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Job Says Friends Are Sorry Comforters
16 Then Job [a]answered,
2 “I have heard many such things;
[b](A)Sorry comforters are you all.
3 “Is there no limit to (B)windy words?
Or what plagues you that you answer?
4 “I too could speak like you,
If [c]I were in your place.
I could compose words against you
And (C)shake my head at you.
5 “I could strengthen you with my mouth,
And the solace of my lips could lessen your pain.
Job Says God Shattered Him
6 “If I speak, (D)my pain is not lessened,
And if I hold back, what has left me?
7 “But now He has (E)exhausted me;
You have laid (F)waste all my company.
8 “You have shriveled me up,
(G)It has become a witness;
And my (H)leanness rises up against me,
It testifies to my face.
9 “His anger has (I)torn me and [d]hunted me down,
He has (J)gnashed at me with His teeth;
My (K)adversary [e]glares at me.
10 “They have (L)gaped at me with their mouth,
They have [f](M)slapped me on the cheek with contempt;
They have (N)massed themselves against me.
11 “God hands me over to ruffians
And tosses me into the hands of the wicked.
12 “I was at ease, but (O)He shattered me,
And He has grasped me by the neck and shaken me to pieces;
He has also set me up as His (P)target.
13 “His (Q)arrows surround me.
Without mercy He splits my kidneys open;
He pours out (R)my gall on the ground.
14 “He (S)breaks through me with breach after breach;
He (T)runs at me like a warrior.
15 “I have sewed (U)sackcloth over my skin
And (V)thrust my horn in the dust.
16 “My face is flushed from (W)weeping,
(X)And deep darkness is on my eyelids,
17 Although there is no (Y)violence in my hands,
And (Z)my prayer is pure.
18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let there be no resting place for my cry.
19 “Even now, behold, (AA)my witness is in heaven,
And my [g]advocate is (AB)on high.
20 “My friends are my scoffers;
(AC)My eye [h]weeps to God.
21 “O that a man might plead with God
As a man with his neighbor!
22 “For when a few years are past,
I shall go the way (AD)of no return.
Job Says He Has Become a Byword
17 “My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished,
The [i](AE)grave is ready for me.
2 “(AF)Surely mockers are with me,
And my eye [j]gazes on their provocation.
3 “Lay down, now, a pledge (AG)for me with Yourself;
Who is there that will [k]be my guarantor?
4 “For You have [l](AH)kept their heart from understanding,
Therefore You will not exalt them.
5 “He who (AI)informs against friends for a share of the spoil,
The (AJ)eyes of his children also will languish.
6 “But He has made me a (AK)byword of the people,
And I am [m]one at whom men (AL)spit.
7 “My eye has also grown (AM)dim because of grief,
And all my (AN)members are as a shadow.
8 “The upright will be appalled at this,
And the (AO)innocent will stir up himself against the godless.
9 “Nevertheless (AP)the righteous will hold to his way,
And (AQ)he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.
10 “But come again all of [n]you now,
For I (AR)do not find a wise man among you.
11 “My (AS)days are past, my plans are torn apart,
Even the wishes of my heart.
12 “They make night into day, saying,
‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.
13 “If I look for (AT)Sheol as my home,
I [o]make my bed in the darkness;
14 If I call to the (AU)pit, ‘You are my father’;
To the (AV)worm, ‘my mother and my sister’;
15 Where now is (AW)my hope?
And who regards my hope?
16 “[p]Will it go down with me to Sheol?
Shall we together (AX)go down into the dust?”
Bildad Speaks of the Wicked
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite [q]responded,
2 “How long will you hunt for words?
Show understanding and then we can talk.
3 “Why are we (AY)regarded as beasts,
As stupid in your eyes?
4 “O [r]you who tear yourself in your anger—
For your sake is the earth to be abandoned,
Or the rock to be moved from its place?
5 “Indeed, the (AZ)light of the wicked goes out,
And the [s]flame of his fire gives no light.
6 “The light in his tent is (BA)darkened,
And his lamp goes out above him.
7 “His [t]vigorous stride is shortened,
And his (BB)own scheme brings him down.
8 “For he is (BC)thrown into the net by his own feet,
And he steps on the webbing.
9 “A snare seizes him by the heel,
And a trap snaps shut on him.
10 “A noose for him is hidden in the ground,
And a trap for him on the path.
11 “All around (BD)terrors frighten him,
And (BE)harry him at every step.
12 “His strength is (BF)famished,
And calamity is ready at his side.
13 “[u]His skin is devoured by disease,
The firstborn of death (BG)devours his [v]limbs.
14 “He is (BH)torn from [w]the security of his tent,
And [x]they march him before the king of (BI)terrors.
15 “[y]There dwells in his tent nothing of his;
(BJ)Brimstone is scattered on his habitation.
16 “His (BK)roots are dried below,
And his (BL)branch is cut off above.
17 “(BM)Memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name abroad.
18 “[z]He is driven from light (BN)into darkness,
And (BO)chased from the inhabited world.
19 “He has no (BP)offspring or posterity among his people,
Nor any survivor where he sojourned.
20 “Those [aa]in the west are appalled at (BQ)his [ab]fate,
And those [ac]in the east are seized with horror.
21 “Surely such are the (BR)dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who does not know God.”
