Job 5–7
5:1“Call now; is there anyone who will answer you?To which of the holy ones will you turn?2Surely vexation kills the fool,and jealousy slays the simple.3I have seen the fool taking root,but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.4His children are far from safety;they are crushed in the gate,and there is no one to deliver them.5The hungry eat his harvest,and he takes it even out of thorns,and the thirsty pant after his wealth.6For affliction does not come from the dust,nor does trouble sprout from the ground,7but man is born to troubleas the sparks fly upward. 8“As for me, I would seek God,and to God would I commit my cause,9who does great things and unsearchable,marvelous things without number:10he gives rain on the earthand sends waters on the fields;11he sets on high those who are lowly,and those who mourn are lifted to safety.12He frustrates the devices of the crafty,so that their hands achieve no success.13He catches the wise in their own craftiness,and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.14They meet with darkness in the daytimeand grope at noonday as in the night.15But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouthand from the hand of the mighty.16So the poor have hope,and injustice shuts her mouth. 17“Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves;therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.18For he wounds, but he binds up;he shatters, but his hands heal.19He will deliver you from six troubles;in seven no evil shall touch you.20In famine he will redeem you from death,and in war from the power of the sword.21You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue,and shall not fear destruction when it comes.22At destruction and famine you shall laugh,and shall not fear the beasts of the earth.23For you shall be in league with the stones of the field,and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.24You shall know that your tent is at peace,and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.25You shall know also that your offspring shall be many,and your descendants as the grass of the earth.26You shall come to your grave in ripe old age,like a sheaf gathered up in its season.27Behold, this we have searched out; it is true.Hear, and know it for your good.”
6:1Then Job answered and said:
2“Oh that my vexation were weighed,and all my calamity laid in the balances!3For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;therefore my words have been rash.4For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;my spirit drinks their poison;the terrors of God are arrayed against me.5Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,or the ox low over his fodder?6Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?7My appetite refuses to touch them;they are as food that is loathsome to me. 8“Oh that I might have my request,and that God would fulfill my hope,9that it would please God to crush me,that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!10This would be my comfort;I would even exult in pain unsparing,for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.11What is my strength, that I should wait?And what is my end, that I should be patient?12Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?13Have I any help in me,when resource is driven from me? 14“He who withholds kindness from a friendforsakes the fear of the Almighty.15My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed,as torrential streams that pass away,16which are dark with ice,and where the snow hides itself.17When they melt, they disappear;when it is hot, they vanish from their place.18The caravans turn aside from their course;they go up into the waste and perish.19The caravans of Tema look,the travelers of Sheba hope.20They are ashamed because they were confident;they come there and are disappointed.21For you have now become nothing;you see my calamity and are afraid.22Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’?Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?23Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary’s hand’?Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless’? 24“Teach me, and I will be silent;make me understand how I have gone astray.25How forceful are upright words!But what does reproof from you reprove?26Do you think that you can reprove words,when the speech of a despairing man is wind?27You would even cast lots over the fatherless,and bargain over your friend. 28“But now, be pleased to look at me,for I will not lie to your face.29Please turn; let no injustice be done.Turn now; my vindication is at stake.30Is there any injustice on my tongue?Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity?
7:1“Has not man a hard service on earth,and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?2Like a slave who longs for the shadow,and like a hired hand who looks for his wages,3so I am allotted months of emptiness,and nights of misery are apportioned to me.4When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’But the night is long,and I toss and turn till the dawn.5My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt;my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttleand come to their end without hope. 7“Remember that my life is a breath;my eye will never again see good.8The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone.9As the cloud fades and vanishes,so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up;10he returns no more to his house,nor does his place know him anymore. 11“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.12Am I the sea, or a sea monster,that you set a guard over me?13When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,my couch will ease my complaint,’14then you scare me with dreamsand terrify me with visions,15so that I would choose stranglingand death rather than my bones.16I loathe my life; I would not live forever.Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.17What is man, that you make so much of him,and that you set your heart on him,18visit him every morningand test him every moment?19How long will you not look away from me,nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?20If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?Why have you made me your mark?Why have I become a burden to you?21Why do you not pardon my transgressionand take away my iniquity?For now I shall lie in the earth;you will seek me, but I shall not be.”
Luke 16:19–31
19“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—28for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
Psalm 26
Of David.
26:1Vindicate me, O LORD,for I have walked in my integrity,and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.2Prove me, O LORD, and try me;test my heart and my mind.3For your steadfast love is before my eyes,and I walk in your faithfulness. 4I do not sit with men of falsehood,nor do I consort with hypocrites.5I hate the assembly of evildoers,and I will not sit with the wicked. 6I wash my hands in innocenceand go around your altar, O LORD,7proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,and telling all your wondrous deeds. 8O LORD, I love the habitation of your houseand the place where your glory dwells.9Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,nor my life with bloodthirsty men,10in whose hands are evil devices,and whose right hands are full of bribes. 11But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;redeem me, and be gracious to me.12My foot stands on level ground;in the great assembly I will bless the LORD.
Proverbs 7:26–27
26for many a victim has she laid low,and all her slain are a mighty throng.27Her house is the way to Sheol,going down to the chambers of death.
