Job 8

New American Standard Bible

Bildad Says God Rewards the Good

8 Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,

²“How long will you say these things,
And the ^(A)words of your mouth be a mighty wind?
³Does ^(B)God pervert justice?
Or does ^[a]the Almighty pervert what is right?
⁴^(C)If your sons sinned against Him,
Then He turned them over to the ^[b]power of their wrongdoing.
⁵If you will ^(D)search for God
And implore the compassion of ^[c]the Almighty,
⁶If you are pure and upright,
Surely now ^(E)He will stir Himself for you
And restore your righteous ^[d]^(F)estate.
⁷Though your beginning was insignificant,
Yet your ^(G)end will increase greatly.

⁸“Please ^(H)inquire of past generations,
And consider the things searched out by their fathers.
⁹For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because ^(I)our days on earth are as a shadow.
¹⁰Will they not teach you and tell you,
And bring forth words from their minds?

¹¹“Can papyrus grow tall without a marsh?
Can the rushes grow without water?
¹²While it is still green and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other ^[e]plant.
¹³So are the paths of ^(J)all who forget God;
And the ^(K)hope of the godless will perish,
¹⁴His confidence is fragile,
And his trust is a ^(L)spider’s ^[f]web.
¹⁵He depends on his ^(M)house, but it does not stand;
He holds on to it, but it does not endure.
¹⁶He ^(N)flourishes before the sun,
And his ^(O)shoots spread out over his garden.
¹⁷His roots wrap around a rock pile,
He ^[g]grasps a house of stones.
¹⁸If he is ^[h]removed from ^(P)his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘^(Q)I never saw you.’
¹⁹Behold, ^(R)this is the joy of His way;
And out of the dust others will spring.
²⁰Behold, ^(S)God will not reject a person of integrity,
Nor ^(T)will He ^[i]help evildoers.
²¹He will yet fill ^(U)your mouth with laughter,
And your lips with joyful shouting.
²²Those who hate you will be ^(V)clothed with shame,
And the ^(W)tent of the wicked will no longer exist.”

Footnotes

Job 8:3 Heb Shaddai
Job 8:4 Lit hand
Job 8:5 Heb Shaddai
Job 8:6 Lit place
Job 8:12 Lit reed
Job 8:14 Lit house
Job 8:17 Heb sees
Job 8:18 Lit swallowed up
Job 8:20 Lit strengthen the hand of

Romans 12

New American Standard Bible

Dedicated Service

12 Therefore ^(A)I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to ^(B)present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, ^[a]acceptable to God, which is your ^[b]spiritual service of worship. ²And do not ^(C)be conformed to ^(D)this ^[c]world, but be transformed by the ^(E)renewing of your mind, so that you may ^[d]^(F)prove what the will of God is, that which is good and ^[e]acceptable and perfect.

³For through ^(G)the grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^(H)not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to ^(I)each a measure of faith. ⁴For ^(J)just as we have many parts in one body and all ^[f]the body’s parts do not have the same function, ⁵so we, ^(K)who are many, are ^(L)one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another. ⁶However, since we have gifts that ^(M)differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if ^(N)prophecy, ^[g]in proportion to one’s faith; ⁷if ^[h]^(O)service, in the act of serving; or the one who ^(P)teaches, in the act of teaching; ⁸or the one who ^[i]^(Q)exhorts, in the work of ^[j]exhortation; the one who gives, with ^[k]^(R)generosity; ^(S)the one who ^[l]is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with ^(T)cheerfulness.

⁹^[m]^(U)Love must be free of hypocrisy. ^(V)Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be ^(W)devoted to one another in brotherly love; ^[n]give preference to one another ^(X)in honor, ¹¹not lagging behind in diligence, ^(Y)fervent in spirit, ^(Z)serving the Lord; ¹²^(AA)rejoicing in hope, ^(AB)persevering in tribulation, ^(AC)devoted to prayer, ¹³^(AD)contributing to the needs of the ^[o]saints, ^[p]^(AE)practicing hospitality.

¹⁴^(AF)Bless those who persecute ^[q]you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵^(AG)Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ¹⁶^(AH)Be of the same mind toward one another; ^(AI)do not be ^[r]haughty in mind, but ^[s]associate with the lowly. ^(AJ)Do not be wise in your own estimation. ¹⁷^(AK)Never repay evil for evil to anyone. ^[t]^(AL)Respect what is right in the sight of all people. ¹⁸If possible, ^(AM)so far as it depends on you, ^(AN)be at peace with all people. ¹⁹^(AO)Never take your own revenge, beloved, but ^[u]leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “^(AP)Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰“^(AQ)But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.