Job 4-7
Christian Standard Bible
First Series of Speeches
Eliphaz Speaks
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 Should anyone try to speak with you
when you are exhausted?
Yet who can keep from speaking?
3 Indeed, you have instructed many
and have strengthened(A) weak hands.
4 Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling
and braced the knees that were buckling.(B)
5 But now that this has happened to you,
you have become exhausted.
It strikes(C) you, and you are dismayed.
6 Isn’t your piety your confidence,
and the integrity of your life[a] your hope?(D)
7 Consider: Who has perished when he was innocent?
Where have the honest[b] been destroyed?(E)
8 In my experience, those who plow injustice
and those who sow trouble(F) reap the same.(G)
9 They perish at a single blast(H) from God
and come to an end by the breath of his nostrils.(I)
10 The lion may roar and the fierce lion(J) growl,
but the teeth of young lions are broken.(K)
11 The strong lion dies if it catches no prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.(L)
12 A word was brought to me in secret;
my ears caught a whisper of it.(M)
13 Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night,(N)
when deep sleep(O) comes over men,
14 fear and trembling came over me(P)
and made all my bones shake.
15 I felt a draft[c] on my face,
and the hair on my body stood up.
16 A figure stood there,
but I could not recognize its appearance;
a form loomed before my eyes.
I heard a whispering voice:
17 “Can a mortal be righteous before God?
Can a man be more pure than his Maker?” (Q)
18 If God puts no trust in his servants
and he charges his angels with foolishness,[d](R)
19 how much more those who dwell in clay houses,(S)
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like a moth!
20 They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;
they perish forever while no one notices.(T)
21 Are their tent cords not pulled up?
They die without wisdom.(U)
5 Call out! Will anyone answer you?
Which of the holy ones(V) will you turn to?
2 For anger kills a fool,
and jealousy slays the gullible.(W)
3 I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.
4 His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,(X)
with no one to rescue them.
5 The hungry consume his harvest,
even taking it out of the thorns.[e]
The thirsty[f] pant for his children’s wealth.
6 For distress does not grow out of the soil,
and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
7 But humans are born for trouble(Y)
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 However, if I were you, I would appeal to God
and would present my case to him.(Z)
9 He does great(AA) and unsearchable things,
wonders without number.(AB)
10 He gives rain to the earth
and sends water to the fields.(AC)
11 He sets the lowly on high,
and mourners are lifted to safety.(AD)
12 He frustrates the schemes of the crafty
so that they[g] achieve no success.
13 He traps the wise in their craftiness
so that the plans of the deceptive
are quickly brought to an end.(AE)
14 They encounter darkness by day,
and they grope at noon
as if it were night.(AF)
15 He saves the needy from their sharp words[h](AG)
and from the clutches of the powerful.
16 So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.(AH)
17 See how happy is the person whom God corrects;
so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.
18 For he wounds but he also bandages;
he strikes, but his hands also heal.(AI)
19 He will rescue you from six calamities;
no harm will touch you in seven.
20 In famine he will redeem you from death,
and in battle, from the power of the sword.(AJ)
21 You will be safe from slander[i]
and not fear destruction when it comes.(AK)
22 You will laugh at destruction and hunger
and not fear the land’s wild creatures.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.(AL)
24 You will know that your tent is secure,(AM)
and nothing will be missing when you inspect your home.
25 You will also know that your offspring will be many
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
26 You will approach the grave(AN) in full vigor,(AO)
as a stack of sheaves is gathered in its season.
27 We have investigated this, and it is true!
Hear it and understand it for yourself.
Job’s Reply to Eliphaz
6 Then Job answered:
2 If only my grief could be weighed
and my devastation(AP) placed with it on the scales.(AQ)
3 For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas!
That is why my words are rash.
4 Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced[j] me;
my spirit drinks their poison.
God’s terrors are arrayed against me.(AR)
5 Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass
or an ox low over its fodder?
