Job Continues: My Life Has No Hope
1 “Has not man ra hard service on earth,
and are not his sdays like the days of a hired hand?
2 Like a slave who longs for tthe shadow,
and like ua hired hand who looks for his vwages,
3 so I am allotted months of wemptiness,
xand nights of misery are apportioned to me.
4 yWhen I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’
But the night is long,
and I am full of tossing till the dawn.
5 My flesh is clothed with zworms and adirt;
my skin hardens, then bbreaks out afresh.
6 My days are cswifter than da weaver’s shuttle
and come to their end without hope.
7 “Remember that my life is a ebreath;
my eye will never again see good.
8 fThe eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;
while your eyes are on me, gI shall be gone.
9 As hthe cloud fades and vanishes,
so he who igoes down to Sheol does not come up;
10 he jreturns no more to his house,
nor does his kplace know him anymore.
11 “Therefore I will not lrestrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will mcomplain in nthe bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea, or oa sea monster,
that you set a guard over me?
13 pWhen I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
my couch will ease my complaint,’
14 then you scare me with dreams
and terrify me with visions,
15 so that I would choose strangling
and death rather than my qbones.
16 I rloathe my life; I would not live forever.
sLeave me alone, for my days are ta breath.
17 uWhat is man, that you make so much of him,
and that you set your heart on him,
18 vvisit him every morning
and wtest him every moment?
19 How long will you not xlook away from me,
nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?
20 If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?
Why have you made me yyour mark?
Why have I become a burden to you?
21 Why do you not pardon my transgression
and take away my iniquity?
For now I shall lie in zthe earth;
Bildad Speaks: Job Should Repent
1 Then cBildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “How long will you say these things,
and the words of your mouth be a dgreat wind?
3 eDoes God pervert justice?
Or does the Almighty pervert the right?
4 If your fchildren have sinned against him,
he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.
5 If you will seek God
and gplead with the Almighty for mercy,
6 if you are pure and upright,
surely then he will hrouse himself for you
and irestore your rightful habitation.
7 And though your beginning was small,
jyour latter days will be very great.
8 “For kinquire, please, of bygone ages,
and consider what lthe fathers have searched out.
9 For we are but of yesterday and know nothing,
for our days on earth are ma shadow.
10 Will they not teach you and tell you
and utter words out of their understanding?
11 “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
Can reeds flourish where there is no water?
12 While yet in flower and not cut down,
they nwither before any other plant.
13 Such are the paths of all who oforget God;
pthe hope of qthe godless shall perish.
14 His confidence is severed,
and his trust is ra spider’s web.1
15 He leans against his shouse, but it does not stand;
he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.
16 He is a lush plant before the sun,
and his tshoots spread over his garden.
17 His roots entwine the stone heap;
he looks upon a house of stones.
18 If he is destroyed from his uplace,
then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never vseen you.’
19 Behold, this is the joy of his way,
and out of wthe soil others will spring.
20 “Behold, God will not reject a blameless man,
nor take the hand of evildoers.
21 He will yet xfill your mouth with laughter,
and your lips with shouting.
22 Those who hate you will be yclothed with shame,
and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”
God Is Our Fortress
To the choirmaster. Of athe Sons of Korah. According to bAlamoth.1 A Song.
1 God is our crefuge and strength,
a very dpresent2 help in etrouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear fthough the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into gthe heart of the sea,
3 though hits waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is ia river whose streams make glad jthe city of God,
the holy khabitation of the Most High.
5 lGod is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 mThe nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he nutters his voice, the earth omelts.
7 pThe Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 qCome, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 rHe makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he sbreaks the bow and shatters the spear;
the burns the chariots with fire.
10 u“Be still, and know that I am God.
vI will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 pThe Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
1 After this the Lord appointed xseventy-two1 others and ysent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 zAnd he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. aTherefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; bbehold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 cCarry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and dgreet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, e‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, fit will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for gthe laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, h‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 i‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that jthe kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, kit will be more bearable on lthat day for Sodom than for that town.
Woe to Unrepentant Cities
13 m“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in nTyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 oBut it will be more bearable in the judgment for nTyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, pwill you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to qHades.
16 r“The one who hears you hears me, and sthe one who rejects you rejects me, and tthe one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
The Return of the Seventy-Two
17 uThe seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, veven the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, w“I saw Satan xfall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority yto tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of zthe enemy, and anothing shall hurt you. 20 bNevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that cyour names are written in heaven.”
Jesus Rejoices in the Father’s Will
21 dIn that same hour ehe rejoiced fin the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, gLord of heaven and earth, that hyou have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and irevealed them to little children; yes, Father, for jsuch was your gracious will.2 22 kAll things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is kexcept the Father, or who the Father is kexcept the Son and anyone lto whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, m“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you nthat many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 oAnd behold, a plawyer stood up to qput him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to rinherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, s“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and tyour neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; udo this, and you will live.”
29 But he, vdesiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man wwas going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a xpriest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise xa Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a ySamaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and zbound up his wounds, pouring on zoil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two adenarii3 and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Martha and Mary
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus4 entered a village. And a woman named bMartha cwelcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called bMary, who dsat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are eanxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary.5 Mary has chosen fthe good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
