Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.
For the music director; on stringed instruments. A [a]Maskil of David.
55 (A)Listen to my prayer, God;
And (B)do not hide Yourself from my pleading.
2 Give Your (C)attention to me and answer me;
I am restless in my (D)complaint and [b](E)severely 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)hold 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 [e]overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and [f](M)be at rest.
7 Behold, I would flee far away,
I would (N)spend my nights in the wilderness. Selah
8 I would hurry to my place of refuge
From the (O)stormy wind and heavy gale.”
9 Confuse them, 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 evil and harm are in her midst.
11 (R)Destruction is in her midst;
(S)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her [g]streets.
12 For it is (T)not an enemy who taunts me,
Then I could endure 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 [h]my equal,
My (V)companion and my (W)confidant;
14 We who had sweet [i]fellowship together,
(X)Walked in the house of God among the commotion.
15 May [j]death come (Y)deceitfully upon them;
May they (Z)go down alive to [k]Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.
Eliphaz Says Job Presumes Much
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,
2 “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge,
(A)And fill [a]himself with the east wind?
3 Should he argue with useless talk,
Or with words which do not benefit?
4 Indeed, you do away with [b]reverence,
And hinder meditation before God.
5 For (B)your wrongdoing teaches your mouth,
And you choose the language of (C)the cunning.
6 Your (D)own mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips testify against you.
7 “Were you the first person to be born,
Or (E)were you brought forth before the hills?
8 Do you hear the (F)secret discussion of God,
And limit wisdom to yourself?
9 (G)What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that [c]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 little for you,
Or the (J)word spoken gently to you?
12 Why does your (K)heart take you away?
And why do your eyes wink,
13 That you can turn your spirit against God
And produce such words from your mouth?
14 What is man, that (L)he would be pure,
Or (M)he who is born of a woman, that he would be righteous?
15 Behold, He has 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:
A person who (Q)drinks [d]malice 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 people have told,
And have not concealed from (R)their fathers,
19 To whom alone the land was given,
And no stranger passed among them.
20 The wicked person writhes (S)in pain all his days,
And the [e]years (T)reserved for the ruthless are numbered.
21 [f]Sounds of (U)terror are in his ears;
(V)While he is 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 reached out with his hand against God,
And is (Z)arrogant toward [h]the Almighty.
26 He rushes [i]headlong at Him
With his [j]massive shield.
27 For he has (AA)covered his face with his fat,
And [k]put fat on his waist.
28 He has (AB)lived in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become [l]ruins.
29 He (AC)will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his property will not stretch out on the earth.
30 He will (AD)not [m]escape from darkness;
The (AE)flame will dry up his shoot,
And he will go away by (AF)the breath of His mouth.
31 Let him not (AG)trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For his [n]reward will be emptiness.
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 [o]the corrupt.
35 They (AM)conceive [p]harm and give birth to wrongdoing,
And their [q]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 Now (D)if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, [a]than for your whole body to be thrown into [b](E)hell. 30 And (F)if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you; for it is better for you [c]to lose one of the parts of your body, [d]than for your whole body to go into [e](G)hell.
31 “Now it was said, ‘(H)Whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 (I)but I say to you that everyone who [f]divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a [g]divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, (J)you have heard that [h]the ancients were told, ‘[i](K)You shall not [j]make false vows, but shall fulfill your [k]vows to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, (L)take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is (M)the throne of God, 35 nor by the earth, for it is the (N)footstool of His feet, nor [l]by Jerusalem, for it is (O)the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
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