Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 39
For the worship leader, Jeduthun.[a] A song of David.
As an individual lament, Psalm 39 grieves over the brevity of life. The superscription recalls David’s appointment of Jeduthun as one of the tabernacle’s leading musicians (1 Chronicles 16:41–42).
1 I promised, “I’ll be careful on life’s journey
not to sin with my words;
I’ll seal my lips
when wicked people are around.”
2 I kept my mouth shut;
I had nothing to say—not even anything good—
which came to grieve me more and more.
3 I felt my heart become hot inside me
as I thought on these things; a fire ignited and burned.
Then I said,
4 “Eternal One, let me understand my end
and how brief my earthly existence is;
help me realize my life is fleeting.
5 You have determined the length of my days,
and my life is nothing compared to You.
Even the longest life is only a breath.”
[pause][b]
6 In truth, each of us journeys through life like a shadow.
We busy ourselves accomplishing nothing, piling up assets we can never keep;
We can’t even know who will end up with those things.
7 In light of all this, Lord, what am I really waiting for?
You are my hope.
8 Keep me from all the wrong I would do;
don’t let the foolish laugh at me.
9 I am quiet; I keep my mouth closed
because this has come from You.
10 Take Your curse from me;
I can’t endure Your punishment.
11 You discipline us for our sins.
Like a moth, You consume everything we treasure;
it’s evident we are merely a breath.
[pause]
12 Hear me, O Eternal One;
listen to my pleading,
and don’t ignore my tears
Because I am estranged from You—
a wanderer like my fathers before me.
13 Look away from me so I might have a chance to recover my joy and smile again
before I lay this life down and am no more.
32 At that point, Job’s three friends stopped responding to him because Job was quite certain of his own righteousness. 2 But someone else was there. His name was Elihu (Barachel’s son from Buz, of the family of Ram), and he was burning with anger toward Job because Job defended his righteousness rather than God’s. 3 And Elihu was also angry with Job’s three friends because they found no decent rebuttal to Job yet condemned him nonetheless. 4 Elihu had withheld his words from Job because he was younger than all four of them and knew it was improper to speak until each of them was heard, 5-6 but when Elihu (Barachel’s son from Buz) realized the three men’s words were spent, his anger inflamed him.
Elihu: I am a young man,
and you are my wise elders,
So I have been here shyly creeping about in the background,
timid about sharing my opinion with you.
7 I thought to myself, “Age should speak first;
those advanced in years will teach wisdom.”
8 But alas, it turns out it is the spirit in a man, not age,
and the breath of the Highest One[a] within him that lends understanding.
9 In fact, sometimes it is neither the great who are wise
nor the elderly who have an understanding of justice.
10 And so I say, “Listen to me, Job,
and I, even I, will explain what I know.”
11 (turning to the three friends) After all, I waited while each of you three spoke;
I lent my ear to your insights
while you searched for what to say, looking for the right words.
12 I paid you my utmost attention, but hear this!
Not one of you countered Job with a decent argument;
not one rebutted his statements of the case.
13 And don’t you dare fall back on the easy reply:
“We have found wisdom;
let God rebuke him, not just any old human!”
14 I will answer him differently,
for he has not assembled his words against me.
I will not answer him with your overly personalized and insufficient arguments.
15 They are all undone, unhinged, embarrassed!
They have no response!
Their faculty of speech has apparently failed them!
16 Should I wait a bit longer to make sure they are all done speaking,
for when they stand silent and appear to have nothing to say?
17 So now it is my turn.
I will tell you what I think.
I will impart what I know.
Due to the abundance of grapes and the absence of refrigeration, wine was a staple drink in the ancient Near East. The process of making wine was basically the same one used today, although the equipment was different. Grapes were grown, gathered, pressed, fermented, and stored. For the fermentation process, wineskins (usually made of goat hide) were used instead of today’s barrels. Wineskins were the perfect choice because they could expand as the grape juice released its gases during the fermentation process, much as the human stomach expands as it digests food, as Elihu points out. It was imperative that new wineskins were used for each batch of wine because each skin could only expand so far; a second round of fermentation in an old skin would rupture the skin and spill the wine—a truth Jesus makes famous in Luke 5:37. After fermentation, the wine was stored in amphora jars with vented tops, so any gases could be released and the wine still be contained or even transported.
18 After all, I am filled to the brim with words,
and my gut reaction is to speak.
19 My insides are like fresh wine sealed up and needing to breathe.
Like a new wineskin, I am on the brink of bursting from the pressure.
20 Let me speak. Then I will find relief.
Yes, I will open my mouth and answer.
21 You will have to pardon me
if I do not impede my words with deference to any of you
or flatter you with honorable titles.
22 After all, I am not very skilled with flattery anyway;
I have reason to believe that, if I were to engage in such senseless rhetoric,
My Maker would whisk me away from here
because this matter is so serious.
19 There was this rich man who had everything—purple clothing of fine quality and high fashion, gourmet meals every day, and a large house. 20 Just outside his front gate lay this poor homeless fellow named Lazarus. Lazarus was covered in ugly skin lesions. 21 He was so hungry he wished he could scavenge scraps from the rich man’s trash. Dogs would come and lick the sores on his skin. 22 The poor fellow died and was carried on the arms of the heavenly messengers to the embrace of Abraham. Then the rich fellow died and was buried 23 and found himself in the place of the dead. In his torment, he looked up, and off in the distance he saw Abraham, with Lazarus in his embrace.
24 He shouted out, “Father Abraham! Please show me mercy! Would you send that beggar Lazarus to dip his fingertip in water and cool my tongue? These flames are hot, and I’m in agony!”
25 But Abraham said, “Son, you seem to be forgetting something: your life was full to overflowing with comforts and pleasures, and the life of Lazarus was just as full with suffering and pain. So now is his time of comfort, and now is your time of agony. 26 Besides, a great canyon separates you and us. Nobody can cross over from our side to yours, or from your side to ours.”
27 “Please, Father Abraham, I beg you,” the formerly rich man continued, “send Lazarus to my father’s house. 28 I have five brothers there, and they’re on the same path I was on. If Lazarus warns them, they’ll choose another path and won’t end up here in torment.”
29 But Abraham said, “Why send Lazarus? They already have the law of Moses and the writings of the prophets to instruct them. Let your brothers hear them.”
30 “No, Father Abraham,” he said, “they’re already ignoring the law and the prophets. But if someone came back from the dead, then they’d listen for sure; then they’d change their way of life.”
31 Abraham answered, “If they’re not listening to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be convinced even if someone comes back from the dead.”
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.