Scripture Unscripted

Job 32 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry. He was angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God; he was angry also at Job's three friends because they had found no answer, though they had declared Job to be in the wrong. Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were older than he. But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he became angry. Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered: "I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you. I said, 'Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.' But truly it is the spirit in a mortal, the breath of the Almighty, that makes for understanding. It is not the old that are wise, nor the aged that understand what is right. Therefore I say, 'Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion.' "See, I waited for your words, I listened for your wise sayings, while you searched out what to say. I gave you my attention, but there was in fact no one that confuted Job, no one among you that answered his words. Yet do not say, 'We have found wisdom; God may vanquish him, not a human.' He has not directed his words against me, and I will not answer him with your speeches. "They are dismayed, they answer no more; they have not a word to say. And am I to wait, because they do not speak, because they stand there, and answer no more? I also will give my answer; I also will declare my opinion. For I am full of words; the spirit within me constrains me. My heart is indeed like wine that has no vent; like new wineskins, it is ready to burst. I must speak, so that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer. I will not show partiality to any person or use flattery toward anyone. For I do not know how to flatter— or my Maker would soon put an end to me! Job 33:8-33 "Surely, you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard the sound of your words. You say, 'I am clean, without transgression; I am pure, and there is no iniquity in me. Look, he finds occasions against me, he counts me as his enemy; he puts my feet in the stocks, and watches all my paths.' "But in this you are not right. I will answer you: God is greater than any mortal. Why do you contend against him, saying, 'He will answer none of my words'? For God speaks in one way, and in two, though people do not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on mortals, while they slumber on their beds, then he opens their ears, and terrifies them with warnings, that he may turn them aside from their deeds, and keep them from pride, to spare their souls from the Pit, their lives from traversing the River. They are also chastened with pain upon their beds, and with continual strife in their bones, so that their lives loathe bread, and their appetites dainty food. Their flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen; and their bones, once invisible, now stick out. Their souls draw near the Pit, and their lives to those who bring death. Then, if there should be for one of them an angel, a mediator, one of a thousand, one who declares a person upright, and he is gracious to that person, and says, 'Deliver him from going down into the Pit; I have found a ransom; let his flesh become fresh with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor'; then he prays to God, and is accepted by him, he comes into his presence with joy, and God repays him for his righteousness. That person sings to others and says, 'I sinned, and perverted what was right, and it was not paid back to me. He has redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit, and my life shall see the light.' "God indeed does all these things, twice, three times, with mortals, to bring back their souls from the Pit, so that they may see the light of life. Pay heed, Job, listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. If you have anything to say, answer me; speak, for I desire to justify you. If not, listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom." Job 36:1-4 Elihu continued and said: "Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God's behalf. I will bring my knowledge from far away, and ascribe righteousness to my Maker. For truly my words are not false; one who is perfect in knowledge is with you. Job 37:23-24 The Almighty—we cannot find him; he is great in power and justice, and abundant righteousness he will not violate. Therefore mortals fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit."

Job 30:24-31 “Surely one does not turn against the needy,     when in disaster they cry for help. Did I not weep for those whose day was hard?     Was not my soul grieved for the poor? But when I looked for good, evil came;     and when I waited for light, darkness came. My inward parts are in turmoil, and are never still;     days of affliction come to meet me. I go about in sunless gloom;     I stand up in the assembly and cry for help. I am a brother of jackals,     and a companion of ostriches. My skin turns black and falls from me,     and my bones burn with heat. My lyre is turned to mourning,     and my pipe to the voice of those who weep. Job 31:16-40 “If I have withheld anything that the poor desired,     or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel alone,     and the orphan has not eaten from it— for from my youth I reared the orphan like a father,     and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow— if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,     or a poor person without covering, whose loins have not blessed me,     and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; if I have raised my hand against the orphan,     because I saw I had supporters at the gate; then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,     and let my arm be broken from its socket. For I was in terror of calamity from God,     and I could not have faced his majesty. “If I have made gold my trust,     or called fine gold my confidence; if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great,     or because my hand had gotten much; if I have looked at the sun when it shone,     or the moon moving in splendor, and my heart has been secretly enticed,     and my mouth has kissed my hand; this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,     for I should have been false to God above. “If I have rejoiced at the ruin of those who hated me,     or exulted when evil overtook them— I have not let my mouth sin     by asking for their lives with a curse— if those of my tent ever said,     ‘O that we might be sated with his flesh!’— the stranger has not lodged in the street;     I have opened my doors to the traveler— if I have concealed my transgressions as others do,     by hiding my iniquity in my bosom, because I stood in great fear of the multitude,     and the contempt of families terrified me,     so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors— O that I had one to hear me!     (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!)     O that I had the indictment written by my adversary! Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;     I would bind it on me like a crown; I would give him an account of all my steps;     like a prince I would approach him. “If my land has cried out against me,     and its furrows have wept together; if I have eaten its yield without payment,     and caused the death of its owners; let thorns grow instead of wheat,     and foul weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.

