The Daily Audio Bible
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Job’s Life
1 A man named Job lived in Uz. He was a man of integrity: He was decent, he feared God, and he stayed away from evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters. 3 He owned 7,000 sheep and goats, 3,000 camels, 1,000 oxen, 500 donkeys, and a large number of servants. He was the most influential person in the Middle East.
4 His sons used to go to each other’s homes, where they would have parties. (Each brother took his turn having a party.) They would send someone to invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
5 When they finished having their parties, Job would send for them in order to cleanse them from sin. He would get up early in the morning and sacrifice burnt offerings for each of them. Job thought, “My children may have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job offered sacrifices for them all the time.
Satan Challenges the Lord
6 One day when the sons of God came to stand in front of the Lord, Satan the Accuser came along with them.
7 The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From wandering all over the earth.”
8 The Lord asked Satan, “Have you thought about my servant Job? No one in the world is like him! He is a man of integrity: He is decent, he fears God, and he stays away from evil.”
9 Satan answered the Lord, “Haven’t you given Job a reason to fear God? 10 Haven’t you put a protective fence around him, his home, and everything he has? You have blessed everything he does. His cattle have spread out over the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand, and strike everything he has. I bet he’ll curse you to your face.”
12 The Lord told Satan, “Everything he has is in your power, but you must not lay a hand on him!”
Then Satan left the Lord’s presence.
Job’s First Crisis
13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s home, 14 a messenger came to Job. He said, “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 men from Sheba attacked. They took the livestock and massacred the servants. I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you.”
16 While he was still speaking, another ⌞messenger⌟ came and said, “A fire from God fell from heaven and completely burned your flocks and servants. I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you.”
17 While he was still speaking, another ⌞messenger⌟ came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three companies and made a raid on the camels. They took the camels and massacred the servants. I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you.”
18 While he was still speaking, another ⌞messenger⌟ came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine at their oldest brother’s home 19 when suddenly a great storm swept across the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It fell on the young people, and they died. I’m the only one who has escaped to tell you.”
20 Job stood up, tore his robe in grief, and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 He said,
“Naked I came from my mother,
and naked I will return.
The Lord has given,
and the Lord has taken away!
May the name of the Lord be praised.”
22 Through all this Job did not sin or blame God for doing anything wrong.
Satan Challenges the Lord Again
2 One day when the sons of God came to stand in front of the Lord, Satan the Accuser came along with them.
2 The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From wandering all over the earth.”
3 The Lord asked Satan, “Have you thought about my servant Job? No one in the world is like him! He is a man of integrity: He is decent, he fears God, and he stays away from evil. And he still holds on to his principles. You’re trying to provoke me into ruining him for no reason.”
4 Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! Certainly, a man will give everything he has for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand, and strike his flesh and bones. I bet he’ll curse you to your face.”
6 The Lord told Satan, “He is in your power, but you must spare his life!”
Job’s Second Crisis
7 Satan left the Lord’s presence and struck Job with painful boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Job took a piece of broken pottery to scratch himself as he sat in the ashes.
9 His wife asked him, “Are you still holding on to your principles? Curse God and die!”
10 He said to her, “You’re talking like a godless fool. We accept the good that God gives us. Shouldn’t we also accept the bad?”
Through all this Job’s lips did not utter one sinful word.
11 When Job’s three friends heard about all the terrible things that had happened to him, each of them came from his home—Eliphaz of Teman, Bildad of Shuah, Zophar of Naama. They had agreed they would go together to sympathize with Job and comfort him.
12 When they saw him from a distance, they didn’t even recognize him. They cried out loud and wept, and each of them tore his own clothes in grief. They threw dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him because they saw that he was in such great pain.
Job Speaks: Job Curses the Day He Was Born
3 After all this, Job ⌞finally⌟ opened his mouth and cursed the day he was born. 2 Job said,
3 “Scratch out the day I was born
and the night that said, ‘A boy has been conceived!’
4 “That day—
let it be pitch-black.
Let God above not ⌞even⌟ care about it.
Let no light shine on it.
5 Let the darkness and long shadows claim it as their own.
Let a dark cloud hang over it.
Let the gloom terrify it.
6 “That night—
let the blackness take it away.
Let it not be included in the days of the year
or be numbered among the months.
7 Let that night be empty.
Let no joyful singing be heard in it.
8 Let those who curse the day [a]
(those who know how to wake up Leviathan)
curse that night.
9 Let its stars turn dark before dawn.
Let it hope for light and receive none.
Let it not see the first light of dawn
10 because it did not shut the doors of the womb ⌞from which I came⌟
or hide my eyes from trouble.
Why Did I Survive at Birth?
