Job’s Past Was Glorious

29 Job again took up his ^(A)discourse and said,

Job’s Present State Is Humiliating

The Appearance of False Prophets

2 But ^(A)false prophets also appeared among the people, just as there will also be ^(B)false teachers ^(C)among you, who will ^(D)secretly introduce ^(E)destructive heresies, even ^(F)denying the ^(G)Master who ^(H)bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. ² Many will follow their ^(I)indecent behavior, and because of them ^(J)the way of the truth will be ^(K)maligned; ³ and in their ^(L)greed they will ^(M)exploit you with ^(N)false words; ^(O)their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

⁴ For ^(P)if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into ^[a]hell and ^(Q)committed them to ^[b]pits of darkness, held for judgment; ⁵ and did not spare ^(R)the ancient world, but protected ^(S)Noah, a ^[c]preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a ^(T)flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ and if He ^(U)condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an ^(V)example ^[d]of what is coming for the ^(W)ungodly; ⁷ and if He ^(X)rescued righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the ^(Y)perverted conduct of ^[e](Z)unscrupulous people ⁸ (for by what he saw and heard that ^(AA)righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), ^9 (AB)then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from ^[f]a trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the ^(AC)day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially those who ^[g](AD)indulge the flesh in its corrupt passion, and ^(AE)despise ^[h]authority.

^[i]Reckless, ^(AF)self-centered, they ^(AG)speak abusively of angelic ^[j]majesties without trembling, ^11 (AH)whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a demeaning judgment against them before the Lord. ¹² But ^(AI)these, like unreasoning animals, ^(AJ)born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, using abusive speech where they have no knowledge, will in ^[k]the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, ¹³ suffering wrong as ^(AK)the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to ^(AL)revel in the ^(AM)daytime. They are stains and blemishes, ^(AN)reveling in their ^[l]deceptions as they ^(AO)feast with you, ¹⁴ having eyes full of adultery ^[m]that never cease from sin, ^(AP)enticing ^(AQ)unstable souls, having hearts trained in ^(AR)greed, ^(AS)accursed children; ¹⁵ abandoning ^(AT)the right way, they have gone astray, having followed ^(AU)the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved ^(AV)the ^[n]reward of unrighteousness; ¹⁶ but he received a rebuke for his own offense, ^(AW)for a mute donkey, speaking with a human voice, restrained the insanity of the prophet.

¹⁷ These are ^(AX)springs without water and mists driven by a storm, ^(AY)for whom the ^[o]black darkness has been reserved. ¹⁸ For, while speaking out ^(AZ)arrogant words of no ^(BA)value they ^(BB)entice by fleshly desires, by ^(BC)indecent behavior, those who barely ^(BD)escape from the ones who live in error, ¹⁹ promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for ^(BE)by what anyone is overcome, by this he is enslaved. ²⁰ For if, after they have ^(BF)escaped the defilements of the world by ^(BG)the knowledge of the ^(BH)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again ^(BI)entangled in them and are overcome, ^(BJ)the last state has become worse for them than the first. ^21 (BK)For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from ^(BL)the holy commandment ^(BM)handed on to them. ^22 [p]It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “^(BN)A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”

The words of Job are ended.

^2 (A)And six days later Jesus *took with Him ^(B)Peter, ^[a]James, and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was ^[b]transfigured before them; ³ and ^(C)His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. ⁴ And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Peter responded and *said to Jesus, “^(D)Rabbi, it is good that we are here; ^(E)let’s make three ^[c]tabernacles, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ For he did not know how to reply; for they became terrified. ⁷ Then a cloud ^[d]formed, overshadowing them, and ^(F)a voice ^[e]came out of the cloud: “^(G)This is My beloved Son; ^[f]listen to Him!” ⁸ And suddenly they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.

^9 (H)As they were coming down from the mountain, He ^(I)gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, ^[g]until the Son of Man rose from the dead. ¹⁰ They ^[h]seized upon ^[i]that statement, discussing with one another ^[j]what rising from the dead meant. ¹¹ And they asked Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that ^(J)Elijah must come first?” ¹² And He said to them, “Elijah does come first and he restores all things. And yet how is it written of ^(K)the Son of Man that ^(L)He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? ¹³ But I say to you that Elijah has ^[k]indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written of him.”

All Things Possible

^14 (M)And when they came back to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵ Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were ^(N)amazed and began running up to greet Him. ¹⁶ And He asked them, “What are you disputing with them?” ¹⁷ And one person from the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, because he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak; ¹⁸ and ^[l]whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes stiff. And I told Your disciples so that they would cast it out, but they could not do it.” ¹⁹ And He answered them and *said, “O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!” ²⁰ And they brought ^[m]the boy to Him. When he saw Him, the spirit immediately threw him into convulsions, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. ²¹ And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ²² It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” ²³ But Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ ^(O)All things are possible for the one who believes.” ²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” ²⁵ When Jesus saw that ^(P)a crowd was ^[n]rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I ^[o]command you, come out of him and do not enter him ^[p]again!” ²⁶ And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him, and he got up. ²⁸ When He came ^(Q)into the house, His disciples began asking Him privately, “Why is it that we could not cast it out?” ²⁹ And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything except prayer.”