Job 29-30
Christian Standard Bible
Job’s Final Claim of Innocence
29 Job continued his discourse, saying:
2 If only I could be as in months gone by,
in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his lamp shone above my head,
and I walked through darkness by his light!(A)
4 I would be as I was in the days of my youth
when God’s friendship(B) rested on my tent,
5 when the Almighty was still with me
and my children were around me,
6 when my feet were bathed in curds
and the rock(C) poured out streams of oil for me!
7 When I went out to the city gate(D)
and took my seat in the town square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
while older men stood to their feet.
9 City officials stopped talking
and covered their mouths with their hands.(E)
10 The noblemen’s voices were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.(F)
11 When they heard me, they blessed me,
and when they saw me, they spoke well of me.[a]
12 For I rescued the poor who cried out for help,
and the fatherless child who had no one to support him.(G)
13 The dying blessed me,
and I made the widow’s heart rejoice.
14 I clothed myself in righteousness,(H)
and it enveloped me;
my just decisions were like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.(I)
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I examined the case of the stranger.
17 I shattered the fangs of the unjust(J)
and snatched the prey from his teeth.
18 So I thought, “I will die in my own nest
and multiply my days as the sand.[b]
19 My roots will have access to water,(K)
and the dew will rest on my branches all night.
20 My whole being will be refreshed within me,
and my bow will be renewed in my hand.”(L)
21 Men listened to me with expectation,
waiting silently for my advice.
22 After a word from me they did not speak again;
my speech settled on them like dew.(M)
23 They waited for me as for the rain
and opened their mouths as for spring showers.
24 If I smiled at them, they couldn’t believe it;
they were thrilled at[c] the light of my countenance.
25 I directed their course and presided as chief.
I lived as a king among his troops,
like one who comforts those who mourn.
30 But now they mock(N) me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused to put
with my sheep dogs.
2 What use to me was the strength of their hands?
Their vigor had left them.
3 Emaciated from poverty and hunger,
they gnawed the dry land,
the desolate wasteland by night.
4 They plucked mallow[d](O) among the shrubs,
and the roots of the broom tree were their food.
5 They were banished from human society;
people shouted at them as if they were thieves.
6 They are living on the slopes of the wadis,
among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
7 They bray among the shrubs;
they huddle beneath the thistles.
8 Foolish(P) men, without even a name.
They were forced to leave the land.
9 Now I am mocked by their songs;(Q)
I have become an object of scorn to them.
10 They despise me and keep their distance from me;(R)
they do not hesitate to spit(S) in my face.
11 Because God has loosened my[e] bowstring and oppressed me,
they have cast off restraint in my presence.(T)
12 The rabble[f] rise up at my right;
they trap[g] my feet
and construct their siege ramp[h] against me.(U)
13 They tear up my path;
they contribute to my destruction,(V)
without anyone to help them.
14 They advance as through a gaping breach;
they keep rolling in through the ruins.(W)
15 Terrors(X) are turned loose against me;
they chase my dignity away like the wind,
and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud.
16 Now my life is poured out before me,
and days of suffering(Y) have seized me.
17 Night pierces my bones,
but my gnawing pains never rest.(Z)
18 My clothing is distorted with great force;
he chokes me by the neck of my garment.[i]
19 He throws me into the mud,
and I have become like dust and ashes.(AA)
20 I cry out to you for help, but you do not answer me;(AB)
when I stand up, you merely look at me.
21 You have turned against me with cruelty;
you harass(AC) me with your strong hand.
22 You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it;
you scatter me in the storm.(AD)
23 Yes, I know that you will lead me to death—
the place(AE) appointed for all who live.
24 Yet no one would stretch out his hand
against a ruined person[j]
when he cries out to him for help
because of his distress.(AF)
25 Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times?
Has my soul not grieved for the needy?(AG)
26 But when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, darkness(AH) came.
27 I am churning within[k] and cannot rest;
days of suffering confront me.
28 I walk about blackened, but not by the sun.[l]
I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.
29 I have become a brother to jackals
and a companion of ostriches.
