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Bildad Speaks: You Are Unjustly Accusing God of Doing Evil, Job
8 Then Bildad from Shuah replied ⌞to Job⌟,
2 “How long will you say these things?
How long will your words be so windy?
3 Does God distort justice,
or does the Almighty distort righteousness?
4 If your children sinned against him,
he allowed them to suffer the consequences of their sinfulness.
5 If you search for God
and plead for mercy from the Almighty,
6 if you are moral and ethical,
then he will rise up on your behalf
and prove your righteousness by rebuilding your home.
7 Then what you had in the past will seem small
compared with the great prosperity you’ll have in the future.
Learn from Past Generations
8 “Ask the people of past generations.
Find out what their ancestors had learned.
9 We have only been around since yesterday, and we know nothing.
Our days on earth are only a fleeting shadow.
10 Won’t their words teach you?
Won’t they share their thoughts with you?
God Does Not Punish the Innocent Person
11 “Can papyrus grow up where there is no swamp?
Can rushes grow tall without water?
12 Even if they were fresh and not cut,
they would wither quicker than grass.
13 The same thing happens to all who forget God.
The hope of the godless dies.
14 His confidence is easily shattered.
His trust is a spider’s web.
15 If one leans on his house, it collapses.
If one holds on to it, it will not support his weight.
16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine.
The shoots spread over his garden.
17 Its roots weave through a pile of stones.
They cling to a stone house.
18 But when it is uprooted from its place,
⌞the ground⌟ denies it ⌞and says⌟, ‘I never saw you!’
19 That is its joy in this life,
and others sprout from the same ground to ⌞take its place⌟.
20 “Certainly, God does not reject a person of integrity
or give a helping hand to wicked people.
21 He will fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with happy shouting.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
and the tent of the wicked will cease to exist.”
Job Speaks: the Futility of Arguing with God
9 Then Job replied ⌞to his friends⌟,
2 “Yes, I know that this is true.
But how can a mortal be declared righteous to God?
3 If he wished to debate with God,
he wouldn’t be able to answer one question in a thousand.
4 “God is wise in heart and mighty in power.
Who could oppose him and win?
5 He moves mountains without their knowing it,
and he topples them in his anger.
6 He shakes the earth from its place,
and its pillars tremble.
7 He commands the sun not to rise.
He doesn’t let the stars come out.
8 He stretches out the heavens by himself
and walks on the waves of the sea.
9 He made ⌞the constellations⌟ Ursa Major, Orion, and the Pleiades,
and the clusters of stars in the south.
10 He does great things that are unsearchable
and miracles that cannot be numbered.
11 He passes alongside of me, and I don’t even see him.
He goes past me, and I don’t even notice him.
12 He takes something away, ⌞but⌟ who can stop him?
Who is going to ask him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 God does not hold back his anger.
Even Rahab’s[a] helpers bow humbly in front of him.
14 “How can I possibly answer God?
How can I find the right words ⌞to speak⌟ with him?
15 Even if I were right, I could not answer ⌞him⌟.
I would have to plead for mercy from my judge.
16 If I cried out and he answered me,
I do not believe that he would listen to me.
17 He would knock me down with a storm
and bruise me without a reason.
18 He would not let me catch my breath.
He fills me with bitterness.
19 If it is a matter of strength,
then he is the mighty one.
If it is about justice,
who will charge me with a crime?
20 If I am righteous, my own mouth would condemn me.
It would declare that I am corrupt even if I am a man of integrity.
21 If I am a man of integrity, I have no way of knowing it.
I hate my life!
22 It is all the same.
That is why I say,
‘He destroys ⌞both⌟ the man of integrity and the wicked.’
23 When a sudden disaster brings death,
he makes fun of the despair of innocent people.
24 The earth is handed over to the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges.
If he isn’t the one ⌞doing this⌟, who is?
25 “My days go by more quickly than a runner.
They sprint away.
They don’t see anything good.
26 They pass by quickly like boats made from reeds,
like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
27 ⌞Even⌟ if I say, ‘I will forget my complaining;
I will change my expression and smile,’
28 I ⌞still⌟ dread everything I must suffer.
I know that you won’t declare me innocent.
29 I’ve already been found guilty.
Why should I work so hard for nothing?
