Job 38
The Lord Speaks to Job
1 After Elihu had ceased from speaking, then the Lord spoke to Job out of the whirlwind and clouds, saying:
2 “Who is this who hides counsel from Me, And holds words in his heart And thinks to conceal them from Me?
3 Gird your waist like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.†
The Majestic Creator
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know. Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 To what were its foundations fastened, Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 When the stars were made And all My angels praised Me in a loud voice?†
8 “I shut up the sea with doors When it burst forth and issued from the womb.†
9 I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in mist.
10 I fixed My limit for it and set bars and doors.
11 I said, ‘This far you may come, but no further, And here your waves must stop.’
12 “Did I order the morning light in your time, And did the morning star see its appointed place,
13 To lay hold of the ends of the earth And to shake the ungodly out of it?
14 Or did you take clay of the ground and form a living creature, And set it with the power of speech upon the earth?†
15 Have you removed light from the ungodly And crushed the arm of the arrogant?†
16 “Have you come upon the fountain of the sea And walked in the tracks of the deep?
17 Do the gates of death open to you for fear, And did the doorkeepers of Hades quake when they saw you?
18 Have you been instructed in the breadth of the earth under heaven? Tell Me now, what is the extent of it?
19 “In what kind of land does the light dwell, And what kind is the place of darkness?
20 If you would bring Me to their boundaries, And also if you understand their paths,
21 Then I know you were born at that time, And the number of your years is great.
22 “Have you come upon the storehouses of snow? Have you seen the storehouses of hail?
23 Are they stored for you against the time of your enemies, For the day of wars and battles?
24 From where does the frost proceed? From where does the south wind scatter over the earth?
25 “Who prepared a course for the violent rain Or a path for the thunders?
26 Who causes it to rain on a land where there is no man, Or an uninhabited wilderness, where there is not a man in it,
27 To satisfy the untrodden and uninhabited land And cause it to spring forth a crop of tender grass?
28 Who is the rain’s father, And who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice, And who has given birth to the frost in heaven,
30 Which descends like flowing water? Who made firm the face of the abyss?
31 “Do you understand the band of the Pleiades, And have you opened the fence of Orion?
32 Will you open up Mazzaroth in its season, And the evening star with his rays? Will you guide them?†
33 Do you know the movements of heaven Or the events which take place together under heaven?
34 “Will you call a cloud with your voice, And will it obey you with a violent shower of much rain?
35 Can you send out lightnings, and they shall go? They shall say to you, ‘What do you want?’
36 Who has given to women wisdom in weaving Or knowledge of embroidery?†
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom, And who bowed heaven down to earth?
38 For it is spread like a cloud of dust, And I have joined it together as one hewn stone to another.†
39 “Will you hunt prey for the lions Or satisfy the lives of the serpents?
40 They fear in their dens, And live in the forests, and lie in wait.
41 Who provides food for the raven? For its young ones wander And cry to the Lord in search of food.
Psalms 118
49 Remember Your word to Your servant, In which You give me hope.
50 This comforted me in my humiliation, For Your teaching gives me life.
51 The arrogant transgressed exceedingly, But I did not turn away from Your law.
52 I remembered Your judgments of old, O Lord, And I was comforted.
53 Despondency held me because of sinners Who abandon Your law.
54 Your ordinances were sung to me In the place of my sojourning.
55 I remembered Your name in the night, O Lord, And I kept Your law.
56 This happened to me in the night, Because I searched Your ordinances.
57 You are my portion, O Lord; I said I will keep Your law.
58 I sought Your presence with my whole heart; Have mercy on me according to Your teaching.
59 I considered Your ways, And I turned my feet toward Your testimonies.
60 I prepared myself, and I was not troubled, That I might keep Your commandments.
61 The ropes of sinners ensnared me, But I did not forget Your law.
62 At midnight I arose to give thanks to You Because of the judgments of Your righteousness.
63 I am a companion of all who fear You And keep Your commandments.
64 O Lord, the earth is full of Your mercy; Teach me Your ordinances.
Proverbs of Solomon 26
The Undiscerning Man
1 As dew in harvest and as rain in summer, So honor is not for a man without discernment.†
2 As birds and sparrows fly, So a curse will not come upon anyone without a cause.
3 As a whip for a horse and a prod for a donkey, So is a rod for a lawless nation.
4 Do not answer an undiscerning man in relation to his lack of discernment, Lest you become like him.
5 But answer an undiscerning man contrary to his lack of discernment, So he may not appear wise to himself.
John 10
Jesus, the Good Shepherd
1 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.†
2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.†
4 And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
5 Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
6 Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.
Jesus Gives His Life for the Sheep
7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
8 All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.†
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.†
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.†
12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.†
17 “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.†
18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
19 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.
20 And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?”
21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”