Job 12 Cross References - LEB

¹ Then* Job answered and said, ² "Truly indeed you* are the people, and wisdom will die with you.* ³ _⌊I also have insight_⌋* like you;* I am not more inferior than you.* And _⌊who does not know things like these_⌋?* ⁴ I am a laughingstock to my friends:* 'He calls on God, and he answers him.' A righteous, blameless man is a laughingstock. ⁵ _⌊Those at ease have contempt_⌋* for the thought of _⌊disaster_⌋,* but it is ready for those unstable of foot. ⁶ The tents of the destroyers are at peace, and there is security for those who provoke God, for those whom God brings into his hand.* ⁷ "But* ask* the animals, and they will teach you, and the birds of the heaven, and they will tell you; ⁸ or ask the earth, and it will teach you, and the fishes of the sea will declare to you. ⁹ Who among all of these does not know that Yahweh's hand has done this? ¹⁰ In whose hand is the life of all living things and _⌊the breath of every human being_⌋?* ¹¹ Does not the ear test words and the palate taste food for itself? ¹² Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding is in length of days. ¹³ "With him are wisdom and powerful deeds, and to him belong counsel and understanding. ¹⁴ If he tears down, then* it will not be rebuilt; if he shuts a man in, then* he cannot be freed. ¹⁵ Look, if he withholds the water,* then* they dry up; and if he sends them out, then* they overwhelm the land. ¹⁶ "Strength and sound wisdom are with him; the deceived and the deceiver are his.* ¹⁷ He leads counselors away stripped, and he makes fools of judges. ¹⁸ He loosens the fetters of kings, and he binds a loincloth on their loins. ¹⁹ He leads priests away stripped, and he overthrows _⌊the members of ancient families_⌋.* ²⁰ He deprives the trustworthy of speech, and he takes away the discretion of elders. ²¹ He pours contempt on noblemen, and he loosens the girdle of the mighty. ²² "He uncovers mysteries out of darkness, and he brings deep shadow to the light. ²³ He makes the nations great, then* he destroys them; he expands the nations, then* he guides them. ²⁴ He strips away the insight of the heads of the earth's people, and he makes them wander in _⌊a pathless wasteland_⌋.* ²⁵ They grope in the dark _⌊without_⌋* light, and he makes them stagger like a* drunkard.

²⁴ Teach me, and I myself* will be silent; and make me understand how I have gone astray. ²⁵ How painful are _⌊upright words_⌋!* But* what does _⌊your reproof_⌋* reprove?

⁸ "Indeed,* please inquire of former generations, and consider _⌊what their ancestors have found_⌋,* ⁹ for we are of yesterday, and we do not know, for our days on earth are a shadow. ¹⁰ Will they themselves* not teach you and _⌊tell you_⌋* and _⌊utter_⌋* words from their heart?

² "Should an abundance of words go unanswered, or _⌊a man full of talk_⌋* be vindicated?*

⁶ and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom, for _⌊insight has many sides_⌋.* And know that God _⌊on your behalf_⌋* has forgotten _⌊some of_⌋* your guilt.

¹² But* _⌊an empty-headed person_⌋* will get understanding when* a wild donkey's colt is born as a human being.

² "Should the wise answer with windy knowledge, and should he fill his stomach with the east wind?

⁴ Indeed,* you have closed their mind from understanding; therefore, you will not let them triumph.

¹⁰ But* _⌊all of you must return_⌋*—_⌊please come_⌋!* But* I shall not find a wise person among you.

³ I hear discipline that insults me, and a spirit beyond my understanding answers me.

⁷ I thought,* 'Let days* speak, and let many years teach wisdom.' ⁸ "Truly, it is a spirit in a human being, and the breath of Shaddai teaches them. ⁹ It is not _⌊the aged_⌋* who are wise, or* it is not the elders who understand justice. ¹⁰ Therefore I say, 'Listen to me; let me also declare my knowledge myself.' ¹¹ "Look, I waited for your* words; I listened for your* insight, until you searched out _⌊what to say_⌋.* ¹² And I directed my attention to you;* and, look, there is no one for Job who refuted, answering his words among you. ¹³ So do not say, 'We have found wisdom; let God refute him, not a man.'

¹¹ A man of wealth is wise in his own eyes, but the intelligent poor sees through him.

²¹ Ah! Those who are wise in their own eyes and have understanding _⌊in their view_⌋!*

¹⁰ We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are prudent in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, but we are dishonored!

