The Daily Audio Bible
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The Prologue
1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil. 2 Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 His possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and very many servants. This man was the greatest of all the people of the East.
4 His sons used to go and make a feast in the house of each on his day, and they would send and call for their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 Now when the days of feasting had run their course, Job sent and sanctified them. He would rise up early in the morning, and he would offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all, because Job said: “It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job would do always.
6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Adversary also came among them. 7 And the Lord said to the Adversary, “From where have you come?”
Then the Adversary answered the Lord, saying, “From roaming on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
8 And the Lord said to the Adversary, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and an upright man, who fears God, and avoids evil?”
9 Then the Adversary answered the Lord, saying, “Has Job feared God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out Your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face.”
12 The Lord said to the Adversary, “Look, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against his person.”
So the Adversary departed from the presence of the Lord.
13 So a day came when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, 14 and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing, and the donkeys were feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans attacked them, and took them away, and they killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and only I alone have escaped to tell you.”
16 While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
17 While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three companies and made a raid on the camels and have taken them away. They killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
18 While he was still speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, 19 and suddenly a great wind came from the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
20 Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshipped. 21 He said,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked will I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord.”
22 In all this Job did not sin, and he did not accuse God of wrongdoing.
2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Adversary came also among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord said to the Adversary, “From where do you come?”
And the Adversary answered the Lord, saying, “From roaming on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
3 The Lord said to the Adversary, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and an upright man, who fears God and avoids evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you moved Me against him, to destroy him without cause.”
4 The Adversary answered the Lord, saying, “Skin for skin; yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 Put forth Your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse You to Your face.”
6 The Lord said to the Adversary, “Very well, he is in your hand, but spare his life.”
7 Therefore, the Adversary went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted Job with severe sores from the sole of his foot to the top of his head. 8 So he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he was sitting among the ashes.
9 His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die.”
10 He said to her, “You talk like one of the foolish women talks. Will we indeed accept the good from God but not accept the adversity?”
In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
11 Three friends of Job heard about all this evil that had come upon him, and each one came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They had agreed together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. 12 They saw him from a distance and did not recognize him, so they wept aloud. Each one tore his robe, and they tossed dust into the air above their heads. 13 Then they sat down with him on the ground seven days and seven nights. Meanwhile, no one was speaking to him at all because they saw that his pain was severe.
Job Laments His Birth
3 After this Job opened his mouth, and cursed the day of his birth. 2 Job said:
3 “Let the day perish in which I was born
and the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived.’
4 As for that day, let it be darkness;
let God above not regard it;
and let not light shine upon it.
5 Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it;
let a cloud settle on it;
let the blackness of the day terrify it.
6 As for that night, let darkness capture it;
let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
let it not come into the number of the months.
7 Yes, as for that night, let it be barren!
Let no joyful cry come into it!
8 Let them curse it who curse any day,
those who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.
9 Let its morning stars be dark;
let it look for light, but have none;
let it not see the rays of dawn,
10 because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb,
nor hide trouble from my eyes.
11 “Why did I not die at birth?
Why did I not expire when I came out of the womb?
12 Why did her knees receive me?
And why her breasts that I should nurse?
13 For now I would be lying down and would be at peace;
I would have slept; then there would be rest for me,
14 with kings and counselors of the earth,
who built ruins for themselves,
15 or with princes who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.
16 Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child,
like infants who never saw light?
17 There the wicked will have stopped causing trouble,
and there the exhausted will rest.
18 Captives will relax together;
they do not hear the voice of the oppressor.
19 The small and great, they are there,
and the servant is free from his master.
20 “Why is light given to the miserable,
and life unto the bitter in soul,
21 who look for death, but it is not there;
and they search for it more than for hidden treasures;
22 who rejoice exceedingly,
and they are glad when they find the grave?
23 And why is light given to a man
whose way is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?
24 For my sighing comes before I eat,
and my groaning pours forth like the waters.
25 For the thing which I greatly feared has happened to me,
and that which I dreaded has come to me.
26 I am not at peace; I have no quiet,
I cannot rest, and turmoil has come.”
Tongues and Prophecy
14 Follow after love and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 2 For he who speaks in an unknown tongue does not speak to men, but to God. For no one understands him, although in the spirit, he speaks mysteries. 3 But he who prophesies speaks to men for their edification and exhortation and comfort. 4 He who speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I desire that you all speak in tongues, but even more that you prophesy. For greater is he who prophesies than he who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edification.
6 Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what shall I profit you, unless I speak to you by revelation or knowledge or prophesying or doctrine? 7 Even when things without life give sound, whether flute or harp, how will it be known what is played unless they give a distinction in the sounds? 8 If the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for the battle? 9 So also you, unless with the tongue you speak words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you shall speak into the air. 10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. 11 Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the speech, I shall be a barbarian to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a barbarian to me. 12 So, seeing that you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that you may excel to the edifying of the church.
13 Let him who speaks in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding. 16 Otherwise, when you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the unlearned say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, seeing he does not understand what you say? 17 For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous,
and grind their teeth against them.
13 The Lord will laugh at him,
for He sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn out the sword
and have bent their bow,
to cast down the poor and needy,
and to slay those on the upright path.
15 Their sword will enter into their own heart,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better is a little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord supports the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of people of integrity,
and their inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the evil time,
and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
20 But the wicked will perish,
and the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of pastures;
they will waste away, in smoke they will waste away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous is gracious and gives.
22 For those who are blessed of Him will inherit the earth,
but those who are cursed of Him will be cut off.
23 The steps of a man are made firm by the Lord;
He delights in his way.
24 Though he falls, he will not be hurled down,
for the Lord supports him with His hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old;
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor their offspring begging bread.
26 The righteous are gracious and lend,
and their offspring are a source of blessing.
27 Depart from evil and do good,
and abide forevermore.
28 For the Lord loves justice,
and does not forsake His saints;
they are preserved forever,
but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land,
and dwell on it forever.
25 The desire of the slothful kills him,
for his hands refuse to labor.
26 He covets greedily all the day long,
but the righteous gives and does not spare.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.