30 If I wash myself with lye soap[b]
and cleanse my hands with bleach,
31 then you would plunge me into a muddy pit,
and my own clothes would find me disgusting.
32 A human like me cannot answer God,
‘Let’s take our case to court.’
33 There is no mediator between us
to put his hand on both of us.
34 God should take his rod away from me,
and he should not terrify me.[c]
35 Then I would speak and not be afraid of him.
But I know that I am not like that.
Job Says to God: I Hate My Life
10 “I hate my life.
I will freely express my complaint.
I will speak as bitterly as I feel.
2 I will say to God,
‘Don’t condemn me.
Let me know why you are quarreling with me.
3 What do you gain by mistreating me,
by rejecting the work of your hands
while you favor the plans of the wicked?
4 Do you actually have human eyes?
Do you see as a mortal sees?
5 Are your days like a mortal’s days?
Are your years like a human’s years?
6 Is that why you look for guilt in me
and search for sin in me?
7 You know I’m not guilty,
but there is no one to rescue me from your hands.
8 “ ‘Your hands formed me and made every part of me,
then you turned to destroy me.
9 Please remember that you made me out of clay
and that you will return me to the dust again.
10 Didn’t you pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese?
11 Didn’t you dress me in skin and flesh
and weave me together with bones and tendons?
12 You gave me life and mercy.
Your watchfulness has preserved my spirit.
13 But in your heart you hid these things.
I know this is what you did.
14 “ ‘If I sin, you watch me
and will not free me from my guilt.
15 How terrible it will be for me if I’m guilty!
Even if I’m righteous, I dare not lift up my head.
I am filled with disgrace
while I look on my misery.
16 Like a proud, ferocious lion you hunt me down.
You keep working your miracles against me.
17 You keep finding new witnesses against me.
You keep increasing your anger toward me.
You keep bringing new armies against me.
18 “ ‘Why did you take me out of the womb?
I wish I had breathed my last breath
before anyone had laid eyes on me.
19 Then it would be as if I had never existed,
as if I had been carried from the womb to the tomb.
20 “ ‘Isn’t my life short enough?
So stop ⌞this⌟, and leave me alone.
Let me smile a little
21 before I go away
to a land of darkness and gloom,
22 to a dismal land of long shadows and confusion
where light is as bright as darkness.
I’ll never return.’ ”
Zophar Speaks: Your Words Call for an Answer, Job
11 Then Zophar from Naama replied ⌞to Job⌟,
2 “Shouldn’t someone answer this flood of words?
Should a good public speaker be acquitted?
3 Should your empty talk silence others
so that you can make fun of us without any shame?
4 You say, ‘My teaching is morally correct,’
and, ‘As you can see, I’m innocent.’
5 I only wish God would speak
and open his mouth ⌞to talk⌟ to you.
6 He would tell you the secrets of wisdom,
because ⌞true⌟ wisdom is twice ⌞as great as your wisdom⌟,
and you would know that God forgets your sin.
God Can Do as He Pleases
7 “Can you discover God’s hidden secrets,
or are you able to find the Almighty’s limits?
8 ⌞God’s wisdom is⌟ higher than heaven.
What can you do?
It is deeper than ⌞the depths⌟ of hell.
What can you know?
9 It is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.
10 If God comes along and imprisons ⌞someone⌟
and then calls a court into session, who can stop him?
11 He knows who the scoundrels are.
And when he sees sin, doesn’t he pay attention to it?
12 But an empty-headed person will gain understanding
when a wild donkey is born tame.
Confess Your Sin and Be Forgiven
13 “If you want to set your heart right,
then pray to him.
14 If you’re holding on to sin, put it far away,
and don’t let injustice live in your tent.
15 Then you will be able to show your face without being ashamed,
and you will be secure and unafraid.
16 ⌞Then⌟ you will forget your misery
and remember it like water that has flowed downstream.
17 Then your life will be brighter than the noonday sun.
The darkness in your life will become like morning.
18 You will feel confident because there’s hope,
and you will look around and rest in safety.
19 You will lie down with no one to frighten you,
and many people will try to gain your favor.
20 But the wicked will lose their eyesight.
Their escape route will be closed.
Their only hope is to take their last breath.”