⁵ I say this to your shame. So is there not anyone wise among you who will be able to render a decision between his brothers? ⁶ Can tasteless food be eaten without* salt, or is there taste in the white of a marshmallow plant? ⁷ _⌊I refused_⌋* to touch them; they are like _⌊food that will make me ill_⌋.*

² _⌊What you* know_⌋,* I myself* also know— I am not more inferior than you.* ³ But I would speak to Shaddai, and I desire to argue with God. ⁴ "But* you* _⌊whitewash with lies_⌋;* all of you* are _⌊worthless healers_⌋.* ⁵ _⌊O that_⌋* you* would keep completely silent, and that it would become wisdom for you.*

² "How you* have helped _⌊one who has no power_⌋!* How you* have assisted the arm _⌊that has no strength_⌋!* ³ How you* have advised _⌊one who has no wisdom_⌋!* And what sound wisdom you* have made known _⌊in abundance_⌋!* ⁴ Do not answer a fool according to his folly lest you become like him—even you.

⁵ For I consider myself in no way to be inferior to the preeminent apostles.*

²¹ I say this to my shame, namely, that we have been weak.
But in whatever anyone dares to boast—I am speaking in foolishness—I also dare to boast. ²² Are they Hebrews? I am also! Are they Israelites? I am also! Are they descendants of Abraham? I am also! ²³ Are they servants of Christ?—I am speaking as though I were beside myself—I am more so, with far greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with beatings to a much greater degree, in danger of death many times.

²⁹ Please turn, let no injustice happen; indeed,* turn, _⌊my righteousness is still intact_⌋.*

³ Should your loose talk put people to silence? _⌊And when you mock, shall no one put you to shame_⌋?*

¹⁰ They gaped at me with their mouth; they struck my cheeks with disgrace; they have massed themselves together against me.

²⁰ My friends scorn me; my eye pours out tears to God,

² _⌊Surely_⌋* mockery is with me, and my eye _⌊rests_⌋* on their provocation.

⁶ "And he has made me a proverb for* the peoples, _⌊and I am one before whom people spit_⌋.*

³ Bear with me, and I myself* will speak; then* after my speaking you can mock.

¹ "But now those younger than I, as far as days, laugh at me, whose fathers I rejected for setting with the dogs of my sheep and goats.

⁷ All who see me mock me. They open wide their lips; they shake the head, saying: ⁸ "_⌊He trusts Yahweh_⌋.* Let him rescue him. Let him deliver him because he delights in him."

¹⁶ Among the ungodly of the mockers at feasts,* they gnashed at me with their teeth.

¹⁵ He will call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue and honor him.

² He who walks in uprightness fears Yahweh, but he who is devious in his ways displeases him.

³ 'Call to me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great things and inaccessible things that you have not known.'

⁷ But as for me, I will look to Yahweh; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

²⁹ and weaving a crown of thorns, they put it* on his head, and put* a reed in his right hand. And kneeling down before him, they mocked him, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!"

⁴⁰ And they began laughing* at him. But he sent them all out and* took along the father and mother of the child, and those who were with him, and went in to where the child was.

¹⁴ Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him.

³² Now when they* heard about the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed, but others said, "We will hear you about this again also."

³⁶ And others _⌊experienced mocking and flogging_⌋*, and in addition bonds and imprisonment.

³⁵ _⌊Vengeance belongs to me_⌋* and also recompense, _⌊for at the time their foot slips_⌋,* because the day of their disaster is near, _⌊and fate comes quickly for them_⌋.'*

⁵ Does the wild ass bray over grass, or the ox bellow over its fodder?

⁴ I myself* also could talk as you, if _⌊you were in my place_⌋;* I could join against you with words, and I could shake at you with my head.

⁵ Furthermore,* the light of the wicked is put out, and the flame of his fire will not shine.

⁵ I have held my steps in your path My feet will not slip.

¹⁸ When I thought,* "My foot is slipping," your loyal love, O Yahweh, supported me.

³ Be gracious to us, O Yahweh, be gracious to us, for long enough we have had our fill of contempt. ⁴ For long enough our soul has had its fill of the derision of the self-confident, the contempt of the arrogant.

⁹ The light of the righteous will rejoice, but the lamp of the wicked will die out.

²⁰ He who curses his father and his mother, his lamp will be extinguished _⌊in the midst of darkness_⌋.*

¹⁶ Give glory to Yahweh your God _⌊before_⌋* he brings darkness, and _⌊before_⌋* your feet stumble on the mountains at twilight. And you will hope for light, but he makes it as gloom, he makes it* as thick darkness.

