JOB 23

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Job Replies: Where Is God?  23:1 Then Job answered and said:
2

“Today also my complaint is bitter;

my hand is heavy on account of my groaning. 3

Oh, that I knew where I might find him,

that I might come even to his seat! 4

I would lay my case before him

and fill my mouth with arguments. 5

I would know what he would answer me

and understand what he would say to me. 6

Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?

No; he would pay attention to me. 7

There an upright man could argue with him,

and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.
8

“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there,

and backward, but I do not perceive him; 9

on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;

he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. 10

But he knows the way that I take;

when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. 11

My foot has held fast to his steps;

I have kept his way and have not turned aside. 12

I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food. 13

But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back?

What he desires, that he does. 14

For he will complete what he appoints for me,

and many such things are in his mind. 15

Therefore I am terrified at his presence;

when I consider, I am in dread of him. 16

God has made my heart faint;

the Almighty has terrified me; 17

yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,

nor because thick darkness covers my face.

JOB 24

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24:1

“Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty,

and why do those who know him never see his days? 2

Some move landmarks;

they seize flocks and pasture them. 3

They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;

they take the widow’s ox for a pledge. 4

They thrust the poor off the road;

the poor of the earth all hide themselves. 5

Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert

the poor go out to their toil, seeking game;

the wasteland yields food for their children. 6

They gather their fodder in the field,

and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man. 7

They lie all night naked, without clothing,

and have no covering in the cold. 8

They are wet with the rain of the mountains

and cling to the rock for lack of shelter. 9

(There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast,

and they take a pledge against the poor.) 10

They go about naked, without clothing;

hungry, they carry the sheaves; 11

among the olive rows of the wicked they make oil;

they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst. 12

From out of the city the dying groan,

and the soul of the wounded cries for help;

yet God charges no one with wrong.
13

“There are those who rebel against the light,

who are not acquainted with its ways,

and do not stay in its paths. 14

The murderer rises before it is light,

that he may kill the poor and needy,

and in the night he is like a thief. 15

The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight,

saying, ‘No eye will see me’;

and he veils his face. 16

In the dark they dig through houses;

by day they shut themselves up;

they do not know the light. 17

For deep darkness is morning to all of them;

for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.
18

“You say, ‘Swift are they on the face of the waters;

their portion is cursed in the land;

no treader turns toward their vineyards. 19

Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;

so does Sheol those who have sinned. 20

The womb forgets them;

the worm finds them sweet;

they are no longer remembered,

so wickedness is broken like a tree.’
21

“They wrong the barren, childless woman,

and do no good to the widow. 22

Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;

they rise up when they despair of life. 23

He gives them security, and they are supported,

and his eyes are upon their ways. 24

They are exalted a little while, and then are gone;

they are brought low and gathered up like all others;

they are cut off like the heads of grain. 25

If it is not so, who will prove me a liar

and show that there is nothing in what I say?”

PROVERBS 16

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16:1

The plans of the heart belong to man,

but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. 2

All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,

but the Lord weighs the spirit. 3

Commit your work to the Lord,

and your plans will be established. 4

The Lord has made everything for its purpose,

even the wicked for the day of trouble. 5

Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;

be assured, he will not go unpunished. 6

By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,

and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil. 7

When a man’s ways please the Lord,

he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. 8

Better is a little with righteousness

than great revenues with injustice. 9

The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps. 10

An oracle is on the lips of a king;

his mouth does not sin in judgment. 11

A just balance and scales are the Lord’s;

all the weights in the bag are his work. 12

It is an abomination to kings to do evil,

for the throne is established by righteousness. 13

Righteous lips are the delight of a king,

and he loves him who speaks what is right. 14

A king’s wrath is a messenger of death,

and a wise man will appease it. 15

In the light of a king’s face there is life,

and his favor is like the clouds that bring the spring rain. 16

How much better to get wisdom than gold!

To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. 17

The highway of the upright turns aside from evil;

whoever guards his way preserves his life. 18

Pride goes before destruction,

and a haughty spirit before a fall. 19

It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor

than to divide the spoil with the proud. 20

Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good,

and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord. 21

The wise of heart is called discerning,

and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. 22

Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,

but the instruction of fools is folly. 23

The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious

and adds persuasiveness to his lips. 24

Gracious words are like a honeycomb,

sweetness to the soul and health to the body. 25

There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death. 26

A worker’s appetite works for him;

his mouth urges him on. 27

A worthless man plots evil,

and his speech is like a scorching fire. 28

A dishonest man spreads strife,

and a whisperer separates close friends. 29

A man of violence entices his neighbor

and leads him in a way that is not good. 30

Whoever winks his eyes plans dishonest things;

he who purses his lips brings evil to pass. 31

Gray hair is a crown of glory;

it is gained in a righteous life. 32

Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty,

and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. 33

The lot is cast into the lap,

but its every decision is from the Lord.

LUKE 20

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The Authority of Jesus Challenged  20:1 One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up 2 and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” 3 He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, 4 was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” 5 And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” The Parable of the Wicked Tenants9 And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. 10 When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. 13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ 15 And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” 17 But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone’? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” Paying Taxes to Caesar19 The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. 20 So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. 21 So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” 23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent. Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”
    34 And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, 36 for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” 39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question. Whose Son Is the Christ?41 But he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand, 43

until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ 44 David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?” Beware of the Scribes45 And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 47 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”