August 23rd - Day 235

Job 8-11:20

Job 8

Bildad

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2 "How long will you say such things?

Your words are a blustering wind.

3 Does God pervert justice?

Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

4 When your children sinned against him,

he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.

5 But if you will look to God

and plead with the Almighty,

6 if you are pure and upright,

even now he will rouse himself on your behalf

and restore you to your rightful place.

7 Your beginnings will seem humble,

so prosperous will your future be.

8 "Ask the former generations

and find out what their fathers learned,

9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,

and our days on earth are but a shadow.

10 Will they not instruct you and tell you?

Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?

11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?

Can reeds thrive without water?

12 While still growing and uncut,

they wither more quickly than grass.

13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God;

so perishes the hope of the godless.

14 What he trusts in is fragile [a] ;

what he relies on is a spider's web.

15 He leans on his web, but it gives way;

he clings to it, but it does not hold.

16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,

spreading its shoots over the garden;

17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks

and looks for a place among the stones.

18 But when it is torn from its spot,

that place disowns it and says, 'I never saw you.'

19 Surely its life withers away,

and [b] from the soil other plants grow.

20 "Surely God does not reject a blameless man

or strengthen the hands of evildoers.

21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter

and your lips with shouts of joy.

22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,

and the tents of the wicked will be no more."

Job 9

Job

1 Then Job replied:

2 "Indeed, I know that this is true.

But how can a mortal be righteous before God?

3 Though one wished to dispute with him,

he could not answer him one time out of a thousand.

4 His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.

Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?

5 He moves mountains without their knowing it

and overturns them in his anger.

6 He shakes the earth from its place

and makes its pillars tremble.

7 He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;

he seals off the light of the stars.

8 He alone stretches out the heavens

and treads on the waves of the sea.

9 He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,

the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

10 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,

miracles that cannot be counted.

11 When he passes me, I cannot see him;

when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.

12 If he snatches away, who can stop him?

Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'

13 God does not restrain his anger;

even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.

14 "How then can I dispute with him?

How can I find words to argue with him?

15 Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;

I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.

16 Even if I summoned him and he responded,

I do not believe he would give me a hearing.

17 He would crush me with a storm

and multiply my wounds for no reason.

18 He would not let me regain my breath

but would overwhelm me with misery.

19 If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!

And if it is a matter of justice, who will summon him [c] ?

20 Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;

if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.

21 "Although I am blameless,

I have no concern for myself;

I despise my own life.

22 It is all the same; that is why I say,

'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'

23 When a scourge brings sudden death,

he mocks the despair of the innocent.

24 When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,

he blindfolds its judges.

If it is not he, then who is it?

25 "My days are swifter than a runner;

they fly away without a glimpse of joy.

26 They skim past like boats of papyrus,

like eagles swooping down on their prey.

27 If I say, 'I will forget my complaint,

I will change my expression, and smile,'

28 I still dread all my sufferings,

for I know you will not hold me innocent.

29 Since I am already found guilty,

why should I struggle in vain?

30 Even if I washed myself with soap [d]

and my hands with washing soda,

31 you would plunge me into a slime pit

so that even my clothes would detest me.

32 "He is not a man like me that I might answer him,

that we might confront each other in court.

33 If only there were someone to arbitrate between us,

to lay his hand upon us both,

34 someone to remove God's rod from me,

so that his terror would frighten me no more.

35 Then I would speak up without fear of him,

but as it now stands with me, I cannot.

Job 10

1 "I loathe my very life;

therefore I will give free rein to my complaint

and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.

2 I will say to God: Do not condemn me,

but tell me what charges you have against me.

3 Does it please you to oppress me,

to spurn the work of your hands,

while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?

4 Do you have eyes of flesh?

Do you see as a mortal sees?

5 Are your days like those of a mortal

or your years like those of a man,

6 that you must search out my faults

and probe after my sin-

7 though you know that I am not guilty

and that no one can rescue me from your hand?

8 "Your hands shaped me and made me.

Will you now turn and destroy me?

9 Remember that you molded me like clay.

Will you now turn me to dust again?

10 Did you not pour me out like milk

and curdle me like cheese,

11 clothe me with skin and flesh

and knit me together with bones and sinews?

12 You gave me life and showed me kindness,

and in your providence watched over my spirit.

13 "But this is what you concealed in your heart,

and I know that this was in your mind:

14 If I sinned, you would be watching me

and would not let my offense go unpunished.