¹ Alas for those being at ease in Zion, and those who feel secure on Mount Samaria, the notables of the best of the nations! The house of Israel resorts to them. ² Cross over to Calneh and see, and go from there to Hamath Rabbah and go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms, or is their territory greater than your territory? ³ You that put off the day of disaster and bring near a reign of violence! ⁴ Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory and lounge on their couches, and those eating young rams from the sheep and goats, and bull-calves from the middle of the animal stall. ⁵ Alas for those who sing to the tune of the harp; like David they improvise on instruments of music. ⁶ Alas for those who drink from sprinkling bowls of wine and anoint themselves with the best of olive oils and are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph.

⁸ And the foolish ones said to the wise ones, 'Give us some of your olive oil, because our lamps are going out!'

¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many possessions stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, celebrate!" '

¹⁹ "Now a certain man was rich, and dressed in purple cloth and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day. ²⁰ And a certain poor man _⌊named_⌋* Lazarus, covered with sores, lay at his gate,

²⁴ The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; he covers the face of its judge— if it is not he, then who is it?

⁷ "Why do the wicked live, grow old, even grow mighty in power? ⁸ With them their offspring are established _⌊before them_⌋,* and their descendants before their eyes. ⁹ Their houses are safe without fear, and the rod of God is not upon them. ¹⁰ His bull breeds and does not fail; his cow calves and does not miscarry. ¹¹ They send out their little ones like the flock, and their children dance around. ¹² They _⌊sing_⌋* to the tambourine and lyre, and they rejoice to the sound of the long flute. ¹³ They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol. ¹⁴ And they say to God, 'Turn away from us, for* we do not desire to know your ways. ¹⁵ Who is Shaddai that we should serve him, or* what would we benefit when we plead with him?'

¹⁸ Yet* he himself* filled up their houses with good things, but* the schemes of the wicked are repugnant to me.

¹⁴ from men by your hand, O Yahweh, from men of this world. Their share is in _⌊this life_⌋,* and you fill their stomach with your treasure. They are satisfied with children. They bequeath their excess to their children.

¹ Of David.*
Do not fret because of evildoers; do not be envious of doers of wickedness.

³⁵ I have seen the wicked acting violently and spreading himself out like a luxuriant native tree.

¹¹ And they say, "How does God know?" and, "Does the Most High have knowledge?" ¹² See, these are the wicked, and they increase wealth, ever carefree.

²⁷ Like a cage full of birds,* so their houses are full of fraud. _⌊Therefore_⌋* they have become great, and they have become rich.

²⁹ Do you not ask those traveling the roads, and do you not take notice of their accounts? ³⁰ Indeed, the wicked is spared from the day of disaster; he is delivered from the day of wrath.

⁶ Go to the ant, lazy! Consider its ways and be wise.

³ An ox knows its owner and a donkey the manger of its master. Israel does not know; my people do not understand.

⁷ Even the stork in heaven knows its appointed time, and the turtledove, and the swallow, and the song bird, they observe the time of their coming. But my people do not know the ordinance* of Yahweh.

¹⁷ And you may think* in your heart, 'My strength and the might of my hand _⌊acquired this wealth for_⌋* me.' ¹⁸ But you must remember Yahweh your God, for he is the one giving you strength to acquire wealth in order to confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors* _⌊as it is today_⌋.*

⁷ Yahweh makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and also exalts.

³ _⌊I also have insight_⌋* like you;* I am not more inferior than you.* And _⌊who does not know things like these_⌋?*

²⁰ so that they may see and know, and take to heart and understand together that the hand of Yahweh has done this, and the holy one of Israel has created it."

⁵ "I have made the earth with humankind and animals* that are on the face of the earth by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and I give it to whomever is right in my eyes. ⁶ And now I myself have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and also the animals* of the field I have given to him to serve him.

¹⁸ _⌊O king_⌋,* the Most High God gave the kingdom and the greatness and the glory and the majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your _⌊predecessor_⌋.*

¹⁷ "And now, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy. Shine* your face upon your desolate sanctuary _⌊for your sake, O Lord_⌋.*

³⁵ And when* the city secretary had quieted the crowd, he said, "Ephesian men, for who is there among men who does not know the Ephesian city is honorary temple keeper of the great Artemis and of her* image fallen from heaven?

³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for eternity! Amen.

⁵ Listen, my dear brothers! Did not God choose the poor of the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? ⁶ But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich exploiting you and they themselves dragging you into the courts? ⁷ Do they themselves not blaspheme the good name _⌊of the one to whom you belong_⌋*?

