The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the NLT. Switch to the NLT to read along with the audio.
Job’s Eighth Speech: A Response to Eliphaz
23 Then[a] Job answered and said,
2 “Even today my complaint is bitter;
my hand is heavy in addition to my groaning.
3 O that[b] I knew and that I might find him;
O that I might come to his dwelling.
4 I would lay my case before him,[c]
and I would fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I want to know the words with which he would answer me,
and I want to understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he contend with me in the greatness of his strength?
No, but he himself[d] would give heed to me.
7 There an upright person could reason with him,
and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.
8 “When I go forward, he is not there,[e]
or[f] backward, I cannot see him.[g]
9 When he works[h] on the left, I cannot perceive[i] him;
he turns to the right, but[j] I cannot see him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;[k]
he tests me—I shall come out like gold.
11 My foot has held on to his steps;
I have kept his way, and I have not turned aside.
12 From the commandment of his lips, indeed[l] I have not departed;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily food.
13 “But[m] he is alone,[n] and who can dissuade him?
And whatever he desires,[o] indeed,[p] he does it.
14 For he will carry out what he appoints for me,[q]
and many things like these are with him.
15 Therefore, I am horrified because of his presence;
when I consider, I tremble[r] because of him.
16 Indeed,[s] God has made my heart faint,
and Shaddai has terrified me.
17 Indeed, I have not been silenced because of darkness,[t]
and because of me he[u] conceals thick darkness.
Job’s Eighth Speech, Continued
24 “Why are not times kept by Shaddai,
and why do not those who know him see his days?
2 They[v] remove border stones;
they seize flocks, and they pasture them.
3 They drive away the donkey of orphans;
they take the widow’s ox as a pledge.
4 They thrust the poor off the road;
the needy of the earth hide themselves together.[w]
5 “Look, like wild donkeys in the desert
they[x] go out to their labor as searchers for the prey;
the wilderness is[y] their[z] food for the young.
6 They reap their[aa] fodder in the field,
and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They spend the night naked, without[ab] clothing,
and they have no garment in the cold.
8 They are wet from the rainstorm of the mountains,[ac]
and they cling to the rock without[ad] refuge.
9 “They[ae] snatch the orphan from the breast,
and they take a pledge against the needy.[af]
10 They[ag] go about naked, without clothing,
and hungry, they carry the sheaves.[ah]
11 Between their terraces they press out oil;
they tread the presses, but[ai] they are thirsty.
12 From the city people groan,
and the throat[aj] of the wounded cries for help;
yet[ak] God does not regard it as unseemly.[al]
13 “Those are among the ones rebelling against the light;
they do not recognize his ways,
and they do not stay in his paths.
14 At dusk[am] the murderer rises;
he kills the needy and the poor,
and in the night he is like a[an] thief.
15 And the eye of the adulterer waits for dusk,
saying, ‘No eye will see me,’[ao]
and he places a covering on his face.
16 He digs through houses in the darkness;
by day they shut themselves in—
they do not know the light
17 because morning likewise is to them deep darkness;
indeed, they know about the terrors of deep darkness.
18 “He himself[ap] is swift on the water’s surface;
their portion is cursed in the land.
No one turns toward the path of their vineyards.[aq]
19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters,
like Sheol snatches away those[ar] who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets him.
The maggot feasts on him until he is no longer remembered,
and wickedness is broken like a[as] tree.
21 He feeds on the barren, who does not have a child,
and does no good to the widow.
22 Yet[at] he[au] carries off the tyrants by his strength;
if he rises up, then[av] he[aw] cannot be certain of life.[ax]
23 He[ay] gives security to him, and he is[az] supported,
but[ba] his eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted a little while, then[bb] they are gone.[bc]
And they are brought low; they are cut off like all others,
and like the heads of grain they wither away.
25 “And if it is not so, then who can prove me a liar
and reduce my word to nothing?”
Bildad’s Third Speech
25 Then[bd] Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,[be]
2 “Domination and dread are with him
who makes peace in his high heavens.
3 Is there a number to his troops?
And upon whom does his light not rise?
4 “Indeed,[bf] how can a human being be righteous before God?
And how will he who is born of a woman be pure?
5 Look, even the moon is not bright,[bg]
and the stars are not pure in his sight.
6 How much less[bh] for a human being who is a maggot,
and a human[bi] who is a worm?”
Job’s Ninth Speech: A Response to Bildad
26 Then[bj] Job answered and said,
2 “How you[bk] have helped one who has no power![bl]
How you[bm] have assisted the arm that has no strength![bn]
3 How you[bo] have advised one who has no wisdom![bp]
And what sound wisdom you[bq] have made known in abundance![br]
4 With whose help[bs] have you[bt] uttered words,
and whose breath has come forth from you?[bu]
5 “The spirits of the dead tremble
below the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is naked before him,
and there is no covering for Abaddon.
7 He stretches out the north over emptiness;
he hangs the earth over nothing.[bv]
8 He ties up the water in its clouds,
and the cloud is not torn open beneath it.[bw]
9 He covers the face of the full moon;[bx]
he spreads his cloud over it.
10 He has described a circle[by] on the face of the water
between light and darkness.[bz]
11 “The pillars of heaven tremble,
and they are astounded at his rebuke.
12 By his power he stilled the sea,
and by his understanding he struck down Rahab.
13 By his breath the heavens were made clear;[ca]
his hand pierced the fleeing snake.
14 Look, these are the outer fringes of his ways,
and how faint is the word[cb] that we hear of him!
