Job 21 - 22 - Legacy Standard Bible

Job 21 - 22

God Does Not Punish the Wicked

Then Job answered and said, 2

“Listen carefully to my speech,

And let this be your way of consolation.

Bear with me that I may speak;

Then after I have spoken, you may mock.

As for me, is my musing to man?

And why should I not be impatient?

Look at me, and be appalled,

And put your hand over your mouth.

Even when I remember, I am dismayed,

And horror seizes my flesh.

Why do the wicked still live,

Continue on, also become very powerful?

Their seed is established with them in their presence,

And their offspring before their eyes,

Their houses are safe from dread,

And the rod of God is not on them.

His ox mates and does not fail;

His cow calves and does not miscarry.

They send forth their little ones like the flock,

And their children skip about.

They lift up the tambourine and harp

And are glad at the sound of the pipe.

They spend their days in prosperity,

And suddenly they go down to Sheol.

They say to God, ‘Depart from us!

We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,

And what would we profit if we entreat Him?’

Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;

The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,

Or does their disaster fall on them?

Does God apportion destruction in His anger?

Are they as straw before the wind,

And like chaff which the storm steals away?

You say, ‘God stores away a man’s wickedness for his sons.’

Let God repay him so that he may know it.

Let his own eyes see his decay,

And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

For what desire does he have for his household after him,

When the number of his months is cut off?

Can anyone teach God knowledge,

In that He judges those on high?

One dies in his full strength,

Being wholly carefree and at ease;

His sides are filled out with fat,

And the marrow of his bones is moist,

But another dies with a bitter soul,

Never even eats anything good.

Together they lie down in the dust,

And worms cover them.

“Behold, I know your thoughts,

And the plans by which you do violence against me.

For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman,

And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’

Have you not asked those who pass by along the way,

And do you not recognize their witness?

That the wicked is reserved for the day of disaster;

They will be led forth at the day of fury.

Who will declare to his face about his actions,

And who will repay him for what he has done?

While he is led forth to the grave,

Men will keep watch over his tomb.

The clods of the valley will gently cover him;

Moreover, all men will draw up after him,

While countless ones go before him.

How then will you vainly comfort me,

Indeed when your answers remain full of falsehood?”

Eliphaz Says Job Must Repent

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 2

“Can a mighty man be of use to God,

Or an insightful man be useful to himself?

Is there any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous,

Or profit if you make your ways perfect?

Is it because of your reverent fear that He reproves you,

That He enters into judgment against you?

Is not your evil great,

And your iniquities without end?

For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause,

And stripped the clothing of the naked.

To the weary you have given no water to drink,

And from the hungry you have withheld bread.

But the earth belongs to the mighty man,

And the highly respected man inhabits it.

You have sent widows away empty,

And the might of the orphans has been crushed.

Therefore snares surround you,

And sudden dread terrifies you,

Or darkness, so that you cannot see,

And an abundance of water covers you.

“Is not God in the height of heaven?

Look also at the distant stars, how high they are!

You say, ‘What does God know?

Can He judge through the dense gloom?

Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;

And He walks on the vault of heaven.’

Will you keep to the ancient path

Which wicked men have trod,

Who were snatched away before their time,

Whose foundations were washed away by a river?

They said to God, ‘Depart from us!’

And ‘What can the Almighty do to them?’

Yet He filled their houses with good things,

But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

The righteous see and are glad,

And the innocent mock them,

Saying, ‘Truly those who rise against us are wiped out,

And their abundance the fire has consumed.’

“Yield now and be at peace with Him;

Thereby good will come to you.

Please receive instruction from His mouth

And set His words in your heart.

If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;

If you remove unrighteousness far from your tent,

And put your gold in the dust,

And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,

Then the Almighty will be your gold

And choice silver to you.

For then you will delight in the Almighty

And lift up your face to God.

You will entreat Him, and He will hear you;

And you will pay your vows.

You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;

And light will shine on your ways.

When some are cast down, you will speak with confidence,

And the humble person He will save.

He will provide escape for one who is not innocent,

And he will escape through the cleanness of your hands.”

