Job 21 Cross References - NSB

¹ JOB ANSWERED: ² »Listen carefully to my words, and let this be your consolation. ³ »Bear with me, and I will speak. Then after I have spoken, mock on. ⁴ »As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals? Why should I not be impatient? ⁵ »Look at me, and be appalled, and lay your hand upon your mouth. ⁶ »When I think of it I am dismayed, and trembling seizes my flesh. ⁷ »Why do the wicked live on, reach old age, and become mighty in power? ⁸ »Their children are established in their presence, and their offspring before their eyes. ⁹ »Their houses are safe and without fear, and no rod of God is upon them. ¹⁰ »Their bull breeds without fail and their cow calves and never miscarries. ¹¹ »They send out their little ones like a flock, and their children dance around. ¹² »They sing to the tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. ¹³ »They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to the grave. ¹⁴ »They say to God: ‘Leave us alone! We do not desire to know your ways.’ ¹⁵ »Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? And what do we gain if we pray to him? ¹⁶ »Is their prosperity indeed their own achievement? The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me. ¹⁷ »How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does calamity come upon them? How often does God distribute pains and sorrow in his anger? ¹⁸ »How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away? ¹⁹ »You say: ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’ Let God repay them so they may know. ²⁰ »Let their own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty. ²¹ »For what do they care for their household after them, when the number of their months is cut off in death? ²² »Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those that are on high? ²³ »One dies in full prosperity, being wholly at ease and secure. ²⁴ »His loins are full of milk and the marrow of his bones is moist. ²⁵ »Another dies an angry being, never having tasted of good. ²⁶ »They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them. ²⁷ »Oh, I know your thoughts, and your schemes to wrong me. ²⁸ »For you say: ‘Where is the house of the prince? Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’ ²⁹ »Have you not asked those who travel the roads, and do you not accept their testimony. ³⁰ »They say the wicked are spared in the day of calamity, and are rescued in the day of wrath? ³¹ »Who declares their way to their face, and who repays them for what they have done? ³² »When they are carried to the grave, a watch is kept over their tomb. ³³ »The clods of the valley are sweet to them; everyone will follow after, and those who went before are innumerable. ³⁴ »How then will you comfort me with empty and futile words? There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.«

⁷ Jotham heard about this. He stood on top of Mount Gerizim and shouted out to them: »Men of Shechem, listen to me and God may listen to you!

³ »But I want to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. ⁴ »You are smearing me with lies. As doctors you are worthless, all of you!

¹¹ »Are God’s consolations not enough for you, words spoken gently to you?

² »I have heard many such things. You are all miserable comforters!

² »When will you end these speeches? Be sensible, and then we can talk.

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

³¹ »Pay attention, Job, and listen to me! Be silent, and I will speak. ³² »If you have anything to say answer me. Speak up, for I want you to be cleared. ³³ »But if not, then listen to me. Be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.

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

² Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.

¹ Pay close attention to the things heard so we do not drift away.

⁴ »I have become a laughingstock to my friends! I called upon God and he answered. Yet I am a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless! ⁵ »Men at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

⁹ »Would it turn out well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you might deceive men?

¹³ »Keep silent and let me speak! Then let come to me what may.

¹⁰ »They have gaped at me with their mouth. They have slapped me on the cheek with contempt. They have massed themselves against me.

²⁰ My friends are my scoffers. My eye weeps to God.

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

⁹ Moses reported this to the Israelites. But they would not listen to him. For they were so discouraged by their backbreaking work.

¹⁶ »Do not consider your maidservant a worthless woman. I pray like this because I am miserable and filled with grief.«

²⁶ The king of Israel walked by on the city wall when a woman cried out: »Help me, Your Majesty!« ²⁷ The king replied: »If Jehovah will not help you, what help can I provide? Where can I get you help from the threshing floor or the wine press?«

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

¹¹ »I will not keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. I must complain in my bitterness. ¹² »Am I a sea monster that you place a guard on me? ¹³ »When I think: ‘My bed will comfort me, and I will try to forget my misery with sleep, ¹⁴ you shatter me with dreams. You terrify me with visions.’ ¹⁵ »I would rather die of strangulation than go on and on like this. ¹⁶ »I hate my life. I do not want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for these few remaining days. ¹⁷ »What is man that you should magnify him and set your mind on him? ¹⁸ »For you examine us every morning and test us every moment. ¹⁹ »How long will you keep looking at me and let me alone till I swallow my spittle? ²⁰ »Have I sinned? What have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why have you made me your target? Am I a burden to you? ²¹ »Why not just pardon my sin and take away my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust and die. When you look for me, I will be gone.«

¹ »I loathe my very life. I will therefore give free rein to my complaint and speak out in my bitterness. ² »I will say to God: ‘Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me.

¹ ([Psalm of David]) My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far away from my deliverance, so far away from the words of my moaning? ² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer. I cry by night, but I find no rest. ³ Yet you are holy, you who dwell seated on the praises of Israel.

¹¹ Why am I in despair? Why have I become disturbed within me? Wait for God for I shall yet praise him, the help of my countenance and my God.

