Job 9 Cross References - ISV

¹ Job Cannot Argue with His CreatorThis was Job’s response: ² “Indeed, I’m fully aware that this is so, but how can a person become right with God? ³ If one were to seek to argue with him, he won’t be able to answer him even once in a thousand times. ⁴ He is wise in heart and strong in will— who can be stubborn against him and succeed? ⁵ “He removes mountains without their knowledge, overthrowing them in his anger. ⁶ He shakes the earth from its orbit, so that its foundations shudder. ⁷ He commands the sun so that it doesn’t shine and seals up the stars. ⁸ He alone spreads out the heavens, he walks on the waves of the sea. ⁹ He created Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the southern constellations. ¹⁰ He does great things that cannot be explained, and awesome deeds that cannot be counted. ¹¹ “If he were to pass near me, I wouldn’t notice; if he moves by, I wouldn’t perceive him. ¹² Indeed, if he snatches someone away, who could restrain him? Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’ ¹³ “God doesn’t restrain his anger. Rahab’s assistants are humiliated under him. ¹⁴ So how am I to answer him, choosing what I am to say to him? ¹⁵ Even if I’m in the right, I cannot answer him. I can only appeal for mercy. ¹⁶ “Were I to be summoned, and he were to answer me, I wouldn’t even believe that he was listening to what I have to say. ¹⁷ For he crushes me with a storm, and keeps on wounding me for no reason. ¹⁸ He won’t let me catch my breath; instead, he fills me with bitterness. ¹⁹ “Is this a contest of strength? He is obviously stronger! Is this a matter of justice? Who can sue him? ²⁰ Though I’m in the right, my own mouth will condemn me; though I’m blameless, he’ll pronounce me as guilty. ²¹ “I’m blameless; I don’t know myself; I despise my life. ²² I say it’s all the same— he destroys both the blameless and the guilty. ²³ If a calamity causes sudden death, he’ll mock at the despair of the innocent. ²⁴ A land is given into the hands of a wicked person; he covers the faces of its judges. If it is not God, then who is it?”
²⁵ Job Argues that God Won’t Acquit Him“My days pass faster than a runner; but they pass quickly without seeing anything good. ²⁶ They pass by like a ship made of reeds, like an eagle swooping down on its prey. ²⁷ If I were to say, ‘Let me forget my complaint,’ change the expression on my face, and look cheerful, ²⁸ then I still dread all of my suffering; I know you still won’t acquit me. ²⁹ I will be condemned, so why should I wear myself out with this futility? ³⁰ “If I wash myself with water from snow, and cleanse my hands with lye, ³¹ you’ll still drop me into the Pit, and my own clothes will despise me. ³² He’s not a man like me, so that I can answer him, or that we can enter into litigation with one another. ³³ There is not yet a mediator between us, who would set his hand on the two of us, ³⁴ removing his rod from me, and not letting terror of him overwhelm me. ³⁵ Otherwise, I would speak without being terrified of him, because I’m not like that inside myself.”

⁴⁶ “When they sin against you—because there isn’t a single human being who doesn’t sin—and you become angry with them and deliver them over to their enemy, who takes them away captive to the land that belongs to their enemy, whether near or far away,

¹⁷ ‘Can a mortal person be more righteous than God? Or can the purity of the valiant exceed that of his maker?’

³ Indeed, have you opened your eyes on one like this— to bring me into a legal fight with you? ⁴ Who can produce a clean thing from an unclean thing? No one!

⁴ How can a human being become right with God? How can a human being be pure?

² But then Barachel’s son Elihu from Buz, one of Ram’s descendants, got really angry. He was furious with Job because he had been declaring himself righteous instead of vindicating God.

⁹ ‘I’m pure. I’m without sin; I’m innocent. I’m harboring no iniquity inside of me.

⁵ Elihu Reviews Job’s Complaint against God’s InjusticeNow this is Job’s claim: ‘Even though I’m innocent, God has stopped treating me righteously.

³ LORD, if you were to record iniquities, Lord, who could remain standing?

² Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no living person is righteous in your sight.

²⁰ Therefore, God will not justify any human being by means of the actions prescribed by the Law, for through the Law comes the full knowledge of sin.

²⁰ Though I’m in the right, my own mouth will condemn me; though I’m blameless, he’ll pronounce me as guilty.

³² He’s not a man like me, so that I can answer him, or that we can enter into litigation with one another. ³³ There is not yet a mediator between us, who would set his hand on the two of us,

² I’ll say to God, ‘Don’t condemn me! Let me know why you are fighting me.

³ If only I knew where to find him, I would visit him where he has taken his seat. ⁴ I would lay out my case before him; and fill my mouth with arguments. ⁵ I know how he would answer me; I understand what he’ll tell me. ⁶ “Would he use his great power to fight me? No, he’ll pay attention to me. ⁷ In that place, the upright can reason with him; and I’ll be acquitted once and for all by my judge.”

³⁵ Request for A Hearing“Who will grant me a hearing? Here’s my signature—let the Almighty answer! Since my adversary indicted me, ³⁶ I’ll wear it on my shoulder, or tie it on my head for a crown! ³⁷ I’ll give an account for every step I’ve taken; I’ll approach him confidently like a Commander-in-Chief.”

¹³ Why are you arguing with him? He doesn’t have to give explanations for what he does to you!

¹⁴ If he were to decide to do so, that is, to take back to himself his spirit and breath of life, ¹⁵ every living thing would die all at once, and mankind would return to dust.”

² “Should the one who is fighting the Almighty find fault with him? Let God’s accuser answer.”

¹² Who can detect his own mistake? Cleanse me from hidden sin.

¹² Innumerable evils have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me so that I cannot see. They are more in number than the hair on my head, and my courage has forsaken me.

¹⁵ “For this is what the high and lofty One says, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “He lives in the height and in holiness, and also with the one who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. ¹⁶ For I won’t accuse forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the human spirit would grow faint before me— even the souls that I have created.

²⁰ On the contrary, who are you—mere man that you are—to talk back to God? Can an object that was molded say to the one who molded it, “Why did you make me like this?”

⁸ If we say that we do not have any sin, we are deceiving ourselves and we’re not being truthful to ourselves.

²⁰ If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.

¹⁴ Indeed, this time I’m sending all my plagues against you, your officials, and your people, so you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. ¹⁵ Indeed, by now I could have sent forth my hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been destroyed from the earth. ¹⁶ However, I’ve kept you standing in order to show you my power and to declare my name in all the earth. ¹⁷ You are still acting arrogantly against my people by not letting them go.

¹⁷ Even now I’m hardening the heart of the Egyptians so they’ll go after the Israelis. Then I’ll receive honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁸ Then the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I receive honor by means of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

¹² Now listen! God is with us to lead us, and his priests are about to sound their battle trumpets against you. Descendants of Israel, don’t fight against the LORD God of your ancestors, because you won’t succeed!”

¹⁰ At least I could still take comfort and rejoice in unceasing anguish, for I didn’t conceal what the Holy One has to say.

¹⁹ “Is this a contest of strength? He is obviously stronger! Is this a matter of justice? Who can sue him?

⁶ and disclose his wise secrets? After all, there’s so much more to understanding. So be aware that God will exact from you less than your sin deserves.”

¹³ With God is wisdom and strength; counsel and understanding belongs to him.

²³ He wanders around for food—where is it? He knows that a time of darkness is near. ²⁴ Distress and pressure terrify him; they overwhelm him, like a king poised for attack. ²⁵ “For he has raised his fist against God, defying the Almighty. ²⁶ He defiantly ran against him carrying his thick, reinforced shield. ²⁷ Though he covered his face with fat, and is grossly overweight at the waist,

⁵ God Disciplines“Indeed God is mighty and he doesn’t show disrespect; he is mighty and strong of heart.

⁹ Do you have strength like God? Can you create thunder with a sound like he can?”

