The Daily Audio Bible
Transition to Round Two
Job’s Summation
12 Then Job responded:
2 Yes, indeed. You are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!
3 But I understand things as well as you.[a]
I do not fall short of you.
Who doesn’t know all these things?
4 But I am a laughingstock to my neighbor—
I, who call on God, and he answers me—
I, a righteous and complete man, am a laughingstock!
5 Those who are carefree do not worry about disaster.
They think it is reserved for those whose feet are slipping.
6 The tents of raiders are undisturbed,
and those who provoke God are secure—
those who carry their god in their hand.[b]
7 Please ask the animals, and they will teach you.
Ask the birds of the sky, and they will inform you.
8 Complain to the earth, and it will teach you,
and the fish of the sea will tell you about it.
9 Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord[c] did this?
10 The life of every living thing is in his hand,
as well as the breath[d] in all human flesh.
11 Isn’t it true that the ear tests words
and the palate tastes food?
12 Isn’t it true that wisdom is found among the aged
and understanding among those who have had a long life?
13 But wisdom and power are with God.
He gives guidance and understanding.
14 If he tears something down, it cannot be rebuilt.
If he shuts a door on a man, it cannot be opened.
15 Look! He holds back the waters, and the land dries up.
He turns them loose, and the earth is overwhelmed.
16 He has strength and sound judgment.
The deceiver and the deceived both belong to him.
17 He causes royal advisors to be led away naked.
He makes fools of judges.
18 He takes away the ruling power of kings,
and he wraps a loincloth around their waist.[e]
19 He causes priests to be led away naked,
and he brings the pillars of society down to ruin.
20 He closes the lips of trusted advisors,
and he takes away good judgment from elders.
21 He pours contempt on nobles.
He loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He uncovers deep mysteries that were hidden in darkness.
He brings the shadow of death into the light.
23 He raises nations to power, and then he destroys them.
He enlarges nations, and then he leads them away captive.
24 He deprives the heads of the peoples of the earth of their reason.
He makes them wander in a wild land where there are no roads.
25 They grope around in darkness, where there is no light.
He causes them to wander aimlessly like drunks.
13 My eyes have certainly seen all this.
My ears have heard it and understood it.
2 Whatever you know, I know every bit as well.
I do not fall short of you in any way.
3 But I want to speak to the Almighty.
I am eager to argue my case with God.
4 All you do is plaster over problems[f] with lies.
Such useless healers, all of you!
5 I wish you would shut up completely.
For you, that would be wisdom!
6 But now, listen to my rebuttal.
Pay attention to the arguments from my lips.
7 Will you misrepresent God?[g]
Will you speak deceitfully about him?
8 Will you show favoritism on behalf of God
and argue his case for him?
9 Will it turn out well when he cross-examines you?
Can you fool God as you can fool a man?
10 He will certainly rule against you if you hide your favoritism.
11 Won’t God’s majesty frighten you?
Won’t the dread he inspires overwhelm you?
12 Your axioms are proverbs made of ashes.
Your strong points are made of clay.
13 Silence! Let me speak.
I intend to speak up, no matter what happens.
14 Why do I bite my flesh with my teeth?
Why do I take my life in my hands?
15 Even if he slays me, I will wait for him with hope.[h]
No matter what, I will defend my ways to his face.
16 Even this may turn out for my salvation,
for no godless person would dare to face him.
17 Listen carefully to my words!
Give my testimony a hearing.
18 Please, listen. I have laid out my case.
I know that I am innocent.
19 Who can make a case against me?
If anyone can, I will be quiet and die.
20 Just do two things for me, God.
If you do, I will not hide from your face.
21 Take your hands off me,
and do not terrify me with your grandeur.[i]
22 Summon me, and I will answer.
Or, I will speak, and you can respond to me.
23 How much guilt and how many sins do I have?
Reveal my rebellion and my sin to me.
24 Why do you hide your face?
Why do you treat me like your enemy?
25 Will you toss me around[j] like a wind-blown leaf?
Will you chase me away like dry chaff?
26 You write bitter accusations against me,
and you hold me accountable for the guilt of my youth.
