Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
VI. The Divine Speeches (38:1-42:6)
The Lord’s First Speech[a]
38 Then the Lord answered[b] Job out of the whirlwind:[c]
2 “Who is this[d] who darkens counsel[e]
with words without knowledge?
3 Get ready for a difficult task[f] like a man;
I will question you
and you will inform me.
God’s questions to Job
4 “Where were you
when I laid the foundation[g] of the earth?
Tell me,[h] if you possess understanding.
5 Who set its measurements—if[i] you know—
or who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what[j] were its bases[k] set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 when the morning stars[l] sang[m] in chorus,[n]
and all the sons of God[o] shouted for joy?
34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds
so that a flood of water covers you?[a]
35 Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go?
Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the heart,[b]
or has imparted understanding to the mind?
37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,
and who can tip over[c] the water jars of heaven,
38 when the dust hardens[d] into a mass,
and the clumps of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt prey for the lioness,
Psalm 104[a]
104 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are magnificent.[b]
You are robed in splendor and majesty.
2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.
He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,
3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds.[c]
He makes the clouds his chariot,
and travels on the wings of the wind.[d]
4 He makes the winds his messengers,
and the flaming fire his attendant.[e]
5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be moved.
6 The watery deep covered it[f] like a garment;
the waters reached[g] above the mountains.[h]
7 Your shout made the waters retreat;
at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off—
8 as the mountains rose up,
and the valleys went down—
to the place you appointed for them.[i]
9 You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross,
so that they would not cover the earth again.[j]
35 May sinners disappear[a] from the earth,
and the wicked vanish.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord.
5 For every high priest is taken from among the people[a] and appointed[b] to represent them before God,[c] to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal compassionately with those who are ignorant and erring, since he also is subject to weakness, 3 and for this reason he is obligated to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. 4 And no one assumes this honor[d] on his own initiative,[e] but only when called to it by God,[f] as in fact Aaron was. 5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming high priest, but the one who glorified him was God,[g] who said to him, “You are my Son! Today I have fathered you,”[h] 6 as also in another place God[i] says, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”[j] 7 During his earthly life[k] Christ[l] offered[m] both requests and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his devotion. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered.[n] 9 And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 and he was designated[o] by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek.[p]
The Request of James and John
35 Then[a] James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” 36 He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 They said to him, “Permit one of us to sit at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I experience?”[b] 39 They said to him, “We are able.”[c] Then Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I experience, 40 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give. It is for those for whom it has been prepared.”[d]
41 Now[e] when the other ten[f] heard this,[g] they became angry with James and John. 42 Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. 43 But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave[h] of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom[i] for many.”
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