Job 24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Job Complains of Violence on the Earth
24 “Why are times not kept by the Almighty,[a]
and why do those who know him never see his days?(A)
2 The wicked[b] remove landmarks;
they seize flocks and pasture them.(B)
3 They drive away the donkey of the orphan;
they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.(C)
4 They thrust the needy off the road;
the poor of the earth all hide themselves.(D)
5 Like wild asses in the desert
they go out to their toil,
scavenging in the wasteland
food for their young.(E)
6 They reap in a field not their own,
and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They lie all night naked, without clothing,
and have no covering in the cold.(F)
8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains
and cling to the rock for want of shelter.(G)
9 “There are those who snatch the orphan child from the breast
and take as a pledge the infant of the poor.(H)
10 They go about naked, without clothing;
though hungry, they carry the sheaves;
11 between their terraces[c] they press out oil;
they tread the winepresses but suffer thirst.
12 From the city the dying groan,
and the throat of the wounded cries for help;
yet God pays no attention to their prayer.(I)
13 “There are those who rebel against the light,
who are not acquainted with its ways
and do not stay in its paths.(J)
14 The murderer rises at dusk
to kill the poor and needy
and in the night is like a thief.(K)
15 The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight,
saying, ‘No eye will see me,’
and he disguises his face.(L)
16 In the dark they dig through houses;
by day they shut themselves up;
they do not know the light.(M)
17 For deep darkness is morning to all of them;
for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.(N)
18 “Swift are they on the face of the waters;
their portion in the land is cursed;
no treader turns toward their vineyards.(O)
19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;
so does Sheol those who have sinned.(P)
20 The womb forgets them;
the worm finds them sweet;
they are no longer remembered,
so wickedness is broken like a tree.(Q)
21 “They harm[d] the childless woman
and do no good to the widow.(R)
22 Yet God[e] prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;
they rise up when they despair of life.(S)
23 He gives them security, and they are supported;
his eyes are upon their ways.(T)
24 They are exalted a little while and then are gone;
they wither and fade like the mallow;[f]
they are cut off like the heads of grain.(U)
25 If it is not so, who will prove me a liar
and show that there is nothing in what I say?”
1 Peter 5
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Tending the Flock of God
5 Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you(A) 2 to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight,[a] not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it,[b] not for sordid gain but eagerly.(B) 3 Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock.(C) 4 And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away.(D) 5 In the same way, you who are younger must be subject to the elders.[c] And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”(E)
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.(F) 8 Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.(G) 9 Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.(H) 10 And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ,[d] will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.(I) 11 To him be the power[e] forever and ever. Amen.
Final Greetings and Benediction
12 Through Silvanus, whom I consider a faithful brother, I have written this short letter to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.(J) 13 Your sister church[f] in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ.[g](K)
Footnotes
- 5.2 Other ancient authorities lack exercising the oversight
- 5.2 Or in a godly manner; other ancient authorities lack as God would have you do it
- 5.5 Or of those who are older
- 5.10 Other ancient authorities read Christ Jesus
- 5.11 Other ancient authorities read glory and power
- 5.13 Gk She who is
- 5.14 Other ancient authorities add Jesus or Amen or Jesus. Amen
Job 25-26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Bildad Speaks: How Can a Mortal Be Righteous before God?
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “Dominion and fear are with God;[a]
he makes peace in his high heaven.(A)
3 Is there any number to his armies?
Upon whom does his light not arise?(B)
4 How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?(C)
5 If even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his sight,(D)
6 how much less a mortal, who is a maggot,
and a human being, who is a worm!”(E)
Job Replies: God’s Majesty Is Unsearchable
26 Then Job answered:
2 “How you have helped one who has no power!
How you have assisted the arm that has no strength!(F)
3 How you have counseled one who has no wisdom
and given much good advice!
4 With whose help have you uttered words,
and whose spirit has come forth from you?
5 The shades below tremble,
the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is naked before God,
and Abaddon has no covering.(G)
7 He stretches out Zaphon[b] over the void
and hangs the earth upon nothing.(H)
8 He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,
and the cloud is not torn open by them.(I)
9 He covers the face of the full moon
and spreads over it his cloud.(J)
10 He has described a circle on the face of the waters,
at the boundary between light and darkness.(K)
11 The pillars of heaven tremble
and are astounded at his rebuke.
12 By his power he stilled the Sea;
by his understanding he struck down Rahab.(L)
13 By his wind the heavens were made fair;
his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.(M)
14 These are indeed but the outskirts of his ways,
and how small a whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?”(N)
Mark 7:24-8:10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
24 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre.[a] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir,[b] even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And when she went home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.
Jesus Cures a Deaf Man
31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went by way of Sidon toward the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.(A) 33 He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.(B) 34 Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”(C) 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.(D) 36 Then Jesus[c] ordered them to tell no one, but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.(E) 37 They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
Feeding the Four Thousand
8 In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them, 2 “I have compassion for the crowd because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.(F) 3 If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance.” 4 His disciples replied, “How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?” 5 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.”(G) 6 Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. 7 They had also a few small fish, and after blessing them he ordered that these, too, should be distributed.(H) 8 They ate and were filled, and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.[d]
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.