Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Brevity of Human Life
For the music director. For Jeduthun.[a] A psalm of David.[b]
39 I said, “I will guard my ways
that I may not sin[c] with my tongue.
I will keep a muzzle over my mouth
as long as the wicked are before me.”
2 I was mute with silence. I was silent even from saying good things,
and my pain was stirred up.
3 My heart grew hot inside me;
in my sighing a fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue,
4 “Let me know, O Yahweh, my end,
and what is the measure of my days.
Let me know how transient I am.”
5 Look, you have made my days mere handbreadths,
and my lifespan as nothing next to you.
Surely every person standing firm is complete vanity. Selah
6 Surely a man walks about as a mere shadow;[d]
surely in vain they bustle about.
He heaps up possessions but does not know who will gather them in.
7 And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is for you.
8 From all my transgressions deliver me;
do not make me the taunt of the fool.
9 I am mute. I do not open my mouth,
for you, yourself, have done it.
10 Remove from me your affliction.
By the opposition of your hand I perish.
11 When with rebukes you chastise a man for sin,
you[e] consume[f] like a moth his delightful things.
Surely everyone is a mere vapor.[g] Selah
12 Hear my prayer, O Yahweh, and listen to my cry for help;
do not be deaf to my tears.
For I am an alien[h] with you,
a sojourner like all my ancestors.[i]
13 Look away from me that I may be cheerful,
before I depart and I am no more.
Job’s Ninth Speech: A Response to Bildad
26 Then[a] Job answered and said,
2 “How you[b] have helped one who has no power![c]
How you[d] have assisted the arm that has no strength![e]
3 How you[f] have advised one who has no wisdom![g]
And what sound wisdom you[h] have made known in abundance![i]
4 With whose help[j] have you[k] uttered words,
and whose breath has come forth from you?[l]
5 “The spirits of the dead tremble
below the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is naked before him,
and there is no covering for Abaddon.
7 He stretches out the north over emptiness;
he hangs the earth over nothing.[m]
8 He ties up the water in its clouds,
and the cloud is not torn open beneath it.[n]
9 He covers the face of the full moon;[o]
he spreads his cloud over it.
10 He has described a circle[p] on the face of the water
between light and darkness.[q]
11 “The pillars of heaven tremble,
and they are astounded at his rebuke.
12 By his power he stilled the sea,
and by his understanding he struck down Rahab.
13 By his breath the heavens were made clear;[r]
his hand pierced the fleeing snake.
14 Look, these are the outer fringes of his ways,
and how faint is the word[s] that we hear of him!
But[t] who can understand the thunder of his power?”
The Great Crowd before the Throne
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great crowd that no one was able to number, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes and with palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were crying out with a loud voice, saying,
“Salvation to our God
who is seated on the throne,
and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying,
“Amen! Praise and glory,
and wisdom and thanksgiving,
and honor and power and strength
be to our God forever and ever[a]. Amen!”
13 And one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are dressed in the white robes—who are they, and from where have they come?” 14 And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me,
“These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation,
and have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Because of this, they are before the throne of God,
and they serve[b] him day and night in his temple,
and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter[c] them.
16 They will not be hungry any longer or be thirsty any longer,
nor will the sun ever beat down on them, nor any heat,[d]
17 because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them
and will lead them to springs of living waters,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”[e]
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