Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 55[a]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song[b] by David.
55 Listen, O God, to my prayer.
Do not ignore[c] my appeal for mercy.
2 Pay attention to me and answer me.
I am so upset[d] and distressed,[e] I am beside myself,[f]
3 because of what the enemy says,[g]
and because of how the wicked[h] pressure me,[i]
for they hurl trouble[j] down upon me[k]
and angrily attack me.
4 My heart beats violently[l] within me;
the horrors of death overcome me.[m]
5 Fear and panic overpower me;[n]
terror overwhelms[o] me.
6 I say,[p] “I wish I had wings like a dove.
I would fly away and settle in a safe place.
7 Look, I will escape to a distant place;
I will stay in the wilderness. (Selah)
8 I will hurry off to a place that is safe
from the strong wind[q] and the gale.”
9 Confuse them,[r] O Lord.
Frustrate their plans.[s]
For I see violence and conflict in the city.
10 Day and night they walk around on its walls,[t]
while wickedness and destruction[u] are within it.
11 Disaster is within it;
violence[v] and deceit do not depart from its public square.
12 Indeed,[w] it is not an enemy who insults me,
or else I could bear it;
it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me,[x]
or else I could hide from him.
13 But it is you,[y] a man like me,[z]
my close friend in whom I confided.[aa]
14 We would share personal thoughts with each other;[ab]
in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.
15 May death destroy them.[ac]
May they go down alive into Sheol.[ad]
For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.
Bildad’s First Speech to Job[a]
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said:
2 “How long will you speak these things,[b]
seeing[c] that the words of your mouth
are like a great[d] wind?[e]
3 Does God pervert[f] justice?[g]
Or does the Almighty pervert[h] what is right?
4 If[i] your children sinned against him,
he gave them over[j] to the penalty[k] of their sin.
5 But[l] if you will look[m] to God,
and make your supplication[n] to the Almighty,
6 if you become[o] pure[p] and upright,[q]
even now he will rouse himself[r] for you,
and will restore[s] your righteous home.[t]
7 Your beginning[u] will seem so small,
since your future will flourish.[v]
8 “For inquire now of the former[w] generation,
and pay attention[x] to the findings[y]
of their ancestors;[z]
9 For we were born yesterday[aa] and do not have knowledge,
since our days on earth are but a shadow.[ab]
10 Will they not[ac] instruct you and[ad] speak to you,
and bring forth words[ae]
from their understanding?[af]
11 Can the papyrus plant grow tall[ag] where there is no marsh?
Can reeds flourish[ah] without water?
12 While they are still beginning to flower[ai]
and not ripe for cutting,[aj]
they can wither away[ak]
faster than[al] any grass.[am]
13 Such is the destiny[an] of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless[ao] perishes,
14 whose[ap] trust[aq] is in something futile,[ar]
whose security is a spider’s web.[as]
15 He leans against his house but it does not hold up,[at]
he takes hold[au] of it but it does not stand.
16 He is a well-watered plant[av] in[aw] the sun,
its shoots spread[ax] over its garden.[ay]
17 It wraps its roots around a heap of stones[az]
and it looks[ba] for a place among stones.[bb]
Celibacy and Marriage
7 Now with regard to the issues you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”[a] 2 But because of immoralities, each man should have relations with[b] his own wife and each woman with[c] her own husband. 3 A husband should fulfill his marital responsibility[d] to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband. 4 It is not the wife who has the rights to her own body, but the husband. In the same way, it is not the husband who has the rights to his own body, but the wife. 5 Do not deprive each other, except by mutual agreement for a specified time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer.[e] Then resume your relationship,[f] so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that everyone was as I am. But each has his own gift from God, one this way, another that.
8 To the unmarried and widows I say that it is best for them to remain as I am. 9 But if they do not have self-control, let them get married. For it is better to marry than to burn with sexual desire.[g]
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