Job’s Friends Are No Help

Then Job [a]answered,

(A)Oh that my grief were actually weighed
And laid in the balances together with my calamity!
“For then it would be (B)heavier than the sand of the seas;
Therefore my words have been rash.
“For the (C)arrows of the Almighty are within me,
[b]Their (D)poison my spirit drinks;
The (E)terrors of God are arrayed against me.
“Does the (F)wild donkey bray over his grass,
Or does the ox low over his fodder?
“Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,
Or is there any taste in the [c]white of an egg?
“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 longing!
“Would that God were (H)willing to crush me,
That He would loose His hand and cut me off!
10 “But it is still my consolation,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I (I)have not [d]denied the words of the Holy One.
11 “What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should [e](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 [f](L)deliverance is driven from me?

14 “For the (M)despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not (N)forsake the [g]fear of the Almighty.
15 “My brothers have acted (O)deceitfully like a [h]wadi,
Like the torrents of [i]wadis which vanish,
16 Which are turbid because of ice
And into which the snow [j]melts.
17 “When (P)they become waterless, they [k]are silent,
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.
18 “The [l]paths of their course wind along,
They go up into nothing and perish.
19 “The caravans of (Q)Tema looked,
The travelers of (R)Sheba hoped for them.
20 “They (S)were [m]disappointed for they had trusted,
They came there and were confounded.
21 “Indeed, you have now become such,
(T)You see a terror and are afraid.
22 “Have I said, ‘Give me something,’
Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’
23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the hand of the adversary,’
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

24 “Teach me, and (U)I will be silent;
And show me how I have erred.
25 “How painful are honest words!
But what does your argument prove?
26 “Do you intend to reprove 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 (Z)lie to your face.
29 “Desist now, let there be no injustice;
Even desist, (AA)my righteousness is yet in it.
30 “Is there injustice on my tongue?
Cannot (AB)my palate discern [n]calamities?

Footnotes

  1. Job 6:1 Lit answered and said
  2. Job 6:4 Lit Whose
  3. Job 6:6 Heb hallamuth, meaning uncertain. Perhaps the juice of a plant
  4. Job 6:10 Lit hidden
  5. Job 6:11 Lit prolong my soul
  6. Job 6:13 So ancient versions
  7. Job 6:14 Or reverence
  8. Job 6:15 Or brooks
  9. Job 6:15 Or brooks
  10. Job 6:16 Lit hides itself
  11. Job 6:17 Or cease
  12. Job 6:18 Or caravans turn from their course, they go up into the waste and perish
  13. Job 6:20 Lit ashamed
  14. Job 6:30 Or words

Job

Then Job replied:

“If only my anguish could be weighed
    and all my misery be placed on the scales!(A)
It would surely outweigh the sand(B) of the seas—
    no wonder my words have been impetuous.(C)
The arrows(D) of the Almighty(E) are in me,(F)
    my spirit drinks(G) in their poison;(H)
    God’s terrors(I) are marshaled against me.(J)
Does a wild donkey(K) bray(L) when it has grass,
    or an ox bellow when it has fodder?(M)
Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
    or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow[a]?(N)
I refuse to touch it;
    such food makes me ill.(O)

“Oh, that I might have my request,
    that God would grant what I hope for,(P)
that God would be willing to crush(Q) me,
    to let loose his hand and cut off my life!(R)
10 Then I would still have this consolation(S)
    my joy in unrelenting pain(T)
    that I had not denied the words(U) of the Holy One.(V)

11 “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
    What prospects, that I should be patient?(W)
12 Do I have the strength of stone?
    Is my flesh bronze?(X)
13 Do I have any power to help myself,(Y)
    now that success has been driven from me?

