Genesis 12

Abram Journeys to Egypt

12 Now the Lord said to Abram,

“Go forth from your country,
And from your relatives
And from your father’s house,
To the land which I will show you;
² And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
³ And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

⁴ So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. ⁶ Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. ⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. ⁸ Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. ⁹ Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.

¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. ¹¹ It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; ¹² and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. ¹³ Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you.” ¹⁴ It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. ¹⁵ Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. ¹⁶ Therefore he treated Abram well for her sake; and gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.

¹⁷ But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸ Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go.” ²⁰ Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.

Genesis 13

Abram and Lot

13 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him.

² Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold. ³ He went on his journeys from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, ⁴ to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. ⁵ Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. ⁶ And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together. ⁷ And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land.

⁸ So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. ⁹ Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” ¹⁰ Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. ¹¹ So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. ¹² Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. ¹³ Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord.

¹⁴ The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; ¹⁵ for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. ¹⁶ I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. ¹⁷ Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.” ¹⁸ Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

Genesis 14

War of the Kings

14 And it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, ² that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³ All these came as allies to the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). ⁴ Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵ In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, came and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim and the Zuzim in Ham and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, ⁶ and the Horites in their Mount Seir, as far as El-paran, which is by the wilderness. ⁷ Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and conquered all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, who lived in Hazazon-tamar. ⁸ And the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) came out; and they arrayed for battle against them in the valley of Siddim, ⁹ against Chedorlaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰ Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country. ¹¹ Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food supply, and departed. ¹² They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom.

¹³ Then a fugitive came and told Abram the Hebrew. Now he was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and these were allies with Abram. ¹⁴ When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. ¹⁵ He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶ He brought back all the goods, and also brought back his relative Lot with his possessions, and also the women, and the people.

God’s Promise to Abram

¹⁷ Then after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). ¹⁸ And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. ¹⁹ He blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
²⁰ And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

He gave him a tenth of all. ²¹ The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself.” ²² Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will not take a thread or a sandal thong or anything that is yours, for fear you would say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ ²⁴ I will take nothing except what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their share.”

Genesis 15

Abram Promised a Son

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,

“Do not fear, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”

² Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” ⁴ Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” ⁵ And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” ⁶ Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. ⁷ And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.” ⁸ He said, “O Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?” ⁹ So He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. ¹¹ The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

¹² Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ God said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. ¹⁴ But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. ¹⁵ As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

¹⁷ It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,

“To your descendants I have given this land,
From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:

¹⁹ the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite ²⁰ and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim ²¹ and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”

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Job 40

Job: What Can I Say?

40 Then the Lord said to Job,

² “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
Let him who reproves God answer it.”

³ Then Job answered the Lord and said,

⁴ “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
⁵ “Once I have spoken, and I will not answer;
Even twice, and I will add nothing more.”

God Questions Job

⁶ Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm and said,

⁷ “Now gird up your loins like a man;
I will ask you, and you instruct Me.
⁸ “Will you really annul My judgment?
Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?
⁹ “Or do you have an arm like God,
And can you thunder with a voice like His?

¹⁰ “Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity,
And clothe yourself with honor and majesty.
¹¹ “Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
And look on everyone who is proud, and make him low.
¹² “Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him,
And tread down the wicked where they stand.
¹³ “Hide them in the dust together;
Bind them in the hidden place.
¹⁴ “Then I will also confess to you,
That your own right hand can save you.

God’s Power Shown in Creatures

¹⁵ “Behold now, Behemoth, which I made as well as you;
He eats grass like an ox.
¹⁶ “Behold now, his strength in his loins
And his power in the muscles of his belly.
¹⁷ “He bends his tail like a cedar;
The sinews of his thighs are knit together.
¹⁸ “His bones are tubes of bronze;
His limbs are like bars of iron.

¹⁹ “He is the first of the ways of God;
Let his maker bring near his sword.
²⁰ “Surely the mountains bring him food,
And all the beasts of the field play there.
²¹ “Under the lotus plants he lies down,
In the covert of the reeds and the marsh.
²² “The lotus plants cover him with shade;
The willows of the brook surround him.
²³ “If a river rages, he is not alarmed;
He is confident, though the Jordan rushes to his mouth.
²⁴ “Can anyone capture him when he is on watch,
With barbs can anyone pierce his nose?

Job 41

God’s Power Shown in Creatures

41 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?
Or press down his tongue with a cord?
² “Can you put a rope in his nose
Or pierce his jaw with a hook?
³ “Will he make many supplications to you,
Or will he speak to you soft words?
⁴ “Will he make a covenant with you?
Will you take him for a servant forever?
⁵ “Will you play with him as with a bird,
Or will you bind him for your maidens?
⁶ “Will the traders bargain over him?
Will they divide him among the merchants?
⁷ “Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?
⁸ “Lay your hand on him;
Remember the battle; you will not do it again!
⁹ “Behold, your expectation is false;
Will you be laid low even at the sight of him?
¹⁰ “No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him;
Who then is he that can stand before Me?
¹¹ “Who has given to Me that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.