Job 11:1-12 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered: “Should a multitude of words go unanswered,     and should one full of talk be vindicated? Should your babble put others to silence,     and when you mock, shall no one shame you? For you say, ‘My conduct is pure,     and I am clean in God’s sight.’ But O that God would speak,     and open his lips to you, and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!     For wisdom is many-sided. Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves. “Can you find out the deep things of God?     Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven—what can you do?     Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth,     and broader than the sea. If he passes through, and imprisons,     and assembles for judgment, who can hinder him? For he knows those who are worthless;     when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it? But a stupid person will get understanding,     when a wild ass is born human. Job 13:1-19 “Look, my eye has seen all this,     my ear has heard and understood it. What you know, I also know;     I am not inferior to you. But I would speak to the Almighty,     and I desire to argue my case with God. As for you, you whitewash with lies;     all of you are worthless physicians. If you would only keep silent,     that would be your wisdom! Hear now my reasoning,     and listen to the pleadings of my lips. Will you speak falsely for God,     and speak deceitfully for him? Will you show partiality toward him,     will you plead the case for God? Will it be well with you when he searches you out?     Or can you deceive him, as one person deceives another? He will surely rebuke you     if in secret you show partiality. Will not his majesty terrify you,     and the dread of him fall upon you? Your maxims are proverbs of ashes,     your defenses are defenses of clay. “Let me have silence, and I will speak,     and let come on me what may. I will take my flesh in my teeth,     and put my life in my hand. See, he will kill me; I have no hope;     but I will defend my ways to his face. This will be my salvation,     that the godless shall not come before him. Listen carefully to my words,     and let my declaration be in your ears. I have indeed prepared my case;     I know that I shall be vindicated. Who is there that will contend with me?     For then I would be silent and die.

Job 8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered: “How long will you say these things,     and the words of your mouth be a great wind? Does God pervert justice?     Or does the Almighty pervert the right? If your children sinned against him,     he delivered them into the power of their transgression. If you will seek God     and make supplication to the Almighty, if you are pure and upright,     surely then he will rouse himself for you     and restore to you your rightful place. Though your beginning was small,     your latter days will be very great. “For inquire now of bygone generations,     and consider what their ancestors have found; for we are but of yesterday, and we know nothing,     for our days on earth are but a shadow. Will they not teach you and tell you     and utter words out of their understanding? “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?     Can reeds flourish where there is no water? While yet in flower and not cut down,     they wither before any other plant. Such are the paths of all who forget God;     the hope of the godless shall perish. Their confidence is gossamer,     a spider’s house their trust. If one leans against its house, it will not stand;     if one lays hold of it, it will not endure. The wicked thrive before the sun,     and their shoots spread over the garden. Their roots twine around the stoneheap;     they live among the rocks. If they are destroyed from their place,     then it will deny them, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’ See, these are their happy ways,     and out of the earth still others will spring. “See, God will not reject a blameless person,     nor take the hand of evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,     and your lips with shouts of joy. Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,     and the tent of the wicked will be no more.” Job 9:1-2 Then Job answered: “Indeed I know that this is so;     but how can a mortal be just before God? Job 14-16 “A mortal, born of woman, few of days and full of trouble,     comes up like a flower and withers,     flees like a shadow and does not last. Do you fix your eyes on such a one?     Do you bring me into judgment with you? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?     No one can. Since their days are determined,     and the number of their months is known to you,     and you have appointed the bounds that they cannot pass, look away from them, and desist,     that they may enjoy, like laborers, their days. “For there is hope for a tree,     if it is cut down, that it will sprout again,     and that its shoots will not cease. Though its root grows old in the earth,     and its stump dies in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud     and put forth branches like a young plant. But mortals die, and are laid low;     humans expire, and where are they? As waters fail from a lake,     and a river wastes away and dries up, so mortals lie down and do not rise again;     until the heavens are no more, they will not awake     or be roused out of their sleep. O that you would hide me in Sheol,     that you would conceal me until your wrath is past,     that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If mortals die, will they live again?     