Job 21 - 22, Luke 7, Psalm 37 — Legacy Standard Bible

God Does Not Punish the Wicked

21Then Job answered and said,

²“Listen carefully to my speech,And let this be your way of consolation.³“Bear with me that I may speak;Then after I have spoken, you may ^amock.⁴“As for me, is ^amy musing ¹to man?And ^bwhy should ²I not be impatient?⁵“Look at me, and be appalled,And ^aput your hand over your mouth.⁶“Even when I remember, I am dismayed,And ^ahorror seizes my flesh.⁷“Why ^ado the wicked still live,Continue on, also become very ^bpowerful?⁸“Their ^aseed is established with them in their presence,And their offspring before their eyes,⁹Their houses ^aare safe from dread,And the rod of God is not on them.¹⁰“His ox mates and does not fail;His cow calves and does not miscarry.¹¹“They send forth their little ones like the flock,And their children skip about.¹²“They lift up the tambourine and harpAnd are glad at the sound of the pipe.¹³“They ^aspend their days in prosperity,And ¹suddenly they go down to Sheol.¹⁴“They say to God, ‘^aDepart from us!We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.¹⁵‘¹Who is ²the Almighty, that we should serve Him,And ^awhat would we profit if we entreat Him?’¹⁶“Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;The ^acounsel of the wicked is far from me.¹⁷“How often is ^athe lamp of the wicked put out,Or does their ^bdisaster fall on them?Does ¹God apportion destruction in His anger?¹⁸“Are they as ^astraw before the wind,And like ^bchaff which the storm steals away?¹⁹“You say, ‘^aGod stores away ¹a man’s wickedness for his sons.’Let ²God repay him so that he may know it.²⁰“Let his ^aown eyes see his decay,And let him ^bdrink of the wrath of ¹the Almighty.²¹“For what desire does he have for his household ¹after him,When the number of his months is cut off?²²“Can anyone ^ateach God knowledge,In that He ^bjudges those on high?²³“One ^adies in his full strength,Being wholly carefree and at ease;²⁴His ¹sides are filled out with fat,And the ^amarrow of his bones is moist,²⁵But another dies with a bitter soul,Never even eats anything good.²⁶“Together they ^alie down in the dust,And ^bworms cover them.²⁷“Behold, I know your thoughts,And the plans by which you do violence against me.²⁸“For you say, ‘Where is the house of ^athe nobleman,And where is the ^btent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’²⁹“Have you not asked those who pass by along the way,And do you not recognize their ¹witness?³⁰“That the ^awicked is reserved for the day of disaster;They will be led forth at ^bthe day of fury.³¹“Who will declare to his face about his actions,And who will repay him for what he has done?³²“While he is led forth to the grave,Men will keep watch over his tomb.³³“The ^aclods of the valley will ¹gently cover him;Moreover, ^ball men will draw up after him,While countless ones go before him.³⁴“How then will you vainly ^acomfort me,Indeed when your answers remain full of ¹falsehood?”

Eliphaz Says Job Must Repent

22Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

²“Can a mighty ^aman be of use to God,Or an insightful man be useful to himself?³“Is there any pleasure to ¹the Almighty if you are righteous,Or profit if you make your ways perfect?⁴“Is it because of your reverent fear that He reproves you,That He ^aenters into judgment against you?⁵“Is not ^ayour evil great,And your iniquities without end?⁶“For you have ^ataken pledges of your brothers without cause,And ^bstripped the clothing of the naked.⁷“To the weary you have ^agiven no water to drink,And from the hungry you have ^bwithheld bread.⁸“But the earth ^abelongs to the ^bmighty man,And ^cthe ¹highly respected man inhabits it.⁹“You have sent ^awidows away empty,And the ¹might of the ^borphans has been crushed.¹⁰“Therefore ^asnares surround you,And sudden ^bdread terrifies you,¹¹Or ^adarkness, so that you cannot see,And an ^babundance of water covers you.¹²“Is not God ^ain the height of heaven?Look also at the ¹distant stars, how high they are!¹³“You say, ‘^aWhat does God know?Can He judge through the dense gloom?¹⁴‘^aClouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;And He walks on the ¹vault of heaven.’¹⁵“Will you keep to the ancient pathWhich ^awicked men have trod,¹⁶Who were snatched away ^abefore their time,Whose ^bfoundations were ¹washed away by a river?¹⁷“They ^asaid to God, ‘Depart from us!’And ‘What can ¹the Almighty do to them?’¹⁸“Yet He ^afilled their houses with good things,But ^bthe counsel of the wicked is far from me.¹⁹“The ^arighteous see and are glad,And the innocent mock them,²⁰Saying, ‘Truly those who rise against us are wiped out,And their ¹abundance ^athe fire has consumed.’²¹“¹^,^aYield now and be at peace with Him;Thereby good will come to you.²²“Please receive ¹^,^ainstruction from His mouthAnd set His words in your heart.²³“If you ^areturn to ¹the Almighty, you will be ²restored;If you ^bremove unrighteousness far from your tent,²⁴And ^aput your ¹gold in the dust,And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,²⁵Then ¹the Almighty will be your ²goldAnd choice silver to you.²⁶“For then you will ^adelight in ¹the AlmightyAnd lift up your face to God.²⁷“You will ^aentreat Him, and ^bHe will hear you;And you will pay your vows.²⁸“You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;And ^alight will shine on your ways.²⁹“When ¹some are cast down, you will speak with ²confidence,And the ³^,^ahumble person He will save.³⁰“He will provide escape for one who is not innocent,And he will ^aescape through the cleanness of your hands.”

