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Job’s Reply to Eliphaz
23 Then Job answered:
2 Today also my complaint is bitter.[a](A)
His[b] hand is heavy despite my groaning.
3 If only I knew how to find him,
so that I could go to his throne.
4 I would plead my case before him(B)
and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would learn how[c] he would answer me;
and understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he prosecute(C) me forcefully?
No, he would certainly pay attention to me.
7 Then an upright man could reason(D) with him,
and I would escape from my Judge[d](E) forever.
8 If I go east, he is not there,
and if I go west, I cannot perceive him.(F)
9 When he is at work to the north, I cannot see him;
when he turns south, I cannot find him.
10 Yet he knows the way I have taken;[e]
when he has tested me,(G) I will emerge as pure gold.
11 My feet have followed in his tracks;
I have kept to his way(H) and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the commands from his lips;
I have treasured[f] the words(I) from his mouth
more than my daily food.
13 But he is unchangeable; who can oppose him?
He does what he desires.(J)
14 He will certainly accomplish what he has decreed for me,
and he has many more things like these in mind.[g]
15 Therefore I am terrified(K) in his presence;
when I consider this, I am afraid of him.
16 God has made my heart faint;(L)
the Almighty has terrified me.
17 Yet I am not destroyed[h] by the darkness,(M)
by the thick darkness that covers my face.
24 Why does the Almighty not reserve times for judgment?(N)
Why do those who know him never see his days?
2 The wicked displace boundary markers.
They steal a flock and provide pasture for it.
3 They drive away the donkeys owned by the fatherless(O)
and take the widow’s ox as collateral.
4 They push the needy off the road;
the poor of the land are forced into hiding.(P)
5 Like wild donkeys in the wilderness,
the poor go out to their task of foraging for food;
the desert provides nourishment for their children.
6 They gather their fodder in the field
and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Without clothing, they spend the night naked,
having no covering against the cold.(Q)
8 Drenched by mountain rains,
they huddle against[i] the rocks, shelterless.
9 The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast;
the nursing child of the poor is seized as collateral.[j]
10 Without clothing, they wander about naked.
They carry sheaves but go hungry.(R)
11 They crush olives in their presses;[k]
they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.
12 From the city, men[l] groan;
the mortally wounded cry for help,
yet God pays no attention to this crime.(S)
13 The wicked are those who rebel against the light.
They do not recognize its ways
or stay on its paths.
14 The murderer rises at dawn
to kill the poor and needy,
and by night he becomes a thief.
15 The adulterer’s eye watches for twilight,
thinking, “No eye will see me,”
and he covers his face.
16 In the dark they break[m] into houses;
by day they lock themselves in,[n]
never experiencing the light.
17 For the morning is like darkness to them.
Surely they are familiar with the terrors of darkness!
18 They float[o] on the surface of the water.
Their section of the land is cursed,
so that they never go to their vineyards.
19 As dry ground and heat snatch away the melted snow,
so Sheol(T) steals those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them;
worms feed on them;
they are remembered(U) no more.
So injustice is broken like a tree.
21 They prey on[p] the childless woman who is unable to conceive,
and do not deal kindly with the widow.
22 Yet God drags away[q] the mighty by his power;
when he rises up, they have no assurance of life.
23 He gives them a sense of security, so they can rely on it,(V)
but his eyes(W) watch over their ways.
24 They are exalted for a moment, then gone;
they are brought low and shrivel up like everything else.[r]
They wither like heads of grain.(X)
25 If this is not true, then who can prove me a liar(Y)
and show that my speech is worthless?
Bildad Speaks
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2 Dominion and dread(Z) belong to him,
the one who establishes harmony in his heights.
3 Can his troops be numbered?
Does his light not shine on everyone?
4 How can a human be justified before God?(AA)
How can one born of woman be pure?(AB)
5 If even the moon does not shine
and the stars are not pure in his sight,(AC)
6 how much less a human, who is a maggot,
a son of man,[s] who is a worm!(AD)
Job’s Reply to Bildad
26 Then Job answered:
2 How you have helped(AE) the powerless
and delivered the arm that is weak!
3 How you have counseled the unwise(AF)
and abundantly provided insight!
4 With whom did you speak these words?
Whose breath came out of your mouth?
5 The departed spirits tremble
beneath the waters and all that inhabit them.(AG)
6 Sheol(AH) is naked before God,
and Abaddon(AI) has no covering.(AJ)
7 He stretches the northern skies over empty space;
he hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He wraps up the water in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst beneath its weight.(AK)
9 He obscures the view of his throne,
spreading his cloud over it.
10 He laid out the horizon on the surface of the waters(AL)
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 The pillars that hold up the sky tremble,
astounded at his rebuke.(AM)
12 By his power he stirred(AN) the sea,
and by his understanding he crushed Rahab.(AO)
13 By his breath the heavens gained their beauty;
his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.[t](AP)
14 These are but the fringes of his ways;
how faint is the word we hear of him!
Who can understand his mighty thunder?
