Job 24–28
24:1“Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty,and why do those who know him never see his days?2Some move landmarks;they seize flocks and pasture them.3They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.4They thrust the poor off the road;the poor of the earth all hide themselves.5Behold, like wild donkeys in the desertthe poor go out to their toil, seeking game;the wasteland yields food for their children.6They gather their fodder in the field,and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.7They lie all night naked, without clothing,and have no covering in the cold.8They are wet with the rain of the mountainsand 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.)10They go about naked, without clothing;hungry, they carry the sheaves;11among the olive rows of the wicked they make oil;they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst.12From 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.14The murderer rises before it is light,that he may kill the poor and needy,and in the night he is like a thief.15The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight,saying, ‘No eye will see me’;and he veils his face.16In the dark they dig through houses;by day they shut themselves up;they do not know the light.17For 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.19Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;so does Sheol those who have sinned.20The 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.22Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;they rise up when they despair of life.23He gives them security, and they are supported,and his eyes are upon their ways.24They 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.25If it is not so, who will prove me a liarand show that there is nothing in what I say?”
25:1Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2“Dominion and fear are with God;he makes peace in his high heaven.3Is there any number to his armies?Upon whom does his light not arise?4How then can man be in the right before God?How can he who is born of woman be pure?5Behold, even the moon is not bright,and the stars are not pure in his eyes;6how much less man, who is a maggot,and the son of man, who is a worm!”
26:1Then Job answered and said:
2“How you have helped him who has no power!How you have saved the arm that has no strength!3How you have counseled him who has no wisdom,and plentifully declared sound knowledge!4With whose help have you uttered words,and whose breath has come out from you?5The dead trembleunder the waters and their inhabitants.6Sheol is naked before God,and Abaddon has no covering.7He stretches out the north over the voidand hangs the earth on nothing.8He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,and the cloud is not split open under them.9He covers the face of the full moonand spreads over it his cloud.10He has inscribed a circle on the face of the watersat the boundary between light and darkness.11The pillars of heaven trembleand are astounded at his rebuke.12By his power he stilled the sea;by his understanding he shattered Rahab.13By his wind the heavens were made fair;his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.14Behold, 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?”
27:1And Job again took up his discourse, and said:
2“As God lives, who has taken away my right,and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,3as long as my breath is in me,and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,4my lips will not speak falsehood,and my tongue will not utter deceit.5Far be it from me to say that you are right;till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.6I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;my heart does not reproach me for any of my days. 7“Let my enemy be as the wicked,and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.8For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off,when God takes away his life?9Will God hear his crywhen distress comes upon him?10Will he take delight in the Almighty?Will he call upon God at all times?11I will teach you concerning the hand of God;what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.12Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;why then have you become altogether vain? 13“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty:14If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword,and his descendants have not enough bread.15Those who survive him the pestilence buries,and his widows do not weep.16Though he heap up silver like dust,and pile up clothing like clay,17he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,and the innocent will divide the silver.18He builds his house like a moth’s,like a booth that a watchman makes.19He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more;he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone.20Terrors overtake him like a flood;in the night a whirlwind carries him off.21The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;it sweeps him out of his place.22It hurls at him without pity;he flees from its power in headlong flight.23It claps its hands at himand hisses at him from its place.
28:1“Surely there is a mine for silver,and a place for gold that they refine.2Iron is taken out of the earth,and copper is smelted from the ore.3Man puts an end to darknessand searches out to the farthest limitthe ore in gloom and deep darkness.4He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;they are forgotten by travelers;they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.5As for the earth, out of it comes bread,but underneath it is turned up as by fire.6Its stones are the place of sapphires,and it has dust of gold. 7“That path no bird of prey knows,and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.8The proud beasts have not trodden it;the lion has not passed over it. 9“Man puts his hand to the flinty rockand overturns mountains by the roots.10He cuts out channels in the rocks,and his eye sees every precious thing.11He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light. 12“But where shall wisdom be found?And where is the place of understanding?13Man does not know its worth,and it is not found in the land of the living.14The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’15It cannot be bought for gold,and silver cannot be weighed as its price.16It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,in precious onyx or sapphire.17Gold and glass cannot equal it,nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.18No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;the price of wisdom is above pearls.19The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,nor can it be valued in pure gold. 20“From where, then, does wisdom come?And where is the place of understanding?21It is hidden from the eyes of all livingand concealed from the birds of the air.22Abaddon and Death say,‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’ 23“God understands the way to it,and he knows its place.24For he looks to the ends of the earthand sees everything under the heavens.25When he gave to the wind its weightand apportioned the waters by measure,26when he made a decree for the rainand a way for the lightning of the thunder,27then he saw it and declared it;he established it, and searched it out.28And he said to man,‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
Luke 18:31–43
31And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” 34But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
35As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41“What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
Psalm 13
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
13:1How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?How long will you hide your face from me?2How long must I take counsel in my souland have sorrow in my heart all the day?How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 3Consider and answer me, O LORD my God;light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,4lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. 5But I have trusted in your steadfast love;my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.6I will sing to the LORD,because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Proverbs 8:14–16
14I have counsel and sound wisdom;I have insight; I have strength.15By me kings reign,and rulers decree what is just;16by me princes rule,and nobles, all who govern justly.
