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How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
    All who delight in him should ponder them.

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24 O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
    In wisdom you have made them all.
    The earth is full of your creatures.

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14 In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul.
    If you find it, you will have a bright future,
    and your hopes will not be cut short.

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I remember the days of old.
    I ponder all your great works
    and think about what you have done.

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14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.

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17 “O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you! 18 You show unfailing love to thousands, but you also bring the consequences of one generation’s sin upon the next. You are the great and powerful God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 19 You have all wisdom and do great and mighty miracles. You see the conduct of all people, and you give them what they deserve.

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19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power

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How great are his signs,
    how powerful his wonders!
His kingdom will last forever,
    his rule through all generations.

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11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

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16 It is senseless to pay to educate a fool,
    since he has no heart for learning.

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11 But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
    I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
12 They are constantly in my thoughts.
    I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.

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And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

“Great and marvelous are your works,
    O Lord God, the Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
    O King of the nations.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 15:3 Some manuscripts read King of the ages.

10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.

12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

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So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

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So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

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28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.

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18 Unfriendly people care only about themselves;
    they lash out at common sense.

Fools have no interest in understanding;
    they only want to air their own opinions.

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Then everyone stops working
    so they can watch his power.

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The Lord Has No Equal

12 Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
    Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
    or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?

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43 Those who are wise will take all this to heart;
    they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.

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34 May all my thoughts be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.

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You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me!
    I sing for joy because of what you have done.
O Lord, what great works you do!
    And how deep are your thoughts.

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The Lord’s Challenge Continues

41 [a]“Can you catch Leviathan[b] with a hook
    or put a noose around its jaw?
Can you tie it with a rope through the nose
    or pierce its jaw with a spike?
Will it beg you for mercy
    or implore you for pity?
Will it agree to work for you,
    to be your slave for life?
Can you make it a pet like a bird,
    or give it to your little girls to play with?
Will merchants try to buy it
    to sell it in their shops?
Will its hide be hurt by spears
    or its head by a harpoon?
If you lay a hand on it,
    you will certainly remember the battle that follows.
    You won’t try that again!
[c]No, it is useless to try to capture it.
    The hunter who attempts it will be knocked down.
10 And since no one dares to disturb it,
    who then can stand up to me?
11 Who has given me anything that I need to pay back?
    Everything under heaven is mine.

12 “I want to emphasize Leviathan’s limbs
    and its enormous strength and graceful form.
13 Who can strip off its hide,
    and who can penetrate its double layer of armor?[d]
14 Who could pry open its jaws?
    For its teeth are terrible!
15 The scales on its back are like[e] rows of shields
    tightly sealed together.
16 They are so close together
    that no air can get between them.
17 Each scale sticks tight to the next.
    They interlock and cannot be penetrated.

18 “When it sneezes, it flashes light!
    Its eyes are like the red of dawn.
19 Lightning leaps from its mouth;
    flames of fire flash out.
20 Smoke streams from its nostrils
    like steam from a pot heated over burning rushes.
21 Its breath would kindle coals,
    for flames shoot from its mouth.

22 “The tremendous strength in Leviathan’s neck
    strikes terror wherever it goes.
23 Its flesh is hard and firm
    and cannot be penetrated.
24 Its heart is hard as rock,
    hard as a millstone.
25 When it rises, the mighty are afraid,
    gripped by terror.
26 No sword can stop it,
    no spear, dart, or javelin.
27 Iron is nothing but straw to that creature,
    and bronze is like rotten wood.
28 Arrows cannot make it flee.
    Stones shot from a sling are like bits of grass.
29 Clubs are like a blade of grass,
    and it laughs at the swish of javelins.
30 Its belly is covered with scales as sharp as glass.
    It plows up the ground as it drags through the mud.

31 “Leviathan makes the water boil with its commotion.
    It stirs the depths like a pot of ointment.
32 The water glistens in its wake,
    making the sea look white.
33 Nothing on earth is its equal,
    no other creature so fearless.
34 Of all the creatures, it is the proudest.
    It is the king of beasts.”

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Footnotes

  1. 41:1a Verses 41:1-8 are numbered 40:25-32 in Hebrew text.
  2. 41:1b The identification of Leviathan is disputed, ranging from an earthly creature to a mythical sea monster in ancient literature.
  3. 41:9 Verses 41:9-34 are numbered 41:1-26 in Hebrew text.
  4. 41:13 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads its bridle?
  5. 41:15 As in some Greek manuscripts and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads Its pride is in its.

The Lord Challenges Job

38 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

“Who is this that questions my wisdom
    with such ignorant words?
Brace yourself like a man,
    because I have some questions for you,
    and you must answer them.

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
    Tell me, if you know so much.
Who determined its dimensions
    and stretched out the surveying line?
What supports its foundations,
    and who laid its cornerstone
as the morning stars sang together
    and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?

“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
    as it burst from the womb,
and as I clothed it with clouds
    and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10 For I locked it behind barred gates,
    limiting its shores.
11 I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
    Here your proud waves must stop!’

12 “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear
    and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
13 Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth,
    to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
14 As the light approaches,
    the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;
    it is robed in brilliant colors.[b]
15 The light disturbs the wicked
    and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

16 “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?
    Have you explored their depths?
17 Do you know where the gates of death are located?
    Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
18 Do you realize the extent of the earth?
    Tell me about it if you know!

19 “Where does light come from,
    and where does darkness go?
20 Can you take each to its home?
    Do you know how to get there?
21 But of course you know all this!
For you were born before it was all created,
    and you are so very experienced!

22 “Have you visited the storehouses of the snow
    or seen the storehouses of hail?
23 (I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble,
    for the day of battle and war.)
24 Where is the path to the source of light?
    Where is the home of the east wind?

25 “Who created a channel for the torrents of rain?
    Who laid out the path for the lightning?
26 Who makes the rain fall on barren land,
    in a desert where no one lives?
27 Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground
    and make the tender grass spring up?

28 “Does the rain have a father?
    Who gives birth to the dew?
29 Who is the mother of the ice?
    Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
30 For the water turns to ice as hard as rock,
    and the surface of the water freezes.

31 “Can you direct the movement of the stars—
    binding the cluster of the Pleiades
    or loosening the cords of Orion?
32 Can you direct the constellations through the seasons
    or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?
33 Do you know the laws of the universe?
    Can you use them to regulate the earth?

34 “Can you shout to the clouds
    and make it rain?
35 Can you make lightning appear
    and cause it to strike as you direct?
36 Who gives intuition to the heart
    and instinct to the mind?
37 Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?
    Who can tilt the water jars of heaven
38 when the parched ground is dry
    and the soil has hardened into clods?

39 “Can you stalk prey for a lioness
    and satisfy the young lions’ appetites
40 as they lie in their dens
    or crouch in the thicket?
41 Who provides food for the ravens
    when their young cry out to God
    and wander about in hunger?

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Footnotes

  1. 38:7 Hebrew the sons of God.
  2. 38:14 Or its features stand out like folds in a robe.

12 By his power the sea grew calm.
    By his skill he crushed the great sea monster.[a]
13 His Spirit made the heavens beautiful,
    and his power pierced the gliding serpent.
14 These are just the beginning of all that he does,
    merely a whisper of his power.
    Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?”

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Footnotes

  1. 26:12 Hebrew Rahab, the name of a mythical sea monster that represents chaos in ancient literature.

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