Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
David wrote this song for Jeduthun, the leader of the music.
Life is short[a]
39 I said, ‘I will be careful what I do,
so that I do not sin.
I will also be careful what I say.
When wicked people are listening,
I will not even open my mouth.’
2 So I did not speak a word,
even about good things.
That made me very upset.
3 It was like a fire inside me!
As I thought more about it,
I just had to say something!
So I said this:
4 ‘Lord, tell me about my life.
Tell me how long it will be,
and when it will finish.
I need to remember that life is only short.
5 Yes, you have made the days of my life only a few!
The time that I live seems very short to you.
Human life is only a breath,
even for those who seem to be strong.
Selah.
6 As we live, we are just like shadows.
We work to get things for ourselves.
We may get a lot of money,
but we do not know who will have it after we die.’
7 So, my Lord, what help can I hope to get?
You are the only one that I can really trust!
8 Save me from all my sins!
Do not let fools insult me.
9 I will not say anything more.
I will not open my mouth,
because it is you who have punished me!
10 Please do not hurt me any more!
You have already punished me enough,
so that I am almost dead!
11 When people do wrong things,
you warn them and you punish them.
You destroy their valuable things,
like a moth eats cloth![b]
Yes, our lives are only a breath!
Selah.
12 Lord, please hear my prayer.
Listen to me when I call to you for help.
Do not turn away from me when I weep.
I need your help,
like a foreign person who lives away from his home.
I live on earth as a stranger,
like all my ancestors did.
13 Stop being angry with me,
so that I can be happy again before I die.
Job replies to Bildad[a]
26 Then Job replied. This is what he said:
2 ‘Do not think that you have helped me,
a weak and helpless man.
Nothing that you have said makes me feel stronger.
3 What good advice have you given me
to make me wise?
You have not really shown me how clever you are!
4 Someone must have helped you to say these wise words.
Who has put all these thoughts in your minds?
5 Dead people shake with fear.
They are under the deep waters.
6 God sees everything that happens
in the place of dead people.
Nothing can hide that terrible place from him.
7 He puts the skies in their place in the north,
so that they cover empty space.
He hangs the earth in the skies
and it stays there.
8 He fills the clouds with water.
They become heavy but they do not break.
9 When the moon is big and round, he hides it.
He causes clouds to cover it.
10 He marks the border between the sea and the sky.
It is the place where the night finishes and the day begins.
11 When God is angry,
he shouts at the pillars under the sky.
When they hear his command,
they shake with fear.
12 He used his power to control the sea.
He used his wisdom to destroy Rahab,
the great sea monster.
13 He used his breath to make the sky become bright.
With his hand he cut the great sea snake
as it ran away.
14 These are only a few of the things that God does.
We only know about a few small things.
If he used all of his power,
we could never understand.’
The large crowd who were wearing white clothes
9 After this, I looked again. I saw a very big crowd of people. There were so many people that nobody could count them. They came from every nation, from every tribe and from every language. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing long white clothes and they held branches of palm trees in their hands.[a]
10 They shouted loudly:
‘We worship our God who sits on the throne.
And we worship the Lamb.
They have saved us from Satan's power.’
11 All the angels were standing around the throne, and around the leaders and the four beings. The angels all bent down so that their faces touched the ground. They worshipped God who was on the throne in front of them. 12 They said:
‘This is true!
We worship our God and we give him honour.
He is completely wise.
We thank him and we praise him.
He has all power and authority for ever!
Amen!’
13 Then one of the leaders asked me, ‘Who are these people in white clothes? Where did they come from?’
14 I replied, ‘You surely know who they are, sir.’
He said to me, ‘They are the people who have had a time of very bad trouble. Now they have come out of that. They have washed their clothes in the blood of the Lamb. Now their clothes are white and clean.[b] 15 Because of that, they are now standing in front of God's throne. They serve God in his house all the time, day and night. And God will keep them safe because he is with them. 16 They will never again be hungry. They will never be thirsty. The sun will not burn them, nor will any other strong heat burn them. 17 The Lamb is there with them, near to God's throne. He will take care of them, like a shepherd with his sheep. He will take them to drink fresh water that gives people life. They will no longer be sad. God will take away all the tears from their eyes.’
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