Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

39 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set in the style of Y’dutun. A psalm of David:

^2 (1) I said, “I will watch how I behave,
so that I won’t sin with my tongue;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
whenever the wicked confront me.”

^3 (2) I was silent, said nothing, not even good;
but my pain kept being stirred up.
^4 (3) My heart grew hot within me;
whenever I thought of it, the fire burned.
Then, [at last,] I let my tongue speak:

^5 (4) “Make me grasp, Adonai, what my end must be,
what it means that my days are numbered;
let me know what a transient creature I am.
^6 (5) You have made my days like handbreadths;
for you, the length of my life is like nothing.”

Yes, everyone, no matter how firmly he stands,
is merely a puff of wind. (Selah)
^7 (6) Humans go about like shadows;
their turmoil is all for nothing.
They accumulate wealth, not knowing
who will enjoy its benefits.

^8 (7) Now, Adonai, what am I waiting for?
You are my only hope.
^9 (8) Rescue me from all my transgressions;
don’t make me the butt of fools.
^10 (9) I am silent, I keep my mouth shut,
because it is you who have done it.

^11 (10) Stop raining blows on me;
the pounding of your fist is wearing me down.
^12 (11) With rebukes you discipline people for their guilt;
like a moth, you destroy what makes them attractive;
yes, everyone is merely a puff of wind. (Selah)

^13 (12) Hear my prayer, Adonai, listen to my cry,
don’t be deaf to my weeping;
for with you, I am just a traveler
passing through, like all my ancestors.
^14 (13) Turn your gaze from me, so I can smile again
before I depart and cease to exist.

¹² “But where can wisdom be found?
Where is the source of understanding?
¹³ No one knows its value,
and it can’t be found in the land of the living.
¹⁴ The deep says, ‘It isn’t in me,’
and the sea says, ‘It isn’t with me.’
¹⁵ It can’t be obtained with gold,
nor can silver be weighed out to buy it.
¹⁶ It can’t be purchased with choice gold from Ofir,
or with precious onyx or sapphires.
¹⁷ Neither gold nor glass can be compared with it;
nor can it be exchanged for a bowl of fine gold,
¹⁸ let alone coral or crystal;
for indeed, the price of wisdom is above that of pearls.
¹⁹ It can’t be compared with Ethiopian topaz,
and it can’t be valued with pure gold.

²⁰ “So where does wisdom come from?
where is the source of understanding,
²¹ inasmuch as it is hidden from the eyes of all living
and kept secret from the birds flying around in the sky?
²² Destruction and Death say,
‘We have heard a rumor about it with our ears.’

²³ “God understands its way,
and he knows its place.
²⁴ For he can see to the ends of the earth
and view everything under heaven.
²⁵ When he determined the force of the wind
and parceled out water by measure,
²⁶ when he made a law for the rain
and cleared a path for the thunderbolts;
²⁷ then he saw [wisdom] and declared it,
yes, he set it up and searched it out.
²⁸ And to human beings he said,
‘Look, fear of Adonai is wisdom!
Shunning evil is understanding!’”

29 Iyov went on speaking:

² “I wish I were as in the old days,
back in the times when God watched over me;
³ when his lamp shone over my head,
and I walked through the dark by its light;
⁴ as I was when I was young,
and God’s counsel graced my tent.
⁵ Then Shaddai was still with me,
my children were around me;
⁶ my steps were awash in butter,
and the rocks poured out for me streams of olive oil.
⁷ I would go out to the city gate
and set up my seat in the open space;
⁸ when young men saw me they would hide themselves,
while the aged arose and stood;
⁹ leaders refrained from speaking —
they would lay their hands on their mouths;
¹⁰ the voices of nobles were silenced;
their tongues stuck to their palates.