Job Feels Insulted
19 Then Job [ad]responded,
2 “How long will you torment [ae]me
And crush me with words?
3 “These ten times you have insulted me;
You are not ashamed to wrong me.
4 “Even if I have truly erred,
My error lodges with me.
5 “If indeed you (BS)vaunt yourselves against me
And prove my disgrace to me,
6 Know then that (BT)God has wronged me
And has closed (BU)His net around me.
Everything Is against Him
7 “Behold, (BV)I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer;
I shout for help, but there is no justice.
8 “He has (BW)walled up my way so that I cannot pass,
And He has put (BX)darkness on my paths.
9 “He has (BY)stripped my honor from me
And removed the (BZ)crown from my head.
10 “He (CA)breaks me down on every side, and I am gone;
And He has uprooted my (CB)hope (CC)like a tree.
11 “He has also (CD)kindled His anger against me
And (CE)considered me as His enemy.
12 “His (CF)troops come together,
And (CG)build up their [af]way against me
And camp around my tent.
13 “He has (CH)removed my brothers far from me,
And my (CI)acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
14 “My relatives have failed,
And my (CJ)intimate friends have forgotten me.
15 “Those who live in my house and my maids consider me a stranger.
I am a foreigner in their sight.
16 “I call to my servant, but he does not answer;
I have to implore him with my mouth.
17 “My breath is [ag]offensive to my wife,
And I am loathsome to my own brothers.
18 “Even young children despise me;
I rise up and they speak against me.
19 “All [ah]my (CK)associates abhor me,
And those I love have turned against me.
20 “My (CL)bone clings to my skin and my flesh,
And I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.
21 “Pity me, pity me, O you my friends,
For the (CM)hand of God has struck me.
22 “Why do you (CN)persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?
Job Says, “My Redeemer Lives”
23 “Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were (CO)inscribed in a book!
24 “That with an iron stylus and lead
They were engraved in the rock forever!
25 “As for me, I know that (CP)my [ai]Redeemer lives,
And [aj]at the last He will take His stand on the [ak]earth.
26 “Even after my skin [al]is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall (CQ)see God;
27 Whom I [am]myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My [an]heart (CR)faints [ao]within me!
28 “If you say, ‘How shall we (CS)persecute him?’
And ‘[ap]What pretext for a case against him can we find?’
29 “Then be afraid of (CT)the sword for yourselves,
For wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
So that you may know (CU)there is judgment.”
Instructions and Greetings
16 Now concerning (A)the collection for (B)the saints, as (C)I directed the churches of (D)Galatia, so do you also. 2 On (E)the first day of every week each one of you is to [a]put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that (F)no collections be made when I come. 3 When I arrive, (G)whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem; 4 and if it is fitting for me to go also, they will go with me.
5 But I (H)will come to you after I go through (I)Macedonia, for I (J)am going through Macedonia; 6 and perhaps I will stay with you, or even spend the winter, so that you may (K)send me on my way wherever I may go. 7 For I do not wish to see you now (L)just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, (M)if the Lord permits. 8 But I will remain in (N)Ephesus until (O)Pentecost; 9 for a (P)wide door [b]for effective service has opened to me, and (Q)there are many adversaries.
10 Now if (R)Timothy comes, see that he is with you without [c]cause to be afraid, for he is doing (S)the Lord’s work, as I also am. 11 (T)So let no one despise him. But (U)send him on his way (V)in peace, so that he may come to me; for I expect him with the brethren.
12 But concerning (W)Apollos our brother, I encouraged him greatly to come to you with the brethren; and it was not at all his desire to come now, but he will come when he has opportunity.
13 (X)Be on the alert, (Y)stand firm in the faith, (Z)act like men, (AA)be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done (AB)in love.
15 Now I urge you, brethren (you know the (AC)household of Stephanas, that [d]they were the (AD)first fruits of (AE)Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves for (AF)ministry to (AG)the saints), 16 that (AH)you also be in subjection to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors. 17 I rejoice over the [e](AI)coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have [f]supplied (AJ)what was lacking on your part. 18 For they (AK)have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore (AL)acknowledge such men.
19 The churches of (AM)Asia greet you. (AN)Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with (AO)the church that is in their house. 20 All the brethren greet you. (AP)Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21 The greeting is in (AQ)my own hand—[g]Paul. 22 If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be [h](AR)accursed. [i](AS)Maranatha. 23 (AT)The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
God Sustains His Servant.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
40 I (A)waited [a]patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and (B)heard my cry.
2 He brought me up out of the (C)pit of destruction, out of the [b]miry clay,
And (D)He set my feet upon a rock (E)making my footsteps firm.
3 He put a (F)new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will (G)see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.
4 How (H)blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And (I)has not [c]turned to the proud, nor to those who (J)lapse into falsehood.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are (K)the wonders which You have done,
And Your (L)thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They (M)would be too numerous to count.
6 [d](N)Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired;
My ears You have [e]opened;
Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is [f]written of me.
8 (O)I delight to do Your will, O my God;
(P)Your Law is within my heart.”
9 I have (Q)proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will (R)not restrain my lips,
O Lord, (S)You know.
10 I have (T)not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have (U)spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.
On Life and Conduct
22 A (A)good name is to be more desired than great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.