11 “Why didn’t I die as soon as I was born
and breathe my last breath when I came out of the womb?
12 Why did knees welcome me?
Why did breasts let me nurse?
13 Instead of being alive,
I would now be quietly lying down.
I would now be sleeping peacefully.
14 I would be with the kings and the counselors of the world
who built for themselves ⌞what are now⌟ ruins.
15 I would be with princes
who had gold,
who filled their homes with silver.
16 I would be buried like a stillborn baby.
I would not exist.
I would be like infants who never saw the light.
17 There the wicked stop their raging.
There the weary are able to rest.
18 There the captives have no troubles at all.
There they do not hear the shouting of the slave driver.
19 There ⌞you find⌟ both the unimportant and important people.
There the slave is free from his master.
Why Do I Go on Living?
20 “Why give light to one in misery
and life to those who find it so bitter,
21 to those who long for death but it never comes—
though they dig for it more than for buried treasure?
22 They are ecstatic,
delighted to find the grave.
23 Why give light to those whose paths have been hidden,
to those whom God has fenced in?
24 “When my food is in front of me, I sigh.
I pour out my groaning like water.
25 What I fear most overtakes me.
What I dread happens to me.
26 I have no peace!
I have no quiet!
I have no rest!
And trouble keeps coming!”
Speak in Ways That Can Be Understood
14 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially the gift of speaking what God has revealed. 2 When a person speaks in another language, he doesn’t speak to people but to God. No one understands him. His spirit is speaking mysteries. 3 But when a person speaks what God has revealed, he speaks to people to help them grow, to encourage them, and to comfort them. 4 When a person speaks in another language, he helps himself grow. But when a person speaks what God has revealed, he helps the church grow. 5 I wish that all of you could speak in other languages, but especially that you could speak what God has revealed. The person who speaks what God has revealed is more important than the person who speaks in other languages. This is true unless he can interpret what he says to help the church grow. 6 Brothers and sisters, it wouldn’t do you any good if I came to you speaking in other languages, unless I explained revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or doctrine to you.
7 Musical instruments like the flute or harp produce sounds. If there is no difference in the notes, how can a person tell what tune is being played? 8 For example, if the trumpet doesn’t sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 In the same way, if you don’t speak in a way that can be understood, how will anyone know what you’re saying? You will be talking into thin air.
10 No matter how many different languages there are in the world, not one of them is without meaning. 11 If I don’t know what a language means, I will be a foreigner to the person who speaks it and that person will be a foreigner to me. 12 In the same way, since you’re eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in them so that you help the church grow. 13 So the person who speaks in another language should pray for an interpretation of what he says.
14 If I pray in another language, my spirit prays, but my mind is not productive. 15 So what does this mean? It means that I will pray with my spirit, and I will pray with my mind. I will sing psalms with my spirit, and I will sing psalms with my mind. 16 Otherwise, if you praise God only with your spirit, how can outsiders say “Amen!” to your prayer of thanksgiving? They don’t know what you’re saying. 17 Your prayer of thanksgiving may be very good, but it doesn’t help other people grow.
12 The wicked person plots against a righteous one
and grits his teeth at him.
13 The Lord laughs at him
because he has seen that his time is coming.
14 Wicked people pull out their swords and bend their bows
to kill oppressed and needy people,
to slaughter those who are decent.
15 ⌞But⌟ their own swords will pierce their hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 The little that the righteous person has is better
than the wealth of many wicked people.
17 The arms of wicked people will be broken,
but the Lord continues to support righteous people.
18 The Lord knows the daily ⌞struggles⌟ of innocent people.
Their inheritance will last forever.
19 They will not be put to shame in trying times.
Even in times of famine they will be satisfied.
20 But wicked people will disappear.
The Lord’s enemies will vanish like the best part of a meadow.
They will vanish like smoke.
21 A wicked person borrows, but he does not repay.
A righteous person is generous and giving.
22 Those who are blessed by him will inherit the land.
Those who are cursed by him will be cut off.
23 A person’s steps are directed by the Lord,
and the Lord delights in his way.
24 When he falls, he will not be thrown down headfirst
because the Lord holds on to his hand.
25 I have been young, and now I am old,
but I have never seen a righteous person abandoned
or his descendants begging for food.
26 He is always generous and lends freely.
His descendants are a blessing.
27 Avoid evil, do good, and live forever.
28 The Lord loves justice,
and he will not abandon his godly ones.
They will be kept safe forever,
but the descendants of wicked people will be cut off.
29 Righteous people will inherit the land
and live there permanently.
25 The desire of a lazy person will kill him
because his hands refuse to work.
26 All day long he feels greedy,
but a righteous person gives and does not hold back.
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