Job 15 Cross References - NSB

¹ ELIPHAZ THE TEMANITE REPLIED: ² »Should a wise man answer with empty notions or be filled with the hot east wind? ³ »Would he reason with useless words, with speeches that have no value? ⁴ »You even undermine piety and hinder prayer to God. ⁵ »Your sin inspires your mouth. You choose the tongue of the crafty. ⁶ »Your own mouth condemns you, not mine! Your own lips testify against you. ⁷ »Are you the first man ever born? Were you created before the hills? ⁸ »Have you heard God’s council? Do you limit wisdom to yourself? ⁹ »What do you know that we do not know? What insights do you have that we do not have? ¹⁰ »The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men even older than your father. ¹¹ »Are God’s consolations not enough for you, words spoken gently to you? ¹² »Why does your heart carry you away? Why do your eyes flash? ¹³ »Why do you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth? ¹⁴ »What is man, that he could be pure? Or he who is born of woman, that he could be righteous? ¹⁵ »If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes, ¹⁶ how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks up evil like water! ¹⁷ »Listen to me and I will explain to you what I have seen. ¹⁸ »What have wise men declared, hiding nothing received from their fathers, ¹⁹ to whom alone the land was given when no alien passed among them? ²⁰ »All his days the wicked man suffers torment and the ruthless through all the years stored up for him. ²¹ »Terrifying sounds fill his ears. When all seems well, marauders attack him. ²² »He despairs of escaping the darkness; he is marked for the sword. ²³ »He wanders about as food for vultures and he knows the day of darkness is at hand. ²⁴ »Distress and anguish fill him with terror. They overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack. ²⁵ »He shakes his fist at God and vaunts (brags) (shows off) himself against the Almighty, ²⁶ »He defiantly charges against him with a thick, strong shield. ²⁷ »His face is covered with fat and his waist bulges with flesh. ²⁸ »He will inhabit ruined towns and houses where no one lives, houses crumbling to rubble. ²⁹ »He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land. ³⁰ »He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away. ³¹ »Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless. He will get nothing in return. ³² »Before his time he will be paid in full, and his branches will not flourish. ³³ »He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree shedding its blossoms. ³⁴ »The company of the godless will be barren. And fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes. ³⁵ »They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Their womb fashions deceit.«

¹¹ Job's three friends heard about all the terrible things that happened to him. Each of them came from his home: Eliphaz of Teman, Bildad of Shuah, and Zophar of Naama. They agreed they would go together to sympathize with Job and comfort him.

¹ ELIPHAZ THE TEMANITE REPLIED TO JOB:

¹ ELIPHAZ THE TEMANITE ANSWERED:

⁷ »I am angry with you and your two friends, because you did not speak correctly about me, as my servant Job has.

⁹ So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what Jehovah told them. And Jehovah accepted Job’s prayer.

²⁶ »Do you mean to correct what I say? Do you treat the words of a despairing man as wind?

² »How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind.

² »Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? ³ »Should your idle talk reduce men to silence? Should no one rebuke you when you mock?

² »I know what you know. I am not inferior to you!

¹ »The people of Ephraim try to catch the wind and try to chase the east wind all day. They are very dishonest, violent and destructive. They make treaties with Assyria and take olive oil to Egypt.

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his works are from meekness because of wisdom.

⁴ »You are smearing me with lies. As doctors you are worthless, all of you! ⁵ »If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

² »I have heard many such things. You are all miserable comforters! ³ »Is there no limit to windy words? Or what provokes you that you answer?

¹ JOB ANSWERED: ² »How you have helped one who has no power! How you have assisted the arm that has no strength! ³ »How you have counseled one who has no wisdom, and given much good advice!

¹³ »You have said terrible things about me,« said Jehovah of Hosts. »Yet you ask: ‘What have we said about you?’« ¹⁴ »You have said: ‘There is no value to serve God. What is the use of doing what he says or of trying to show Jehovah of Hosts that we are sorry for what we have done?’ ¹⁵ »We call arrogant people happy. Evil people test God’s patience with their wicked deeds. They not only get away with it, they also prosper.«

³⁶ »I tell you there will be an account in the Judgment Day for every careless word that men say. ³⁷ »For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.«

⁶ Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

⁴ he is proud, knows nothing, has a morbid interest in questions and disputes about words, which leads to envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, ⁵ frictions between men corrupted in mind and lacking in truth, supposing that godliness is a way of gain.

¹³ Saul died because of his unfaithfulness to Jehovah. He did not obey the word of Jehovah (YHWH). He asked a medium to request information from a dead person. ¹⁴ He did not request information from Jehovah. Thus Jehovah killed him and turned the kingship over to David, Jesse’s son.

⁵ »But trouble comes to you, and you are impatient. It touches you, and you panic. ⁶ »Does your respect for God give you confidence and your lifetime of integrity give you hope?

⁸ »As for me, I would seek God's help and present my case to him.

¹⁴ »A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes his reverence for the Almighty.

¹⁰ »Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times?

¹ ([Psalm of David]) Sin speaks to the ungodly deep within his heart. There is no reverence for God before his eyes. ² He flatters himself and does not hate or even recognize his sin. ³ The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit and he ceased to be wise and do good.

¹²⁶ It is time for Jehovah to act. They have broken your law.

¹⁴ »And they do not cry to me from their heart when they wail on their beds. For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble, but they turn away from me.

¹⁰ »When a man's uncle takes the body to be burned and brings the bones out of the house he will say to the innermost parts of the house: ‘Is there yet any one here?’ And he will say, ‘No.’ Then he will say: ‘Hold your peace. We may not make mention of the name of Jehovah.’

⁶ »The same for those who have turned back from following Jehovah, and those who have not sought Jehovah or inquired of Him.«

¹ He spoke an illustration to them emphasizing the need to pray and not become tired:

³¹ Do we nullify the law through faith? No we do not! In fact, we establish (continue) (stand by) (uphold) the law.

²¹ I do not reject the grace (totally undeserved gift) of God: for if righteousness is [gained] through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

¹³ »He catches the wise with their own craftiness. The plans of schemers are quickly halted.

