Job 29-31
English Standard Version
Job's Summary Defense
29 And Job again (A)took up his discourse, and said:
2 “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,
3 when his (B)lamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,
4 as I was in my prime,[a]
when the (C)friendship of God was upon my tent,
5 when the Almighty was yet with me,
when my (D)children were all around me,
6 when my steps were (E)washed with (F)butter,
and (G)the rock poured out for me streams of (H)oil!
7 When I went out to (I)the gate of the city,
when I prepared my seat in the square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
and the aged rose and stood;
9 the princes refrained from talking
and (J)laid their hand on their mouth;
10 the voice of the nobles was hushed,
and their (K)tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.
11 When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw, it approved,
12 because I (L)delivered the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
13 (M)The blessing of him who was (N)about to perish came upon me,
and I caused (O)the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 I (P)put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and (Q)a turban.
15 I was (R)eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I searched out (S)the cause of him whom I did not know.
17 I (T)broke (U)the fangs of the unrighteous
and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
18 (V)Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my (W)nest,
and I shall multiply my days as (X)the sand,
19 my (Y)roots spread out to (Z)the waters,
with the dew all night on my (AA)branches,
20 my glory fresh with me,
and my (AB)bow ever (AC)new in my hand.’
21 “Men listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.
22 After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word (AD)dropped upon them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
and they (AE)opened their mouths as for the (AF)spring rain.
24 I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and (AG)the light of my (AH)face they did not cast down.
25 I chose their way and sat as chief,
and I lived like (AI)a king among his troops,
like one who comforts mourners.
30 “But now they (AJ)laugh at me,
men who are (AK)younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to set with the dogs of my flock.
2 What could I gain from the strength of their hands,
(AL)men whose (AM)vigor is gone?
3 Through want and hard hunger
they (AN)gnaw (AO)the dry ground by night in (AP)waste and desolation;
4 they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,
and the roots of the broom tree for their food.[b]
5 (AQ)They are driven out from human company;
they shout after them as after a thief.
6 In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,
in holes of the earth and of (AR)the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they (AS)bray;
under (AT)the nettles they huddle together.
8 A senseless, a nameless brood,
they have been whipped out of the land.
9 “And now I have become their (AU)song;
I am (AV)a byword to them.
10 They (AW)abhor me; they keep aloof from me;
they do not hesitate to (AX)spit at the sight of me.
11 Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,
they have cast off restraint[c] in my presence.
12 On my (AY)right hand the rabble rise;
they push away my feet;
they (AZ)cast up against me their ways of destruction.
13 They break up my path;
they promote my (BA)calamity;
they need no one to help them.
14 As through a wide (BB)breach they come;
amid the crash they roll on.
15 (BC)Terrors are turned upon me;
my honor is pursued as by the wind,
and my prosperity has passed away like (BD)a cloud.
16 “And now my soul is (BE)poured out within me;
days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 (BF)The night (BG)racks my bones,
and the pain that (BH)gnaws me takes no rest.
18 With great force my garment is (BI)disfigured;
it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
19 God[d] has cast me into the mire,
and I have become like (BJ)dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;
I stand, and you only look at me.
21 You have (BK)turned cruel to me;
with the might of your hand you (BL)persecute me.
22 (BM)You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it,
and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.
23 (BN)For I know that you will bring me to death
and to the house appointed for (BO)all living.
24 “Yet does not one in a (BP)heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
and in his disaster cry for help?[e]
25 Did not I (BQ)weep for him whose day was hard?
Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
26 But (BR)when I hoped for good, evil came,
and when I waited for light, (BS)darkness came.
27 My inward parts are in turmoil and never still;
days of affliction (BT)come to meet me.
28 I (BU)go about darkened, but not by the sun;
I stand up in (BV)the assembly and cry for help.
29 I am a brother of (BW)jackals
and a companion of (BX)ostriches.
30 My (BY)skin turns black and falls from me,
and my (BZ)bones burn with heat.
31 My (CA)lyre is (CB)turned to mourning,
and my (CC)pipe to the voice of those who weep.
Job's Final Appeal
31 “I have made a covenant with my (CD)eyes;
how then could I gaze at a virgin?
2 What would be (CE)my portion from God above
and (CF)my heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Is not calamity for the unrighteous,
and disaster for the workers of iniquity?
4 (CG)Does not he see my ways
and (CH)number all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with falsehood
and my foot has hastened to deceit;
6 (Let me be (CI)weighed in a just balance,
and let God know my integrity!)
7 if my step has turned aside from the way
and (CJ)my heart has gone after my eyes,
and if any (CK)spot has stuck to my hands,
8 then let me (CL)sow, and another eat,
and let what grows for me[f] be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,
and I have (CM)lain in wait at my neighbor's door,
10 then let my wife (CN)grind for another,
and let others (CO)bow down on her.