²⁴ How numerous are your works, LORD! You have made them all wisely; the earth is filled with your creations.

⁵ to the one who by wisdom made the heavens, for his gracious love is everlasting—

¹⁴ Blessed is the man who always fears the LORD, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into disaster.

¹ Advice on Life and Justice After many rebukes, the stiff-necked man will be broken incurably, without any warning.

²⁰ and said, “May the name of God be blessed forever and ever; wisdom and power are his for evermore.

³⁴ The King’s Sanity Returns“When that period of time was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven and my sanity returned to me. I blessed the Most High, praising and honoring the one who lives forever: For his sovereignty is eternal, and his kingdom continues from generation to generation. ³⁵ All who live on the earth are nothing compared to him. He does what he wishes with the heavenly armies and with those who live on earth. No one can hold back his power or say to him, ‘What did you do?’
³⁶ At that moment I recovered my sanity, and my honor and majesty returned to me, for the sake of my kingdom. My advisors and officials sought me out, my throne was restored, and even more greatness than I had before was added to me. ³⁷ In conclusion, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and give glory to the King of heaven: For everything he does is true, his ways are just, and he is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

²⁰ But when he became arrogant and his spirit hardened, he was removed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him. ²¹ He was driven away from human society and given the mind of an animal. He lived with wild donkeys, ate grass like cattle, and his body was soaked with dew from the sky until he realized that the Most High God is sovereign over human kingdoms and places over them whomever he desires.
²² “But you, Belshazzar, his grandson, haven’t humbled yourself, even though you knew all of this.
²³ “You’ve exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven.
“You’ve had the vessels from his Temple brought into your presence.
“And you, your officials, and your wives and mistresses drank wine from them.
“You praised gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which can’t see, hear, or demonstrate knowledge.
“But you didn’t honor God, who holds in his power your very life and all your ways.
²⁴ “Therefore, the hand that wrote this inscription was sent from his presence. ²⁵ This is the written inscription: MENE, MENE, TEKEL AND PARSIN
²⁶ These are the meanings of the words:MENE: God has audited your kingdom—and has ended it. ²⁷ TEKEL: You’ve been weighed on the scales—and you don’t measure up. ²⁸ PERES: Your kingdom has been divided—and will be given to the Medes and Persians.”
²⁹ Then Belshazzar gave orders to clothe Daniel in purple, to place a chain of gold around his neck, and to proclaim him the third highest ruler of the kingdom.
³⁰ That night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was killed,

³³ In Praise of God’s WaysO how deep are God’s riches, and wisdom, and knowledge! How unfathomable are his decisions and unexplainable are his ways!

²² or you’ll provoke the Lord to jealousy, won’t you? Are we stronger than he is?

⁸ that he lavished on us, along with all wisdom and understanding,

¹⁹ and the unlimited greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his mighty strength,

¹⁰ He did this so that now, through the church, the wisdom of God in all its variety might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realm

²⁰ Now to the one who can do infinitely more than all we can ask or imagine according to the power that is working among us—

²⁴ Final PrayerNow to the one who is able to keep you from falling and to make you stand joyful and faultless in his glorious presence, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus the Messiah, our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time and for all eternity! Amen.

⁵ “Here is a list of names of the men who are to assist you:
“From Reuben: Shedeur’s son Elizur. ⁶ From Simeon: Zurishaddai’s son Shelumiel.

⁹ “Using a flint, he thrusts his hand, overturning mountains by the roots.

² Therefore we will not be frightened when the earth roars, when the mountains shake in the depths of the seas,

⁸ the land quaked. Indeed, the heavens poured down rain from the presence of God, this God of Sinai, from the presence of God, the God of Israel.

⁶ Mountains, that you skipped like rams? and you hills, that you skipped like lambs?

¹² Who is Like the LORD?“Who has measured the waters of the sea in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens by the width of his hand? Who has enclosed the dust of the earth in a measuring bowl, or weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

⁶ He stood up and shook the land; with his stare he startled the nations. The age-old mountains were shattered, and the ancient hilltops bowed down. His ways are eternal.

¹⁰ When the mountains looked upon you, they trembled; the overflowing water passed by, the ocean shouted, and its waves surged upward.

⁷ ‘Who are you, great mountain? You will become a plain in Zerubbabel’s presence, and he will position the capstone, exulting over it, “How beautiful! How beautiful!”’”

⁴ His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. Then the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a very large valley, with half of the mountain moving toward the north and half toward the south. ⁵ You will run away through my mountain valley, because the valley of the mountains will extend as far as Azal. You will flee, as you fled from the earthquake during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. And so the LORD my God will come, and all his holy ones will be accompanying you.”

²¹ Jesus answered them, “I tell all of you with certainty, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you be able to do what has been done to the fig tree, but you will also say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.

⁵¹ Suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, rocks were split open,

¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places, and there will be fearful events and awful signs from heaven.”

² If I have the gift of prophecy and can understand all secrets and every form of knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains but have no love, I am nothing.

¹⁴ The sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

¹³ At that moment a powerful earthquake struck. One-tenth of the city collapsed, 7,000 people were killed by the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁸ There were flashes of lightning, noises, peals of thunder, and a powerful earthquake. There has never been such a powerful earthquake since people have been on the earth. ¹⁹ The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered to give Babylon the Great the cup of wine filled with the fury of his wrath. ²⁰ Every island vanished, and the mountains could no longer be found.

⁸ He raises the poor up from the dust, he lifts up the needy from the trash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. Indeed the pillars of the earth belong to the LORD, and he has set the world on them.

¹¹ The pillars of the heavens tremble and are astounded at his rebuke.

⁴ On the Natural World“Where were you when I laid the foundation of my earth? Tell me, since you’re so informed! ⁵ Who set its measurement? Am I to assume you know? Who stretched a boundary line over it? ⁶ On what were its bases set? Who laid its corner stone ⁷ while the morning stars sang together and all the divine beings shouted joyfully?

³ While the earth and all its inhabitants melt away, it is I who keep its pillars firm.” Interlude

⁷ Tremble then, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,

¹⁹ “They will enter caverns in the rocks and holes in the ground to escape the presence of the terror of the LORD, to escape the splendor of his majesty when he arises to terrify the earth.

²¹ They will enter caverns in the rocks and clefts in the cliffs, to escape the terror of the LORD and to escape the splendor of his majesty, when he arises to terrorize the earth.

¹³ Therefore I’ll make the heavens tremble. The earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, at the time of his burning anger. ¹⁴ They will be like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with no one to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land.

¹ The Earth is Judged “Watch out! The LORD is about to depopulate the land and devastate it; he will turn it upside down and scatter its inhabitants.

¹⁹ The earth is utterly shattered, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. ²⁰ The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies so heavy upon it, that it falls, never to rise again.

²⁴ I looked at the mountains; they were quaking, and all the hills moved back and forth.

¹⁰ Great is the Day of the LORD“The land quivers in their presence; even the heavens shake. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will stop shining.

⁶ “For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Once more, in a little while, I will make the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land to shake.

²¹ “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah. Tell him, ‘I’m going to shake the heavens and the earth.

²⁶ At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven.”

¹¹ The Vision of the White Throne JudgmentThen I saw a large, white throne and the one who was sitting on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.

²¹ The Plague of DarknessThen the LORD told Moses, “Stretch your hand toward the sky and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that one can feel.” ²² So Moses stretched his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.

¹² Later that day, Joshua spoke to the LORD while the LORD was delivering the Amorites to the Israelis. This is what he said in the presence of Israel: “Sun, be still over Gibeon Moon, stand in place in the Aijalon Valley”

⁷ “He puts a limit to the skill of every person; to delineate all people from what they do.