⁷ when* Yahweh God formed the man* of dust from the ground, and he blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

¹⁷ And I, behold, I am about to bring the flood waters over the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life from under the heaven;* everything that is on the earth shall perish.

²² And they fell on their faces, and they said, "God, God of the spirits of all flesh, will one man sin and you become angry toward the entire community?"

³ For _⌊as long as_⌋* my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nose,

⁴ The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of Shaddai gives life to me.

¹⁴ If he should set his heart to it, and he should gather his spirit and his breath to himself, ¹⁵ all flesh would perish together, and humankind would return to dust.

²⁹ You hide your face, they are terrified. You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

³ Do not place trust in princes, in a son of humankind with whom there is no deliverance. ⁴ His breath departs; he returns to his plot;* on that day his plans perish.

²³ And now you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his temple you have brought in before you, and you and your lords,* your wives and your concubines, have been drinking wine from* them, and you have praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone* that do not see and do not hear and do not know, but the God _⌊who holds your life in his hand_⌋* and all of your ways _⌊come from him_⌋,* you have not honored.

⁶ What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

²⁵ nor is he served by human hands as if he* needed anything, because* he himself gives to everyone life and breath and everything.

²⁸ for in him we live and move and exist,* as even some of _⌊your own_⌋* poets have said: 'For we also are _⌊his_⌋* offspring.'*

³⁰ Is there injustice on my tongue? Or can my palate not discern calamity?*

³ for the ear tests words, and the palate tastes _⌊food_⌋.*

¹⁵ I am speaking as to sensible people; you judge what I am saying.

¹⁰ so that you may approve what is superior, in order that you may be sincere and blameless in* the day of Christ,

¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have trained their faculties for the distinguishing of both good and evil.

³ if you have tasted that the Lord is kind,*

⁸ "Indeed,* please inquire of former generations, and consider _⌊what their ancestors have found_⌋,*

¹⁰ Both the gray-haired and the old are among us— _⌊those older than your father_⌋.*

⁷ I thought,* 'Let days* speak, and let many years teach wisdom.'

⁴ He is wise in* heart and mighty in* strength; who has resisted him and succeeded?*

¹⁶ "Strength and sound wisdom are with him; the deceived and the deceiver are his.*

²⁰ Indeed,* from where does wisdom come? And _⌊where in the world_⌋* is the place of understanding? ²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and it is concealed from the birds of the heaven. ²² Abaddon and Death say, 'We heard its rumor with our ears.' ²³ "God understands its way, and he knows its place, ²⁴ for he himself* looks to the end of the earth; he sees under all the heaven. ²⁵ _⌊When he gave_⌋* weight to the wind and he apportioned the waters by measure, ²⁶ _⌊when he made_⌋* a rule for the rain and a way for the thunder's lightning bolt, ²⁷ then he saw it and talked about it; he established it, and moreover, he explored it. ²⁸ And to the human beings he said, 'Look, the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.'"

⁶ Then Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite _⌊spoke up_⌋* and said,
"_⌊I am young_⌋,* but* you* are old; therefore I feared and became afraid of explaining my knowledge to you.* ⁷ I thought,* 'Let days* speak, and let many years teach wisdom.' ⁸ "Truly, it is a spirit in a human being, and the breath of Shaddai teaches them. ⁹ It is not _⌊the aged_⌋* who are wise, or* it is not the elders who understand justice.

⁵ Look, God is mighty but* does not despise anyone; he is mighty and _⌊good in understanding_⌋.*

³⁶ Who has put wisdom in the ibis,* or who has given understanding to the rooster?*

⁵ Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is unlimited.

⁶ For Yahweh will give wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. ⁷ For the upright, he stores* sound judgment, a shield for those who walk uprightly,

¹⁴ _⌊Advice and sound judgment_⌋* are mine; I am understanding, _⌊strength is mine_⌋.*

¹³ Who has measured up the spirit of Yahweh or informed him as _⌊his counselor_⌋*? ¹⁴ With whom has he consulted, that* he enlightened him* and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and made the way of understanding known to him?

¹⁰ who from the beginning declares the end, and from before, things that have not been done, who says, 'My plan shall stand,' and, 'I will accomplish* all my wishes,'*

¹² He is the maker of the earth by his power, who created the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding he stretched out heaven.

