August 29th - Day 241

Job 31-33:33

Job 31

1 "I made a covenant with my eyes

not to look lustfully at a girl.

2 For what is man's lot from God above,

his heritage from the Almighty on high?

3 Is it not ruin for the wicked,

disaster for those who do wrong?

4 Does he not see my ways

and count my every step?

5 "If I have walked in falsehood

or my foot has hurried after deceit-

6 let God weigh me in honest scales

and he will know that I am blameless-

7 if my steps have turned from the path,

if my heart has been led by my eyes,

or if my hands have been defiled,

8 then may others eat what I have sown,

and may my crops be uprooted.

9 "If my heart has been enticed by a woman,

or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door,

10 then may my wife grind another man's grain,

and may other men sleep with her.

11 For that would have been shameful,

a sin to be judged.

12 It is a fire that burns to Destruction [a] ;

it would have uprooted my harvest.

13 "If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants

when they had a grievance against me,

14 what will I do when God confronts me?

What will I answer when called to account?

15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?

Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?

16 "If I have denied the desires of the poor

or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,

17 if I have kept my bread to myself,

not sharing it with the fatherless-

18 but from my youth I reared him as would a father,

and from my birth I guided the widow-

19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,

or a needy man without a garment,

20 and his heart did not bless me

for warming him with the fleece from my sheep,

21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,

knowing that I had influence in court,

22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder,

let it be broken off at the joint.

23 For I dreaded destruction from God,

and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.

24 "If I have put my trust in gold

or said to pure gold, 'You are my security,'

25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,

the fortune my hands had gained,

26 if I have regarded the sun in its radiance

or the moon moving in splendor,

27 so that my heart was secretly enticed

and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,

28 then these also would be sins to be judged,

for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

29 "If I have rejoiced at my enemy's misfortune

or gloated over the trouble that came to him-

30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin

by invoking a curse against his life-

31 if the men of my household have never said,

'Who has not had his fill of Job's meat?'-

32 but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,

for my door was always open to the traveler-

33 if I have concealed my sin as men do, [b]

by hiding my guilt in my heart

34 because I so feared the crowd

and so dreaded the contempt of the clans

that I kept silent and would not go outside

35 ("Oh, that I had someone to hear me!

I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;

let my accuser put his indictment in writing.

36 Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,

I would put it on like a crown.

37 I would give him an account of my every step;

like a prince I would approach him.)-

38 "if my land cries out against me

and all its furrows are wet with tears,

39 if I have devoured its yield without payment

or broken the spirit of its tenants,

40 then let briers come up instead of wheat

and weeds instead of barley."

The words of Job are ended.

Job 32

Elihu

1 So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 3 He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him. [c] 4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. 5 But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.

6 So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said:

"I am young in years,

and you are old;

that is why I was fearful,

not daring to tell you what I know.

7 I thought, 'Age should speak;

advanced years should teach wisdom.'

8 But it is the spirit [d] in a man,

the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.

9 It is not only the old [e] who are wise,

not only the aged who understand what is right.

10 "Therefore I say: Listen to me;

I too will tell you what I know.

11 I waited while you spoke,

I listened to your reasoning;

while you were searching for words,

12 I gave you my full attention.

But not one of you has proved Job wrong;

none of you has answered his arguments.

13 Do not say, 'We have found wisdom;

let God refute him, not man.'

14 But Job has not marshaled his words against me,

and I will not answer him with your arguments.

15 "They are dismayed and have no more to say;

words have failed them.

16 Must I wait, now that they are silent,

now that they stand there with no reply?

17 I too will have my say;

I too will tell what I know.

18 For I am full of words,

and the spirit within me compels me;

19 inside I am like bottled-up wine,

like new wineskins ready to burst.

20 I must speak and find relief;

I must open my lips and reply.

21 I will show partiality to no one,

nor will I flatter any man;

22 for if I were skilled in flattery,

my Maker would soon take me away.

