Job 17

New International Version

17 ¹My spirit^(A) is broken,
    my days are cut short,^(B)
    the grave awaits me.^(C)
²Surely mockers^(D) surround me;^(E)
    my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

³“Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.^(F)
    Who else will put up security^(G) for me?^(H)
⁴You have closed their minds to understanding;^(I)
    therefore you will not let them triumph.
⁵If anyone denounces their friends for reward,^(J)
    the eyes of their children will fail.^(K)

⁶“God has made me a byword^(L) to everyone,^(M)
    a man in whose face people spit.^(N)
⁷My eyes have grown dim with grief;^(O)
    my whole frame is but a shadow.^(P)
⁸The upright are appalled at this;
    the innocent are aroused^(Q) against the ungodly.
⁹Nevertheless, the righteous^(R) will hold to their ways,
    and those with clean hands^(S) will grow stronger.^(T)

¹⁰“But come on, all of you, try again!
    I will not find a wise man among you.^(U)
¹¹My days have passed,^(V) my plans are shattered.
    Yet the desires of my heart^(W)
¹²turn night into day;^(X)
    in the face of the darkness light is near.^(Y)
¹³If the only home I hope for is the grave,^(Z)
    if I spread out my bed^(AA) in the realm of darkness,^(AB)
¹⁴if I say to corruption,^(AC) ‘You are my father,’
    and to the worm,^(AD) ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’
¹⁵where then is my hope—^(AE)
    who can see any hope for me?^(AF)
¹⁶Will it go down to the gates of death?^(AG)
    Will we descend together into the dust?”^(AH)

Hebrews 11:21-40

New International Version

²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons,^(A) and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

²²By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.^(B)

²³By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born,^(C) because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.^(D)

²⁴By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.^(E) ²⁵He chose to be mistreated^(F) along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶He regarded disgrace^(G) for the sake of Christ^(H) as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.^(I) ²⁷By faith he left Egypt,^(J) not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer^(K) of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.^(L)

²⁹By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.^(M)

³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.^(N)

³¹By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.^[a]^(O)

³²And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon,^(P) Barak,^(Q) Samson^(R) and Jephthah,^(S) about David^(T) and Samuel^(U) and the prophets, ³³who through faith conquered kingdoms,^(V) administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,^(W) ³⁴quenched the fury of the flames,^(X) and escaped the edge of the sword;^(Y) whose weakness was turned to strength;^(Z) and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.^(AA) ³⁵Women received back their dead, raised to life again.^(AB) There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶Some faced jeers and flogging,^(AC) and even chains and imprisonment.^(AD) ³⁷They were put to death by stoning;^[b]^(AE) they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword.^(AF) They went about in sheepskins and goatskins,^(AG) destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves^(AH) and in holes in the ground.

³⁹These were all commended^(AI) for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised,^(AJ) ⁴⁰since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us^(AK) would they be made perfect.^(AL)