Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord Speaks
38 The Lord spoke to Job out of a storm. He said,
2 “Who do you think you are to disagree with my plans?
You do not know what you are talking about.
3 Get ready to stand up for yourself.
I will ask you some questions.
Then I want you to answer me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you know.
5 Who measured it? I am sure you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 What was it built on?
Who laid its most important stone?
7 When it happened, the morning stars sang together.
All the angels shouted with joy.
34 “Can you give orders to the clouds?
Can you make them pour rain down on you?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom?
Who gives the rooster understanding?
37 Who is wise enough to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens?
38 I tip them over when the ground becomes hard.
I do it when the dirt sticks together.
39 “Do you hunt for food for mother lions?
Do you satisfy the hunger of their cubs?
40 Some of them lie low in their dens.
Others lie waiting in the bushes.
41 Who provides food for ravens
when their babies cry out to me?
They wander around because they do not have anything to eat.
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.
35 But may sinners be gone from the earth.
May evil people disappear.
I will praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
5 Every high priest is chosen from among the people. He is appointed to act for the people. He acts for them in whatever has to do with God. He offers gifts and sacrifices for their sins. 2 Some people have gone astray without knowing it. He is able to deal gently with them. He can do that because he himself is weak. 3 That’s why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins. He must also do it for the sins of the people. 4 And no one can take this honor for himself. Instead, he receives it when he is appointed by God. That is just how it was for Aaron.
5 It was the same for Christ. He did not take for himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.” (Psalm 2:7)
6 In another place God said,
“You are a priest forever,
just like Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4)
7 Jesus prayed while he lived on earth. He made his appeal with sincere cries and tears. He prayed to the God who could save him from death. God answered Jesus because he truly honored God. 8 Jesus was God’s Son. But by suffering he learned what it means to obey. 9 In this way he was made perfect. Eternal salvation comes from him. He saves all those who obey him. 10 God appointed him to be the high priest, just like Melchizedek.
James and John Ask Jesus for a Favor
35 James and John came to Jesus. They were the sons of Zebedee. “Teacher,” they said, “we would like to ask you for a favor.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right hand in your glorious kingdom. Let the other one sit at your left hand.”
38 “You don’t know what you’re asking for,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup of suffering I drink? Or can you go through the baptism of suffering I must go through?”
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink. And you will go through the baptism I go through. 40 But it is not for me to say who will sit at my right or left hand. These places belong to those they are prepared for.”
41 The other ten disciples heard about it. They became angry at James and John. 42 Jesus called them together. He said, “You know about those who are rulers of the Gentiles. They hold power over their people. Their high officials order them around. 43 Don’t be like that. Instead, anyone who wants to be important among you must be your servant. 44 And anyone who wants to be first must be the slave of everyone. 45 Even the Son of Man did not come to be served. Instead, he came to serve others. He came to give his life as the price for setting many people free.”
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.