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Bildad Says God Rewards the Good
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite [a]answered,
2 “How long will you say these things,
And the (A)words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
3 “Does (B)God pervert justice?
Or does [b]the Almighty pervert what is right?
4 “(C)If your sons sinned against Him,
Then He delivered them into the [c]power of their transgression.
5 “If you would (D)seek God
And implore the compassion of [d]the Almighty,
6 If you are pure and upright,
Surely now (E)He would rouse Himself for you
And restore your righteous [e](F)estate.
7 “Though your beginning was insignificant,
Yet your (G)end will increase greatly.
8 “Please (H)inquire of past generations,
And consider the things searched out by their fathers.
9 “For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because (I)our days on earth are as a shadow.
10 “Will they not teach you and tell you,
And bring forth words from their minds?
11 “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the rushes grow without water?
12 “While it is still green and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other [f]plant.
13 “So are the paths of (J)all who forget God;
And the (K)hope of the godless will perish,
14 Whose confidence is fragile,
And whose trust a (L)spider’s [g]web.
15 “He [h]trusts in his (M)house, but it does not stand;
He holds fast to it, but it does not endure.
16 “He [i](N)thrives before the sun,
And his (O)shoots spread out over his garden.
17 “His roots wrap around a rock pile,
He [j]grasps a house of stones.
18 “If he is [k]removed from (P)his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘(Q)I never saw you.’
19 “Behold, (R)this is the joy of His way;
And out of the dust others will spring.
20 “Lo, (S)God will not reject a man of integrity,
Nor (T)will He [l]support the evildoers.
21 “He will yet fill (U)your mouth with laughter
And your lips with shouting.
22 “Those who hate you will be (V)clothed with shame,
And the (W)tent of the wicked will be no longer.”
Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Man
9 Then Job [m]answered,
2 “In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a (X)man be in the right [n]before God?
3 “If one wished to (Y)dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
4 “(Z)Wise in heart and (AA)mighty in strength,
Who has [o](AB)defied Him [p]without harm?
5 “(AC)It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how,
When He overturns them in His anger;
6 Who (AD)shakes the earth out of its place,
And its (AE)pillars tremble;
7 Who commands the (AF)sun [q]not to shine,
And sets a seal upon the stars;
8 Who alone (AG)stretches out the heavens
And [r](AH)tramples down the waves of the sea;
9 Who makes the (AI)Bear, Orion and the Pleiades,
And the (AJ)chambers of the south;
10 Who (AK)does great things, [s]unfathomable,
And wondrous works without number.
11 “Were He to pass by me, (AL)I would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.
12 “Were He to snatch away, who could (AM)restrain Him?
Who could say to Him, ‘(AN)What are You doing?’
13 “God will not turn back His anger;
Beneath Him crouch the helpers of (AO)Rahab.
14 “How then can (AP)I [t]answer Him,
And choose my words [u]before Him?
15 “For (AQ)though I were right, I could not [v]answer;
I would have to (AR)implore the mercy of my judge.
16 “If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17 “For He (AS)bruises me with a tempest
And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18 “He will (AT)not allow me to get my breath,
But saturates me with (AU)bitterness.
19 “If it is a matter of power, (AV)behold, He is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon [w]Him?
20 “(AW)Though I am righteous, my mouth will (AX)condemn me;
Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.
21 “I am (AY)guiltless;
I do not take notice of myself;
I (AZ)despise my life.
22 “It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He (BA)destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’
23 “If the scourge kills suddenly,
He (BB)mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 “The earth (BC)is given into the hand of the wicked;
He (BD)covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, then who is it?
25 “Now (BE)my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, (BF)they see no good.
26 “They slip by like (BG)reed boats,
Like an (BH)eagle that swoops on [x]its prey.
27 “Though I say, ‘I will forget (BI)my complaint,
I will leave off my sad countenance and be cheerful,’
28 I am (BJ)afraid of all my pains,
I know that (BK)You will not acquit me.
