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Zophar Speaks: The Wicked Will Suffer
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 “Therefore my thoughts cause me to answer,
and for this I make haste.
3 I have heard the rebuke that disgraces me,
and the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.
4 “Do you not know this of old,
since man was placed upon earth,
5 that the triumphing of the wicked is short,
and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?
6 Though his loftiness extends to the heavens,
and his head reaches to the clouds,
7 yet he will perish forever like his own excrement;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
8 He will fly away like a dream and will not be found;
yes, he will be chased away as a vision of the night.
9 The eye that saw him will see him no more;
nor will his place behold him anymore.
10 His children will seek favor from the poor,
and his hands will give back his wealth.
11 His bones are full of his youthful vigor,
but it will lie down with him in the dust.
12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
and he hides it under his tongue,
13 though he spares it and does not forsake it,
but keeps it in his mouth,
14 yet his food in his stomach turns sour;
it becomes the venom of cobras within him.
15 He has swallowed down riches,
and he will vomit them up again;
God will cast them out of his belly.
16 He will suck the poison of cobras;
the viper’s tongue will slay him.
17 He will not see the streams, the rivers,
the brooks of honey and butter.
18 He will give back the produce of labor and will not swallow it down.
According to his wealth the restitution will be, and he will not rejoice in it;
19 because he has oppressed and has forsaken the poor.
He has violently taken away a house that he did not build.
20 “Because he knows no quietness in his belly,
he will not save anything he desired.
21 Nothing is left for him to eat;
therefore his prosperity will not endure.
22 In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress;
every hand of misery will come upon him.
23 When he is about to fill his belly,
God will cast the fury of His wrath on him
and will rain it on him while he is eating.
24 He will flee from the iron weapon;
a bronze bow will pierce him through.
25 It is drawn and comes out of the body;
yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall.
Terrors are upon him.
26 Total darkness is stored up for his treasures.
An unfanned fire will consume him;
what is left in his tent will be consumed.
27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
and the earth will rise up against him.
28 The increase of his house will depart,
and his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath.
29 This is the wicked man’s portion from God,
and the inheritance appointed to him by God.”
Job Replies: The Wicked Do Prosper
21 But Job answered:
2 “Listen carefully to my speech,
and let this be your consolation.
3 Bear with me that I may speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.
4 “As for me, is my complaint against man?
And if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?
5 Look at me and be astonished,
and put your hand over your mouth.
6 Even when I remember I am afraid,
and trembling takes hold of my body.
7 Why do the wicked live and become old;
yes, become mighty in power?
8 Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
and their offspring before their eyes.
9 Their houses are safe from fear,
nor is the rod of God upon them.
10 Their bull breeds without failure;
their cow gives calves without miscarriage.
11 They send forth their little ones like a flock,
and their children dance.
12 They take up the tambourine and harp
and rejoice at the sound of the flute.
13 They spend their days in wealth,
and in a moment go down to Sheol.
14 Therefore they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
for we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’
16 Indeed, their prosperity is not in their hand.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does their destruction come upon them,
the sorrows God distributes in His anger?
18 They are like straw before the wind,
and like chaff that a storm carries away.
19 God stores up their iniquity for their children;
let Him reward the people themselves, and they will know it.
20 Let their eyes see their own destruction,
and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
21 For what do they care about their households after them,
when the number of their months is cut off?
22 “Can anyone teach God knowledge,
since He judges those who are on high?
23 One dies in his full strength,
being wholly at ease and secure.
24 His pails are full of milk,
and the marrow of his bones is moist.
25 Another dies in the bitterness of his soul,
never having eaten with pleasure.
26 They will lie down alike in the dust,
and worms will cover them.
27 “Behold, I know your thoughts,
and the schemes with which you would wrong me.
28 For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?
And where are the dwelling places of the wicked?’
29 Have you not asked them who travel the road?
And do you not know their signs?
30 For the wicked are reserved for the day of destruction;
they will be brought forth on the day of wrath.
31 Who will declare his way to his face?
And who will repay him for what he has done?
32 Yet will he be brought to the grave
and will remain in the tomb.
33 The clods of the valley will be sweet unto him;
and everyone will follow him,
as countless have gone before.
34 “How then can you comfort me with emptiness,
since deceit remains in your answers?”
Eliphaz Speaks: Job’s Wickedness Is Great
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “Can a man be profitable to God,
as he who is wise may be profitable to himself?
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous?
Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?
4 “Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you,
and enters into judgment with you?
5 Is not your wickedness great,
and your iniquity infinite?
6 For you have taken a pledge from your brother for nothing,
and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 You have not given water to the weary to drink,
and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
8 But as for the mighty man, he possessed the earth,
and the honorable man lived in it.
9 You have sent widows away empty,
and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.
10 Therefore snares are all around you,
and sudden fear troubles you,
11 or darkness, so that you cannot see;
and an abundance of waters covers you.
12 “Is not God in the height of heaven?
And see the height of the stars, how high they are!
13 And you say, ‘What does God know?
Can He judge through the dark cloud?
14 Thick clouds are His covering, so He cannot see;
and He walks above the circle of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the old way,
that wicked men have trod?
16 They were cut down before their time;
their foundations were swept away by a flood.
17 They said to God, ‘Depart from us,’
and, ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’
18 Yet He filled their houses with good things;
but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 “The righteous see it and are glad,
and the innocent laugh them to scorn:
20 ‘Surely our adversaries are cut down,
and the fire consumes their remnant.’
21 “Now acquaint yourself with Him and be at peace;
thereby good will come to you.
22 Receive, I pray, the teaching from His mouth,
and lay up His words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up;
you will put away iniquity far from your tents.
24 Then you will lay up gold as dust,
and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
25 Yes, the Almighty will be your gold
and your precious silver;
26 for then you will delight yourself in the Almighty,
and will lift up your face unto God.
27 You will make your prayer to Him, and He will hear you,
and you will pay your vows.
28 You will also declare a matter, and it will be established unto you;
and the light will shine upon your ways.
29 When men are cast down, and you say, ‘There is a time of exaltation!’
then He will save the humble person.
30 He will even deliver one who is not innocent;
he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”
Greeting and Thanksgiving
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother,
2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their Lord and ours:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which has been given to you through Jesus Christ. 5 By Him you are enriched in everything, in all speech and in all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift while waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, and by Him you were called to the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Divisions in the Church
10 Now I ask you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak in agreement and that there be no divisions among you. But be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
11 Do not withhold Your compassion from me, O Lord;
may Your lovingkindness and Your truth always guard me.
12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
my iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
they are more than the hairs of my head
so that my heart fails me.
13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
14 May those seeking to snatch away my life
be ashamed and confounded together;
may those who desire my harm
be driven backward and dishonored.
15 May those who say to me “Aha, aha!”
be appalled on account of their shame.
16 May all those who seek You
rejoice and be glad in You;
may those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord is magnified.”
17 But I am poor and needy;
yet the Lord thinks about me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God.
2 The rich and poor have this in common,
the Lord is the maker of them all.
3 A prudent man foresees the evil and hides himself,
but the simple pass on and are punished.
4 By humility and the fear of the Lord
are riches, and honor, and life.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.