All the days of my service I would wait     until my release should come. You would call, and I would answer you;     you would long for the work of your hands. For then you would not number my steps,     you would not keep watch over my sin; my transgression would be sealed up in a bag,     and you would cover over my iniquity. “But the mountain falls and crumbles away,     and the rock is removed from its place; the waters wear away the stones;     the torrents wash away the soil of the earth;     so you destroy the hope of mortals. You prevail forever against them, and they pass away;     you change their countenance, and send them away. Their children come to honor, and they do not know it;     they are brought low, and it goes unnoticed. They feel only the pain of their own bodies,     and mourn only for themselves.” Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: “Should the wise answer with windy knowledge,     and fill themselves with the east wind? Should they argue in unprofitable talk,     or in words with which they can do no good? But you are doing away with the fear of God,     and hindering meditation before God. For your iniquity teaches your mouth,     and you choose the tongue of the crafty. Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;     your own lips testify against you. “Are you the firstborn of the human race?     Were you brought forth before the hills? Have you listened in the council of God?     And do you limit wisdom to yourself? What do you know that we do not know?     What do you understand that is not clear to us? The gray-haired and the aged are on our side,     those older than your father. Are the consolations of God too small for you,     or the word that deals gently with you? Why does your heart carry you away,     and why do your eyes flash, so that you turn your spirit against God,     and let such words go out of your mouth? What are mortals, that they can be clean?     Or those born of woman, that they can be righteous? God puts no trust even in his holy ones,     and the heavens are not clean in his sight; how much less one who is abominable and corrupt,     one who drinks iniquity like water! “I will show you; listen to me;     what I have seen I will declare— what sages have told,     and their ancestors have not hidden, to whom alone the land was given,     and no stranger passed among them. The wicked writhe in pain all their days,     through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless. Terrifying sounds are in their ears;     in prosperity the destroyer will come upon them. They despair of returning from darkness,     and they are destined for the sword. They wander abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’     They know that a day of darkness is ready at hand; distress and anguish terrify them;     they prevail against them, like a king prepared for battle. Because they stretched out their hands against God,     and bid defiance to the Almighty, running stubbornly against him     with a thick-bossed shield; because they have covered their faces with their fat,     and gathered fat upon their loins, they will live in desolate cities,     in houses that no one should inhabit,     houses destined to become heaps of ruins; they will not be rich, and their wealth will not endure,     nor will they strike root in the earth; they will not escape from darkness;     the flame will dry up their shoots,     and their blossom will be swept away by the wind. Let them not trust in emptiness, deceiving themselves;     for emptiness will be their recompense. It will be paid in full before their time,     and their branch will not be green. They will shake off their unripe grape, like the vine,     and cast off their blossoms, like the olive tree. For the company of the godless is barren,     and fire consumes the tents of bribery. They conceive mischief and bring forth evil     and their heart prepares deceit.” Then Job answered: “I have heard many such things;     miserable comforters are you all. Have windy words no limit?     