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31 “I made a covenant with my eyes;
why then should I look upon a young woman?
2 For what portion of God is there from above?
And what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Does not destruction belong to the wicked,
and calamity to the workers of iniquity?
4 Does He not see my ways,
and count all my steps?
5 “If I have walked in vanity,
or if my foot has hurried after deceit,
6 let me be weighed in an even balance
that God may know my integrity.
7 If my step has turned out of the path,
and my heart has gone after my eyes,
and if any spot has clung to my hands,
8 then let me sow, but let another eat;
yes, let my offspring be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been deceived by a woman,
or if I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door,
10 then let my wife grind for another,
and let others bow down over her.
11 For this is a heinous crime;
yes, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.
12 For it is a fire that consumes to destruction
and would root out all my increase.
13 “If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant
when they complained against me,
14 what then will I do when God rises up?
And when He visits, what will I answer Him?
15 Did not He who made me in the womb make him?
And did not the same One fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have kept the poor from their desire,
or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 or have eaten my morsel by myself,
so that the fatherless could not eat of it
18 (but from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father,
and I have guided the widow from my mother’s womb);
19 if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
or any poor without covering;
20 if his body has not blessed me,
and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21 if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless,
when I saw I had help in the gate;
22 then let my arm fall from my shoulder blade,
and my arm be broken from the bone.
23 For destruction from God is a terror to me,
and because of His highness I cannot endure.
24 “If I have made gold my hope,
or have said to the fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;
25 if I rejoiced because my wealth was great,
and because my hand had gained much;
26 if I saw the sun when it shined,
or the moon moving in brightness;
27 and my heart has been secretly enticed,
or my mouth has kissed my hand;
28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judge,
for I would have denied the God who is above.
29 “If I rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me,
or lifted up myself when disaster found him
30 (nor have I allowed my mouth to sin
by wishing for a curse on his soul);
31 if the men of my tent have not said,
‘Who is there who has not been satisfied with his meat?’
32 (the stranger has not lodged in the street,
but I opened my doors to the traveler);
33 if I covered my transgressions as any man,
by hiding my iniquity in my heart,
34 did I fear a great multitude,
or did the contempt of families terrify me,
so that I kept silence, and did not go out of the door?
35 “Oh, that one would hear me!
Behold, my desire is that the Almighty would answer me,
and that the One who contends against me had written a book!
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder
and bind it on me like a crown.
37 I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
like a prince I would approach Him.
38 “If my land cries out against me,
and its furrows also weep together;
39 if I have eaten its fruit without money,
or have caused its owners to lose their life;
40 let thistles grow instead of wheat,
and weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Elihu Speaks: Job’s Three Friends Rebuked
32 So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 Then the wrath of Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused; his wrath was aroused against Job because he justified himself rather than God. 3 His wrath was aroused also against his three friends because they had found no answer and yet had condemned Job. 4 Now Elihu had waited until Job had spoken because they were older than he. 5 When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was aroused.
6 Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite answered:
“I am young,
and you are very old;
therefore I was afraid
and dared not show you my opinion.
7 I said, ‘Age should speak,
and multitude of years should teach wisdom.’
8 But there is a spirit in man,
and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.
9 Great men are not always wise,
nor do the aged always understand judgment.
10 “Therefore I say,
‘Listen to me; I will also declare my opinion.’
11 Indeed, I waited for your words;
I listened to your reasons,
while you searched out what to say.
12 Yes, I paid attention to you;
and surely none of you convinced Job
or answered his words.
13 Lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom’;
God will subdue him, not man.
14 Now he has not directed his words against me,
so I will not answer him with your speeches.
15 “They are amazed; they answer no more;
they cease speaking.
16 And I have waited,
(for they did not speak, but stood still and answered no more).
17 I said, ‘I also will answer my part;
I too will show my opinion.’
18 For I am full of words;
the spirit within me compels me.
19 See, my belly is like wine that has no vent;
it is ready to burst like new wineskins.
20 I will speak, that I may be refreshed;
I will open my lips and answer.