14 “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend(Z)
    forsakes the fear of the Almighty.(AA)
15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,(AB)
    as the streams that overflow
16 when darkened by thawing ice
    and swollen with melting snow,(AC)
17 but that stop flowing in the dry season,
    and in the heat(AD) vanish from their channels.
18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;
    they go off into the wasteland and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema(AE) look for water,
    the traveling merchants of Sheba(AF) look in hope.
20 They are distressed, because they had been confident;
    they arrive there, only to be disappointed.(AG)
21 Now you too have proved to be of no help;
    you see something dreadful and are afraid.(AH)
22 Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,
    pay a ransom(AI) for me from your wealth,(AJ)
23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
    rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?(AK)

24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet;(AL)
    show me where I have been wrong.(AM)
25 How painful are honest words!(AN)
    But what do your arguments prove?
26 Do you mean to correct what I say,
    and treat my desperate words as wind?(AO)
27 You would even cast lots(AP) for the fatherless(AQ)
    and barter away your friend.

28 “But now be so kind as to look at me.
    Would I lie to your face?(AR)
29 Relent, do not be unjust;(AS)
    reconsider, for my integrity(AT) is at stake.[b](AU)
30 Is there any wickedness on my lips?(AV)
    Can my mouth not discern(AW) malice?

Footnotes

  1. Job 6:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Job 6:29 Or my righteousness still stands

Folly and Wickedness of Men.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

14 The fool has (A)said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable [a]deeds;
There is (B)no one who does good.
The Lord has (C)looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who [b](D)understand,
Who (E)seek after God.
They have all (F)turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is (G)no one who does good, not even one.

Do all the workers of wickedness (H)not know,
Who (I)eat up my people as they eat bread,
And (J)do not call upon the Lord?
There they are in great dread,
For God is with the (K)righteous generation.
You would put to shame the counsel of the afflicted,
But the Lord is his (L)refuge.

Oh, that (M)the salvation of Israel [c]would come out of Zion!
When the Lord [d](N)restores His captive people,
Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 14:1 Lit doings
  2. Psalm 14:2 Or act wisely
  3. Psalm 14:7 Lit would be
  4. Psalm 14:7 Or restores the fortunes of His people

Psalm 14(A)

For the director of music. Of David.

The fool[a] says in his heart,
    “There is no God.”(B)
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
    there is no one who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven(C)
    on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,(D)
    any who seek God.(E)
All have turned away,(F) all have become corrupt;(G)
    there is no one who does good,(H)
    not even one.(I)

Do all these evildoers know nothing?(J)

They devour my people(K) as though eating bread;
    they never call on the Lord.(L)
But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
    for God is present in the company of the righteous.
You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
    but the Lord is their refuge.(M)

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!(N)
    When the Lord restores(O) his people,
    let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 14:1 The Hebrew words rendered fool in Psalms denote one who is morally deficient.

The Temptation of Jesus

(A)Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, (B)returned from the Jordan and was led around [a]by the Spirit in the wilderness for (C)forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘(D)Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

(E)And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of [b](F)the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and [c]its glory; (G)for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You [d]worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘(H)You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

(I)And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; 10 for it is written,

(J)He will command His angels concerning You to guard You,’

11 and,

(K)On their hands they will bear You up,
So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”

12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘(L)You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

13 When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

Jesus’ Public Ministry

14 And (M)Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and (N)news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. 15 And He began (O)teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

16 And He came to (P)Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, (Q)He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and (R)stood up to read. 17 And the [e]book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the [f]book and found the place where it was written,

18 (S)The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
19 (T)To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

20 And He (U)closed the [g]book, gave it back to the attendant and (V)sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your [h]hearing.” 22 And all were [i]speaking well of Him, and wondering at the [j]gracious words which [k]were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “(W)Is this not Joseph’s son?” 23 And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done (X)at Capernaum, do here in (Y)your hometown as well.’” 24 And He said, “Truly I say to you, (Z)no prophet is welcome in his hometown. 25 But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel (AA)in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; 26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but (AB)only to [l]Zarephath, in the land of (AC)Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but (AD)only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; 29 and they got up and (AE)drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. 30 But (AF)passing through their midst, He went His way.