Luke 7

The Centurion’s Faith

When He had completed all His words in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. 2 And a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. 3 Now when he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they were earnestly pleading with Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; 5 for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” 6 Now Jesus was going on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, 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 say the word, and my servant 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.” 9 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him. And He turned to the crowd that was following Him and said, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health. 11 And it happened that soon afterwards He went to a city called Nain, and His disciples were going along with Him, accompanied by a large crowd. 12 Now as He approached the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said to her, “Do not cry.” 14 And He came up and touched the coffin, and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. 16 And fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!” 17 And this report concerning Him went out all over Judea and in all the surrounding district.

Questions from John the Baptist

18 And the disciples of John reported to him about all these things. 19 Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?” 20 When 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?’” 21 At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits, and He granted sight to many who were blind. 22 And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.” 24 And 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 But 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,

‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead 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 least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 And when all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and the scholars of the Law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John. 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 eating 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 drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” 36 Now one of the Pharisees was asking Him to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 And behold, there was a woman in the city who was a sinner. And when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 And 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. 39 Now when the Pharisee, who had invited Him, saw this, he said to himself, saying, “If this man were a 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

40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he graciously forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” 44 And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. 46 You 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.” 48 Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” 49 And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” 50 And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Psalm 37

Delight Yourself in Yahweh

Of David.

א Aleph

Do not fret because of evildoers,

Be not envious toward doers of unrighteousness.

For they will wither quickly like the grass

And fade like the green herb.

ב Beth

Trust in Yahweh and do good;

Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Delight yourself in Yahweh;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

ג Gimel

Commit your way to Yahweh,

Trust in Him, and He will do it.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light

And your judgment as the noonday.

ד Daleth

Be still in Yahweh and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,

Because of the man who carries out schemes of wickedness.

ה He

Cease from anger and forsake wrath;

Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

For evildoers will be cut off,

But those who hope for Yahweh, they will inherit the land.

ו Vav

Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;

You will look carefully at his place, and he will not be there.

But the lowly will inherit the land

And will delight themselves in abundant peace.

ז Zayin

The wicked schemes against the righteous

And gnashes at him with his teeth.

The Lord laughs at him,

For He sees that his day is coming.

ח Heth

The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow

To cast down the afflicted and the needy,

To slay those who are upright in conduct.

Their sword will enter their own heart,

And their bows will be broken.

ט Teth

Better is the little of the righteous

Than the abundance of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked will be broken,

But Yahweh sustains the righteous.

י Yodh

Yahweh knows the days of the blameless,

And their inheritance will be forever.

They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,

And in the days of famine they will be satisfied.

כ Kaph

But the wicked will perish;

And the enemies of Yahweh will be like the glory of the pastures,

They vanish—in smoke they vanish away.

ל Lamedh

The wicked borrows and does not pay back,

But the righteous is gracious and gives.

For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,

But those cursed by Him will be cut off.

מ Mem

The footsteps of a man are established by Yahweh,

And He delights in his way.

When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,

Because Yahweh is the One who sustains his hand.

נ Nun

I was young and now I am old,

Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

Or his seed begging bread.

All day long he is gracious and lends,

And his seed is a blessing.

ס Samekh

Depart from evil and do good,

So you will dwell forever.

ע Ayin

For Yahweh loves justice

And will not forsake His holy ones;

They are kept forever,

But the seed of the wicked will be cut off.

The righteous will inherit the land

And dwell in it forever.

פ Pe

The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

And his tongue speaks justice.

The law of his God is in his heart;

His steps do not slip.

צ Tsadhe

The wicked spies upon the righteous

And seeks to put him to death.

Yahweh will not forsake him in his hand;

He will not condemn him when he is judged.

ק Qoph

Hope for Yahweh and keep His way,

And He will exalt you to inherit the land;

When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

ר Resh

I have seen a wicked, ruthless man

Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.

Then he passed away, and behold, he was no more;

I sought for him, but he could not be found.

שׁ Shin

Observe the blameless man, and behold the upright;

For the man of peace will have a posterity.

But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;

The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.

ת Tav

But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh;

He is their strength in time of distress.

Yahweh helps them and protects them;

He protects them from the wicked and saves them,

Because they take refuge in Him.