³ I remember God, and I groan. I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed. ⁴ You hold my eyelids open. I am so troubled that I cannot speak. ⁵ I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. ⁶ I remember my song in the night. I consider in my own heart; my spirit diligently inquires: ⁷ Will Jehovah reject us forever? Will he be favorable no more? ⁸ Has his loving kindness vanished forever? Does his promise fail for generations? ⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he, in anger, withheld his compassion?

¹ Hear my prayer, O Jehovah! And let my cry for help come to you.

² I pour out my complaints in his presence and tell him my troubles. ³ When I begin to lose hope, you already know what I am experiencing. My enemies have hidden a trap for me on the path where I walk.

³⁸ He told them: »My heart is deeply grieved to the point of death. Stay with me and watch.«

¹⁹ They told him: »Be quiet. Do not say a word. Come with us and be our priest and adviser. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be a priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?«

¹² They saw him from a distance and did not even recognize him. They cried out loud and wept. Each of them tore his clothes in grief. They threw dust on their heads.

⁸ »This shocks decent people. The innocent are against the godless people.

²⁰ »My bones cling to my skin. I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth (with almost nothing). ²¹ »Have pity on me, my friends! Have pity on me because God's hand has struck me down.

⁹ »The nobles refrained from talking, and laid their hands on their mouths.

⁴ »I am so insignificant. How can I answer you? I will put my hand over my mouth.

⁹ »I remained speechless. I did not open my mouth because you have done this.

³² If you foolishly exalted yourself, or if you thought evil, lay your hand upon your mouth.

¹³ The prudent will keep silent for it is an evil time.

¹⁶ »The nations will see and be ashamed of all their might! They will cover their mouth with their hand and their ears will be deaf.

³³ O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments. His ways are beyond human understanding!

³ I remember God, and I groan. I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed.

¹⁵ Ever since I was young, I have been suffering and near death. I have endured your terrors, and now I am in despair.

¹²⁰ My flesh trembles out of respect for you. I truly reverence (respect) your judgments.

¹⁹ Remember my trouble and my wandering, the bitterroot and the poison. ²⁰ Remember and bow (bend) (come down to my level) down deep within me.

¹⁶ I heard and my body trembled! My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness entered into my bones and I tremble. I must wait quietly for the day of trouble, for the people who invade us.

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

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

³⁵ I have seen a wicked, violent man spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.

³ I was envious of arrogant people when I saw the peace and prosperity that wicked people enjoy. ⁴ They suffer no pain. Their bodies are healthy. ⁵ They have no drudgery in their lives like ordinary people. They are not plagued with problems like mankind. ⁶ That is why arrogance is their necklace and violence covers them like clothing. ⁷ Their eyes stand out with fatness, and their heart’s imagination run wild. ⁸ They ridicule. They speak maliciously. They speak arrogantly about oppression. ⁹ They set their mouth in the heavens and their tongue parades through the earth. ¹⁰ Therefore his people return here and here they drink waters of abundance. ¹¹ They ask: How does God know? And is there knowledge with the most High? ¹² Behold, these are the ungodly. They prosper in the world; they increase in wealth.

¹ Jehovah, if I argued my case with you, you would prove to be right. Indeed, I must question you about matters of justice. Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why do dishonest people succeed with impunity? ² You plant them, and they take root. They grow and bear fruit. You are near their lips, but far from their mind. ³ But, you know me, Jehovah. You see what I do and how in my heart I love you. Drag them away like sheep to be butchered. Guard them until it is time for them to be slaughtered.

¹⁷ ‘»The decision is by the decree of the watchers. The sentence by the word of the holy ones! It is to the intent that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will, and sets over it the lowest of men.«

¹³ Your eyes are too pure to look at evil. You cannot look at perversity. Why do you look at treacherous persons and not act? Why do you keep quiet when the wicked destroy the man who is more righteous?

¹⁵ He brings them all up with the hook. He gathers them away in his net. He gladly gathers them and rejoices. ¹⁶ He offers sacrifices and burns incense to his fishing net. For it is through this their catch is great and the food is plentiful.

² The beast I saw looked like a leopard. His feet were like the feet of a bear. His mouth was like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority. ³ One of his heads appeared to have had a fatal wound. His fatal wound had healed, and the entire world followed the beast with admiration. ⁴ Men worshiped the dragon that gave power to the beast. They worshiped the beast, saying: »Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?« ⁵ A mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to the beast. And authority to act was given to him to continue forty-two months. ⁶ He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, to slander his name, and his dwelling place, and those who live in heaven. ⁷ It was granted to him to wage war with the holy ones, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all tribes, and tongues, and nations.

² »with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.« ³ So he carried me away in spirit to the wilderness. I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast. The beast was full of names of blasphemy. It had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet. She was adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She had a golden cup in her hand. It was full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.

³ »I have seen a stubborn fool take root and I quickly cursed his house. ⁴ »His children are far from help. They are crushed at the court of justice at the city gate. No one is there to rescue them.

¹⁹ »He has no offspring or descendants among his people, no survivor where once he lived.

¹⁰ »His children must make amends to the poor. He must give back his wealth.

²⁸ »A flood will carry off his house. Rushing waters will wash away his possessions on the day of God’s wrath.

¹⁴ With your power (by your hand) rescue me from mortals, O Jehovah, from mortals who look forward only to this life. You fill their bellies with your treasure. Their children are satisfied with it, and they leave what remains to their children.

