Job 31 - 32, Luke 12, Psalms 42 - 43 — Legacy Standard Bible

31“I have cut a covenant with my ^aeyes;How then could I gaze at a virgin?²“And what is ^athe portion of God from aboveOr the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?³“Is it not ^adisaster to the unjustAnd misfortune to ^bthose who work iniquity?⁴“Does He not ^asee my waysAnd ^bnumber all my steps?⁵“If I have ^awalked with worthlessness,And my foot has hastened after deceit,⁶Let Him ^aweigh me with ¹just scales,And let God know ^bmy integrity.⁷“If my step has ^aturned from the way,Or my heart ¹followed my eyes,Or if any ^bspot has stuck to my hands,⁸Let me ^asow and another eat,And let my ¹^,^bcrops be uprooted.⁹“If my heart has been ^aenticed by a woman,Or I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s doorway,¹⁰May my wife ^agrind for another,And let ^bothers ¹kneel down over her.¹¹“For that would be ^alewdness;Moreover, it would be ^ban iniquity punishable by judges.¹²“For it would be ^afire that consumes to ¹^,^bAbaddon,And would ^cuproot all my ²produce.¹³“If I have ^arejected the justice of my male or female ¹slavesWhen they filed a complaint against me,¹⁴What then could I do when God arises?And when He calls me to account, with what will I respond to Him?¹⁵“Did not ^aHe who made me in the womb make him,And the same one fashion us in the womb?¹⁶“If I have held back ^athe poor from their desire,Or have caused the eyes of ^bthe widow to fail,¹⁷Or have ^aeaten my morsel alone,And ^bthe orphan has not eaten from it¹⁸(But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,And from the womb of my mother I guided her),¹⁹If I have seen anyone perish ^afor lack of clothing,Or that ^bthe needy had no covering,²⁰If his loins have not blessed me,And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,²¹If I have waved my hand against ^athe orphanBecause I saw my help ^bin the gate,²²Let my shoulder fall from the ¹socket,And my ^aarm be broken off ²at the elbow.²³“For ^adisaster from God is a dread to me,And because of ^bHis exaltedness I can do nothing.²⁴“If I have put my confidence in ^agold,And called fine gold my trust,²⁵If I have ^abeen glad because my wealth was great,And because my hand had found so much,²⁶If I have ^alooked at the ¹sun when it shoneOr the moon going in splendor,²⁷And my heart became secretly enticed,And my hand ¹threw a kiss from my mouth,²⁸That too would have been ^aan iniquity calling for ¹judgment,For I would have ^bdenied God above.²⁹“If I ^ahave been glad at the upheaval of the one who hated me,Or ¹exulted when evil found him—³⁰“But ^aI have not given over my ¹mouth to sinBy asking for his life in ^ba curse—³¹“If the men of my tent have not said,‘Who can ¹find one who has not been ^asatisfied with his meat’—³²“The sojourner has not lodged outside,For I have opened my doors to the ¹traveler—³³“If I have ^acovered my transgressions like ¹Adam,By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,³⁴Because I ^afeared the great multitude,And the contempt of families terrified me,And I kept silent and did not go out of doors—³⁵“Oh that I had one to hear me!Behold, here is my ¹signature;^aLet the Almighty answer me!And the indictment which my ^baccuser has written,³⁶Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;I would bind it to myself like a crown.³⁷“I would declare to Him ^athe number of my steps;Like ^ba prince I would approach Him—³⁸“If my ^aland cries out against me,And its furrows weep together,³⁹If I have ^aeaten its ¹fruit without money,Or have ^bcaused ²its owners to lose their lives,⁴⁰Let ^abriars come out instead of wheat,And stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.

Elihu Answers in Anger

32Then these three men ceased answering Job because he was ^arighteous in his own eyes. ²But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the ^aBuzite, of the family of Ram, burned; against Job his anger burned ^bbecause he was proving himself righteous ¹^,^cbefore God. ³And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job. ⁴Now Elihu had waited with his words for Job because they were years older than he. ⁵Then Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, so his anger burned.

⁶So Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, “I am young in years and you are ^aold;Therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you my knowledge.

⁷“I ¹thought ²^,^aage should speak,And ³increased years should make wisdom known.⁸“But it is a spirit in man,And the ^abreath of the Almighty gives them ^bunderstanding.⁹“The ¹abundant in years may not be wise,Nor may ^aelders understand justice.¹⁰“So I ¹say, ‘Listen to me,I too will tell my knowledge.’¹¹“Behold, I waited for your words,I gave ear to your reasonings,While you searched out what to say.¹²“I even carefully considered you;And behold, there was no one who reproved Job,Not one of you who answered his words.¹³“Lest you say,‘^aWe have found wisdom;God will drive him away, not man.’¹⁴“Now he has not arranged his words against me,Nor will I respond to him with your words.¹⁵“They are dismayed; they no longer answer;Words have moved away from them.¹⁶“Shall I wait, because they do not speak,Because they stand still and no longer answer?¹⁷“I myself will also answer my share;I also will tell my knowledge.¹⁸“For I am full of words;The spirit within my belly presses me.¹⁹“Behold, my belly is like unvented wine, not opened;Like new wineskins it is about to burst.²⁰“Let me speak that I may get relief;Let me open my lips and answer.²¹“Let me now ^abe partial to no one,Nor flatter any man.²²“For I do not know how to flatter,Else my Maker would soon carry me away.

Fear Only God

12At this time, after ¹so many thousands of the crowd had gathered together that they were trampling on one another, He began saying to His disciples first, “^aBe on your guard for the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. ²“^aBut there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. ³“Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have ¹whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon ^athe housetops.

