Job 11
Job Rebuked by Zophar
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:†
2 “He who speaks much should also listen in turn, Or does the fluent speaker think himself to be righteous? Blessed is the short-lived offspring of a woman.
3 Do not be wordy in your speech, For there is no one to reply to you.
4 Do not say, ‘I am pure in my works And blameless before Him.’
5 But how does the Lord speak to you? He will open His lips against you.
6 Then He will declare to you the power of wisdom, For it shall be double in your case. At that time you will know a worthy recompense Has come to you from the Lord because of your sins.
7 Will you find the traces of the Lord? Have you reached the outer extremities Of what the Almighty has made?
8 Heaven is high, and what will you do? And what do you know, For there are even deeper things in Hades?
9 Do you know those dimensions That are longer than the earth and broader than the sea?
10 If He should overthrow everything, Who then will say to Him, ‘What have You done?’
11 For He knows the works of the lawless; And when He sees wrongs, He shall not overlook them.
12 But man vainly swims in words, And a mortal born of a woman is equal to a donkey in the desert.
13 If you have made your heart pure And stretch out your hands toward Him,
14 If something lawless is done by your hands, Put it far away from you; And do not let any wrongdoing lodge in your dwelling.
15 For in this way, your face will shine forth like pure water, For you will cleanse away the filth. You will not fear.
16 Then you will forget this hardship Like a wave that has passed away; And you will not be terrified.
17 Your prayer will be like the morning star. At midday, life will rise to you.
18 You will be confident because you have hope; And peace shall bring light to you out of anxiety and care.
19 You will also be at rest, And there will be no one to fight against you. Many will change their mind about you and supplicate you.
20 But salvation will forsake them, for their hope will be lost, And the eyes of the ungodly will melt away.”
Psalms 102
13 As a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him,
14 For He knows how He formed us; He remembers we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass, As a flower of the field, so he flourishes;
16 For the wind passes through it, and it shall not remain; And it shall no longer know its place.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from age to age upon those who fear Him, And His righteousness upon children’s children,
18 To such as keep His covenant And remember His commandments, to do them.
19 The Lord prepared His throne in heaven, And His Kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, all you His angels, Mighty in strength, who do His word, So as to hear the voice of His words.
21 Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, His ministers who do His will;
22 Bless the Lord, all His works, In all places of His dominion; Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Proverbs of Solomon 22
Rich Man, Poor Man
1 A good name is to be chosen more than much wealth, And good grace more than silver and gold.†
2 The rich man and the poor man meet with one another, But the Lord made both.
3 An astute man, seeing an evil man severely punished, is himself instructed, But those passing by without discernment suffer loss.
4 The fear of the Lord and riches and glory and life Are the offspring of wisdom.†
5 Thorns and snares are in the ways of the crooked, But he who guards his own soul will keep away from them.
Luke 21
The Destruction of Jerusalem
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.
21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.
22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.
24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Cosmic Signs
25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
The Time of His Coming
29 Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.
30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.
31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.
33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Be Watchful and Pray
34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.
35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
37 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.
38 Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.