²⁰ Daniel _⌊said_⌋:*
"Let his name, the name of God,* be blessed _⌊throughout the ages_⌋,* for the wisdom and the power _⌊are his_⌋.*

¹⁵ for I will give you a mouth and wisdom that all your opponents will not be able to resist or contradict.

³⁴ "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?*

²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

⁸ that he caused to abound to us in all wisdom and insight,

¹¹ in whom also we were chosen, having been predestined according to the purpose of the One who works all things according to the counsel of his will,

³ in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.

⁵ Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask for it from God, who gives to all without reservation and not reproaching, and it will be given to him.

⁴⁶ This day Yahweh will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down _⌊and cut off your head_⌋!* Then I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of heaven and to the animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God who is for Israel.

¹⁸ You have explained to me today that you have dealt well with me, how* Yahweh delivered me into your hand but you did not kill me.

⁸ Then Abishai said to David, "God has handed over your enemy into your hand today! So then, _⌊please let me pin him to the ground with the spear_⌋* _⌊one time_⌋,* and _⌊I will not strike him twice_⌋."*

¹² _⌊If_⌋* he would snatch away, who could turn him? Who could say to him, 'What are you doing?' ¹³ God will not turn back his anger; beneath him the helpers of Rahab bow.

¹⁰ "If he passes through and imprisons someone* _⌊and summons the assembly_⌋,* then* who can hinder him?

¹¹ God delivers me to an evil one, and he casts me into the hands of the wicked.

¹⁰ He has broken me down all around, and I am gone. And he has uprooted my hope like a tree,

⁷ _⌊he stops all human beings from working_⌋* _⌊so that everyone whom he has made may know it_⌋.*

²³ "And I will make her a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,"
_⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh of hosts.

²² And I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder, and he shall open and no one will be able to shut; and he shall shut and no one will be able to open.

² For you have _⌊made_⌋* the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin, the palace of foreigners _⌊is no longer_⌋* a city; it will _⌊never_⌋* be rebuilt.

⁵⁸ Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
"The broad walls of Babylon will be utterly demolished, and her high gates will burn with fire, and the peoples will labor _⌊for nothing_⌋,* and the nations _⌊for fire_⌋,* and they will grow weary."

⁶⁴ And you must say, 'Babylon will sink, and she will not rise, _⌊because of_⌋* the face of the disasters* that I am bringing on her, and they will grow weary.'" _⌊Thus far_⌋* the words of Jeremiah.

⁴ If Edom says, "We are shattered, but we will return and rebuild the ruins," Yahweh of hosts says this: "They may build, but I will tear down; and they will be called a territory of wickedness, and the people with whom Yahweh is angry forever."

³² For God confined them all in disobedience, in order that he could have mercy on them all.

⁷ "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
"This is what the holy one, the true one, the one who has the key of David, the one who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one can open, says:

¹³ And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth was filled with violence because of them. Now, look, I am going to destroy them along with the earth.

¹¹ In the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month—on that day all the springs of the great deep were split open, and the windows of heaven were opened.

¹⁷ And then _⌊the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you_⌋,* and he will shut up the heavens,* and there shall not be rain, and so the ground will not give its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land that Yahweh is giving to you.

³⁵ When you shut up the heavens so there is no rain because they have sinned against you, then they pray to this place and they confess your name and they return from their sin because you punished them, ³⁶ then you shall hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants and your people Israel, for you will teach them the good way in which they should go, and you will give rain upon your land which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

¹ Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbe of Gilead said to Ahab, "_⌊As Yahweh lives_⌋,* the God of Israel before whom I stand, there shall surely not be dew nor rain these years _⌊except by my command_⌋."*

¹⁰ In whose hand is the life of all living things and _⌊the breath of every human being_⌋?*

⁷ At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they ran off. ⁸ They ascended the mountains and drained though the valleys to the place that you established* for them. ⁹ You set a boundary that they may not cross over, so that they would not return to cover the earth.

²² Are there any among the idols of the nation who cause rain to pour? Or can the heavens give showers? Is it not you, O Yahweh our God? Therefore, we hope in you, for you do all these things.

⁸ The one who made the Pleiades and Orion and who turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens day into night, the one who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh is his name!

⁴ He rebukes the sea and he dries up the rivers; he makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither;* the blossom of Lebanon languishes.

²⁵ But in truth I say to you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three years and six months while a great famine took place over all the land.

¹⁷ Elijah was a human being* with the same nature as us, and _⌊he prayed fervently_⌋* for it not to rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. ¹⁸ And he prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit.

⁶ These have the authority to shut the sky, so that _⌊it does not rain_⌋* during the days of their prophecy. And they have authority over the waters, to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with every plague as often as they wish.