¹² “Have you ever commanded the morning at any time during your life? Do you know where the dawn lives, ¹³ where it seizes the edge of the earth and shakes the wicked out of it? ¹⁴ Like clay is molded by a signet ring, the earth’s hills and valleys then stand out like the colors of a garment. ¹⁵ Then from the wicked their light is withheld and their upraised arm is broken.

¹⁹ “Where is the road to where the light lives? Or where does the darkness live? ²⁰ Can you take it to its homeland, since you know the path to his house?

¹⁰ For the stars of the heavens and their constellations won’t shine their light; the sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon won’t shine its light.

⁷ When I extinguish your lights, I’ll cover the heavens and darken their stars. I’ll cover the sun with a cloud and the moon won’t reflect its light. ⁸ I’ll darken the bright lights in the sky above you and bring darkness to your territory,’ declares the Lord GOD.

³⁵ All who live on the earth are nothing compared to him. He does what he wishes with the heavenly armies and with those who live on earth. No one can hold back his power or say to him, ‘What did you do?’

¹³ Look! The one who crafts mountains, who creates the wind, who reveals what he is thinking to mankind, who darkens the morning light, who tramples down the high places of the land— the LORD, the God of the Heavenly Armies is his name.

⁹ It will come about at that time,” declares the Lord GOD, “I will cause the sun to set at noon and the earth to darken in the daylight.

²⁹ The Coming of the Son of Man
“Immediately after the troubles of those days, ‘The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken loose.’

²⁵ The Coming of the Son of Man
“There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and there will be distress on earth among the nations that are confused by the roaring of the sea and its waves. ²⁶ People will faint from fear and apprehension because of the things that are to come on the inhabited world, because the powers of heaven will be shaken.

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be a canopy between bodies of water, separating bodies of water from bodies of water!” ⁷ So God made a canopy that separated the water beneath the canopy from the water above it. And that is what happened:

¹⁸ Can you spread out the skies like he does; can you cast them as one might a mirror?

¹¹ and said, ‘You may come only this far and no more. Your majestic waves will stop here.’?

¹⁶ “Have you been to the source of the sea and walked about in the recesses of the deepest ocean?

⁶ By the word of the LORD the heavens were made; all the heavenly bodies by the breath of his mouth.

¹⁹ Your way was through the sea, and your path through mighty waters, but your footprints cannot be traced.

³ The rivers have flooded, LORD; the rivers have spoken aloud, the rivers have lifted up their crushing waves. ⁴ More than the sound of surging waters— the majestic waves of the sea— the LORD on high is majestic.

² you are wrapped in light like a garment, stretching out the sky like a curtain. ³ He lays the beams of his roof loft on the water above, making clouds his chariot, walking on the wings of the wind.

²² He’s the one who sits above the disk of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. He’s the one who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in,

⁵ God Speaks about the ServantThis is what God says— the God who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its produce, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:

²⁴ “This is what the LORD says, your Redeemer and the one who formed you in the womb: ‘I am the LORD, who has made everything, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth— Who was with me at that time?—

¹¹ Tell this to them: “The gods who didn’t make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from these heavens.”

¹ The LORD will Deliver JerusalemA declaration: a message from the LORD to Israel. “The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who frames the spirit of man within himself, declares,

²⁵ Shortly before dawn, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and cried out, “It’s a ghost!” And they screamed in terror.
²⁷ “Have courage!” Jesus immediately told them. “It’s me. Stop being afraid!”
²⁸ Peter answered him, “Lord, if it’s you, order me to come to you on the water.”
²⁹ Jesus said, “Come on!” So Peter got down out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came to Jesus.
³⁰ But when he noticed the strong wind, he was frightened. As he began to sink, he shouted, “Lord, save me!”

¹⁹ After they had rowed about 25 or 30 stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea toward their boat. They became terrified.

¹⁶ God fashioned two great lights—the larger light to shine during the day and the smaller light to shine during the night—as well as stars.

⁹ “From the south, a whirlwind proceeds, out of the icy north winds.

³¹ On the Heavens“Can you bind the chains of Pleiades or loosen the cords of Orion? ³² Can you bring out constellations in their season? Can you guide the Bear with her cubs? ³³ Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you regulate their authority over the earth? ³⁴ “Can you call out to the clouds, so that abundant water drenches you? ³⁵ Can you command the lightning, so that it goes forth and calls to you, ‘Look at us!’ ³⁶ “Who sets wisdom within you, or imbues your mind with understanding? ³⁷ Who has the wisdom to be able to count the clouds, or to empty the water jars of heaven, ³⁸ when dust dries into a mass and then breaks apart into clods?
³⁹ On the Animal World“Can you hunt prey for the lioness to satisfy young lions ⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens and lie in ambush in their lairs? ⁴¹ Who prepares food for the raven, when its offspring cry out to God as they wander for lack of food?”

³ He lays the beams of his roof loft on the water above, making clouds his chariot, walking on the wings of the wind.

¹³ He waters the mountains from his heavenly rooms; the earth is satisfied from the fruit of your work.

⁴ He keeps track of the number of stars, assigning names to all of them.

⁸ Seek the one who fashions the Pleiades and Orion, who turns the deep darkness into morning, who darkens day into night, who calls out to the waters of the sea, pouring them out onto the surface of the earth— the LORD is his name.

¹³ Then we weighed anchor and came to Rhegium. A day later, a south wind began to blow, and on the second day we came to Puteoli.

¹¹ “Who is like you among the gods, LORD? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, and working wonders?

⁹ He is always doing great things that cannot be explained, countless awesome deeds.

¹² By his power he disturbs the sea; and with his skill he shatters the sea monster. ¹³ he clears the skies with his wind; his hands have pierced the fleeing serpent. ¹⁴ Indeed, these are the fringes of his ways, and how faint is the whisper we’ve heard of it! But who can comprehend the thunder of his might?”

²³ We cannot find the Almighty— he is majestic in power and justice, and overflowing with righteousness; he never oppresses.

¹⁵ I will declare your righteousness and your salvation every day, though I do not fully understand what the outcome will be.

¹⁸ Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does awesome deeds.

⁴ To the one who alone does great and wondrous things, for his gracious love is everlasting—

¹¹ He made everything appropriate in its time. He also placed eternity within them—yet, no person can fully comprehend what God is doing from beginning to end.

²⁶ “Lift your eyes up to heaven and see who created all these— the one who leads out their vast array of stars by number, calling them all by name— because of his great might and his powerful strength— and not one is missing.”
²⁷ The LORD Watches Israel“Jacob, why do you say— and Israel, why do you complain— ‘My predicament is hidden from the LORD, and my cause is ignored by my God.’? ²⁸ Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The LORD is the eternal God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary; and his understanding cannot be fathomed.

² It gives me great pleasure to tell about the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. ³ How great are his signs!How powerful are his wonders!His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and his dominion lasts from generation to generation.

⁸ Job Justifies His Innocence“Look! If I go east, he isn’t there! If I go to the west, I don’t perceive him. ⁹ If he’s working in the north, I can’t observe him; If he turns south, I can’t see him.

¹⁴ Even though you complain that you can’t perceive him, your case is already pending for judgment in his presence so keep on placing your hope in him.

¹⁶ He alone has endless life and lives in inaccessible light. No one has ever seen him, nor can anyone see him. Honor and eternal power belong to him! Amen.

¹⁰ “If he bypasses, or imprisons, or convenes a court, who can stop him?

¹³ Job Stands Petrified Before God“But he is One—who can change him? He does whatever he wants to do.

²⁹ “If he remains silent, who will condemn him? If he conceals his face, who can see him? He watches over both nation and individual alike,

⁹ “Woe to the one who quarrels with his makers, a mere potsherd with the potsherds of the earth! Woe to the one who says to the one forming him, ‘What are you making?’ or ‘Your work has no human hands?’!

⁶ “Israel, can’t I deal with you like this potter?” declares the LORD. “Look, Israel, like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.

²⁶ Yes, Father, because this is what was pleasing to you.

