Job 12-14
New American Standard Bible 1995
Job Chides His Accusers
12 Then Job [a]responded,
2 “Truly then (A)you are the people,
And with you wisdom will die!
3 “But (B)I have intelligence as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
And [b]who does not know such things as these?
4 “I am a (C)joke to [c]my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and (D)blameless man is a joke.
5 “[d]He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.
6 “The (E)tents of the destroyers prosper,
And those who provoke God (F)are secure,
[e]Whom God brings (G)into their power.
7 “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you;
And the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you.
8 “Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you;
And let the fish of the sea declare to you.
9 “Who among all these does not know
That (H)the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 (I)In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And (J)the breath of all mankind?
11 “Does not (K)the ear test words,
As the palate [f]tastes its food?
12 “Wisdom is with (L)aged men,
With [g]long life is understanding.
Job Speaks of the Power of God
13 “With Him are (M)wisdom and (N)might;
To Him belong counsel and (O)understanding.
14 “Behold, He (P)tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He [h](Q)imprisons a man, and [i]there can be no release.
15 “Behold, He (R)restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He (S)sends them out, and they [j]inundate the earth.
16 “With Him are strength and sound wisdom,
The (T)misled and the misleader belong to Him.
17 “He makes (U)counselors walk [k]barefoot
And makes fools of (V)judges.
18 “He (W)loosens the [l]bond of kings
And binds their loins with a girdle.
19 “He makes priests walk [m]barefoot
And overthrows (X)the secure ones.
20 “He deprives the trusted ones of speech
And (Y)takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 “He (Z)pours contempt on nobles
And (AA)loosens the belt of the strong.
22 “He (AB)reveals mysteries from the darkness
And brings the deep darkness into light.
23 “He (AC)makes the nations great, then destroys them;
He [n]enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 “He (AD)deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s people
And makes them wander in a pathless waste.
25 “They (AE)grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them (AF)stagger like a drunken man.
Job Says His Friends’ Proverbs Are Ashes
13 “(AG)Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.
2 “(AH)What you know I also know;
I am not inferior to you.
3 “But (AI)I would speak to [o]the Almighty,
And I desire to (AJ)argue with God.
4 “But you (AK)smear with lies;
You are all (AL)worthless physicians.
5 “O that you would (AM)be completely silent,
And that it would become your wisdom!
6 “Please hear my argument
And listen to the contentions of my lips.
7 “Will you (AN)speak what is unjust for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?
8 “Will you (AO)show partiality for Him?
Will you contend for God?
9 “Will it be well when He examines you?
Or (AP)will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?
10 “He will surely reprove you
If you secretly (AQ)show partiality.
11 “Will not (AR)His [p]majesty terrify you,
And the dread of Him fall on you?
12 “Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.
Job Is Sure He Will Be Vindicated
13 “(AS)Be silent before me so that I may speak;
Then let come on me what may.
14 “Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
And (AT)put my life in my [q]hands?
15 “(AU)Though He slay me,
I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless I (AV)will argue my ways [r]before Him.
16 “This also will be my (AW)salvation,
For (AX)a godless man may not come before His presence.
17 “Listen carefully to my speech,
And let my declaration fill your ears.
18 “Behold now, I have (AY)prepared my case;
I know that (AZ)I will be vindicated.
19 “(BA)Who will contend with me?
For then I would be silent and (BB)die.
20 “Only two things do not do to me,
Then I will not hide from Your face:
21 (BC)Remove Your [s]hand from me,
And let not the dread of You terrify me.
22 “Then call, and (BD)I will answer;
Or let me speak, then reply to me.
23 “(BE)How many are my iniquities and sins?
Make known to me my [t]rebellion and my sin.
24 “Why do You (BF)hide Your face
And consider me (BG)Your enemy?
25 “Will You cause a (BH)driven leaf to tremble?
Or will You pursue the dry (BI)chaff?
26 “For You write (BJ)bitter things against me
And (BK)make me to inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27 “You (BL)put my feet in the stocks
And watch all my paths;
You [u]set a limit for the soles of my feet,
28 While [v]I am decaying like a (BM)rotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.
Job Speaks of the Finality of Death
14 “(BN)Man, who is born of woman,
Is [w]short-lived and (BO)full of turmoil.
2 “(BP)Like a flower he comes forth and withers.
He also flees like (BQ)a shadow and does not remain.
3 “You also (BR)open Your eyes on him
And (BS)bring [x]him into judgment with Yourself.
4 “(BT)Who can make the clean out of the unclean?
No one!
5 “Since his days are determined,
The (BU)number of his months is with You;
And his limits You have [y]set so that he cannot pass.
6 “(BV)Turn Your gaze from him that he may [z]rest,
Until he [aa]fulfills his day like a hired man.
7 “For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not [ab]fail.
8 “Though its roots grow old in the ground
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
9 At the scent of water it will flourish
And put forth sprigs like a plant.
10 “But (BW)man dies and lies prostrate.
Man (BX)expires, and where is he?
