Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord Speaks to Job
38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
3 Prepare yourself like a man;
for I will question you,
and you shall answer Me.
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, if you have understanding.
5 Who has determined its measurements, if you know?
Or who has stretched the line upon it?
6 To what are its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone
7 when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
that abundance of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send lightning that they may go forth
and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts,
or who has given understanding to the heart?[a]
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
Or who can empty out the bottles of heaven,
38 when the dust turns into hard clumps
and the clods stick together?
39 “Will you hunt the prey for the lion?
Or fill the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens
and lie in the thicket to wait in ambush?
41 Who provides for the raven his food
when his young ones cry unto God,
and they wander about for lack of food?
Psalm 104
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great!
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
2 covering Yourself with light as a garment,
who stretches out the heavens like a tent curtain,
3 who lays the upper beams of His chambers on the waters above,
who makes the clouds His chariot,
who rides upon the wings of the wind,
4 who makes His angels as winds,
His ministers a flaming fire.
5 You laid the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At Your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of Your thunder they departed away.
8 The mountains rose up;
the valleys went down
to the place that You appointed them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass over,
that they may not again cover the earth.
24 O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
With wisdom You have made them all;
the earth is full of Your creatures—
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!
5 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to represent men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to have compassion on the ignorant and on those who are wayward, for he himself is also subject to weakness. 3 Because of this he must offer sacrifices for his own sins, just as he does for the people. 4 No man takes this honor for himself, but he who is called by God receives it, just as Aaron did.
5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to be made a High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:
“You are My Son;
today I have become Your Father.”[a]
6 As He also says in another place:
“You are a priest forever
in the order of Melchizedek.”[b]
7 In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death. He was heard because of His godly fear. 8 Though He was a Son, He learned obedience through the things that He suffered, 9 and being made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him, 10 being designated by God a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
The Request of James and John(A)
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want that whatever we may ask, You would do for us.”
36 He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
37 They said to Him, “Grant us to sit, one at Your right hand and the other at Your left hand, in Your glory.”
38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
39 They said to Him, “We can.”
Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. 40 But to sit at My right hand or at My left hand is not Mine to grant. It is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard it, they began to be very displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them together, and said, “You know that those who are appointed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever among you would be greatest must be servant of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.