Job 23 - 24, Luke 8, Psalm 38 — Legacy Standard Bible

Where Is God?

23Then Job answered and said,

²“Even today my ^amusing is rebellion;¹His hand is ^bheavy despite my groaning.³“Oh that I knew where I might find Him,That I might come to His seat!⁴“I would ^aarrange my case for justice before HimAnd fill my mouth with arguments.⁵“I would know the words which He would ¹answer,And discern what He would say to me.⁶“Would He contend with me by ^athe greatness of His power?No, surely He would pay attention to me.⁷“There the upright would ^aargue with Him;And I ¹would have ^bescaped forever from my Judge.⁸“Behold, I go forward but He is not there,And backward, but I ^acannot discern Him;⁹When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.¹⁰“But He knows the ¹way I take;When He has ^atested me, I shall come forth as gold.¹¹“My foot has ^aheld fast to His path;I have kept His way and not turned aside.¹²“I have not departed from the command of His lips;I have treasured the ^awords of His mouth ¹more than my ²portion of food.¹³“But He is unique and who can turn Him?And what His soul desires, that He does.¹⁴“For He performs what is apportioned for me,And many such decrees are with Him.¹⁵“Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;I carefully consider, and I am in dread of Him.¹⁶“It is God who has made my ^aheart faint,And the Almighty who has dismayed me,¹⁷But I ^aam not silenced by the darkness,Nor ^bthick darkness which covers me.

Who Can Prove Me a Liar?

24“^aWhy are ¹times not stored up by the Almighty,And why do those who know Him not behold ^bHis days?²“¹Some ^amove the boundaries;They seize and ²devour flocks.³“They drive away the donkeys of the ^aorphans;They take the ^bwidow’s ox for a pledge.⁴“They push ^athe needy aside from the road;The ^bafflicted of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.⁵“Behold, as ^awild donkeys in the wildernessThey ^bgo forth seeking food earnestly in their work,The desert becomes ¹for him a place of bread for his young ones.⁶“They harvest their fodder in the fieldAnd glean the vineyard of the wicked.⁷“^aThey spend the night naked, without clothing,And have no covering against the cold.⁸“They are wet with the mountain rainsAnd hug the rock for want of a shelter.⁹“¹Others snatch the ^aorphan from the breast,And against the afflicted they take a pledge.¹⁰“Those poor ones walk about naked without clothing,And hungry ones carry the sheaves.¹¹“Within the walls they produce oil;They tread wine presses but thirst.¹²“From the city men groan,And the souls of the wounded cry out;Yet God ^adoes not pay attention to such offense.¹³“¹Others have been with those who rebel against the light;They do not want to recognize its waysNor abide in its paths.¹⁴“The murderer ^aarises at dawn;He ^bkills the afflicted and the needy,And at night he is as a thief.¹⁵“The eye of the ^aadulterer keeps watch for the twilight,Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’And he ¹keeps his face hidden.¹⁶“In the dark they ^adig into houses;They ^bshut themselves up by day;They do not know the light.¹⁷“For the morning is the same to him as the shadow of death,For he recognizes the ^aterrors of the shadow of death.¹⁸“¹They are ²^,^ainsignificant on the surface of the water;Their portion is ^bcursed on the earth.They do not turn ³toward the ^cvineyards.¹⁹“Drought and heat ^aseize the snow waters,So does ^bSheol those who have sinned.²⁰“A ¹^,^amother will forget him;The ^bworm feasts sweetly till he is ^cno longer remembered.And unrighteousness will be broken ^dlike a tree.²¹“He feeds on the barren woman who does not give birthAnd does no good for ^athe widow.²²“But He drags off the mighty by ^aHis power;He rises, but ^bno one believes in his life.²³“He provides them ^awith security, and they are supported;And His ^beyes are on their ways.²⁴“They are exalted a ^alittle while, then they are gone;Moreover, they are ^bbrought low and like everything gathered up;Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.²⁵“Now if it is not so, ^awho can prove me a liar,And make my speech worthless?”

Many Women Contribute to Jesus’ Ministry

8And it happened that soon afterward He was going around from one city and village to another, ^apreaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, ²and also ^asome women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: ^bMary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³and Joanna the wife of Chuza, ^aHerod’s ^bmanager, and Susanna, and many others who were ministering to them from their possessions.

The Parable of the Sower

⁴^aNow when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: ⁵“The sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the ¹air ate it up. ⁶“And other seed fell on rock and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷“And other seed fell among the thorns, and when the thorns grew up with it, they choked it out. ⁸“And other seed fell into the good soil; and growing up, it produced a crop one hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “^aHe who has ears to hear, ¹let him hear.”

The Parable of the Sower Explained

⁹^aAnd His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. ¹⁰And He said, “^aTo you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that ^bseeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

¹¹“Now the parable is this: ^athe seed is the word of God. ¹²“And those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. ¹³“And those on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root; ¹they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. ¹⁴“And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of life, and do not bear ripe fruit. ¹⁵“But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with ¹perseverance.