29 “I am accounted (BL)wicked,
Why then should I toil in vain?
30 “If I should (BM)wash myself with snow
And cleanse (BN)my hands with lye,
31 Yet You would plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would abhor me.
32 “For (BO)He is not a man as I am that (BP)I may answer Him,
That we may go to [y]court together.
33 “There is no (BQ)umpire between us,
Who may lay his hand upon us both.
34 “Let Him (BR)remove His rod from me,
And let not dread of Him terrify me.
35 “Then I (BS)would speak and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.
Job Despairs of God’s Dealings
10 “[z](BT)I loathe my own life;
I will give full vent to (BU)my complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2 “I will say to God, ‘(BV)Do not condemn me;
Let me know why You contend with me.
3 ‘Is it [aa]right for You indeed to (BW)oppress,
To reject (BX)the labor of Your hands,
And [ab]to look favorably on (BY)the schemes of the wicked?
4 ‘Have You eyes of flesh?
Or do You (BZ)see as a man sees?
5 ‘Are Your days as the days of a mortal,
Or (CA)Your years as man’s years,
6 That (CB)You should seek for my guilt
And search after my sin?
7 ‘According to Your knowledge (CC)I am indeed not guilty,
Yet there is (CD)no deliverance from Your hand.
8 ‘(CE)Your hands fashioned and made me [ac]altogether,
(CF)And would You destroy me?
9 ‘Remember now, that You have made me as (CG)clay;
And would You (CH)turn me into dust again?
10 ‘Did You not pour me out like milk
And curdle me like cheese;
11 Clothe me with skin and flesh,
And knit me together with bones and sinews?
12 ‘You have (CI)granted me life and lovingkindness;
And Your care has preserved my spirit.
13 ‘Yet (CJ)these things You have concealed in Your heart;
I know that this is within You:
14 If I sin, then You would (CK)take note of me,
And (CL)would not acquit me of my guilt.
15 ‘If (CM)I am wicked, woe to me!
And (CN)if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head.
I am sated with disgrace and [ad]conscious of my misery.
16 ‘Should my head be lifted up, (CO)You would hunt me like a lion;
And again You would show Your (CP)power against me.
17 ‘You renew (CQ)Your witnesses against me
And increase Your anger toward me;
[ae](CR)Hardship after hardship is with me.
18 ‘(CS)Why then have You brought me out of the womb?
Would that I had died and no eye had seen me!
19 ‘I should have been as though I had not been,
Carried from womb to tomb.’
20 “Would He not let (CT)my few days alone?
[af](CU)Withdraw from me that I may have a little cheer
21 Before I go—(CV)and I shall not return—
(CW)To the land of darkness and (CX)deep shadow,
22 The land of utter gloom as darkness itself,
Of deep shadow without order,
And which shines as the darkness.”
Zophar Rebukes Job
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite [ag]answered,
2 “Shall a multitude of words go unanswered,
And a (CY)talkative man be acquitted?
3 “Shall your boasts silence men?
And shall you (CZ)scoff and none rebuke?
4 “For (DA)you have said, ‘My teaching is pure,
And (DB)I am innocent in your eyes.’
5 “But would that God might speak,
And open His lips against you,
6 And show you the secrets of wisdom!
For sound wisdom [ah](DC)has two sides.
Know then that God [ai]forgets a part of (DD)your iniquity.
7 “(DE)Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
8 “They are (DF)high as [aj]the heavens, what can you do?
Deeper than [ak](DG)Sheol, what can you know?
9 “Its measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.
10 “If He passes by or shuts up,
Or calls an assembly, (DH)who can restrain Him?
11 “For (DI)He knows false men,
And He (DJ)sees iniquity [al]without investigating.
12 “[am](DK)An idiot will become intelligent
When the [an]foal of a (DL)wild donkey is born a man.
