Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, (D)so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
6 Now as a concession, (E)not a command, I say this.[a] 7 (F)I wish that all were (G)as I myself am. But (H)each has his own gift from God, (I)one of one kind and one of another.
8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that (J)it is good for them to remain single, (K)as I am. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control, (L)they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.