⁶ Grandchildren are the crowns of old men. Fathers take pride in their children.

³⁴ »Let God remove his rod from me. Do not let dread of him terrify me.

²¹ »Terrifying sounds fill his ears. When all seems well, marauders attack him.

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

⁵ They have no drudgery in their lives like ordinary people. They are not plagued with problems like mankind.

¹⁹ How are they destroyed, suddenly! They are utterly consumed with terrors.

¹⁹ I create the fruit (praise) of the lips: Peace, peace to the near and the far off, says Jehovah, and I will heal him. ²⁰ But the wicked are like the troubled and restless sea, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. ²¹ My God has said: »There is no peace for the wicked.«

²⁶ »No woman in your land will miscarry or be unable to have children. I will let you live a normal life span.

¹³ »He will love you, bless you, and increase the number of your descendants. He will bless you with children. He will bless your land with produce: grain, new wine, and olive oil. He will bless your herds with calves, and your flocks with lambs and kids. This will all happen in the land Jehovah will give you, as he swore to your fathers. ¹⁴ »God will bless you more than any other people. There will not be a male or a female barren among you or your livestock.

¹¹ »Jehovah will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your animals and in the produce of your ground, the land that Jehovah swore to your fathers to give you.

¹³ Let our garners be full, furnishing every kind of produce, our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields; ¹⁴ Let our cattle bear without mishap and without loss. Let there be no outcry in our streets!

¹ I considered all this in my heart and declared that the righteous and their works are in the hand of God. No man knows if love or hatred awaits him in the future. ² The same thing comes to all. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrifices and to him that does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; and he that swears, as he that fears and refrains from an oath.

¹⁶ He spoke an illustration to them: »The land of a rich man produced well. ¹⁷ »He reasoned to himself, what will I do? I have nowhere to store my fruits? ¹⁸ »He said: »I would pull down my barns and build larger barns. I will store all my grain and goods there. 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.«

¹⁹ »A rich man dressed in the most expensive clothes and lived in great luxury every day.

⁴¹ He lifts needy people high above suffering and makes their families like flocks.

³ Children are an inheritance from Jehovah. They are a blessing from him. ⁴ The children born to a man when he is young are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. ⁵ Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them. He will not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the city gate.

²¹ His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.

²⁷ »Why did you deceive me and slip away without telling me? If you had told me, I would have sent you on your way with rejoicing and singing to the music of tambourines and harps.

¹² At their feasts there are lyres and harps, tambourines and flutes, and wine. Yet, they do not pay attention to what Jehovah is doing or respect what his hands have done.

¹³ Instead there was joy and festivity, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating meat and drinking wine. »Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.«

⁴ »You lie on beds of ivory, and stretch on couches. You eat the the best lambs out of the flock and the fattest calves out of the stall. ⁵ »You sing idle songs to the sound of the harp and like David you improvise on musical instruments. ⁶ »You drink wine in bowls, and anoint yourselves with the finest oils. But you are not grieved because of the affliction of Joseph.

¹¹ »If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment.

⁴ They suffer no pain. Their bodies are healthy.

³⁸ »It will be like those days before the Flood. They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark. ³⁹ »They were not aware until the Flood came and took them all away. The coming (presence) of the Son of man will be like this.

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?’

²⁸ »The days of Lot were similar. They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted and they built. ²⁹ »But when Lot left Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

¹⁷ »They said to God: ‘Leave us alone.’ They asked: ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’

⁴ In his arrogant attitude he does not search for God. His faulty reasoning concludes: »There is no God.«

¹¹ He says in his heart (to himself): »God has forgotten. He has hidden his face. He will never see it!«

⁷ Respect for Jehovah (YHWH) is the beginning of knowledge (truth) (understanding) (wisdom). Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

²² »How long, you simple (stupid) (foolish) ones, will you love simplicity (foolishness) (stupidity)? The scoffers delight in scoffing. Fools hate knowledge!

²⁹ »You have no use for knowledge and you refuse to respect Jehovah.

¹⁵ He brings them all up with the hook. He gathers them away in his net. He gladly gathers them and rejoices.

²⁸ When he saw Jesus he cried out and fell down in front of him. He shouted in a loud voice: »What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I implore you do not torment me.«

³⁷ The people of the country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to depart. They were very much afraid. So he boarded a boat and left.

¹⁹ »This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world. People loved the darkness rather than the light for their works were evil. ²⁰ »Every one who does evil hates the light. He does not come to the light because his works would be reproved.

⁴⁵ »I tell you the truth and you do not believe me. ⁴⁶ »Which of you convicted me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe me? ⁴⁷ »He that is of God hears the words of God. That is why you do not listen. You are not from God!«

²³ »He who hates me hates my Father also. ²⁴ »If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would have no sin. They have seen and hated both my Father and me.

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.

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.

¹⁰ He will use every kind of wicked deceit on those who will perish. They will perish because they did not welcome and love the truth so as to be saved. ¹¹ So God dispatches the power of deceit (error) to work in them so that they are allowed to believe what is false. ¹² Then everyone who did not believe the truth, but was delighted with wickedness, will be condemned.

³ For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine. Having their ears tickled, they will accumulate teachers who follow after their own lusts. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth, and turn aside to myths (fiction).