¹² “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
Or his mighty strength, or his orderly frame.
¹³ “Who can strip off his outer armor?
Who can come within his double mail?
¹⁴ “Who can open the doors of his face?
Around his teeth there is terror.
¹⁵ “His strong scales are his pride,
Shut up as with a tight seal.
¹⁶ “One is so near to another
That no air can come between them.
¹⁷ “They are joined one to another;
They clasp each other and cannot be separated.
¹⁸ “His sneezes flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
¹⁹ “Out of his mouth go burning torches;
Sparks of fire leap forth.
²⁰ “Out of his nostrils smoke goes forth
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
²¹ “His breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes forth from his mouth.
²² “In his neck lodges strength,
And dismay leaps before him.
²³ “The folds of his flesh are joined together,
Firm on him and immovable.
²⁴ “His heart is as hard as a stone,
Even as hard as a lower millstone.
²⁵ “When he raises himself up, the mighty fear;
Because of the crashing they are bewildered.
²⁶ “The sword that reaches him cannot avail,
Nor the spear, the dart or the javelin.
²⁷ “He regards iron as straw,
Bronze as rotten wood.
²⁸ “The arrow cannot make him flee;
Slingstones are turned into stubble for him.
²⁹ “Clubs are regarded as stubble;
He laughs at the rattling of the javelin.
³⁰ “His underparts are like sharp potsherds;
He spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mire.
³¹ “He makes the depths boil like a pot;
He makes the sea like a jar of ointment.
³² “Behind him he makes a wake to shine;
One would think the deep to be gray-haired.
³³ “Nothing on earth is like him,
One made without fear.
³⁴ “He looks on everything that is high;
He is king over all the sons of pride.”

Job 42

Job’s Confession

42 Then Job answered the Lord and said,

² “I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
³ ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
⁴ ‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You instruct me.’
⁵ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;
⁶ Therefore I retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes.”

God Displeased with Job’s Friends

⁷ It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. ⁸ Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” ⁹ So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job.

God Restores Job’s Fortunes

¹⁰ The Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold. ¹¹ Then all his brothers and all his sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him one piece of money, and each a ring of gold. ¹² The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; and he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. ¹³ He had seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ He named the first Jemimah, and the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. ¹⁵ In all the land no women were found so fair as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritance among their brothers. ¹⁶ After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations. ¹⁷ And Job died, an old man and full of days.

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Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

Job 38

God Speaks Now to Job

38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

² “Who is this that darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
³ “Now gird up your loins like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!
⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding,
⁵ Who set its measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?
⁶ “On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
⁷ When the morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸ “Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;
⁹ When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,
¹⁰ And I placed boundaries on it
And set a bolt and doors,
¹¹ And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther;
And here shall your proud waves stop’?

God’s Mighty Power

¹² “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,
¹³ That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?
¹⁴ “It is changed like clay under the seal;
And they stand forth like a garment.
¹⁵ “From the wicked their light is withheld,
And the uplifted arm is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you entered into the springs of the sea
Or walked in the recesses of the deep?
¹⁷ “Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
¹⁸ “Have you understood the expanse of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹ “Where is the way to the dwelling of light?
And darkness, where is its place,
²⁰ That you may take it to its territory
And that you may discern the paths to its home?
²¹ “You know, for you were born then,
And the number of your days is great!
²² “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
²³ Which I have reserved for the time of distress,
For the day of war and battle?
²⁴ “Where is the way that the light is divided,
Or the east wind scattered on the earth?

²⁵ “Who has cleft a channel for the flood,
Or a way for the thunderbolt,
²⁶ To bring rain on a land without people,
On a desert without a man in it,
²⁷ To satisfy the waste and desolate land
And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?
²⁸ “Has the rain a father?
Or who has begotten the drops of dew?
²⁹ “From whose womb has come the ice?
And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?
³⁰ “Water becomes hard like stone,
And the surface of the deep is imprisoned.

³¹ “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades,
Or loose the cords of Orion?
³² “Can you lead forth a constellation in its season,
And guide the Bear with her satellites?
³³ “Do you know the ordinances of the heavens,
Or fix their rule over the earth?

³⁴ “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
So that an abundance of water will cover you?
³⁵ “Can you send forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?
³⁶ “Who has put wisdom in the innermost being
Or given understanding to the mind?
³⁷ “Who can count the clouds by wisdom,
Or tip the water jars of the heavens,
³⁸ When the dust hardens into a mass
And the clods stick together?

³⁹ “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
⁴⁰ When they crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?
⁴¹ “Who prepares for the raven its nourishment
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?

Job 39

God Speaks of Nature and Its Beings

39 “Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth?
Do you observe the calving of the deer?
² “Can you count the months they fulfill,
Or do you know the time they give birth?
³ “They kneel down, they bring forth their young,
They get rid of their labor pains.
⁴ “Their offspring become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They leave and do not return to them.

⁵ “Who sent out the wild donkey free?
And who loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,
⁶ To whom I gave the wilderness for a home
And the salt land for his dwelling place?
⁷ “He scorns the tumult of the city,
The shoutings of the driver he does not hear.
⁸ “He explores the mountains for his pasture
And searches after every green thing.
⁹ “Will the wild ox consent to serve you,
Or will he spend the night at your manger?
¹⁰ “Can you bind the wild ox in a furrow with ropes,
Or will he harrow the valleys after you?
¹¹ “Will you trust him because his strength is great
And leave your labor to him?
¹² “Will you have faith in him that he will return your grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?

¹³ “The ostriches’ wings flap joyously
With the pinion and plumage of love,
¹⁴ For she abandons her eggs to the earth
And warms them in the dust,
¹⁵ And she forgets that a foot may crush them,
Or that a wild beast may trample them.
¹⁶ “She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor be in vain, she is unconcerned;
¹⁷ Because God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.
¹⁸ “When she lifts herself on high,
She laughs at the horse and his rider.