Jesus Came Back to Life
15 Brothers and sisters, I’m making known to you the Good News which I already told you, which you received, and on which your faith is based. 2 In addition, you are saved by this Good News if you hold on to the doctrine I taught you, unless you believed it without thinking it over. 3 I passed on to you the most important points of doctrine that I had received:
Christ died to take away our sins as the Scriptures predicted.
4 He was placed in a tomb.
He was brought back to life on the third day as the Scriptures predicted.
5 He appeared to Cephas.[a] Next he appeared to the twelve apostles. 6 Then he appeared to more than 500 believers at one time. (Most of these people are still living, but some have died.) 7 Next he appeared to James. Then he appeared to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, he also appeared to me.
I’m like an aborted child ⌞who was given life⌟. 9 I’m the least of the apostles. I’m not even fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted God’s church. 10 But God’s kindness [b] made me what I am, and that kindness was not wasted on me. Instead, I worked harder than all the others. It was not I who did it, but God’s kindness was with me. 11 So, whether it was I or someone else, this is the message we brought you, and this is what you believed.
We Will Come Back to Life
12 If we have told you that Christ has been brought back to life, how can some of you say that coming back from the dead is impossible? 13 If the dead can’t be brought back to life, then Christ hasn’t come back to life. 14 If Christ hasn’t come back to life, our message has no meaning and your faith also has no meaning. 15 In addition, we are obviously witnesses who lied about God because we testified that he brought Christ back to life. But if it’s true that the dead don’t come back to life, then God didn’t bring Christ back to life. 16 Certainly, if the dead don’t come back to life, then Christ hasn’t come back to life either. 17 If Christ hasn’t come back to life, your faith is worthless and sin still has you in its power. 18 Then those who have died as believers in Christ no longer exist. 19 If Christ is our hope in this life only, we deserve more pity than any other people.
20 But now Christ has come back from the dead. He is the very first person of those who have died to come back to life. 21 Since a man brought death, a man also brought life back from death. 22 As everyone dies because of Adam, so also everyone will be made alive because of Christ. 23 This will happen to each person in his own turn. Christ is the first, then at his coming, those who belong to him ⌞will be made alive⌟. 24 Then the end will come. Christ will hand over the kingdom to God the Father as he destroys every ruler, authority, and power.
25 Christ must rule until God has put every enemy under his control. 26 The last enemy he will destroy is death. 27 Clearly, God has put everything under Christ’s authority. When God says that everything has been put under Christ’s authority, this clearly excludes God, since God has put everything under Christ’s authority. 28 But when God puts everything under Christ’s authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, since God had put everything under the Son’s authority. Then God will be in control of everything.
A psalm by David; to be kept in mind.
38 O Lord, do not angrily punish me
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Your arrows have struck me.
Your hand has struck me hard.
3 No healthy spot is left on my body
because of your rage.
There is no peace in my bones
because of my sin.
4 My guilt has overwhelmed me.
Like a heavy load, it is more than I can bear.
5 My wounds smell rotten.
They fester because of my stupidity.
6 I am bent over and bowed down very low.
All day I walk around in mourning.
7 My insides are filled with burning pain,
and no healthy spot is left on my body.
8 I am numb and completely devastated.
I roar because my heart’s in turmoil.
9 You know all my desires, O Lord,
and my groaning has not been hidden from you.
10 My heart is pounding.
I have lost my strength.
Even the light of my eyes has left me.
11 My loved ones and my friends keep their distance
and my relatives stand far away because of my sickness.
12 Those who seek my life lay traps for me.
Those who are out to harm me talk about ruining me.
All day long they think of ways to deceive me.
13 But I am like a person who cannot hear
and like a person who cannot speak.
14 I am like one who cannot hear
and who can offer no arguments.
15 But I wait with hope for you, O Lord.
You will answer, O Lord, my God.
16 I said, “Do not let them gloat over me.
When my foot slips,
do not let them promote themselves at my expense.”
17 I am ready to fall.
I am continually aware of my pain.
18 I confess my guilt.
My sin troubles me.
19 My mortal enemies are growing stronger.
Many hate me for no reason.
20 They pay me back with evil instead of good,
and they accuse me because I try to do what is good.
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord.
O my God, do not be so distant from me.
22 Come quickly to help me, O Lord, my savior.
28 A lying witness will die,
but a person who listens to advice will continue to speak.
29 A wicked person puts up a bold front,
but a decent person’s way of life is his own security.
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