Psalm 23

¹The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
²He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
³He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

⁴Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

⁵You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Old Testament Reading Job 32

¹So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. ²Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. ³He burned with anger also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. ⁴Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. ⁵And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger.

⁶And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said:

“I am young in years,
and you are aged;
therefore I was timid and afraid
to declare my opinion to you.
⁷I said, ‘Let days speak,
and many years teach wisdom.’
⁸But it is the spirit in man,
the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.
⁹It is not the old who are wise,
nor the aged who understand what is right.
¹⁰Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;
let me also declare my opinion.’
¹¹“Behold, I waited for your words,
I listened for your wise sayings,
while you searched out what to say.
¹²I gave you my attention,
and, behold, there was none among you who refuted Job
or who answered his words.
¹³Beware lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom;
God may vanquish him, not a man.’
¹⁴He has not directed his words against me,
and I will not answer him with your speeches.
¹⁵“They are dismayed; they answer no more;
they have not a word to say.
¹⁶And shall I wait, because they do not speak,
because they stand there, and answer no more?
¹⁷I also will answer with my share;
I also will declare my opinion.
¹⁸For I am full of words;
the spirit within me constrains me.
¹⁹Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent;
like new wineskins ready to burst.
²⁰I must speak, that I may find relief;
I must open my lips and answer.
²¹I will not show partiality to any man
or use flattery toward any person.
²²For I do not know how to flatter,
else my Maker would soon take me away.”

New Testament Reading John 10:1–21

¹“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. ²But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁷So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. ¹¹I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. ¹⁷For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

¹⁹There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. ²⁰Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” ²¹Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”