¹⁵ I am allowed to do what I want with my own money, am I not? Or are you envious because I’m generous?’

¹⁸ Therefore, God has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses.
¹⁹ God Chose People who are Not JewishYou may ask me, “Then why does God still find fault with anybody? For who can resist his will?” ²⁰ On the contrary, who are you—mere man that you are—to talk back to God? Can an object that was molded say to the one who molded it, “Why did you make me like this?”

³⁴ Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become his adviser?

¹¹ In the Messiah we were also chosen when we were predestined according to the purpose of the one who does everything that he wills to do,

¹² By his power he disturbs the sea; and with his skill he shatters the sea monster.

⁹ Do you have strength like God? Can you create thunder with a sound like he can?”
¹⁰ Can You Save Yourself?“When you have adorned yourself with exalted majesty, clothed yourself with splendor and dignity, ¹¹ dispensed the fury of your anger, made sure that you have humbled every proud person,

¹⁰ You crushed the proud one to death; with your powerful arm you scattered your enemies.

⁷ to Egypt, which gives help that is worthless and useless. Therefore I call her, ‘Rahab, who just sits still.’”

² Yet he is also wise and can bring disaster; he does not take back his words, but will rise up against the house of those who practice evil and against anyone who assists people who work iniquity. ³ The Egyptians are men, not God, and their horses are physical, not spirit. When the LORD stretches out his hand, anyone who assists will stumble, and the one who is helped will fall; and they will all perish together.”

⁹ “Awake! Awake! Clothe yourself with strength, you arm of the LORD! Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of long ago. Was it not you who split apart Rehob, who pierced that sea monster through?

⁶ But he gives all the more grace. And so he says, “God opposes the arrogant but gives grace to the humble.” ⁷ Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you.

²⁷ and yet, will God truly reside on earth? Look! Neither the sky nor the highest heaven can contain you! How much less this Temple that I have built!

¹⁹ how much less confidence does he have in those who dwell in houses of clay; who were formed from a foundation in dust and can perish like a moth?

³ If one were to seek to argue with him, he won’t be able to answer him even once in a thousand times.

⁴ You’ve said, ‘My teaching is flawless; I’m clean in God’s sight.’ ⁵ “But what if God were to speak? What if he were to talk with you,

⁴ I would lay out my case before him; and fill my mouth with arguments.

⁷ In that place, the upright can reason with him; and I’ll be acquitted once and for all by my judge.”

⁶ How much less is man, who is only a maggot, or a man’s children, who are only worms!”

⁵ Answer me, if you can! Present your case! Take your stand in my presence!

³⁸ whatever prayer or request is made, no matter whether it’s made by a single man or by all of your people Israel, each praying out of his own hurting heart and anguish and stretching out his hands toward this Temple, ³⁹ then hear from heaven, the place where you reside, and forgive, repaying each person according to all of his ways, since you know their hearts—for you alone know the hearts of all human beings—

¹³ and prayed to him. Moved by Manasseh’s entreaties, the LORD heard his supplications and brought him back to his kingdom in Jerusalem. That’s how Manasseh learned that the LORD is God.

⁸ God Can be Trusted in Adversity“Now as for me, I would seek God if I were you; I would commit my case to God.

⁵ If you seek God, if you ask the Almighty for mercy,

¹⁵ “‘Woe to me if I’m guilty! If I’m innocent, I cannot lift my head, because I am filled with disgrace. Look at my affliction!

²⁷ You’ll entreat him and he’ll listen to you as you fulfill your vows.

³¹ Elihu’s Challenge to Job“Has anyone ever really told God, ‘I’ve endured, and I won’t act corruptly anymore. ³² What I don’t see, instruct me! If I’ve done anything evil, I won’t repeat it!’

⁹ They’ll come crying, and I’ll lead them as they pray for mercy. I’ll make them walk by streams of water, along a straight path on which they won’t stumble. For I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”

³ “So I turned my attention to the Lord God, seeking him in prayer and supplication, accompanied with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

¹⁸ Turn your ear and listen, O God. Open your eyes and look at our desolation and at the city that is called by your name. We’re not presenting our requests before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great compassion.

⁴ For my conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who examines me.

²³ When he was insulted, he did not retaliate. When he suffered, he did not threaten. It was his habit to commit the matter to the one who judges fairly.

⁹ Then Moses reported this to the Israelis, but they did not listen to Moses due to their irritation and impatience because there was no deliverance and because of the cruel bondage.

¹³ But Gideon replied, “Right… Sir, if the LORD is with us, then why has all of this happened to us? And where are all of his miraculous works that our ancestors recounted to us when they said, ‘The LORD brought us up from Egypt, didn’t he?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us over to Midian!”

²⁴ I smiled at them when they had no confidence, and no one could discourage me.

⁶ In my distress I cried to the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his Temple he heard my voice; my cry reached his ears.

¹⁸ Were I to cherish iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not listen to me. ¹⁹ Surely God has heard, and he paid attention to my prayers. ²⁰ Blessed be God, who did not turn away my prayers nor his gracious love from me.

¹ God, My Deliverer I love the LORD because he has heard my prayer for mercy; ² for he listens to me whenever I call.

¹ A Song of Ascents
The Exiles Restored When the LORD brought back Zion’s exiles, we were like dreamers.

⁴¹ Even though they were still skeptical due to their joy and astonishment, Jesus asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”

¹⁴ On recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that she didn’t open the gate but ran back inside and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. ¹⁵ The other people told her, “You’re out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. Then they said, “It’s his angel.”
¹⁶ Meanwhile, Peter kept on knocking and knocking. When they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed.

¹⁴ a messenger approached Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the female donkeys were grazing nearby ¹⁵ when the Sabeans attacked, captured the servants, and killed them with swords. I alone escaped to tell you!”
¹⁶ While this messenger was still speaking, another came and announced, “A lightning storm struck and incinerated the flock and the servants while they were eating. I alone escaped to tell you!”
¹⁷ While this messenger was still speaking, another came and announced, “The Chaldeans formed three companies, raided the camels, captured the servants, and killed them with swords. Only I alone escaped to tell you.”
¹⁸ While this messenger was still speaking, another came and announced, “Your children were celebrating in their oldest brother’s house ¹⁹ when a strong wind came straight out of the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people, and they died. I alone escaped to tell you!”

³ The LORD asked Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on earth. The man is blameless as well as upright. He fears God and keeps away from evil. He remains firm in his integrity, even though you have been urging me to overwhelm him without cause.”

⁷ So Satan left the LORD’s presence and struck Job with terrible boils from the sole of his feet to the top of his head.

¹³ and sat with Job on the ground for a full week without saying a word, since they could see the great extent of his anguish.

¹² “He tore me apart when I was at ease; grabbing me by my neck, he shook me to pieces— then he really made me his target.

¹⁴ Attack follows attack as he breaks through my defenses! He runs over me like a mighty warrior.

¹⁷ even though violence is not my intention, and my prayer is pure.”

²² you carried me off in a wind storm, making me ride on it while you toss me about as the storm roars around me.

⁶ Have I lied concerning the justice that I deserve? My wound is incurable, though transgression cannot be attributed to me.’

³ Indeed, no one who waits on you will be ashamed, but those who offend for no reason will be put to shame.

⁵ The voice of the LORD snaps the cedars; the LORD snaps the cedars of Lebanon.

⁷ Deep waters call out to what is deeper still; at the roar of your waterfalls all your breakers and your waves swirled over me.

¹⁵ Pursue them with your storm and terrify them with your whirlwind.

¹⁷ And I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, and floods will overflow your hiding place.

¹⁹ Look, the storm of the LORD’s wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest, and it will swirl down around the head of the wicked.

¹³ “Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says, ‘In my burning anger, I’ll rip it open with a windstorm. In my anger, I’ll rinse it off with rain, and put an end to it with a hailstorm in my destructive rage.