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.«

⁹ »He has said: ‘It profits one nothing to take delight in God.’

³ »If you ask: ‘What advantage do I have? How am I better off than if I had sinned?’

⁴ They say: »We will overcome with our tongues. With lips such as ours, who can be our master?«

⁹ If I am full I could deny you and say, »Who is Jehovah?« Or if I am poor and steal, I could take God’s name in vain.

¹¹ »‘Get out of our way! Stop blocking our path! Get the Holy One of Israel out of our sight.’«

¹⁹ »I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness. I have not said to Jacob’s descendants: Seek me in vain. I, Jehovah, speak the truth; I declare what is right.

⁶ »When I fed you, you were full. When you were full, you became arrogant. That is why you forgot me.

¹³ »And you say: ‘We are tired of all this!’ You turn up your nose at me. You offer the lame and the sick and even stolen animals,« said Jehovah. »Do you think I will accept that from you? ¹⁴ »The cheater who sacrifices a worthless animal to me will be cursed. For he has in his flock a good animal that he promised to give me! I am a great King,« Jehovah of Hosts declares. »People of all nations will respect my name!«

⁷ »Ask and it will be given you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened for you.

²⁴ »Until now you have not asked a single thing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.

⁶ »I will not join in their secret talks. I will not take part in their meetings. They killed people in anger. They crippled bulls for sport.

²¹ He said: »I was born with nothing (naked), and I will die with nothing. Jehovah gave, and now he has taken away. Blessed be the name of Jehovah!«

⁹ »Which of all these does not know that the hand of Jehovah has done this? ¹⁰ »In his hand are the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

¹⁸ »Yet he filled their houses with good things. Yet the plans of the wicked are repugnant.

¹ Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful mockers.

⁶ They trust their riches and brag about their abundant wealth. ⁷ No one can ever redeem (buy back) his brother or pay God a ransom for his life.

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.

¹⁰ My son, if sinners tempt you do not consent.

⁸ Keep far away from her. Do not go near the door of her house.

⁸ No man has the power to restrain the wind, to retain the breath of life. Neither does he have power in the day of death. There is no discharge from that war. Neither will wickedness deliver those who are given to it.

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.’

²⁵ »Abraham said: Remember, my son, in your lifetime you were given good things, while Lazarus got all the bad things. Now he is enjoying himself while you are in torment.

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.

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

¹⁰ Very much pain awaits wicked people, but loving-kindness and mercy surrounds those who trust Jehovah.

⁷ Your anger consumes us. We are troubled by your rage. ⁸ You set our sins in front of you. You put our secret sins in the light of your presence. ⁹ Indeed, all our days slip away because of your fury. We live out our years like one long sigh.

⁹ The light of the righteous rejoices but the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

²⁰ He who curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in obscure darkness.

²⁰ There is no reward for the evil man! The candle of the wicked will be put out.

⁸ »All the foolish virgins said to the wise: ‘Give us your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

⁴⁶ the master of that servant will come when he does not expect. He will come in an hour that he does not know. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

⁸ Those who are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, will receive wrath and indignation. ⁹ [There will be] tribulation and distress on every person who works evil, for the Jew first and for the Greek.

⁷ »In the greatness of your excellence you overthrow those who rose up against you. You sent your wrath and consumed them like stubble.

²⁵ »Will you torment a leaf driven two and fro? Will you chase after dry chaff?

⁴ This is not so for the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

⁵ Let them be like chaff blown by the wind as the angel of Jehovah chases them.

¹³ My God, make them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind.

²⁴ You will go up in flames like straw and hay! You have rejected the law of the holy God Jehovah the All-Powerful Holy One of Israel. Now your roots will rot, and your blossoms will turn to dust.

¹³ The nations will rush like the raging of many waters. But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away. They will be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, like a rolling dust before the whirlwind.

⁵ »Your cruel enemies will be swept away like dust in a windstorm. It will be sudden and unexpected like chaff in the wind.

²⁴ No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

¹⁵ »See I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them. You will reduce the hills to chaff. ¹⁶ »You will winnow them. The wind will pick them up and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in Jehovah and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

²⁴ »I will scatter you like straw that is blown away by a desert wind.

³ »That is why they will be like fog in the morning and like morning dew that disappears quickly. They will be like straw blown away from threshing floors. They will be like smoke rising from chimneys.

¹⁰ Entangled like thorns and drunken from drink, they are consumed like dry stubble.

¹² »His winnowing shovel is in his hand. He will clean his threshing floor and gather his wheat into a barn. He will then burn the husks in a fire that cannot be put out.«

⁷ »If you do what is right, will not your attitude improve? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you, but you must master it.«

⁵ »Do not worship them or serve them. I, Jehovah your God, am a God demanding exclusive devotion. (I do not tolerate rivals.) I will not share your affection with any other god. I punish children for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.

³⁴ »Is this not laid up in store with me and sealed up among my treasures?

⁴¹ »I sharpen my flashing sword, and my hand takes hold on justice! I will render vengeance on my adversaries. I will repay those who hate me.

³⁹ »Today, even though I am the anointed king, these men, Zeruiah’s sons, are too strong for me to control. May Jehovah repay these wicked men, as their evil deed deserves.«

²⁴ »If you treat gold like dust, and gold of Ophir like the stones of the torrent-bed,

⁵ He will repay my enemies for their evil: consume (destroy) them in your truth.