27 Job continued his discourse, saying:
2 As God lives, who has deprived me of justice,(AQ)
and the Almighty who has made me bitter,(AR)
3 as long as my breath is still in me
and the breath from God remains in my nostrils,(AS)
4 my lips will not speak unjustly,
and my tongue will not utter deceit.
5 I will never affirm that you are right.
I will maintain my integrity[u](AT) until I die.
6 I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go.
My conscience(AU) will not accuse me as long as I live!
7 May my enemy be like the wicked
and my opponent like the unjust.
8 For what hope does the godless person(AV) have when he is cut off,
when God takes away his life?(AW)
9 Will God hear his cry
when distress comes on him?
10 Will he delight(AX) in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will teach you about God’s power.
I will not conceal what the Almighty has planned.[v]
12 All of you have seen this for yourselves,
why do you keep up this empty talk?(AY)
13 This is a wicked man’s lot(AZ) from God,
the inheritance the ruthless receive from the Almighty.
14 Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword;
his descendants will never have enough food.
15 Those who survive him will be buried by the plague,
yet their widows will not weep for them.(BA)
16 Though he piles up silver like dust
and heaps up fine clothing like clay—
17 he may heap it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and the innocent will divide up his silver.(BB)
18 The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon
or a shelter set up by a watchman.(BC)
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;
when he opens his eyes, it is gone.
20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;(BD)
a storm(BE) wind sweeps him away at night.
21 An east wind picks him up, and he is gone;
it carries him away from his place.
22 It blasts at him without mercy,
while he flees desperately from its force.
23 It claps(BF) its hands at him
and scoffs at him from its place.
A Clear Conscience
12 Indeed, this is our boast: The testimony(A) of our conscience(B) is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with godly sincerity and purity, not by human wisdom(C) but by God’s grace.(D) 13 For we are writing nothing to you other than what you can read and also understand. I hope you will understand completely— 14 just as you have partially understood us—that we are your reason for pride,(E) just as you also are ours(F) in the day of our[a] Lord Jesus.(G)
A Visit Postponed
15 Because of this confidence, I planned to come to you first,(H) so that you could have a second benefit,[b] 16 and to visit you on my way to Macedonia,(I) and then come to you again from Macedonia and be helped by you(J) on my journey(K) to Judea.(L) 17 Now when I planned this, was I of two minds? Or what I plan, do I plan in a purely human[c](M) way so that I say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18 As God is faithful,(N) our message to you is not “Yes and no.” 19 For the Son of God,(O) Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you—Silvanus,[d](P) Timothy, and I—did not become “Yes and no.” On the contrary, in him it is always “Yes.”(Q) 20 For every one of God’s promises(R) is “Yes” in him. Therefore, through him we also say “Amen”(S) to the glory of God.(T) 21 Now it is God who strengthens us together with you in Christ, and who has anointed(U) us. 22 He has also put his seal on us and given us the Spirit in our hearts(V) as a down payment.(W)
23 I call on God as a witness,(X) on my life, that it was to spare you that I did not come to Corinth.(Y) 24 I do not mean that we lord it over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy, because you stand firm in your(Z) faith.
2 In fact, I made up my mind about this: I would not come to you on another painful visit.[e] 2 For if I cause you pain, then who will cheer me other than the one being hurt by me?[f] 3 I wrote this very thing so that when I came I wouldn’t have pain from those who ought to give me joy, because I am confident(AA) about all of you that my joy will also be yours. 4 For I wrote to you with many tears out of an extremely troubled and anguished heart—not to cause you pain, but that you should know the abundant love I have for you.
A Sinner Forgiven
5 If anyone has caused pain, he has caused pain not so much to me but to some degree—not to exaggerate(AB)—to all of you. 6 This punishment by the majority is sufficient for that person. 7 As a result, you should instead forgive(AC) and comfort him. Otherwise, he may be overwhelmed by excessive grief. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. 9 I wrote for this purpose: to test your character(AD) to see if you are obedient(AE) in everything. 10 Anyone you forgive, I do too. For what I have forgiven—if I have forgiven anything—it is for your benefit in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we may not be taken advantage(AF) of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.
Psalm 41
Victory in spite of Betrayal
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Happy is one who is considerate of the poor;
the Lord will save him in a day of adversity.(A)
2 The Lord will keep him and preserve him;
he will be blessed in the land.(B)
You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies.(C)
3 The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed;
you will heal him on the bed where he lies.(D)
4 I said, “Lord, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”(E)
5 My enemies speak maliciously about me:
“When will he die and be forgotten?” (F)
6 When one of them comes to visit, he speaks deceitfully;
he stores up evil in his heart;
he goes out and talks.(G)
7 All who hate me whisper together about me;
they plan to harm me.(H)
8 “Something awful has overwhelmed him,[a]
and he won’t rise again from where he lies!” (I)
9 Even my friend[b] in whom I trusted,
one who ate my bread,
has raised his heel against me.(J)
10 But you, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up;
then I will repay them.(K)
11 By this I know that you delight in me:(L)
my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.(M)
12 You supported me because of my integrity(N)
and set me in your presence forever.(O)
13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and amen.(P)
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