Job 40

English Standard Version

40 And the Lord ^(A)said to Job:

²“Shall a faultfinder ^(B)contend with the Almighty?
He who argues with God, let him answer it.”

Job Promises Silence

³Then Job answered the Lord and said:

⁴“Behold, I am ^(C)of small account; what shall I answer you?
^(D)I lay my hand on my mouth.
⁵I have spoken ^(E)once, and I will not answer;
^(F)twice, but I will proceed no further.”

The Lord Challenges Job

⁶Then the Lord ^(G)answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

⁷^(H)“Dress for action^[a] like a man;
    ^(I)I will question you, and you make it known to me.
⁸Will you even put me in the wrong?
    Will you condemn me that ^(J)you may be in the right?
⁹Have you ^(K)an arm like God,
    and can you thunder with ^(L)a voice like his?

¹⁰“Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;
    ^(M)clothe yourself with glory and splendor.
¹¹Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
    and look on everyone who is ^(N)proud and abase him.
¹²Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
    and ^(O)tread down the wicked ^(P)where they stand.
¹³^(Q)Hide them all in ^(R)the dust together;
    bind their faces in the world below.^[b]
¹⁴Then will I also acknowledge to you
    that your own ^(S)right hand can save you.

¹⁵“Behold, Behemoth,^[c]
    which I made as I made you;
    he eats ^(T)grass like an ox.
¹⁶Behold, his strength in his loins,
    and his power in the muscles of his belly.
¹⁷He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;
    the sinews of his thighs are knit together.
¹⁸His bones are tubes of bronze,
    his limbs like bars of iron.

¹⁹“He is ^(U)the first of ^(V)the works^[d] of God;
    let him who made him bring near his sword!
²⁰For the mountains yield food for him
    where all the wild beasts play.
²¹Under the lotus plants he lies,
    in the shelter of ^(W)the reeds and in the marsh.
²²For his shade the lotus trees cover him;
    the willows of the brook surround him.
²³Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;
    he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.
²⁴Can one take him by his eyes,^[e]
    or pierce his nose with a snare?

Footnotes

Job 40:7 Hebrew Gird up your loins
Job 40:13 Hebrew in the hidden place
Job 40:15 A large animal, exact identity uncertain
Job 40:19 Hebrew ways
Job 40:24 Or in his sight

Psalm 77

English Standard Version

In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Jeduthun. A Psalm of ^(B)Asaph.

77 I ^(C)cry aloud to God,
    aloud to God, and he will hear me.
²^(D)In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
    in ^(E)the night my ^(F)hand is stretched out without wearying;
    my soul ^(G)refuses to be comforted.
³When I remember God, I ^(H)moan;
    when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

⁴You hold my eyelids open;
    I am so ^(I)troubled that I cannot speak.
⁵I consider ^(J)the days of old,
    the years long ago.
⁶I said,^[a] “Let me remember my ^(K)song in the night;
    let me ^(L)meditate in my heart.”
    Then my spirit made a diligent search:
⁷“Will the Lord ^(M)spurn forever,
    and never again ^(N)be favorable?
⁸Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
    Are his ^(O)promises at an end for all time?
⁹^(P)Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    ^(Q)Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

¹⁰Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the ^(R)right hand of the Most High.”^[b]

¹¹I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will ^(S)remember your wonders of old.
¹²I will ponder all your ^(T)work,
    and meditate on your ^(U)mighty deeds.
¹³Your way, O God, is ^(V)holy.
    ^(W)What god is great like our God?
¹⁴You are the God who ^(X)works wonders;
    you have ^(Y)made known your might among the peoples.
¹⁵You ^(Z)with your arm redeemed your people,
    the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

¹⁶When ^(AA)the waters saw you, O God,
    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
    indeed, the deep trembled.
¹⁷The clouds poured out water;
    the skies ^(AB)gave forth thunder;
    your ^(AC)arrows flashed on every side.
¹⁸^(AD)The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
    ^(AE)your lightnings lighted up the world;
    the earth ^(AF)trembled and shook.
¹⁹Your ^(AG)way was through the sea,
    your path through the great waters;
    yet your footprints ^(AH)were unseen.^[c]
²⁰You ^(AI)led your people like a flock
    by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Footnotes

Psalm 77:6 Hebrew lacks I said
Psalm 77:10 Or This is my grief: that the right hand of the Most High has changed
Psalm 77:19 Hebrew unknown

Nehemiah 1

English Standard Version

Report from Jerusalem

1 The words of ^(A)Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in the month of ^(B)Chislev, ^(C)in the twentieth year, as I was in ^(D)Susa the citadel, ²that ^(E)Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. ³And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and ^(F)shame. ^(G)The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, ^(H)and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

Nehemiah's Prayer

⁴As soon as I heard these words I ^(I)sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the ^(J)God of heaven. ⁵And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, ^(K)the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁶^(L)let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, ^(M)confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even ^(N)I and my father's house have sinned. ⁷^(O)We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules ^(P)that you commanded your servant Moses. ⁸Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, ^(Q)I will scatter you among the peoples, ⁹^(R)but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, ^(S)though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them ^(T)to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ ¹⁰^(U)They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. ¹¹O Lord, ^(V)let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”