Job 21

New International Version

Job

21 Then Job replied:

²“Listen carefully to my words;^(A)
let this be the consolation you give me.^(B)
³Bear with me while I speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.^(C)

⁴“Is my complaint^(D) directed to a human being?
    Why should I not be impatient?^(E)
⁵Look at me and be appalled;
    clap your hand over your mouth.^(F)
⁶When I think about this, I am terrified;^(G)
    trembling seizes my body.^(H)
⁷Why do the wicked live on,
    growing old and increasing in power?^(I)
⁸They see their children established around them,
    their offspring before their eyes.^(J)
⁹Their homes are safe and free from fear;^(K)
    the rod of God is not on them.^(L)
¹⁰Their bulls never fail to breed;
    their cows calve and do not miscarry.^(M)
¹¹They send forth their children as a flock;^(N)
    their little ones dance about.
¹²They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;^(O)
    they make merry to the sound of the pipe.^(P)
¹³They spend their years in prosperity^(Q)
    and go down to the grave^(R) in peace.^[a]^(S)
¹⁴Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!^(T)
    We have no desire to know your ways.^(U)
¹⁵Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
    What would we gain by praying to him?’^(V)
¹⁶But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
    so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.^(W)

¹⁷“Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?^(X)
    How often does calamity^(Y) come upon them,
    the fate God allots in his anger?^(Z)
¹⁸How often are they like straw before the wind,
    like chaff^(AA) swept away^(AB) by a gale?^(AC)
¹⁹It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’^(AD)
    Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!^(AE)
²⁰Let their own eyes see their destruction;^(AF)
    let them drink^(AG) the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.^(AH)
²¹For what do they care about the families they leave behind^(AI)
    when their allotted months^(AJ) come to an end?^(AK)

²²“Can anyone teach knowledge to God,^(AL)
    since he judges even the highest?^(AM)
²³One person dies in full vigor,^(AN)
    completely secure and at ease,^(AO)
²⁴well nourished^(AP) in body,^[b]
    bones^(AQ) rich with marrow.^(AR)
²⁵Another dies in bitterness of soul,^(AS)
    never having enjoyed anything good.
²⁶Side by side they lie in the dust,^(AT)
    and worms^(AU) cover them both.^(AV)

²⁷“I know full well what you are thinking,
    the schemes by which you would wrong me.
²⁸You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,^(AW)
    the tents where the wicked lived?’^(AX)
²⁹Have you never questioned those who travel?
    Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
³⁰that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,^(AY)
    that they are delivered from^[c] the day of wrath?^(AZ)
³¹Who denounces their conduct to their face?
    Who repays them for what they have done?^(BA)
³²They are carried to the grave,
    and watch is kept over their tombs.^(BB)
³³The soil in the valley is sweet to them;^(BC)
    everyone follows after them,
    and a countless throng goes^[d] before them.^(BD)

³⁴“So how can you console me^(BE) with your nonsense?
Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”^(BF)

Footnotes

Job 21:13 Or in an instant
Job 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Job 21:30 Or wicked are reserved for the day of calamity, / that they are brought forth to
Job 21:33 Or them, / as a countless throng went

Proverbs 1:1-7

New International Version

Purpose and Theme

1 The proverbs^(A) of Solomon^(B) son of David, king of Israel:^(C)

²for gaining wisdom and instruction;
    for understanding words of insight;
³for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
    doing what is right and just and fair;
⁴for giving prudence to those who are simple,^[a]^(D)
    knowledge and discretion^(E) to the young—
⁵let the wise listen and add to their learning,^(F)
    and let the discerning get guidance—
⁶for understanding proverbs and parables,^(G)
    the sayings and riddles^(H) of the wise.^[b]^(I)

⁷The fear of the Lord^(J) is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools^[c] despise wisdom^(K) and instruction.^(L)

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Footnotes

Proverbs 1:4 The Hebrew word rendered simple in Proverbs denotes a person who is gullible, without moral direction and inclined to evil.
Proverbs 1:6 Or understanding a proverb, namely, a parable, / and the sayings of the wise, their riddles
Proverbs 1:7 The Hebrew words rendered fool in Proverbs, and often elsewhere in the Old Testament, denote a person who is morally deficient.

Matthew 12:1-21

New International Version

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath^(A)^(B)

12 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain^(C) and eat them. ²When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”^(D)

³He answered, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?^(E) ⁴He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.^(F) ⁵Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath^(G) and yet are innocent? ⁶I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.^(H) ⁷If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’^[a]^(I) you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸For the Son of Man^(J) is Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁹Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, ¹⁰and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus,^(K) they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”^(L)

¹¹He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?^(M) ¹²How much more valuable is a person than a sheep!^(N) Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

¹³Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. ¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.^(O)

God’s Chosen Servant

¹⁵Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill.^(P) ¹⁶He warned them not to tell others about him.^(Q) ¹⁷This was to fulfill^(R) what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁸“Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
    the one I love, in whom I delight;^(S)
I will put my Spirit on him,^(T)
    and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
¹⁹He will not quarrel or cry out;
    no one will hear his voice in the streets.
²⁰A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
²¹    In his name the nations will put their hope.”^[b]^(U)