Job 11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Zophar Speaks: Job’s Guilt Deserves Punishment
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 “Should a multitude of words go unanswered,
and should one full of talk be vindicated?(A)
3 Should your babble put others to silence,
and when you mock, shall no one shame you?(B)
4 For you say, ‘My conduct[a] is pure,
and I am clean in God’s[b] sight.’(C)
5 But O that God would speak
and open his lips to you
6 and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!
For wisdom is many-sided.[c]
Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.(D)
7 “Can you find out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?[d](E)
8 It is higher than heaven[e]—what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?(F)
9 Its measure is longer than the earth
and broader than the sea.
10 If he passes through and imprisons
and assembles for judgment, who can hinder him?(G)
11 For he knows those who are worthless;
when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?(H)
12 But the stupid will get understanding
when a wild ass is born human.[f]
13 “If you direct your heart rightly,
you will stretch out your hands toward him.(I)
14 If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,
and do not let wickedness reside in your tents.(J)
15 Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish;
you will be secure and will not fear.(K)
16 You will forget your misery;
you will remember it as waters that have passed away.(L)
17 And your life will be brighter than the noonday;
its darkness will be like the morning.(M)
18 And you will have confidence because there is hope;
you will be protected[g] and take your rest in safety.(N)
19 You will lie down, and no one will make you afraid;
many will entreat your favor.
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail;
all way of escape will be lost to them,
and their hope is to breathe their last.”(O)
James 5
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Warning to Rich Oppressors
5 Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. 2 Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten.(A) 3 Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure[a] during the last days. 4 Listen! The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.(B) 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.(C) 6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous one, who does not resist you.
Patience in Suffering
7 Be patient, therefore, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.(D) 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.[b](E) 9 Brothers and sisters, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors!(F) 10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Indeed, we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about, for the Lord is compassionate and merciful.(G)
12 Above all, brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.[c]
The Prayer of Faith
13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.(H) 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.(I) 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up, and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.(J) 17 Elijah was a human like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.(K) 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth yielded its harvest.(L)
19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth[d] and is brought back by another, 20 you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s[e] soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.(M)
Job 12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Job Replies: I Am a Laughingstock
12 Then Job answered:
2 “No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.
3 But I have understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as these?
4 I am a laughingstock to my friends;
I, who called upon God and he answered me,
a just and blameless man, I am a laughingstock.(A)
5 Those at ease have contempt for misfortune,[a]
but it is ready for those whose feet are unstable.(B)
6 The tents of robbers are at peace,
and those who provoke God are secure,
who bring their god in their hands.[b](C)
7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
8 ask the plants of the earth,[c] and they will teach you,
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?(D)
10 In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of every human being.(E)
11 Does not the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?(F)
12 Is wisdom with the aged
and understanding in length of days?(G)
13 “With God[d] are wisdom and strength;
he has counsel and understanding.(H)
14 If he tears down, no one can rebuild;
if he shuts someone in, no one can open up.(I)
15 If he withholds the waters, they dry up;
if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.(J)
16 With him are strength and wisdom;
the deceived and the deceiver are his.(K)
17 He leads counselors away stripped
and makes fools of judges.(L)
18 He looses the sash of kings
and binds a waistcloth on their loins.(M)
19 He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows the mighty.
20 He deprives of speech those who are trusted
and takes away the discernment of the elders.(N)
21 He pours contempt on princes
and looses the belt of the strong.(O)
22 He uncovers deep things from the darkness
and brings deep darkness to light.(P)
23 He makes nations great, then destroys them;
he enlarges nations, then leads them away.(Q)
24 He strips understanding from the leaders[e] of the earth
and makes them wander in a pathless waste.(R)
25 They grope in the dark without light;
he makes them stagger like a drunkard.(S)
Mark 4:1-34
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Parable of the Sower
4 Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.(A) 2 He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:(B) 3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on a path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”(C) 9 And he said, “If you have ears to hear, then hear!”(D)
The Purpose of the Parables
10 When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret[a] of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything comes in parables,(E) 12 in order that
‘they may indeed look but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’ ”(F)
13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.(G) 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. 17 But they have no root and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.[b] 18 And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the age and the lure of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. 20 And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
A Lamp under a Bushel Basket
21 He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket or under the bed and not on the lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.(H) 23 If you have ears to hear, then hear!”(I) 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and it will be added to you.(J) 25 For to those who have, more will be given, and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”(K)
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground(L) 27 and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. 28 The earth produces of itself first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle because the harvest has come.”(M)
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?(N) 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
The Use of Parables
33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it;(O) 34 he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.(P)
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