²² »It is all one thing. Therefore I say: God destroys the blameless and the wicked. ²³ »If the scourge slays suddenly, God laughs at the plight of the innocent. ²⁴ »The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not God, who else could it be?

⁶ »The tents of marauders prosper and those who provoke God are secure in what God’s hand brings them.

¹⁹ »You let your mouth speak evil. Your tongue plans deceit. ²⁰ »You sit and talk against your own brother. You slander your own mother's son.

² Your tongue makes up wickedness. It is like a sharp razor, you master of deceit. ³ You prefer evil to good. You prefer lying to speaking the truth. ⁴ You love words that devour, O deceitful tongue.

³ Their words cut like swords, and their cruel remarks sting like sharp arrows.

² O Jehovah, rescue me from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue. ³ You deceitful tongue, what can Jehovah give you? What more can he do for you?

³ They bend their tongue like their bow. Lies and not truth prevail in the land. They move from evil to evil. »They do not know me,« says Jehovah. ⁴ »Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor. Do not trust any brother because every brother deals craftily (cunningly), and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. ⁵ »Everyone deceives his neighbor and does not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies. They wear themselves out committing sin.

⁸ »Their tongue is a deadly arrow. It speaks deceit! With the mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor, but inwardly he sets an ambush for him.«

²¹ »It is from the heart that evil thoughts come such as: fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, loose conduct, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.

⁴⁵ »The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good. The evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth that which is evil. Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

²⁶ If any man thinks he is religious, while he does not control his tongue but deceives his heart, this man's religion is vain (worthless) (useless).

⁵ The tongue also is a little member. It boasts great things. Consider how great a forest fire a small fire kindles! ⁶ The tongue is like fire, the place of iniquity among our members. It defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of our life. It is set ablaze like the ever-burning fires in the Valley of Hinnom (Greek: Gehenna: symbolic of total destruction). ⁷ Every kind of beast and bird, of creeping things and things in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind. ⁸ But no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil. It is full of deadly poison.

²⁰ »Though I was righteous, my own mouth would condemn me. If I were blameless it would prove me perverse.

⁸ »You have said in my hearing, I heard the very words: ⁹ »I am pure and without sin! I am clean and free from guilt. ¹⁰ »Yet God has found fault with me. He considers me his enemy! ¹¹ »He fastens my feet in shackles and he keeps close watch on all my paths. ¹² »But I tell you, Job, in this you are not right, for God is greater than man.

⁵ »Job has said: ‘I am innocent, and God has taken away my right. ⁶ »‘In spite of being right I am counted a liar. My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’ ⁷ »Who is there like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water? ⁸ »Who goes in company with evildoers and walks with the wicked? ⁹ »He has said: ‘It profits one nothing to take delight in God.’

² »Do you think this to be just? You say: ‘I am in the right before God.’ ³ »If you ask: ‘What advantage do I have? How am I better off than if I had sinned?’

⁸ »Would you undo my justice? Would you condemn me so that you can be righteous?

³ »You asked: ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge? Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.’

⁸ They will be destroyed by their own words, and everyone who sees them will tremble with fear.

³⁷ »For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.«

⁶⁵ Then the high priest ripped his robes apart and said: »He has said evil against God! Why do we need more witnesses? You have heard his words of blasphemy!«

²² »He said to him: Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I am an austere man, taking up that which I did not lay down, and reaping that which I did not sow.

¹ Adam had sexual intercourse with his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said: »With the help of Jehovah I have brought forth a man.«

¹² »Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?

¹⁰ »The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men even older than your father.

⁴ »Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. ⁵ »Who determined its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? ⁶ »On what were its foundations set and who laid its cornerstone? ⁷ while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? ⁸ »Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb? ⁹ »When I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, ¹⁰ when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, ¹¹ when I said: ‘This far you may come and no farther’; here is where your proud waves halt? ¹² »Have you ever commanded the morning, or shown the dawn its place? ¹³ »It might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? ¹⁴ »The earth takes shape like clay under a seal. Its features stand out like those of a garment. ¹⁵ »The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken. ¹⁶ »Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? ¹⁷ »Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? ¹⁸ »Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this. ¹⁹ »Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And where does darkness reside? ²⁰ »Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings? ²¹ »Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years! ²² »Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail? ²³ »These I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle. ²⁴ »What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth? ²⁵ »Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm? ²⁶ »Who waters a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it? ²⁷ Who satisfies a desolate wasteland to make it sprout with grass? ²⁸ »Does the rain have a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew? ²⁹ »From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens ³⁰ when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen? ³¹ »Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? ³² »Can you bring forth the constellations of the zodiac in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? (Mazzaroth Constellation) ³³ »Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? ³⁴ »Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? ³⁵ »Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you: Here we are? ³⁶ »Who endowed the innermost being with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind? ³⁷ »Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens? ³⁸ This when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together? ³⁹ »Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions ⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? ⁴¹ »Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?

² Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and its inhabitants, you are God from everlasting to everlasting.

²² »Jehovah created me in the beginning of his way, before his works of antiquity. ²³ »I was made from long ago, before the earth began. ²⁴ »When there were no depths or fountains abounding with water, I was brought forth. ²⁵ »Before the mountains were settled, before the hills I was brought forth:

²⁹ »Some secret things are hidden. They belong to Jehovah our God. The things that have been revealed in these teachings belong to us and to our children forever. We must obey every word of this Law.

⁶ and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.

² »Doubtless you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!

⁵ »If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom. ⁶ »Hear my argument. Listen to the plea of my lips.

⁴ »I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent.

¹⁴ Jehovah is intimate with those who respect him. He reveals the intent of his covenant to them.

³² Jehovah hates people who do evil. He takes righteous people into his confidence.

¹⁸ Who is in Jehovah’s inner circle and sees and hears his word? Who pays attention and listens to his word?

⁷ »The Lord Jehovah will do nothing without revealing his secrets to his servants the prophets.

²⁵ Then Jesus prayed: »I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and have revealed them to children. (Acts 2:36)

¹¹ He responded: »You are allowed to know the divine secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but it is not for others to know. (The Greek word for »you« is plural and is applied to the disciples as a group.)