Job 33

1 "But now, Job, listen to my words;

pay attention to everything I say.

2 I am about to open my mouth;

my words are on the tip of my tongue.

3 My words come from an upright heart;

my lips sincerely speak what I know.

4 The Spirit of God has made me;

the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

5 Answer me then, if you can;

prepare yourself and confront me.

6 I am just like you before God;

I too have been taken from clay.

7 No fear of me should alarm you,

nor should my hand be heavy upon you.

8 "But you have said in my hearing—

I heard the very words-

9 'I am pure and without sin;

I am clean and free from guilt.

10 Yet God has found fault with me;

he considers me his enemy.

11 He fastens my feet in shackles;

he keeps close watch on all my paths.'

12 "But I tell you, in this you are not right,

for God is greater than man.

13 Why do you complain to him

that he answers none of man's words [f] ?

14 For God does speak—now one way, now another—

though man may not perceive it.

15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,

when deep sleep falls on men

as they slumber in their beds,

16 he may speak in their ears

and terrify them with warnings,

17 to turn man from wrongdoing

and keep him from pride,

18 to preserve his soul from the pit, [g]

his life from perishing by the sword. [h]

19 Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain

with constant distress in his bones,

20 so that his very being finds food repulsive

and his soul loathes the choicest meal.

21 His flesh wastes away to nothing,

and his bones, once hidden, now stick out.

22 His soul draws near to the pit, [i]

and his life to the messengers of death. [j]

23 "Yet if there is an angel on his side

as a mediator, one out of a thousand,

to tell a man what is right for him,

24 to be gracious to him and say,

'Spare him from going down to the pit [k] ;

I have found a ransom for him'-

25 then his flesh is renewed like a child's;

it is restored as in the days of his youth.

26 He prays to God and finds favor with him,

he sees God's face and shouts for joy;

he is restored by God to his righteous state.

27 Then he comes to men and says,

'I sinned, and perverted what was right,

but I did not get what I deserved.

28 He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, [l]

and I will live to enjoy the light.'

29 "God does all these things to a man—

twice, even three times-

30 to turn back his soul from the pit, [m]

that the light of life may shine on him.

31 "Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;

be silent, and I will speak.

32 If you have anything to say, answer me;

speak up, for I want you to be cleared.

33 But if not, then listen to me;

be silent, and I will teach you wisdom."

Footnotes:

1. Job 31:12 Hebrew Abaddon
   
2. Job 31:33 Or as Adam did
   
3. Job 32:3 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition Job, and so had condemned God
   
4. Job 32:8 Or Spirit ; also in verse 18
   
5. Job 32:9 Or many ; or great
   
6. Job 33:13 Or that he does not answer for any of his actions
   
7. Job 33:18 Or preserve him from the grave
   
8. Job 33:18 Or from crossing the River
   
9. Job 33:22 Or He draws near to the grave
   
10. Job 33:22 Or to the dead
    
11. Job 33:24 Or grave
    
12. Job 33:28 Or redeemed me from going down to the grave
    
13. Job 33:30 Or turn him back from the grave

2 Corinthians 3:1-18



2 Corinthians 3

1Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

4Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The Glory of the New Covenant

7Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

12Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect[a] the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Corinthians 3:18 Or contemplate

Psalm 43:1-5



Psalm 43

1[a] Vindicate me, O God,

and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;

rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.

2 You are God my stronghold.

Why have you rejected me?

Why must I go about mourning,

oppressed by the enemy?

3 Send forth your light and your truth,

let them guide me;

let them bring me to your holy mountain,

to the place where you dwell.

4 Then will I go to the altar of God,

to God, my joy and my delight.

I will praise you with the harp,

O God, my God.

5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and my God.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 43:1 In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm.

Proverbs 22:8-9



8 He who sows wickedness reaps trouble,

and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

9 A generous man will himself be blessed,

for he shares his food with the poor.