Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Asaph wrote this song for the music leader. He should use special music.
God judges people fairly
75 God, we thank you!
Yes, we thank you!
You are very near to us.
People everywhere say what great things you have done.
2 God says, ‘I choose the time when I will judge people,
and I will be a fair judge.
3 When the earth shakes and the people in it are afraid,
I will keep its foundations strong.’
Selah.
4 I say to people who are proud,
‘Do not be proud.’
I say to wicked people,
‘Do not boast about your power.
5 Do not boast against God.
Do not speak with such proud words.’
6 Who has the power to judge people?
Nobody from the east, or from the west,
or from the desert can be judge.
7 God is the one who judges people.
He decides who to bring down
and who to lift up.[a]
8 The Lord holds a cup of punishment in his hand.[b]
It is full of wine, with spices in it.
The Lord pours out his anger from this cup.
All the wicked people in the world will have to drink it.
They will drink all of it, so that none remains.
9 But as for me, I will always thank you, God.
I will sing to praise you,
the God of Jacob.
10 You say, ‘I will destroy the power of wicked people.
I will give strength to my righteous people.’
God continues to ask Job questions
41 ‘It is the same with the sea monsters called Leviathan.[a]
Can you catch them with a hook?
Can you use a rope to keep their mouths shut?
2 Can you tie a rope through their noses?
Can you put a hook into their mouths.
3 No! They will not ask you nicely to be kind
and let them go free.
4 They will not make any agreement with you.
You cannot make them your slaves
to work for you as long as they live.
5 Leviathan is not something to enjoy at home, like a bird.
You cannot tie it with a rope,
so that your girls can play with it.
6 Traders do not buy it at the market.
They do not cut it up to sell it.
7 Job, can you throw spears into Leviathan's body to kill it?
Can you shoot arrows into its head?
8 If you try to take hold of it,
you will never forget the fight!
You will never try to do that again!
9 If anyone hopes to catch it,
he is deceiving himself.
As soon as he sees it,
he no longer feels so brave!
10 No one is brave enough to wake it.
So is anyone brave enough to argue against me?
11 Nobody has ever won against me
to make me pay them anything.
Everything in the whole world belongs to me.
God's promise to Abraham
13 God made a promise to Abraham many years ago. God used the authority of his own name to show that his promise was true. He did that because there was nobody greater than God himself. His name showed that the promise was very serious. 14 God said to Abraham, ‘I will certainly bless you. I will give you many children and many, many grandchildren.’ 15 Abraham waited patiently for a long time. In the end, he received what God had promised to give him.[a]
16 When someone makes a strong promise, he uses the authority of a person who is greater than himself. This shows that he will certainly obey his promise. Then nobody can argue about it. 17 God wanted to show very clearly that he would never change his purpose. He wanted his people to know that he would certainly bless them. So when he made this promise, he also used his own name to make it strong. 18 Those two things can never change. God cannot tell a lie. As a result, we can be brave and strong. We have trusted God to keep us safe with him. We should also expect to receive the good things that he has promised to give us.
19 We can be completely sure about those good things that we hope to receive. That keeps our thoughts strong, because we know that our life is safe with God. It is like an anchor that keeps a ship safe.[b] When we hope like that, we know that we will one day arrive in God's special place in heaven. That is like the special place behind the curtain in the tabernacle. 20 Jesus has already gone in there. He has gone there before us, on our behalf. He has become our special priest for ever, in the same way that Melchizedek was God's priest.[c]
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.