²² He said, 'I will go out and I will be a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he* said, 'You shall entice and succeed, go out and do so.' ²³ So then, see that Yahweh has placed a false spirit in the mouth of all of these your prophets, and Yahweh has spoken disaster concerning you."

¹³ "With him are wisdom and powerful deeds, and to him belong counsel and understanding.

⁷ "Will you* speak falsely for God? And will you* speak deceitfully for him?

⁹ Will it be well, if he examines you?* Or can you* deceive him like deceiving a human being?

⁹ And the prophet, if he is deceived and he speaks a word, I Yahweh, I have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him, and I will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.

¹³ And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.*

³¹ Now David was told, "Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom." Then David said, "Please frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel, O Yahweh."

¹⁴ Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than the advice of Ahithophel." (Now Yahweh had ordained to frustrate the good counsel of Ahithophel in order for Yahweh to bring misery upon Absalom).

²³ When Ahithophel saw that his advice was not followed, he saddled the donkey, and he set out and went up to his house in his city. _⌊After he set his house in order_⌋,* he hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors.*

¹⁴ with kings and counselors of the earth, who _⌊rebuild_⌋ * ruins for themselves,

¹² Where are your sages then? Now, let them tell you, and let them know what Yahweh of hosts has planned against Egypt. ¹³ The princes of Zoan have become foolish; the princes of Memphis are deceived; the leaders of her tribes have led Egypt astray. ¹⁴ Yahweh has mixed a spirit of confusion into her midst, and they have caused Egypt to stagger in all of its doings, as _⌊when a drunkard staggers_⌋* in his vomit.

¹⁴ therefore look, I am again doing something spectacular
and a spectacle with this spectacular people. And the wisdom of its wise men shall perish, and the discernment of its discerning ones shall keep itself hidden."

¹⁹ For it is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will confound."* ²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

¹¹ So Yahweh brought the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria upon them, and they took Manasseh captive with hooks, and they bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon. ¹² And when he was in distress he entreated Yahweh his God and greatly humbled himself before the God of his ancestors* ¹³ and prayed to him. And God responded to him and heard his plea and let him return to Jerusalem to his kingdom. And Manasseh knew that Yahweh was God. ¹⁴ Then afterward he built an outer wall for the city of David west of the Gihon in the valley, and for the entrance into the Gate of the Fishes. And it encircled the Ophel and raised it very high. Then he placed strong commanders in all the fortified cities of Judah.

¹⁶ Ah, Yahweh, I am indeed your servant; I am your servant, the child of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.

³¹ _⌊And then_⌋* in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evil-merodach, the king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, and brought him out from _⌊prison_⌋.* ³² Then he spoke with him kindly and gave his seat above the seats* of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ³³ So he changed the garments of his imprisonment and he ate food _⌊before him_⌋* continually all the days of his life. ³⁴ And his allowance, a continual allowance was given to him by the king of Babylon _⌊on a daily basis_⌋* all the days of his life up to the day of his death.

²¹ And he changes the times and the seasons, and he deposes kings and he sets up kings; he gives wisdom* to wise men and knowledge to men who know understanding.

¹⁶ And he has a name written on his outer garment and on his thigh: "King of kings and Lord of lords."

²⁴ And when they brought these kings to Joshua, Joshua called all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of _⌊the fighting men_⌋* who had gone with him, "Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came near and put their feet on their necks.

⁴² all of these kings and their land Joshua captured at one time, because Yahweh the God of Israel fought for Israel.

⁴⁵ Then David said to the Philistine, "You are coming to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I am coming to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have defied! ⁴⁶ This day Yahweh will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down _⌊and cut off your head_⌋!* Then I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of heaven and to the animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God who is for Israel.

²² Yet* he* carries off the tyrants by his strength; if he rises up, then* he* cannot be certain of life.*

²⁸ so that they cause the cry of distress from the helpless to come to him, and he hears the cry of distress from the needy,

⁹ "Because of the multitude of oppressions, they cry out; they cry for help because of the arm of the mighty.

³⁶ And the angel of Yahweh set out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When* they rose in the morning, look! All of them were dead corpses. ³⁷ Then* Sennacherib king of Assyria left, went, and returned and lived at Nineveh. ³⁸ And this happened: he was bowing in worship in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him with the sword. And they themselves escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-haddon his son reigned as king in his place.

¹ Thus says Yahweh to his anointed one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subjugate nations before him, and I uncover* the loins of kings to open doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut:

¹⁴ These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful."

