Job 11 - 12, Luke 2, Psalm 32 — Legacy Standard Bible

Zophar Asks, Can You Find the Depths of God?

11Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

²“Shall a multitude of words go unanswered,And a ^aman of lips be in the right?³“Shall your boasts silence men?And shall you ^amock and none rebuke?⁴“^aYou have said, ‘My learning is pure,And ^bI am innocent in your eyes.’⁵“But would that God might speak,And open His lips against you,⁶And tell you the secrets of wisdom!For sound wisdom ¹^,^ahas two sides.Know then that God ²forgets a part of ^byour iniquity.⁷“^aCan you find the depths of God?Can you find the limits of the Almighty?⁸“They are ^ahigh as ¹the heavens, what can you do?Deeper than ^bSheol, what can you know?⁹“Its measure is longer than the earthAnd broader than the sea.¹⁰“If He sweeps by or shuts up,Or calls an assembly, ^awho can turn Him around?¹¹“For ^aHe knows worthless men,And He ^bsees wickedness, ¹so will He not carefully consider it?¹²“¹^,^aYet an empty headed man will obtain a heart of wisdom,And the ²foal of a ^bwild donkey is born a man.¹³“^aIf you would ^bset your heart rightAnd ^cspread out your hand to Him,¹⁴If wickedness is in your hand, ^aput it far away,And do not let unrighteousness dwell in your tents;¹⁵Then, indeed, you could ^alift up your face without moral defect,And you would be steadfast and ^bnot fear.¹⁶“For you would ^aforget your trouble,As ^bwaters that pass by, so you would remember it.¹⁷“And your lifetime would ^aarise brighter than noonday;Darkness would be like the morning.¹⁸“Then you would trust, because there is hope;And you would search around and rest securely.¹⁹“You would ^alie down and none would make you tremble,And many would ^bentreat your ¹favor.²⁰“But the ^aeyes of the wicked will come to an end,And escape will ^bperish from them;And their ^chope is ^dthe expiring of their soul.”

Job Answers

12Then Job answered and said,

²“Truly then ^ayou are the people,And with you wisdom will die!³“But ^aI have a heart of wisdom as well as you;I do not fall short of you.And ¹who does not know such things as these?⁴“I am a ^alaughingstock to ¹my friends,The one who called on God and He answered him;The righteous and ^bblameless man is a laughingstock.⁵“¹As for upheaval, there is only contempt by the one who acts at ease,But it is prepared for those whose feet slip.⁶“The ^atents of the destroyers are complacent,And those who provoke God ^bare secure,¹Whom God brings ^cinto their power.⁷“But now ask the beasts, and let them instruct you;And the birds of the sky, and let them tell you.⁸“Or muse to the earth, and let it instruct you;And let the fish of the sea recount it to you.⁹“Who among all these does not knowThat ^athe hand of Yahweh has done this,¹⁰^aIn whose hand is the life of every living thing,And ^bthe breath of all the flesh of man?¹¹“Does not ^athe ear test words,As the palate ¹tastes its food?¹²“Wisdom is with ^aaged men,With ¹long life is discernment.

Job Speaks of God’s Strength

¹³“With Him are ^awisdom and ^bmight;To Him belong counsel and ^cdiscernment.¹⁴“Behold, He ^apulls down, and it cannot be rebuilt;He ^bcloses a man in, and it cannot be opened.¹⁵“Behold, He ^arestrains the waters, and they dry up;And He ^bsends them out, and they overturn the earth.¹⁶“With Him are strength and sound wisdom;The ^amisled and the misleader belong to Him.¹⁷“He makes ^acounselors walk ¹barefootAnd makes fools of ^bjudges.¹⁸“He ^aopens the ¹bond of kingsAnd binds their loins with a belt.¹⁹“He makes priests walk ¹barefootAnd subverts ^athe enduring ones.²⁰“He removes speech from the faithfulAnd ^atakes away the discerning taste of the elders.²¹“He ^apours contempt on noblesAnd ^bloosens the belt of the strong.²²“He ^areveals mysteries from the darknessAnd brings out the shadows of death into light.²³“He ^amakes the nations great, then makes them perish;He ¹enlarges the nations, then leads them away.²⁴“He ^aremoves the heart of wisdom from the heads of the earth’s peopleAnd makes them wander in a pathless ¹waste.²⁵“They ^agrope in darkness with no light,And He makes them ^bwander about like a drunken man.

Jesus Is Born in Bethlehem

2Now it happened that in those days a decree went out from ^aCaesar Augustus for a census to be taken of ^ball ¹the inhabited earth. ²¹This was the first census taken while ²Quirinius was governor of ^aSyria. ³And everyone was going to be registered for the census, each to his own city. ⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because ^ahe was of the house and family of David, ⁵in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was with child. ⁶Now it happened that while they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to give birth. ⁷And she ^agave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a ¹manger, because there was no place for them in the ²guest room.