¹⁹ “Do you give the horse his might?
Do you clothe his neck with a mane?
²⁰ “Do you make him leap like the locust?
His majestic snorting is terrible.
²¹ “He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength;
He goes out to meet the weapons.
²² “He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
And he does not turn back from the sword.
²³ “The quiver rattles against him,
The flashing spear and javelin.
²⁴ “With shaking and rage he races over the ground,
And he does not stand still at the voice of the trumpet.
²⁵ “As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he scents the battle from afar,
And the thunder of the captains and the war cry.

²⁶ “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,
Stretching his wings toward the south?
²⁷ “Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up
And makes his nest on high?
²⁸ “On the cliff he dwells and lodges,
Upon the rocky crag, an inaccessible place.
²⁹ “From there he spies out food;
His eyes see it from afar.
³⁰ “His young ones also suck up blood;
And where the slain are, there is he.”

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Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

Job 35

Elihu Sharply Reproves Job

35 Then Elihu continued and said,

² “Do you think this is according to justice?
Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s’?
³ “For you say, ‘What advantage will it be to You?
What profit will I have, more than if I had sinned?’
⁴ “I will answer you,
And your friends with you.
⁵ “Look at the heavens and see;
And behold the clouds—they are higher than you.
⁶ “If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him?
And if your transgressions are many, what do you do to Him?
⁷ “If you are righteous, what do you give to Him,
Or what does He receive from your hand?
⁸ “Your wickedness is for a man like yourself,
And your righteousness is for a son of man.

⁹ “Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out;
They cry for help because of the arm of the mighty.
¹⁰ “But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
Who gives songs in the night,
¹¹ Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth
And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’
¹² “There they cry out, but He does not answer
Because of the pride of evil men.
¹³ “Surely God will not listen to an empty cry,
Nor will the Almighty regard it.
¹⁴ “How much less when you say you do not behold Him,
The case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!
¹⁵ “And now, because He has not visited in His anger,
Nor has He acknowledged transgression well,
¹⁶ So Job opens his mouth emptily;
He multiplies words without knowledge.”

Job 36

Elihu Speaks of God’s Dealings with Men

36 Then Elihu continued and said,

² “Wait for me a little, and I will show you
That there is yet more to be said in God’s behalf.
³ “I will fetch my knowledge from afar,
And I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
⁴ “For truly my words are not false;
One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
⁵ “Behold, God is mighty but does not despise any;
He is mighty in strength of understanding.
⁶ “He does not keep the wicked alive,
But gives justice to the afflicted.
⁷ “He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous;
But with kings on the throne
He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.
⁸ “And if they are bound in fetters,
And are caught in the cords of affliction,
⁹ Then He declares to them their work
And their transgressions, that they have magnified themselves.
¹⁰ “He opens their ear to instruction,
And commands that they return from evil.
¹¹ “If they hear and serve Him,
They will end their days in prosperity
And their years in pleasures.
¹² “But if they do not hear, they shall perish by the sword
And they will die without knowledge.
¹³ “But the godless in heart lay up anger;
They do not cry for help when He binds them.
¹⁴ “They die in youth,
And their life perishes among the cult prostitutes.
¹⁵ “He delivers the afflicted in their affliction,
And opens their ear in time of oppression.
¹⁶ “Then indeed, He enticed you from the mouth of distress,
Instead of it, a broad place with no constraint;
And that which was set on your table was full of fatness.

¹⁷ “But you were full of judgment on the wicked;
Judgment and justice take hold of you.
¹⁸ “Beware that wrath does not entice you to scoffing;
And do not let the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.
¹⁹ “Will your riches keep you from distress,
Or all the forces of your strength?
²⁰ “Do not long for the night,
When people vanish in their place.
²¹ “Be careful, do not turn to evil,
For you have preferred this to affliction.
²² “Behold, God is exalted in His power;
Who is a teacher like Him?
²³ “Who has appointed Him His way,
And who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?

²⁴ “Remember that you should exalt His work,
Of which men have sung.
²⁵ “All men have seen it;
Man beholds from afar.
²⁶ “Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him;
The number of His years is unsearchable.
²⁷ “For He draws up the drops of water,
They distill rain from the mist,
²⁸ Which the clouds pour down,
They drip upon man abundantly.
²⁹ “Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds,
The thundering of His pavilion?
³⁰ “Behold, He spreads His lightning about Him,
And He covers the depths of the sea.
³¹ “For by these He judges peoples;
He gives food in abundance.
³² “He covers His hands with the lightning,
And commands it to strike the mark.
³³ “Its noise declares His presence;
The cattle also, concerning what is coming up.

Job 37

Elihu Says God Is Back of the Storm

37 “At this also my heart trembles,
And leaps from its place.
² “Listen closely to the thunder of His voice,
And the rumbling that goes out from His mouth.
³ “Under the whole heaven He lets it loose,
And His lightning to the ends of the earth.
⁴ “After it, a voice roars;
He thunders with His majestic voice,
And He does not restrain the lightnings when His voice is heard.
⁵ “God thunders with His voice wondrously,
Doing great things which we cannot comprehend.
⁶ “For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’
And to the downpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.’
⁷ “He seals the hand of every man,
That all men may know His work.
⁸ “Then the beast goes into its lair
And remains in its den.
⁹ “Out of the south comes the storm,
And out of the north the cold.
¹⁰ “From the breath of God ice is made,
And the expanse of the waters is frozen.
¹¹ “Also with moisture He loads the thick cloud;
He disperses the cloud of His lightning.
¹² “It changes direction, turning around by His guidance,
That it may do whatever He commands it
On the face of the inhabited earth.
¹³ “Whether for correction, or for His world,
Or for lovingkindness, He causes it to happen.