⁹ Let his children become fatherless and his wife a widow. ¹⁰ Let his children wander around and beg. Let them seek help far from their ruined homes. ¹¹ Let a creditor take everything he owns. Let strangers steal what he has worked for. ¹² Let no one be kind to him anymore. Let no one show any pity to his fatherless children. ¹³ Let his descendants be cut off and their family name be wiped out by the next generation. ¹⁴ Let Jehovah remember the guilt of his ancestors and not wipe out his mother's sin. ¹⁵ Let their guilt and sin always remain on record in front of Jehovah. Let Jehovah remove every memory of him from the earth, ¹⁶ for he did not remember to be kind. He drove oppressed, needy, and brokenhearted people to their graves. ¹⁷ He loved to put curses on others, so he, too, was cursed. He did not like to bless others, so he never received a blessing. ¹⁸ He wore cursing as though it were clothing; so cursing entered his body like water and his bones like oil. ¹⁹ Let cursing be his clothing, a belt he always wears. ²⁰ This is how Jehovah rewards those who accuse me, those who say evil things against me. ²¹ O Lord Jehovah, deal with me out of the goodness of your name. Rescue me because of your loving kindness. ²² I am oppressed and needy. I feel pain in my heart. ²³ I fade away like a lengthening shadow. I have been shaken off like a grasshopper. ²⁴ My knees give way because I have been fasting. My body has become lean, without any fat. ²⁵ I have become the victim of my enemies' insults. They look at me and shake their heads. ²⁶ Help me, O Jehovah my God. Save me because of your loving kindness. ²⁷ Then they will know that this is your doing, that you, O Jehovah, are the one who saved me. ²⁸ They may curse, but you will bless. Let those who attack me be ashamed, but let your servant rejoice. ²⁹ Let those who accuse me wear disgrace as though it were clothing. Let them be wrapped in their shame as though it were a robe. ³⁰ With my mouth I will give many thanks to Jehovah. I will praise him among many people. ³¹ He stands at the right hand of the needy people to save them from those who would condemn them to death.

²¹ »Prepare a slaughtering place! The sons of this king will die because of their ancestors' sins. None of them will ever rule the earth or cover it with cities.«

⁴ He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. We considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions! He was crushed for our iniquities! The punishment that brought us peace was upon him. There has been healing for us because of his wounds. ⁶ We are all like sheep. We have gone astray! Each of us has turned to his own way. Jehovah has caused the iniquity (sin) of all of us to be laid on him.

²⁹ »When that time comes people will no longer say: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and their children’s teeth are set on edge.’

² »What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The fathers eat sour grapes, but the children's teeth are set on edge?’

¹⁴ ‘»Now suppose this son has a son. The son sees all the sins that his father does. He is afraid, so he does not do such things.

¹⁹ ‘»Yet you say: »Why should the son not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity?« When the son has practiced justice and righteousness and has observed all my statutes and done them, he shall surely live. ²⁰ ‘»The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity. The righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself. And the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.

¹⁸ »Once again my people will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the person who serves God and the one who does not.«

¹⁹ »Do not accumulate large amounts of wealth on earth. This is where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ »Accumulate wealth in heaven where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

²⁷ »The Son of man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels. He will then reward each man according to his deeds.

³¹ »You witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² »Fill up the (guilt) measure of your fathers. ³³ »You serpents! You offspring of vipers! How will you escape from being destroyed in the ever-burning fires of the Valley of Hinnom? (Greek: Gehenna, the trash fires in the valley just outside of Jerusalem) ³⁴ »Look! I am sending you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will torture and kill. Others you will torment and persecute from city to city. ³⁵ »You are responsible for all the righteous blood shed on earth. That includes the blood of the righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar.

⁵ Thanks to your stubborn and unrepentant heart, you store up wrath for yourself, in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

²¹ He made the one who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf. That way we might become the righteousness of God in him.

¹⁴ Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: God will render to him according to his works.

⁶ »Render to her even as she rendered to you. Pay back double to her, double according to her works: in the cup that she has filled, fill double for her!

¹⁹ »He lies down wealthy and wakes up and all is gone.

³ You have shown your people hard things. You have made us drink the wine that makes us stagger.

⁸ Jehovah holds a cup in his hand. The wine foams and is well mixed. So he pours from it. Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.

¹⁷ Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of Jehovah the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes men stagger.

¹⁵ »This is what Jehovah the God of Israel said to me: ‘Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my fury, and make all the nations to whom I am sending you drink from it. ¹⁶ »‘When they drink from it, they will stagger and go insane because of the wars that I am going to send them.’«

⁷ »Babylon was like a gold cup in my hand, making the whole world drunk. The nations drank its wine and went out of their minds.

²³ »He was in great torment in the grave (hades). He looked up and saw Abraham, far away, with Lazarus at his side.

¹⁰ »the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. He will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.

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.

⁵ »Man’s days are determined. You have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.

²¹ »His sons are honored and he does not know it. They are brought low and he does not see it.

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.

²⁴ I say: »O my God, do not take me away in the middle of my days, your years are throughout all generations.

