Job 3 - 4 - Legacy Standard Bible

Job 3 - 4

Job Curses the Day of His Birth

Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job answered and said, 3

“Let the day perish on which I was to be born,

And the night which said, ‘A man is conceived.’

May that day be darkness;

Let not God seek it from above,

Nor light shine on it.

Let darkness and shadow of death redeem it;

Let a cloud dwell upon it;

Let the blackness of the day terrify it.

As for that night, let thick darkness take it;

Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;

Let it not come into the number of the months.

Behold, let that night be barren;

Let no joyful shout enter it.

Let those curse it who curse the day,

Who are ready to rouse Leviathan.

Let the stars of its twilight be darkened;

Let it hope for light but have none,

And let it not see the breaking dawn,

Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s body,

Or hide trouble from my eyes.

“Why did I not die from the womb,

Come forth from the womb and breathe my last?

Why did the knees receive me,

And why the breasts, that I should suck?

For now I would have lain down and been quiet;

I would have slept then; it would have been rest to me,

With kings and with counselors of the earth,

Who rebuilt waste places for themselves,

Or with princes who had gold,

Who were filling their houses with silver.

Or why was I not like a miscarriage hidden away,

As infants that never saw light?

There the wicked cease from raging,

And there the weary of strength are at rest.

The prisoners are at ease together;

They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.

The small and the great are there,

And the slave is free from his master.

“Why is light given to him who is troubled,

And life to the bitter of soul,

Who long for death, but there is none,

And dig for it more than for hidden treasures,

Who are glad with joy,

And rejoice when they find the grave?

Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,

And whom God has hedged in?

For my groaning comes at the sight of my food,

And my roaring pours out like water.

For the dread that I dread comes upon me,

And what I am afraid of befalls me.

I am not complacent, nor am I quiet,

And I am not at rest, and raging comes.”

Eliphaz Says the Innocent Do Not Suffer

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 2

“If one tries a word with you, will you become weary?

But who can hold back from speaking?

Behold, you have disciplined many,

And you have strengthened limp hands.

Your words have helped the stumbling to stand,

And you have encouraged 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?

“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent?

Or where were the upright wiped out?

According to what I have seen, those who plow wickedness

And those who sow trouble harvest it.

By the breath of God they perish,

And by the wind of His anger they come to an end.

The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,

And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

The lion perishes for lack of prey,

And the whelps of the lioness are scattered.

“Now a word was brought to me stealthily,

And my ear received a whisper of it.

Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on men,

Dread came upon me, and trembling,

And made the multitude of my bones shake in dread.

Then a spirit swept by my face;

The hair of my flesh bristled up.

It stood still, but I could not recognize its appearance;

A form was before my eyes;

There was silence, then I heard a voice:

‘Can mankind be right before God?

Can a man be pure before his Maker?

He puts no trust even in His slaves;

And against His angels He charges error.

How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before the moth!

Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces;

Unobserved, they perish forever.

Is not their tent‑cord pulled up within them?

They die, yet without wisdom.’

Mark 12:1 - 13:27

Parable of the Vine‑Growers

And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and put a wall around it, and dug a vat under the wine press and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 2 And at the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, in order to receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vine-growers. 3 And they took him, and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 And again he sent them another slave, and they wounded him in the head, and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and that one they killed; and so with many others, beating some and killing others. 6 He had one more, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those vine-growers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours!’ 8 And they took him, and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine-growers, and will give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not even read this Scripture:

‘The stone which the builders rejected,

This has become the chief corner stone;

This came about from the Lord,

And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

12 And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the crowd, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.

Taxes to Caesar

13 Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. 14 And they *came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a tax to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” 16 And they brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

18 Then some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves no child, his brother should marry the wife and raise up a seed for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; and the first married a wife, and died leaving no seed. 21 And the second one married her, and died leaving behind no seed; and the third likewise; 22 and so all seven left no seed. Last of all the woman died also. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But regarding the fact that the dead are raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

The Foremost Commandment

28 And when one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, he recognized that He had answered them well and asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him; 33 and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one would dare to ask Him any more questions. 35 And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself said in the Holy Spirit,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at My right hand,

Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”’

37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him. 38 And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who want to walk around in long robes, and want respectful greetings in the marketplaces, 39 and best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”

The Widow’s Offering

41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the crowd was putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two lepta, which amount to a quadrans. 43 And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those putting money into the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

Signs of Christ’s Return

And as He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.” 3 And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” 5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. 8 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pains. 9 “But see to yourselves; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be beaten in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a witness to them. 10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations. 11 And when they lead you away, delivering you up, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

The Abomination of Desolation and the Tribulation

14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 15 And the one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house; 16 and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. 17 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 But pray that it may not happen in the winter. 19 For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. 20 And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. 21 And then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ’; or, ‘Behold, He is there’; do not believe him; 22 for false christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23 But as for you, see! I have told you everything in advance.

The Coming of the Son of Man

24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

Psalm 28

Yahweh Is My Strength and My Shield

Of David.

To You, O Yahweh, I call;

My rock, do not be silent to me,

Lest if You are hesitant toward me,

I will become like those who go down to the pit.

Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help,

When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.

Do not drag me away with the wicked

And with workers of iniquity,

Who speak peace with their neighbors,

While evil is in their hearts.

Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their actions;

Give to them according to the deeds of their hands;

Return their dealings upon them.

Because they do not regard the works of Yahweh

Nor the deeds of His hands,

He will tear them down and not build them up.

Blessed be Yahweh,

Because He has heard the voice of my supplications.

Yahweh is my strength and my shield;

My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped;

Therefore my heart exults,

And with my song I shall thank Him.

Yahweh is their strength,

And He is a strong defense of salvation to His anointed.

Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;

Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.