¹⁴ “Listen to this, O Job,
Stand and consider the wonders of God.
¹⁵ “Do you know how God establishes them,
And makes the lightning of His cloud to shine?
¹⁶ “Do you know about the layers of the thick clouds,
The wonders of one perfect in knowledge,
¹⁷ You whose garments are hot,
When the land is still because of the south wind?
¹⁸ “Can you, with Him, spread out the skies,
Strong as a molten mirror?
¹⁹ “Teach us what we shall say to Him;
We cannot arrange our case because of darkness.
²⁰ “Shall it be told Him that I would speak?
Or should a man say that he would be swallowed up?

²¹ “Now men do not see the light which is bright in the skies;
But the wind has passed and cleared them.
²² “Out of the north comes golden splendor;
Around God is awesome majesty.
²³ “The Almighty—we cannot find Him;
He is exalted in power
And He will not do violence to justice and abundant righteousness.
²⁴ “Therefore men fear Him;
He does not regard any who are wise of heart.”

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Pray for an open and teachable heart as you read through God’s Word and discover His truths.

Consider keeping a journal of what you are learning.

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Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

Job 32

Elihu in Anger Rebukes Job

32 Then these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. ² But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned because he justified himself before God. ³ And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. ⁴ Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he. ⁵ And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men his anger burned.

⁶ So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite spoke out and said,

“I am young in years and you are old;
Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think.
⁷ “I thought age should speak,
And increased years should teach wisdom.
⁸ “But it is a spirit in man,
And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
⁹ “The abundant in years may not be wise,
Nor may elders understand justice.
¹⁰ “So I say, ‘Listen to me,
I too will tell what I think.’

¹¹ “Behold, I waited for your words,
I listened to your reasonings,
While you pondered what to say.
¹² “I even paid close attention to you;
Indeed, there was no one who refuted Job,
Not one of you who answered his words.
¹³ “Do not say,
‘We have found wisdom;
God will rout him, not man.’
¹⁴ “For he has not arranged his words against me,
Nor will I reply to him with your arguments.

¹⁵ “They are dismayed, they no longer answer;
Words have failed them.
¹⁶ “Shall I wait, because they do not speak,
Because they stop and no longer answer?
¹⁷ “I too will answer my share,
I also will tell my opinion.
¹⁸ “For I am full of words;
The spirit within me constrains me.
¹⁹ “Behold, my belly is like unvented wine,
Like new wineskins it is about to burst.
²⁰ “Let me speak that I may get relief;
Let me open my lips and answer.
²¹ “Let me now be partial to no one,
Nor flatter any man.
²² “For I do not know how to flatter,
Else my Maker would soon take me away.

Job 33

Elihu Claims to Speak for God

33 “However now, Job, please hear my speech,
And listen to all my words.
² “Behold now, I open my mouth,
My tongue in my mouth speaks.
³ “My words are from the uprightness of my heart,
And my lips speak knowledge sincerely.
⁴ “The Spirit of God has made me,
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
⁵ “Refute me if you can;
Array yourselves before me, take your stand.
⁶ “Behold, I belong to God like you;
I too have been formed out of the clay.
⁷ “Behold, no fear of me should terrify you,
Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.

⁸ “Surely you have spoken in my hearing,
And I have heard the sound of your words:
⁹ ‘I am pure, without transgression;
I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.
¹⁰ ‘Behold, He invents pretexts against me;
He counts me as His enemy.
¹¹ ‘He puts my feet in the stocks;
He watches all my paths.’
¹² “Behold, let me tell you, you are not right in this,
For God is greater than man.

¹³ “Why do you complain against Him
That He does not give an account of all His doings?
¹⁴ “Indeed God speaks once,
Or twice, yet no one notices it.
¹⁵ “In a dream, a vision of the night,
When sound sleep falls on men,
While they slumber in their beds,
¹⁶ Then He opens the ears of men,
And seals their instruction,
¹⁷ That He may turn man aside from his conduct,
And keep man from pride;
¹⁸ He keeps back his soul from the pit,
And his life from passing over into Sheol.

¹⁹ “Man is also chastened with pain on his bed,
And with unceasing complaint in his bones;
²⁰ So that his life loathes bread,
And his soul favorite food.
²¹ “His flesh wastes away from sight,
And his bones which were not seen stick out.
²² “Then his soul draws near to the pit,
And his life to those who bring death.

²³ “If there is an angel as mediator for him,
One out of a thousand,
To remind a man what is right for him,
²⁴ Then let him be gracious to him, and say,
‘Deliver him from going down to the pit,
I have found a ransom’;
²⁵ Let his flesh become fresher than in youth,
Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;
²⁶ Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him,
That he may see His face with joy,
And He may restore His righteousness to man.
²⁷ “He will sing to men and say,
‘I have sinned and perverted what is right,
And it is not proper for me.
²⁸ ‘He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit,
And my life shall see the light.’

