Job 5

New International Version

5 “Call if you will, but who will answer you?^(A)
    To which of the holy ones^(B) will you turn?
²Resentment^(C) kills a fool,
    and envy slays the simple.^(D)
³I myself have seen^(E) a fool taking root,^(F)
    but suddenly^(G) his house was cursed.^(H)
⁴His children^(I) are far from safety,^(J)
    crushed in court^(K) without a defender.^(L)
⁵The hungry consume his harvest,^(M)
    taking it even from among thorns,
    and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
⁶For hardship does not spring from the soil,
    nor does trouble sprout from the ground.^(N)
⁷Yet man is born to trouble^(O)
    as surely as sparks fly upward.

⁸“But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
    I would lay my cause before him.^(P)
⁹He performs wonders^(Q) that cannot be fathomed,^(R)
    miracles that cannot be counted.^(S)
¹⁰He provides rain for the earth;^(T)
    he sends water on the countryside.^(U)
¹¹The lowly he sets on high,^(V)
    and those who mourn^(W) are lifted^(X) to safety.
¹²He thwarts the plans^(Y) of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.^(Z)
¹³He catches the wise^(AA) in their craftiness,^(AB)
    and the schemes of the wily are swept away.^(AC)
¹⁴Darkness^(AD) comes upon them in the daytime;
    at noon they grope as in the night.^(AE)
¹⁵He saves the needy^(AF) from the sword in their mouth;
    he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.^(AG)
¹⁶So the poor^(AH) have hope,
    and injustice shuts its mouth.^(AI)

¹⁷“Blessed is the one whom God corrects;^(AJ)
    so do not despise the discipline^(AK) of the Almighty.^[a]^(AL)
¹⁸For he wounds, but he also binds up;^(AM)
    he injures, but his hands also heal.^(AN)
¹⁹From six calamities he will rescue^(AO) you;
    in seven no harm will touch you.^(AP)
²⁰In famine^(AQ) he will deliver you from death,
    and in battle from the stroke of the sword.^(AR)
²¹You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,^(AS)
    and need not fear^(AT) when destruction comes.^(AU)
²²You will laugh^(AV) at destruction and famine,^(AW)
    and need not fear the wild animals.^(AX)
²³For you will have a covenant^(AY) with the stones^(AZ) of the field,
    and the wild animals will be at peace with you.^(BA)
²⁴You will know that your tent is secure;^(BB)
    you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.^(BC)
²⁵You will know that your children will be many,^(BD)
    and your descendants like the grass of the earth.^(BE)
²⁶You will come to the grave in full vigor,^(BF)
    like sheaves gathered in season.^(BG)

²⁷“We have examined this, and it is true.
So hear it^(BH) and apply it to yourself.”^(BI)

Footnotes

Job 5:17 Hebrew Shaddai; here and throughout Job

2 Corinthians 10

New International Version

Paul’s Defense of His Ministry

10 By the humility and gentleness^(A) of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul,^(B) who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away! ²I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold^(C) as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.^(D) ³For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.^(E) ⁴The weapons we fight with^(F) are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power^(G) to demolish strongholds.^(H) ⁵We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,^(I) and we take captive every thought to make it obedient^(J) to Christ. ⁶And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.^(K)

⁷You are judging by appearances.^[a]^(L) If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ,^(M) they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.^(N) ⁸So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us^(O) for building you up rather than tearing you down,^(P) I will not be ashamed of it. ⁹I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. ¹⁰For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive^(Q) and his speaking amounts to nothing.”^(R) ¹¹Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.

¹²We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves.^(S) When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. ¹³We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us,^(T) a sphere that also includes you. ¹⁴We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you^(U) with the gospel of Christ.^(V) ¹⁵Neither do we go beyond our limits^(W) by boasting of work done by others.^(X) Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow,^(Y) our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, ¹⁶so that we can preach the gospel^(Z) in the regions beyond you.^(AA) For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. ¹⁷But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”^[b]^(AB) ¹⁸For it is not the one who commends himself^(AC) who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.^(AD)

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 10:7 Or Look at the obvious facts
2 Corinthians 10:17 Jer. 9:24

Psalm 131

New International Version

Psalm 131

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹My heart is not proud,^(A) Lord,
    my eyes are not haughty;^(B)
I do not concern myself with great matters^(C)
    or things too wonderful for me.^(D)
²But I have calmed and quieted myself,^(E)
    I am like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child I am content.^(F)