30 My skin blackens and flakes off,[m]
and my bones burn with fever.(AI)
31 My lyre is used for mourning
and my flute for the sound of weeping.(AJ)
Footnotes
- 29:11 Lit When an ear heard, it called me blessed, and when an eye saw, it testified for me
- 29:18 Or as the phoenix
- 29:24 Lit they did not cast down
- 30:4 Or saltwort
- 30:11 Alt Hb tradition, LXX, Vg read his
- 30:12 Hb obscure
- 30:12 Lit stretch out
- 30:12 Lit and raise up their destructive paths
- 30:18 Hb obscure
- 30:24 Lit a heap of ruins
- 30:27 Lit My bowels boil
- 30:28 Or walk in sunless gloom
- 30:30 Lit blackens away from me
Romans 1
Christian Standard Bible
The Gospel of God for Rome
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle[a](A) and set apart(B) for the gospel of God(C)— 2 which he promised beforehand(D) through his prophets(E) in the Holy Scriptures— 3 concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David[b](F) according to the flesh(G) 4 and was appointed to be the powerful(H) Son of God(I) according to the Spirit of holiness[c] by the resurrection of the dead. 5 Through him we have received grace and apostleship(J) to bring about[d] the obedience(K) of faith for the sake of his name among all the Gentiles,[e](L) 6 including you who are also called by Jesus Christ.(M)
7 To all who are in Rome, loved by God,(N) called(O) as saints.(P)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s Desire to Visit Rome
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faith[f] is being reported in all the world.(Q) 9 God is my witness,(R) whom I serve with my spirit(S) in telling the good news about his Son—that I constantly mention you,(T) 10 always asking in my prayers that if it is somehow in God’s will, I may now at last succeed in coming to you.(U) 11 For I want very much to see you,(V) so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 12 that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
13 Now I don’t want you to be unaware,(W) brothers and sisters, that I often planned to come to you (but was prevented until now(X)) in order that I might have a fruitful ministry[g] among you,(Y) just as I have had among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians,[h](Z) both to the wise and the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel(AA) to you also who are in Rome.
The Righteous Will Live by Faith
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel,[i](AB) because it is the power of God for salvation(AC) to everyone who believes, first to the Jew,(AD) and also to the Greek.(AE) 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith,[j](AF) just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.[k][l](AG)
The Guilt of the Gentile World
18 For God’s wrath(AH) is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth,(AI) 19 since what can be known[m] about God is evident among them,(AJ) because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world,(AK) being understood through what he has made.(AL) As a result, people are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened.(AM) 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools(AN) 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.(AO)
24 Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts(AP) to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie,(AQ) and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever.(AR) Amen.
From Idolatry to Depravity
26 For this reason God delivered them over to disgraceful passions.(AS) Their women[n] exchanged natural sexual relations[o] for unnatural ones. 27 The men[p] in the same way also left natural relations with women and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men(AT) and received in their own persons[q] the appropriate penalty of their error.
28 And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right. 29 They are filled with all unrighteousness,[r] evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,(AU) 30 slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful,(AV) inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,(AW) 31 senseless, untrustworthy, unloving,[s](AX) and unmerciful. 32 Although they know God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die[t](AY)—they not only do them, but even applaud[u](AZ) others who practice them.
Footnotes
- 1:1 Or Jesus, a called apostle
- 1:3 Lit was of the seed of David
- 1:4 Or the spirit of holiness, or the Holy Spirit
- 1:5 Or him for; lit him into
- 1:5 Or nations, also in v. 13
- 1:8 Or because your faith
- 1:13 Lit have some fruit
- 1:14 Or non-Greeks
- 1:16 Other mss add of Christ
- 1:17 Or revealed out of faith into faith
- 1:17 Or The one who is righteous by faith will live
- 1:17 Hab 2:4
- 1:19 Or what is known
- 1:26 Lit females, also in v. 27
- 1:26 Lit natural use, also in v. 27
- 1:27 Lit males, also later in v.
- 1:27 Or in themselves
- 1:29 Other mss add sexual immorality
- 1:31 Other mss add unforgiving
- 1:32 Lit things are worthy of death
- 1:32 Lit even take pleasure in
Psalm 92:1-3
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 92
God’s Love and Faithfulness
A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.
1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,(A)
2 to declare your faithful love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,(B)
3 with a ten-stringed harp[a]
and the music of a lyre.(C)
Footnotes
- 92:3 Or ten-stringed instrument and a harp
Proverbs 19:28-29
Christian Standard Bible
28 A worthless witness mocks justice,
and a wicked mouth swallows iniquity.(A)
29 Judgments are prepared for mockers,
and beatings for the backs of fools.(B)
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