Or what provokes you that you keep on talking? I also could talk as you do,     if you were in my place; I could join words together against you,     and shake my head at you. I could encourage you with my mouth,     and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain. “If I speak, my pain is not assuaged,     and if I forbear, how much of it leaves me? Surely now God has worn me out;     he has made desolate all my company. And he has shriveled me up,     which is a witness against me; my leanness has risen up against me,     and it testifies to my face. He has torn me in his wrath, and hated me;     he has gnashed his teeth at me;     my adversary sharpens his eyes against me. They have gaped at me with their mouths;     they have struck me insolently on the cheek;     they mass themselves together against me. God gives me up to the ungodly,     and casts me into the hands of the wicked. I was at ease, and he broke me in two;     he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces; he set me up as his target;     his archers surround me. He slashes open my kidneys, and shows no mercy;     he pours out my gall on the ground. He bursts upon me again and again;     he rushes at me like a warrior. I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin,     and have laid my strength in the dust. My face is red with weeping,     and deep darkness is on my eyelids, though there is no violence in my hands,     and my prayer is pure. “O earth, do not cover my blood;     let my outcry find no resting place. Even now, in fact, my witness is in heaven,     and he that vouches for me is on high. My friends scorn me;     my eye pours out tears to God, that he would maintain the right of a mortal with God,     as one does for a neighbor. For when a few years have come,     I shall go the way from which I shall not return. Job 19-20 Then Job answered: “How long will you torment me,     and break me in pieces with words? These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;     are you not ashamed to wrong me? And even if it is true that I have erred,     my error remains with me. If indeed you magnify yourselves against me,     and make my humiliation an argument against me, know then that God has put me in the wrong,     and closed his net around me. Even when I cry out, ‘Violence!’ I am not answered;     I call aloud, but there is no justice. He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass,     and he has set darkness upon my paths. He has stripped my glory from me,     and taken the crown from my head. He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,     he has uprooted my hope like a tree. He has kindled his wrath against me,     and counts me as his adversary. His troops come on together;     they have thrown up siegeworks against me,     and encamp around my tent. “He has put my family far from me,     and my acquaintances are wholly estranged from me. My relatives and my close friends have failed me;     the guests in my house have forgotten me; my serving girls count me as a stranger;     I have become an alien in their eyes. I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;     I must myself plead with him. My breath is repulsive to my wife;     I am loathsome to my own family. Even young children despise me;     when I rise, they talk against me. All my intimate friends abhor me,     and those whom I loved have turned against me. My bones cling to my skin and to my flesh,     and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth. Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends,     for the hand of God has touched me! Why do you, like God, pursue me,     never satisfied with my flesh? “O that my words were written down!     O that they were inscribed in a book! O that with an iron pen and with lead     they were engraved on a rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer lives,     and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed,     then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side,     and my eyes shall behold, and not another.     My heart faints within me! If you say, ‘How we will persecute him!’     and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him’; be afraid of the sword,     for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,     so that you may know there is a judgment.” Then Zophar the Naamathite answered: “Pay attention! My thoughts urge me to answer,     because of the agitation within me. I hear censure that insults me,     and a spirit beyond my understanding answers me. Do you not know this from of old,     ever since mortals were placed on earth, that the exulting of the wicked is short,     and the joy of the godless is but for a moment? Even though they mount up high as the heavens,     and their head reaches to the clouds, they will perish forever like their own dung;     those who have seen them will say, ‘Where are they?’ They will fly away like a dream, and not be found;     they will be chased away like a vision of the night. The eye that saw them will see them no more,     nor will their place behold them any longer. Their children will seek the favor of the poor,     and their hands will give back their wealth. Their bodies, once full of youth,     will lie down in the dust with them. “Though wickedness is sweet in their mouth,     though they hide it under their tongues, though they are loath to let it go,     and hold it in their mouths, yet their food is turned in their stomachs;     it is the venom of asps within them. They swallow down riches and vomit them up again;     God casts them out of their bellies. They will suck the poison of asps;     the tongue of a viper will kill them. They will not look on the rivers,     the streams flowing with honey and curds. They will give back the fruit of their toil,     and will not swallow it down; from the profit of their trading     they will get no enjoyment. For they have crushed and abandoned