Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.
For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David.
55 (A)Give ear to my prayer, O God;
And (B)do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Give (C)heed to me and answer me;
I am restless in my (D)complaint and [b](E)am surely distracted,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the (F)pressure of the wicked;
For they (G)bring down [c]trouble upon me
And in anger they (H)bear a grudge against me.
4 My (I)heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of (J)death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and (K)trembling come upon me,
And [d](L)horror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and [e](M)be at rest.
7 “Behold, I would wander far away,
I would (N)lodge in the wilderness. [f]Selah.
8 “I would hasten to my place of refuge
From the (O)stormy wind and tempest.”
9 [g]Confuse, O Lord, (P)divide their tongues,
For I have seen (Q)violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And iniquity and mischief are in her midst.
11 (R)Destruction is in her midst;
(S)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her [h]streets.
12 For it is (T)not an enemy who reproaches me,
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who hates me who (U)has exalted himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
13 But it is you, a man [i]my equal,
My (V)companion and my [j](W)familiar friend;
14 We who had sweet [k]fellowship together
(X)Walked in the house of God in the throng.
15 Let [l]death come (Y)deceitfully upon them;
Let them (Z)go down alive to [m]Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.
Eliphaz Says Job Presumes Much
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite [a]responded,
2 “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge
(A)And fill [b]himself with the east wind?
3 “Should he argue with useless talk,
Or with words which are not profitable?
4 “Indeed, you do away with [c]reverence
And hinder meditation before God.
5 “For (B)your guilt teaches your mouth,
And you choose the language of (C)the crafty.
6 “Your (D)own mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips testify against you.
7 “Were you the first man to be born,
Or (E)were you brought forth before the hills?
8 “Do you hear the (F)secret counsel of God,
And limit wisdom to yourself?
9 “(G)What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that [d]we do not?
10 “Both the (H)gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Older than your father.
11 “Are (I)the consolations of God too small for you,
Even the (J)word spoken gently with you?
12 “Why does your (K)heart carry you away?
And why do your eyes flash,
13 That you should turn your spirit against God
And allow such words to go out of your mouth?
14 “What is man, that (L)he should be pure,
Or (M)he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15 “Behold, He puts no trust in His (N)holy ones,
And the (O)heavens are not pure in His sight;
16 How much less one who is (P)detestable and corrupt,
Man, who (Q)drinks iniquity like water!
What Eliphaz Has Seen of Life
17 “I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have seen I will also declare;
18 What wise men have told,
And have not concealed from (R)their fathers,
19 To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them.
20 “The wicked man writhes (S)in pain all his days,
And [e]numbered are the years (T)stored up for the ruthless.
21 “[f]Sounds of (U)terror are in his ears;
(V)While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
22 “He does not believe that he will (W)return from darkness,
And he is destined for (X)the sword.
23 “He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of (Y)darkness is [g]at hand.
24 “Distress and anguish terrify him,
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God
And conducts himself (Z)arrogantly against [h]the Almighty.
26 “He rushes [i]headlong at Him
With [j]his massive shield.
27 “For he has (AA)covered his face with his fat
And made his thighs heavy with flesh.
28 “He has (AB)lived in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become [k]ruins.
29 “He (AC)will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his grain will not bend down to the ground.
30 “He will (AD)not [l]escape from darkness;
The (AE)flame will wither his shoots,
And by (AF)the breath of His mouth he will go away.
31 “Let him not (AG)trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his [m]reward.
32 “It will be accomplished (AH)before his time,
And his palm (AI)branch will not be green.
33 “He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
And will (AJ)cast off his flower like the olive tree.
34 “For the company of (AK)the godless is barren,
And fire consumes (AL)the tents of [n]the corrupt.
35 “They (AM)conceive [o]mischief and bring forth iniquity,
And their [p]mind prepares deception.”
27 “(A)You have heard that it was said, ‘(B)You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman (C)with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 (D)If your right eye makes you [a]stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you [b]to lose one of the parts of your body, [c]than for your whole body to be thrown into [d](E)hell. 30 (F)If your right hand makes you [e]stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you [f]to lose one of the parts of your body, [g]than for your whole body to go into [h](G)hell.
31 “It was said, ‘(H)Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 (I)but I say to you that everyone who [i]divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a [j]divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, (J)you have heard that [k]the ancients were told, ‘[l](K)You shall not [m]make false vows, but shall fulfill your [n]vows to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, (L)make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is (M)the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is the (N)footstool of His feet, or [o]by Jerusalem, for it is (O)the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
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