Job 29:1-30
English Standard Version
Job's Summary Defense
29 And Job again (A)took up his discourse, and said:
2 “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his (B)lamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,
4 as I was in my prime,[a]
when the (C)friendship of God was upon my tent,
5 when the Almighty was yet with me,
when my (D)children were all around me,
6 when my steps were (E)washed with (F)butter,
and (G)the rock poured out for me streams of (H)oil!
7 When I went out to (I)the gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
9 the princes refrained from talking
and (J)laid their hand on their mouth;
10 the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their (K)tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved,
12 because I (L)delivered the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13 (M)The blessing of him who was (N)about to perish came upon me,
and I caused (O)the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 I (P)put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and (Q)a turban.
15 I was (R)eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I searched out (S)the cause of him whom I did not know.
17 I (T)broke (U)the fangs of the unrighteous
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
18 (V)Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my (W)nest,
and I shall multiply my days as (X)the sand,
19 my (Y)roots spread out to (Z)the waters,
with the dew all night on my (AA)branches,
20 my glory fresh with me,
and my (AB)bow ever (AC)new in my hand.’
21 “Men listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word (AD)dropped upon them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
and they (AE)opened their mouths as for the (AF)spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and (AG)the light of my (AH)face they did not cast down.
25 I chose their way and sat as chief,
and I lived like (AI)a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.
30 “But now they (AJ)laugh at me,
men who are (AK)younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to set with the dogs of my flock.
Footnotes
- Job 29:4 Hebrew my autumn days
2 Peter 2
English Standard Version
False Prophets and Teachers
2 But (A)false prophets also arose among the people, (B)just as there will be false teachers among you, who will (C)secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master (D)who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth (E)will be blasphemed. 3 And (F)in their greed they will exploit you (G)with false words. (H)Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
4 For if God did not spare (I)angels when they sinned, but (J)cast them into hell[a] and committed them to chains[b] of gloomy darkness (K)to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but (L)preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought (M)a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by (N)turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, (O)making them an example of (P)what is going to happen to the ungodly;[c] 7 and (Q)if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, (R)he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then (S)the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,[d] and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, 10 and especially (T)those who indulge[e] in the lust of defiling passion and (U)despise authority.
Bold and willful, they do not tremble (V)as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 11 (W)whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. 12 (X)But these, like irrational animals, (Y)creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, 13 suffering wrong as (Z)the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure (AA)to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions,[f] while (AB)they feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery,[g] (AC)insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts (AD)trained in greed. (AE)Accursed children! 15 Forsaking the right way, (AF)they have gone astray. They have followed (AG)the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved (AH)gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; (AI)a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
17 (AJ)These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. (AK)For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 18 For, (AL)speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely (AM)escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them (AN)freedom, (AO)but they themselves are slaves[h] of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 20 For if, (AP)after they have escaped the defilements of the world (AQ)through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, (AR)the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For (AS)it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from (AT)the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The (AU)dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”
Footnotes
- 2 Peter 2:4 Greek Tartarus
- 2 Peter 2:4 Some manuscripts pits
- 2 Peter 2:6 Some manuscripts an example to those who were to be ungodly
- 2 Peter 2:9 Or temptations
- 2 Peter 2:10 Greek who go after the flesh
- 2 Peter 2:13 Some manuscripts love feasts
- 2 Peter 2:14 Or eyes full of an adulteress
- 2 Peter 2:19 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface
Job 31:13-40
English Standard Version
13 “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
when they brought a complaint against me,
14 what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he (A)makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
15 Did (B)not he who made me in the womb make him?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have (C)withheld anything that the poor desired,
or have (D)caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the fatherless has not eaten of it
18 (for from my youth the fatherless[a] grew up with me as with a father,
and from my mother's womb I guided the widow[b]),
19 if I have seen anyone (E)perish for (F)lack of clothing,
or the needy without (G)covering,
20 if his body has not (H)blessed me,[c]
and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against (I)the fatherless,
because I saw my help in (J)the gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 For I was (K)in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his (L)majesty.
24 (M)“If I have made gold my (N)trust
or called (O)fine gold my confidence,
25 if I have (P)rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
or because (Q)my hand had found much,
26 (R)if I have looked at the sun[d] when it shone,
or (S)the moon moving in splendor,
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
and my mouth has kissed my hand,
28 this also would be (T)an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
for I would have been false to God above.
29 “If I have (U)rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,
or exulted when evil overtook him
30 ((V)I have not let my mouth sin
by asking for his life with a curse),
31 if the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there that has not been filled with his (W)meat?’
32 ((X)the sojourner has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my doors to the traveler),
33 if I (Y)have concealed my transgressions (Z)as others do[e]
by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 because I stood in great fear of (AA)the multitude,
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
35 Oh, that I had one to hear me!
(Here is my signature! Let the Almighty (AB)answer me!)
Oh, that I had (AC)the indictment written by my adversary!
36 Surely I would carry it on my (AD)shoulder;
I would (AE)bind it on me as (AF)a crown;
37 I would give him an account of all my steps;
like a prince I would approach him.
38 “If my land has cried out against me
and its furrows have wept together,
39 (AG)if I have eaten its yield without payment
and made its owners (AH)breathe their last,
40 let (AI)thorns grow instead of wheat,
and foul weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
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Mark 9:2-29
English Standard Version
The Transfiguration
2 (A)And after six days Jesus took with him (B)Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was (C)transfigured before them, 3 and (D)his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one[a] on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, (E)“Rabbi,[b] it is good that we are here. Let us make three (F)tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For (G)he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And (H)a cloud overshadowed them, and (I)a voice came out of the cloud, (J)“This is my beloved Son;[c] (K)listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
9 (L)And as they were coming down the mountain, (M)he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, (N)until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 (O)So they kept the matter to themselves, (P)questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. 11 And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say (Q)that first Elijah must come?” 12 And he said to them, “Elijah does come first (R)to restore all things. And (S)how is it written of the Son of Man that he should (T)suffer many things and (U)be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and (V)they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”
Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit
14 (W)And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, (X)were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has (Y)a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and (Z)they were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O (AA)faithless generation, (AB)how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it (AC)convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But (AD)if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, (AE)“‘If you can’! (AF)All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out[d] and said, “I believe; (AG)help my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that (AH)a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, (AI)“You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and (AJ)convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus (AK)took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had (AL)entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”[e]
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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