JOB 23:1-27:23
2 CORINTHIANS 1:12-2:11
PSALM 41:1-13
PROVERBS 22:5-6
JOB 23:1-27:23
Then Job spoke again: 2 " My complaint today is still a bitter one, and I try hard not to groan aloud. 3 If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his throne and talk with him there. 4 I would lay out my case and present my arguments. 5 Then I would listen to his reply and understand what he says to me. 6 Would he merely argue with me in his greatness? No, he would give me a fair hearing. 7 Fair and honest people can reason with him, so I would be acquitted by my Judge.8 " I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. 9 I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I turn to the south, but I cannot find him. 10 But he knows where I am going. And when he has tested me like gold in a fire, he will pronounce me innocent. 11 " For I have stayed in God's paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. 12 I have not departed from his commands but have treasured his word in my heart. 13 Nevertheless, his mind concerning me remains unchanged, and who can turn him from his purposes? Whatever he wants to do, he does. 14 So he will do for me all he has planned. He controls my destiny. 15 No wonder I am so terrified in his presence. When I think of it, terror grips me. 16 God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me. 17 Darkness is all around me; thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere.24:1 " WHY doesn't the Almighty open the court and bring judgment? Why must the godly wait for him in vain? 2 Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers. They steal flocks of sheep, 3 and they even take donkeys from the poor and fatherless. A poor widow must surrender her valuable ox as collateral for a loan. 4 The poor are kicked aside; the needy must hide together for safety. 5 Like the wild donkeys in the desert, the poor must spend all their time just getting enough to keep body and soul together. They go into the desert to search for food for their children. 6 They harvest a field they do not own, and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked. 7 All night they lie naked in the cold, without clothing or covering. 8 They are soaked by mountain showers, and they huddle against the rocks for want of a home. 9 " The wicked snatch a widow's child from her breast; they take the baby as a pledge for a loan. 10 The poor must go about naked, without any clothing. They are forced to carry food while they themselves are starving. 11 They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it, and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst. 12 The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the wounded cry for help, yet God does not respond to their moaning. 13 " Wicked people rebel against the light. They refuse to acknowledge its ways. They will not stay in its paths. 14 The murderer rises in the early dawn to kill the poor and needy; at night he is a thief. 15 The adulterer waits for the twilight, for he says, ` No one will see me then.' He masks his face so no one will know him. 16 They break into houses at night and sleep in the daytime. They are not acquainted with the light. 17 The black night is their morning. They ally themselves with the terrors of the darkness. 18 " But they disappear from the earth as quickly as foam is swept down a river. Everything they own is cursed, so that no one enters their vineyard. 19 Death consumes sinners just as drought and heat consume snow. 20 Even the sinner's own mother will forget him. Worms will find him sweet to eat. No one will remember him. Wicked people are broken like a tree in the storm. 21 For they have taken advantage of the childless who have no protecting sons. They refuse to help the needy widows. 22 " God, in his power, drags away the rich. They may rise high, but they have no assurance in life. 23 They may be allowed to live in security, but God is always watching them. 24 And though they are great now, in a moment they will be gone like all others, withered like heads of grain. 25 " Can anyone claim otherwise? Who can prove me wrong?"25:1 THEN Bildad the Shuhite replied: 2 " God is powerful and dreadful. He enforces peace in the heavens. 3 Who is able to count his heavenly army? Does his light not shine on all the earth? 4 How can a mere mortal stand before God and claim to be righteous? Who in all the earth is pure? 5 God is so glorious that even the moon and stars scarcely shine compared to him. 6 How much less are mere people, who are but worms in his sight?"26:1 THEN Job spoke again: 2 " How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved a person who has no strength! 3 How you have enlightened my stupidity! What wise things you have said! 4 Where have you gotten all these wise sayings? Whose spirit speaks through you? 5 " The dead tremble in their place beneath the waters. 6 The underworld is naked in God's presence. There is no cover for the place of destruction. 7 God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing. 8 He wraps the rain in his thick clouds, and the clouds do not burst with the weight. 9 He shrouds his throne with his clouds. 10 He created the horizon when he separated the waters; he set the boundaries for day and night. 11 The foundations of heaven tremble at his rebuke. 12 By his power the sea grew calm. By his skill he crushed the great sea monster. 13 His Spirit made the heavens beautiful, and his power pierced the gliding serpent. 14 " These are some of the minor things he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who can understand the thunder of his power?"27:1 JOB continued speaking: 2 " I make this vow by the living God, who has taken away my rights, by the Almighty who has embittered my soul. 3 As long as I live, while I have breath from God, 4 my lips will speak no evil, and my tongue will speak no lies. 5 I will never concede that you are right; until I die, I will defend my innocence. 6 I will maintain my innocence without wavering. My conscience is clear for as long as I live.7 " May my enemy be punished like the wicked, my adversary like evil men. 8 For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off and takes away their life? 9 Will God listen to their cry when trouble comes upon them? 10 Can they take delight in the Almighty? Can they call to God at any time? 11 " I will teach you about God's power. I will not conceal anything that concerns the Almighty. 12 But I don't need to, for you yourselves have seen all this; yet you are saying all these useless things to me.13 " This is what the wicked will receive from God; this is their inheritance from the Almighty. 14 If they have a multitude of children, their children will die in war or starve to death. 15 Those who survive will be brought down to the grave by a plague, with no one to mourn them, not even their wives. 16 " Evil people may have all the money in the world, and they may store away mounds of clothing. 17 But the righteous will wear that clothing, and the innocent will divide all that money. 18 The houses built by the wicked are as fragile as a spiderweb, as flimsy as a shelter made of branches. 19 " The wicked go to bed rich but wake up to find that all their wealth is gone. 20 Terror overwhelms them, and they are blown away in the storms of the night. 21 The east wind carries them away, and they are gone. It sweeps them away. 22 It whirls down on them without mercy. They struggle to flee from its power. 23 But everyone jeers at them and mocks them."
