Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Brevity of Life
14 “Man, born of woman,[a]
lives but a few days,[b] and they are full of trouble.[c]
2 He grows up[d] like a flower and then withers away;[e]
he flees like a shadow, and does not remain.[f]
3 Do you fix your eye[g] on such a one?[h]
And do you bring me[i] before you for judgment?
4 Who can make[j] a clean thing come from an unclean?[k]
No one!
5 Since man’s days[l] are determined,[m]
the number of his months is under your control;[n]
you have set his limit[o] and he cannot pass it.
6 Look away from him and let him desist,[p]
until he fulfills[q] his time like a hired man.
The Inevitability of Death
7 “But there is hope for[r] a tree:[s]
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its new shoots will not fail.
8 Although its roots may grow old[t] in the ground
and its stump begins to die[u] in the soil,[v]
9 at the scent[w] of water it will flourish[x]
and put forth[y] shoots like a new plant.
10 But man[z] dies and is powerless;[aa]
he expires—and where is he?[ab]
11 As[ac] water disappears from the sea,[ad]
or a river drains away and dries up,
12 so man lies down and does not rise;
until the heavens are no more,[ae]
they[af] will not awake
nor arise from their sleep.
The Possibility of Another Life
א (Alef)[a]
The Prophet Speaks
3 I am the man[b] who has experienced[c] affliction
from the rod[d] of theLord’s wrath.
2 He drove me into captivity[e] and made me walk[f]
in darkness and not light.
3 He repeatedly[g] attacks me;
he turns his hand[h] against me all day long.[i]
ב (Bet)
4 He has made my mortal skin[j] waste away;
he has broken my bones.
5 He has besieged[k] and surrounded[l] me
with bitter hardship.[m]
6 He has made me reside in deepest darkness[n]
like those who died long ago.
ג (Gimel)
Psalm 31[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
31 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter.
Never let me be humiliated.
Vindicate me by rescuing me.[b]
2 Listen to me.[c]
Quickly deliver me.
Be my protector and refuge,[d]
a stronghold where I can be safe.[e]
3 For you are my high ridge[f] and my stronghold;
for the sake of your own reputation[g] you lead me and guide me.[h]
4 You will free me[i] from the net they hid for me,
for you are my place of refuge.
4 So, since Christ suffered[a] in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same attitude, because the one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin,[b] 2 in that he spends the rest of his time[c] on earth concerned about the will of God and not human desires. 3 For the time that has passed was sufficient for you to do what the non-Christians[d] desire.[e] You lived then[f] in debauchery, evil desires, drunkenness, carousing, drinking bouts,[g] and wanton idolatries.[h] 4 So[i] they are astonished[j] when you do not rush with them into the same flood of wickedness, and they vilify you.[k] 5 They will face a reckoning before[l] Jesus Christ[m] who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 Now it was for this very purpose[n] that the gospel was preached to those who are now dead,[o] so that though[p] they were judged in the flesh[q] by human standards[r] they may live spiritually[s] by God’s standards.[t]
Service, Suffering, and Judgment
7 For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer.[u] 8 Above all keep[v] your love for one another fervent,[w] because love covers a multitude of sins.[x]
Jesus’ Burial
57 Now when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus.[a] 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.[b] Then Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph[c] took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,[d] 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock.[e] Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance[f] of the tomb and went away. 61 (Now Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there, opposite the tomb.)
The Guard at the Tomb
62 The[g] next day (which is after the day of preparation) the chief priests and the Pharisees[h] assembled before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while that deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give orders to secure the tomb until the third day. Otherwise his disciples may come and steal his body[i] and say to the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “Take[j] a guard of soldiers. Go and make it as secure as you can.” 66 So[k] they went with the soldiers[l] of the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.
Jesus’ Burial
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus (but secretly, because he feared the Jewish leaders[a]),[b] asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. Pilate[c] gave him permission, so he went and took the body away.[d] 39 Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus[e] at night,[f] accompanied Joseph,[g] carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes[h] weighing about seventy-five pounds.[i] 40 Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices,[j] in strips of linen cloth[k] according to Jewish burial customs.[l] 41 Now at the place where Jesus[m] was crucified[n] there was a garden,[o] and in the garden[p] was a new tomb where no one had yet been buried.[q] 42 And so, because it was the Jewish day of preparation[r] and the tomb was nearby,[s] they placed Jesus’ body there.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.