11 For that would be a heinous crime;
that would be an iniquity (CP)to be punished by the judges;
12 for that would be a fire (CQ)that consumes as far as Abaddon,
and it would burn to the root all my increase.
13 “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
when they brought a complaint against me,
14 what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he (CR)makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
15 Did (CS)not he who made me in the womb make him?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have (CT)withheld anything that the poor desired,
or have (CU)caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the fatherless has not eaten of it
18 (for from my youth the fatherless[g] grew up with me as with a father,
and from my mother's womb I guided the widow[h]),
19 if I have seen anyone (CV)perish for (CW)lack of clothing,
or the needy without (CX)covering,
20 if his body has not (CY)blessed me,[i]
and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against (CZ)the fatherless,
because I saw my help in (DA)the gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 For I was (DB)in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his (DC)majesty.
24 (DD)“If I have made gold my (DE)trust
or called (DF)fine gold my confidence,
25 if I have (DG)rejoiced because my wealth was abundant
or because (DH)my hand had found much,
26 (DI)if I have looked at the sun[j] when it shone,
or (DJ)the moon moving in splendor,
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
and my mouth has kissed my hand,
28 this also would be (DK)an iniquity to be punished by the judges,
for I would have been false to God above.
29 “If I have (DL)rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,
or exulted when evil overtook him
30 ((DM)I have not let my mouth sin
by asking for his life with a curse),
31 if the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there that has not been filled with his (DN)meat?’
32 ((DO)the sojourner has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my doors to the traveler),
33 if I (DP)have concealed my transgressions (DQ)as others do[k]
by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 because I stood in great fear of (DR)the multitude,
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—
35 Oh, that I had one to hear me!
(Here is my signature! Let the Almighty (DS)answer me!)
Oh, that I had (DT)the indictment written by my adversary!
36 Surely I would carry it on my (DU)shoulder;
I would (DV)bind it on me as (DW)a crown;
37 I would give him an account of all my steps;
like a prince I would approach him.
38 “If my land has cried out against me
and its furrows have wept together,
39 (DX)if I have eaten its yield without payment
and made its owners (DY)breathe their last,
40 let (DZ)thorns grow instead of wheat,
and foul weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Footnotes
- Job 29:4 Hebrew my autumn days
- Job 30:4 Or warmth
- Job 30:11 Hebrew the bridle
- Job 30:19 Hebrew He
- Job 30:24 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- Job 31:8 Or let my descendants
- Job 31:18 Hebrew he
- Job 31:18 Hebrew her
- Job 31:20 Hebrew if his loins have not blessed me
- Job 31:26 Hebrew the light
- Job 31:33 Or as Adam did
John 1:15-51
English Standard Version
15 ((A)John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, (B)‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from (C)his fullness we have all received, (D)grace upon grace.[a] 17 For (E)the law was given through Moses; (F)grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 (G)No one has ever seen God; (H)the only God,[b] who is at the Father's side,[c] (I)he has made him known.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 And this is the (J)testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, (K)“Who are you?” 20 (L)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? (M)Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you (N)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am (O)the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight[d] the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, (P)“Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, (Q)“I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even (R)he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Behold, the Lamb of God
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, (S)the Lamb of God, who (T)takes away the sin (U)of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, (V)‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but (W)for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John (X)bore witness: (Y)“I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and (Z)it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but (AA)he who sent me to baptize (AB)with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, (AC)this is he who baptizes (AD)with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son[e] of God.”
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, (AE)the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, (AF)“What are you seeking?” And they said to him, (AG)“Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.[f] 40 (AH)One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus[g] was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found (AI)the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of (AJ)John. You shall be called (AK)Cephas” (which means (AL)Peter[h]).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 (AM)The next day Jesus decided (AN)to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now (AO)Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found (AP)Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom (AQ)Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus (AR)of Nazareth, (AS)the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, (AT)“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, (AU)an Israelite indeed, (AV)in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How (AW)do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, (AX)“Rabbi, (AY)you are the Son of God! You are the (AZ)King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you,[i] you will see (BA)heaven opened, and (BB)the angels of God ascending and descending on (BC)the Son of Man.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- John 1:16 Or grace in place of grace
- John 1:18 Or the only One, who is God; some manuscripts the only Son
- John 1:18 Greek in the bosom of the Father
- John 1:23 Or crying out, ‘In the wilderness make straight
- John 1:34 Some manuscripts the Chosen One
- John 1:39 That is, about 4 p.m.
- John 1:40 Greek him
- John 1:42 Cephas and Peter are from the word for rock in Aramaic and Greek, respectively
- John 1:51 The Greek for you is plural; twice in this verse
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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