The Centurion’s Faith

7^aWhen He had completed all His words in the hearing of the people, ^bHe went to Capernaum.

²And a centurion’s slave, ¹who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. ³Now when he heard about Jesus, ^ahe sent some ¹Jewish elders asking Him to come and ²save the life of his slave. ⁴And when they came to Jesus, they were earnestly pleading with Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; ⁵for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” ⁶Now Jesus was going on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “¹Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not good enough for You to come under my roof. ⁷“For this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just ¹say the word, and my ²servant will be healed. ⁸“For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” ⁹Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him. And He turned to the crowd that was following Him and said, “I say to you, ^anot even in Israel have I found such great faith.” ¹⁰And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

¹¹And it happened that soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain, and His disciples were going along with Him, ¹accompanied by a large crowd. ¹²Now as He approached the gate of the city, behold, ¹a dead man was being carried out, the ²only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. ¹³And when ^athe Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said to her, “Do not cry.” ¹⁴And He came up and touched the coffin, and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” ¹⁵And the ¹dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. ¹⁶^aAnd fear gripped them all, and they began ^bglorifying God, saying, “A great ^cprophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has ¹visited His people!” ¹⁷^aAnd this report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.

Questions from John the Baptist

¹⁸^aAnd the disciples of John reported to him about all these things. ¹⁹Summoning ¹two of his disciples, John sent them to ^athe Lord, saying, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?” ²⁰When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?’” ²¹At that ¹very time He ^acured many people of diseases and ^bafflictions and evil spirits, and He granted sight to many who were blind. ²²And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the ^ablind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the ^bpoor have the gospel preached to them. ²³“Blessed is he ¹who does not take offense at Me.”

²⁴And when the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵“¹But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft garments? Behold, those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces! ²⁶“But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and even more than a prophet. ²⁷“This is the one about whom it is written, ‘^aBehold, I send My messenger ¹ahead of You,Who will prepare Your way before You.’

²⁸“I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is ¹least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹And when all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they ¹acknowledged ^aGod’s justice, ^bhaving been baptized with ^cthe baptism of John. ³⁰But the Pharisees and the ^ascholars of the Law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by ¹John.

³¹“To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? ³²“They are like children, sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, who say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’ ³³“For John the Baptist has come ^aeating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ ³⁴“The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a ¹drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and ²sinners!’ ³⁵“Yet wisdom ^ais vindicated ¹by all her children.”

³⁶Now one of the Pharisees was asking Him to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ³⁷^aAnd behold, there was a woman in the city who was a ¹sinner. And when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. ³⁸And standing behind Him at His feet, crying, she began to wet His feet with her tears. And she kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. ³⁹Now when the Pharisee, who had invited Him, saw this, he said to himself, saying, “If this man were ^aa prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”

Parable of Two Debtors

⁴⁰And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he ¹replied, “Say it, Teacher.” ⁴¹“A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred ¹^,^adenarii, and the other fifty. ⁴²“When they ^awere unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” ⁴³Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he graciously forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” ⁴⁴And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you ^agave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵“You ^agave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. ⁴⁶“^aYou did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. ⁴⁷“For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸Then He said to her, “^aYour sins have been forgiven.” ⁴⁹And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say ¹to themselves, “^aWho is this man who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰And He said to the woman, “^aYour faith has saved you; ^bgo in peace.”

