God Is Just

“Call now, is there anyone who will answer you?
And to which of the (A)holy ones will you turn?
For (B)irritation kills the fool,
And jealousy brings death to the simple.
I have seen the (C)fool taking root,
And I (D)cursed his home immediately.
His (E)sons are far from safety,
They are also [a]oppressed at the gate,
And there is no one to save them.
[b]The hungry devour his harvest
And take it to a place of thorns,
And the [c](F)schemer is eager for their wealth.
For (G)disaster does not come from the dust,
Nor does trouble sprout from the ground,
For (H)man is born for trouble,
As sparks fly upward.

“But as for me, I would (I)seek God,
And I would make my plea before God,
Who (J)does great and unsearchable things,
[d]Wonders without number.
10 He (K)gives rain on the earth,
And sends water on the fields,
11 So that (L)He sets on high those who are lowly,
And those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12 He (M)frustrates the schemes of the shrewd,
So that their hands cannot attain success.
13 He (N)captures the wise by their own cleverness,
And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.
14 By day they (O)meet with darkness,
And grope at noon as in the night.
15 But He saves from (P)the sword of their mouth,
And (Q)the poor from the hand of the strong.
16 So the helpless has hope,
And (R)injustice has shut its mouth.

17 “Behold, (S)happy is the person whom God disciplines,
So do not reject the (T)discipline of [e]the Almighty.
18 For (U)He inflicts pain, and [f]gives relief;
He wounds, but His hands also heal.
19 In six troubles (V)He will save you;
Even in seven, (W)evil will not touch you.
20 In (X)famine He will redeem you from death,
And (Y)in war, from the power of the sword.
21 You will be (Z)hidden [g]from the scourge of the tongue,
(AA)And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.
22 You will (AB)laugh at violence and hunger,
(AC)And you will not be afraid of [h]wild animals.
23 For you will be in league with the stones of the field,
And (AD)the animals of the field will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your (AE)tent is secure,
For you will visit your home and [i]have nothing missing.
25 You will also know that your [j](AF)descendants will be many,
And (AG)your offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 You will (AH)come to the grave at a ripe age,
Like the stacking of grain in its season.
27 Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is.
Hear it, and know for yourself.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 5:4 Lit crushed
  2. Job 5:5 Lit Whose harvest the hungry devour
  3. Job 5:5 Ancient versions thirsty
  4. Job 5:9 Or Miracles
  5. Job 5:17 Heb Shaddai, and so throughout ch 6
  6. Job 5:18 Lit binds
  7. Job 5:21 Lit at
  8. Job 5:22 Lit animals of the earth
  9. Job 5:24 Lit not miss
  10. Job 5:25 Lit seed

Faith and Works

14 (A)What use is it, (B)my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can [a]that faith save him? 15 (C)If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “(D)Go in peace, [b]be warmed and be filled,” yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 In the same way, (E)faith also, if it has no works, is [c]dead, being by itself.

18 (F)But someone [d]may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your (G)faith without the works, and I will (H)show you my faith (I)by my works.” 19 You believe that [e](J)God is one. (K)You do well; (L)the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to acknowledge, (M)you foolish person, that (N)faith without works is useless? 21 (O)Was our father Abraham not justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that (P)faith was working with his works, and [f]as a result of the (Q)works, faith was [g]perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “(R)And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a (S)friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was (T)Rahab the prostitute not justified by works also (U)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also (V)faith without works is dead.

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Footnotes

  1. James 2:14 Lit the
  2. James 2:16 Or warm yourselves and fill yourselves
  3. James 2:17 Or dead by its own standards
  4. James 2:18 Lit will
  5. James 2:19 One early ms there is one God
  6. James 2:22 Or by the deeds
  7. James 2:22 Or completed

Job’s Friends Are No Help

Then Job responded,

(A)Oh if only my grief were actually weighed
And laid in the balances together with my disaster!
For then it would be (B)heavier than the sand of the seas;
For that reason my words have been rash.
For the (C)arrows of the Almighty are within me,
[a]My spirit drinks their (D)poison;
The (E)terrors of God line up against me.
Does the (F)wild donkey bray over his grass,
Or does the ox low over his feed?
Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,
Or is there any taste in the [b]juice of an alkanet plant?
My soul (G)refuses to touch them;
They are like loathsome food to me.

