Be still(A) before the Lord
    and wait patiently(B) for him;
do not fret(C) when people succeed in their ways,(D)
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.(E)

Read full chapter

Patience in Suffering

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming.(A) See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting(B) for the autumn and spring rains.(C) You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming(D) is near.(E) Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters,(F) or you will be judged. The Judge(G) is standing at the door!(H)

10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets(I) who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed(J) those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance(K) and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.(L) The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.(M)

Read full chapter

14 Wait(A) for the Lord;
    be strong(B) and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

Read full chapter

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;(A)
    my hope comes from him.

Read full chapter

36 You need to persevere(A) so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.(B) 37 For,

“In just a little while,
    he who is coming(C) will come
    and will not delay.”[a](D)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 10:37 Isaiah 26:20; Hab. 2:3

22 Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!”(A)
    Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you.(B)

Read full chapter

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;(A)
26 it is good to wait quietly(B)
    for the salvation of the Lord.(C)

Read full chapter

For the revelation awaits an appointed time;(A)
    it speaks of the end(B)
    and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait(C) for it;
    it[a] will certainly come
    and will not delay.(D)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 2:3 Or Though he linger, wait for him; / he

Jeremiah’s Complaint

12 You are always righteous,(A) Lord,
    when I bring a case(B) before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:(C)
    Why does the way of the wicked prosper?(D)
    Why do all the faithless live at ease?

Read full chapter

15 This is what the Sovereign(A) Lord, the Holy One(B) of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest(C) is your salvation,
    in quietness and trust(D) is your strength,
    but you would have none of it.(E)

Read full chapter

Psalm 40[a](A)

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

I waited patiently(B) for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.(C)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 40:1 In Hebrew texts 40:1-17 is numbered 40:2-18.

Let us not become weary in doing good,(A) for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.(B)

Read full chapter

Psalm 62[a]

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

Truly my soul finds rest(A) in God;(B)
    my salvation comes from him.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 62:1 In Hebrew texts 62:1-12 is numbered 62:2-13.

17 I will wait(A) for the Lord,
    who is hiding(B) his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.(C)

Read full chapter

12 On the day the Lord gave the Amorites(A) over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
    and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.(B)

Read full chapter

13 For he says:

“‘By the strength of my hand(A) I have done this,(B)
    and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
    I plundered their treasures;(C)
    like a mighty one I subdued[a] their kings.(D)
14 As one reaches into a nest,(E)
    so my hand reached for the wealth(F) of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
    so I gathered all the countries;(G)
not one flapped a wing,
    or opened its mouth to chirp.(H)’”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 10:13 Or treasures; / I subdued the mighty,

Riches Are Meaningless

If you see the poor oppressed(A) in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still.

Read full chapter

11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

Read full chapter

The King Who Exalts Himself

36 “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself(A) above every god and will say unheard-of things(B) against the God of gods.(C) He will be successful until the time of wrath(D) is completed, for what has been determined must take place.(E)

Read full chapter

I bring no charges(A) against you concerning your sacrifices
    or concerning your burnt offerings,(B) which are ever before me.

Read full chapter

Why do the wicked live on,
    growing old and increasing in power?(A)
They see their children established around them,
    their offspring before their eyes.(B)
Their homes are safe and free from fear;(C)
    the rod of God is not on them.(D)
10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
    their cows calve and do not miscarry.(E)
11 They send forth their children as a flock;(F)
    their little ones dance about.
12 They sing to the music of timbrel and lyre;(G)
    they make merry to the sound of the pipe.(H)
13 They spend their years in prosperity(I)
    and go down to the grave(J) in peace.[a](K)
14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!(L)
    We have no desire to know your ways.(M)
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
    What would we gain by praying to him?’(N)
16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
    so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.(O)

17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?(P)
    How often does calamity(Q) come upon them,
    the fate God allots in his anger?(R)
18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
    like chaff(S) swept away(T) by a gale?(U)
19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’(V)
    Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!(W)
20 Let their own eyes see their destruction;(X)
    let them drink(Y) the cup of the wrath of the Almighty.(Z)
21 For what do they care about the families they leave behind(AA)
    when their allotted months(AB) come to an end?(AC)

22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,(AD)
    since he judges even the highest?(AE)
23 One person dies in full vigor,(AF)
    completely secure and at ease,(AG)
24 well nourished(AH) in body,[b]
    bones(AI) rich with marrow.(AJ)
25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,(AK)
    never having enjoyed anything good.
26 Side by side they lie in the dust,(AL)
    and worms(AM) cover them both.(AN)

27 “I know full well what you are thinking,
    the schemes by which you would wrong me.
28 You say, ‘Where now is the house of the great,(AO)
    the tents where the wicked lived?’(AP)
29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
    Have you paid no regard to their accounts—
30 that the wicked are spared from the day of calamity,(AQ)
    that they are delivered from[c] the day of wrath?(AR)
31 Who denounces their conduct to their face?
    Who repays them for what they have done?(AS)
32 They are carried to the grave,
    and watch is kept over their tombs.(AT)
33 The soil in the valley is sweet to them;(AU)
    everyone follows after them,
    and a countless throng goes[d] before them.(AV)

34 “So how can you console me(AW) with your nonsense?
    Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”(AX)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Job 21:13 Or in an instant
  2. Job 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Job 21:30 Or wicked are reserved for the day of calamity, / that they are brought forth to
  4. Job 21:33 Or them, / as a countless throng went

One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed.(A) The whole world was filled with wonder(B) and followed the beast. People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like(C) the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies(D) and to exercise its authority for forty-two months.(E) It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.(F) It was given power to wage war(G) against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.(H) All inhabitants of the earth(I) will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life,(J) the Lamb(K) who was slain from the creation of the world.[a](L)

Whoever has ears, let them hear.(M)

10 “If anyone is to go into captivity,
    into captivity they will go.
If anyone is to be killed[b] with the sword,
    with the sword they will be killed.”[c](N)

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness(O) on the part of God’s people.(P)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 13:8 Or written from the creation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was slain
  2. Revelation 13:10 Some manuscripts anyone kills
  3. Revelation 13:10 Jer. 15:2

For I envied(A) the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.(B)

They have no struggles;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.[a]
They are free(C) from common human burdens;
    they are not plagued by human ills.
Therefore pride(D) is their necklace;(E)
    they clothe themselves with violence.(F)
From their callous hearts(G) comes iniquity[b];
    their evil imaginations have no limits.
They scoff, and speak with malice;(H)
    with arrogance(I) they threaten oppression.(J)
Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
    and their tongues take possession of the earth.
10 Therefore their people turn to them
    and drink up waters in abundance.[c]
11 They say, “How would God know?
    Does the Most High know anything?”

12 This is what the wicked are like—
    always free of care,(K) they go on amassing wealth.(L)

13 Surely in vain(M) I have kept my heart pure
    and have washed my hands in innocence.(N)
14 All day long I have been afflicted,(O)
    and every morning brings new punishments.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 73:4 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text struggles at their death; / their bodies are healthy
  2. Psalm 73:7 Syriac (see also Septuagint); Hebrew Their eyes bulge with fat
  3. Psalm 73:10 The meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.

Bible Gateway Recommends