¹⁸ I hated all the work I had done under the sun, because I would leave it behind for the man who comes after me. ¹⁹ Who knows if he will be a wise man or a fool? But he will have power over all the work that I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This too is vanity.

²⁷ »The rich man said: I beg you, father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father’s house. ²⁸ »Have him go warn my five brothers that they will not come to this place of torment.

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

¹⁵ »If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,

¹⁷ »Shall one who hates justice rule? And will you condemn the righteous Mighty One? ¹⁸ »Should anyone even say to a king: You good-for-nothing scoundrel! Or to nobles, you wicked people! ¹⁹ »The one who is righteous and mighty does not grant special favors to princes or prefer important people to poor people because his hands made them all.

¹¹ »Who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?

²² »God is exalted in his power. Who is a teacher like him?

² »Will the person who finds fault with the Almighty correct him? Will the person who argues with God answer him?«

¹ ([Psalm of Asaph]) God stands in the congregation of the mighty. He pronounces judgment among the god-like ones: (John 10:35)

⁵ Who is like Jehovah our God? He is seated on his high throne. ⁶ He bends down (humbles himself) to look at heaven and earth.

⁸ If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the country, do not be shocked at the sight. One official watches over another official and there are higher officials over them.

¹³ Who has understood the mind of Jehovah, or has instructed him, as his counselor? ¹⁴ Whom did Jehovah consult to enlighten him? Who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?

²² He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. ²³ He brings princes to nothing and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

⁹ »Does a clay pot dare argue with its maker, a pot that is like all the others? Does the clay ask the potter what he is doing? Does the pot complain that its maker has no skill?

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

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 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the matters that pertain to this life?

⁴ God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to captivity in pits of darkness reserved for judgment!

⁶ Angels who did not keep their position left their proper habitation. He has kept them in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day.

¹ I saw an angel come down from heaven. He had the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ² He seized the dragon, the old serpent that is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. ³ He hurled him into the bottomless pit, and shut it and sealed it over him. He could not deceive the nations anymore till the thousand years ended. After that he must be let loose for a little while.

¹² I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. The books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged according to the things written in the books, according to their works. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead in it. Death and the grave delivered up the dead in them. Every man was judged according to his works. ¹⁴ Death and the grave were hurled into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵ Whoever was not found written in the book of life was hurled (thrust) (thrown) into the lake of fire.

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.

¹⁷ He will not take anything with him when he dies. Even his greatness cannot follow him.

⁴ They suffer no pain. Their bodies are healthy. ⁵ They have no drudgery in their lives like ordinary people. They are not plagued with problems like mankind.

²⁷ »His face is covered with fat and his waist bulges with flesh.

⁸ This will make you healthy, and you will feel strong.

⁸ »You know your father and his followers are mighty warriors. They are as fierce as a mother bear whose cubs have just been killed. Your father has a lot of experience in fighting wars. He will not spend the night with the others.

¹² Then she said: »By the life of Jehovah your God, I have nothing but a little meal, and a drop of oil in the bottle; and now I am getting two sticks together so that I may go in and make it ready for me and my son, so that we may have a meal before our death.«

²⁰ »Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter in heart?

¹¹ »I will not keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. I must complain in my bitterness.

¹⁸ »He will not allow me to catch my breath. Yet he fills me with bitterness.

¹ »I loathe my very life. I will therefore give free rein to my complaint and speak out in my bitterness.

²³ »With his belly full, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows upon him.

¹⁰ The heart knows its own bitterness; and no one else can share its joy.

² God has given man riches, wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires. Yet God has not empowered him to partake of them for a foreigner enjoys them. This is vanity and a severe affliction.

¹⁵ »There is nothing I can say in answer to you. For you are the one who has done this to me. My life has turned sour. I will limp until I die. ¹⁶ »Your words and your deeds bring life to everyone, including me. Please make me healthy and strong again. ¹⁷ »Yes, it was for my benefit that I suffered such distress. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction. You have put (thrown) (hurled) all my sins behind your back.

¹⁶ And he added: »Mortal man, I am going to cut off the supply of bread for Jerusalem. The people there will be distressed and anxious as they measure out the food they eat and the water they drink. ¹⁷ »They will run out of bread and water. They will be in despair. They will waste away because of their sins.

¹⁸ »Son of man, eat your bread with trembling and drink your water with quivering and anxiety.

¹⁸ »Captives also enjoy their ease; they no longer hear the slave driver’s shout. ¹⁹ »The small and the great are there. The slave is freed from his master.

¹⁴ »If I say to the pit: You are my father! And to the worm: You are my mother and sister!

²⁶ »Even after my skin is gone and this body destroyed, I will see God in my own flesh.

¹¹ »The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust.

²⁰ »The womb forgets them. The worm finds them sweet. They are no longer remembered. Wickedness is broken like a tree.

¹⁴ Like sheep, they are laid in the grave. Death will shepherd them. The upright will rule them in the morning. Their forms will decay in the grave, far away from their comfortable homes.

² The same thing comes to all. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrifices and to him that does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; and he that swears, as he that fears and refrains from an oath.

¹¹ »‘Your pride has been brought down to the grave along with the music of your harps. Maggots are spread out like a bed under you, and worms cover you.’