6 Is bland food eaten without salt?
Is there flavor in an egg white?[k]
7 I refuse to touch them;
they are like contaminated food.(AS)
8 If only my request would be granted
and God would provide what I hope for:
9 that he would decide to crush me,
to unleash his power and cut me off!
10 It would still bring me comfort,
and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain
that I have not denied[l] the words of the Holy One.(AT)
11 What strength do I have, that I should continue to hope?
What is my future, that I should be patient?
12 Is my strength that of stone,
or my flesh made of bronze?
13 Since I cannot help myself,
the hope for success has been banished from me.
14 A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends,[m](AU)
even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.
15 My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi,
as seasonal streams that overflow
16 and become darkened[n] because of ice,
and the snow melts into them.
17 The wadis evaporate in warm weather;
they disappear from their channels in hot weather.
18 Caravans turn away from their routes,
go up into the desert, and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema look for these streams.
The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.
20 They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water.
When they arrive there, they are disappointed.(AV)
21 So this is what you have now become to me.[o]
When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.
22 Have I ever said, “Give me something”
or “Pay a bribe for me from your wealth”
23 or “Deliver me from the enemy’s hand”
or “Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless”?
24 Teach me, and I will be silent.
Help me understand what I did wrong.
25 How painful honest words can be!
But what does your rebuke prove?
26 Do you think that you can disprove my words
or that a despairing man’s words are mere wind?(AW)
27 No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child
and negotiate a price to sell your friend.(AX)
28 But now, please look at me;
I will not lie to your face.(AY)
29 Reconsider; don’t be unjust.
Reconsider; my righteousness(AZ) is still the issue.
30 Is there injustice on my tongue
or can my palate not taste disaster?(BA)
7 Isn’t each person consigned to forced labor(BB) on earth?
Are not his days like those of a hired worker?
2 Like a slave he longs for shade;
like a hired worker he waits for his pay.
3 So I have been made to inherit months of futility,
and troubled nights have been assigned to me.(BC)
4 When I lie down I think,
“When will I get up?”
But the evening drags on endlessly,
and I toss and turn until dawn.
5 My flesh is clothed with maggots and encrusted with dirt.[p]
My skin forms scabs[q] and then oozes.(BD)
6 My days pass more swiftly than a weaver’s shuttle;
they come to an end without hope.(BE)
7 Remember that my life is but a breath.
My eye will never again see anything good.(BF)
8 The eye of anyone who looks on me
will no longer see me.
Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.(BG)
9 As a cloud fades away and vanishes,
so the one who goes down to Sheol(BH) will never rise again.
10 He will never return to his house;
his hometown will no longer remember[r] him.(BI)
11 Therefore I will not restrain my mouth.
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea[s](BJ) or a sea monster,(BK)
that you keep me under guard?
13 When I say, “My bed will comfort me,
and my couch will ease my complaint,”
14 then you frighten me with dreams,
and terrify me with visions,(BL)
15 so that I prefer strangling[t]—
death rather than life in this body.[u](BM)
16 I give up! I will not live forever.
Leave me alone,(BN) for my days are a breath.[v]
17 What is a mere human, that you think so highly of him
and pay so much attention to him?(BO)
18 You inspect him every morning,
and put him to the test every moment.(BP)
19 Will you ever look away from me,
or leave me alone long enough to swallow?[w]
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
Watcher of humanity?
Why have you made me your target,(BQ)
so that I have become a burden to you?[x]
21 Why not forgive my sin
and pardon my iniquity?(BR)
For soon I will lie down in the grave.(BS)
You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone.(BT)
Footnotes
- 4:6 Lit ways
- 4:7 Or the upright, or those with integrity
- 4:15 Or a spirit
- 4:18 Or error; Hb obscure
- 5:5 Hb obscure
- 5:5 Aq, Sym, Syr, Vg; MT reads snares
- 5:12 Lit their hands
- 5:15 Lit from the sword of their mouth; Ps 55:21; 59:7
- 5:21 Lit be hidden from the whip of the tongue
- 6:4 Lit Almighty are in
- 6:6 Hb obscure
- 6:10 Lit hidden
- 6:14 Lit To the despairing his friend loyalty
- 6:16 Or turbid
- 6:21 Alt Hb tradition reads So you have now become nothing
- 7:5 Or and dirty scabs
- 7:5 Lit skin hardens
- 7:10 Lit know
- 7:12 Or the sea god
- 7:15 Or suffocation
- 7:15 Lit than my bones
- 7:16 Or are futile
- 7:19 Lit swallow my saliva?
