JOB 25

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Bildad Speaks: Man Cannot Be Righteous  25:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
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“Dominion and fear are with God;

he makes peace in his high heaven. 3

Is there any number to his armies?

Upon whom does his light not arise? 4

How then can man be in the right before God?

How can he who is born of woman be pure? 5

Behold, even the moon is not bright,

and the stars are not pure in his eyes; 6

how much less man, who is a maggot,

and the son of man, who is a worm!”

JOB 26

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Job Replies: God’s Majesty Is Unsearchable  26:1 Then Job answered and said:
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“How you have helped him who has no power!

How you have saved the arm that has no strength! 3

How you have counseled him who has no wisdom,

and plentifully declared sound knowledge! 4

With whose help have you uttered words,

and whose breath has come out from you? 5

The dead tremble

under the waters and their inhabitants. 6

Sheol is naked before God,

and Abaddon has no covering. 7

He stretches out the north over the void

and hangs the earth on nothing. 8

He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,

and the cloud is not split open under them. 9

He covers the face of the full moon

and spreads over it his cloud. 10

He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters

at the boundary between light and darkness. 11

The pillars of heaven tremble

and are astounded at his rebuke. 12

By his power he stilled the sea;

by his understanding he shattered Rahab. 13

By his wind the heavens were made fair;

his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. 14

Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways,

and how small a whisper do we hear of him!

But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

PROVERBS 18

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18:1

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;

he breaks out against all sound judgment. 2

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,

but only in expressing his opinion. 3

When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,

and with dishonor comes disgrace. 4

The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;

the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. 5

It is not good to be partial to the wicked

or to deprive the righteous of justice. 6

A fool’s lips walk into a fight,

and his mouth invites a beating. 7

A fool’s mouth is his ruin,

and his lips are a snare to his soul. 8

The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;

they go down into the inner parts of the body. 9

Whoever is slack in his work

is a brother to him who destroys. 10

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

the righteous man runs into it and is safe. 11

A rich man’s wealth is his strong city,

and like a high wall in his imagination. 12

Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty,

but humility comes before honor. 13

If one gives an answer before he hears,

it is his folly and shame. 14

A man’s spirit will endure sickness,

but a crushed spirit who can bear? 15

An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,

and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. 16

A man’s gift makes room for him

and brings him before the great. 17

The one who states his case first seems right,

until the other comes and examines him. 18

The lot puts an end to quarrels

and decides between powerful contenders. 19

A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city,

and quarreling is like the bars of a castle. 20

From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied;

he is satisfied by the yield of his lips. 21

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

and those who love it will eat its fruits. 22

He who finds a wife finds a good thing

and obtains favor from the Lord. 23

The poor use entreaties,

but the rich answer roughly. 24

A man of many companions may come to ruin,

but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

PSALM 94

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The Lord Will Not Forsake His People94:1

O Lord, God of vengeance,

O God of vengeance, shine forth! 2

Rise up, O judge of the earth;

repay to the proud what they deserve! 3

O Lord, how long shall the wicked,

how long shall the wicked exult? 4

They pour out their arrogant words;

all the evildoers boast. 5

They crush your people, O Lord,

and afflict your heritage. 6

They kill the widow and the sojourner,

and murder the fatherless; 7

and they say, “The Lord does not see;

the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
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Understand, O dullest of the people!

Fools, when will you be wise? 9

He who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see? 10

He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?

He who teaches man knowledge— 11

the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,

that they are but a breath.
12

Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord,

and whom you teach out of your law, 13

to give him rest from days of trouble,

until a pit is dug for the wicked. 14

For the Lord will not forsake his people;

he will not abandon his heritage; 15

for justice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will follow it.
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Who rises up for me against the wicked?

Who stands up for me against evildoers? 17

If the Lord had not been my help,

my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. 18

When I thought, “My foot slips,”

your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. 19

When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul. 20

Can wicked rulers be allied with you,

those who frame injustice by statute? 21

They band together against the life of the righteous

and condemn the innocent to death. 22

But the Lord has become my stronghold,

and my God the rock of my refuge. 23

He will bring back on them their iniquity

and wipe them out for their wickedness;

the Lord our God will wipe them out.