³⁵ That which was spoken through the prophet was fulfilled, saying: »I will open my mouth in illustrations. I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.«

¹⁵ »I no longer call you servants for the servant does not know what the lord does. I have called you friends; for all things that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.

³⁴ For who has known the mind of Jehovah? Or who has been his counselor? (Isaiah 40:13)

²⁵ Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my good news, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the secret, which was kept secret since the world began. ²⁶ It is now made known by the Scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment of the everlasting God. It is made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.

⁹ It is written: »Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, and it has not entered into the heart of man, the things God prepared for those who love him.« (Isaiah 64:4) ¹⁰ But God revealed them to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit investigates (searches) all things, yes even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For what man knows the things of a man, except the mental disposition that is in man? Even so no one knows the things of God, but the Spirit of God.

¹⁶ »Who has understood the mind of Jehovah, or has instructed him, as his counselor?« (Isaiah 40:13) But we do have the mind (purpose) (feelings) (thoughts) (understanding) of Christ.

³ »I have a mind as well as you! I am not inferior to you! Who does not know all these things?

³ »How you have counseled one who has no wisdom, and given much good advice! ⁴ »With whose assistance have you uttered words? Whose spirit has come forth from you?

⁷ You look at the things that are before you. If any man trusts in himself that he is Christ's, let him consider this again within himself that, even as he is Christ's, so also are we.

⁵ For I do not consider myself inferior to the super apostles.

²¹ I speak concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. If any are bold, I speak foolishly for I am also bold. ²² Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I! ²³ Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more in labors more abundant, beaten beyond number, in prisons more frequent, in deaths often. ²⁴ Of the Jews five times I received forty stripes less one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, I suffered shipwreck three times, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. ²⁶ In journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brothers; ²⁷ In weariness and painfulness, in watching often, in hunger and thirst, in fasting often, in cold and nakedness. ²⁸ Beside those things that are from the outside, that which comes upon me daily, the care of all the congregations. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I do not burn with indignation? ³⁰ If I need to boast, I will boast about the things that concern my infirmities.

⁷ »Remember the days of old. Think about all the past generations. Ask your fathers to remind you, and your elders to tell you.

⁸ »Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned. ⁹ »After all we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are a mere shadow. ¹⁰ »Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?

²⁰ »He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders.

⁶ Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered: »I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you. ⁷ »I said: ‘Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.’

³¹ Gray hair is a crown of glory when it is found in the way of righteousness.

²⁴ The prophet Zedekiah went to Micaiah and slapped his face. He asked: »Since when did Jehovah’s spirit leave me and speak to you?«

⁸ »As for me, I would seek God's help and present my case to him. ⁹ »He does great things that we cannot understand and miracles that we cannot count. ¹⁰ »He gives rain to the earth and sends water to the fields. ¹¹ »He sets on high the lowly people. He lifts those who mourn to safety. ¹² »He keeps shrewd (crafty) (cunning) people from carrying out their plans so that they cannot do anything successfully. ¹³ »He catches the wise with their own craftiness. The plans of schemers are quickly halted. ¹⁴ »They meet in darkness in the daytime! In bright sunlight they grope as if it were night. ¹⁵ »He saves people from the sword (slander) of their mouth. He saves the needy from the power of the mighty. ¹⁶ »The poor have hope when wrongdoing shuts its mouth. ¹⁷ »Blessed is the person whom God corrects. Do not despise discipline from the Almighty. ¹⁸ »God inflicts wounds and he bandages. He strikes but his hands make you well. ¹⁹ »He will keep you safe from six troubles, and when the seventh one comes, no harm will touch you: ²⁰ »In famine he will save you from death, and in war he will save you from the sword. ²¹ »You will be protected from the sharp tongue and you will not be afraid when destruction comes. ²² »You will laugh at destruction and starvation. You will not be afraid of wild beasts. ²³ »You will have a binding agreement with the stones in the field, and wild animals will be at peace with you. ²⁴ You will know peace in your tent. You will inspect your house and find nothing missing. ²⁵ »You will find that your children are many and your descendants are like the grass of the earth. ²⁶ »You will come to your grave at a very old age like a stack of hay in its season.

¹³ »Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, ¹⁴ if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, ¹⁵ then you will lift up your face without shame. You will stand firm without fear. ¹⁶ »You will forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. ¹⁷ »Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. ¹⁸ »You will be secure because there is hope. You will look about you and take your rest in safety. ¹⁹ »You will lie down and no one will make you afraid. Many will entreat your favor.

⁸ »Have you heard God’s council? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

¹⁶ »He would bring you out of the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. ⁴ He comforts us in all our trouble, that we may be able to comfort those who also have trouble, through the comfort with which we are comforted from God. ⁵ For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, even so our comfort also abounds through Christ.

⁶ Nevertheless he who comforts the lowly, even God, comforted us by the coming of Titus.

¹³ »Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him,

² »Mockers surrounded me. My eye dwells on their provocation.

¹⁹ Do not let my treacherous enemies gloat over me. Do not let those who hate me for no reason wink maliciously.

¹³ He winks with his eyes, he speaks with his feet, he teaches with his fingers.

⁹ Rejoice, O young man, in your youth. Let your heart cheer you in your early days. Walk in the ways of your heart, and in the desires of your eyes. Yet you know that God will bring you into judgment for all these things.

³ Peter said: »Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the money from the land sale? ⁴ While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your power? Why did you conceive this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.«

²² »Repent of this wickedness, and pray to God, that the thought in your heart may be forgiven you.

¹⁴ Each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his evil desire (lust). He is enticed (allured). ¹⁵ Then evil desires, when conceived, give birth to sin: and the sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.

⁴ »God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against him and prospered?

³ »‘Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?

²⁵ »He shakes his fist at God and vaunts (brags) (shows off) himself against the Almighty, ²⁶ »He defiantly charges against him with a thick, strong shield. ²⁷ »His face is covered with fat and his waist bulges with flesh.

¹³ Keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from deceit.

¹³ »You have said terrible things about me,« said Jehovah of Hosts. »Yet you ask: ‘What have we said about you?’«

⁷ This is because the mind of the flesh is hostile toward God. It is not subject to the law of God for it cannot be. ⁸ Those influenced by the sinful flesh cannot please God.

