Job 11-13
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.”
Job Chides His Critics
1 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Moreover you are men.
Surely wisdom will die with you?
3 But I also have a heart as well as you.
4 “A righteous and blameless man
Has become an object of mockery.
5 For it had been ordained that he should fall
Under the power of others at the appointed time,
And his houses should be plundered by the lawless.
6 Let not, however, any one be persuaded
That, if he is evil, he will be held innocent.
Let not those who provoke the Lord
Be persuaded there will be no trial for them.
7 “But now ask the four-footed animals if they may speak to you,
And the birds of the air if they may report it to you.
8 Tell the earth if it may interpret it to you,
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
The hand of the Lord created them,
10 That in His hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of every man?
11 For indeed, the ear discerns words,
And the palate tastes wheat.
12 In length of time is wisdom,
And in long life, knowledge.
13 “With Him are wisdom and power;
With Him are counsel and understanding.
14 If He tears down a house, who will build it up again?
If He closes a door against men, who will open it?
15 If He withholds the water, He will dry up the earth;
If He lets it loose, He will destroy and ruin it.
16 With Him are might and strength.
He has knowledge and understanding.
17 He leads counselors away captive
And makes fools of judges.
18 He sets kings upon thrones
And binds their waist with a belt.
19 He sends priests away into captivity
And overthrows the mighty of the earth.
20 He changes the lips of the faithful
And knows the understanding of elders.
21 He pours dishonor on rulers
And heals the humble.
22 He uncovers deep things out of darkness
And has brought into light the shadow of death.
23 He leads the nations astray and destroys them.
He overthrows the nations and leads them away.
24 He changes the hearts of rulers
And leads them astray in a way they have not known.
25 May they grope in darkness,
And may they go astray like a drunken man.
1 “Behold, my eye has seen all these things,
And my ear has heard them.
2 What you know, I also know;
I am not of lesser understanding than you.
3 Nevertheless I will speak to the Lord
And will reason before Him if He wills.
4 For you are all dishonest physicians and healers of diseases.
5 But would that you were silent,
For it would lead you to wisdom.
6 Hear the conviction of my mouth
And heed the judgment of my lips.
7 Do you not speak before the Lord
And utter deceit before Him?
8 Will you draw back?
But you yourselves be judges.
9 Would it be well for you if He searched you out?
For if you make every effort to join yourselves to Him,
10 He will surely rebuke you if you also secretly show favoritism.
11 Will not His terror make you dizzy
And His fear fall upon you?
12 In the end, your insolence will go away like ashes
And your body like clay.
13 “Be silent, that I may speak
And put my anger to rest,
14 So I may take my flesh in my teeth
And put my life in my hand.
15 Though the Mighty One should lay His hand upon me,
And already He has begun,
I will speak and reason before Him.
16 This will turn for me into salvation,
For there shall be no deceit before Him.
17 Listen, listen to my words,
For I will report them in your hearing.
18 Behold, I am near my judgment:
I know I shall appear righteous.
19 Who is he who will judge me,
That I should now be silent and be wanting?
Job’s Prayer to God
20 “Grant me two things,
Then I will not hide my face from You:
21 Withdraw Your hand far from me,
And let not the fear of You terrify me.
22 Then You will call, and I will obey You;
Or You will speak, then I will give You an answer.
23 How many are my sins and transgressions?
Teach me what they are.
24 Why do You hide Yourself from me
And regard me as Your enemy?
25 Will You take heed of me as a leaf shaken by the wind?
Or will You set Yourself against me as grass blown by the wind?
26 For You wrote evil things against me
And compassed me with the sins of my youth.
27 You have put my foot in the stocks,
Have watched all my works,
And have penetrated into the roots of my feet,
28 Which have become old like a wineskin
Or like a moth-eaten garment.
Psalm 34:1–16
1 By David.
O Lord, judge those who injure me;
Make war on those who make war on me.
2 Take hold of weapon and shield, and rise up to my help.
3 Bring forth the sword, and confine those in opposition who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
4 Let those who seek my soul be dishonored and shamed;
Let those who plot evils against me be turned backward and disappointed.
5 Let them be like dust in the wind’s face,
And let the Angel of the Lord afflict them.
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
And let the Angel of the Lord pursue them.
7 For without cause they hid the destruction of their trap for me;
In vain they reproached my soul.
8 Let a trap they do not know catch them,
And they themselves shall fall into the same trap.
9 But my soul shall greatly rejoice in the Lord;
My soul shall delight in His salvation.
10 All my bones shall say, “O Lord, who is like You?
You who deliver a poor man from hands stronger than he,
And a poor and needy man from those who plunder him.”
11 Unjust witnesses rose up against me,
Asking me things I knew nothing about;
12 They repaid me evil for good,
And bereavement for my soul.
13 But I put on sackcloth when they troubled me,
And I humbled my soul with fasting;
And my prayer will return into my bosom.
14 Like a neighbor, like our brother, so they were well-pleasing;
Like one who laments and is of a sad countenance, so I humbled myself.
15 But they were delighted, and were gathered together against me;
Whips were gathered together against me, but I did not know it;
They were torn asunder, yet they were not pierced to the heart.
16 They tempted me; they mocked and sneered at me;
They gnashed their teeth at me.
Proverbs 7:1–6
1 My son, guard my words,
And hide my commandments within yourself;
2 My son, honor the Lord, and you shall be strong,
And fear none other but Him.
3 Guard my commandments
And you will live, and my words as the pupils of your eyes;
4 And put them around your fingers,
And write them upon the breadth of your heart.
5 Say that wisdom is your sister,
And gain discernment as a friend for yourself,
6 So they may keep you from a strange and evil woman,
If she comes at you with flattering words.
Romans 8:1–17
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who[a] do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be [b]carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the [c]carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies [d]through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Sonship Through the Spirit
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba,[e] Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.