Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the choir director; according to ayyeleth hashachar; [a] a psalm by David.
22 My God, my God,
why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away from helping me,
so far away from the words of my groaning?
2 My God,
I cry out by day, but you do not answer—
also at night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet, you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted you.
They trusted, and you rescued them.
5 They cried to you and were saved.
They trusted you and were never disappointed.
6 Yet, I am a worm and not a man.
I am scorned by humanity and despised by people.
7 All who see me make fun of me.
Insults pour from their mouths.
They shake their heads and say,
8 “Put yourself in the Lord’s hands.
Let the Lord save him!
Let God rescue him since he is pleased with him!”
9 Indeed, you are the one who brought me out of the womb,
the one who made me feel safe at my mother’s breasts.
10 I was placed in your care from birth.
From my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be so far away from me.
Trouble is near, and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls have surrounded me.
Strong bulls from Bashan have encircled me.
13 They have opened their mouths to attack me
like ferocious, roaring lions.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax.
It has melted within me.
15 My strength is dried up like pieces of broken pottery.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You lay me down in the dust of death.
Zophar Speaks: Here Is My Answer
20 Then Zophar from Naama replied ⌞to Job⌟,
2 “My disturbing thoughts make me answer,
and because of them I am upset.
3 I have heard criticism that makes me ashamed,
but a spirit beyond my understanding gives me answers.
A Wicked Person’s Joy Is Short, His Pain Long
4 “Don’t you know
that from ancient times,
from the time humans were placed on earth,
5 the triumph of the wicked is short-lived,
and the joy of the godless person lasts only a moment?
6 If his height reaches to the sky
and his head touches the clouds,
7 he will certainly rot[a] like his own feces.
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 He will fly away like a dream and not be found.
He will be chased away like a vision in the night.
9 Eyes that saw him will see him no more.
His home will not look at him again.
10 His children will have to ask the poor for help.
His own hands will have to give back his wealth.
11 His bones, once full of youthful vigor,
will lie down with him in the dust.
12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue….
13 Though he savors it and won’t let go of it
and he holds it on the roof of his mouth,
14 the food in his belly turns sour.
It becomes snake venom in his stomach.
15 He vomits up the riches that he swallowed.
God forces them out of his stomach.
16 The godless person sucks the poison of snakes.
A viper’s fang kills him.
17 He won’t be able to drink from the streams
or from the rivers of honey and buttermilk.
18 He will give back what he earned without enjoying it.
He will get no joy from the profits of his business
19 because he crushed and abandoned the poor.
He has taken by force a house that he didn’t build.
20 He will never know peace in his heart.
He will never allow anything he desires to escape ⌞his grasp⌟.
21 “Nothing is left for him to eat.
His prosperity won’t last.
22 ⌞Even⌟ with all his wealth
the full force of misery comes down on him.
23 Let that misery fill his belly.
⌞God⌟ throws his burning anger at the godless person and makes his wrath come down on him like rain.
24 If that person flees from an iron weapon,
a bronze bow will pierce him.
25 He pulls it out, and it comes out of his back.
The glittering point comes out of his gallbladder.
“Terrors come quickly to the godless person:
26 Total darkness waits in hiding for his treasure.
A fire that no one fans will burn him.
Whatever is left in his tent will be devoured.
27 Heaven exposes his sin.
Earth rises up against him.
28 A flood will sweep away his house,
a flash flood on the day of his anger.
29 This is the reward God gives to the wicked person,
the inheritance God has appointed for him.”
Jesus Challenges the Pharisees’ Traditions(A)
15 Then some Pharisees and experts in Moses’ Teachings came from Jerusalem to Jesus. They asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
3 He answered them, “Why do you break the commandment of God because of your traditions? 4 For example, God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say that whoever tells his father or mother, ‘I have given to God whatever support you might have received from me,’ 6 does not have to honor his father. Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God’s word. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship of me is pointless,
because their teachings are rules made by humans.’ ”
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