² We all stumble in many things. If any do not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able to restrain (control) the whole body. ³ We put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us. We guide their whole bodies. ⁴ Look at ships. They are large and are driven by rough winds. Yet a very small rudder can control them, wherever the captain wills. ⁵ The tongue also is a little member. It boasts great things. Consider how great a forest fire a small fire kindles! ⁶ The tongue is like fire, the place of iniquity among our members. It defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of our life. It is set ablaze like the ever-burning fires in the Valley of Hinnom (Greek: Gehenna: symbolic of total destruction).

⁴⁶ »They may sin against you, for everyone sins. You may become angry with them and hand them over to an enemy far or near who takes them to another country as captives.

³⁶ »They may sin against you. There is no man who is without sin. You may become angry with them and hand them over to an enemy who takes them to another country as captives, whether it is far or near.

² »Truly I know it is so, but how can a man be righteous before God?

⁴ »Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one!

⁴ »How then can a man be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? ⁵ »If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes, ⁶ »How much less man, who is but a maggot and a worm!«

³ Everyone has turned away. Together they have become rotten to the core. No one, not even one person, does good things.

⁵ Indeed, I was born in perversity (mischief) (evil). I was a sinner when my mother conceived me.

⁹ Who can say: »I have made my heart clean. I am pure from my sin?«

²⁰ There is no man on earth who is righteous and does not sin.

²⁹ »You see! I have found only this, that God made man upright. But they have sought out many devices (schemes) (reasonings).«

⁶ »That which is born from the flesh is flesh and that which is born from the Spirit is spirit.

¹⁸ I know that good does not live in my human nature. For even though the desire to do good is in me, I am not able to do it.

²² But the Scriptures shut up (imprisoned) (pictured) all things (mankind) under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

² You once walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power (authority and jurisdiction) of the air, the spirit that is now active in the sons of disobedience. ³ We all once lived in the lust of our flesh, indulging the desires (lusts) of the flesh and of the mind. We were by nature children of anger and violent passion, like everyone else.

⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

¹⁸ »You see God does not trust his own servants. He accuses his angels of making mistakes.

¹ »Cry out! Is there anyone to answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?

⁵ »If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes,

² Above him were seraphs, each with six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ They called to one another: »Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of Hosts. All the earth is full of his glory.« ⁴ At the sound of their voices the foundations and thresholds trembled and the Temple was filled with smoke. ⁵ »Woe to me!« I cried. »I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips (a sinner) and I live among a people of unclean (filthy) lips (speech) (language). My eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of Hosts.«

¹⁹ »How much more will he accuse those who live in clay houses that have their foundation in the dust? Those houses can be crushed quicker than a moth!

¹² »Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue,

⁷ »Who is there like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water?

⁶ »Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.«

¹ ([Psalm of David]) The fool says in his heart: »There is no God (Jehovah) (Psalm 10:4).« They are corrupt. They do disgusting things. No one does good things. ² Jehovah looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there is anyone who acts wisely, if there is anyone who seeks help from God. ³ Everyone has turned away. Together they have become rotten to the core. No one, not even one person, does good things.

³ Every one of them has gone back: they are totally corrupted (filthy). None do good, no, not one.

²⁸ An ungodly witness scorns judgment. The mouth of the wicked devours evil.

²⁸ They did not like to retain God in their knowledge, so God gave them over to a reprobate (depraved) mind, to do things that are not fitting. ²⁹ They are filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil mindedness; they are whisperers, ³⁰ backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

⁹ Are we Jews in any better condition than the people of the nations? Not at all! I have already shown that Jews and the people of the nations are all under the power of sin. ¹⁰ The Scriptures say: »There is no one who is righteous, ¹¹ »There is no one who has insight. No one seeks God! ¹² »All have turned away from God; they have all done wrong. No one does what is right, not even one.« (Psalm 53:3) ¹³ »Their throat is an open grave. They have practiced deceit with their tongues. The poison of snakes is under their lips.« (Psalm 5:9) ¹⁴ »Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.« (Psalm 10:7) ¹⁵ »Their feet are swift to shed blood.« (Proverbs 1:15) ¹⁶ »Destruction and misery are in their ways.« (Isaiah 59:7) ¹⁷ »They have not known the way of peace.« (Isaiah 59:7, 8) ¹⁸ There is no respect (reverence) for God before their eyes. (Psalm 36:1) ¹⁹ We know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those under the law. Every mouth may be stopped and the entire world may become liable to God for punishment.

³ For we also once were foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.

²⁷ »We have studied all of this thoroughly! This is the way it is. Listen to it, and learn it for yourself.«

¹ »Listen to my words Job. Pay attention to everything I say.

² »Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know.

² »Bear with me a little longer and I will show you that there is more to be said in God’s behalf.

⁸ »Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned.

¹⁸ And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare your strength to this generation, your power to all who are to come.

³ That we have heard and known and our fathers have told us. ⁴ We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of Jehovah, and his strength and his wondrous works that he has done. ⁵ He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel. This he commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, ⁶ That the generation to come might know, the children to be born, that they may arise and tell to their children,

¹⁹ »The living, yes the living praise you, as I am doing today! Fathers tell their children about your faithfulness.

²⁵ Two sons were born to Eber. One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided. His brother was named Joktan.

³² These are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.

⁸ »When the Most High gave nations their inheritance, when he divided the descendants of Adam, he set up borders for the tribes corresponding to the number of the sons of Israel.

¹⁷ »You will know that I am Jehovah your God, dwelling in Zion my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy and no strangers will pass through (invade) her any more.

¹ »Why does the Almighty not keep time? Why do those who know him never see his days?

¹³ »Here is the fate God accords the wicked. This is the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:

³ You turn men back into dust and say: »Return, O sons of men!« ⁴ In your sight a thousand years are like a single day, like yesterday, already past like an hour in the night.

¹² Teach us to number each of our days so that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.

³ This evil is in all things that are done under the sun. There is one event that comes to all. The heart of the sons of men is full of evil. Madness is in their heart while they live. After that they go to the dead (die).

