Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 55
For the Music Director. With stringed instruments. A Contemplative Maskil of David.
1 Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
2 Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless in my complaint, and I murmur,
3 because of the voice of the enemy,
because of the pressure of the wicked,
for they cause trouble to drop on me,
and in wrath they have animosity against me.
4 My heart is in pain within me,
and the terrors of death have fallen on me.
5 Fear and trembling come into me,
and horror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
For then I would fly away and be at rest.
7 Indeed, then I would wander far off,
and remain in the wilderness. Selah
8 I would hasten my escape
from the windy storm and tempest.”
9 Confuse, O Lord, divide their tongues,
for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it on its walls;
trouble and sorrow are in its midst.
11 Destruction is in its midst;
oppression and treachery do not depart from its streets.
12 For it is not an enemy who reproaches me;
then I could bear it.
Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me;
then I could hide from him.
13 But it was you, my peer,
my guide, and my acquaintance.
14 We took pleasant counsel together,
and walked to the house of God in company.
15 May death surprise them,
and may their lives go down to Sheol,
for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.
Bildad Speaks: Job Should Repent
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “How long will you speak these things,
and the words of your mouth be like a strong wind?
3 Does God pervert judgment?
Or does the Almighty pervert justice?
4 If your children sinned against Him,
He cast them away for their transgression.
5 If you yourself would seek God earnestly,
and seek favor from the Almighty,
6 if you were pure and upright,
surely now He would rouse Himself on your behalf,
and He would prosper your righteous dwelling.
7 Though your beginning was small,
your end will increase greatly.
8 “Please, ask the former generation,
and prepare yourself for what their fathers searched out;
9 for we were born but yesterday and know nothing,
because our days on earth are a shadow.
10 Will they not teach you, and tell you,
and bring forth words out of their heart?
11 Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the reed grow without water?
12 While it is yet green and not cut down,
it withers before any other plant.
13 So are the paths of all who forget God;
and the hypocrite’s hope will perish,
14 whose confidence will be cut off,
and whose trust will be a spider’s web.
15 He will lean upon his house, but it will not stand;
he will hold it fast, but it will not endure.
16 He is green before the sun,
and his branch shoots forth in his garden.
17 His roots are wrapped around the rock heap,
and he sees the place of stones.
18 If he is uprooted from his place,
then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’
19 See, this is the joy of his way,
and out of the ground others will grow.
20 “Surely, God will not cast away a perfect man,
nor will He strengthen the evildoers,
21 until He fills your mouth with laughing,
and your lips with rejoicing.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
and the dwelling place of the wicked will come to nothing.”
Questions About Marriage
7 Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” 2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render to the wife due affection, and likewise the wife to the husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan does not tempt you for lack of self-control. 6 I speak this as a concession and not as a command. 7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man has his proper gift from God, one after this manner and another after that.
8 I say to the unmarried and widows that it is good for them if they live even as I am. 9 But if they cannot restrain themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.