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.”

MARK 9

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  9:1 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” The Transfiguration2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
    9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. 11 And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 12 And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.” Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. Who Is the Greatest?33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. Temptations to Sin42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”