13 “(DM)If you would (DN)direct your heart right
And (DO)spread out your hand to Him,
14 If iniquity is in your hand, (DP)put it far away,
And do not let wickedness dwell in your tents;
15 “Then, indeed, you could (DQ)lift up your face without moral defect,
And you would be steadfast and (DR)not fear.
16 “For you would (DS)forget your trouble,
As (DT)waters that have passed by, you would remember it.
17 “Your [ao]life would be [ap](DU)brighter than noonday;
Darkness would be like the morning.
18 “Then you would trust, because there is hope;
And you would look around and rest securely.
19 “You would (DV)lie down and none would disturb you,
And many would (DW)entreat your [aq]favor.
20 “But the (DX)eyes of the wicked will fail,
And [ar]there will (DY)be no escape for them;
And their (DZ)hope is [as](EA)to breathe their last.”
The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection
15 Now (A)I make known to you, brethren, the (B)gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, (C)in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, (D)if you hold fast [a]the word which I preached to you, (E)unless you believed in vain.
3 For (F)I delivered to you [b]as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died (G)for our sins (H)according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was (I)raised on the third day (J)according to the Scriptures, 5 and that (K)He appeared to (L)Cephas, then (M)to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some (N)have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to [c](O)James, then to (P)all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as [d]to one untimely born, (Q)He appeared to me also. 9 For I am (R)the least of the apostles, [e]and not fit to be called an apostle, because I (S)persecuted the church of God. 10 But by (T)the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I (U)labored even more than all of them, yet (V)not I, but the grace of God with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there (W)is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and (X)if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified [f]against God that He (Y)raised [g]Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; (Z)you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who (AA)have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are (AB)of all men most to be pitied.
The Order of Resurrection
20 But now Christ (AC)has been raised from the dead, the (AD)first fruits of those who (AE)are asleep. 21 For since (AF)by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For (AG)as in Adam all die, so also in [h]Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ (AH)the first fruits, after that (AI)those who are Christ’s at (AJ)His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He hands over (AK)the kingdom to the (AL)God and Father, when He has abolished (AM)all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign (AN)until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be (AO)abolished is death. 27 For (AP)He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “(AQ)All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 When (AR)all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that (AS)God may be all in all.
Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.
A Psalm of David, for a memorial.
38 O Lord, (A)rebuke me not in Your wrath,
And chasten me not in Your burning anger.
2 For Your (B)arrows have sunk deep into me,
And (C)Your hand has pressed down on me.
3 There is (D)no soundness in my flesh (E)because of Your indignation;
There is no health (F)in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my (G)iniquities are gone over my head;
As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
5 My [a]wounds grow foul and fester
Because of (H)my folly.
6 I am bent over and (I)greatly bowed down;
I (J)go mourning all day long.
7 For my loins are filled with (K)burning,
And there is (L)no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am (M)benumbed and [b]badly crushed;
I [c](N)groan because of the [d]agitation of my heart.
9 Lord, all (O)my desire is [e]before You;
And my (P)sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, (Q)my strength fails me;
And the (R)light of my eyes, even [f]that [g]has gone from me.
11 My [h](S)loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;
And my kinsmen (T)stand afar off.
12 Those who (U)seek my life (V)lay snares for me;
And those who (W)seek to injure me have [i]threatened destruction,
And they (X)devise treachery all day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;
And I am like a (Y)mute man who does not open his mouth.
14 Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,
And in whose mouth are no arguments.
15 For (Z)I [j]hope in You, O Lord;
You (AA)will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, (AB)would magnify themselves against me.”
17 For I am (AC)ready to fall,
And (AD)my [k]sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I [l](AE)confess my iniquity;
I am full of (AF)anxiety because of my sin.
19 But my (AG)enemies are vigorous and [m]strong,
And many are those who (AH)hate me wrongfully.
20 And those who (AI)repay evil for good,
They (AJ)oppose me, because I follow what is good.
21 Do not forsake me, O Lord;
O my God, (AK)do not be far from me!
22 Make (AL)haste to help me,
O Lord, (AM)my salvation!
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.