Job 20
Zophar: The Ungodly Will Perish
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:†
2 “I did not suppose you would answer in that way; Nor do you understand more than I.
3 I will heed the discipline of my humiliation, And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.
4 “Have you not heard these things of old— From the time man was put on the earth?
5 For the gladness of the ungodly is a disastrous fall, And the joy of transgressors is destruction.
6 Though his gifts ascend to heaven And his sacrifice touches the clouds,
7 Just when he already seems to be established, Then he shall utterly perish; And those who knew him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 Like a dream he flew away and cannot be found; And he fled like a vision of the night.
9 The eye observed him, but will see him no more; Nor will his place any longer behold him.
10 May his children perish, And may his vile hands kindle the fire of sorrows.
11 His bones were full of his youthful vigor, Which will lie down with him in the dust.
12 Though evil is sweet in his mouth, And he will hide it under his tongue,†
13 Though he will not spare it and will not forsake it, But will hold it fast in the midst of his throat,
14 Yet he shall be unable to help himself, For the gall of an asp is in his belly.
15 His wealth gathered unjustly shall be vomited up, And a messenger will drag him out of his house.
16 May he nurse on the anger of serpents; And may a snake’s tongue kill him.
17 May he not see the milk of the pastures, Nor his supplies of honey and butter.
18 In vain he has labored unprofitably for wealth, Of which he will not taste; For it is like tough meat that he cannot chew.
19 For he crushed the houses of many weak people. He plundered their dwelling and caused it to cease.
20 “There is no salvation in his possessions, For he will not be saved by what he desired.
21 Nothing is left for him to eat; Therefore, his good things will not flourish.
22 But when he at last seems to be satisfied, he will be distressed, For every trouble will come upon him.
23 If he were to satisfy his stomach in some way, Let God send the fury of wrath upon him, And may He bathe him in sorrows.
24 He will not be saved from the power of the sword; May a bronze bow wound him.
25 May an arrow pass through his body, And may lightning strike his dwelling. May terrors come upon him.
26 May total darkness await him. A fire that will not go out will consume him. May a stranger ruin his house.
27 May heaven uncover his lawlessness, And may the earth rise up against him.
28 May destruction bring his house to an end, And may a day of wrath come upon him.
29 This is the portion of an ungodly man from the Lord, And the heritage appointed to him from the One who watches him.”
Psalms 106
1 Alleluia. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His mercy endures forever.
2 Let those redeemed by the Lord say so, Whom He redeemed from the hand of the enemy.
3 He gathered them from the countries, From the east and the west and the north and the south.
4 They were led astray in the desert, in a place without water; They did not find a road to an inhabited city;
5 While hungering and thirsting, Their soul fainted in them;
6 And they cried out to the Lord in their affliction, And He delivered them from their distresses;
7 And He led them in a straight path, So they might go to a city of habitation.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for His mercies And His wonders to the sons of men;
9 For He fed the empty soul And filled the hungry soul with good things,
10 Those sitting in the darkness and shadow of death, Bound in poverty and fetters;
11 For they rebelled against the teachings of God And provoked the counsel of the Most High;
12 Thus their heart was humbled by troubles; They were weak, and there was no one to help them;
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their afflictions, And He saved them from their distresses;
14 And He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains to pieces.
Proverbs of Solomon 23
A Father’s Counsel on Wine and Women
19 Hear, my son, and become wise, And direct aright the thoughts of your heart.
20 Do not be a wine-bibber, Neither provide contributions of meats or goods at drinking parties.
21 For every drunkard and fornicator shall become impoverished, And every sluggard shall clothe himself with tattered and ragged garments.†
22 Hear, my son, your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother because she has grown old.
23 A righteous father rears his child well, And his soul rejoices in a wise son.
John 1
The Baptist’s Testimony to Christ
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!†
30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’
31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.†
33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’
34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”
The Baptist’s Disciples Follow Jesus
35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.†
36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”
39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).
40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ).
42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, A Stone).
43 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.”
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”†
48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”†
49 Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”