²⁹ “Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men,
³⁰ To bring back his soul from the pit,
That he may be enlightened with the light of life.
³¹ “Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;
Keep silent, and let me speak.
³² “Then if you have anything to say, answer me;
Speak, for I desire to justify you.
³³ “If not, listen to me;
Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Job 34

Elihu Vindicates God’s Justice

34 Then Elihu continued and said,

² “Hear my words, you wise men,
And listen to me, you who know.
³ “For the ear tests words
As the palate tastes food.
⁴ “Let us choose for ourselves what is right;
Let us know among ourselves what is good.
⁵ “For Job has said, ‘I am righteous,
But God has taken away my right;
⁶ Should I lie concerning my right?
My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’
⁷ “What man is like Job,
Who drinks up derision like water,
⁸ Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity,
And walks with wicked men?
⁹ “For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
When he is pleased with God.’

¹⁰ “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding.
Far be it from God to do wickedness,
And from the Almighty to do wrong.
¹¹ “For He pays a man according to his work,
And makes him find it according to his way.
¹² “Surely, God will not act wickedly,
And the Almighty will not pervert justice.
¹³ “Who gave Him authority over the earth?
And who has laid on Him the whole world?
¹⁴ “If He should determine to do so,
If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath,
¹⁵ All flesh would perish together,
And man would return to dust.

¹⁶ “But if you have understanding, hear this;
Listen to the sound of my words.
¹⁷ “Shall one who hates justice rule?
And will you condemn the righteous mighty One,
¹⁸ Who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
To nobles, ‘Wicked ones’;
¹⁹ Who shows no partiality to princes
Nor regards the rich above the poor,
For they all are the work of His hands?
²⁰ “In a moment they die, and at midnight
People are shaken and pass away,
And the mighty are taken away without a hand.

²¹ “For His eyes are upon the ways of a man,
And He sees all his steps.
²² “There is no darkness or deep shadow
Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
²³ “For He does not need to consider a man further,
That he should go before God in judgment.
²⁴ “He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry,
And sets others in their place.
²⁵ “Therefore He knows their works,
And He overthrows them in the night,
And they are crushed.
²⁶ “He strikes them like the wicked
In a public place,
²⁷ Because they turned aside from following Him,
And had no regard for any of His ways;
²⁸ So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him,
And that He might hear the cry of the afflicted—
²⁹ When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?
And when He hides His face, who then can behold Him,
That is, in regard to both nation and man?—
³⁰ So that godless men would not rule
Nor be snares of the people.

³¹ “For has anyone said to God,
‘I have borne chastisement;
I will not offend anymore;
³² Teach me what I do not see;
If I have done iniquity,
I will not do it again’?
³³ “Shall He recompense on your terms, because you have rejected it?
For you must choose, and not I;
Therefore declare what you know.
³⁴ “Men of understanding will say to me,
And a wise man who hears me,
³⁵ ‘Job speaks without knowledge,
And his words are without wisdom.
³⁶ ‘Job ought to be tried to the limit,
Because he answers like wicked men.
³⁷ ‘For he adds rebellion to his sin;
He claps his hands among us,
And multiplies his words against God.’”

Know the Story…

Pray for an open and teachable heart as you read through God’s Word and discover His truths.

Consider keeping a journal of what you are learning.

Read the Word: Read the passages provided.

Dig Into the Word: What’s the big story behind the passage?

Implications of the Word: What are the implications of this passage for my life today?

 

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

Job 29

Job’s Past Was Glorious

29 And Job again took up his discourse and said,

² “Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God watched over me;
³ When His lamp shone over my head,
And by His light I walked through darkness;
⁴ As I was in the prime of my days,
When the friendship of God was over my tent;
⁵ When the Almighty was yet with me,
And my children were around me;
⁶ When my steps were bathed in butter,
And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
⁷ “When I went out to the gate of the city,
When I took my seat in the square,
⁸ The young men saw me and hid themselves,
And the old men arose and stood.
⁹ “The princes stopped talking
And put their hands on their mouths;
¹⁰ The voice of the nobles was hushed,
And their tongue stuck to their palate.
¹¹ “For when the ear heard, it called me blessed,
And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me,
¹² Because I delivered the poor who cried for help,
And the orphan who had no helper.
¹³ “The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me,
And I made the widow’s heart 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,
And I investigated the case which I did not know.
¹⁷ “I broke the jaws of the wicked
And snatched the prey from his teeth.
¹⁸ “Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,
And I shall multiply my days as the sand.
¹⁹ ‘My root is spread out to the waters,
And dew lies all night on my branch.
²⁰ ‘My glory is ever new with me,
And my bow is renewed in my hand.’

²¹ “To me they listened and waited,
And kept silent for my counsel.
²² “After my words they did not speak again,
And my speech dropped on them.
²³ “They waited for me as for the rain,
And opened their mouth as for the spring rain.
²⁴ “I smiled on them when they did not believe,
And the light of my face they did not cast down.
²⁵ “I chose a way for them and sat as chief,
And dwelt as a king among the troops,
As one who comforted the mourners.

Job 30

Job’s Present State Is Humiliating

30 “But now those younger than I mock me,
Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.
² “Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.
³ “From want and famine they are gaunt
Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,
⁴ Who pluck mallow by the bushes,
And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.
⁵ “They are driven from the community;
They shout against them as against a thief,
⁶ So that they dwell in dreadful valleys,
In holes of the earth and of the rocks.
⁷ “Among the bushes they cry out;
Under the nettles they are gathered together.
⁸ “Fools, even those without a name,
They were scourged from the land.

