JOB 8

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Bildad Speaks: Job Should Repent  8:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2

“How long will you say these things,

and the words of your mouth be a great wind? 3

Does God pervert justice?

Or does the Almighty pervert the right? 4

If your children have sinned against him,

he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression. 5

If you will seek God

and plead with the Almighty for mercy, 6

if you are pure and upright,

surely then he will rouse himself for you

and restore your rightful habitation. 7

And though your beginning was small,

your latter days will be very great.
8

“For inquire, please, of bygone ages,

and consider what the fathers have searched out. 9

For we are but of yesterday and know nothing,

for our days on earth are a shadow. 10

Will they not teach you and tell you

and utter words out of their understanding?
11

“Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?

Can reeds flourish where there is no water? 12

While yet in flower and not cut down,

they wither before any other plant. 13

Such are the paths of all who forget God;

the hope of the godless shall perish. 14

His confidence is severed,

and his trust is a spider’s web. 15

He leans against his house, but it does not stand;

he lays hold of it, but it does not endure. 16

He is a lush plant before the sun,

and his shoots spread over his garden. 17

His roots entwine the stone heap;

he looks upon a house of stones. 18

If he is destroyed from his place,

then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’ 19

Behold, this is the joy of his way,

and out of the soil others will spring.
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“Behold, God will not reject a blameless man,

nor take the hand of evildoers. 21

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,

and your lips with shouting. 22

Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

PSALMS 32-33

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Blessed Are the ForgivenA Maskil of David.
32:1

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

whose sin is covered. 2

Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,

and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3

For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long. 4

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5

I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6

Therefore let everyone who is godly

offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;

surely in the rush of great waters,

they shall not reach him. 7

You are a hiding place for me;

you preserve me from trouble;

you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
8

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9

Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

which must be curbed with bit and bridle,

or it will not stay near you.
10

Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11

Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,

and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! The Steadfast Love of the Lord33:1

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!

Praise befits the upright. 2

Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;

make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3

Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
4

For the word of the Lord is upright,

and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5

He loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7

He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;

he puts the deeps in storehouses.
8

Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9

For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.
10

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11

The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

the plans of his heart to all generations. 12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
13

The Lord looks down from heaven;

he sees all the children of man; 14

from where he sits enthroned he looks out

on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15

he who fashions the hearts of them all

and observes all their deeds. 16

The king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17

The war horse is a false hope for salvation,

and by its great might it cannot rescue.
18

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19

that he may deliver their soul from death

and keep them alive in famine.
20

Our soul waits for the Lord;

he is our help and our shield. 21

For our heart is glad in him,

because we trust in his holy name. 22

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,

even as we hope in you.

PROVERBS 19

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19:1

Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity

than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool. 2

Desire without knowledge is not good,

and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way. 3

When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin,

his heart rages against the Lord. 4

Wealth brings many new friends,

but a poor man is deserted by his friend. 5

A false witness will not go unpunished,

and he who breathes out lies will not escape. 6

Many seek the favor of a generous man,

and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts. 7

All a poor man’s brothers hate him;

how much more do his friends go far from him!

He pursues them with words, but does not have them. 8

Whoever gets sense loves his own soul;

he who keeps understanding will discover good. 9

A false witness will not go unpunished,

and he who breathes out lies will perish. 10

It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,

much less for a slave to rule over princes. 11

Good sense makes one slow to anger,

and it is his glory to overlook an offense. 12

A king’s wrath is like the growling of a lion,

but his favor is like dew on the grass. 13

A foolish son is ruin to his father,

and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain. 14

House and wealth are inherited from fathers,

but a prudent wife is from the Lord. 15

Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep,

and an idle person will suffer hunger. 16

Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life;

he who despises his ways will die. 17

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord,

and he will repay him for his deed. 18

Discipline your son, for there is hope;

do not set your heart on putting him to death. 19

A man of great wrath will pay the penalty,

for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again. 20

Listen to advice and accept instruction,

that you may gain wisdom in the future. 21

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. 22

What is desired in a man is steadfast love,

and a poor man is better than a liar. 23

The fear of the Lord leads to life,

and whoever has it rests satisfied;

he will not be visited by harm. 24

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish

and will not even bring it back to his mouth. 25

Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;

reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge. 26

He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother

is a son who brings shame and reproach. 27

Cease to hear instruction, my son,

and you will stray from the words of knowledge. 28

A worthless witness mocks at justice,

and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity. 29

Condemnation is ready for scoffers,

and beating for the backs of fools.