⁸ »When I saw those who plowed wickedness and planted misery, they gathered its harvest. ⁹ »God destroys them with his breath and kills them with a blast of his anger. ¹⁰ »The roar of the lion and the growl of the ferocious lion are loud. The young lions have had their teeth knocked out. ¹¹ »The old lions die without any prey to eat, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.«

³ »I have seen a stubborn fool take root and I quickly cursed his house. ⁴ »His children are far from help. They are crushed at the court of justice at the city gate. No one is there to rescue them. ⁵ »Hungry people eat what a stubborn fool gathers. They take it even from among the thorns. Thirsty people pant after his wealth.

³ »Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? ⁴ »When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the power of their sin. ⁵ »But if you will look to God and plead with the Almighty, ⁶ if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place.

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.«

⁵ »The success of the wicked is brief and the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.

²⁹ »This is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God.«

³ He was angry also with Job’s three friends because they found no answer, though they had declared Job to be in the wrong.

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

⁴ And not because any sin or any guilt on my part. They hurry to take positions against me. Wake up, and help me; see for yourself.

⁸⁶ All your commandments are faithful. They have persecuted me with a lie; help me!

²² Jesus perceived their reasoning and said to them: »Why do you reason in your hearts?

¹⁹ For this is to your credit to suffer wrongfully and endure grief because of your conscience toward God.

²⁶ He said to the congregation: »Move away from the tents of these wicked men. Do not touch anything that belongs to them, or you’ll be swept away because of all their sins.« ²⁷ So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram came out and were standing at the entrances to their tents with their wives and children. ²⁸ Moses said: »This is how you will know that Jehovah sent me to do all these things and that it wasn’t my idea: ²⁹ »If these men die a natural death like all other people Jehovah has not sent me. ³⁰ »But if Jehovah does something totally new, if the ground opens up, swallows them and everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive to their graves; then you will know that these men have treated Jehovah with contempt.« ³¹ When he finished speaking, the ground under them split, ³² and the earth opened up to swallow them, their families, the followers of Korah, and all their property. ³³ They went down alive to their graves with everything that belonged to them. The ground covered them. They disappeared from the assembly. ³⁴ All the Israelites around them ran away when they heard their screams. They thought the ground would swallow them, also.

³ He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, one thousand head of cattle, and five hundred donkeys. He also had a large number of servants. In fact he was the greatest (richest) of all the Orientals in the East!

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

⁷ he will perish forever like his own dung. Those who have seen him will say: Where is he?

³⁷ »I would give him an account of all my steps. Like a prince I would approach him.

³⁶ Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more. I searched for him, but he could not be found.

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:

⁹ »He who receives a dishonest profit for his house will have trouble. He may set his nest on high in order to be delivered from the hand of evil! ¹⁰ »You have purposed a shameful thing for your house. You have sinned against yourself by destroying many people. ¹¹ »The stones will cry out from the wall. The beams out of the woodwork will answer it.

⁴ »I will cause it to happen,« said Jehovah of Hosts, »and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of he who swears falsely by my name. The curse will abide in the midst of his house and will consume it with the timber and the stones of the house.«

⁸ Nor do those who pass by say: »The blessing of Jehovah be upon you! We bless you in the name of Jehovah.«

⁵ Jehovah is at your right hand. He will crush kings in the day of his anger.

⁴ Riches do not profit in the day of wrath. Righteousness delivers from death.

⁴ Jehovah made all things for himself even the wicked one for the evil day.

² Jehovah (YHWH) is a zealous God requiring exclusive devotion (tolerates no rivals). Jehovah takes vengeance (punishment) against his adversaries. He reserves (maintains) wrath (indignation) (displeasure) against his enemies.

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.

⁹ Jehovah knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to preserve the unrighteous for the Day of Judgment. (Psalm 34:19) (Matthew 25:46) ¹⁰ This is primarily for those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble at glorious ones but speak abusively. ¹¹ Angels, though greater in might and power, do not bring an accusation of abusive judgment against them before Jehovah. ¹² But these are creatures without reason. They were born mere animals to be taken and destroyed! They speak abusively in matters of which they are ignorant. They suffer destruction in their own course of destruction. ¹³ They suffer wrong as their reward for wrongdoing. They are men that count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions while they feast with you. ¹⁴ They have eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin! They entice unsteady persons. Their hearts are full of covetousness. They are children of cursing. ¹⁵ They went astray, forsaking the right way. They followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrongdoing. ¹⁶ He was rebuked for his own transgression. A beast of burden spoke with a man's voice and restrained (hindered) the madness of the prophet. ¹⁷ These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved.

⁷ According to the same word, the heavens that now are, and the earth, are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

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.

¹⁷ »For the great day of his wrath has come; and who will be able to stand?«

¹⁰ »He destroys everyone who hates him. He never takes long to pay back anyone who hates him.

