JOB 19

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Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives  19:1 Then Job answered and said:
2

“How long will you torment me

and break me in pieces with words? 3

These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;

are you not ashamed to wrong me? 4

And even if it be true that I have erred,

my error remains with myself. 5

If indeed you magnify yourselves against me

and make my disgrace an argument against me, 6

know then that God has put me in the wrong

and closed his net about me. 7

Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered;

I call for help, but there is no justice. 8

He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,

and he has set darkness upon my paths. 9

He has stripped from me my glory

and taken the crown from my head. 10

He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,

and my hope has he pulled up like a tree. 11

He has kindled his wrath against me

and counts me as his adversary. 12

His troops come on together;

they have cast up their siege ramp against me

and encamp around my tent.
13

“He has put my brothers far from me,

and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me. 14

My relatives have failed me,

my close friends have forgotten me. 15

The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;

I have become a foreigner in their eyes. 16

I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;

I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy. 17

My breath is strange to my wife,

and I am a stench to the children of my own mother. 18

Even young children despise me;

when I rise they talk against me. 19

All my intimate friends abhor me,

and those whom I loved have turned against me. 20

My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,

and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. 21

Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,

for the hand of God has touched me! 22

Why do you, like God, pursue me?

Why are you not satisfied with my flesh?
23

“Oh that my words were written!

Oh that they were inscribed in a book! 24

Oh that with an iron pen and lead

they were engraved in the rock forever! 25

For I know that my Redeemer lives,

and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 26

And after my skin has been thus destroyed,

yet in my flesh I shall see God, 27

whom I shall see for myself,

and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

My heart faints within me! 28

If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!’

and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,’ 29

be afraid of the sword,

for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,

that you may know there is a judgment.”

JOB 20

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Zophar Speaks: The Wicked Will Suffer  20:1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
2

“Therefore my thoughts answer me,

because of my haste within me. 3

I hear censure that insults me,

and out of my understanding a spirit answers me. 4

Do you not know this from of old,

since man was placed on earth, 5

that the exulting of the wicked is short,

and the joy of the godless but for a moment? 6

Though his height mount up to the heavens,

and his head reach to the clouds, 7

he will perish forever like his own dung;

those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’ 8

He will fly away like a dream and not be found;

he will be chased away like a vision of the night. 9

The eye that saw him will see him no more,

nor will his place any more behold him. 10

His children will seek the favor of the poor,

and his hands will give back his wealth. 11

His bones are full of his youthful vigor,

but it will lie down with him in the dust.
12

“Though evil is sweet in his mouth,

though he hides it under his tongue, 13

though he is loath to let it go

and holds it in his mouth, 14

yet his food is turned in his stomach;

it is the venom of cobras within him. 15

He swallows down riches and vomits them up again;

God casts them out of his belly. 16

He will suck the poison of cobras;

the tongue of a viper will kill him. 17

He will not look upon the rivers,

the streams flowing with honey and curds. 18

He will give back the fruit of his toil

and will not swallow it down;

from the profit of his trading

he will get no enjoyment. 19

For he has crushed and abandoned the poor;

he has seized a house that he did not build.
20

“Because he knew no contentment in his belly,

he will not let anything in which he delights escape him. 21

There was nothing left after he had eaten;

therefore his prosperity will not endure. 22

In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress;

the hand of everyone in misery will come against him. 23

To fill his belly to the full,

God will send his burning anger against him

and rain it upon him into his body. 24

He will flee from an iron weapon;

a bronze arrow will strike him through. 25

It is drawn forth and comes out of his body;

the glittering point comes out of his gallbladder;

terrors come upon him. 26

Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures;

a fire not fanned will devour him;

what is left in his tent will be consumed. 27

The heavens will reveal his iniquity,

and the earth will rise up against him. 28

The possessions of his house will be carried away,

dragged off in the day of God’s wrath. 29

This is the wicked man’s portion from God,

the heritage decreed for him by God.”

PROVERBS 15

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15:1

A soft answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger. 2

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,

but the mouths of fools pour out folly. 3

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

keeping watch on the evil and the good. 4

A gentle tongue is a tree of life,

but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. 5

A fool despises his father’s instruction,

but whoever heeds reproof is prudent. 6

In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,

but trouble befalls the income of the wicked. 7

The lips of the wise spread knowledge;

not so the hearts of fools. 8

The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him. 9

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

but he loves him who pursues righteousness. 10

There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way;

whoever hates reproof will die. 11

Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the Lord;

how much more the hearts of the children of man! 12

A scoffer does not like to be reproved;

he will not go to the wise. 13

A glad heart makes a cheerful face,

but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed. 14

The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,

but the mouths of fools feed on folly. 15

All the days of the afflicted are evil,

but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. 16

Better is a little with the fear of the Lord

than great treasure and trouble with it. 17

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is

than a fattened ox and hatred with it. 18

A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,

but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. 19

The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns,

but the path of the upright is a level highway. 20

A wise son makes a glad father,

but a foolish man despises his mother. 21

Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,

but a man of understanding walks straight ahead. 22

Without counsel plans fail,

but with many advisers they succeed. 23

To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,

and a word in season, how good it is! 24

The path of life leads upward for the prudent,

that he may turn away from Sheol beneath. 25

The Lord tears down the house of the proud

but maintains the widow’s boundaries. 26

The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord,

but gracious words are pure. 27

Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household,

but he who hates bribes will live. 28

The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,

but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. 29

The Lord is far from the wicked,

but he hears the prayer of the righteous. 30

The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,

and good news refreshes the bones. 31

The ear that listens to life-giving reproof

will dwell among the wise. 32

Whoever ignores instruction despises himself,

but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. 33

The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,

and humility comes before honor.

LUKE 18

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The Parable of the Persistent Widow  18:1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” The Pharisee and the Tax Collector9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Let the Children Come to Me15 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” The Rich Ruler18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” 34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.