2 CORINTHIANS 1:12-2:11
We [Paul and his coworkers] can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have been honest and sincere in all our dealings. We have depended on God's grace, not on our own earthly wisdom. That is how we have acted toward everyone, and especially toward you. 13 My letters have been straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can't understand. I hope someday you will fully understand us, 14 even if you don't fully understand us now. Then on the day when our Lord Jesus comes back again, you will be proud of us in the same way we are proud of you. 15 Since I was so sure of your understanding and trust, I wanted to give you a double blessing. 16 I wanted to stop and see you on my way to Macedonia and again on my return trip. Then you could send me on my way to Judea. 17 You may be asking why I changed my plan. Hadn't I made up my mind yet? Or am I like people of the world who say yes when they really mean no? 18 As surely as God is true, I am not that sort of person. My yes means yes 19 because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, never wavers between yes and no. He is the one whom Timothy, Silas, and I preached to you, and he is the divine Yes--God's affirmation. 20 For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in him. That is why we say " Amen" when we give glory to God through Christ. 21 It is God who gives us, along with you, the ability to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, 22 and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment of everything he will give us. 23 Now I call upon God as my witness that I am telling the truth. The reason I didn't return to Corinth was to spare you from a severe rebuke. 24 But that does not mean we want to tell you exactly how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy as you stand firm in your faith.2:1 SO I said to myself, " No, I won't do it. I won't make them unhappy with another painful visit." 2 For if I cause you pain and make you sad, who is going to make me glad? 3 That is why I wrote as I did in my last letter, so that when I do come, I will not be made sad by the very ones who ought to give me the greatest joy. Surely you know that my happiness depends on your happiness. 4 How painful it was to write that letter! Heartbroken, I cried over it. I didn't want to hurt you, but I wanted you to know how very much I love you. 5 I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt your entire church more than he hurt me. 6 He was punished enough when most of you were united in your judgment against him. 7 Now it is time to forgive him and comfort him. Otherwise he may become so discouraged that he won't be able to recover. 8 Now show him that you still love him. 9 I wrote to you as I did to find out how far you would go in obeying me. 10 When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive him (for whatever is to be forgiven), I do so with Christ's authority for your benefit, 11 so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are very familiar with his evil schemes.
PSALM 41:1-13
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor.
The LORD rescues them in times of trouble.
2 The LORD protects them
and keeps them alive.
He gives them prosperity
and rescues them from their enemies.
3 The LORD nurses them when they are sick
and eases their pain and discomfort.
4 " O LORD," I prayed, " have mercy on me.
Heal me, for I have sinned against you."
5 But my enemies say nothing but evil about me.
" How soon will he die and be forgotten?" they ask.
6 They visit me as if they are my friends,
but all the while they gather gossip,
and when they leave, they spread it everywhere.
7 All who hate me whisper about me,
imagining the worst for me.
8 " Whatever he has, it is fatal," they say.
" He will never get out of that bed!"
9 Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely,
the one who shared my food,
has turned against me.
10 LORD, have mercy on me.
Make me well again, so I can pay them back!
11 I know that you are pleased with me,
for you have not let my enemy triumph over me.
12 You have preserved my life because I am innocent;
you have brought me into your presence forever.
13 Bless the LORD, the God of Israel,
who lives forever from eternal ages past.
Amen and amen!
PROVERBS 22:5-6
The deceitful walk a thorny, treacherous road; whoever values life will stay away. Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it.
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