⁴“But I say to you, ^aMy friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. ⁵“But I will show you whom to fear: ^afear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into ¹^,^bhell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! ⁶“Are not ^afive sparrows sold for two ¹assaria? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷“^aIndeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

⁸“And I say to you, everyone who ^aconfesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God, ⁹but ^ahe who denies Me before men will be denied ^bbefore the angels of God. ¹⁰“^aAnd everyone who ¹speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. ¹¹“Now when they bring you before ^athe synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not ^bworry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say, ¹²for ^athe Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Parable of the Rich Fool

¹³And someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” ¹⁴But He said to him, “^aMan, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵Then He said to them, “^aWatch out and be on your guard against every form of greed, for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” ¹⁶And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. ¹⁷“And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ ¹⁸“Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, ^ayou have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ ²⁰“But God said to him, ‘^aYou fool! This very night ¹^,^byour soul is required of you; and ^cnow who will own what you prepared?’ ²¹“So is the one who ^astores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Worry

²²And He said to His disciples, “^aFor this reason I say to you, ¹do not worry about your ²life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. ²³“For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴“Consider the ^aravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor ^bbarn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! ²⁵“And which of you by worrying can add a single ¹^,^acubit to his ²life span? ²⁶“Therefore, if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? ²⁷“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, but I tell you, not even ^aSolomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ²⁸“But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? ^aYou of little faith! ²⁹“And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not ^akeep worrying. ³⁰“For ¹all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek, but your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹“But seek His kingdom, and ^athese things will be added to you. ³²“^aDo not fear, ^blittle flock, for ^cyour Father is well pleased to give you the kingdom.

³³“^aSell your possessions and give it as charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, ^ban unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. ³⁴“For ^awhere your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Be Ready for His Coming

³⁵“^aGird up ^byour loins, and keep your lamps lit. ³⁶“And be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. ³⁷“Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find ^aawake when he comes; truly I say to you, that ^bhe will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. ³⁸“^aWhether he comes in the ¹second watch, or even in the ²third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

³⁹“^aBut ¹be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be ²^,^bbroken into. ⁴⁰“^aYou too, be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not ¹expect.”

⁴¹Now Peter said, “Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or ^ato everyone else as well?” ⁴²And ^athe Lord said, “^bWho then is the faithful and prudent ^csteward, whom his master will put in charge of his ¹servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? ⁴³“Blessed is that ^aslave whom his ¹master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁴“Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵“But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master ¹will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, ⁴⁶the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. ⁴⁷“And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will ^areceive many beatings, ⁴⁸but the one who did not ^aknow it, and committed deeds worthy of a beating, will receive but a few. ^bFrom everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

Not Peace, but Division

⁴⁹“I ¹have come to cast fire upon the earth, and ²how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰“But I have a ^abaptism to ¹undergo, and how distressed I am until it is finished! ⁵¹“^aDo you think that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; ⁵²for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. ⁵³“They will be divided, ^afather against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴And He was also saying to the crowds, “^aWhen you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it happens. ⁵⁵“And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a ^ahot day,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶“You hypocrites! ^aYou know how to examine the appearance of the earth and the sky, but ¹why do you not examine this present time?

⁵⁷“And ^awhy do you not even judge for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸“For ^awhile you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to ¹settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. ⁵⁹“I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the last ¹^,^alepton.”

BOOK 2

My Soul Thirsts for God

For the choir director. A ¹Maskil of the sons of Korah.

As the deer ²pants for the water brooks,So my soul ³^,^apants for You, O God.²My soul ^athirsts for God, for the ^bliving God;When shall I come and ¹^,^cappear before God?³My ^atears have been my food day and night,While they ^bsay to me all day long, “Where is your God?”⁴These things I remember and I ^apour out my soul within me.For I ^bused to go along with the throng and ¹lead them in procession to the house of God,With the sound of a ^cshout of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.⁵^aWhy are you ¹^,^bin despair, O my soul?And why are you ^cdisturbed within me?^dWait for God, for I shall still praise Him,²For the ³^,^esalvation of His presence.⁶O my God, my soul is ¹in despair within me;Therefore I ^aremember You from ^bthe land of the JordanAnd the ²peaks of ^cHermon, from Mount Mizar.⁷Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;All Your ^abreakers and Your waves have rolled over me.⁸By day, Yahweh will ^acommand His lovingkindness;And ^bby night, His song will be with me,A prayer to ^cthe God of my life.⁹I say to God ^amy rock, “Why have You forgotten me?Why do I go ^bmourning ¹because of the ^coppression of the enemy?”¹⁰As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries reproach me,While they ^asay to me all day long, “Where is your God?”¹¹^aWhy are you ¹in despair, O my soul?And why are you disturbed within me?Wait for God, for I shall still praise Him,The salvation of my presence and my God.

Send Out Your Light and Your Truth

43^aGive justice to me, O God, and ^bplead my case against an unholy nation;¹Oh protect me from ^cthe deceitful and unrighteous man!²For You are the ^aGod of my strength; why have You ^brejected me?Why do I go ^cmourning ¹because of the oppression of the enemy?³Oh send out Your ^alight and Your truth, let them lead me;Let them bring me to Your ^bholy mountainAnd to Your ^cdwelling places.⁴Then I will go to ^athe altar of God,To God ¹my exceeding ^bjoy;And upon the ^clyre I shall praise You, O God, my God.⁵^aWhy are you ¹in despair, O my soul?And why are you disturbed within me?Wait for God, for I shall still praise Him,The salvation of my presence and my God.