But[cc] who can understand the thunder of his power?”
Job Continues His Final Speech
27 Then[cd] Job again took up his discourse and said,
2 “As God lives,[ce] he has removed my justice,
and Shaddai has made my inner self[cf] bitter.
3 For as long as[cg] my breath is in me,
and the spirit of God is in my nose,
4 my lips surely will not speak falseness,
and my tongue surely will not utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I would say that you[ch] are right;[ci]
until I pass away, I will not put away from me my blamelessness.
6 I hold fast to my righteousness, and I will not let it go;
my heart will not blame any of my days.
7 “Let my enemy be like the wicked
and my opponent like the unrighteous,
8 for what is the hope of the godless when he cuts them off,
when God takes away his life?
9 Will God hear his cry of distress
when distress comes upon him?
10 Or, in Shaddai will he find delight?
Will he call upon God at all times?
11 “I will teach you[cj] about[ck] God’s hand;
I will not conceal that which is with Shaddai.
12 Look, you all have seen,
and why in the world[cl] have you become altogether vain?[cm]
13 “This is the portion of the wicked human being with God,
and they receive from Shaddai the inheritance of the ruthless.
14 If their children multiply, it is for the sword,
and his offspring do not have enough to eat.[cn]
15 Their[co] survivors are buried through[cp] the plague,
and their[cq] widows do not weep.
16 If he heaps up silver like the dust
and fashions clothing like the clay,
17 he makes it ready, and the righteous will wear it,
and the innocent will divide the silver.
18 “He builds his house like the moth,
and like a booth that a watchman has made.
19 He goes to bed with wealth, but[cr] he will do so no more;[cs]
he opens his eyes, and it is gone.[ct]
20 Terrors overtake him like the water;
a storm wind carries him off in the night.
21 The east wind lifts him up, and he is gone,
and it sweeps him away from his place.
22 And it hurls at him, and it has no compassion;
he will quickly flee from its power.
23 It claps its hands over him,
and it hisses at him from its place.
Paul’s Clear Conscience
12 For our reason for boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, in holiness[a] and purity of motive from God, not[b] in merely human wisdom, but by the grace of God. 13 For we are not writing anything else to you except what you can read or also understand. But I hope that you will understand completely[c], 14 just as you have also understood us in part, that we are your reason for boasting, just as you are also ours in the day of our Lord Jesus.
Paul Delays His Visit to Corinth
15 And with this confidence, I was wanting to come to you previously, in order that you may have a second proof of my goodwill, 16 and through you to go to Macedonia, and to come to you again from Macedonia, and to be sent on my way by you to Judea. 17 Therefore, when I[d] was wanting to do this, perhaps then was I making use of vacillation? Or was I deciding what I was deciding according to the flesh, in order that with me my “yes” may be “yes” and my “no” may be “no” at the same time?[e] 18 But God is faithful, so that our word to you is not “yes” and “no.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us, by me and Silvanus and Timothy, did not become “yes” and “no,” but has become “yes” in him. 20 For as many as are the promises of God, in him they are “yes”; therefore also through him is the “amen” to the glory of God through us. 21 Now the one who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anoints us is God, 22 who also sealed us and gave the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts.
23 But I call upon God as witness against my life, that in order to[f] spare you, I did not come again to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers for your joy, because by faith you stand firm.
2 For I have decided this for myself, not to come to you again in sorrow. 2 For if I cause you sorrow, then who will make me glad except the one who is caused to be sad by me? 3 And I wrote this very thing in order that when I[g] came, I would not experience sorrow from those who ought to have made me glad, because I[h] have confidence about you all, that my joy belongs to all of you[i]. 4 For out of great distress and anguish of heart I wrote to you through many tears, not so that you may be caused to be sad, but so that you may know the love that I have especially for you.
Forgive and Comfort the Offender
5 But if anyone has caused sorrow, he has not caused me sorrow, but to some degree[j]—in order not to say too much[k]—to all of you. 6 This punishment by the majority is sufficient for such a person. 7 So then, you should rather forgive and comfort him, lest somehow this person should be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 Therefore I urge you to confirm your love for him. 9 Because for this reason also I wrote, in order that I could know your proven character, whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Now to whomever you forgive anything, I also do; for indeed, whatever I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, it is for your sake[l] in the presence of Christ, 11 in order that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).
Thanksgiving for God’s Provision in Time of Sickness
For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]
41 Blessed is the one who has regard for the poor;
in the day of disaster, Yahweh delivers him.
2 Yahweh protects him and keeps him alive;
he is blessed in the land,
and you do not give him
into the will[b] of his enemies.
3 Yahweh sustains him on his sick bed.
In his illness, you restore to health.[c]
4 As for me, I said, “O Yahweh, be gracious to me.
Heal me,[d] for I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies speak evil about me,
“When will he die and his name perish?”
6 And when one comes to see me, he speaks falsely;
his heart gathers disaster for itself.
He goes out to the street; he speaks.
7 All who hate me speak together against me.
Against me they assume the worst[e] for me:
8 “A ruinous thing is poured out on him,
and now that he lies down, he will not rise up again.”
9 Even my close friend,[f] whom I trusted,
who ate my bread,
has lifted his heel against me.
10 But you, O Yahweh, be gracious to me and raise me up
that I may repay them.
11 By this I know that you delight in me:
because my enemy has not shouted in triumph over me.
12 As for me, you have upheld me in my integrity,
and you have set me in your presence forever.
13 Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software