²⁷ The rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and battered that house, and it collapsed—and its collapse was total.”

²⁰ He will not snap off a broken reed or snuff out a smoldering wick until he has brought justice through to victory.

³ Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. This happened so that God’s work might be revealed in him.

²⁵ But this happened so that what has been written in their Law might be fulfilled: ‘They hated me for no reason.’

²⁰ “Why does God give light to the sufferer or life to the bitter person:

¹⁹ Why won’t you look away from me? Why don’t you leave me alone so I can swallow my saliva?

² “The living God has withheld justice from me; the Almighty has made my life bitter.

¹³ Stop looking at me with chastisement, so I can smile again, before I depart and am no more.

⁷ Your anger lies heavily upon me; you pound me with all your waves. Interlude

¹⁵ Since my youth I have been oppressed and in danger of death. I bear your dread and am overwhelmed. ¹⁶ Your burning anger overwhelms me; your terrors destroy me. ¹⁷ Like waters, they engulf me all day long; they surround me on all sides. ¹⁸ You caused my friend and neighbor to shun me; and my acquaintances are confused.

³ He truly turned his hand against me, again and again, all day long.

¹⁵ He has filled me with bitterness, making me drink wormwood.

¹⁸ So I say, “My strength is gone as is my hope in the LORD.” ¹⁹ Remember my affliction and homelessness— wormwood and gall!

¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, for those who have been trained by it, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.

⁴ He is wise in heart and strong in will— who can be stubborn against him and succeed?

³⁵ Request for A Hearing“Who will grant me a hearing? Here’s my signature—let the Almighty answer! Since my adversary indicted me,

⁵ Answer me, if you can! Present your case! Take your stand in my presence! ⁶ Look! As far as God is concerned, I’m just like you are— I, too, have been pinched off from a piece of clay. ⁷ Don’t be afraid of me; I’ll go easy on you.”

¹⁷ But now you are occupied with the case of the wicked; but justice and judgment will be served. ¹⁸ So that no one entices you with riches, don’t let a large ransom turn you astray. ¹⁹ “Will your wealth sustain you when you’re in distress, despite your most powerful efforts?

⁹ Do you have strength like God? Can you create thunder with a sound like he can?”
¹⁰ Can You Save Yourself?“When you have adorned yourself with exalted majesty, clothed yourself with splendor and dignity,

¹¹ God spoke once, but I heard it twice, “Power belongs to God.”

¹³ And never bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

²⁵ For God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

¹ Job’s FaithfulnessThere once was a man in the land of Uz named Job. The man was blameless as well as upright. He feared God and kept away from evil.

² “Indeed, I’m fully aware that this is so, but how can a person become right with God?

⁵ Because your sin dictates your speech, you have chosen the language of the crafty. ⁶ Your own mouth is condemning you, not I; your own lips will testify against you.”

¹ Elihu Addresses Job and His FriendsThese three men stopped responding to Job, because he was claiming to be righteous, in his own opinion. ² But then Barachel’s son Elihu from Buz, one of Ram’s descendants, got really angry. He was furious with Job because he had been declaring himself righteous instead of vindicating God.

⁸ Elihu Reviews Job’s Claim for Innocence“You spoke clearly so I could hear; I’ve heard what you’ve said: ⁹ ‘I’m pure. I’m without sin; I’m innocent. I’m harboring no iniquity inside of me. ¹⁰ Nevertheless, God has found a pretext to attack me; he considers me his enemy. ¹¹ He has bound my feet in shackles, and keeps watching everything I do.’”
¹² God Responds to Humanity’s Need“You aren’t right about this; My response is that God is greater than human beings. ¹³ Why are you arguing with him? He doesn’t have to give explanations for what he does to you!

³⁵ Job has been speaking from his own ignorance, and what he has to say lacks insight!

¹⁶ When he began speaking, he communicated only worthlessness; he added words upon words without knowing anything.”

¹⁹ Transgression is at work where people talk too much, but anyone who holds his tongue is prudent.

²⁰ The person whose mind is perverse does not find good, and anyone with perverted speech falls into trouble.

⁵ “How terrible it will be for me!” I cried, “because I am ruined! I’m a man with unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips! And my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of the Heavenly Armies!”

³⁶ I tell you, on Judgment Day people will give an account for every thoughtless word they have uttered, ³⁷ because by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

²⁹ But the man wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

¹⁵ So he told them, “You try to justify yourselves in front of people, but God knows your hearts, because what is highly valued by people is detestable to God.

¹² Pursuing the GoalIt’s not that I have already reached this goal or have already become perfect. But I keep pursuing it, hoping somehow to embrace it just as I have been embraced by the Messiah Jesus. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself to have embraced it yet. But this one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I keep pursuing the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly call in the Messiah Jesus.
¹⁵ Therefore, those of us who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will show you how to think.

⁵ and incessant conflict between people who are depraved in mind and deprived of truth. They think that godliness is a way to make a profit.

² For all of us make many mistakes. If someone does not make any mistakes when he speaks, he is perfect and able to control his whole body.

¹⁵ I would rather die by strangulation than continue living. ¹⁶ I hate the thought of living forever! Leave me alone, because my days are pointless.”

²¹ Why haven’t you pardoned my transgression and taken away my iniquity? Now I’m about to lie down in the dust. You will seek me diligently, but I won’t be around!”

²³ Examine me, God, and know my mind, test me, and know my thoughts. ²⁴ See if there is any offensive tendency in me, and lead me in the eternal way.

²⁶ Whoever trusts in himself is foolish, but whoever lives wisely will be kept safe.

⁹ The Deceitfulness of the Human Heart“The heart is more deceitful than anything. It is incurable— who can know it? ¹⁰ I am the LORD who searches the heart, who tests the inner depths to give to each person according to what he deserves, according to the fruit of his deeds.

⁸ Your hands formed and fashioned me, but then you have destroyed me all at once on all sides.

¹ God’s SovereigntyIn light of all of this, I committed myself to explain it this way: the righteous and the wise, along with everything they do, are in the hands of God. Furthermore, as to love and hate, no human being knows everything concerning them. ² Everyone shares the same experience: a single event affects the righteous, the wicked, the good, the clean, the unclean, whoever sacrifices, and whoever does not sacrifice. As it is with the good person, so also it is with the sinner; as it is with someone who takes an oath, so also it is with someone who fears taking an oath.
³ The Universality of DeathThere is a tragedy that infects everything that happens on earth: a common event happens to everyone. In fact, the hearts of human beings are full of evil. Madness remains in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they join the dead.

³ Declare to Israel, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Watch out! I’m against you! I’m going to unsheathe my sword to kill both the righteous and the wicked among you. ⁴ Since I’m going to kill both the righteous and the wicked among you, I’ll be unsheathing my sword against everyone from south to north.

² He asked them, “Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all the other Galileans because they suffered like this? ³ Absolutely not, I tell you! But if you don’t repent, then you, too, will all die. ⁴ What about those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them? Do you think they were worse offenders than all the other people living in Jerusalem?

¹⁵ “Now as to why I’ve come to speak with your majesty the king, it’s because the people have made me afraid, so your humble servant told herself, ‘I’ll go speak to the king, so perhaps the king will do what his humble servant has requested.

¹⁷ “So your humble servant is saying, ‘Please, your majesty, let what the king has to say be of comfort, because just as the angel of God is, so also is your majesty the king to discern both good and evil. And may the LORD your God remain present with you.’”

¹³ Some time later, when his children were celebrating in their oldest brother’s house,

⁷ Now please think: Who has ever perished when they’re innocent? Where have the upright been destroyed?

²⁰ Surely God won’t reject those who are blameless or hold hands with those who practice evil.

¹² From the city, dying men groan aloud, and the wounded cries out for help, but God charges no one with wrong.

²² For your sake we are being killed all day long. We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered.