- 7:20 Alt Hb tradition, LXX; MT, Vg read myself
Psalm 99
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 99
The King Is Holy
1 The Lord reigns! Let the peoples tremble.
He is enthroned between the cherubim.(A)
Let the earth quake.(B)
2 The Lord is great in Zion;
he is exalted above all the peoples.(C)
3 Let them praise your great
and awe-inspiring name.(D)
He is holy.(E)
4 The mighty King loves justice.
You have established fairness;
you have administered justice
and righteousness in Jacob.(F)
5 Exalt the Lord our God;
bow in worship at his footstool.(G)
He is holy.(H)
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests;(I)
Samuel also was among those calling on his name.
They called to the Lord and he answered them.(J)
7 He spoke to them in a pillar of cloud;(K)
they kept his decrees and the statutes he gave them.
8 Lord our God, you answered them.
You were a forgiving God to them,(L)
but an avenger of their sinful actions.(M)
9 Exalt the Lord our God;
bow in worship at his holy mountain,
for the Lord our God is holy.(N)
Revelation 11
Christian Standard Bible
The Two Witnesses
11 Then I was given a measuring reed(A) like a rod,[a] with these words: “Go[b] and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who worship there. 2 But exclude the courtyard outside the temple.(B) Don’t measure it, because it is given to the nations,[c](C) and they will trample the holy city(D) for forty-two months.(E) 3 I will grant[d] my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.”(F) 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord[e] of the earth.(G) 5 If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies;(H) if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 They have authority to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy.(I) They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood(J) and to strike the earth with every plague whenever they want.(K)
The Witnesses Martyred
7 When they finish their testimony, the beast(L) that comes up out of the abyss(M) will make war on them, conquer them, and kill them. 8 Their dead bodies[f](N) will lie in the main street[g] of the great city,(O) which figuratively[h] is called Sodom(P) and Egypt,(Q) where also their Lord was crucified. 9 And some of[i] the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations(R) will view their bodies for three and a half days and not permit their bodies to be put into a tomb.(S) 10 Those who live on the earth will gloat(T) over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
The Witnesses Resurrected
11 But after three and a half days, the breath[j] of life(U) from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard[k] a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” They went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.(V) 13 At that moment a violent earthquake took place,(W) a tenth of the city fell, and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe(X) has passed. Take note: The third woe is coming soon!
The Seventh Trumpet
15 The seventh angel blew his trumpet,(Y) and there were loud voices in heaven saying,
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom
of our Lord and of his Christ,
and he will reign forever and ever.(Z)
16 The twenty-four elders, who were seated before God on their thrones, fell facedown and worshiped God, 17 saying,
We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty,
who is and who was,[l](AA)
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.(AB)
18 The nations were angry,(AC)
but your wrath has come.
The time has come
for the dead to be judged
and to give the reward
to your servants the prophets,(AD)
to the saints, and to those who fear your name,
both small and great,(AE)
and the time has come to destroy
those who destroy the earth.
19 Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant[m] appeared in his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder,(AF) an earthquake,[n] and severe hail.
Footnotes
- 11:1 Other mss add and the angel stood up
- 11:1 Lit “Arise
- 11:2 Or Gentiles
- 11:3 Or I will give to
- 11:4 Other mss read God
- 11:8 Or Their corpse
- 11:8 Or lie on the broad street
- 11:8 Or spiritually
- 11:9 Lit And from
- 11:11 Or spirit
- 11:12 Other mss read Then I heard
- 11:17 Other mss add and who is to come
- 11:19 Other mss read ark of the covenant of the Lord
- 11:19 Other mss omit an earthquake
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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