Job 34:10-35:16
10 “Therefore listen to me, you wise in heart:
May it be far from me to act in an ungodly way before the Lord
And to pervert righteousness before the Almighty.
11 Yes, He renders to a man as each one of them does,
And in a man’s path He will find him.
12 Do you think the Lord will do wrong,
Or will the Almighty who made the earth pervert judgment?
13 Who is He who created everything under heaven
And all things therein?
14 If He should wish to hold and restrain His breath within Himself,
15 All flesh would die together,
And every mortal would return to the ground
From which he was formed.
16 Take heed to this, lest He warn you;
Pay close attention to the voice of His words.
17 Behold then the one who hates lawless things
And destroys the evil ones.
He is forever righteous.
18 He is ungodly who says to a king,
‘You act contrary to the law,’
And to rulers, ‘O, most ungodly one.’
19 Such a man is not ashamed
Before the face of an honorable man,
Nor does he know how to give honor to the great,
So as to show proper respect.
20 But it will prove to be in vain for them to cry out
And beg the favor of a man;
For they dealt unlawfully when they turned aside the weak.
21 “For He is the observer of the works of man,
And nothing of what they do escapes Him.
22 There is no place for the workers of lawlessness to hide themselves.
23 He need not further consider a man,
For the Lord gazes upon all men.
24 He comprehends unsearchable things,
Glorious also and extraordinary things without number.
25 He discloses their works;
And He will overthrow them in the night,
And they will be brought low.
26 He extinguishes the ungodly,
For they are visible before Him,
27 Because they turned aside from the law of God
And would not regard His ordinances,
28 So as to bring before Him the cry of the needy;
For He will hear the cry of the poor.
29 He will provide quietness, and who shall condemn Him?
And He will hide His face, and who shall see Him?
Whether it be done against a nation or a man jointly,
30 To cause a hypocrite to be king,
Because of the discontent of the people.
31 “For there is one that says to the Mighty One,
‘I have received blessings; I will not take in pledge;
32 I will see apart from myself;
Show me if I have done unrighteousness,
And I will do so no more.’
33 Will He not take vengeance for it from you,
Because you failed to listen to your conscience?
For you will choose, and not I;
Therefore, speak what you know.
Elihu Rebukes Job Sternly
34 “For this reason wise men in heart shall say this,
And a wise man listens to my word.
35 But Job has spoken without understanding,
And his words are without knowledge.
36 But learn, Job, and no longer answer like that of foolish men,
37 That we add not to our sins;
For lawlessness will be counted against us
If we speak many words against the Lord.”
1 Elihu continued, saying:
2 “What is this you consider as judgment?
Who are you to say, ‘I am righteous before the Lord’?
3 Or will you say, ‘What did I do, if I have sinned?’
4 “I will answer you and your three friends.
5 Look up to heaven and see,
And observe the cloud as higher than you.
6 If you have sinned, what will you do?
If you have acted very lawlessly, what can you do?
7 Since therefore you are righteous, what will you give Him?
Or what did He receive from your hand?
8 Your ungodliness may affect a man such as you,
Or your righteousness a son of man.
9 “Those who are slandered by a multitude will cry out;
They will cry out for help because of the strength of the many.
10 But no one says, ‘Where is the God who made me,
Who appoints the night watches,
11 Who distinguishes me from the four-footed animals of the earth
And from the birds of heaven?’
12 There they will cry out, but no one answers,
Because of the insolence of evil men.
13 For the Lord does not desire to look on wrongdoing,
14 For He, the Almighty, is the observer
Of those who perform lawless deeds,
But He will save me.
Decide before Him if you can praise Him as it is now possible.
15 But now, He is not visiting His wrath,
Nor even taking notice of very much transgression;
16 Yet Job opens his mouth in vain;
In ignorance he burdens us with words.”
Psalms 41
1 For the End; for understanding; for the sons of Korah.
2 As the deer longs for the springs of waters,
So my soul longs for You, O God.
3 My soul thirsts for the living God;
When shall I come and appear before the face of God?
4 My tears were my bread day and night,
When they said to me each day, “Where is your God?”
5 I remembered these things, and poured out my soul within me;
For I shall enter the place of the wondrous tabernacle, even the house of God,
To celebrate a festival with a voice of great joy and praise.
6 Why are you so sad, O my soul?
And why do you trouble me?
Hope in God, for I will give thanks to Him;
My God is the salvation of my countenance.
7 My soul within me was troubled;
Therefore I will remember You
From the land of the Jordan and Hermon,
From the small mountain.
8 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows went over me.
9 By day the Lord shall command His mercy,
And by night His ode will be with me,
A prayer to the God of my life.
10 I will say to God, “You are my protector.
Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go about with a sad face when my enemies afflict me?”
11 Those who afflict me revile me when they break my bones,
When they speak to me each day, saying, “Where is your God?”
12 Why are you so sad, O my soul?
And why do you trouble me?
Hope in God, for I will give thanks to Him.
My God is the salvation of my countenance.
Psalm 42
1 A psalm by David.
Judge me, O God, and pass judgment in my cause against an unholy nation;
Deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.
2 For You, O God, are my strength;
Why do You cast me off?
Why do I go about with a sad face when my enemy afflicts me?
3 Send out Your light and Your truth;
They guided me and led me to Your holy mountain
And to Your tabernacles.
4 And I will come to the altar of God,
To the God who makes glad my youth;
I will give thanks to You with the lyre, O God, my God.
5 Why are you so sad, O my soul? And why do you trouble me?
Hope in God, for I will give thanks to Him;
My God is the salvation of my countenance.
Proverbs 8:27–31
27 When He prepared heaven, I was present with Him,
And when He set apart His throne upon the winds.
28 When He made strong the things above the clouds,
And made sure the fountains under heaven,
29 And made strong the foundations of the earth,
I was working beside Him;
30 I was He in whom He rejoiced;
Daily and continually I was gladdened by His face.
31 When He completed the world, He rejoiced,
And He rejoiced in the sons of men.
Romans 15:1–21
1 We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.
3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”
4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,
6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Glorify God Together
7 Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.
8 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers,
9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written:
“For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles,
And sing to Your name.”
10 And again he says:
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!”
11 And again:
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles!
Laud Him, all you peoples!”
12 And again, Isaiah says:
“There shall be a root of Jesse;
And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles,
In Him the Gentiles shall hope.”
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
From Jerusalem to Illyricum
14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God,
16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
17 Therefore I have reason to glory in Christ Jesus in the things which pertain to God.
18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ has not accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient—
19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
20 And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation,
21 but as it is written:
“To whom He was not announced, they shall see;
And those who have not heard shall understand.”