¹⁹ And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war with the one who is seated on the horse and with his army. ²⁰ And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs before him, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. ²¹ And the rest were killed by the sword of the one who is seated on the horse—the sword that comes out of his mouth—and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

²⁴ He strips away the insight of the heads of the earth's people, and he makes them wander in _⌊a pathless wasteland_⌋.*

⁹ It is not _⌊the aged_⌋* who are wise, or* it is not the elders who understand justice.

¹⁷ because God made it forget wisdom, and he did not give it a share in understanding.

²¹ Lips of righteousness feed many, but fools _⌊die for lack of sense_⌋.*

¹⁹ A lip of truth endures forever, but a tongue of deception lasts only a moment.

²² An abomination of Yahweh are lips of deceit, but they who act faithfully are his delight.

¹ For look, the Lord Yahweh of hosts is removing _⌊every source of support_⌋* from Jerusalem and from Judah: all of the supplies of bread and all of the supplies of water, ² mighty warrior and man of war, judge and prophet, and diviner and elder, ³ captain of fifty and the honorable men of rank, and counselor and skillful magicians and skillful enchanter.

² And if you are refusing to release, look, I am going to plague all of your territory with frogs.

²⁴ And they put it aside until the morning, as Moses had commanded, and it did not make a stench, and not a maggot was in it.

²³ Moreover, concerning Jezebel, Yahweh has said, 'The dogs will eat Jezebel in the outer rampart of Jezreel.' ²⁴ The one who dies for Ahab in the city, the dogs will eat; the one who dies in the open country, the birds of heaven will eat."

²⁶ '"Since I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his children yesterday," declares Yahweh, "I will requite it for you in this tract of land," declares Yahweh.' So then lift him out and throw him on the tract of land according to the word of Yahweh."

³⁴ Then he came and ate and drank, and said, "Please take care of this cursed one and bury her, for she is the daughter of a king." ³⁵ When they went to bury her, they could not find her, except the skull, the feet, and the palms of the hands. ³⁶ They returned and told him, and he said, "This is the word of Yahweh which he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'On the plot of ground of Jezreel, the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel.'" ³⁷ So the dead body of Jezebel became dung on the surface spread on the field in the plot of ground of Jezreel, so one cannot say, "This is Jezebel."

⁴⁰ he pours contempt on princes and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.

²⁷ None is weary, and none among him stumbles; none slumbers and none sleeps. And no loincloth on his waist is opened, and no thong of his sandals is drawn away.

⁵ And righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

²¹ and I will clothe him with your tunic, and I will bind your sash firmly about him, and I will put your authority into his hand, and he shall be like a father to the inhabitants* of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

⁹ Yahweh of hosts has planned it: to defile the pride of all glory, to humble all the honored ones of the earth.

²¹ And this shall happen on that day:
Yahweh will punish the host of heaven in heaven, and the kings of the earth on the earth. ²² And they will be gathered in a gathering, like a prisoner _⌊in_⌋* a pit. And they will be shut _⌊in_⌋* a prison and be punished _⌊after_⌋* many days.

³⁸ And this happened: he was bowing in worship in the house of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him with the sword. And they themselves escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esar-haddon his son reigned as king in his place.

²¹ And he changes the times and the seasons, and he deposes kings and he sets up kings; he gives wisdom* to wise men and knowledge to men who know understanding. ²² He reveals the deep and the hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

³² and you will be driven away from _⌊human society_⌋* and your dwelling will be with the animals* of the field and they will cause you to graze the grass like oxen, and seven times will pass over you, until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of humankind and that he gives it to whom he wills.' ³³ _⌊Immediately_⌋* the word was fulfilled _⌊concerning_⌋* Nebuchadnezzar, and he was expelled from _⌊human society_⌋* and he ate grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven until his hair was like the hair of an eagle and his nails grew like a bird's claws.

¹² And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route. ¹³ Now after they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him."

²³ And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down _⌊because_⌋* he did not give the glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and* died.

¹⁰ Finally, become strong in the Lord and in the might of his strength.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, girding your waist with truth, and putting on the breastplate of righteousness,

¹² Then one of his servants said, "No, my lord the king, but Elisha the prophet who is in Israel tells the king of Israel things which you speak _⌊in your own bedchamber_⌋."*

⁵ Let darkness and deep shadow claim it; let clouds* settle on it; let them* terrify it with the blackness* of day.

¹⁷ because morning likewise is to them deep darkness; indeed, they know about the terrors of deep darkness.