⁹ “And now I have become their taunt,
I have even become a byword to them.
¹⁰ “They abhor me and stand aloof from me,
And they do not refrain from spitting at my face.
¹¹ “Because He has loosed His bowstring and afflicted me,
They have cast off the bridle before me.
¹² “On the right hand their brood arises;
They thrust aside my feet and build up against me their ways of destruction.
¹³ “They break up my path,
They profit from my destruction;
No one restrains them.
¹⁴ “As through a wide breach they come,
Amid the tempest they roll on.
¹⁵ “Terrors are turned against me;
They pursue my honor as the wind,
And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

¹⁶ “And now my soul is poured out within me;
Days of affliction have seized me.
¹⁷ “At night it pierces my bones within me,
And my gnawing pains take no rest.
¹⁸ “By a great force my garment is distorted;
It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
¹⁹ “He has cast me into the mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.
²⁰ “I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.
²¹ “You have become cruel to me;
With the might of Your hand You persecute me.
²² “You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride;
And You dissolve me in a storm.
²³ “For I know that You will bring me to death
And to the house of meeting for all living.

²⁴ “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help?
²⁵ “Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard?
Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
²⁶ “When I expected good, then evil came;
When I waited for light, then darkness came.
²⁷ “I am seething within and cannot relax;
Days of affliction confront me.
²⁸ “I go about mourning without comfort;
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
²⁹ “I have become a brother to jackals
And a companion of ostriches.
³⁰ “My skin turns black on me,
And my bones burn with fever.
³¹ “Therefore my harp is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

Job 31

Job Asserts His Integrity

31 “I have made a covenant with my eyes;
How then could I gaze at a virgin?
² “And what is the portion of God from above
Or the heritage of the Almighty from on high?
³ “Is it not calamity to the unjust
And disaster to those who work iniquity?
⁴ “Does He not see my ways
And number all my steps?

⁵ “If I have walked with falsehood,
And my foot has hastened after deceit,
⁶ Let Him weigh me with accurate scales,
And let God know my integrity.
⁷ “If my step has turned from the way,
Or my heart followed my eyes,
Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,
⁸ Let me sow and another eat,
And let my crops be uprooted.

⁹ “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,
¹⁰ May my wife grind for another,
And let others kneel down over her.
¹¹ “For that would be a lustful crime;
Moreover, it would be an iniquity punishable by judges.
¹² “For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon,
And would uproot all my increase.

¹³ “If I have despised the claim of my male or female slaves
When they filed a complaint against me,
¹⁴ What then could I do when God arises?
And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?
¹⁵ “Did not He who made me in the womb make him,
And the same one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶ “If I have kept the poor from their desire,
Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
¹⁷ Or have eaten my morsel alone,
And the orphan has not shared it
¹⁸ (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
And from infancy I guided her),
¹⁹ If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or that the needy had no covering,
²⁰ If his loins have not thanked me,
And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
²¹ If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan,
Because I saw I had support in the gate,
²² Let my shoulder fall from the socket,
And my arm be broken off at the elbow.
²³ “For calamity from God is a terror to me,
And because of His majesty I can do nothing.

²⁴ “If I have put my confidence in gold,
And called fine gold my trust,
²⁵ If I have gloated because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had secured so much;
²⁶ If I have looked at the sun when it shone
Or the moon going in splendor,
²⁷ And my heart became secretly enticed,
And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
²⁸ That too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment,
For I would have denied God above.

²⁹ “Have I rejoiced at the extinction of my enemy,
Or exulted when evil befell him?
³⁰ “No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for his life in a curse.
³¹ “Have the men of my tent not said,
‘Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’?
³² “The alien has not lodged outside,
For I have opened my doors to the traveler.
³³ “Have I covered my transgressions like Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
³⁴ Because I feared the great multitude,
And the contempt of families terrified me,
And kept silent and did not go out of doors?
³⁵ “Oh that I had one to hear me!
Behold, here is my signature;
Let the Almighty answer me!
And the indictment which my adversary has written,
³⁶ Surely I would carry it on my shoulder,
I would bind it to myself like a crown.
³⁷ “I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
Like a prince I would approach Him.

³⁸ “If my land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;
³⁹ If I have eaten its fruit without money,
Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,
⁴⁰ Let briars grow instead of wheat,
And stinkweed instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.

Know the Story…

Pray for an open and teachable heart as you read through God’s Word and discover His truths.

Consider keeping a journal of what you are learning.

Read the Word: Read the passages provided.

Dig Into the Word: What’s the big story behind the passage?

Implications of the Word: What are the implications of this passage for my life today?

 

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

Job 24

Job Says God Seems to Ignore Wrongs

24 “Why are times not stored up by the Almighty,
And why do those who know Him not see His days?
² “Some remove the landmarks;
They seize and devour flocks.
³ “They drive away the donkeys of the orphans;
They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
⁴ “They push the needy aside from the road;
The poor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.
⁵ “Behold, as wild donkeys in the wilderness
They go forth seeking food in their activity,
As bread for their children in the desert.
⁶ “They harvest their fodder in the field
And glean the vineyard of the wicked.
⁷ “They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering against the cold.
⁸ “They are wet with the mountain rains
And hug the rock for want of a shelter.
⁹ “Others snatch the orphan from the breast,
And against the poor they take a pledge.
¹⁰ “They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,
And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.
¹¹ “Within the walls they produce oil;
They tread wine presses but thirst.
¹² “From the city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God does not pay attention to folly.

¹³ “Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to know its ways
Nor abide in its paths.
¹⁴ “The murderer arises at dawn;
He kills the poor and the needy,
And at night he is as a thief.
¹⁵ “The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’
And he disguises his face.
¹⁶ “In the dark they dig into houses,
They shut themselves up by day;
They do not know the light.
¹⁷ “For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness,
For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.

