Job 31

Job 30 Job 32

Job 31New International Version (NIV)

31 “I made a covenant with my eyes
    not to look lustfully at a young woman.
²For what is our lot from God above,
    our heritage from the Almighty on high?
³Is it not ruin for the wicked,
    disaster for those who do wrong?
⁴Does he not see my ways
    and count my every step?

⁵“If I have walked with falsehood
    or my foot has hurried after deceit—
⁶let God weigh me in honest scales
    and he will know that I am blameless—
⁷if my steps have turned from the path,
    if my heart has been led by my eyes,
    or if my hands have been defiled,
⁸then may others eat what I have sown,
    and may my crops be uprooted.

⁹“If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
    or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
¹⁰then may my wife grind another man’s grain,
    and may other men sleep with her.
¹¹For that would have been wicked,
    a sin to be judged.
¹²It is a fire that burns to Destruction^[a];
    it would have uprooted my harvest.

¹³“If I have denied justice to any of my servants,
    whether male or female,
    when they had a grievance against me,
¹⁴what will I do when God confronts me?
    What will I answer when called to account?
¹⁵Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
    Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?

¹⁶“If I have denied the desires of the poor
    or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,
¹⁷if I have kept my bread to myself,
    not sharing it with the fatherless—
¹⁸but from my youth I reared them as a father would,
    and from my birth I guided the widow—
¹⁹if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,
    or the needy without garments,
²⁰and their hearts did not bless me
    for warming them with the fleece from my sheep,
²¹if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
    knowing that I had influence in court,
²²then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
    let it be broken off at the joint.
²³For I dreaded destruction from God,
    and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.

²⁴“If I have put my trust in gold
    or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’
²⁵if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,
    the fortune my hands had gained,
²⁶if I have regarded the sun in its radiance
    or the moon moving in splendor,
²⁷so that my heart was secretly enticed
    and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,
²⁸then these also would be sins to be judged,
    for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

²⁹“If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune
    or gloated over the trouble that came to him—
³⁰I have not allowed my mouth to sin
    by invoking a curse against their life—
³¹if those of my household have never said,
    ‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’—
³²but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,
    for my door was always open to the traveler—
³³if I have concealed my sin as people do,^[b]
    by hiding my guilt in my heart
³⁴because I so feared the crowd
    and so dreaded the contempt of the clans
    that I kept silent and would not go outside—

³⁵(“Oh, that I had someone to hear me!
    I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;
    let my accuser put his indictment in writing.
³⁶Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,
    I would put it on like a crown.
³⁷I would give him an account of my every step;
    I would present it to him as to a ruler.)—

³⁸“if my land cries out against me
    and all its furrows are wet with tears,
³⁹if I have devoured its yield without payment
    or broken the spirit of its tenants,
⁴⁰then let briers come up instead of wheat
    and stinkweed instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.

Footnotes:

Job 31:12 Hebrew Abaddon
Job 31:33 Or as Adam did

New International Version (NIV)

Job 32

Job 31 Job 33

Job 32New International Version (NIV)

Elihu

32 So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. ²But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. ³He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.^[a] ⁴Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. ⁵But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.

⁶So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said:

“I am young in years,
    and you are old;
that is why I was fearful,
    not daring to tell you what I know.
⁷I thought, ‘Age should speak;
    advanced years should teach wisdom.’
⁸But it is the spirit^[b] in a person,
    the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
⁹It is not only the old^[c] who are wise,
    not only the aged who understand what is right.

¹⁰“Therefore I say: Listen to me;
    I too will tell you what I know.
¹¹I waited while you spoke,
    I listened to your reasoning;
while you were searching for words,
¹²    I gave you my full attention.
But not one of you has proved Job wrong;
    none of you has answered his arguments.
¹³Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;
    let God, not a man, refute him.’
¹⁴But Job has not marshaled his words against me,
    and I will not answer him with your arguments.

¹⁵“They are dismayed and have no more to say;
    words have failed them.
¹⁶Must I wait, now that they are silent,
    now that they stand there with no reply?
¹⁷I too will have my say;
    I too will tell what I know.
¹⁸For I am full of words,
    and the spirit within me compels me;
¹⁹inside I am like bottled-up wine,
    like new wineskins ready to burst.
²⁰I must speak and find relief;
    I must open my lips and reply.
²¹I will show no partiality,
    nor will I flatter anyone;
²²for if I were skilled in flattery,
    my Maker would soon take me away.

Footnotes:

Job 32:3 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition Job, and so had condemned God
Job 32:8 Or Spirit; also in verse 18
Job 32:9 Or many; or great

New International Version (NIV)

Galatians 5

Galatians 4 Galatians 6

Galatians 5New International Version (NIV)

Freedom in Christ

5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

²Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

⁷You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? ⁸That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” ¹⁰I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. ¹¹Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. ¹²As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

Life by the Spirit

¹³You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh^[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^[b] ¹⁵If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[c] you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Footnotes:

Galatians 5:13 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 16, 17, 19 and 24; and in 6:8.
Galatians 5:14 Lev. 19:18
Galatians 5:17 Or you do not do what

New International Version (NIV)

Galatians 6

Galatians 5 Ephesians 1

Galatians 6New International Version (NIV)

Doing Good to All

6 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. ²Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. ³If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. ⁴Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, ⁵for each one should carry their own load. ⁶Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

⁷Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Not Circumcision but the New Creation

¹¹See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!

¹²Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. ¹³Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. ¹⁴May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which^[a] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ¹⁵Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. ¹⁶Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to^[b] the Israel of God.