31 And (AG)He came down to (AH)Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32 and (AI)they were amazed at His teaching, for (AJ)His [m]message was with authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man [n]possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Let us alone! [o](AK)What business do we have with each other, Jesus [p]of (AL)Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—(AM)the Holy One of God!” 35 But Jesus (AN)rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm. 36 And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, “What is [q]this message? For (AO)with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” 37 And (AP)the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.

Many Are Healed

38 (AQ)Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was (AR)suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him [r]to help her. 39 And standing over her, He (AS)rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and [s]waited on them.

40 (AT)While (AU)the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and (AV)laying His hands on each one of them, He was (AW)healing them. 41 Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are (AX)the Son of God!” But (AY)rebuking them, He would (AZ)not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be [t]the Christ.

42 (BA)When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. 43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, (BB)for I was sent for this purpose.”

44 So He kept on preaching in the synagogues (BC)of [u]Judea.

Footnotes

  1. Luke 4:1 Or under the influence of; lit in
  2. Luke 4:5 Lit the inhabited earth
  3. Luke 4:6 Lit their (referring to the kingdoms in v 5)
  4. Luke 4:7 Or bow down before
  5. Luke 4:17 Or scroll
  6. Luke 4:17 Or scroll
  7. Luke 4:20 Or scroll
  8. Luke 4:21 Lit ears
  9. Luke 4:22 Or testifying
  10. Luke 4:22 Or words of grace
  11. Luke 4:22 Lit were proceeding out of His mouth
  12. Luke 4:26 Gr Sarepta
  13. Luke 4:32 Lit word
  14. Luke 4:33 Lit having a spirit
  15. Luke 4:34 Lit What to us and to you (a Heb idiom)
  16. Luke 4:34 Lit the Nazarene
  17. Luke 4:36 Or this word, that with authority...come out?
  18. Luke 4:38 Lit about her
  19. Luke 4:39 Or served
  20. Luke 4:41 I.e. the Messiah
  21. Luke 4:44 I.e. the country of the Jews (including Galilee)

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness(A)

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit,(B) left the Jordan(C) and was led by the Spirit(D) into the wilderness, where for forty days(E) he was tempted[a] by the devil.(F) He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God,(G) tell this stone to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’[b](H)

The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.(I) And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me,(J) and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’[c](K)

The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[d](L)

12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[e](M)

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting,(N) he left him(O) until an opportune time.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

14 Jesus returned to Galilee(P) in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.(Q) 15 He was teaching in their synagogues,(R) and everyone praised him.

16 He went to Nazareth,(S) where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue,(T) as was his custom. He stood up to read,(U) 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,(V)
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news(W) to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[f](X)

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.(Y) The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled(Z) in your hearing.”

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.(AA)

23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown(AB) what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”(AC)

24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.(AD) 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.(AE) 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.(AF) 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy[g] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”(AG)

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town,(AH) and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.(AI)

Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit(AJ)

31 Then he went down to Capernaum,(AK) a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching,(AL) because his words had authority.(AM)

33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! What do you want with us,(AN) Jesus of Nazareth?(AO) Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are(AP)—the Holy One of God!”(AQ)

35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly.(AR) “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

36 All the people were amazed(AS) and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority(AT) and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.(AU)

Jesus Heals Many(AV)(AW)

38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked(AX) the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

40 At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one,(AY) he healed them.(AZ) 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!”(BA) But he rebuked(BB) them and would not allow them to speak,(BC) because they knew he was the Messiah.

42 At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God(BD) to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.(BE)

Footnotes

  1. Luke 4:2 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested.
  2. Luke 4:4 Deut. 8:3
  3. Luke 4:8 Deut. 6:13
  4. Luke 4:11 Psalm 91:11,12
  5. Luke 4:12 Deut. 6:16
  6. Luke 4:19 Isaiah 61:1,2 (see Septuagint); Isaiah 58:6
  7. Luke 4:27 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.