¹⁸ “They are insignificant on the surface of the water;
Their portion is cursed on the earth.
They do not turn toward the vineyards.
¹⁹ “Drought and heat consume the snow waters,
So does Sheol those who have sinned.
²⁰ “A mother will forget him;
The worm feeds sweetly till he is no longer remembered.
And wickedness will be broken like a tree.
²¹ “He wrongs the barren woman
And does no good for the widow.
²² “But He drags off the valiant by His power;
He rises, but no one has assurance of life.
²³ “He provides them with security, and they are supported;
And His eyes are on their ways.
²⁴ “They are exalted a little while, then they are gone;
Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up;
Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.
²⁵ “Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar,
And make my speech worthless?”

Job 25

Bildad Says Man Is Inferior

25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,

² “Dominion and awe belong to Him
Who establishes peace in His heights.
³ “Is there any number to His troops?
And upon whom does His light not rise?
⁴ “How then can a man be just with God?
Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?
⁵ “If even the moon has no brightness
And the stars are not pure in His sight,
⁶ How much less man, that maggot,
And the son of man, that worm!”

Job 26

Job Rebukes Bildad

26 Then Job responded,

² “What a help you are to the weak!
How you have saved the arm without strength!
³ “What counsel you have given to one without wisdom!
What helpful insight you have abundantly provided!
⁴ “To whom have you uttered words?
And whose spirit was expressed through you?

The Greatness of God

⁵ “The departed spirits tremble
Under the waters and their inhabitants.
⁶ “Naked is Sheol before Him,
And Abaddon has no covering.
⁷ “He stretches out the north over empty space
And hangs the earth on nothing.
⁸ “He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not burst under them.
⁹ “He obscures the face of the full moon
And spreads His cloud over it.
¹⁰ “He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters
At the boundary of light and darkness.
¹¹ “The pillars of heaven tremble
And are amazed at His rebuke.
¹² “He quieted the sea with His power,
And by His understanding He shattered Rahab.
¹³ “By His breath the heavens are cleared;
His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.
¹⁴ “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how faint a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”

Job 27

Job Affirms His Righteousness

27 Then Job continued his discourse and said,

² “As God lives, who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,
³ For as long as life is in me,
And the breath of God is in my nostrils,
⁴ My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.
⁵ “Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
⁶ “I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not reproach any of my days.

The State of the Godless

⁷ “May my enemy be as the wicked
And my opponent as the unjust.
⁸ “For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off,
When God requires his life?
⁹ “Will God hear his cry
When distress comes upon him?
¹⁰ “Will he take delight in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
¹¹ “I will instruct you in the power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
¹² “Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you act foolishly?

¹³ “This is the portion of a wicked man from God,
And the inheritance which tyrants receive from the Almighty.
¹⁴ “Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;
And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.
¹⁵ “His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And their widows will not be able to weep.
¹⁶ “Though he piles up silver like dust
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
¹⁷ He may prepare it, but the just will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
¹⁸ “He has built his house like the spider’s web,
Or as a hut which the watchman has made.
¹⁹ “He lies down rich, but never again;
He opens his eyes, and it is no longer.
²⁰ “Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A tempest steals him away in the night.
²¹ “The east wind carries him away, and he is gone,
For it whirls him away from his place.
²² “For it will hurl at him without sparing;
He will surely try to flee from its power.
²³ “Men will clap their hands at him
And will hiss him from his place.

Job 28

Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures

28 “Surely there is a mine for silver
And a place where they refine gold.
² “Iron is taken from the dust,
And copper is smelted from rock.
³ “Man puts an end to darkness,
And to the farthest limit he searches out
The rock in gloom and deep shadow.
⁴ “He sinks a shaft far from habitation,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing to and fro far from men.
⁵ “The earth, from it comes food,
And underneath it is turned up as fire.
⁶ “Its rocks are the source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.
⁷ “The path no bird of prey knows,
Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.
⁸ “The proud beasts have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.
⁹ “He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the base.
¹⁰ “He hews out channels through the rocks,
And his eye sees anything precious.
¹¹ “He dams up the streams from flowing,
And what is hidden he brings out to the light.

The Search for Wisdom Is Harder

¹² “But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?
¹³ “Man does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.
¹⁴ “The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
¹⁵ “Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.
¹⁶ “It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.
¹⁷ “Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.
¹⁸ “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls.
¹⁹ “The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.
²⁰ “Where then does wisdom come from?
And where is the place of understanding?
²¹ “Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living
And concealed from the birds of the sky.
²² “Abaddon and Death say,
‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’

²³ “God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
²⁴ “For He looks to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵ “When He imparted weight to the wind
And meted out the waters by measure,
²⁶ When He set a limit for the rain
And a course for the thunderbolt,
²⁷ Then He saw it and declared it;
He established it and also searched it out.
²⁸ “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

Know the Story…

Pray for an open and teachable heart as you read through God’s Word and discover His truths.

Consider keeping a journal of what you are learning.

Read the Word: Read the passages provided.

Dig Into the Word: What’s the big story behind the passage?

Implications of the Word: What are the implications of this passage for my life today?