¹⁹ »I will say to my self: ‘You have many possessions saved for many years. Take it easy and eat, drink and be merry.’ ²⁰ »But God said to him: ‘You fool this night you will give up your life. Then who will have all these things you accumulated?’ ²¹ »He who lays up (earthly) treasure for himself is not rich toward God.«

²² For we know that the whole creation groans and is in pain together until now.

¹ Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. ² Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and your silver are rusted. Their corrosion will be for a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You stored up your treasure in the last days. ⁴ Behold, the wages of the laborers who harvested your fields, which are held back by you, cry out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of Jehovah of Hosts. ⁵ You lived in luxury on the earth, and take your pleasure; you nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned, and you have killed the righteous one. He does not resist you.

⁹ But Jehovah God called to the man: »Where are you?« ¹⁰ He (Adam) answered: »I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.«

³⁶ »‘I will fill those who are left in the land of their enemies with despair. The sound of a windblown leaf will make them run. They will run away and fall, but no one will be chasing them.

³⁶ When Abigail came to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his home. It was like a king’s banquet. He was in a good mood and very drunk, so she did not tell him anything until dawn. ³⁷ In the morning after the effects of the wine wore off his wife told him what had happened. Nabal had a stroke. He could not move. ³⁸ Ten days later Jehovah made him sicker and Nabal died.

⁶ Jehovah made the Syrians hear what sounded like the advance of a large army with horses and chariots. The Syrians thought that the king of Israel had hired Hittite and Egyptian kings and their armies to attack them.

¹³ One day when Job's children were having a feast at the home of their oldest brother, ¹⁴ a messenger came running to Job. »We were plowing the fields with the cattle,« he said, »and the donkeys were in a nearby pasture. ¹⁵ »Suddenly the Sabeans attacked and stole them all. They killed every one of your servants except me. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.« ¹⁶ Before he finished speaking, another servant came and said: »Lightning struck the sheep and the shepherds and killed them all. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.« ¹⁷ Before he finished speaking, another servant came and said: »Three bands of Chaldean raiders attacked us. They took away the camels and killed all your servants except me. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.« ¹⁸ No sooner had he finished speaking, then another servant came and said: »Your children were having a feast at the home of your oldest son, ¹⁹ when a storm swept in from the desert. It blew the house down and killed them all. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.«

¹¹ »Terrors startle him on every side and chase him at his heels.

⁵ »The success of the wicked is brief and the joy of the godless lasts but a moment. ⁶ »Though his pride reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds, ⁷ he will perish forever like his own dung. Those who have seen him will say: Where is he?

²² »Distress will overtake him in the midst of his plenty. The full force of misery will come upon him. ²³ »With his belly full, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows upon him. ²⁴ »Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him. ²⁵ »He pulls it out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver. Terrors will come over him.

²⁰ Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest snatches him away in the night.

¹⁸ Surely you set them in slippery places. You threw them down into destruction. ¹⁹ How are they destroyed, suddenly! They are utterly consumed with terrors. ²⁰ It is like waking up from a dream, O Jehovah. When you awake you will despise everything they represent.

⁷ Wicked people sprout like grass and all troublemakers flourish. Yet they will be destroyed forever.

²⁶ »I also will laugh at your trouble. I will mock when your fear comes. ²⁷ »Trouble and distress will surround you like a whirlwind, like a great storm.

²¹ Dressed in royal apparel, Herod delivered a public address to the people on a special day. ²² The people shouted: »It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.« ²³ Immediately the angel of God killed him, because he did not give God the glory. He was eaten by worms and died.

¹⁰ Do not grumble like some of them grumbled. Venomous snakes killed them.

³ When they say, »Peace and security!« then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come to a pregnant woman. They will not escape.

¹¹ The angel of the bottomless pit was their king. His name in the Hebrew language is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon.

³³ While Elisha was still talking the king arrived and said: »Jehovah brought this trouble on us! Why should I wait any longer for him to do something?«

¹¹ »What strength do I have, that I should wait and hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?

¹⁶ »If I called and he answered me, I would not believe that God was listening to my voice.

²⁹ »Fear the sword and death, because your anger is punishable by the sword. Then you will know there is a judge.«

¹⁴ »No mater how many his children, their fate is the sword. His offspring will never have enough to eat.

²¹ They will pass through the land when they are hard-pressed (destressed) and hungry. When they are hungry, they will be furious. Then they will look up and curse their king and God. ²² They will look toward the nations of the earth and see only distress and gloom. They will go in anguish and be banished into darkness.

⁵ He left the silver in the Temple. Then he went away and hanged himself.

¹² »When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer (vagabond) on the earth.«

⁵ »The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out. The flame of his fire shall not shine. ⁶ »The light in his tent becomes dark. The lamp beside him will be put out.

¹² »Calamity hungers for him and disaster catch him when he falls.

¹⁸ »He is driven from light into darkness and is banished from the world.

³ »Shriveled up from need and hunger, they gnaw at the dry and barren ground during the night. ⁴ »They pick mallow (salt herb) from the underbrush, and the roots of the broom plant are their food.

¹⁵ They wander around to find food. If they are not full enough, they will stay all night.

¹⁰ Let his children wander around and beg. Let them seek help far from their ruined homes.

⁸ If a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness for they will be many. All that comes is vanity.

⁶ We have given our hands to the Egyptians and to the Assyrians so that we might have enough bread.

⁹ We risk our lives to get food, because of the sword of the wasteland.

² »It is a day of darkness and gloom! It is a day of clouds and thick darkness! The dawn spreads upon the mountains. This great and mighty people have never seen anything like this. Nor will it be like this again even to the years of many generations.

²⁰ »Will the day of Jehovah be darkness with no light? Will it be very dark, and no brightness in it?

¹⁵ »That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish. That day will be a day of trouble, devastation and desolation! It will be a day of darkness and gloom. Indeed that day will be a day of clouds and overcast skies.

²⁷ But there remains a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fiery indignation, which will devour God’s enemies.

