Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Complaint about a Friend’s Treachery
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.
55 Give ear to my prayer, O God;
and hide not thyself from my supplication!
2 Attend to me, and answer me;
I am overcome by my trouble.
I am distraught 3 by the noise of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they bring[a] trouble upon me,
and in anger they cherish enmity against me.
4 My heart is in anguish within me,
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “O that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7 yea, I would wander afar,
I would lodge in the wilderness,Selah
8 I would haste to find me a shelter
from the raging wind and tempest.”
9 Destroy their plans,[b] O Lord, confuse their tongues;
for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it
on its walls;
and mischief and trouble are within it,
11 ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
do not depart from its market place.
12 It is not an enemy who taunts me—
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—
then I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend.
14 We used to hold sweet converse together;
within God’s house we walked in fellowship.
15 Let death[c] come upon them;
let them go down to Sheol alive;
let them go away in terror into their graves.[d]
Zophar Speaks: Job’s Guilt Deserves Punishment
11 Then Zophar the Na′amathite answered:
2 “Should a multitude of words go unanswered,
and a man full of talk be vindicated?
3 Should your babble silence men,
and when you mock, shall no one shame you?
4 For you say, ‘My doctrine is pure,
and I am clean in God’s eyes.’
5 But oh, that God would speak,
and open his lips to you,
6 and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!
For he is manifold in understanding.[a]
Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.
7 “Can you find out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
8 It is higher than heaven[b]—what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
9 Its measure is longer than the earth,
and broader than the sea.
10 If he passes through, and imprisons,
and calls to judgment, who can hinder him?
11 For he knows worthless men;
when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?
12 But a stupid man will get understanding,
when a wild ass’s colt is born a man.
13 “If you set your heart aright,
you will stretch out your hands toward him.
14 If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,
and let not wickedness dwell in your tents.
15 Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish;
you will be secure, and will not fear.
16 You will forget your misery;
you will remember it as waters that have passed away.
17 And your life will be brighter than the noonday;
its darkness will be like the morning.
18 And you will have confidence, because there is hope;
you will be protected[c] and take your rest in safety.
19 You will lie down, and none will make you afraid;
many will entreat your favor.
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail;
all way of escape will be lost to them,
and their hope is to breathe their last.”
10 To the married I give charge, not I but the Lord, that the wife should not separate from her husband 11 (but if she does, let her remain single or else be reconciled to her husband)—and that the husband should not divorce his wife.
12 To the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is consecrated through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is consecrated through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner desires to separate, let it be so; in such a case the brother or sister is not bound. For God has called us[a] to peace. 16 Wife, how do you know whether you will save your husband? Husband, how do you know whether you will save your wife?
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.