 

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)

Job 21

Job Says God Will Deal with the Wicked

21 Then Job answered,

² “Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your way of consolation.
³ “Bear with me that I may speak;
Then after I have spoken, you may mock.
⁴ “As for me, is my complaint to man?
And why should I not be impatient?
⁵ “Look at me, and be astonished,
And put your hand over your mouth.
⁶ “Even when I remember, I am disturbed,
And horror takes hold of my flesh.
⁷ “Why do the wicked still live,
Continue on, also become very powerful?
⁸ “Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes,
⁹ Their houses are safe from fear,
And the rod of God is not on them.
¹⁰ “His ox mates without fail;
His cow calves and does not abort.
¹¹ “They send forth their little ones like the flock,
And their children skip about.
¹² “They sing to the timbrel and harp
And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
¹³ “They spend their days in prosperity,
And suddenly they go down to Sheol.
¹⁴ “They say to God, ‘Depart from us!
We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
¹⁵ ‘Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
And what would we gain if we entreat Him?’
¹⁶ “Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷ “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,
Or does their calamity fall on them?
Does God apportion destruction in His anger?
¹⁸ “Are they as straw before the wind,
And like chaff which the storm carries away?
¹⁹ “You say, ‘God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons.’
Let God repay him so that he may know it.
²⁰ “Let his own eyes see his decay,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
²¹ “For what does he care for his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut off?
²² “Can anyone teach God knowledge,
In that He judges those on high?
²³ “One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and satisfied;
²⁴ His sides are filled out with fat,
And the marrow of his bones is moist,
²⁵ While another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even tasting anything good.
²⁶ “Together they lie down in the dust,
And worms cover them.

²⁷ “Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the plans by which you would wrong me.
²⁸ “For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman,
And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’
²⁹ “Have you not asked wayfaring men,
And do you not recognize their witness?
³⁰ “For the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity;
They will be led forth at the day of fury.
³¹ “Who will confront him with his actions,
And who will repay him for what he has done?
³² “While he is carried to the grave,
Men will keep watch over his tomb.
³³ “The clods of the valley will gently cover him;
Moreover, all men will follow after him,
While countless ones go before him.
³⁴ “How then will you vainly comfort me,
For your answers remain full offalsehood?”

Job 22

Eliphaz Accuses and Exhorts Job

22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

² “Can a vigorous man be of use to God,
Or a wise man be useful to himself?
³ “Is there any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous,
Or profit if you make your ways perfect?
⁴ “Is it because of your reverence that He reproves you,
That He enters into judgment against you?
⁵ “Is not your wickedness great,
And your iniquities without end?
⁶ “For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause,
And stripped men naked.
⁷ “To the weary you have given no water to drink,
And from the hungry you have withheld bread.
⁸ “But the earth belongs to the mighty man,
And the honorable man dwells in it.
⁹ “You have sent widows away empty,
And the strength of the orphans has been crushed.
¹⁰ “Therefore snares surround you,
And sudden dread terrifies you,
¹¹ Or darkness, so that you cannot see,
And an abundance of water covers you.

¹² “Is not God in the height of heaven?
Look also at the distant stars, how high they are!
¹³ “You say, ‘What does God know?
Can He judge through the thick darkness?
¹⁴ ‘Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;
And He walks on the vault of heaven.’
¹⁵ “Will you keep to the ancient path
Which wicked men have trod,
¹⁶ Who were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundations were washed away by a river?
¹⁷ “They said to God, ‘Depart from us!’
And ‘What can the Almighty do to them?’
¹⁸ “Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
¹⁹ “The righteous see and are glad,
And the innocent mock them,
²⁰ Saying, ‘Truly our adversaries are cut off,
And their abundance the fire has consumed.’

²¹ “Yield now and be at peace with Him;
Thereby good will come to you.
²² “Please receive instruction from His mouth
And establish His words in your heart.
²³ “If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;
If you remove unrighteousness far from your tent,
²⁴ And place your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,
²⁵ Then the Almighty will be your gold
And choice silver to you.
²⁶ “For then you will delight in the Almighty
And lift up your face to God.
²⁷ “You will pray to Him, and He will hear you;
And you will pay your vows.
²⁸ “You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;
And light will shine on your ways.
²⁹ “When you are cast down, you will speak with confidence,
And the humble person He will save.
³⁰ “He will deliver one who is not innocent,
And he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

Job 23

Job Says He Longs for God

23 Then Job replied,

² “Even today my complaint is rebellion;
His hand is heavy despite my groaning.
³ “Oh that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!
⁴ “I would present my case before Him
And fill my mouth with arguments.
⁵ “I would learn the words which He would answer,
And perceive what He would say to me.
⁶ “Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power?
No, surely He would pay attention to me.
⁷ “There the upright would reason with Him;
And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

⁸ “Behold, I go forward but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
⁹ When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;
He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.
¹⁰ “But He knows the way I take;
When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
¹¹ “My foot has held fast to His path;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
¹² “I have not departed from the command of His lips;
I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
¹³ “But He is unique and who can turn Him?
And what His soul desires, that He does.
¹⁴ “For He performs what is appointed for me,
And many such decrees are with Him.
¹⁵ “Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;
When I consider, I am terrified of Him.
¹⁶ “It is God who has made my heart faint,
And the Almighty who has dismayed me,
¹⁷ But I am not silenced by the darkness,
Nor deep gloom which covers me.

Know the Story…

Pray for an open and teachable heart as you read through God’s Word and discover His truths.

Consider keeping a journal of what you are learning.

Read the Word: Read the passages provided.

Dig Into the Word: What’s the big story behind the passage?

Implications of the Word: What are the implications of this passage for my life today?

 

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB © The Lockman Foundation (www.lockman.org)