15 If I am guilty—woe to me!

Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,

for I am full of shame

and drowned in [e] my affliction.

16 If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion

and again display your awesome power against me.

17 You bring new witnesses against me

and increase your anger toward me;

your forces come against me wave upon wave.

18 "Why then did you bring me out of the womb?

I wish I had died before any eye saw me.

19 If only I had never come into being,

or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!

20 Are not my few days almost over?

Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy

21 before I go to the place of no return,

to the land of gloom and deep shadow, [f]

22 to the land of deepest night,

of deep shadow and disorder,

where even the light is like darkness."

Job 11

Zophar

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

2 "Are all these words to go unanswered?

Is this talker to be vindicated?

3 Will your idle talk reduce men to silence?

Will no one rebuke you when you mock?

4 You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless

and I am pure in your sight.'

5 Oh, how I wish that God would speak,

that he would open his lips against you

6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,

for true wisdom has two sides.

Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.

7 "Can you fathom the mysteries of God?

Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?

8 They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?

They are deeper than the depths of the grave [g] —what can you know?

9 Their measure is longer than the earth

and wider than the sea.

10 "If he comes along and confines you in prison

and convenes a court, who can oppose him?

11 Surely he recognizes deceitful men;

and when he sees evil, does he not take note?

12 But a witless man can no more become wise

than a wild donkey's colt can be born a man. [h]

13 "Yet if you devote your heart to him

and stretch out your hands to him,

14 if you put away the sin that is in your hand

and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,

15 then you will lift up your face without shame;

you will stand firm and without fear.

16 You will surely forget your trouble,

recalling it only as waters gone by.

17 Life will be brighter than noonday,

and darkness will become like morning.

18 You will be secure, because there is hope;

you will look about you and take your rest in safety.

19 You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,

and many will court your favor.

20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail,

and escape will elude them;

their hope will become a dying gasp."

Footnotes:

1. Job 8:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
   
2. Job 8:19 Or Surely all the joy it has / is that
   
3. Job 9:19 See Septuagint; Hebrew me .
   
4. Job 9:30 Or snow
   
5. Job 10:15 Or and aware of
   
6. Job 10:21 Or and the shadow of death ; also in verse 22
   
7. Job 11:8 Hebrew than Sheol
   
8. Job 11:12 Or wild donkey can be born tame

1 Corinthians 15:1-28



1 Corinthians 15

The Resurrection of Christ

1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he "has put everything under his feet."[c] Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Corinthians 15:3 Or you at the first
   
2. 1 Corinthians 15:5 Greek Cephas
   
3. 1 Corinthians 15:27 Psalm 8:6

Psalm 38:1-22



Psalm 38

A psalm of David. A petition.

1 O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger

or discipline me in your wrath.

2 For your arrows have pierced me,

and your hand has come down upon me.

3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;

my bones have no soundness because of my sin.

4 My guilt has overwhelmed me

like a burden too heavy to bear.

5 My wounds fester and are loathsome

because of my sinful folly.

6 I am bowed down and brought very low;

all day long I go about mourning.

7 My back is filled with searing pain;

there is no health in my body.

8 I am feeble and utterly crushed;

I groan in anguish of heart.

9 All my longings lie open before you, O Lord;

my sighing is not hidden from you.

10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me;

even the light has gone from my eyes.

11 My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds;

my neighbors stay far away.

12 Those who seek my life set their traps,

those who would harm me talk of my ruin;

all day long they plot deception.

13 I am like a deaf man, who cannot hear,

like a mute, who cannot open his mouth;

14 I have become like a man who does not hear,

whose mouth can offer no reply.

15 I wait for you, O LORD;

you will answer, O Lord my God.

16 For I said, "Do not let them gloat

or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips."

17 For I am about to fall,

and my pain is ever with me.

18 I confess my iniquity;

I am troubled by my sin.

19 Many are those who are my vigorous enemies;

those who hate me without reason are numerous.

20 Those who repay my good with evil

slander me when I pursue what is good.

21 O LORD, do not forsake me;

be not far from me, O my God.

22 Come quickly to help me,

O Lord my Savior.

Proverbs 21:28-29



28 A false witness will perish,

and whoever listens to him will be destroyed forever. [a]

29 A wicked man puts up a bold front,

but an upright man gives thought to his ways.

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 21:28 Or / but the words of an obedient man will live on