Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
12 But, Lord, you rule forever,
and your fame goes on and on.
13 You will come and have mercy on Jerusalem,
because the time has now come to be kind to her;
the right time has come.
14 Your servants love even her stones;
they even care about her dust.
15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings on earth will honor you.
16 The Lord will rebuild Jerusalem;
there his glory will be seen.
17 He will answer the prayers of the needy;
he will not reject their prayers.
18 Write these things for the future
so that people who are not yet born will praise the Lord.
19 The Lord looked down from his holy place above;
from heaven he looked down at the earth.
20 He heard the moans of the prisoners,
and he freed those sentenced to die.
21 The name of the Lord will be heard in Jerusalem;
his praise will be heard there.
22 People will come together,
and kingdoms will serve the Lord.
23 God has made me tired of living;
he has cut short my life.
24 So I said, “My God, do not take me in the middle of my life.
Your years go on and on.
25 In the beginning you made the earth,
and your hands made the skies.
26 They will be destroyed, but you will remain.
They will all wear out like clothes.
And, like clothes, you will change them
and throw them away.
27 But you never change,
and your life will never end.
28 Our children will live in your presence,
and their children will remain with you.”
Job Answers Eliphaz
6 Then Job answered:
2 “I wish my suffering could be weighed
and my misery put on scales.
3 My sadness would be heavier than the sand of the seas.
No wonder my words seem careless.
4 The arrows of the Almighty are in me;
my spirit drinks in their poison;
God’s terrors are gathered against me.
5 A wild donkey does not bray when it has grass to eat,
and an ox is quiet when it has feed.
6 Tasteless food is not eaten without salt,
and there is no flavor in the white of an egg.
7 I refuse to touch it;
such food makes me sick.
8 “How I wish that I might have what I ask for
and that God would give me what I hope for.
9 How I wish God would crush me
and reach out his hand to destroy me.
10 Then I would have this comfort
and be glad even in this unending pain,
because I would know I did not reject the words of the Holy One.
11 “I do not have the strength to wait.
There is nothing to hope for,
so why should I be patient?
12 I do not have the strength of stone;
my flesh is not bronze.
13 I have no power to help myself,
because success has been taken away from me.
Many People Follow Jesus
7 Jesus left with his followers for the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed him. 8 Also many people came from Judea, from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from the lands across the Jordan River, and from the area of Tyre and Sidon. When they heard what Jesus was doing, many people came to him. 9 When Jesus saw the crowds, he told his followers to get a boat ready for him to keep people from crowding against him. 10 He had healed many people, so all the sick were pushing toward him to touch him. 11 When evil spirits saw Jesus, they fell down before him and shouted, “You are the Son of God!” 12 But Jesus strongly warned them not to tell who he was.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.