Job 4:1-17

New International Version

Eliphaz

4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite^(A) replied:

²“If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    But who can keep from speaking?^(B)
³Think how you have instructed many,^(C)
    how you have strengthened feeble hands.^(D)
⁴Your words have supported those who stumbled;^(E)
    you have strengthened faltering knees.^(F)
⁵But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;^(G)
    it strikes^(H) you, and you are dismayed.^(I)
⁶Should not your piety be your confidence^(J)
    and your blameless^(K) ways your hope?

⁷“Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?^(L)
    Where were the upright ever destroyed?^(M)
⁸As I have observed,^(N) those who plow evil^(O)
    and those who sow trouble reap it.^(P)
⁹At the breath of God^(Q) they perish;
    at the blast of his anger they are no more.^(R)
¹⁰The lions may roar^(S) and growl,
    yet the teeth of the great lions^(T) are broken.^(U)
¹¹The lion perishes for lack of prey,^(V)
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.^(W)

¹²“A word^(X) was secretly brought to me,
    my ears caught a whisper^(Y) of it.^(Z)
¹³Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people,^(AA)
¹⁴fear and trembling^(AB) seized me
    and made all my bones shake.^(AC)
¹⁵A spirit glided past my face,
    and the hair on my body stood on end.^(AD)
¹⁶It stopped,
    but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a hushed voice:^(AE)
¹⁷‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?^(AF)
    Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?^(AG)

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Proverbs 12:9-22

New International Version

⁹Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant
than pretend to be somebody and have no food.

¹⁰The righteous care for the needs of their animals,^(A)
but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹Those who work their land will have abundant food,
but those who chase fantasies have no sense.^(B)

¹²The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,
but the root of the righteous endures.

¹³Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk,^(C)
and so the innocent escape trouble.^(D)

¹⁴From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things,^(E)
and the work of their hands brings them reward.^(F)

¹⁵The way of fools seems right to them,^(G)
but the wise listen to advice.^(H)

¹⁶Fools^(I) show their annoyance at once,^(J)
but the prudent overlook an insult.^(K)

¹⁷An honest witness tells the truth,
but a false witness tells lies.^(L)

¹⁸The words of the reckless pierce like swords,^(M)
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.^(N)

¹⁹Truthful lips endure forever,
but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
but those who promote peace have joy.^(O)

²¹No harm overtakes the righteous,^(P)
but the wicked have their fill of trouble.

²²The Lord detests lying lips,^(Q)
but he delights^(R) in people who are trustworthy.^(S)

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Matthew 21:18-32

New International Version

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree^(A)

¹⁸Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. ¹⁹Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.^(B)

²⁰When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

²¹Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt,^(C) not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. ²²If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for^(D) in prayer.”

The Authority of Jesus Questioned^(E)

²³Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority^(F) are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

²⁴Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ²⁵John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”^(G)

²⁷So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Then he said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

The Parable of the Two Sons

²⁸“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’^(H)

²⁹“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

³⁰“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

³¹“Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors^(I) and the prostitutes^(J) are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³²For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,^(K) and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors^(L) and the prostitutes^(M) did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent^(N) and believe him.