Job 35-36

New American Standard Bible

Elihu Sharply Rebukes Job

35 Then Elihu continued and said,

²“Do you think this is in accordance with ^(A)justice?
Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s’?
³For you say, ‘^(B)What advantage will it be to ^[a]You?
^(C)What benefit will I have, more than if I had sinned?’
⁴I will answer you,
And your friends with you.
⁵^(D)Look at the heavens and see;
And look at ^(E)the clouds—they are higher than you.
⁶If you have sinned, ^(F)what do you accomplish against Him?
And if your wrongdoings are many, what do you do to Him?
⁷If you are righteous, ^(G)what do you give to Him,
Or what does He receive from your hand?
⁸Your wickedness is for a man like yourself,
And your righteousness is for a son of man.

⁹“Because of the ^(H)multitude of oppressions they cry out;
They cry for help because of the arm ^(I)of the mighty.
¹⁰But ^(J)no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
Who ^(K)gives songs in the night,
¹¹Who ^(L)teaches us more than the animals of the earth
And makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’
¹²There ^(M)they cry out, but He does not answer
Because of the pride of evil people.
¹³^(N)God certainly will not listen to ^[b]an empty cry,
Nor will the Almighty regard it.
¹⁴How much less when ^(O)you say you do not look at Him,
The ^(P)case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!
¹⁵And now, because He has not avenged His anger,
Nor has He acknowledged ^[c]wrongdoing well,
¹⁶So Job opens his mouth with empty words;
He multiplies words ^(Q)without knowledge.”

Elihu Speaks of God’s Dealings with Mankind

36 Then Elihu continued and said,

²“Wait for me a little, and I will show you
That there ^[d]is still more to be said on God’s behalf.
³I will bring my knowledge from afar,
And ascribe ^(R)righteousness to my Maker.
⁴For truly ^(S)my words are not false;
One who is ^(T)perfect in knowledge is with you.
⁵Behold, God is mighty but does not ^(U)reject anyone;
He is ^(V)mighty in strength of understanding.
⁶He does not ^(W)keep the wicked alive,
But gives justice to ^(X)the afflicted.
⁷He does not ^(Y)withdraw His eyes from the righteous,
But ^(Z)with kings on the throne
He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.
⁸And if they are bound in shackles,
And are caught in the snares of ^(AA)misery,
⁹Then He declares to them their work
And their wrongdoings, that they have ^(AB)been arrogant.
¹⁰^(AC)He opens their ears to instruction,
And ^(AD)commands that they return from injustice.
¹¹If they listen and serve Him,
They will ^(AE)end their days in prosperity,
And their years in ^(AF)happiness.
¹²But if they do not listen, they will ^[e]perish ^(AG)by the sword,
And ^(AH)die without knowledge.
¹³But the godless in heart nurture anger;
They do not call for help when He binds them.
¹⁴^[f]They die in youth,
And their life perishes among the ^(AI)cult prostitutes.
¹⁵He rescues the afflicted in ^[g]their ^(AJ)misery,
And ^(AK)opens their ears in time of oppression.
¹⁶Then indeed, He induced you away from the mouth of distress,
And instead of it, a broad place with no constraint;
And your table was full of ^[h]rich food.

¹⁷“But you were full of ^(AL)judgment on the wicked;
Judgment and justice take hold of you.
¹⁸Beware that ^(AM)wrath does not entice you to mockery;
And do not let the greatness of the ^(AN)ransom turn you aside.
¹⁹Will your cry for help keep you from distress,
Or all the exertions of your strength?
²⁰Do not long for ^(AO)the night,
When people ^[i]vanish in their places.
²¹Be careful, do ^(AP)not turn to evil,
For you preferred this to ^(AQ)misery.
²²Behold, God is exalted in His power;
Who is a ^(AR)teacher like Him?
²³Who has appointed Him His way,
And who has said, ‘^(AS)You have done wrong’?

²⁴“Remember that you are to ^(AT)exalt His work,
Of which people have ^(AU)sung.
²⁵All people have seen it;
Mankind looks at it from afar.
²⁶Behold, God is ^(AV)exalted, and ^(AW)we do not know Him;
The ^(AX)number of His years is unsearchable.
²⁷For ^(AY)He draws up the drops of water;
They distill rain from its ^[j]celestial stream,
²⁸Which clouds pour down;
They drip upon mankind abundantly.
²⁹Can anyone understand the ^(AZ)spreading of the clouds,
The ^(BA)thundering of His ^[k]pavilion?
³⁰Behold, He spreads His ^[l]lightning about Him,
And He covers the depths of the sea.
³¹For by them He ^(BB)judges peoples;
He ^(BC)gives food in abundance.
³²He covers His hands with the ^[m]lightning,
And ^(BD)commands it to strike the target.
³³Its ^(BE)thundering voice declares ^[n]His presence;
The livestock also, concerning what is coming up.

Footnotes

Job 35:3 Or me
Job 35:13 Or falsehood
Job 35:15 Or arrogance
Job 36:2 Lit are yet words for God
Job 36:12 Lit pass away
Job 36:14 Lit Their soul dies
Job 36:15 Lit his
Job 36:16 Or fatness
Job 36:20 Lit go up
Job 36:27 Or mist
Job 36:29 Lit booth
Job 36:30 Lit light
Job 36:32 Lit light
Job 36:33 Lit concerning Him

Proverbs 4:10-19

New American Standard Bible

¹⁰Listen, my son, and ^(A)accept my sayings,
And the ^(B)years of your life will be many.
¹¹I have ^(C)instructed you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in upright paths.
¹²When you walk, your ^(D)steps will not be hampered;
And if you run, you ^(E)will not stumble.
¹³^(F)Take hold of instruction; do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your ^(G)life.
¹⁴^(H)Do not enter the path of the wicked
And do not proceed in the way of evil people.
¹⁵Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.
¹⁶For they ^(I)cannot sleep unless they do evil;
And ^[a]they are robbed of sleep unless they make someone stumble.
¹⁷For they ^(J)eat the bread of wickedness,
And drink the wine of violence.
¹⁸But the ^(K)path of the righteous is like the ^(L)light of dawn
That ^(M)shines brighter and brighter until the ^(N)full day.
¹⁹The ^(O)way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they ^[b]^(P)stumble.

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Footnotes

Proverbs 4:16 Lit their sleep is robbed
Proverbs 4:19 Or may stumble

Matthew 11:1-15

New American Standard Bible

John’s Questions

11 ^(A)When Jesus had finished ^[a]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He went on from there ^(B)to teach and ^[b]preach in their cities.

²^(C)Now while in prison, ^(D)John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples, ³and said to Him, “Are You ^(E)the Coming One, or are we to ^[c]look for someone else?” ⁴Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵^(F)those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the ^(G)poor have the ^[d]gospel preached to them. ⁶And blessed is ^[e]any person who ^(H)does not ^[f]take offense at Me.”

Jesus’ Tribute to John

⁷As these disciples of John were going away, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into ^(I)the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸^[g]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ ^[h]palaces! ⁹^[i]But what did you go out to see? ^(J)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. ¹⁰This is the one about whom it ^[j]is written:

‘^(K)Behold, I am sending My messenger ^[k]ahead of You,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’

¹¹Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹²And ^(L)from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force. ¹³For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is ^(M)Elijah who ^[l]was to come. ¹⁵^(N)The one who has ears to hear, ^[m]let him hear.