Delight Yourself in Yahweh

א Aleph

Of David.

^aDo not fret because of evildoers,Be not ^benvious toward doers of unrighteousness.²For they will ^awither quickly like the grassAnd ^bfade like the green herb.

ב Beth

³^aTrust in Yahweh and do good;^bDwell in the land and ¹^,^ccultivate faithfulness.⁴^aDelight yourself in Yahweh;And He will ^bgive you the desires of your heart.

ג Gimel

⁵^aCommit your way to Yahweh,Trust in Him, and He will do it.⁶He will bring forth ^ayour righteousness as the lightAnd your judgment ^bas the noonday.

ד Daleth

⁷Be still in Yahweh and ^await ¹patiently for Him;^bDo not fret because of him who ^cprospers in his way,Because of the man who carries out schemes of wickedness.

ה He

⁸Cease from anger and ^aforsake wrath;Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.⁹For ^aevildoers will be cut off,But those who hope for Yahweh, they will ^binherit the land.

ו Vav

¹⁰Yet ^aa little while and the wicked man will be no more;You will look carefully at ^bhis place, and he will not be there.¹¹But ^athe lowly will inherit the landAnd will delight themselves in ^babundant peace.

ז Zayin

¹²The wicked ^aschemes against the righteousAnd ^bgnashes at him with his teeth.¹³The Lord ^alaughs at him,For He sees that ^bhis day is coming.

ח Heth

¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword and ^abent their bowTo cast down the ^bafflicted and the needy,To ^cslay those who are upright in conduct.¹⁵Their sword will enter their own heart,And their ^abows will be broken.

ט Teth

¹⁶^aBetter is the little of the righteousThan the abundance of many wicked.¹⁷For the ^aarms of the wicked will be broken,But Yahweh ^bsustains the righteous.

י Yodh

¹⁸Yahweh ^aknows the days of the ¹blameless,And their ^binheritance will be forever.¹⁹They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,And ^ain the days of famine they will be satisfied.

כ Kaph

²⁰But the ^awicked will perish;And the enemies of Yahweh will be like the ¹glory of the pastures,They vanish—^bin smoke they vanish away.

ל Lamedh

²¹The wicked borrows and does not pay back,But the righteous ^ais gracious and gives.²²For ^athose blessed by Him will ^binherit the land,But those ^ccursed by Him will be cut off.

מ Mem

²³^aThe footsteps of a man are established by Yahweh,And He ^bdelights in his way.²⁴When ^ahe falls, he will not be hurled headlong,Because ^bYahweh is the One ¹who sustains his hand.

נ Nun

²⁵I was young and now I am old,Yet ^aI have not seen the righteous forsakenOr ^bhis seed begging bread.²⁶All day long ^ahe is gracious and lends,And ^bhis seed is a blessing.

ס Samekh

²⁷^aDepart from evil and do good,So you will dwell ^bforever.

ע Ayin

²⁸For Yahweh ^aloves ¹justiceAnd ^bwill not forsake His holy ones;They are ^ckept forever,But the ^dseed of the wicked will be cut off.²⁹The righteous will ^ainherit the landAnd ^bdwell in it forever.

פ Pe

³⁰The mouth of the righteous ^autters wisdom,And his tongue ^bspeaks justice.³¹The ^alaw of his God is in his heart;His ^bsteps do not slip.

צ Tsadhe

³²The ^awicked spies upon the righteousAnd ^bseeks to put him to death.³³Yahweh will ^anot forsake him in his hand;^bHe will not condemn him when he is judged.

ק Qoph

³⁴^aHope for Yahweh and keep His way,And He will exalt you to inherit the land;When the ^bwicked are cut off, you will see it.

ר Resh

³⁵I have ^aseen a wicked, ruthless manSpreading himself like a ^bluxuriant ¹tree in its native soil.³⁶Then ¹he passed away, and behold, he ^awas no more;I sought for him, but he could not be found.

שׁ Shin

³⁷Observe the ¹^,^ablameless man, and behold the ^bupright;For the man of peace will have ²a ^cposterity.³⁸But transgressors will be altogether ^adestroyed;The ¹posterity of the wicked will be ^bcut off.

ת Tav

³⁹But the ^asalvation of the righteous is from Yahweh;He is their strength ^bin time of distress.⁴⁰^aYahweh helps them and protects them;He ^bprotects them from the wicked and saves them,Because they ^ctake refuge in Him.