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Job Asserts His Integrity
31 “I have made a covenant with my (A)eyes;
How then could I look at a virgin?
2 And what is (B)the portion of God from above,
Or the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Is it not (C)disaster to the criminal,
And misfortune to (D)those who practice injustice?
4 Does He not (E)see my ways,
And (F)count all my steps?
5 “If I have (G)walked with deception,
And my foot has hurried after deceit,
6 Let Him (H)weigh me with [a]accurate scales,
And let God know (I)my integrity.
7 If my step has (J)turned from the way,
Or my heart [b]followed my eyes,
Or if any (K)spot has stuck to my hands,
8 Let me (L)sow and another eat,
And let my [c](M)crops be uprooted.
9 “If my heart has been (N)enticed by a woman,
Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,
10 May my wife (O)grind grain for another,
And let (P)others [d]kneel down over her.
11 For that would be a (Q)lustful crime;
Moreover, it would be (R)wrongdoing punishable by judges.
12 For it would be (S)fire that consumes to [e](T)Abaddon,
And would (U)uproot all my [f]increase.
13 “If I have (V)rejected the claim of my male or female slaves
When they filed a complaint against me,
14 What then could I do when God arises?
And when He calls me to account, how am I to answer Him?
15 Did (W)He who made me in the womb not make him,
And the same one create us in the womb?
16 “If I have kept (X)the poor from their desire,
Or have caused the eyes of (Y)the widow to fail,
17 Or have (Z)eaten my morsel alone,
And (AA)the orphan has not [g]shared it
18 (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
And from [h]my infancy I guided her),
19 If I have seen anyone perish (AB)for lack of clothing,
Or that (AC)the needy had no covering,
20 If his waist has not [i]thanked me,
And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 If I have lifted up my hand against (AD)the orphan,
Because I saw [j]I had support (AE)in the gate,
22 May my shoulder fall from its [k]socket,
And my (AF)arm be broken off [l]at the elbow.
23 For (AG)disaster from God is a terror to me,
And because of (AH)His majesty I can do nothing.
24 “If I have put my confidence in (AI)gold,
And called fine gold my trust,
25 If I have (AJ)gloated because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had obtained so much;
26 If I have (AK)looked at the [m]sun when it shone,
Or the moon going in splendor,
27 And my heart was secretly enticed,
And my hand [n]threw a kiss from my mouth,
28 That too would have been (AL)a guilty deed calling for [o]judgment,
For I would have (AM)denied God above.
29 “Have I (AN)rejoiced at the misfortune of my enemy,
Or become excited when evil found him?
30 [p]No, (AO)I have not [q]allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for his life in (AP)a curse.
31 Have the people of my tent not said,
‘Who can [r]find one who has not been (AQ)satisfied with his meat’?
32 The stranger has not spent the night outside,
For I have opened my doors to the [s]traveler.
33 Have I (AR)covered my wrongdoings like a man,
By hiding my guilt in my shirt pocket,
34 Because I (AS)feared the great multitude
And the contempt of families terrified me,
And I kept silent and did not go out of doors?
35 Oh that I had one to hear me!
Here is my [t]signature;
(AT)Let the Almighty answer me!
And the indictment which my (AU)adversary has written,
36 I would certainly carry it on my shoulder,
I would tie it to myself like a garland.
37 I would declare to Him (AV)the number of my steps;
Like (AW)a prince, I would approach Him.
38 “If my (AX)land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;
39 If I have (AY)eaten its [u]fruit without money,
Or have (AZ)caused [v]its owners to lose their lives,
40 May the (BA)thorn-bush [w]grow instead of wheat,
And stinkweed instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
Elihu Rebukes Job in Anger
32 Then these three men stopped answering Job, because he was (BB)righteous in his own eyes. 2 But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the (BC)Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned against Job; his anger burned (BD)because he justified himself [x](BE)before God. 3 And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, yet they had condemned Job. 4 Now Elihu had waited [y]to speak to Job because they were years older than he. 5 But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, his anger burned.
6 So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite [z]spoke out and said,
“I am young in years and you are (BF)old;
Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you [aa]what I think.
7 I [ab]thought [ac](BG)age should speak,
And [ad]increased years should teach wisdom.
8 But it is a spirit that is in mankind,
And the (BH)breath of the Almighty gives them (BI)understanding.
9 The [ae]abundant in years may not be wise,
Nor may (BJ)elders understand justice.
10 So I [af]say, ‘Listen to me,
I too will tell [ag]what I think.’
11 “Behold, I waited for your words,
I listened to your skillful speech,
While you [ah]pondered what to say.
12 I also paid close attention to you;
But [ai]indeed, there was no one who refuted Job,
Not one of you who answered his words.
13 So do not say,
‘(BK)We have found wisdom:
God will [aj]defeat him, not man.’
14 But he has not presented his words against me,
Nor will I reply to him with your [ak]arguments.
15 “They are dismayed, they no longer answer;
Words have [al]failed them.
16 Should I wait, because they are not speaking,
Because they have [am]stopped and no longer answer?