27 You lock my feet in stocks
and station guards along all my paths.
You put your brand on the soles of my feet.
28 So a man rots away like a garment eaten by moths.
14 Man born of woman has a few short days,
and they are full of anxiety.
2 He blossoms like a flower, but soon withers.
He recedes like a shadow and does not remain.
3 You keep your eye on such a man.
You bring me[k] into judgment in your presence.
4 Who can produce something pure from something that is impure?
No one.
5 Certainly his days are determined.
The number of his months has been set by you.
A limit is set, which he cannot exceed.
6 Turn your gaze away from him, and let him be,
until he finishes his day’s work as a hired man.
7 There is still hope for a tree if it is cut down.
It may grow up again and produce new shoots.
8 Though its roots lie dormant in the earth,
and its stump is dying in the dust,
9 with just a whiff of water, it shoots up again.
As a growing plant, it again sends out branches.
10 But if a man dies, he shrivels away.
When a person breathes his last, where is he?
11 Waters evaporate from the sea.
A river dries up and becomes dust.
12 In the same way, a man lies down and does not rise again.
Until the heavens pass away, he does not awaken,
and he is not aroused from his sleep.
13 Oh how I wish you would hide me in the grave,
that you would conceal me until your wrath has passed by,
that you would set an appointed time for me,
and then you would remember me.
14 If a man dies, will he live again?
Through all the days of my warfare,[l]
I will wait, until change comes about for me.
15 You will call, and I myself will answer.
Then you will long for the work of your hands.
16 Now you count my steps,
but then you will no longer keep track of my sin.
17 My rebellious deeds will be sealed up in a bag,
and you will plaster over my guilt.
18 But as a mountain crumbles and falls,
and as a rock is moved from its place,
19 as water wears away stones,
and floodwaters wash away soil from the land,
so you destroy a man’s hope.
20 You overpower him once and for all, and he passes away.
You change his appearance and send him away.
21 His sons are honored, but he is not aware of it.
They are brought low, but he does not realize it.
22 He feels the pain only of his own flesh,
and in his soul grieves only for himself.
Round Two: Eliphaz’s Speech
15 Eliphaz the Temanite responded:
2 Does a wise man answer with windy bluster?
Does he fill his belly with the hot east wind?
3 Does he support his arguments with useless talk,
with words that provide no benefit?
4 But you even tear down reverence.
You hinder thoughtful reflection in the presence of God.
5 Your guilt instructs your mouth.
You choose deceptive language.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not mine.
Your own lips testify against you.
7 Were you the first man to be born?
Were you brought forth before the hills?
8 Do you listen in on the council meetings of God?
Do you lay claim to all wisdom for yourself?
9 What do you know that we do not know as well?
What do you understand that we do not?
10 The gray-haired and the aged are on our side,
men older than your father.
11 Are the consolations of God too small for you?
Do you think nothing of the gentle words spoken to you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away?
Why do your eyes flash with such anger?
13 Why do you turn your spirit against God?
Why do you allow such words to pour out of your mouth?
14 What is man, that he could be pure,
or one born of woman, that he could be declared righteous?
15 If God does not trust in his holy ones,
and even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,
16 how much less man who is repulsive and corrupt,
who drinks down injustice like water!
17 Let me instruct you! Listen to me!
This is what I have seen. Let me tell you about it.
18 This is what wise men have declared,
wise men who hid nothing of what they had received from their fathers,
19 to whom alone the land was given,
at a time when no foreigners were present in their midst.
20 Through all his days, a wicked man writhes in pain,
throughout the whole number of years stored up for a tyrant.
21 Terrifying sounds echo in his ears.
In peacetime the plunderer arrives.
22 The wicked man does not believe that he will return from darkness.
He is sentenced to the sword.
23 He wanders around looking for food and asks, “Where is it?”[m]
He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.
24 Pressure and distress terrify him.
They overpower him, like a king ready to attack,
25 because he has stretched out his hand against God,
and he has been arrogant toward the Almighty.
26 He charges at him defiantly[n] with a thick shield.
27 Though now his face is covered with its fat,
and his hips bulge with lard,
28 he will live in ruined cities,
in abandoned houses, reduced to rubble.
