Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Job, the Good Man

1 A man named Job lived in the land of Uz [^Ceast of Israel in Edom (present-day Jordan); Lam. 4:21]. He was an ·honest [innocent; blameless; Prov. 2:7, 21] and ·innocent [virtuous; Prov. 1:3] man; he ·honored [feared; respected] God [28:28; Prov. 1:7] and stayed away from evil [^Cthese terms are used to describe the wise in Proverbs].

Satan Appears Before the Lord Again

2 ·On another day [or One day] the ·angels [^Lthe sons of God] came to ·show themselves [^Lstand] before the Lord, and Satan [1:6] was with them again. ² The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”

Satan answered the Lord, “I have been ·wandering around [roaming] the earth, ·going back and forth in [patrolling] it.”

³ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job [1:8]? No one else on earth is like him. He is an honest and innocent man, honoring God and staying away from evil [1:1]. You ·caused [or enticed] me to ·ruin [injure] him for no good reason, but he ·continues to be without blame [or maintains his innocence].”

⁴ “One skin for another [^LSkin for skin; ^Ca proverb meaning that people only react if they are affected directly]!” Satan [1:6] answered. “A man will give all he has to save his own life. ⁵ But reach out your hand and ·destroy [afflict; ^Ltouch] his bones and flesh, and he will ·curse [^Lbless; ^Ca euphemism for “curse”; 1:5] you to your face.”

⁶ The Lord said to Satan [1:6], “All right, then. Job is in your ·power [^Lhand], but you ·may not take [^Lmust preserve] his life.”

⁷ So Satan [1:6] left the Lord’s presence. He put ·painful sores [horrible boils] on Job’s body, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. ⁸ Job took a ·piece of broken [shard of] pottery to scrape himself, and he sat in ashes in misery.

⁹ Job’s wife said to him, “Why are you ·trying to stay innocent [maintaining your innocence]? Curse [2:5] God and die!”

¹⁰ Job answered, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Should we take only good things from God and not ·trouble [or evil]?” In spite of all this Job did not sin ·in what he said [^Lwith his lips].

The Prayer of an Innocent Believer

Of David.

God Spoke Through His Son

1 ·In the past [Long ago] God spoke to our ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers] through the prophets ·many times [or in a fragmentary/partial way; ^Lin many parts] and in many different ways. ² But now in these last days God has spoken to us through ·his Son [or a son; 1:3]. God has ·chosen [appointed] his Son to ·own [be heir/inheritor of] all things, and through him he made the ·world [universe; ages; ^Ccomprising both space and time; John 1:3]. ³ The Son ·reflects [or radiates; shines forth] the glory of God [John 1:14] and ·shows exactly what God is like [^Lis the exact representation/imprint/stamp of his being/essence/nature]. He ·holds everything together [sustains/upholds all things] with his powerful word. When the Son ·made people clean from their [^Lprovided purification/cleansing for] sins [9:14], he sat down at the right ·side [^Lhand; ^Cthe most honored position beside a king; Ps. 110:1] of ·God, the Great One in heaven [^Lthe Majesty/Preeminence in the highest places; ^Ca Jewish way to avoid saying the divine name of God]. ⁴ The Son became much ·greater [superior; better] than the angels, ·and [or just as; in the same way that] ·God gave him [^Lhe inherited] a name [^Ceither “Son” (v. 5), or referring to his nature or reputation] that is ·much greater than [far superior to] theirs.

Christ Became like Us

⁵ [^LFor] God did not ·choose angels to be the rulers of the new world that was coming [^Lsubject the world to come to angels], which is what we have been talking about. ⁶ ·It is written in the Scriptures [^LSomeone has testified somewhere],

[^LFor] When God ·put everything under their control [^Lsubjected everything to him], there was nothing left ·that they did not rule [uncontrolled; not subjected]. Still, [^Lnow; at the present time] we do not yet see ·them [or him; ^Creferring to humanity] ruling over everything. ⁹ But we see Jesus, who for a short time was made lower than the angels. This was so that, by God’s grace, he could ·die [^Ltaste death] for everyone. And now, because he suffered and died, he is ·wearing a crown of [^Lcrowned with] glory and honor. [^CJesus fulfills humanity’s destiny: to be crowned with glory and honor; Ps. 8 (cited above).]

¹⁰ God is the One ·who made all things, and all things are for his glory [^Lthrough whom and for whom all things exist]. He wanted to ·have many children share his [lead/bring many children/sons to] glory, so [^Lit was fitting/appropriate that] he made the ·One who leads people to [Leader/Pioneer/Source of their] salvation perfect through suffering.

¹¹ [^LFor indeed] ·Jesus, [^Lthe one] who makes people holy, and those who are made holy ·are from the same family [or have the same Father; or have one origin; ^Lare all from one]. ·So [For this reason] he is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. ¹² He says,

² Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to ·trick [test; trap] him. They asked, “Is it ·right [lawful; ^Caccording to the law of Moses] for a man to divorce his wife?”

³ Jesus answered, “What did Moses command you to do?”

⁴ They said, “Moses ·allowed [permitted] a man to write out divorce papers and send her away [Deut. 24:1].”

⁵ Jesus said, “Moses wrote that command for you because you were ·stubborn [hard hearted]. ⁶ But ·when God made the world [from the beginning of creation], ‘he made them male and female’ [Gen. 1:27; 5:2]. ⁷ ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be ·united with [joined to] his wife,^{[a] 8} and the two will become ·one body [as though they were one person; ^Tone flesh; Gen. 2:24]’. So they are no longer two, but one. ⁹ God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”

¹⁰ Later, in the house, his ·followers [disciples] asked Jesus again about ·the question of divorce [^Lthis matter]. ¹¹ He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman ·is guilty of [commits] adultery against her. ¹² And the woman who divorces her husband and marries another man ·is also guilty of [commits] adultery.”

Jesus Accepts Children^(A)

¹³ Some people brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch them, but his ·followers [disciples] ·told them to stop [scolded/rebuked them]. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was ·upset [angry; indignant] and said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these children [^Cmeaning humble and dependent]. ¹⁵ I tell you the truth, you must accept the kingdom of God as if you were a little child, or you will never enter it.” ¹⁶ Then Jesus took the children in his arms, ·put [laid] his hands on them, and blessed them.