³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawed in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. ³⁸ The world was not worthy of them! They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

² »If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! ³ »It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas, no wonder my words have been impetuous. ⁴ »The Almighty’s arrows are in me. My spirit drinks in their poison. God’s terrors set themselves against me.

¹⁴³ Trouble and anguish have come upon me. Even so I am fond of your commandments.

²⁷ »Trouble and distress will surround you like a whirlwind, like a great storm.

¹¹ Your poverty comes like a traveler. Your need comes like an armed man.

³⁴ Your poverty will come like a robber and your want like an armed man.

³ »I have commanded my consecrated ones. I have called my mighty warriors. My proud ones are to express my anger, those who rejoice in my majesty (excellency).

³⁷ He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him. He was sorrowful and very troubled. ³⁸ He told them: »My heart is deeply grieved to the point of death. Stay with me and watch.«

⁹ [There will be] tribulation and distress on every person who works evil, for the Jew first and for the Greek.

² But Pharaoh responded: »Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I do not know Jehovah, and besides, I will not let Israel go.« ³ Then they said: »The God of the Hebrews met with us. Please, let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness. Then we may sacrifice to Jehovah our God. Otherwise he will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.«

¹⁷ »Still you exalt yourself against my people by not letting them go.

²³ »‘If this discipline does not help and you still resist,

⁷ Then they were frightened and said: »A god has come into their camp.« They also said: »Oh no! Nothing like this has ever happened before. ⁸ »We are in trouble now! Who will deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with plagues in the desert wilderness. ⁹ »Be strong, Philistines, and conduct your selves like men (with courage). Or else you will serve the Hebrews as they served you. Act like men and fight.«

⁶ »Why are you as stubborn as the Egyptians and their Pharaoh were? When he did terrible (mighty) things among them did he let the Israelites go?

⁹ he tells them what they have done, that they have sinned arrogantly.

⁹ »Do you have an arm (power) like God’s? Can your voice thunder like his? ¹⁰ »Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor. Clothe yourself in honor and majesty. ¹¹ »Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low!

⁷ Here is the man who did not make God his strength (refuge) (stronghold). He trusted in the abundance of his riches. He strengthened himself in his wickedness.

⁹ They set their mouth in the heavens and their tongue parades through the earth.

¹¹ They ask: How does God know? And is there knowledge with the most High?

⁹ Be broken, you people. Be terrified. Listen all you distant parts of the earth. Prepare for battle and be terrified. Prepare for battle and be terrified! ¹⁰ Make plans for battle, but they will never succeed. Give orders, but they will not be carried out, because God is with us!

¹² »It will happen when Jehovah has performed all his work on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. He will say: I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty appearance. ¹³ »‘The king of Assyria says: By the strength of my hand I have done it. By my wisdom and understanding I have done it! I am prudent! Also I have removed the boundaries of the nations. I have robbed their treasuries. I have brought down people like a mighty man! ¹⁴ »‘I found the riches of nations as one finds a nest. I gathered the whole world as one gathers abandoned eggs. Not one of them flapped a wing, opened its mouth, or peeped.’«

⁴ »I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle. I would set them all on fire.

⁴ »Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, Jehovah have done this with the first of them and with the last. I am he!« ⁵ The islands have seen it and fear. The ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward. ⁶ Each helps the other and says to his brother: »Be strong!« ⁷ The craftsman encourages the goldsmith. He who smooths with the hammer spurs on him who strikes the anvil. He says of the welding: It is good. He nails down the idol so it will not topple.

²³ »You lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house before you and your lords, wives and concubines. They drank wine from them. You praise the gods of silver and gold, of copper, iron, wood, and stone, which you do not see, nor hear, nor know. You have not glorified the God whose hand holds your breath and life.

⁵ »Who are you Lord?« He asked. The Lord said: »I am Jesus whom you persecute.

¹ At that time Herod the king mistreated those of the congregation.

²³ Immediately the angel of God killed him, because he did not give God the glory. He was eaten by worms and died.

⁸ »Judah, your brothers will praise you. You hold your enemies by the neck. Your brothers will bow down before you.

²² When he had this trouble, King Ahaz became more unfaithful to Jehovah!

¹³ »‘You have heard what my ancestors and I have done to other nations. Were the gods of those nations able to defend their land against us? ¹⁴ »‘None of those gods kept their people safe from the kings of Assyria. Do you really think your God can do any better? ¹⁵ »‘Do not be fooled by Hezekiah! No god of any nation has been able to stand up to Assyria. Believe me, your God cannot keep you safe!’« ¹⁶ Sennacherib’s officers said more against Jehovah God and his servant Hezekiah. ¹⁷ Sennacherib wrote letters cursing Jehovah the God of Israel. These letters said: The gods of the nations in other countries could not rescue their people from me. Hezekiah’s God cannot rescue his people from me.

¹² »I was at ease, but he shattered me. He has grabbed me by the neck and has shaken me to pieces. He has also set me up as his target.

⁴⁰ You made my enemies turn their backs to me. I destroyed those who hated me.

¹⁵ »Jeshurun (Israel) grew fat and disrespectful. You got fat! You were stuffed! You over eat! He abandoned the God who made him and scornfully treated the rock of his salvation.

¹⁰ »But now, you must come and try again! I will not find one wise man among you.

¹⁰ They have no feeling. Their mouths have spoken arrogantly.

⁷ Their eyes stand out with fatness, and their heart’s imagination run wild.

³¹ The anger of God rose against them and killed some of their stoutest ones, and subdued the choice men of Israel.

¹⁰ »This people’s heart has become calloused. They hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.«(Septuagint)

²⁸ »They grow big and fat. Their evil deeds have no limits. They have no respect for the rights of others. They have no respect for the rights of orphans. But they still prosper. They do not defend the rights of the poor.

¹⁴ »I would be with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins.

¹⁵ »Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.

⁸ Cursed are those who are joining house to house, and putting field to field, till there is no more living-space for any but themselves in all the land! ⁹ With my own ears I heard Jehovah of Hosts say: »Many houses will become empty. Large, beautiful houses will be without people to live in them. ¹⁰ »A ten-acre vineyard will produce only six gallons of wine, and two quarts of seed will produce only four quarts of grain.«

¹¹ I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins. It will be a gathering place of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolation, without inhabitant.