29 He will no longer be rich.
His wealth will not last.
His possessions will no longer cover the ground.
30 He will not escape from darkness.
Flames will dry up his shoots.
With a breath from God’s mouth, he will depart.
31 He should not trust in useless things.
He should not fool himself.
His only reward will be useless things.
32 Before his time, he will be paid in full.
His palm branches will not be green.
33 His grapes will be shaken from the vine before they are ripe.
He will be like an olive tree that loses its blossoms.
34 In the end, the community of the godless produces nothing,
and fire consumes the tents of those who take bribes.
35 They conceive trouble and give birth to disaster.
Their womb produces treachery.
29 Otherwise, what will those people do who get baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why do they even get baptized for them? 30 Why do we live in danger every hour? 31 Day by day I face death, as surely as I boast about you, brothers,[a] in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild animals in Ephesus with human motives, what good did it do me? If the dead are not raised, then “let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”[b] 33 Do not be deceived! “Keeping bad company corrupts good morals.”[c] 34 Use sober judgment, as is right, and do not sin, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone will object, “How can it be that the dead are raised? With what kind of body are they going to come?”
36 You are being foolish. What you sow is not made alive unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that will be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body of the kind he wanted it to have, and to each of the seeds he gives its own body.
39 Flesh is not all the same kind. Instead, people have one kind of flesh, animals have another kind, birds another, and fish yet another. 40 There are also celestial bodies and bodies on earth, but the glory of the celestial bodies differs from that of the bodies on earth. 41 There is one glory of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; in fact, one star differs from another in glory.
42 That is the way the resurrection of the dead will be. What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown as a natural[d] body; it is raised as a spiritual[e] body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living natural being.”[f] The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, that which is spiritual is not first; rather, first comes the natural, then the spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord[g] from heaven. 48 As was the man made of dust, so are the people who are made of dust, and as is the heavenly man, so the heavenly people will be. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the man made of dust, let us[h] also bear the image of the heavenly man.
The Change to Immortality on the Last Day
50 Now I say this, brothers: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and what is perishable is not going to inherit what is imperishable. 51 Look, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 But once this perishable body has put on imperishability, and this mortal body has put on immortality, then what is written will be fulfilled:
Death is swallowed up in victory.[i]
55 Death, where is your sting?
Grave, where is your victory?[j] [k]
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
58 Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Psalm 39
Show Me My Life’s End
Heading
For the choir director. For Jeduthun.[a] A psalm by David.
The Psalmist’s Anguish
1 I said, “I will guard my ways
so that I do not sin with my tongue.
I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
as long as the wicked are confronting me.”
2 I said nothing. I kept silent.
I did not even say anything good,
but my pain became worse.
3 Inside me my heart grew hot.
As I fretted, the fire burned.
So I spoke with my tongue.
The Shortness of Human Life
4 Lord, help me understand my end.
What is the limit of my days?
Let me know how fleeting I am.
5 See, you have cut short my days.[b]
My brief time before you is like nothing.
Indeed, every person, even at his best,
is just a puff of air.[c] Interlude
6 A man flickers like a mirage.
He really has no more effect than a breeze.[d]
He piles things up, never knowing who will get them.
The Enduring Goodness of God
7 But now what do I wait for, Lord?
My hope is in you.
8 Save me from all my rebellious acts.
Do not let fools scorn me.
9 I said nothing.
I did not open my mouth,
because you are the one who caused this.
10 Stop punching me.
By the attack of your hand I am finished.
11 By your rebuke against guilt you discipline a man.
Like a moth you consume what he desires.
Indeed, every person is nothing but a puff of air. Interlude
Closing Prayer
12 Hear my prayer, O Lord.
Listen to my cry.
Do not ignore my tears,
for with you I am an alien,
just a visitor, as were all my ancestors.
13 Look away from me, so I can smile again
before I depart and am no more.
30 There is no wisdom, no cleverness, and no advice
that can stand up against the Lord.
31 A horse is made ready for a day of battle,
but the victory belongs to the Lord.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.