¹⁹ “Or if I were to send a pestilence against that land and pour out my anger in it with bloodshed, destroying both man and beast in it, ²⁰ even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were among them, as I live” says the Lord GOD, “they couldn’t save their own sons or daughters. They would only save their own souls due to their own righteousness.”
²¹ This is what the Lord GOD says, “I’m sending four of my most destructive judgments—military invasion, famine, wild animals, and pestilence—into Jerusalem to destroy both human beings and livestock in it.

¹³ because testing is sure to come.
‘In putting the sword to the test along with the scepter, it won’t keep on rejecting, will it?’ declares the Lord GOD.”

³⁶ Still others endured taunts and floggings, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned to death, sawed in half, and killed with swords. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins. They were needy, oppressed, and mistreated.

³⁰ David then left, going up the Mount of Olives, crying as he went, with his head covered and his feet bare. All of the people who were with him covered their own heads and climbed up the Mount of Olives, crying as they went along.

⁴ Meanwhile, the king veiled his face and kept on crying loudly, “My son Absalom! Absalom my son, my son!”

¹² Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, while Haman hurried to his house, mourning and hiding his face.

⁸ When the king returned to the banquet hall from the palace garden, Haman was prostrate on the couch where Esther was. The king asked, “Will this man even assault the queen with me in the house?” The king had no sooner spoken than they covered Haman’s face.

³ Does it delight you to oppress or despise what you have made, while you smile at the plans of the wicked?

⁶ The tents of robbers are at rest, and those who provoke God are secure, that is, those who carry their god in their pocket.
⁷ Wisdom Can Be Found in God’s Creation“Ask the wild animals, and they’ll teach you; the birds of the sky will tell you. ⁸ Or ask the green plants of the earth and they’ll teach you; let the fish in the sea tell you. ⁹ Who among all of these doesn’t know that the LORD’s hand made them, ¹⁰ and that the life of every living thing rests in his control, along with the breath of every living human being?

¹⁷ He leads counselors away naked; he turns judges into fools.

¹¹ God has delivered me over to the ungodly, throwing me into the control of the wicked.

⁷ The Wicked Prospers“Why do the wicked live to reach old age and increase in power and wealth, too? ⁸ Their children grow up while they’re alive, and they live to see their grandchildren. ⁹ Their houses are safe from fear, and God’s chastisement never visits them. ¹⁰ Their bull breeds without fail, and their cows calve without miscarriages. ¹¹ They release their children to play like sheep; their young ones dance about, ¹² singing with tambourines and lyres as they rejoice to the sound of flutes. ¹³ They grow old in prosperity, as they descend peacefully into the afterlife. ¹⁴ “They say to God, ‘Turn away from us! We have no desire to know your ways. ¹⁵ Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? Where’s the profit in talking to him?’

²⁵ If this weren’t so, who can prove that I’m a liar by showing that there’s nothing to what I’m saying?”

¹⁴ from men, LORD, by your hand— from men who belong to this world, whose reward is only in this life. But as for your treasured ones, may their stomachs be full, may their children have an abundance, and may they leave wealth to their offspring.

³ For I was envious of the proud when I observed the prosperity of the wicked. ⁴ For there is no struggle at their deaths, and their bodies are healthy. ⁵ They do not experience problems common to ordinary people; they aren’t afflicted as others are. ⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace and violence covers them like a garment. ⁷ Their eyes bulge from obesity and the imaginations of their mind cross the border into sin.

¹ Jeremiah’s Complaint about Justice You are righteous, LORD, even when I bring a complaint to you. But I want to discuss justice with you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper, while all who are treacherous are at ease? ² You plant them and they take root, they grow and bear fruit. “You are near to us,” they say with their mouths, but the truth is that you’re far from their hearts.

⁴ The ground is cracked, because there has been no rain in the land. The farmers are disappointed, and they cover their heads in shame.

¹⁷ This order is announced by the observers, and the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over human kingdoms and grants them to whomever he desires, and he places the least important of men over them.’

¹⁸ Your majesty, the Most High God gave your grandfather Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty, as well as greatness, glory, and splendor. ¹⁹ And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages revered and feared him. He executed those whom he desired to execute, he spared those whom he wished to spare, he promoted those whom he desired to promote, and he humbled those whom he wished to humble. ²⁰ But when he became arrogant and his spirit hardened, he was removed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him. ²¹ He was driven away from human society and given the mind of an animal. He lived with wild donkeys, ate grass like cattle, and his body was soaked with dew from the sky until he realized that the Most High God is sovereign over human kingdoms and places over them whomever he desires.

⁷ “After this, I continued to observe the night visions. And look!—there was a fourth awe-inspiring, terrifying, and viciously strong animal! It had large, iron teeth. It devoured and crushed things, and trampled under its feet whatever remained. Different from all of the other previous animals, it had ten horns.
⁸ “While I was thinking about the horns—look—another horn, this time a little one, grew up among them. Three of the first horns were yanked up by their roots right in front of it. Look! It had eyes like those of a human being and a mouth that boasted with audacious claims.”
⁹ The Vision of the Ancient of Days“I kept on watching until the Ancient of Days was seated. His clothes were white, like snow, and the hair on his head was like pure wool. His throne burned with flaming fire, and its wheels burned with fire. ¹⁰ A river of fire flowed out from before him. Thousands upon thousands were serving him, with millions upon millions waiting before him. The court sat in judgment, and record books were unsealed.
¹¹ “I continued watching because of the audacious words that the horn was speaking. I kept observing until the animal was killed and its body destroyed and given over to burning fire. ¹² Now as to the other animals, their authority was removed, but they were granted a reprieve from execution for an appointed period of time.”
¹³ The Vision of the Son of Man“I continued to observe the night vision—and look!—someone like the Son of Man was coming, accompanied by heavenly clouds. He approached the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. ¹⁴ To him dominion was bestowed, along with glory and a kingdom, so that all peoples, nations, and languages are to serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion—it will never pass away—and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
¹⁵ The Vision Interpreted“Now as for me, Daniel, I was emotionally troubled, and what I had seen in the visions kept alarming me. ¹⁶ So I approached one of those who was standing nearby and began to ask the meaning of all of this. He spoke to me and caused me to understand the interpretation of these things. ¹⁷ He said, ‘These four great animals are four kings who will rise to power from the earth. ¹⁸ But the saints of the Highest will receive the kingdom forever, inheriting it forever and ever.’
¹⁹ “I wanted to learn the precise significance of the fourth animal that was different from all the others, extremely awe-inspiring, with iron teeth and bronze claws, and that had devoured and crushed things, trampling under its feet whatever remained. ²⁰ Also, I wanted to learn the significance of the ten horns on its head and the other horn that had arisen, before which three of them had fallen—that is, the horn with eyes and a mouth that uttered magnificent things and which was greater in appearance than its fellows.
²¹ “As I continued to watch, that same horn waged war against the saints, and was prevailing against them ²² until the Ancient of Days arrived to pass judgment in favor of the saints of the Highest One and the time came for the saints to take possession of the kingdom. ²³ So he said: ‘The fourth animal will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, different from all the kingdoms. It will devour the entire earth, trampling it down and crushing it. ²⁴ Now as to the ten horns, ten kings will rise to power from this kingdom, and another king will rise to power after them. He will be different from the previous kings, and will defeat three kings. ²⁵ He’ll speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One. He’ll attempt to alter times and laws, and they’ll be given into his control for a time, times, and half a time. ²⁶ Nevertheless, the court will convene, and his authority will be removed, annulled, and destroyed forever. ²⁷ Then the kingdom, authority, and magnificence of all nations of the earth will be given to the people who are the saints of the Highest One. His kingdom will endure forever, and all authorities will serve him and obey him.’
²⁸ “At this point the vision ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts continued to alarm me, and I lost my natural color, but I kept quiet about the matter.”

