Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Give Justice to Me, O Yahweh
Of David.
26 (A)Give justice to me, O Yahweh, for I have (B)walked in my integrity,
And I have (C)trusted in Yahweh; (D)I will not waver.
2 (E)Test me, O Yahweh, and try me;
(F)Refine my [a]mind and my heart.
3 For Your (G)lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And I have (H)walked in Your [b]truth.
4 I do not (I)sit with worthless men,
And I will not go with [c](J)pretenders.
5 I (K)hate the assembly of evildoers,
And I will not sit with the wicked.
6 I shall (L)wash my hands in innocence,
So I will go around (M)Your altar, O Yahweh,
7 In order to proclaim with the voice of (N)thanksgiving
And to recount all Your [d]wondrous deeds.
8 O Yahweh, I (O)love the habitation of Your house
And the place [e]where Your (P)glory dwells.
9 (Q)Do not [f]take my soul away along with sinners,
Nor my life with (R)men of bloodshed,
10 In whose hands is a (S)wicked scheme,
And whose right hand is full of (T)bribes.
11 But as for me, I shall (U)walk in my integrity;
(V)Redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 (W)My foot stands on (X)level ground;
In the (Y)congregations I shall bless Yahweh.
Job’s Three Friends
11 Then Job’s three friends heard of all this calamity that had come upon him. So they came each one from his own place, Eliphaz the (A)Temanite, Bildad the (B)Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to (C)console him and comfort him. 12 Then they lifted up their eyes at a distance and did not recognize him, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And each of them (D)tore his robe, and they (E)threw dust over their heads toward the sky. 13 (F)Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.
Job Curses the Day of His Birth
3 Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed [a]the day of his birth. 2 And Job answered and said,
3 “(G)Let the day perish on which I was to be born,
And the night which said, ‘A man is conceived.’
4 May that day be darkness;
Let not God seek it from above,
Nor light shine on it.
5 Let (H)darkness and shadow of death redeem it;
Let a cloud dwell upon it;
Let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6 As for that night, let thick darkness take it;
Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
Let it not come into the number of the months.
7 Behold, let that night be barren;
Let no joyful shout enter it.
8 Let those curse it who curse the day,
Who are [b]ready to (I)rouse Leviathan.
9 Let the stars of its twilight be darkened;
Let it hope for light but have none,
And let it not see the [c]breaking dawn,
10 Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s [d]body,
Or hide trouble from my eyes.
11 “(J)Why did I not die from the womb,
Come forth from the womb and breathe my last?
12 Why did the knees receive me,
And why the breasts, that I should suck?
13 For now I (K)would have lain down and been quiet;
I would have slept then; it would have been rest to me,
14 With (L)kings and with (M)counselors of the earth,
Who rebuilt (N)waste places for themselves,
15 Or with (O)princes (P)who had gold,
Who were filling their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not like a miscarriage hidden away,
As infants that never saw light?
17 There the wicked cease from raging,
And there the weary of strength are at (Q)rest.
18 The prisoners are at ease together;
They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.
19 The small and the great are there,
And the slave is free from his master.
20 “Why is (R)light given to him who is troubled,
And life to the bitter of soul,
21 Who [e](S)long for death, but there is none,
And dig for it more than for (T)hidden treasures,
22 Who are glad with joy,
And rejoice when they find the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man (U)whose way is hidden,
And whom (V)God has hedged in?
24 For (W)my groaning comes at the sight of my food,
And (X)my roaring pours out like water.
25 For (Y)the dread that I dread comes upon me,
And what I am afraid of befalls me.
26 I (Z)am not complacent, nor am I quiet,
And I am not at rest, and raging comes.”
23 But before faith came, we were held in custody under the Law, (A)being shut up for the coming faith to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our (B)tutor unto Christ, so that (C)we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a [a](D)tutor. 26 For you are all (E)sons of God through faith in (F)Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were (G)baptized into Christ have (H)clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 (I)There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is no (J)male and female, for (K)you are all one in (L)Christ Jesus. 29 And if (M)you [b]belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s [c]seed, heirs according to (N)promise.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.