Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

104 I will praise the Lord.

Lord my God, you are very great.
    You are dressed in glory and majesty.
² The Lord wraps himself in light as if it were a robe.
    He spreads out the heavens like a tent.
³     He builds his palace high in the heavens.
He makes the clouds serve as his chariot.
    He rides on the wings of the wind.
⁴ He makes the winds serve as his messengers.
    He makes flashes of lightning serve him.

⁵ He placed the earth on its foundations.
    It can never be moved.
⁶ You, Lord, covered it with the oceans like a blanket.
    The waters covered the mountains.
⁷ But you commanded the waters, and they ran away.
    At the sound of your thunder they rushed off.
⁸ They flowed down the mountains.
    They went into the valleys.
    They went to the place you appointed for them.
⁹ You drew a line they can’t cross.
    They will never cover the earth again.

²⁴ Lord, you have made so many things!
    How wise you were when you made all of them!
    The earth is full of your creatures.

I will praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

39 “Job, do you know when mountain goats have their babies?
    Do you watch when female deer give birth?
² Do you count the months until the animals have their babies?
    Do you know the time when they give birth?
³ They bend their back legs and have their babies.
    Then their labor pains stop.
⁴ Their little ones grow strong and healthy in the wild.
    They leave and do not come home again.

⁵ “Who let the wild donkeys go free?
    Who untied their ropes?
⁶ I gave them the dry and empty land as their home.
    I gave them salt flats to live in.
⁷ They laugh at all the noise in town.
    They do not hear the shouts of the donkey drivers.
⁸ They wander over the hills to look for grass.
    They search for anything green to eat.

⁹ “Job, will wild oxen agree to serve you?
    Will they stay by your feed box at night?
¹⁰ Can you keep them in straight rows with harnesses?
    Will they plow the valleys behind you?
¹¹ Will you depend on them for their great strength?
    Will you let them do your heavy work?
¹² Can you trust them to haul in your grain?
    Will they bring it to your threshing floor?

¹³ “The wings of ostriches flap with joy.
    But they can’t compare with the wings and feathers of storks.
¹⁴ Ostriches lay their eggs on the ground.
    They let them get warm in the sand.
¹⁵ They do not know that something might step on them.
    A wild animal might walk all over them.
¹⁶ Ostriches are mean to their little ones.
    They treat them as if they did not belong to them.
    They do not care that their work was useless.
¹⁷ I did not provide ostriches with wisdom.
    I did not give them good sense.
¹⁸ But when they spread their feathers to run,
    they laugh at a horse and its rider.

¹⁹ “Job, do you give horses their strength?
    Do you put flowing manes on their necks?
²⁰ Do you make them jump like locusts?
    They terrify others with their proud snorting.
²¹ They paw the ground wildly.
    They are filled with joy.
    They charge at their enemies.
²² They laugh at fear. They are not afraid of anything.
    They do not run away from swords.
²³ Many arrows rattle at their sides.
    Flashing spears and javelins are also there.
²⁴ They are so excited that they race over the ground.
    They can’t stand still when trumpets are blown.
²⁵ When they hear the trumpets they snort, ‘Aha!’
    They catch the smells of battle far away.
    They hear the shouts of commanders and the battle cries.

²⁶ “Job, are you wise enough to teach hawks where to fly?
    They spread their wings and fly toward the south.
²⁷ Do you command eagles to fly so high?
    They build their nests as high as they can.
²⁸ They live on cliffs and stay there at night.
    High up on the rocks they think they are safe.
²⁹ From there they look for their food.
    They can see it from far away.
³⁰ Their little ones like to eat blood.
    Eagles gather where they see dead bodies.”