Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Prayer of a Suffering Man

39 I said, “I will watch my ways so I may not sin with my tongue. I will keep my mouth shut as if it were tied with ropes, while the sinful are near me.” ² I stayed quiet, not even saying anything good. And my sorrow grew worse. ³ My heart was hot within me. As I thought about things, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue, ⁴ “O Lord, let me know my end and how many days I have to live. Let me know that I do not have long to stay here. ⁵ You have made each of my days as long as a hand is wide. My whole life is nothing in Your eyes. Every man at his best is only a breath. ⁶ Every man walks here and there like a shadow. He makes a noise about nothing. He stores up riches, not knowing who will gather them.

⁷ And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. ⁸ Save me from all my sins. Do not let me be put to shame by the foolish. ⁹ I cannot speak. I do not open my mouth because it is You Who has done it. ¹⁰ Do not punish me any more. I am growing weak by the beatings of Your hand. ¹¹ With sharp words You punish a man for sin. You destroy like a moth what is of worth to him. For sure, every man is only a breath.

¹² O Lord, hear my prayer, and listen to my cry. Do not be quiet when You see my tears. For I am a stranger with You, a visitor like all my fathers. ¹³ Look away from me, so I may have joy again before I go and am no more.”

¹² “But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? ¹³ Man does not know its worth, and it is not found in the land of the living. ¹⁴ The deep waters say, ‘It is not in me.’ The sea says, ‘It is not with me.’ ¹⁵ Pure gold cannot be traded for it and it cannot be bought with silver. ¹⁶ It cannot be compared in worth to the gold of Ophir, onyx of much worth, or sapphire. ¹⁷ Gold or glass cannot be compared to it in worth and it cannot be traded for objects of fine gold. ¹⁸ There is no need to say anything about coral or crystal because wisdom cannot be paid for with rubies. ¹⁹ The topaz of Ethiopia cannot be compared to it in worth and it cannot be compared with the worth of pure gold. ²⁰ Where then does wisdom come from? Where is the place of understanding? ²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of all living. It is hidden from the birds of the sky. ²² The Place That Destroys and Death say, ‘We have only heard about it with our ears.’

²³ “God understands the way to wisdom, and He knows its place. ²⁴ For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens. ²⁵ He gave weight to the wind. He decided how much water would be in the sea. ²⁶ He decided how much rain would fall, and the path for the lightning. ²⁷ Then He saw wisdom and made it known. He made it last, and found out all about it. ²⁸ And He said to man, ‘See, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And to turn away from sin is understanding.’”

Job Tells of His Past Days

29 Then Job spoke again and said, ² “If only I could be now as I was in the months past when God watched over me! ³ His lamp shined over my head then and by His light I walked through darkness. ⁴ Those days were my best days when God was my friend watching over my tent. ⁵ The All-powerful was still with me, and my children were around me. ⁶ My path was washed with milk, and the rock poured out rivers of oil for me. ⁷ When I went to the city gate and took my place with the leaders of the city, ⁸ the young men saw me and let me go by. The old men rose and stood. ⁹ The leaders stopped talking, and put their hands on their mouths. ¹⁰ The voices of the rulers were quiet. Their tongues held to the roof of their mouths.

The Seventh Lock—No Sound in Heaven

8 When the Lamb broke the seventh lock, there was not a sound in heaven for about one-half hour.

² Then I saw the seven angels standing before God. They were given seven horns.

³ Another angel came and stood at the altar. He held a cup made of gold full of special perfume. He was given much perfume so he could mix it in with the prayers of those who belonged to God. Their prayers were put on the altar made of gold before the throne. ⁴ Smoke from burning the special perfume and the prayers of those who belong to God went up before God out of the angel’s hand. ⁵ Then the angel took the cup of gold. He filled it with fire from the altar and threw it down on the earth. There was thunder and noise and lightning and the earth shook.