Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Betrayal by a Friend
Psalm 55
1 For the music director, on stringed instruments, a contemplative song of David.
2 Give ear, O God, to my prayer
and do not ignore my plea for help.
3 Listen to me and answer me.
I am restless in my complaint and moan—
4 because of the voice of the enemy,
because of the pressure of the wicked.
For they thrust trouble on me,
and in anger bear a grudge against me.
5 My heart shudders within me
and the terrors of death sweep over me.
6 Fear and trembling come upon me
and horror has overwhelmed me.
7 So I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and find rest.
8 Surely I would flee far away.
I would stay in the wilderness. Selah
9 I would hurry to my shelter
from the rushing wind of the storm.”
10 Lord, confuse and confound their speech,
for I see violence and strife in the city.
11 Day and night they make the rounds on her walls.
Iniquity and mischief are within her.
12 Ruins are in her midst.
Oppression and deceit never leave her square.
13 For if it were an enemy taunting me,
I could endure it.
If my foe was exalting himself over me,
I could hide from him.
14 But it is you, a man like me—
my companion and my close friend!
15 Together we enjoyed great fellowship.
We used to walk with the throng in the House of God.
Zophar: God Sees Iniquity
11 Then, Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
2 “Should so many words go unanswered?
Is a man justified by his lips?
3 Will your idle talk silence men
and will no one rebuke you when you mock?
4 For you have said,
‘My teaching is flawless’
and ‘I am pure in Your eyes!’
5 But if only God would speak
and open His lips against you,
6 and show you the secrets of wisdom—
for sound wisdom has two sides.
Know that God has forgotten some of your iniquity.
7 “Can you discover the mysteries of God?
Can you find the limits of Shaddai?
8 They are higher than the heavens
—what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol
—what can you know?
9 Its measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.
10 “If He comes by and imprisons, or convenes a court,
who can prevent Him?
11 For He knows deceitful men;
when He sees wickedness, does he not consider it?
12 But a witless man will gain understanding
when a wild donkey’s colt is born a human being?
13 “If you devote your heart to Him
and spread out your hands to Him,
14 if you put away the wickedness that is in your hand,
and allow no iniquity to abide in your tent,
15 then you will lift up your face without reproach;
you will stand firm and without fear.
16 You will forget your trouble;
you will remember it like water that has flowed away.
17 Life will be brighter than noonday;
darkness like the morning.
18 You will be confident, because there is hope;
you will look about you and lie down in safety.
19 You will lie down with no one to make you afraid,
many will seek your favor.
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
and escape will elude them;
their only hope is their dying breath.”[a]
10 But to the married I command—not I, but the Lord[a]—a wife is not to be separated from her husband 11 (but if she gets separated, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband is not to divorce his wife.
12 But to the rest I say—I, not the Lord—if any brother has a wife who is not a believer, and she agrees to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if any woman has a husband who is not a believer, and he agrees to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy through the wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband.[b] Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever separates, let him be separated. The brother or the sister is not bound in such cases, but God has called you to shalom. 16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.