¹⁸ »Years ago when Hezekiah was king of Judah, a prophet named Micah from the town of Moresheth said: ‘Jehovah of Hosts says, »Jerusalem will be plowed under and left in ruins. Thorns will cover the mountain where the Temple now stands.«’

³⁷ »Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.

¹² It is your fault that Zion will be plowed like a field. Jerusalem will become heaps of ruin, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.

¹⁸ Who is a God like you who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? You do not keep your anger forever, because you delight in loving-kindness (unchanging love).

²² »Distress will overtake him in the midst of his plenty. The full force of misery will come upon him. ²³ »With his belly full, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows upon him. ²⁴ »Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him. ²⁵ »He pulls it out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver. Terrors will come over him. ²⁶ »Total darkness lies in wait for his treasures. A fire will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. ²⁷ »The heavens will expose his guilt. The earth will rise up against him! ²⁸ »A flood will carry off his house. Rushing waters will wash away his possessions on the day of God’s wrath.

¹⁵ »Will you keep to the old way that the wicked have trod? ¹⁶ »They were snatched away before their time. Their foundation is washed away by flood. ¹⁷ »They said to God: ‘Leave us alone.’ They asked: ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’ ¹⁸ »Yet he filled their houses with good things. Yet the plans of the wicked are repugnant. ¹⁹ »The righteous see it and are glad and the innocent laugh them to scorn. ²⁰ »They say: ‘Our adversaries are cut off and the fire consumed what they left.’

¹⁶ »Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay, ¹⁷ what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver.

¹⁶ Do not be afraid when someone becomes rich, when the greatness of his house increases. ¹⁷ He will not take anything with him when he dies. Even his greatness cannot follow him.

² »He said: ‘Is it true what I hear about you? Give me a complete accounting of your management of my property for you may not be my manager any longer.’

¹⁹ »A rich man dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day. ²⁰ »A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, used to be brought to the rich man’s door. ²¹ »He hoped he could eat the bits of food that fell from the rich man’s table. Then the dogs would come and lick his sores. ²² »The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man died and was buried.

¹¹ The sun rises with scorching heat and withers the grass. The flower falls off and its beauty perishes. So also the rich man will fade away in his pursuits.

¹ Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. ² Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and your silver are rusted. Their corrosion will be for a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You stored up your treasure in the last days.

⁹ »God destroys them with his breath and kills them with a blast of his anger.

¹⁴ »They meet in darkness in the daytime! In bright sunlight they grope as if it were night.

²¹ before I go to the place of no return, to the land of darkness and the shadow of death, ²² to the land of dark night, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.«

²² »He despairs of escaping the darkness; he is marked for the sword.

²⁶ »Total darkness lies in wait for his treasures. A fire will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.

²⁰ »They say: ‘Our adversaries are cut off and the fire consumed what they left.’

⁴ But with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth (power of his words), and with the spirit (breath) of his lips he will destroy the wicked.

³³ Topheth was prepared long ago. It was made ready for the king. It was made deep and wide and piled high with plenty of burning logs. Jehovah’s breath will be like a flood of burning sulfur, setting it on fire.

⁴ »After it has been put into the fire for fuel, and the fire has consumed both of its ends and its middle part has been charred, is it then useful for anything? ⁵ »While it is intact, it is not made into anything. How much less, when the fire has consumed it and it is charred, can it still be made into anything?« ⁶ »Therefore, the Lord Jehovah says: ‘Just like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given as fuel for the fire, so have I given up the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ⁷ I will set my face against them (turn against them). Though they have come out of the fire, yet the fire will consume them. Then you will know that I am Jehovah, when I set my face against them.’«

⁴⁷ »Tell the forest in the Negev: ‘Listen to the word of Jehovah. This is what the Lord Jehovah says: »I am about to set fire to you to destroy all your green trees and all your dry trees. The blazing fire will not be put out. It will burn the whole land from the south to the north. ⁴⁸ »Then everyone will know that I, Jehovah, started the fire. It will never be put out.«’«

¹² »but the sons of the kingdom will be cast forth into the outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.«

¹³ »The king gave orders for that person to be tied hand and foot and thrown outside into the dark. That is where people will cry and grind their teeth in pain.

⁴¹ »Then he will tell those on his left: ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the ever-burning fire that is prepared for the Devil and his [fallen] angels.

⁴³ »If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It would be better to enter into life maimed then, having two hands to be destroyed in the ever-burning trash fires in the Valley of Hinnom. (Greek: Gehenna) ⁴⁴ (spurious, but included in King James Version, »Where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.«) ⁴⁵ »If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is good for you to enter into life with only one foot, rather than having two feet to be cast into the ever-burning fires of Hinnom. (Greek: Gehenna: symbolic of total destruction) ⁴⁶ (The same wording as verse 44, spurious: Tischendorf’s Spurious Passages) ⁴⁷ »If your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out. It is good for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be destroyed in the ever-burning trash fires in the valley of Hinnom. ⁴⁸ (»For the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.« Questionable passage.) ⁴⁹ »For every one will be salted with fire.

⁸ They will render vengeance to those who do not know God, and to those who do not obey the good news of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the Lord and from the glory of his might.

¹⁷ These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved.

¹³ They are wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame. They are wandering stars, for which the black darkness has been reserved forever.

¹⁵ Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierceness and anger of Almighty God.

⁸ »When I saw those who plowed wickedness and planted misery, they gathered its harvest.

¹⁶ »To him belong strength and victory. Both deceived and deceivers are his.

¹⁰ Do not count on extortion to make you rich. Do not hope to gain anything through robbery. When riches increase, do not depend on them.

⁸ He who sows unrighteousness will reap vanity. The rod of his anger will fail.

¹⁰ Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation. You have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold. Therefore you will plant pleasant plants and set out foreign (imported) (unusual) seedlings. ¹¹ In that day you will make your plant grow. In the morning you will make your seed flourish; but the harvest will be a heap of ruins in the day of grief and desperate sorrow.