²⁰ Indeed,* from where does wisdom come? And _⌊where in the world_⌋* is the place of understanding? ²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and it is concealed from the birds of the heaven. ²² Abaddon and Death say, 'We heard its rumor with our ears.' ²³ "God understands its way, and he knows its place,

²² There is no darkness, and there is no deep shadow where instigators of mischief might hide themselves.

²¹ would not God discover this, for he knows the secrets of the heart?

¹² even the darkness is not too dark for you,* and the night shines as the day— the darkness and the light are alike for you.

²² He reveals the deep and the hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

²⁶ "Therefore do not be afraid of them, because nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not become known.

⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace."

¹⁰ For* to us God has revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

⁵ Therefore do not judge anything before the time, until the Lord should come, who will both enlighten the hidden things of darkness and will reveal the counsels of hearts, and then praise will come to each one from God.

⁷ And the _⌊Israelites_⌋* were fruitful and multiplied and were many and were very, very numerous, and the land was filled with them.

²⁰ And God did the midwives good, and the Israelite people became many and were very numerous.

³⁸ And he blesses them and they multiply greatly, and he does not let their cattle become few.

³ You have made the nation numerous; you have not* made the joy great. They rejoice in your presence as with joy at the harvest, as they rejoice when they divide plunder.

¹⁵ You have added to the nation, Yahweh. You have added to the nation; you are honored. You have extended all the ends of the land.

⁶ _⌊Days are coming_⌋,* let Jacob take root; Israel will blossom and send out shoots, and they will fill the face of the world with fruit.

² Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah; she brought you forth. For I called him _⌊alone_⌋,* but* I blessed him and made him numerous."

²² The small one shall become a tribe, and the smallest one a mighty nation.
I am Yahweh; I will hasten it in its time."

¹⁹ And thanksgiving and the sound of merrymakers will come out from them, and I will make them numerous, and they will not be few. And I will make them honored, and they will not be lowly.

²² As the host of heaven cannot be counted, and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will make numerous the offspring of David my servant and the Levites who minister to me.'"

⁸ I will whistle to them and gather them, for I have redeemed them, and they will become numerous as they have been numerous before.

²⁰ He deprives the trustworthy of speech, and he takes away the discretion of elders.

⁴ They wandered in the wilderness, in a desert. They could find no way* to a city to inhabit.

⁹ And he said, "Go and say to this people,
'Keep on listening and do not comprehend! And keep on looking and do not understand!' ¹⁰ Make the heart of this people insensitive, and make its ears unresponsive, and shut its eyes so that it may not look with its eyes and listen with its ears and comprehend with its mind and turn back, and it may be healed for him."

¹ An oracle of Egypt:
Look! Yahweh is riding on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. And the idols of Egypt will tremble in front of him, and the heart of Egypt melts in his inner parts.

¹⁶ Let his mind be changed from that of a human,* and let the mind of an animal be given to him, and let seven times pass over him.

³³ _⌊Immediately_⌋* the word was fulfilled _⌊concerning_⌋* Nebuchadnezzar, and he was expelled from _⌊human society_⌋* and he ate grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven until his hair was like the hair of an eagle and his nails grew like a bird's claws.

¹¹ Ephraim was like a dove, silly, _⌊without sense_⌋;* they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

¹¹ And the men who were at the entrance of the house they struck with blindness, both small and great, and they were unable to find the entrance.

²⁹ And you shall be groping at noon just as the blind person gropes in the dark, and you shall not succeed in finding your way, and you shall only be abused and robbed _⌊all the time_⌋,* and there will not be _⌊anyone who will rescue you_⌋. *

¹⁴ In the daytime they meet with darkness, and they grope at noon* as in the night.

²⁷ They reeled and staggered like a drunkard, and _⌊they were at their wits' end_⌋.*

¹⁴ Yahweh has mixed a spirit of confusion into her midst, and they have caused Egypt to stagger in all of its doings, as _⌊when a drunkard staggers_⌋* in his vomit.

²⁰ The earth staggers to and fro like the drunkard, and it sways like a hut, and its transgression is heavy upon it, and it falls and does not rise again.

¹⁰ We grope like the blind along a wall, and we grope _⌊as without_⌋* eyes. We stumble at noon as in the twilight; among the strong we are like the dead.

¹¹ And now behold, the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun _⌊for a while_⌋.* And immediately mist and darkness fell over him, and he was going around looking for people* to lead him* by the hand.

¹¹ But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.