the poor,     they have seized a house that they did not build. “They knew no quiet in their bellies;     in their greed they let nothing escape. There was nothing left after they had eaten;     therefore their prosperity will not endure. In full sufficiency they will be in distress;     all the force of misery will come upon them. To fill their belly to the full     God will send his fierce anger into them,     and rain it upon them as their food. They will flee from an iron weapon;     a bronze arrow will strike them through. It is drawn forth and comes out of their body,     and the glittering point comes out of their gall;     terrors come upon them. Utter darkness is laid up for their treasures;     a fire fanned by no one will devour them;     what is left in their tent will be consumed. The heavens will reveal their iniquity,     and the earth will rise up against them. The possessions of their house will be carried away,     dragged off in the day of God’s wrath. This is the portion of the wicked from God,     the heritage decreed for them by God.” Job 32-35 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became angry. He was angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God; he was angry also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, though they had declared Job to be in the wrong. Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job, because they were older than he. But when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he became angry. Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite answered: “I am young in years,     and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid     to declare my opinion to you. I said, ‘Let days speak,     and many years teach wisdom.’ But truly it is the spirit in a mortal,     the breath of the Almighty, that makes for understanding. It is not the old that are wise,     nor the aged that understand what is right. Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;     let me also declare my opinion.’ “See, I waited for your words,     I listened for your wise sayings,     while you searched out what to say. I gave you my attention,     but there was in fact no one that confuted Job,     no one among you that answered his words. Yet do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;     God may vanquish him, not a human.’ He has not directed his words against me,     and I will not answer him with your speeches. “They are dismayed, they answer no more;     they have not a word to say. And am I to wait, because they do not speak,     because they stand there, and answer no more? I also will give my answer;     I also will declare my opinion. For I am full of words;     the spirit within me constrains me. My heart is indeed like wine that has no vent;     like new wineskins, it is ready to burst. I must speak, so that I may find relief;     I must open my lips and answer. I will not show partiality to any person     or use flattery toward anyone. For I do not know how to flatter—     or my Maker would soon put an end to me! “But now, hear my speech, O Job,     and listen to all my words. See, I open my mouth;     the tongue in my mouth speaks. My words declare the uprightness of my heart,     and what my lips know they speak sincerely. The spirit of God has made me,     and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Answer me, if you can;     set your words in order before me; take your stand. See, before God I am as you are;     I too was formed from a piece of clay. No fear of me need terrify you;     my pressure will not be heavy on you. “Surely, you have spoken in my hearing,     and I have heard the sound of your words. You say, ‘I am clean, without transgression;     I am pure, and there is no iniquity in me. Look, he finds occasions against me,     he counts me as his enemy; he puts my feet in the stocks,     and watches all my paths.’ “But in this you are not right. I will answer you:     God is greater than any mortal. Why do you contend against him,     saying, ‘He will answer none of my words’? For God speaks in one way,     and in two, though people do not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night,     when deep sleep falls on mortals,     while they slumber on their beds, then he opens their ears,     and terrifies them with warnings, that he may turn them aside from their deeds,     and keep them from pride, to spare their souls from the Pit,     their lives from traversing the River. They are also chastened with pain upon their beds,     and with continual strife in their bones, so that their lives loathe bread,     and their appetites dainty food. Their flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen;     and their bones, once invisible, now stick out. Their souls draw near the Pit,     and their lives to those who bring death. Then, if there should be for one of them an angel,     a mediator, one of a thousand,     one who declares a person upright, and he is gracious to that person, and says,     ‘Deliver him from going down into the Pit;     I have found a ransom; let his flesh become fresh with youth;     let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’; then he prays to God, and is accepted by him,     he comes into his presence with joy, and God repays him for his righteousness.     