Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 104
1 Call Him good, my soul, and praise the Eternal.
I am here to declare my affection for You, Eternal One, my God.
You are indeed great—
You who are wrapped in glory and dressed in greatness.
2 For covering, You choose light—Your clothes, sunset and moonrise.
For a tent, You stretch out the heavens; for Your roof, You pitch the sky.
3 Your upper chamber is built on beams that lie in the waters overhead,
and the clouds, Your chariot;
You are held aloft by the wind.
4 You make Your messengers like the winds;
the breeze whispers Your words,
Your servants are like the fire and flame.
5 You made the earth,
and You made its frame stable forever.
Never will it be shaken.
6 You wrapped it in a gown of waters—
ancient mountains under layers of sky.
7 But when You reprimanded those waters, they fled;
the thunder of Your voice sent them running away.
8-9 They hammered out new depths, heaved up new heights,
and swallowed up whatever You commanded.
At first, they covered the earth,
but now You have bound them,
and they know their appointed place.
24 There is so much here, O Eternal One, so much You have made.
By the wise way in which You create, riches and creatures fill the earth.
35 But may those who hate Him, who act against Him,
disappear from the face of this beautiful planet.
As for the Eternal, call Him good, my soul.
Praise the Eternal!
The discussion has included many references to nature and weather. Maybe it has been spoken in the midst of a storm and as a clap of thunder sounds overhead, startling all five of the men. Elihu picks up the conversation again with renewed vigor, possibly gesturing toward the sky as he speaks about the storm of life in which Job is caught.
For the patriarchs, there is really no greater mystery in the natural world than the weather. What keeps the rain up in the sky, or what makes it fall to the earth? Why does water sometimes freeze and sometimes dry up? What is lightning and thunder? Weather impacts every part of their lives, determining whether or not they can farm and pasture animals, where they can live, and if they can live. Since none of these questions can be answered with scientific explanations yet, societies invent gods whom they think control it all. Ancient people hope that by doing or saying the right thing, they can convince the god to send rain when it is needed or stop the damaging hail before their roofs cave in. These pagan worshipers aren’t too far off in their thinking; they just have the wrong god.
The Lord’s followers have the answer right in believing He controls it all. When they look at the weather, they see God’s power. As God will expound upon Himself shortly, the One who controls the weather is the One who created it. He put order in the cosmos, although humans may not always understand its order, just as He organized everything else. God, who has perfect understanding and unimaginable power, cannot be comprehended with the human mind and should not be questioned by the likes of Job.
37 Elihu: At this, my heart quivers,
and it nearly leaps out of my chest.
2 Listen! Listen to the raging anger in His voice,
the rumbling that’s coming from His mouth!
3 He sets the roar loose across the whole length of the sky,
and His lightning flashes to the ends of the earth.
4 After the flash comes the deafening roar of His voice,
the voice that thunders His majesty—
The voice that resounds with no evidence of restraint,
5 the voice of God that is thundering wondrously.
He does magnificent things, beyond our comprehension.
6 To the snow, He issues the order: “Go! Fall on the earth!”
And to the rain shower, He says, “Show your power; beat down heavy on the earth!”
7 Then, as the weather drives laborers indoors,
He closes in around every human hand,
sealing them off from their labors,
and in forced rest, all are drawn to see the ongoing work of God.
8 The beast of the field scampers for cover,
hiding in its cave for the duration.
9 Meanwhile, the whirlwind comes forth from its southern chamber,
and the arctic winds bring the cold.
10 From the breath of God ice forms,
and the wide waters of the rivers and seas expand in the freeze.
11 He weighs down the thick clouds with moisture,
and they scatter His clusters of light.
12 The storm changes course under His guidance;
it moves as He directs over the contours of the entire earth.
13 And what is His aim? Whether for the discipline of His people
or for the sake of the earth itself,
Or as an expression of His deep, loyal love,
He causes all of this to happen.
14 Hear this, Job.
Pause where you are, and ponder the wonders of God.
15 Do you know how God orchestrates these marvels?
How He makes the clouds flash with lightning?
16 Do you know how those same clouds are hung up in the sky or how they move?
Do you know the wonders of God, who is perfect in His knowledge of such things?
17 You, who feel the wind of His voice even now,
are the same one whose clothes are hot to the touch
when God makes the land go still beneath the south wind.
18 Can you assist God in hammering out the silver sky
until it appears as hard as cast metal mirror?[a]
19 Job, tell us what to say to Him.
We cannot draw up our argument before such impenetrable darkness.
20 Shall He be told that I wish to speak to Him directly?
Will it help if I admit I would be consumed if I did?
21 But now no one can see the brightness of the light through the thick clouds;
as the wind changes and blows through the sky, it clears the air.
22 From the north, the weather changes;
golden skies encircle God, now clothed in awesome majesty.
23 We cannot find the Highest One:[b]
He is exalted in power,
Great in righteousness,
and does not depreciate humanity.
24 This is why mortals fear Him;
He doesn’t see the wise of heart.[c]
17 And then one of the seven messengers entrusted with the seven bowls came over to me.
Guide: Come, and I will show you the true nature and God’s judgment of the great whore who is sitting on the many waters. 2 She has seduced all the kings of the earth into committing lewd, sexual acts; and most earth dwellers have become intoxicated with the wine of her harlotry.
3 Immediately I was in the Spirit, and the guide picked me up and carried me off. In the middle of a vast desert, I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored beast covered with blasphemous names. The beast had seven heads and ten horns like the beast I had seen earlier rising out of the sea. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet fabrics; she shimmered with gold and jewels and pearls. I looked closer and saw that her hand held a golden cup brimming with abominations, bubbling over with the impurities of her sexual exploits. 5 On her forehead was inscribed a name, a mystery: “Babylon the great, the mother of whores and the abominations that defile the earth.” 6 I looked and saw that the woman was drunk because she had gorged herself on the blood of the saints and the blood of those people who refused to deny Jesus even to save their own lives. When I saw her, I was filled with wonder.
Guide: 7 Why are you so amazed? I will reveal to you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go away into eternal destruction. And the earth dwellers, whose names have not been inscribed in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will be astonished when they see the beast because it was and is not and is to come.
9 Here is the mind possessing wisdom: The seven heads signify the seven mountains where the woman is seated. They also stand for seven kings. 10 Five have fallen, one is alive, and the last has not yet come to reign. But when he does come, he will be allowed to reign only a short time. 11 Regarding the beast that was and is not, it is actually an eighth ruler that springs from the seven and goes away into eternal destruction. 12 The ten horns you saw stand for ten kings who have not yet ascended to power, but they will be invested with royal authority for a single hour and will reign together with the beast. 13 These come together for one purpose and one purpose alone: to yield their power and authority to the beast. 14 Together they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will be victorious over them because He is the Lord over all lords and the King over all kings; and those who stand with Him are called, elect, and faithful.
15 (continuing to speak to me) The waters you saw, where the whore is seated, represent the peoples and multitudes, ethnicities and languages. 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will despise the whore; they will make her a wasteland and strip her naked. They will gorge themselves on her flesh and incinerate her with fire. 17 For God has placed in their hearts to do what He has purposed, that is, to become one in mind and to surrender their kingdoms over to the beast until the words of God accomplish their end. 18 And the woman you saw—she is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.