Job’s Confession

42 Then Job answered the Lord and said,

God Is Displeased with Job’s Friends

⁷ It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, ^(G)as My servant Job has. ⁸ Now therefore, take for yourselves ^(H)seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a ^(I)burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will ^(J)pray for you. ^(K)For I will ^[a]accept him so as not to do with you as your foolishness deserves, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, as My servant Job has.” ⁹ So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord told them; and the Lord ^[b]accepted Job.

God Restores Job’s Fortunes

¹⁰ The Lord also ^(L)restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased double all that Job had. ¹¹ Then all his ^(M)brothers, all his sisters, and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they ^(N)sympathized with him and comforted him for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him a ^[c]piece of money, and each a ring of gold. ^12 (O)The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; ^(P)and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys. ^13 (Q)He also had seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. ¹⁵ In all the land no women were found as beautiful as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritances among their brothers. ¹⁶ After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations. ^17 (R)And Job died, an old man and full of days.

Paul’s Vision

12 ^(A)Boasting is necessary, though it is not beneficial; but I will go on to visions and ^(B)revelations ^[a]of the Lord. ² I know a man ^(C)in Christ, who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, ^(D)God knows—such a man was ^(E)caught up to the ^(F)third heaven. ³ And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, ^(G)God knows— ⁴ was ^(H)caught up into ^(I)Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. ^5 (J)In behalf of such a man I will boast; but in my own behalf I will not boast, except regarding my ^(K)weaknesses. ⁶ For if I do wish to boast I will not be ^(L)foolish, ^(M)for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.

A Thorn in the Flesh

⁷ Because of the extraordinary greatness of the ^(N)revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given to me a ^(O)thorn in the flesh, a ^(P)messenger of Satan to ^[b]torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! ⁸ Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord ^(Q)three times that it might leave me. ⁹ And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for ^(R)power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather ^(S)boast ^[c]about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. ¹⁰ Therefore ^(T)I delight in weaknesses, in ^[d]insults, in ^(U)distresses, in ^(V)persecutions, in ^(W)difficulties, ^(X)in behalf of Christ; for ^(Y)when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹¹ I have become ^(Z)foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, since I was ^(AA)in no respect inferior to the ^[e]most eminent apostles, even though ^(AB)I am a nobody. ¹² The ^(AC)distinguishing marks ^[f]of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by ^[g]signs, wonders, and ^[h]miracles. ¹³ For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except that ^(AD)I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me ^(AE)this wrong!

¹⁴ Here ^(AF)for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I ^(AG)will not be a burden to you; for I ^(AH)do not seek what is yours, but ^(AI)you; for ^(AJ)children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but ^(AK)parents for their children. ¹⁵ I will ^(AL)most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If ^(AM)I love you more, am I to be loved less? ¹⁶ But be that as it may, I ^(AN)did not burden you myself; nevertheless, devious person that I am, I ^(AO)took you in by deceit. ^17 (AP)Certainly I have not taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to you, have I? ¹⁸ I ^(AQ)urged ^(AR)Titus to go, and I sent ^(AS)the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not ^[i]conduct ourselves ^[j]in the same ^(AT)spirit and walk ^(AU)in the same steps?

¹⁹ All this time ^[k]you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually, ^(AV)it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and ^(AW)all for building you up, ^(AX)beloved. ²⁰ For I am afraid that perhaps ^(AY)when I come I may find you to be not what I wish, and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be ^(AZ)strife, jealousy, ^(BA)angry tempers, ^(BB)selfishness, ^(BC)slanders, ^(BD)gossip, ^(BE)arrogance, ^(BF)disturbances; ²¹ I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have ^(BG)sinned in the past and not repented of the ^(BH)impurity, sexual immorality, and indecent behavior which they have practiced.