¹⁴ “You have fashioned mankind like fish in the ocean, like creeping things that have no ruler. ¹⁵ The adversary captures them with a hook, gathering them up in a fishing net. He collects them with a dragnet, rejoicing and gloating over his catch. ¹⁶ Therefore he sacrifices to his fishing net, and burns incense in the presence of his dragnet, because by them his assets increase and he gets plenty of food. ¹⁷ Is he to continue to empty his fishing net? Will he ever stop killing entire nations without mercy?”

¹⁴ The couriers, mounted on the royal steeds, left quickly, urged on by the king’s command. The edict was also issued in Susa the capital.

⁶ My days pass as swiftly as a hand-loom; they come to their conclusion without hope. ⁷ Remember that my life is a breath; my eyes won’t go back to seeing good things.

⁵ Look, you have made my life span fit in your hand; It is nothing compared to yours. Surely every person at their best is a puff of wind. Interlude

¹¹ You rebuke by chastening a man with the consequence of iniquities; you destroy what is attractive to him, as one would treat a moth. Indeed, every person is a puff of wind. Interlude

⁴⁷ Remember how short my lifetime is! How powerless have you created all human beings!

⁹ All our days pass away in your wrath; our years fade away and end like a sigh. ¹⁰ We live for 70 years, or 80 years if we’re healthy, yet even in the prime years there are troubles and sorrow. They pass by quickly and we fly away.

¹⁴ You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

²³ Saul and Jonathan, loved and handsome in life, in death were not separated. Swifter than eagles they were, and more valiant than lions.

²⁷ Does the eagle soar high at your command and build its nest on the highest crags? ²⁸ He dwells on the crags where he makes his home, there on the rocky crag is his stronghold. ²⁹ From there he searches for prey, and his eyes recognize it from a distance. ³⁰ His young ones feast on blood; he’ll be found wherever there’s a carcass.”

⁵ When you fix your gaze on it, it’s gone, for it sprouts wings for itself and flies to the sky like an eagle.

² which sends envoys by the sea, in papyrus boats over the water! Go, swift messengers, to a tall, smooth-skinned nation, to a people feared far and wide, a nation that metes out punishment and oppresses, whose land the rivers divide.

¹³ The People’s Response to JudgmentLook, he comes up like clouds, and his chariots are like a whirlwind. His horses are as swift as eagles. Woe to us—we’re destroyed!

¹⁹ Our pursuers were swifter than soaring eagles; they pursued us over the mountains, lying in wait for us in the wilderness.

⁸ Their horses are swifter than leopards, and more cunning than wolves that attack at night. Their horsemen are galloping as they approach from far away. They swoop in like ravenous vultures.

¹¹ Job Intends to Complain“In addition, I won’t keep my opinion to myself; I’ll speak from my distressed spirit; I’ll complain with my bitter soul.

¹³ For I’ve said, ‘My bed will comfort me; my couch will ease my burdens while I complain.’

² When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; my hands were raised at night and they did not grow weary. I refused to be comforted. ³ I remember God, and I groan; I meditate, while my spirit grows faint. Interlude

¹⁸ Jeremiah Mourns for His PeopleIncurable sorrow has overwhelmed me, my heart is sick within me.

⁷ “You are not to misuse the name of the LORD your God, because the LORD will not leave the one who misuses his name unpunished.ד

²⁵ For the dreaded thing that I feared has happened to me, what caused me to worry has engulfed me.

²⁰ Though I’m in the right, my own mouth will condemn me; though I’m blameless, he’ll pronounce me as guilty. ²¹ “I’m blameless; I don’t know myself; I despise my life.

¹⁴ If I sin, you watch me and won’t acquit me for my iniquity.

¹⁶ Then you’ll certainly count every step I took, but you won’t keep an inventory of my sin.

⁶ When I think about this, I’m petrified with terror and my body shudders uncontrollably.”

¹⁵ Since my youth I have been oppressed and in danger of death. I bear your dread and am overwhelmed. ¹⁶ Your burning anger overwhelms me; your terrors destroy me.

¹²⁰ My flesh trembles out of fear of you, and I am in awe of your judgments.

²² I say it’s all the same— he destroys both the blameless and the guilty.

⁷ Although you know that I’m not guilty, there’s no one to deliver me from you!

¹⁴ If I sin, you watch me and won’t acquit me for my iniquity. ¹⁵ “‘Woe to me if I’m guilty! If I’m innocent, I cannot lift my head, because I am filled with disgrace. Look at my affliction! ¹⁶ But if I do lift up my head, you will hunt me like a lion! You will perform miracles in order to fight against me. ¹⁷ “‘You have brought new witnesses against me, you’re even more angry with me— you’ve brought fresh troops to attack me!

¹⁶ Behold! Their prosperity isn’t in their control! The counsel of the wicked will remain far from me.”
¹⁷ God will Punish the Wicked“How often do the wicked have their lights put out? Does calamity ever fall on them? Will God in his anger ever apportion their destruction?

²⁷ Job Suspects His Friends of Treachery“Look! I know your thoughts, your plans are going to harm me.

⁵ Your wickedness is great, isn’t it? There’s no limit to your iniquity, is there? ⁶ “After all, you’ve taken collateral from your relatives for no reason; you stripped the naked of their clothing. ⁷ You’ve neglected to give water to the weary, and you’ve withheld food from the hungry. ⁸ The land belongs to the powerful, and the privileged thrive in it. ⁹ You sent away widows empty-handed, and broke the outstretched arms of orphans. ¹⁰ That’s why disaster surrounds you, terror suddenly overwhelms you, ¹¹ you see nothing but darkness, and a flood of troubles drowns you.”
¹² Eliphaz Acknowledges God but Issues an Imprecatory Prayer“Isn’t God in heaven above? Consider how far away the stars are, and how lofty they are! ¹³ You’ve asked, ‘What does God know? Can he sort through pitch black darkness?’ ¹⁴ Thick clouds cover him so he can’t see as he walks back and forth at heaven’s horizon. ¹⁵ “Will you keep walking on the traditional path that sinners have tread, ¹⁶ who were snatched away before their time; when their foundation was swept away by a river? ¹⁷ They told God, ‘Get away from us!’ and ‘What will the Almighty do to them?’ ¹⁸ “Though God fills their houses with good things, the counsel of the wicked will remain far from me. ¹⁹ The righteous will see this and rejoice; the innocent will insult him, saying, ²⁰ ‘Our enemies are sure to be destroyed, and fire will burn up what’s left of their riches.”
²¹ Eliphaz Challenges Job to Repent“Get to know God, and you’ll be at peace with him, and then prosperity will come to you. ²² Accept what he has to teach you, and treasure his words in your heart. ²³ “If you return to the Almighty you’ll be restored, as you remove iniquity from your household. ²⁴ Bury your gold nuggets in the dust, and your source of gold among the stones in a streambed, ²⁵ and then the Almighty will be your gold and your refined silver. ²⁶ “Then you’ll take delight in the Almighty; and will turn your face toward God. ²⁷ You’ll entreat him and he’ll listen to you as you fulfill your vows. ²⁸ When you make a decision on something, it will be established for you, and light will brighten your way. ²⁹ “For when they’re humbled, you may respond; ‘It’s their pride!’ but he delivers the humble. ³⁰ He’ll even deliver the guilty, who will be delivered through your innocence.”

³³ but the LORD will not let him fall into his hands. He will not be condemned when he is put on trial.

¹³ I kept my heart pure for nothing and kept my hands clean from guilt.

³⁵ you say, ‘I’m innocent. Surely his anger has turned away from me.’” “I’m about to bring charges against you because you say, ‘I haven’t sinned.’

⁷ If I have stepped away from the way, or if my heart covets whatever my eyes see, or if some other blemish clings to my hands,

⁶ I wash my hands innocently. I go around your altar, LORD,

¹³ Whoever hides his transgressions will not succeed, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will find mercy.