“Oh, that my request might come to pass,
And that God would grant my hope!
Oh, that God would (H)decide to crush me,
That He would let loose His hand and cut me off!
10 But it is still my comfort,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I (I)have not [c]denied the words of the Holy One.
11 What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should [d](J)endure?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones,
Or is my flesh bronze?
13 Is it that my (K)help is not within me,
And that a (L)good outcome is driven away from me?

14 “For the (M)despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not (N)abandon the [e]fear of the Almighty.
15 My brothers have acted (O)deceitfully like a [f]wadi,
Like the torrents of [g]wadis which drain away,
16 Which are darkened because of ice,
And into which the snow [h]melts.
17 When (P)they dry up, they vanish;
When it is hot, they disappear from their place.
18 The [i]paths of their course wind along,
They go up into wasteland and perish.
19 The caravans of (Q)Tema looked,
The travelers of (R)Sheba hoped for them.
20 They (S)were put to shame, for they had trusted,
They came there and were humiliated.
21 Indeed, you have now become such,
(T)You see terrors and are afraid.
22 Have I said, ‘Give me something,’
Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’
23 Or, ‘Save me from the hand of the enemy,’
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

24 “Teach me, and (U)I will be silent;
And show me how I have done wrong.
25 How painful are honest words!
But what does your argument prove?
26 Do you intend to rebuke my words,
When the (V)words of one in despair belong to the wind?
27 You would even (W)cast lots for (X)the orphans,
And (Y)barter over your friend.
28 Now please look at me,
And see if I am (Z)lying to your face.
29 Please turn away, let there be no injustice;
Turn away, (AA)my righteousness is still in it.
30 Is there injustice on my tongue?
Does (AB)my palate not discern disasters?

Footnotes

  1. Job 6:4 Lit Whose poison my spirit drinks
  2. Job 6:6 Heb hallamuth, meaning uncertain
  3. Job 6:10 Lit hidden
  4. Job 6:11 Lit prolong my soul
  5. Job 6:14 Or reverence for
  6. Job 6:15 I.e., dry stream bed(s), except in the rainy season
  7. Job 6:15 I.e., dry stream bed(s), except in the rainy season
  8. Job 6:16 Lit hides itself
  9. Job 6:18 Or caravans turn from their course, they go up into the waste and perish

The Paralyzed Man Healed

When Jesus came back to Capernaum a few days later, it was heard that He was at home. And (A)many were gathered together, so that there was no longer space, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them. (B)And some people *came, bringing to Him a man who was (C)paralyzed, carried by four men. And when they were unable to [a]get to Him because of the crowd, they (D)removed the roof [b]above Him; and after digging an opening, they let down the pallet on which the (E)paralyzed man was lying. And Jesus, seeing their faith, *said to the paralyzed man, “Son, (F)your sins are forgiven.” But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking it over in their hearts, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming! (G)Who can forgive sins except God alone?” Immediately Jesus, aware [c]in His spirit that they were thinking that way within themselves, *said to them, “Why are you thinking about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the (H)paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven’; or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? 10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He *said to the paralyzed man, 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet, and go home.” 12 And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and (I)were glorifying God, saying, “(J)We have never seen anything like this!”

13 And He went out again by the seashore; and (K)all the [d]people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.

Levi (Matthew) Called

14 (L)As He passed by, He saw [e](M)Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting in the tax office, and He *said to him, (N)Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

15 And it *happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and [f]sinners were [g]dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. 16 When (O)the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the [h]sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “(P)Why is He eating with tax collectors and [i]sinners?” 17 And hearing this, Jesus *said to them, (Q)It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

18 (R)John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and they *came and *said to Him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “While the groom is with them, [j]the attendants of the groom cannot fast, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. 20 But the (S)days will come when the groom is taken away from them, and then they will fast, on that day.

21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, [k]the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 2:4 Lit bring to
  2. Mark 2:4 Lit where He was
  3. Mark 2:8 Lit by
  4. Mark 2:13 Lit crowd
  5. Mark 2:14 Also called Matthew
  6. Mark 2:15 I.e., irreligious Jews
  7. Mark 2:15 Lit reclining with
  8. Mark 2:16 I.e., irreligious Jews
  9. Mark 2:16 I.e., irreligious Jews
  10. Mark 2:19 Lit sons of the bridal chamber
  11. Mark 2:21 Lit that which fills up

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