⁸In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And ^aan angel of the ¹Lord ^bstood before them, and the glory of the ²Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “^aDo not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. ¹¹For today in the city of David there has been born for you a ^aSavior, who is ¹^,^bChrist ^cthe Lord. ¹²“^aAnd this will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a ¹manger.” ¹³And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴“^aGlory to God in the highest,And on earth peace among men ¹^,^bwith whom He is pleased.”

¹⁵And it happened that when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶So they went in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the ¹manger. ¹⁷And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸And all who heard it marveled at the things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹But Mary ^awas treasuring all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰And the shepherds went back, ^aglorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as was told them.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

²¹And when ^aeight days were fulfilled so that they could circumcise Him, ^bHis name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

²²^aAnd when the days for their cleansing according to the Law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the ¹Lord ²³(as it is written in the Law of the ¹Lord, “^aEvery firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the ²Lord”), ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the ¹Lord, “^aA pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

²⁵And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was ^arighteous and devout, ^bwaiting for the ¹^,^ccomfort of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶And ^ait had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^bsee death before he had seen the ¹Lord’s ²Christ. ²⁷And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus ¹^,^ato carry out for Him the custom of the Law, ²⁸then he took Him into his arms and blessed God, and said,

²⁹“Now Master, You are releasing Your slave in peace,^aAccording to Your word.³⁰For my eyes have ^aseen Your salvation,³¹Which You prepared in the presence of all peoples,³²^aA Light for revelation to the Gentiles,And for the glory of Your people Israel.”

³³And His father and ^amother were marveling at the things which were being said about Him. ³⁴And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary ^aHis mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for ^bthe fall and ¹rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed— ³⁵and a sword will pierce through your own soul as well—that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶And there was a ^aprophetess, ¹Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of ^bthe tribe of Asher. She was advanced in ²years ^chaving lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, ³⁷and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with ^afastings and prayers. ³⁸And at that very ¹moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were ^awaiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

The Return to Nazareth

³⁹And when they had finished everything according to the Law of the ¹Lord, they returned to Galilee, to ^atheir own city of Nazareth. ⁴⁰^aNow the Child continued to grow and become strong, being filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

⁴¹And His parents would go to Jerusalem every year at ^athe Feast of the Passover. ⁴²And when He became twelve years old, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; ⁴³and as they were returning, after finishing the ^adays of the Feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents did not know. ⁴⁴But supposing Him to be in the caravan, they went a day’s journey, and they began searching for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem searching for Him. ⁴⁶And it happened that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷And all who heard Him ^awere astounded at His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸When they saw Him, they were astonished, and ^aHis mother said to Him, “Child, why have You treated us this way? Behold, ^bYour father and I ¹have been anxiously searching for You.” ⁴⁹And He said to them, “Why is it that you were searching for Me? Did you not know that ^aI had to be in My Father’s ¹house?” ⁵⁰But ^athey did not understand the statement which He had spoken to them. ⁵¹And He went down with them and came to ^aNazareth, and He continued in subjection to them, and ^bHis mother ^cwas treasuring all these ¹things in her heart.

⁵²And Jesus was advancing in wisdom and ¹stature, and in ^afavor with God and men.

You Forgave the Iniquity of My Sin

Of David. A ¹Maskil.

^aHow blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,Whose sin is covered!²How blessed is the man whose iniquity Yahweh ^awill not take into account,And in whose spirit there is ^bno deceit!³When ^aI kept silent about my sin, ^bmy ¹bones wasted awayThrough my ²^,^cgroaning all day long.⁴For day and night ^aYour hand was heavy upon me;My ¹^,^bvitality was drained away as with the heat of summer. ² Selah.⁵I ^aacknowledged my sin to You,And my iniquity I ^bdid not cover up;I said, “^cI will confess my transgressions to Yahweh;”And You ^dforgave the ¹iniquity of my sin. Selah.⁶Therefore, let every holy one pray to You ¹^,^aat a time when You may be found;Surely ^bin a flood of great waters they will not reach him.⁷You are ^amy hiding place; You ^bguard me from trouble;You surround me with ¹^,^csongs of deliverance. Selah.⁸I will ^agive you insight and teach you in the way which you should go;I will counsel you ^bwith My eye upon you.⁹Do not be ^aas the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,Whose harness are bit and bridle to control them,Otherwise they will not come near you.¹⁰Many are the ^asorrows of the wicked,But ^bhe who trusts in Yahweh, lovingkindness shall surround him.¹¹Be ^aglad in Yahweh and rejoice, you righteous ones;And shout for joy, all you who are ^bupright in heart.