11 “As (BY)water [ac]evaporates from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dried up,
12 So (BZ)man lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens are no longer,
[ad]He will not awake nor be aroused out of [ae]his sleep.
13 “Oh that You would hide me in [af]Sheol,
That You would conceal me (CA)until Your wrath returns to You,
That You would set a limit for me and remember me!
14 “If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my struggle I will wait
Until my change comes.
15 “You will call, and I will answer You;
You will long for (CB)the work of Your hands.
16 “For now You (CC)number my steps,
You do not (CD)observe my sin.
17 “My transgression is (CE)sealed up in a bag,
And You [ag]wrap up my iniquity.
18 “But the falling mountain [ah]crumbles away,
And the rock moves from its place;
19 Water wears away stones,
Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth;
So You (CF)destroy man’s hope.
20 “You forever overpower him and he (CG)departs;
You change his appearance and send him away.
21 “His sons achieve honor, but (CH)he does not know it;
Or they become insignificant, but he does not perceive it.
22 “But his [ai]body pains him,
And he mourns only for himself.”
Footnotes
- Job 12:1 Lit answered and said
- Job 12:3 Lit with whom is there not like these?
- Job 12:4 Lit his
- Job 12:5 Lit Contempt for calamity is the thought of him who is at ease
- Job 12:6 Or He who brings God into his hand
- Job 12:11 Lit tastes food for itself
- Job 12:12 Lit length of days
- Job 12:14 Lit shuts against
- Job 12:14 Lit it is not opened
- Job 12:15 Lit overturn
- Job 12:17 Or stripped
- Job 12:18 Or discipline
- Job 12:19 Or stripped
- Job 12:23 Or spreads out
- Job 13:3 Heb Shaddai
- Job 13:11 Lit exaltation
- Job 13:14 Lit palm
- Job 13:15 Lit to His face
- Job 13:21 Lit palm
- Job 13:23 Or transgression
- Job 13:27 Lit carve for
- Job 13:28 Lit he is
- Job 14:1 Lit short of days
- Job 14:3 So with some ancient versions; M.T. me
- Job 14:5 Lit made
- Job 14:6 Lit cease
- Job 14:6 Lit makes acceptable
- Job 14:7 Or cease
- Job 14:11 Lit disappears
- Job 14:12 Lit They
- Job 14:12 Lit their
- Job 14:13 I.e. the nether world
- Job 14:17 Lit plaster; or glue together
- Job 14:18 Lit withers
- Job 14:22 Lit flesh
2 Corinthians 1
New American Standard Bible 1995
Introduction
1 Paul, (A)an apostle of (B)Christ Jesus (C)by the will of God, and (D)Timothy our brother,
To (E)the church of God which is at (F)Corinth with all the [a]saints who are throughout (G)Achaia:
2 (H)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 (I)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and (J)God of all comfort, 4 who (K)comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in [b]any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For just (L)as the sufferings of Christ are [c]ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. 6 But if we are afflicted, it is (M)for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; 7 and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that (N)as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.
8 For (O)we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our (P)affliction which came to us in [d](Q)Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 [e]indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who (R)delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, [f]He (S)on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, 11 you also joining in (T)helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by (U)many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.
Paul’s Integrity
12 For our [g]proud confidence is this: the testimony of (V)our conscience, that in holiness and (W)godly sincerity, (X)not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you. 13 For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand (Y)until the end; 14 just as you also partially did understand us, that we are your reason to be proud as you also are ours, in (Z)the day of our Lord Jesus.
15 In this confidence I intended at first to (AA)come to you, so that you might [h]twice receive a [i](AB)blessing; 16 [j]that is, to (AC)pass [k]your way into (AD)Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be (AE)helped on my journey to Judea. 17 Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I? Or what I purpose, do I purpose (AF)according to the flesh, so that with me there will be yes, yes and no, no at the same time? 18 But as (AG)God is faithful, (AH)our word to you is not yes and no. 19 For (AI)the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and (AJ)Silvanus and (AK)Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes (AL)in Him. 20 For (AM)as many as are the promises of God, (AN)in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is (AO)our Amen to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who (AP)establishes us with you in Christ and (AQ)anointed us is God, 22 who also (AR)sealed us and (AS)gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a [l]pledge.
23 But (AT)I call God as witness [m]to my soul, that (AU)to spare you I did not come again to (AV)Corinth. 24 Not that we (AW)lord it over your faith, but are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are (AX)standing firm.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 1:1 Or holy ones
- 2 Corinthians 1:4 Lit every
- 2 Corinthians 1:5 Lit to us
- 2 Corinthians 1:8 I.e. west coast province of Asia Minor
- 2 Corinthians 1:9 Lit but we ourselves
- 2 Corinthians 1:10 One early ms reads on whom we have set our hope that He will also
- 2 Corinthians 1:12 Lit boasting
- 2 Corinthians 1:15 Lit have a second grace
- 2 Corinthians 1:15 One early ms reads joy
- 2 Corinthians 1:16 Lit and
- 2 Corinthians 1:16 Lit through you into
- 2 Corinthians 1:22 Or down payment
- 2 Corinthians 1:23 Lit upon
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