17 I too will [an]give my share of answers;
I also will tell my opinion.
18 For I am full of words;
The spirit within me compels me.
19 Behold, my belly is like unvented wine;
Like new wineskins, it is about to burst.
20 Let me speak so that I may get relief;
Let me open my lips and answer.
21 Let me (BL)be partial to no one,
Nor flatter any man.
22 For I do not know how to flatter,
Otherwise my Maker would quickly take me away.
Elihu Claims to Speak for God
33 “However, please (BM)hear my speech, Job,
And listen to all my words.
2 Behold now, I open my mouth,
My tongue in my [ao]mouth speaks.
3 My words are from the integrity of my heart,
And my lips speak (BN)knowledge sincerely.
4 The (BO)Spirit of God has made me,
And the (BP)breath of [ap]the Almighty gives me life.
5 (BQ)Refute me if you can;
Line up against me, take your stand.
6 Behold, I belong to God, like you;
I too have been [aq]formed out of the (BR)clay.
7 Behold, (BS)no fear of me should terrify you,
Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.
8 “You have in fact spoken [ar]while I listened,
And I heard the sound of your words:
9 ‘I am (BT)pure, (BU)without wrongdoing;
I am innocent and there (BV)is no guilt in me.
10 Behold, He [as]invents [at]criticisms against me;
He (BW)counts me as His enemy.
11 He (BX)puts my feet in the stocks;
He watches all my paths.’
12 Behold, let me respond to you, (BY)you are not right in this,
For God is greater than mankind.
13 “Why do you (BZ)complain to Him
That He does not give an account of all His doings?
14 Indeed (CA)God speaks once,
Or twice, yet no one notices it.
15 In a (CB)dream, a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls on people,
While they slumber in their beds,
16 Then (CC)He opens the ears of people,
And horrifies them with warnings,
17 So that He may turn a person away from bad conduct,
And [au]keep a man from pride;
18 He (CD)keeps his soul back from the pit,
And his life from perishing by the (CE)spear.
19 “A person is also rebuked by (CF)pain in his bed,
And with constant complaint in his bones,
20 So that his life (CG)loathes bread,
And his soul, food [av]that he should crave.
21 His (CH)flesh wastes away from sight,
And his (CI)bones, which were not seen, stick out.
22 Then (CJ)his soul comes near to the pit,
And his life to those who bring death.
23 “If there is an (CK)interceding angel for him,
One out of a thousand,
To remind a person of what is [aw]right for him,
24 And he is gracious to him, and says,
‘Free him from (CL)going down to the pit,
I have found a (CM)ransom’;
25 Let his flesh become fresher than in youth,
Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;
26 Then he will (CN)pray to God, and He will accept him,
So that (CO)he may see His face with joy,
And He will restore His righteousness to that person.
27 He will sing to people and say,
‘I (CP)have sinned and perverted what is right,
And it is not (CQ)proper for me.
28 He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit,
And my life will (CR)see the light.’
29 “Behold, God does (CS)all these things for a man two or three times,
30 To (CT)bring back his soul from the pit,
So that he may be enlightened with the light of life.
31 Pay attention, Job, listen to me;
Keep silent, and let me speak.
32 Then if [ax]you have anything to say, answer me;
Speak, for I would take pleasure in justifying you.
33 If not, (CU)listen to me;
Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”
Ministers of a New Covenant
3 Are we beginning to (A)commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, (B)letters of commendation to you or from you? 2 (C)You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all people, 3 revealing yourselves, that you are a letter of Christ, [a](D)delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of (E)the living God, not on (F)tablets of stone but on (G)tablets of [b](H)human hearts.
4 Such is the (I)confidence we have toward God through Christ. 5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves so as to consider anything as having come from ourselves, but (J)our adequacy is from God, 6 who also made us adequate as (K)servants of a (L)new covenant, not of (M)the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but (N)the Spirit gives life.
7 But if the (O)ministry of death, engraved (P)in letters on stones, came [c]with glory (Q)so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? 9 For if (R)the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the (S)ministry of righteousness excel in glory. 10 For indeed what had glory in this case has no glory, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if that which fades away was [d]with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.
12 (T)Therefore, having such a hope, (U)we use great boldness in our speech, 13 and we are not like Moses, (V)who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not stare at the end of what was fading away. 14 But their minds were (W)hardened; for until this very day at the (X)reading of (Y)the old covenant the same veil [e]remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. 15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts; 16 (Z)but whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where (AA)the Spirit of the Lord is, (AB)there is freedom. 18 But we all, with unveiled faces, (AC)looking as in a mirror at the (AD)glory of the Lord, are being (AE)transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from (AF)the Lord, the Spirit.
Prayer for Help.
43 (A)Vindicate me, God, and (B)plead my case against an ungodly nation;
[a]Save me from (C)the deceitful and unjust person!
2 For You are the (D)God of my strength; why have You (E)rejected me?
Why do I go about (F)mourning [b]because of the oppression of the enemy?
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.