Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Job Was Greatest of the Sons of the East

1 There was a man in the ^(A)land of Uz whose name was ^(B)Job; and that man was ^(C)blameless, upright, ^(D)fearing God, and ^(E)turning away from evil.

Satan Strikes Job’s Flesh

2 ^(A)Again it was the day that the sons of God came to stand before Yahweh, and Satan also came among them to stand himself before Yahweh. ² And Yahweh said to Satan, “Where do you come from?” Then Satan answered Yahweh and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” ³ And Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you set your heart upon My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, ^[a]fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still ^(B)holds fast his integrity. So you incited Me against him to swallow him up in vain.” ⁴ Satan answered Yahweh and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. ^5 (C)However, send forth Your hand now, and ^(D)touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You in Your face.” ⁶ So Yahweh said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, only spare his life.”

⁷ Then Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh and struck Job with ^(E)terrible boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. ⁸ And he took a potsherd to scrape himself while ^(F)he was sitting among the ashes.

⁹ Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!” ¹⁰ But he said to her, “You speak as one of the wickedly foolish women speaks. ^(G)Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept calamity?” ^(H)In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Give Justice to Me, O Yahweh

Of David.

God’s Final Word in His Son

1 God, having ^(A)spoken long ago to the fathers in ^(B)the prophets in many portions and ^(C)in many ways, ^2 [a](D)in these last days ^(E)spoke to us ^[b]in ^(F)His Son, whom He appointed ^(G)heir of all things, ^(H)through whom also He made the ^[c](I)worlds, ³ who is the radiance of His glory and the exact ^(J)representation of His nature, and ^[d](K)upholds all things by the word of His power; who, having accomplished ^(L)cleansing for sins, ^(M)sat down at the right hand of the ^(N)Majesty on high, ⁴ having become so much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent ^(O)name than they.

Jesus, the Author of Salvation

⁵ For He did not subject to angels ^[a](A)the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. ⁶ But one has testified ^(B)somewhere, saying,

For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now ^(F)we do not yet see all things subjected to him. ⁹ But we do see Him who was ^(G)made ^[d]for a little while lower than the angels—Jesus, ^(H)because of the suffering of death ^(I)crowned with glory and honor, so that ^(J)by the grace of God He might ^(K)taste death ^(L)for everyone.

¹⁰ For ^(M)it was fitting for Him, ^(N)for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to ^(O)perfect the ^[e](P)author of their salvation through sufferings. ¹¹ For both He who ^(Q)sanctifies and those who ^(R)are being sanctified are all ^(S)of One; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them ^(T)brothers, ¹² saying,

² And some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to ^[a]divorce a wife. ³ And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ And they said, “^(A)Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and ^[b]send her away.” ⁵ But Jesus said to them, “^[c](B)Because of your hardness of heart he wrote for you this commandment. ⁶ But ^(C)from the beginning of creation, God ^(D)made them male and female. ^7 (E)For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother^[d], ^8 (F)and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

¹⁰ And in the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again. ¹¹ And He *said to them, “^(G)Whoever ^[e]divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; ¹² and ^(H)if she herself ^[f]divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

^13 (I)And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; ^(J)for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, ^(K)whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” ¹⁶ And He ^(L)took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.