Job’s Lament

Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed [a]the day of his birth. And Job [b]said,

(A)Let the day perish on which I was to be born,
And the night which said, ‘A [c]boy is conceived.’
“May that day be darkness;
Let not God above care for it,
Nor light shine on it.
“Let (B)darkness and black gloom claim it;
Let a cloud settle on it;
Let the blackness of the day terrify it.
As for that night, let darkness seize it;
Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
Let it not come into the number of the months.
“Behold, let that night be barren;
Let no joyful shout enter it.
“Let those curse it who curse the day,
Who are [d]prepared to (C)rouse Leviathan.
“Let the stars of its twilight be darkened;
Let it wait for light but have none,
And let it not see the [e]breaking dawn;
10 Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb,
Or hide trouble from my eyes.

11 (D)Why did I not die [f]at birth,
Come forth from the womb and expire?
12 “Why did the knees receive me,
And why the breasts, that I should suck?
13 “For now I (E)would have lain down and been quiet;
I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,
14 With (F)kings and with (G)counselors of the earth,
Who rebuilt (H)ruins for themselves;
15 Or with (I)princes (J)who had gold,
Who were filling their houses with silver.
16 “Or like a miscarriage which is [g]discarded, I would not be,
As infants that never saw light.
17 “There the wicked cease from raging,
And there the [h]weary are at (K)rest.
18 “The prisoners are at ease together;
They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.
19 “The small and the great are there,
And the slave is free from his master.

20 “Why is (L)light given to him who suffers,
And life to the bitter of soul,
21 Who [i](M)long for death, but there is none,
And dig for it more than for (N)hidden treasures,
22 Who rejoice greatly,
And exult when they find the grave?
23 Why is light given to a man (O)whose way is hidden,
And whom (P)God has hedged in?
24 “For (Q)my groaning comes at the sight of my food,
And (R)my cries pour out like water.
25 “For [j](S)what I fear comes upon me,
And what I dread befalls me.
26 “I (T)am not at ease, nor am I quiet,
And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 3:1 Lit his day
  2. Job 3:2 Lit answered and said
  3. Job 3:3 Lit man-child
  4. Job 3:8 Or skillful
  5. Job 3:9 Lit eyelids
  6. Job 3:11 Lit from the womb
  7. Job 3:16 Lit hidden
  8. Job 3:17 Lit weary of strength
  9. Job 3:21 Lit wait
  10. Job 3:25 Lit the fear I fear and

The Lord a Refuge and Defense.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

11 In the Lord I (A)take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your (B)mountain;
For, behold, the wicked (C)bend the bow,
They [a](D)make ready their arrow upon the string
To (E)shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
If the (F)foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”

The Lord is in His (G)holy temple; the [b]Lord’s (H)throne is in heaven;
His (I)eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
The Lord (J)tests the righteous and (K)the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
Upon the wicked He will (L)rain [c]snares;
(M)Fire and brimstone and (N)burning wind will be the portion of (O)their cup.
For the Lord is (P)righteous, (Q)He loves [d]righteousness;
The upright will (R)behold His face.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 11:2 Or fixed
  2. Psalm 11:4 Lit Lord, His throne
  3. Psalm 11:6 Or coals of fire
  4. Psalm 11:7 Or righteous deeds

John the Baptist Preaches

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when (A)Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and (B)Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of (C)Annas and (D)Caiaphas, (E)the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. And he came into all (F)the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

(G)The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight.
(H)Every ravine will be filled,
And every mountain and hill will be [a]brought low;
The crooked will become straight,
And the rough roads smooth;
(I)And all [b]flesh will (J)see the salvation of God.’”

So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “(K)You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and (L)do not begin to say [c]to yourselves, ‘(M)We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so (N)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “(O)Then what shall we do?” 11 And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to (P)share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” 12 And some (Q)tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “[d]Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14 Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or (R)accuse anyone falsely, and (S)be content with your wages.”

15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were [e]wondering in their hearts about John, (T)as to whether he was [f]the Christ, 16 (U)John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you [g]with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His (V)winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with (W)unquenchable fire.”

18 So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. 19 But when (X)Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of (Y)Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the wicked things which (Z)Herod had done, 20 Herod also added this to them all: (AA)he locked John up in prison.

Jesus Is Baptized

21 (AB)Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was (AC)praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “(AD)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”

Genealogy of Jesus

23 (AE)When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, [h]as was supposed, the son of (AF)Joseph, [i]the son of [j]Eli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of [k]Hesli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, (AG)the son of Zerubbabel, the son of [l]Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of [m]Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of [n]Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 (AH)the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of [o]Salmon, the son of [p]Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of [q]Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, (AI)the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of [r]Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of [s]Heber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, (AJ)the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Footnotes

  1. Luke 3:5 Or leveled
  2. Luke 3:6 Or mankind
  3. Luke 3:8 Or in
  4. Luke 3:13 Or Exact
  5. Luke 3:15 Or reasoning or debating
  6. Luke 3:15 I.e. the Messiah
  7. Luke 3:16 The Gr here can be translated in, with or by
  8. Luke 3:23 Lit as it was being thought
  9. Luke 3:23 Lit of Eli, and so throughout the genealogy
  10. Luke 3:23 Also spelled Heli
  11. Luke 3:25 Also spelled Esli
  12. Luke 3:27 Gr Salathiel; names of people in the Old Testament are given in their Old Testament form through v 38
  13. Luke 3:29 Gr Jesus
  14. Luke 3:30 Gr Judas
  15. Luke 3:32 Gr Sala
  16. Luke 3:32 Gr Naasson
  17. Luke 3:33 Gr Arni
  18. Luke 3:35 Gr Ragau
  19. Luke 3:35 Gr Eber