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Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures
28 “Certainly there is a [a]mine for silver
And a place [b]for refining gold.
2 Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And (A)to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
4 He [c]sinks a shaft away from [d]inhabited areas,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing, away from people.
5 [e]From the earth comes food,
And underneath, it is turned over like fire.
6 Its rocks are the [f]source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
7 No bird of prey knows the path,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
8 The [g]proud animals have not trodden it,
Nor has the lion passed over it.
9 He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the [h]base.
10 He carves out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
11 He dams up the streams from [i]flowing,
And brings to light what is hidden.
The Search for Wisdom Is Harder
12 “But (B)where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
13 (C)Mankind does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
14 The ocean depth says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15 (D)Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
16 It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
17 (E)Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of pure gold.
18 Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of (F)wisdom is more valuable than pearls.
19 The topaz of [j]Cush cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in (G)pure gold.
20 (H)Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is this place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living creature,
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 [k](I)Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’
23 “(J)God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He (K)looks to the ends of the earth;
He sees everything under the heavens.
25 When He imparted (L)weight to the wind,
And (M)assessed the waters by measure,
26 When He made a (N)limit for the rain,
And a course for the (O)thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
28 And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the (P)fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Job’s Past Was Glorious
29 Job again took up his (Q)discourse and said,
2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God (R)watched over me;
3 When (S)His lamp shone over my head,
And (T)by His light I walked through darkness;
4 Just as I was in the days of my youth,
When the (U)protection of God was over my tent;
5 When [l]the Almighty was still with me,
And my children were around me;
6 When my steps were bathed in (V)cream,
And the (W)rock poured out streams of oil for me!
7 When I went out to (X)the gate of the city,
When I [m]took my seat in the public square,
8 The young men saw me and hid themselves,
And the old men arose and stood.
9 The leaders (Y)stopped talking
And (Z)put their hands on their mouths;
10 The voices of the prominent people were [n](AA)hushed,
And their (AB)tongues stuck to their palates.
11 For when (AC)an ear heard, it called me blessed,
And when an eye saw, it testified in support of me,
12 Because I saved (AD)the poor who cried for help,
And the (AE)orphan who had no helper.
13 The blessing of the one who (AF)was about to perish came upon me,
And I made the (AG)widow’s heart sing for joy.
14 I (AH)put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
My justice was like a robe and a headband.
15 I was (AI)eyes to those who were blind,
And feet to those who [o]could not walk.
16 I was a father to (AJ)the poor,
And I investigated the case which I did not know.
17 I (AK)broke the jaws of the wicked
And rescued the prey from his teeth.
18 Then I [p]thought, ‘I will die with my [q]family,
And I will multiply my days as the sand.
19 My (AL)root is spread out to the waters,
And (AM)dew lies on my branch all night.
20 My glory is ever new with me,
And my (AN)bow is renewed in my hand.’
21 “To me (AO)they listened and waited,
And they kept silent for my advice.
22 After my words (AP)they did not speak again,
And (AQ)my speech dropped on them.
23 They waited for me as for the rain,
And opened their mouths as for the late rain.
24 I smiled at them when they did not believe,
And they did not look at [r]my kindness ungraciously.
25 I chose a way for them and sat as (AR)chief,
And lived as a king among the troops,
As one who (AS)comforted the mourners.
Job’s Present State Is Humiliating
30 “But now those who are younger than I (AT)mock me,
Whose fathers I refused to put with the dogs of my flock.
2 Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.
3 From poverty and famine they are gaunt,
They who gnaw at the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,
4 Who pluck saltweed by the bushes,
And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.
5 They are driven from the community;
They shout against them as against a thief,
6 So that they live on the slopes of ravines,
In holes in the ground and among the rocks.
7 Among the bushes they [s]cry out;
Under the weeds they are gathered together.
8 Worthless [t]fellows, even [u]those without a name,
They were cast out from the land.
9 “And now I have become their [v](AU)taunt,
And I have become a [w](AV)byword to them.