That person sings to others and says, ‘I sinned, and perverted what was right,     and it was not paid back to me. He has redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,     and my life shall see the light.’ “God indeed does all these things,     twice, three times, with mortals, to bring back their souls from the Pit,     so that they may see the light of life. Pay heed, Job, listen to me;     be silent, and I will speak. If you have anything to say, answer me;     speak, for I desire to justify you. If not, listen to me;     be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.” Then Elihu continued and said: “Hear my words, you wise men,     and give ear to me, you who know; for the ear tests words     as the palate tastes food. Let us choose what is right;     let us determine among ourselves what is good. For Job has said, ‘I am innocent,     and God has taken away my right; in spite of being right I am counted a liar;     my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’ Who is there like Job,     who drinks up scoffing like water, who goes in company with evildoers     and walks with the wicked? For he has said, ‘It profits one nothing     to take delight in God.’ “Therefore, hear me, you who have sense,     far be it from God that he should do wickedness,     and from the Almighty that he should do wrong. For according to their deeds he will repay them,     and according to their ways he will make it befall them. Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,     and the Almighty will not pervert justice. Who gave him charge over the earth     and who laid on him the whole world? If he should take back his spirit to himself,     and gather to himself his breath, all flesh would perish together,     and all mortals return to dust. “If you have understanding, hear this;     listen to what I say. Shall one who hates justice govern?     Will you condemn one who is righteous and mighty, who says to a king, ‘You scoundrel!’     and to princes, ‘You wicked men!’; who shows no partiality to nobles,     nor regards the rich more than the poor,     for they are all the work of his hands? In a moment they die;     at midnight the people are shaken and pass away,     and the mighty are taken away by no human hand. “For his eyes are upon the ways of mortals,     and he sees all their steps. There is no gloom or deep darkness     where evildoers may hide themselves. For he has not appointed a time for anyone     to go before God in judgment. He shatters the mighty without investigation,     and sets others in their place. Thus, knowing their works,     he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed. He strikes them for their wickedness     while others look on, because they turned aside from following him,     and had no regard for any of his ways, so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him,     and he heard the cry of the afflicted— When he is quiet, who can condemn?     When he hides his face, who can behold him,     whether it be a nation or an individual?— so that the godless should not reign,     or those who ensnare the people. “For has anyone said to God,     ‘I have endured punishment; I will not offend any more; teach me what I do not see;     if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’? Will he then pay back to suit you,     because you reject it? For you must choose, and not I;     therefore declare what you know. Those who have sense will say to me,     and the wise who hear me will say, ‘Job speaks without knowledge,     his words are without insight.’ Would that Job were tried to the limit,     because his answers are those of the wicked. For he adds rebellion to his sin;     he claps his hands among us,     and multiplies his words against God.” Elihu continued and said: “Do you think this to be just?     You say, ‘I am in the right before God.’ If you ask, ‘What advantage have I?     How am I better off than if I had sinned?’ I will answer you     and your friends with you. Look at the heavens and see;     observe the clouds, which are higher than you. If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him?     And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him? If you are righteous, what do you give to him;     or what does he receive from your hand? Your wickedness affects others like you,     and your righteousness, other human beings. “Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out;     they call for help because of the arm of the mighty. But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,     who gives strength in the night, who teaches us more than the animals of the earth,     and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?’ There they cry out, but he does not answer,     because of the pride of evildoers. Surely God does not hear an empty cry,     nor does the Almighty regard it. How much less when you say that you do not see him,     that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him! And now, because his anger does not punish,     and he does not greatly heed transgression, Job opens his mouth in empty talk,     he multiplies words without knowledge.”

