1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes;
How then could I look at a virgin?
2 And what is the portion of God from above,
Or the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3 Is it not disaster to the criminal,
And misfortune to those who practice injustice?
4 Does He not see my ways,
And count all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with deception,
And my foot has hurried after deceit,
6 Let Him weigh me with accurate scales,
And let God know my integrity.
7 If my step has turned from the way,
Or my heart followed my eyes,
Or if any spot has stuck to my hands,
8 Let me sow and another eat,
And let my crops be uprooted.
9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway,
10 May my wife grind grain for another,
And let others kneel down over her.
11 For that would be a lustful crime;
Moreover, it would be wrongdoing punishable by judges.
12 For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon,
And would uproot all my increase.
13 “If I have rejected the claim of my male or female slaves
When they filed a complaint against me,
14 What then could I do when God arises?
And when He calls me to account, how am I to answer Him?
15 Did He who made me in the womb not make him,
And the same one create us in the womb?
16 “If I have kept the poor from their desire,
Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 Or have eaten my morsel alone,
And the orphan has not shared it
18 (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
And from my infancy I guided her),
19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or that the needy had no covering,
20 If his waist has not thanked me,
And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
21 If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan,
Because I saw I had support in the gate,
22 May my shoulder fall from its socket,
And my arm be broken off at the elbow.
23 For disaster from God is a terror to me,
And because of His majesty I can do nothing.
24 “If I have put my confidence in gold,
And called fine gold my trust,
25 If I have gloated because my wealth was great,
And because my hand had obtained so much;
26 If I have looked at the sun when it shone,
Or the moon going in splendor,
27 And my heart was secretly enticed,
And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
28 That too would have been a guilty deed calling for judgment,
For I would have denied God above.
29 “Have I rejoiced at the misfortune of my enemy,
Or become excited when evil found him?
30 No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for his life in a curse.
31 Have the people of my tent not said,
‘Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’?
32 The stranger has not spent the night outside,
For I have opened my doors to the traveler.
33 Have I covered my wrongdoings like a man,
By hiding my guilt in my shirt pocket,
34 Because I feared the great multitude
And the contempt of families terrified me,
And I kept silent and did not go out of doors?
35 Oh that I had one to hear me!
Here is my signature;
Let the Almighty answer me!
And the indictment which my adversary has written,
36 I would certainly carry it on my shoulder,
I would tie it to myself like a garland.
37 I would declare to Him the number of my steps;
Like a prince, I would approach Him.
38 “If my land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;
39 If I have eaten its fruit without money,
Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,
40 May the thorn-bush grow instead of wheat,
And stinkweed instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
1 Then these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned against Job; his anger burned because he justified himself before God. 3 And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, yet they had condemned Job. 4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were years older than he. 5 But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, his anger burned.
6 So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite spoke out and said,
“I am young in years and you are old;
Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think.
7 I thought age should speak,
And increased years should teach wisdom.
8 But it is a spirit that is in mankind,
And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
9 The abundant in years may not be wise,
Nor may elders understand justice.
10 So I say, ‘Listen to me,
I too will tell what I think.’
11 “Behold, I waited for your words,
I listened to your skillful speech,
While you pondered what to say.
12 I also paid close attention to you;
But indeed, there was no one who refuted Job,
Not one of you who answered his words.
13 So do not say,
‘We have found wisdom:
God will defeat him, not man.’
14 But he has not presented his words against me,
Nor will I reply to him with your arguments.
15 “They are dismayed, they no longer answer;
Words have failed them.
16 Should I wait, because they are not speaking,
Because they have stopped and no longer answer?
17 I too will give my share of answers;
I also will tell my opinion.
18 For I am full of words;
The spirit within me compels me.
19 Behold, my belly is like unvented wine;
Like new wineskins, it is about to burst.
20 Let me speak so that I may get relief;
Let me open my lips and answer.
21 Let me be partial to no one,
Nor flatter any man.
22 For I do not know how to flatter,
Otherwise my Maker would quickly take me away.
1 “However, please hear my speech, Job,
And listen to all my words.
2 Behold now, I open my mouth,
My tongue in my mouth speaks.
3 My words are from the integrity of my heart,
And my lips speak knowledge sincerely.
4 The Spirit of God has made me,
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5 Refute me if you can;
Line up against me, take your stand.
6 Behold, I belong to God, like you;
I too have been formed out of the clay.
7 Behold, no fear of me should terrify you,
Nor should my pressure weigh heavily on you.
8 “You have in fact spoken while I listened,
And I heard the sound of your words:
9 ‘I am pure, without wrongdoing;
I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.
10 Behold, He invents criticisms against me;
He counts me as His enemy.
11 He puts my feet in the stocks;
He watches all my paths.’
12 Behold, let me respond to you, you are not right in this,
For God is greater than mankind.
13 “Why do you complain to Him
That He does not give an account of all His doings?
14 Indeed God speaks once,
Or twice, yet no one notices it.
15 In a dream, a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls on people,
While they slumber in their beds,
16 Then He opens the ears of people,
And horrifies them with warnings,
17 So that He may turn a person away from bad conduct,
And keep a man from pride;
18 He keeps his soul back from the pit,
And his life from perishing by the spear.
19 “A person is also rebuked by pain in his bed,
And with constant complaint in his bones,
20 So that his life loathes bread,
And his soul, food that he should crave.
21 His flesh wastes away from sight,
And his bones, which were not seen, stick out.
22 Then his soul comes near to the pit,
And his life to those who bring death.
23 “If there is an interceding angel for him,
One out of a thousand,
To remind a person of what is right for him,
24 And he is gracious to him, and says,
‘Free him from going down to the pit,
I have found a ransom’;
25 Let his flesh become fresher than in youth,
Let him return to the days of his youthful vigor;
26 Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him,
So that he may see His face with joy,
And He will restore His righteousness to that person.
27 He will sing to people and say,
‘I have sinned and perverted what is right,
And it is not proper for me.
28 He has redeemed my soul from going to the pit,
And my life will see the light.’
29 “Behold, God does all these things for a man two or three times,
30 To bring back his soul from the pit,
So that he may be enlightened with the light of life.
31 Pay attention, Job, listen to me;
Keep silent, and let me speak.
32 Then if you have anything to say, answer me;
Speak, for I would take pleasure in justifying you.
33 If not, listen to me;
Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”
1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? 2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all people, 3 revealing yourselves, that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Such is the confidence we have toward God through Christ. 5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves so as to consider anything as having come from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 But if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones, came with glory so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness excel in glory. 10 For indeed what had glory in this case has no glory, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.
12 Therefore, having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, 13 and we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not stare at the end of what was fading away. 14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. 15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts; 16 but whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
1 Vindicate me, God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation;
Save me from the deceitful and unjust person!
2 For You are the God of my strength; why have You rejected me?
Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 Send out Your light and Your truth, they shall lead me;
They shall bring me to Your holy hill
And to Your dwelling places.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
To God my exceeding joy;
And I will praise You on the lyre, God, my God.
5 Why are you in despair, my soul?
And why are you restless within me?
Wait for God, for I will again praise Him
For the help of His presence, my God.
8 One who sows injustice will reap disaster,
And the rod of his fury will perish.
9 One who is generous will be blessed,
Because he gives some of his food to the poor.