¹⁶ An Invitation to Reconciliation“Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean; remove your evil behavior from my presence; stop practicing what is evil. ¹⁷ Learn to practice what is good; seek justice, alleviate oppression, defend orphans in court, and plead the widow’s case. ¹⁸ “Please come, and let’s reason together,” implores the LORD. “Even though your sins are like scarlet, they’ll be white like snow. Though they’re like crimson, they’ll become like wool.

²² Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” declares the Lord GOD.

¹⁴ Jerusalem, wash your evil from your heart so that you may be delivered. How long will you harbor evil schemes within you?

³ For they are ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God while they try to establish their own, and they have not submitted to God’s means to attain righteousness.

⁶ Your own mouth is condemning you, not I; your own lips will testify against you.”

⁶ Their cobwebs cannot become clothing, they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are deeds of iniquity, and acts of violence fill their hands.

⁶ All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a filthy rag; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our iniquities sweep us away.

⁸ What is more, I continue to consider all these things to be a loss for the sake of what is far more valuable, knowing the Messiah Jesus, my Lord. It is because of him that I have experienced the loss of all those things. Indeed, I consider them rubbish in order to gain the Messiah ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the Law, but one that comes through the faithfulness of the Messiah, the righteousness that comes from God and that depends on faith.

¹⁹ God is not a human male— he doesn’t lie, nor is he a human being— he never vacillates. Once he speaks up, he’s going to act, isn’t he? Once he makes a promise, he’ll fulfill it, won’t he?

⁷ The LORD told Samuel, “Don’t look at his appearance or his height, for I’ve rejected him. Truly, God does not see what man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD sees the heart.”

¹⁸ Job Presents His Conditions“Look, now! I’ve prepared my case for court. I know that I’m going to win. ¹⁹ Who can oppose me? If they do, I’ll be silent and die. ²⁰ Grant me only two things as you deal with me; then I won’t hide from you. ²¹ Withdraw your hand far from me and keep me from being petrified with terror. ²² Then call and I’ll answer, or let me speak and then you reply to me!”
²³ Job Presents Himself for Cross-Examination“How many of my iniquities and sins have you counted? Show me my transgression and sin.

¹² God Responds to Humanity’s Need“You aren’t right about this; My response is that God is greater than human beings.

⁵ God’s Justice Remains Unsullied“Observe the heavens! Take a look around! Look! The clouds are higher than you, aren’t they? ⁶ If you sin, what will that do to harm him? If you add transgression to transgression what will it do to him? ⁷ If you are righteous, what will you add to him? What can God receive from your efforts?

¹⁰ Whatever exists has been named already; people know what it means to be human— and a person cannot defeat one who is more powerful than he.

¹⁹ Look, like a lion comes up from the thicket of the Jordan to a pasture that grows year round, so I’ll drive them away from her in an instant, and I’ll appoint whomever is chosen over her. Indeed, who is like me? Who gives me counsel? Who is the shepherd who will stand against me?”

²⁵ If a person sins against another, God will mediate for him, but if a person sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?”
But they would not follow the advice of their father; for the LORD wanted to put them to death.

¹⁶ Solomon’s Wisdom is TestedRight about then, two prostitutes approached the king and requested an audience with him. ¹⁷ One woman said, “Your majesty, this woman and I live in the same house. I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. ¹⁸ Three days later, this woman also gave birth. We lived alone there. There was nobody else with us in the house. It was just the two of us. ¹⁹ This woman’s son died overnight because she laid on top of him. ²⁰ She got up in the middle of the night, took my son from me while your servant was asleep, and laid him to her breast after laying her dead son next to me. ²¹ The next morning, I got up to nurse my son, and he was dead. But when I examined him carefully in the light of day, he turned out not to be my son whom I had borne!”
²² “Not so,” claimed the other woman. “The living child is my son, and the dead one is yours.”
But the first woman said, “Not so! The dead child is your son and the living one is my son.” This is what they testified before the king.
²³ The king said, “One of them claims, ‘This living son is mine, and your son is the dead one’ and the other claims ‘No. Your son is the dead one and my son is the living one.’ ²⁴ “Somebody get me a sword.” So they brought a sword to the king. ²⁵ “Divide the living child in two!” he ordered. “Give half to the one and half to the other.”
²⁶ The woman whose child was still alive cried out to the king, because her heart yearned for her son. “Oh no, your majesty!” she said. “Give her the living child. Please don’t kill him.”
But the other woman said, “Cut him in half! That way, he’ll belong to neither one of us.”
²⁷ The king announced his decision: “Give the living child to the first woman. Don’t kill him. She is his mother.” ²⁸ When this decision that the king had handed down was announced, everybody in Israel was amazed at the king, because they all saw that God’s wisdom was in him, enabling him to administer justice.

²³ He would have destroyed them but for Moses, his chosen one, who stood in the breach before him to avert his destructive wrath.

¹ The Messiah is Our AdvocateMy little children, I’m writing these things to you so that you might not sin. Yet if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus, the Messiah, one who is righteous. ² It is he who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world’s.

¹¹ His splendor will petrify you with terror, paralyzing you with fear, won’t it?

²⁰ Grant me only two things as you deal with me; then I won’t hide from you. ²¹ Withdraw your hand far from me and keep me from being petrified with terror. ²² Then call and I’ll answer, or let me speak and then you reply to me!”

¹⁵ That’s why I’m terrified at his presence! When I think about it, I’m afraid of him.

² “I wish I could go back to how things were a few months ago; when God used to watch over me, ³ when his lamp used to shine over my head, so I could walk through the dark, ⁴ like when I was in my prime and God trusted me with his secrets! ⁵ “The Almighty was still with me back then, and my children were still around me. ⁶ I was successful wherever I went, and even the rocks poured out streams of olive oil for me.”
⁷ Job Remembers His Respected Position“Whenever I went out to the city gate, a seat had been reserved for me in the plaza. ⁸ The young men would see me and withdraw, and the aged would rise and stand. ⁹ Nobles would refrain from speaking, covering their mouths with their hands. ¹⁰ The voices of the commanders-in-chief were hushed, and their tongues would cling to the roofs of their mouths.”
¹¹ Job Remembers His Acts of Kindness“When people heard me speak, they blessed me; when people saw me, they approved me, ¹² because I delivered the poor who were crying for help, along with orphans who had no one to help them. ¹³ Those who were about to die blessed me, and I made widows sing for joy. ¹⁴ I put on righteousness like clothing; my just decisions were like a robe and a turban. ¹⁵ I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame. ¹⁶ I was a father to the needy; I diligently inquired into the case of those I didn’t know. ¹⁷ I broke the fangs of the wicked, and made him drop the prey.”
¹⁸ Job Remembers His Previous Condition“I used to say: ‘I will die in my home. I’m going to live as many days as there are grains of sand on the shore. ¹⁹ My roots have spread out and have found water, and dew settles at night on my branches. ²⁰ My glory renews for me and my bow is as good as new in my hand.’ ²¹ “They listened and waited for me, as they remained in silence for my counsel. ²² After I spoke, they had nothing to say, when what I said hit them. ²³ They waited for me as one waits for rain, as one opens his mouth to drink in a spring rain shower. ²⁴ I smiled at them when they had no confidence, and no one could discourage me. ²⁵ I set an example of the way to live, as a leader would; I lived like a king among his army; like one who comforts mourners.”

²³ For I’m terrified of what calamity God may have in store for me; and I cannot endure his grandeur.”

⁷ Don’t be afraid of me; I’ll go easy on you.”

¹ Elihu Concludes His Argument “Now I’ll conclude with this: my heart is trembling violently; it feels like it’s about to leap from my body!

¹⁰ Stop scourging me, since I have been crushed by your heavy hand.

¹¹ Who can know the intensity of your anger? Because our fear of you matches your wrath,