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Psalm 101

1  I will sing of faithfulness and justice; ♦︎
   to you, O Lord, will I sing.
2  Let me be wise in the way that is perfect: ♦︎
   when will you come to me?
3  I will walk with purity of heart ♦︎
   within the walls of my house.
4  I will not set before my eyes ♦︎
   a counsel that is evil.
5  I abhor the deeds of unfaithfulness; ♦︎
   they shall not cling to me.
6  A crooked heart shall depart from me; ♦︎
   I will not know a wicked person.
7  One who slanders a neighbour in secret ♦︎
   I will quickly put to silence.
8  Haughty eyes and an arrogant heart ♦︎
   I will not endure.
9  My eyes are upon the faithful in the land, ♦︎
   that they may dwell with me.
10  One who walks in the way that is pure ♦︎
   shall be my servant.
11  There shall not dwell in my house ♦︎
   one that practises deceit.
12  One who utters falsehood ♦︎
   shall not continue in my sight.
13  Morning by morning will I put to silence ♦︎
   all the wicked in the land,
14  To cut off from the city of the Lord ♦︎
   all those who practise evil.

Psalm 102

1  O Lord, hear my prayer ♦︎
   and let my crying come before you.
2  Hide not your face from me ♦︎
   in the day of my distress.
3  Incline your ear to me; ♦︎
   when I call, make haste to answer me,
4  For my days are consumed in smoke ♦︎
   and my bones burn away as in a furnace.
5  My heart is smitten down and withered like grass, ♦︎
   so that I forget to eat my bread.
6  From the sound of my groaning ♦︎
   my bones cleave fast to my skin.
7  I am become like a vulture in the wilderness, ♦︎
   like an owl that haunts the ruins.
8  I keep watch and am become like a sparrow ♦︎
   solitary upon the housetop.
9  My enemies revile me all the day long, ♦︎
   and those who rage at me have sworn together against me.
10  I have eaten ashes for bread ♦︎
   and mingled my drink with weeping,
11  Because of your indignation and wrath, ♦︎
   for you have taken me up and cast me down.
12  My days fade away like a shadow, ♦︎
   and I am withered like grass.
13  But you, O Lord, shall endure for ever ♦︎
   and your name through all generations.
14  You will arise and have pity on Zion; ♦︎
   it is time to have mercy upon her;
      surely the time has come.
15  For your servants love her very stones ♦︎
   and feel compassion for her dust.
16  Then shall the nations fear your name, O Lord, ♦︎
   and all the kings of the earth your glory,
17  When the Lord has built up Zion ♦︎
   and shown himself in glory;
18  When he has turned to the prayer of the destitute ♦︎
   and has not despised their plea.
19  This shall be written for those that come after, ♦︎
   and a people yet unborn shall praise the Lord.
20  For he has looked down from his holy height; ♦︎
   from the heavens he beheld the earth,
21  That he might hear the sighings of the prisoner ♦︎
   and set free those condemned to die;
22  That the name of the Lord may be proclaimed in Zion ♦︎
   and his praises in Jerusalem,
23  When peoples are gathered together ♦︎
   and kingdoms also, to serve the Lord.
24  He has brought down my strength in my journey ♦︎
   and has shortened my days.
25  I pray, ‘O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days; ♦︎
   your years endure throughout all generations.
26  ‘In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, ♦︎
   and the heavens are the work of your hands;
27  ‘They shall perish, but you will endure; ♦︎
   they all shall wear out like a garment.
28  ‘You change them like clothing, and they shall be changed; ♦︎
   but you are the same, and your years will not fail.
29  ‘The children of your servants shall continue, ♦︎
   and their descendants shall be established in your sight.’

40And the Lord said to Job:
² ‘Shall a fault-finder contend with the Almighty?^*
   Anyone who argues with God must respond.’

Job’s Response to God

³ Then Job answered the Lord:
⁴ ‘See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?
   I lay my hand on my mouth.
⁵ I have spoken once, and I will not answer;
   twice, but will proceed no further.’

God’s Challenge to Job

6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
⁷ ‘Gird up your loins like a man;
   I will question you, and you declare to me.
⁸ Will you even put me in the wrong?
   Will you condemn me that you may be justified?
⁹ Have you an arm like God,
   and can you thunder with a voice like his?

¹⁰ ‘Deck yourself with majesty and dignity;
   clothe yourself with glory and splendour.
¹¹ Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
   and look on all who are proud, and abase them.
¹² Look on all who are proud, and bring them low;
   tread down the wicked where they stand.
¹³ Hide them all in the dust together;
   bind their faces in the world below.^*
14 Then I will also acknowledge to you
   that your own right hand can give you victory.

¹⁵ ‘Look at Behemoth,
   which I made just as I made you;
   it eats grass like an ox.
¹⁶ Its strength is in its loins,
   and its power in the muscles of its belly.
¹⁷ It makes its tail stiff like a cedar;
   the sinews of its thighs are knit together.
¹⁸ Its bones are tubes of bronze,
   its limbs like bars of iron.

¹⁹ ‘It is the first of the great acts of God—
   only its Maker can approach it with the sword.
²⁰ For the mountains yield food for it
   where all the wild animals play.
²¹ Under the lotus plants it lies,
   in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh.
²² The lotus trees cover it for shade;
   the willows of the wadi surround it.
²³ Even if the river is turbulent, it is not frightened;
   it is confident though Jordan rushes against its mouth.
²⁴ Can one take it with hooks^*
   or pierce its nose with a snare?

Paul and Barnabas Separate

36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Come, let us return and visit the believers^* in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.’ ³⁷Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. ³⁸But Paul decided not to take with them one who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work. ³⁹The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. ⁴⁰But Paul chose Silas and set out, the believers^* commending him to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16Paul^* went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek. ²He was well spoken of by the believers^* in Lystra and Iconium. ³Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and had him circumcised because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴As they went from town to town, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. ⁵So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily.