Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
VIII. The Lord and Job Meet
Chapter 38
1 Then the Lord[a] answered Job out of the storm and said:
2 Who is this who darkens counsel
with words of ignorance?
3 Gird up your loins[b] now, like a man;
I will question you, and you tell me the answers!(A)
4 Where were you when I founded the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its size? Surely you know?
Who stretched out the measuring line for it?
6 Into what were its pedestals sunk,
and who laid its cornerstone,
7 While the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God[c] shouted for joy?
34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds,
for them to cover you with a deluge of waters?
35 Can you send forth the lightnings on their way,
so that they say to you, “Here we are”?
36 Who gives wisdom to the ibis,
and gives the rooster[a] understanding?
37 Who counts the clouds with wisdom?
Who tilts the water jars of heaven
38 So that the dust of earth is fused into a mass
and its clods stick together?
39 Do you hunt the prey for the lion
or appease the hunger of young lions,
40 While they crouch in their dens,
or lie in ambush in the thicket?
41 Who provides nourishment for the raven
when its young cry out to God,(A)
wandering about without food?
Psalm 104[a]
Praise of God the Creator
I
1 Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and splendor,
2 robed in light as with a cloak.
You spread out the heavens like a tent;(A)
3 setting the beams of your chambers upon the waters.[b]
You make the clouds your chariot;
traveling on the wings of the wind.
4 You make the winds your messengers;
flaming fire, your ministers.(B)
II
5 [c]You fixed the earth on its foundation,
so it can never be shaken.
6 The deeps covered it like a garment;
above the mountains stood the waters.
7 At your rebuke they took flight;
at the sound of your thunder they fled.(C)
8 They rushed up the mountains, down the valleys
to the place you had fixed for them.
9 You set a limit they cannot pass;
never again will they cover the earth.(D)
V
24 How varied are your works, Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.(A)
35 May sinners vanish from the earth,
and the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, my soul! Hallelujah![a]
Chapter 5
1 [a]Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.[b] 2 He is able to deal patiently[c] with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness 3 and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.(A) 4 No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.(B) 5 In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him:
“You are my son;
this day I have begotten you”;(C)
6 just as he says in another place:[d]
“You are a priest forever
according to the order of Melchizedek.”(D)
7 In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death,[e] and he was heard because of his reverence.(E) 8 Son though he was,[f] he learned obedience from what he suffered;(F) 9 and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,(G) 10 declared by God high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.(H)
Ambition of James and John. 35 (A)Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 He replied, “What do you wish [me] to do for you?” 37 They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” 38 [a](B)Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. 42 [b]Jesus summoned them and said to them,(C) “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. 43 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; 44 whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The Blind Bartimaeus.[c]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.