21 Let me not, I pray, show partiality to anyone,
nor let me give flattering titles to man.
22 For I do not know how to give flattering titles;
in so doing my Maker would soon take me away.
Elihu Addresses Job
33 “Therefore, Job, I pray, hear my speeches,
and listen to all my words.
2 Behold, now I have opened my mouth;
my tongue has spoken in my mouth.
3 My words will be from the uprightness of my heart,
and my lips will utter knowledge clearly.
4 The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty has given me life.
5 If you can answer me,
set your words in order before me; stand up.
6 Surely I am before God like you;
I also am formed out of the clay.
7 Indeed, no dread of me will make you afraid,
nor will my hand be heavy upon you.
8 “Surely you have spoken in my hearing,
and I have heard the sound of your words, saying,
9 ‘I am clean, without transgression;
I am innocent, nor is there iniquity in me.
10 Behold, He finds occasions against me,
He counts me for His enemy;
11 He puts my feet in the stocks,
He watches all my paths.’
12 “Look, in this you are not just.
I will answer you, that God is greater than man.
13 Why do you strive against Him?
For He does not give an accounting for any of His words.
14 For God speaks once, yes twice,
yet man does not perceive it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls upon men,
in slumber on their beds,
16 then He opens the ears of men,
and seals their instruction,
17 that He might turn aside man from his purpose,
and conceal pride from man.
18 He keeps back his soul from the pit,
and his life from perishing by the sword.
19 “He is also chastened with pain on his bed,
and with strong pain in many of his bones,
20 so that his life abhors bread,
and his soul dainty food.
21 His flesh is consumed away that it cannot be seen,
and his bones that were not seen stick out.
22 Yes, his soul draws near to the grave,
and his life to the executioners.
23 If there is a messenger for him,
an interpreter, one among a thousand,
to show to man what is right for him,
24 then He is gracious to him, and says,
‘Deliver him from going down to the pit;
I have found a ransom.’
25 His flesh will be fresher than a child’s;
he will return to the days of his youth;
26 he will pray to God, and He will be favorable unto him,
and he will see His face with joy,
for He will render unto man His righteousness.
27 Then he looks at men and says,
‘I have sinned and perverted what was right,
and it did not profit me.’
28 He will deliver his soul from going down to the pit,
and his life will see the light.
29 “Behold, God works all these things,
twice, three times with man,
30 to bring back his soul from the pit,
to be enlightened with the light of the living.
31 “Pay attention, Job, listen to me;
hold your peace, and I will speak.
32 If you have anything to say, answer me;
speak, for I desire to justify you.
33 If not, listen to me; hold your peace,
and I will teach you wisdom.”
Ministers of the New Covenant
3 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, letters of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? 2 You are our letter written in our hearts, known and read by all men. 3 For you are prominently declared to be the letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on human tablets of the heart.
4 We have such trust through Christ toward God, 5 not that we are sufficient in ourselves to take credit for anything of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us able ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 If the ministry that brought death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, the glory which was to fade away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation is glorious, the ministry of righteousness much more exceeds it in glory. 10 Even that which was made glorious had no glory in comparison to the glory that excels. 11 For if that which fades was glorious, that which remains is much more glorious.
12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we speak with great boldness, 13 not as Moses, who put a veil over his face, so that the children of Israel could not look intently at the end of what was fading away. 14 Instead, their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the old covenant, the veil which was done away with in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, the veil is in their hearts. 16 Nevertheless when anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, seeing the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.
Psalm 43
1 Vindicate me, O God,
and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.
2 For You are the God of my refuge;
why have You rejected me?
Why do I walk about mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Send out Your light and Your truth.
Let them lead me;
let them bring me to Your holy hill,
and to Your dwelling place.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to the God of my joyful gladness;
with the harp I will give thanks to You,
O God, my God.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
for I will yet give Him thanks,
the salvation of my countenance and my God.
8 He who sows iniquity will reap vanity,
and the rod of his anger will fail.
9 He who has a bountiful eye will be blessed,
for he gives of his bread to the poor.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.