Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 39
Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness
To the leader: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1 I said, “I will guard my ways
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are in my presence.”(A)
2 I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse;(B)
3 my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4 “Lord, let me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.(C)
5 You have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath. Selah(D)
6 Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up and do not know who will gather.(E)
7 “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in you.(F)
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.(G)
9 I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.(H)
10 Remove your stroke from me;
I am worn down by the blows[a] of your hand.(I)
11 “You chastise mortals
in punishment for sin,
consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah(J)
12 “But where shall wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?(A)
13 Mortals do not know the way to it,[a]
and it is not found in the land of the living.(B)
14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 It cannot be gotten for gold,
and silver cannot be weighed out as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
in precious onyx or sapphire.[b]
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.(C)
18 No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
the price of wisdom is above pearls.(D)
19 The chrysolite of Cush cannot compare with it,
nor can it be valued in pure gold.(E)
20 “Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?(F)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living
and concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Abaddon and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’(G)
23 “God understands the way to it,
and he knows its place.(H)
24 For he looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.(I)
25 When he gave to the wind its weight
and apportioned out the waters by measure,(J)
26 when he made a decree for the rain,
and a way for the thunderbolt,(K)
27 then he saw it and declared it;
he established it and searched it out.
28 And he said to humankind,
‘Truly, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is understanding.’ ”(L)
Job Finishes His Defense
29 Job again took up his discourse and said:(M)
2 “O that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,(N)
3 when his lamp shone over my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,(O)
4 when I was in my prime,
when the friendship of God was upon my tent,(P)
5 when the Almighty[c] was still with me,
when my children were around me,
6 when my steps were washed with milk
and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!(Q)
7 When I went out to the gate of the city,
when I took my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose up and stood;
9 the nobles refrained from talking
and laid their hands on their mouths;(R)
10 the voices of princes were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.(S)
The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer
8 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.(A) 2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.(B)
3 Another angel with a golden censer came and stood at the altar; he was given a great quantity of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that is before the throne.(C) 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.(D) 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.(E)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.