Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Cry of Fear and a Song of Praise

22 My God, my God, why have You left me alone? Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words I cry inside myself? ² O my God, I cry during the day, but You do not answer. I cry during the night, but I find no rest. ³ Yet You are holy. The praises Israel gives You are Your throne. ⁴ Our fathers trusted in You, and You saved them. ⁵ They cried to You and were set free. They trusted in You and were not ashamed.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man. I am put to shame by men, and am hated by the people. ⁷ All who see me make fun of me. They open their mouths and shake their heads, and say, ⁸ “He trusts in the Lord. Let the Lord help him. Let the Lord take him out of trouble, because he is happy in Him.”

⁹ But You brought me out when I was born. You made me trust when I drank my mother’s milk. ¹⁰ I was in Your care from birth. Since my mother gave birth to me, You have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me, for trouble is near. And there is no one to help. ¹² Many bulls have gathered all around me. Strong bulls of Bashan stand around me. ¹³ They open their mouths wide against me, like a loud, hungry lion. ¹⁴ I am poured out like water. And all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like a melted candle within me. ¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a piece of a broken clay pot. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. And You lay me in the dust of death.

Job Keeps On Talking

17 “My spirit is broken. My days are gone. The grave is ready for me. ² For sure those with me make fun of me. My eyes see how they laugh at me.

³ “Promise that You will hear me. Who is there that will trust me? ⁴ For You have kept their heart from understanding, so You will not honor them. ⁵ If one speaks against friends to get money, the eyes of his children also will become weak.

⁶ “But He has made me an object of shame to the people. Men spit on me. ⁷ My eyes have become weak with sorrow. All the parts of my body are like a shadow. ⁸ Men who are right and good will be surprised and afraid at this. He who is without guilt will be moved to go against the sinful. ⁹ But the one who is right with God will hold to his way. And he who has clean hands will become stronger and stronger. ¹⁰ But all of you try again, and I will not find a wise man among you. ¹¹ My days are past. My plans are torn apart, even the wishes of my heart. ¹² They make night into day, saying, ‘The light is near,’ when there is darkness. ¹³ If I look for the place of the dead as my home, I make my bed in the darkness. ¹⁴ If I say to the grave, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My mother and my sister,’ ¹⁵ then where is my hope? Who sees hope for me? ¹⁶ Will it go down with me to the place of the dead? Will we go down together into the dust?”

⁷ The Holy Spirit says, “If you hear His voice today, ⁸ do not let your hearts become hard as your early fathers did when they turned against Me. It was at that time in the desert when they put Me to the test. ⁹ Your early fathers tempted Me and tried Me. They saw the work I did for forty years. ¹⁰ For this reason, I was angry with the people of this day. And I said to them, ‘They always think wrong thoughts. They have never understood what I have tried to do for them.’ ¹¹ I was angry with them and said to Myself, ‘They will never go into My rest.’” ^(A)

¹² Christian brothers, be careful that not one of you has a heart so bad that it will not believe and will turn away from the living God. ¹³ Help each other. Speak day after day to each other while it is still today so your heart will not become hard by being fooled by sin. ¹⁴ For we belong to Christ if we keep on trusting Him to the end just as we trusted Him at first. ¹⁵ The Holy Writings say, “If you hear His voice today, do not let your hearts become hard as your early fathers did when they turned against Me.” ^(B)

¹⁶ Who heard God’s voice and turned against Him? Did not all those who were led out of the country of Egypt by Moses? ¹⁷ Who made God angry for forty years? Was it not those people who had sinned in the desert? Was it not those who died and were buried there? ¹⁸ Who did He say could never go into His rest? Was it not those who did not obey Him? ¹⁹ So we can see that they were not able to go into His rest because they did not put their trust in Him.