Job 4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: “If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended?     But who can keep from speaking? See, you have instructed many;     you have strengthened the weak hands. Your words have supported those who were stumbling,     and you have made firm the feeble knees. But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;     it touches you, and you are dismayed. Is not your fear of God your confidence,     and the integrity of your ways your hope? “Think now, who that was innocent ever perished?     Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity     and sow trouble reap the same. By the breath of God they perish,     and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,     and the teeth of the young lions are broken. The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,     and the whelps of the lioness are scattered. “Now a word came stealing to me,     my ear received the whisper of it. Amid thoughts from visions of the night,     when deep sleep falls on mortals, dread came upon me, and trembling,     which made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face;     the hair of my flesh bristled. It stood still,     but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes;     there was silence, then I heard a voice: ‘Can mortals be righteous before God?     Can human beings be pure before their Maker? Even in his servants he puts no trust,     and his angels he charges with error; how much more those who live in houses of clay,     whose foundation is in the dust,     who are crushed like a moth. Between morning and evening they are destroyed;     they perish forever without any regarding it. Their tent-cord is plucked up within them,     and they die devoid of wisdom.’ Job 5:17-18 “How happy is the one whom God reproves;     therefore do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he binds up;     he strikes, but his hands heal. Job 6:11-17 What is my strength, that I should wait?     And what is my end, that I should be patient? Is my strength the strength of stones,     or is my flesh bronze? In truth I have no help in me,     and any resource is driven from me. “Those who withhold kindness from a friend     forsake the fear of the Almighty. My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed,     like freshets that pass away, that run dark with ice,     turbid with melting snow. In time of heat they disappear;     when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

Job 2:11-3:26 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. Job said: “Let the day perish in which I was born,     and the night that said,     ‘A man-child is conceived.’ Let that day be darkness!     May God above not seek it,     or light shine on it. Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.     Let clouds settle upon it;     let the blackness of the day terrify it. That night—let thick darkness seize it!     let it not rejoice among the days of the year;     let it not come into the number of the months. Yes, let that night be barren;     let no joyful cry be heard in it. Let those curse it who curse the Sea,     those who are skilled to rouse up Leviathan. Let the stars of its dawn be dark;     let it hope for light, but have none;     may it not see the eyelids of the morning— because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb,     and hide trouble from my eyes. “Why did I not die at birth,     come forth from the womb and expire? Why were there knees to receive me,     or breasts for me to suck? Now I would be lying down and quiet;     I would be asleep; then I would be at rest with kings and counselors of the earth     who rebuild ruins for themselves, or with princes who have gold,     who fill their houses with silver. Or why was I not buried like a stillborn child,     like an infant that never sees the light? There the wicked cease from troubling,     and there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners are at ease together;     they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there,     and the slaves are free from their masters. “Why is light given to one in misery,     and life to the bitter in soul, who long for death, but it does not come,     and dig for it more than for hidden treasures; who rejoice exceedingly,     and are glad when they find the grave? Why is light given to one who cannot see the way,     whom God has fenced in? For my sighing comes like my bread,     and my groanings are poured out like water. Truly the thing that I fear comes upon me,     and what I dread befalls me. I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;     I have no rest; but trouble comes.”

Job 1-2 There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and very many servants; so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. His sons used to go and hold feasts in one another’s houses in turn; and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the feast days had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” This is what Job always did. One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil.” Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, all that he has is in your power; only do not stretch out your hand against him!” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. One day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the eldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell on them and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three columns, made a raid on the camels and carried them off, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house, and suddenly a great wind came across the desert, struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; I alone have escaped to tell you.” Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing. One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” The Lord said to Satan,“Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.” Then Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives. But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and inflicted loathsome sores on Job from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Job took a potsherd with which to scrape himself, and sat among the ashes. Then his wife said to him, “Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God, and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not receive the bad?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Now when Job’s three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

Acts 2:22-39 “You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me,     for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;     moreover my flesh will live in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,     or let your Holy One experience corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life;     you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ “Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, ‘He was not abandoned to Hades,     nor did his flesh experience corruption.’ This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,     until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.”

John 1:14-18 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

Matthew 5:12-16 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. 2 Kings 2:19-22 Now the people of the city said to Elisha, “The location of this city is good, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. Then he went to the spring of water and threw the salt into it, and said, “Thus says the Lord, I have made this water wholesome; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” So the water has been wholesome to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke. Isaiah 42:5-7 Thus says God, the Lord,     who created the heavens and stretched them out,     who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it     and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,     I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people,     a light to the nations,     to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,     from the prison those who sit in darkness.