Job 8

New International Version

Bildad

8 Then Bildad the Shuhite^(A) replied:

²“How long will you say such things?^(B)
    Your words are a blustering wind.^(C)
³Does God pervert justice?^(D)
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?^(E)
⁴When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.^(F)
⁵But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead^(G) with the Almighty,^(H)
⁶if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf^(I)
    and restore you to your prosperous state.^(J)
⁷Your beginnings will seem humble,
    so prosperous^(K) will your future be.^(L)

⁸“Ask the former generation^(M)
    and find out what their ancestors learned,
⁹for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,^(N)
    and our days on earth are but a shadow.^(O)
¹⁰Will they not instruct^(P) you and tell you?
    Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?^(Q)
¹¹Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?^(R)
    Can reeds^(S) thrive without water?
¹²While still growing and uncut,
    they wither more quickly than grass.^(T)
¹³Such is the destiny^(U) of all who forget God;^(V)
    so perishes the hope of the godless.^(W)
¹⁴What they trust in is fragile^[a];
    what they rely on is a spider’s web.^(X)
¹⁵They lean on the web,^(Y) but it gives way;
    they cling to it, but it does not hold.^(Z)
¹⁶They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
    spreading its shoots^(AA) over the garden;^(AB)
¹⁷it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
    and looks for a place among the stones.
¹⁸But when it is torn from its spot,
    that place disowns^(AC) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’^(AD)
¹⁹Surely its life withers^(AE) away,
    and^[b] from the soil other plants grow.^(AF)

²⁰“Surely God does not reject one who is blameless^(AG)
    or strengthen the hands of evildoers.^(AH)
²¹He will yet fill your mouth with laughter^(AI)
    and your lips with shouts of joy.^(AJ)
²²Your enemies will be clothed in shame,^(AK)
    and the tents^(AL) of the wicked will be no more.”^(AM)

Footnotes

Job 8:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Job 8:19 Or Surely all the joy it has / is that

Psalm 95:1-5

New International Version

Psalm 95

¹Come,^(A) let us sing for joy^(B) to the Lord;
let us shout aloud^(C) to the Rock^(D) of our salvation.
²Let us come before him^(E) with thanksgiving^(F)
and extol him with music^(G) and song.

³For the Lord is the great God,^(H)
    the great King^(I) above all gods.^(J)
⁴In his hand are the depths of the earth,^(K)
    and the mountain peaks belong to him.
⁵The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.^(L)

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Romans 11:1-10

New International Version

The Remnant of Israel

11 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means!^(A) I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham,^(B) from the tribe of Benjamin.^(C) ²God did not reject his people,^(D) whom he foreknew.^(E) Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: ³“Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”^[a]?^(F) ⁴And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”^[b]^(G) ⁵So too, at the present time there is a remnant^(H) chosen by grace.^(I) ⁶And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works;^(J) if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

⁷What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain.^(K) The elect among them did, but the others were hardened,^(L) ⁸as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that could not see
and ears that could not hear,^(M)
to this very day.”^[c]^(N)

⁹And David says:

“May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
¹⁰May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,^(O)
and their backs be bent forever.”^[d]^(P)