⁷ »You are that man!« Nathan said to David. »And this is what the Lord Jehovah the God of Israel says: ‘I made you king of Israel and rescued you from Saul. ⁸ »‘I gave you his kingdom and his wives. Then I made you king over Israel and Judah. If this had not been enough, I would have given you twice as much. ⁹ »‘Why have you disobeyed my commands? Why did you do this evil thing? You had Uriah killed in battle! You let the Ammonites kill him. Then you took his wife! ¹⁰ »‘In every generation some of your descendants will die a violent death because you have disobeyed me and have taken Uriah’s wife. ¹¹ »‘I swear to you that I will cause someone from your own family to bring trouble to you. You will see it when I take your wives from you and give them to another man. He will have intercourse with them in broad daylight. ¹² »‘You did this secretly. I will make this happen in broad daylight in front of all Israel.’«

¹⁹ »Say to him: ‘Jehovah says: »Have you put a man to death and taken his heritage?«’« »Then say: ‘Jehovah says: »Your blood will become the drink of dogs! You will go to the same place where the dogs drink the blood of Naboth.«’« ²⁰ Ahab said to Elijah: »Have you come face to face with me, O my enemy?« Elijah said: »I have come to you because you have given yourself up to do evil in the eyes of Jehovah.« ²¹ Jehovah says to you: »I will bring disaster on you. I will do away with you and get rid of every male in your family, young and old alike. ²² »Your family will become like the family of King Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the family of King Baasha son of Ahijah. This is because you have stirred up my anger by leading Israel into sin. ²³ »Concerning Jezebel, Jehovah says: Dogs will eat her body in the city of Jezreel. ²⁴ »Dogs will eat your relatives dying in the city. Vultures will eat your dead relatives in the country.«

¹⁹ »You say: ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’ Let God repay them so they may know.

¹¹ »Who has preceded me that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is mine.

²¹ »When you did these things, I remained silent. That made you think I was like you. I will argue my point with you and lay it all out for you to see.

¹³ We rebelled and denied Jehovah. We turned away from our God. We spoke about oppression and revolt. We conceived and uttered lies in our hearts.

³³ »You carefully planned ways to look for love. You taught your ways to wicked women. ³⁴ »You have bloodstains from innocent poor people on your clothes. You did not kill them for breaking in to your home. ³⁵ »‘After all this you say: ‘I am innocent. God will turn his anger from me. For I have not sinned.’«

¹⁸ John said to Herod: »It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.«

²⁵ He reasoned about righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. Felix trembled, and answered: »Go your way for now. When I have time I will send for you.«

¹⁹ Dearly beloved, do not avenge yourselves, instead leave room for divine punishment, for it is written: Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says Jehovah. (Deuteronomy 32:35)

¹¹ When Cephas came to Antioch, I openly resisted him because he was completely wrong.

¹³ For judgment is without mercy to him who shows no mercy. And mercy triumphs over judgment.

²¹ »‘The mightiest warriors will say to Pharaoh from the grave: You and your defenders have come down. You now lie with the godless people who were killed in battle. ²² »‘Assyria is there with its whole army. The graves of its soldiers are all around it. All of its soldiers are dead. They have been killed in battle. ²³ »‘Their graves are in the deepest parts of the pit. Assyria's army lies around its grave. All of its soldiers are dead. They have been killed in battle. They once terrified people in the land of the living. ²⁴ »‘Elam is there with all its soldiers. The graves of its soldiers are all around it. All of its soldiers are dead. They have been killed in battle. They went down below the earth as godless people. They once terrified people in the land of the living. Now they suffer disgrace with those who have gone down to the pit. ²⁵ »‘A bed has been made for Elam among the dead. The graves of its soldiers are all around it. The soldiers were godless people. They were killed in battle because they terrified others in the land of the living. They suffer disgrace with those who have gone down to the pit. They lie among the dead. ²⁶ »‘Meshech and Tubal are there with all their soldiers. The graves of their soldiers are all around them. Their soldiers were all godless people. They were killed in battle because they terrified others in the land of the living. ²⁷ »‘They do not lie with the godless warriors who died and went down to the grave with their weapons of war. Their swords were placed under their heads. Their iniquity rested on their bones because they terrified others in the land of the living. ²⁸ You Egyptians will be crushed with the godless people. You will lie with those who were killed in battle. ²⁹ »‘Edom is there with its kings and its princes. They used to be powerful, but now they lie with those who were killed in battle. They lie there with the godless people and with those who have gone down to the pit. ³⁰ »‘All the rulers from the north and all the people from Sidon are there. They also went down with the dead. They are disgraced because they terrified people with their power. They were godless people. Now they lie with those who were killed in battle. They suffer disgrace with those who went down to the pit. ³¹ »‘Pharaoh and his army will see these things and be comforted over all the soldiers who have been killed in battle,’ proclaims the Lord Jehovah. ³² »‘I terrified people in the land of the living. Pharaoh and all his soldiers will be laid among the godless people who were killed in battle,’ proclaims the Lord Jehovah.«

²² »The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man died and was buried.

¹⁹ »You will eat your food by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground. You came from the ground. For dust you are and to dust you will return.«

¹⁷ »There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest.

²² »They are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave.

¹⁶ »Will hope go down with me to the gates of the grave? Will my hope rest with me in the dust?«

²⁴ »They are exalted a little while, and then are gone. They wither and fade like everything gathered up. They are cut off like the heads of grain.

²³ »Yes, I know that you will bring me to death, to the house appointed for all living.

⁴ One generation goes and another generation comes, but the earth remains forever (without end).

⁷ Then the dust will return to the earth as it was. The spirit (life) will return to God who gave it.

²⁷ It is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment:

⁴ »You are smearing me with lies. As doctors you are worthless, all of you!