A Lampstand and the Light

¹⁶“Now ^ano one after lighting a lamp covers it with a container or puts it under a bed, but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. ¹⁷“^aFor nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸“So beware how you listen, ^afor whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he ¹thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

¹⁹^aAnd His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. ²⁰And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.” ²¹But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these ^awho hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

²²^aNow it happened that on one of those days He and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of ^bthe lake.” So they set sail. ²³But as they were sailing along, He fell asleep, and a windstorm descended on ^athe lake, and they began to be swamped and in danger. ²⁴And they came to Him and woke Him up, saying, “^aMaster, Master, we are perishing!” And He woke up and ^brebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and ¹it became calm. ²⁵And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

Jesus Saves a Man from Many Demons

²⁶^aThen they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷And when He came out onto the land, a man from the city met Him, one who was possessed with demons and had not put on any garment for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. ²⁸Now seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “¹^,^aWhat do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of ^bthe Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” ²⁹For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times, and he was bound with chains and shackles, being kept under guard. And yet breaking his bonds, he was driven by the demon into the desolate regions. ³⁰And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “^aLegion,” for many demons had entered him. ³¹And they were pleading with Him not to command them to go away into ^athe abyss.

³²Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain, and the demons pleaded with Him to permit them to enter ¹the swine. And He gave them permission. ³³And when the demons came out of the man, they entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into ^athe lake and was drowned.

³⁴And when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside. ³⁵And the people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down ^aat the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. ³⁶And those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was ^ademon-possessed had been ¹saved. ³⁷And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear. And He got into a boat and returned. ³⁸^aBut the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might ¹accompany Him. But He sent him away, saying, ³⁹“Return to your house and recount what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus’ Daughter

⁴⁰^aAnd as Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. ⁴¹^aAnd behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was ¹^,^ban official of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he began to plead with Him to come to his house, ⁴²for he had an ¹only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

⁴³And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, ⁴⁴came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. ⁴⁵And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “^aMaster, the crowds are surrounding and pressing in on You.” ⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I knew that ^apower had gone out of Me.” ⁴⁷And when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling. And falling down before Him, she declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸And He said to her, “Daughter, ^ayour faith has ¹saved you; ^bgo in peace.”

⁴⁹While He was still speaking, someone *came from the house of ^athe synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” ⁵⁰But when Jesus heard this, He answered him, “^aDo not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be ¹saved.” ⁵¹So when He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother. ⁵²Now they were all crying and ^alamenting for her, but He said, “Stop crying, for she has not died, but ^bis asleep.” ⁵³And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. ⁵⁴He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!” ⁵⁵And her spirit returned, and she stood up immediately. And He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. ⁵⁶And her parents were astounded, but He ^adirected them to tell no one what had happened.

Do Not Forsake Me, O Yahweh

A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance.

O Yahweh, ^areprove me not in Your wrath,And discipline me not in Your burning anger.²For Your ^aarrows have pressed deep into me,And ^bYour hand has pressed down upon me.³There is ^ano soundness in my flesh ^bbecause of Your indignation;There is no health ^cin my bones because of my sin.⁴For my ^ainiquities go over my head;As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.⁵My ¹wounds stink and rotBecause of ^amy ²folly.⁶I am bent over and ^agreatly bowed down;I ^bgo mourning all day long.⁷For my loins are filled with ^aburning,And there is ^bno soundness in my flesh.⁸I am ^afaint and ¹badly crushed;I ²^,^bgroan because of the ³agitation of my heart.⁹Lord, all ^amy desire is ¹before You;And my ^bsighing is not hidden from You.¹⁰My heart throbs, ^amy strength forsakes me;And the ^blight of my eyes, even ¹that ²has gone from me.¹¹My ¹^,^aloved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;And my kinsmen ^bstand afar off.¹²Those who ^asearch for my life ^blay snares for me;And those who ^cseek ¹to do me evil have ²threatened destruction,And they ^dmeditate on deception all day long.¹³But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;And I am like a ^amute man who does not open his mouth.¹⁴And I am like a man who does not hear,And in whose mouth are no reproofs.¹⁵For ^aI ¹wait on You, O Yahweh;You ^bwill answer, O Lord my God.¹⁶For I said, “Save, lest they be glad over me,Who, when my foot stumbles, ^amagnify themselves against me.”¹⁷For I am ^aready to fall,And ^bmy ¹sorrow is continually before me.¹⁸For I ¹^,^aconfess my iniquity;I am full of ^banxiety because of my sin.¹⁹But my ^aenemies are vigorous and ¹strong,And those who wrongfully ^bhate me abound.²⁰And those who ^arepay evil for good,They ^baccuse me, for I pursue what is good.²¹Do not forsake me, O Yahweh;O my God, ^ado not be far from me!²²Make ^ahaste to help me,O Lord, ^bmy salvation!