10 They loathe me and stand aloof from me,
And they do not [x]refrain from (AW)spitting in my face.
11 Because He has undone [y]my [z]bowstring and (AX)afflicted me,
They have cast off (AY)the bridle before me.
12 On the right hand their [aa]mob arises;
They (AZ)push aside my feet (BA)and pile up their ways of destruction against me.
13 They (BB)break up my path,
They promote my destruction;
No one restrains them.
14 As through a wide gap they come,
[ab]Amid the storm they roll on.
15 (BC)Sudden terrors are turned upon me;
They chase away my dignity like the wind,
And my [ac]prosperity has passed away (BD)like a cloud.
16 “And now (BE)my soul is poured out [ad]within me;
Days of misery have seized me.
17 At night it pierces (BF)my bones [ae]within me,
And my gnawing pains do not rest.
18 By a great force my garment is (BG)distorted;
It ties me up like the collar of my coat.
19 He has thrown me into the (BH)mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I (BI)cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.
21 You have [af]become cruel to me;
With the strength of Your hand You (BJ)persecute me.
22 You (BK)lift me up to the wind and make me ride it;
And You dissolve me in a storm.
23 For I know that You (BL)will bring me to death,
And to the (BM)house of meeting for all living.
24 “Yet does one in a heap of ruins not reach out with his hand,
Or in his disaster does he not (BN)cry out for help?
25 Have I not (BO)wept for the [ag]one whose life is hard?
Was my soul not grieved for (BP)the needy?
26 When I (BQ)expected good, evil came;
When I waited for light, (BR)darkness came.
27 [ah]I am seething (BS)within and cannot rest;
Days of misery confront me.
28 I go about [ai](BT)mourning without comfort;
I stand up in the assembly and (BU)cry out for help.
29 I have become a brother to (BV)jackals,
And a companion of ostriches.
30 My (BW)skin turns black [aj]on me,
And my (BX)bones burn with [ak]fever.
31 Therefore my (BY)harp [al]is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the sound of those who weep.
12 Now when I came to (A)Troas for the (B)gospel of Christ and when a (C)door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 I (D)had no rest for my spirit, not finding (E)Titus my brother; but (F)saying goodbye to them, I went on to (G)Macedonia.
14 (H)But thanks be to God, who always (I)leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us reveals the (J)fragrance of the (K)knowledge of Him in every place. 15 For we are a (L)fragrance of Christ to God among (M)those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: 16 (N)to the one an [a]aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is (O)adequate for these things? 17 For we are not like the many, [b](P)peddling the word of God, but (Q)as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ (R)in the sight of God.
BOOK 2
Thirsting for God in Trouble and Exile.
For the music director. A [a]Maskil of the sons of Korah.
42 As the deer [b]pants for the water brooks,
So my soul [c](A)pants for You, God.
2 My soul (B)thirsts for God, for the (C)living God;
When shall I come and [d](D)appear before God?
3 My (E)tears have been my food day and night,
While they (F)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 I remember these things and (G)pour out my soul within me.
For I (H)used to go over with the multitude and walk them to the house of God,
With a voice of (I)joy and thanksgiving, a multitude celebrating a festival.
5 (J)Why are you [e](K)in despair, my soul?
And why are you (L)restless within me?
(M)Wait for God, for I will [f]again praise [g]Him
For the [h](N)help of His [i]presence, my God.
6 My soul is [j]in despair within me;
Therefore I (O)remember You from (P)the land of the Jordan
And the [k]peaks of (Q)Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your (R)breakers and Your waves have passed over me.
8 The Lord will (S)send His goodness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me (T)in the night,
A prayer to (U)the God of my life.
9 I will say to God (V)my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go about (W)mourning [l]because of the (X)oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries taunt me,
While they (Y)say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 (Z)Why are you [m]in despair, my soul?
And why are you restless within me?
Wait for God, for I will again praise [n]Him
For the [o]help of His presence, my God.
7 The (A)rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
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