²⁰ They eat ashes because they are deceived. Their own misguided minds lead them astray. They cannot rescue themselves or ask themselves: »Is what I hold in my right hand a false god?«

⁴ No one calls for justice and no one pleads his case truthfully. People trust pointless arguments and speak lies. They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.

⁷ »The people of Israel plant the wind, but they harvest a storm. A field of grain that does not ripen will never produce any grain. Even if it did produce grain, foreigners would eat it all.

⁸ »They that regard lying vanities forsake their own mercy.

³ So if any one of you thinks you are important when you really are not, you are only fooling yourself.

⁷ Do not be deceived. God is not mocked! A man will harvest what he sows. ⁸ He that sows to his own flesh will harvest corruption of the flesh. But he that sows to the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words. It is because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

¹⁶ »He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden. ¹⁷ »It entwines its roots around a pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones. ¹⁸ »When it is torn from its spot, that place disowns it and says: ‘I never saw you.’ ¹⁹ »Its life withers away and other plants grow from the soil.

⁷ »At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. ⁸ »Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, ⁹ yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth growth like a plant.

¹⁶ »His roots dry up below and his branches wither above. ¹⁷ »The memory of him perishes from the earth. He has no name in the street.

¹⁶ »They were snatched away before their time. Their foundation is washed away by flood.

⁵ God will destroy you forever. He will remove you from your dwelling place from out of the land of the living. ⁶ The righteous also sees, and fears, and laughs at him. They say: ⁷ Here is the man who did not make God his strength (refuge) (stronghold). He trusted in the abundance of his riches. He strengthened himself in his wickedness. ⁸ But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy and loving kindness of God forever and ever.

²³ But You, O God, will bring them down to the corruption of the grave. Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.

¹⁷ Do not be wicked over much and do not be foolish. Why should you die before your time?

¹¹ When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For they have no understanding (discernment). Their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.

⁸ »‘»It was planted in good soil beside plenty of water so that it could grow branches, bear fruit, and become a wonderful vine.«’ ⁹ »Say, ‘The Lord Jehovah says: »Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it and all its sprouting leaves wither? And neither by great strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again. ¹⁰ »‘»Though it is transplanted, will it thrive? Will it not completely wither as soon as the east wind strikes it, wither on the beds where it grew?«’«

¹⁶ »The people of Ephraim are like sick plants. Their roots are dried up. They have no fruit. Even if they were to have children, I would kill their dear children.«

⁵ »I will be like the dew to Israel. He will blossom like the lily and he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon. ⁶ »His shoots will sprout and his beauty will be like the olive tree. His fragrance will be like the cedars of Lebanon. ⁷ »Those who live in his shadow will raise grain again. They will blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁶ »If a man does not remain with me, he is removed as a branch, and withers. They gather them and throw them into the fire where they are burned (destroyed) (consumed).

³⁹ »You will plant vineyards and tend them but will not drink the wine from them. Worms will eat them. ⁴⁰ »You will have olive trees throughout all your coasts, but you shall not anoint with the oil, for your olive shall drop off its fruit.

⁹ The land dries up and wastes away. Lebanon is ashamed and withers. Sharon is like a desert plain. Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves.

¹³ The stars of the sky fell to the earth, even as a fig tree drops her unripe figs when she is shaken by a mighty wind.

³ The sons did not follow their father’s example but turned to dishonest ways of making money. They took bribes and denied people justice.

³ »Here I am! Testify against me before Jehovah and before his anointed one. Whose bull have I stolen? Whose donkey have I taken? Have I cheated anyone? Have I oppressed any? Have I ever taken a bribe? Tell me and I will make it right.«

¹³ »Such is the destiny of all who forget God. The hope of the godless will perish.

²² »Your enemies will be clothed in shame. The tents of the wicked will be no more.«

¹⁴ if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,

¹ ZOPHAR THE NAAMATHITE SPEAKS:

⁵ »Is not your wickedness great? There is no end to your iniquities. ⁶ »You have indeed exacted pledges from your family for no reason, and stripped the naked of their clothing. ⁷ »You have given no water to the weary to drink. You have withheld bread from the hungry. ⁸ »The powerful possess the land, and the favored live in it. ⁹ »You have sent widows away empty-handed. You crush the arms of the orphans.

⁸ »What hope doe the godless have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?

¹² »This is because I delivered the poor who cried, and the orphan who had no helper. ¹³ »The blessing of the wretched came upon me. I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. ¹⁴ »I put on righteousness and it clothed me. My justice was like a robe and a turban. ¹⁵ »I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. ¹⁶ »I was a father to the needy! I championed the cause of the stranger. ¹⁷ »I broke the fangs of the unrighteous. I made them drop their prey from their teeth.

¹³ »The godless in heart harbor resentment. Even when he fetters them, they do not cry for help.

¹⁴ The sinners in Zion are terrified. The godless tremble. Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with long lasting fire? ¹⁵ He who walks righteously and speaks what is right, who rejects gain from extortion and keeps his hand from accepting bribes, who stops his ears against plots of murder and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil.

¹¹ You impose unfair rent on the poor and defraud a tribute of grain from them. You haave built houses of hewn stone yet you will not live in them. You planted pleasant vineyards, but you will not drink the wine from them. ¹² I know you have many transgressions and your sins are great. You afflict the righteous. You take bribes. You refuse to help the needy at the gate.

² The godly (loyal) (holy) man has perished from the earth. There is none upright among men! They all lie in wait for blood. Every man hunts his own brother with a net.

⁵¹ »He will punish him severely, and send him to be with the hypocrites. There they will cry and grind their teeth.

¹⁴ See how they conceive evil. They are pregnant with wickedness and give birth to lies.

⁴ No one calls for justice and no one pleads his case truthfully. People trust pointless arguments and speak lies. They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. ⁵ They hatch viper eggs and weave spider webs. Those who eat their eggs will die. When an egg is crushed, a poisonous snake is hatched.

¹³ »But instead you plowed evil and harvested unrighteousness. You have eaten the fruit produced by your lies. This is because you trusted in your way and in the large number of your soldiers.

¹⁵ Then evil desires, when conceived, give birth to sin: and the sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.