Job 15 Cross References - LEB

¹ Then* Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, ² "Should the wise answer with windy knowledge, and should he fill his stomach with the east wind? ³ Should he argue in talk that is not profitable or in words with which he cannot do good? ⁴ "_⌊What is worse_⌋,* you yourself* are doing away with fear, and you are lessening meditation _⌊before_⌋* God. ⁵ For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty. ⁶ Your mouth condemns you, and not I; and your lips testify against you. ⁷ "Were you born the firstborn of the human race? And were you brought forth _⌊before_⌋* the hills? ⁸ Have you listened in God's confidential discussion? And do you limit wisdom to yourself? ⁹ What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not clear to us? ¹⁰ Both the gray-haired and the old are among us— _⌊those older than your father_⌋.* ¹¹ "Are the consolations of God too small for you, a word spoken gently with you? ¹² Why does your heart carry you away? And why do your eyes flash, ¹³ that you turn your spirit against God, and you let such words go out of your mouth? ¹⁴ "What is a human being, that he can be clean, or* that one born of a woman can be righteous? ¹⁵ Look, he does not trust his holy ones, and the heavens are not clean in his eyes. ¹⁶ _⌊How much less_⌋* he who is abominable and corrupt,* a man drinking wickedness like water. ¹⁷ "I will show you, listen to me; and what I have seen, I will tell*— ¹⁸ what wise men have told, and they have not hidden that which is from their ancestors, ¹⁹ _⌊to whom alone_⌋* the land was given, and no stranger passed through their midst. ²⁰ "All of the wicked one's days he is writhing, even* through the number of years that are laid up for the tyrant. ²¹ Sounds of terror are in his ears; in prosperity the destroyer will come against him. ²² _⌊He cannot trust that he will return_⌋* from darkness, and he himself* is destined for the sword. ²³ "He is wandering for bread, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that a day of darkness is ready _⌊at hand_⌋.* ²⁴ Anguish and distress terrify him; they* overpower him like a king ready for the battle. ²⁵ Because he stretched out his hand against God, and he was arrogant to Shaddai; ²⁶ he _⌊stubbornly_⌋* runs against him _⌊with his thick-bossed shield_⌋.* ²⁷ "Because he has covered his face with his fat and has gathered fat upon his loins, ²⁸ _⌊he will dwell_⌋* in desolate cities, in houses that they should not inhabit, which are destined for rubble. ²⁹ He will not become rich, and his wealth will not endure, and their possessions will not stretch across the earth.* ³⁰ "He will not escape from darkness; a flame will dry up his new shoot, and by the wind of his mouth he shall be removed. ³¹ Let him not trust in emptiness—he will be deceiving himself— for worthlessness will be his recompense. ³² It will be paid in full _⌊before his time_⌋,* and his branch will not flourish. ³³ "He will shake off his unripe fruit like the vine, and he will cast off his blossom like the olive tree; ³⁴ for the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of those who accept bribes. ³⁵ They conceive trouble and bring forth mischief, and their womb prepares deceit."

¹¹ Thus* Job's three friends heard of this calamity that had come upon him. So* each set out from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. And they met* together to come to console him and to comfort him.

¹ Then* Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

¹ Then* Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

⁷ _⌊And then_⌋* after Yahweh spoke these words to Job, Yahweh said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "_⌊My wrath has been kindled_⌋* against you* and against the two of your friends, for you* have not spoken to me what is right as my servant Job has.

⁹ So* Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did just as Yahweh had told them, and _⌊Yahweh accepted Job's prayer_⌋.*

²⁶ Do you intend to reprove my words* and consider the words of a desperate man as wind?

² "_⌊How long_⌋* will you say these things, and the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

² "Should an abundance of words go unanswered, or _⌊a man full of talk_⌋* be vindicated?* ³ Should your loose talk put people to silence? _⌊And when you mock, shall no one put you to shame_⌋?*

² _⌊What you* know_⌋,* I myself* also know— I am not more inferior than you.*

¹ Ephraim herds the wind* and is pursuing the east wind all day long; he multiplies deception and violence and he* _⌊makes a treaty with Assyria_⌋,* and oil is brought to Egypt.

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his* good behavior his works, with the humility of wisdom.

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 "I have heard many things like these; all of you are _⌊miserable comforters_⌋.* ³ Is there a limit to windy words? What provokes you that you answer?

¹ Then* Job answered and said, 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_⌋!*

¹³ "Your words have been harsh* against me," says Yahweh. "But you say, 'How have we spoken together against you?' ¹⁴ You have said, 'It is useless* to serve God! What is the gain if we keep* his requirements, and if we walk as mourners _⌊before_⌋* Yahweh of hosts? ¹⁵ And now we are calling the arrogant blessed! Not only do those who do wickedness prosper; they also test God and they escape!'"

³⁶ But I tell you that every worthless word that they speak, people will give an account for it on the day of judgment! ³⁷ For by your words you will be vindicated, and by your words you will be condemned."

⁶ Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how it is necessary for you to answer each one.

⁴ he is conceited, understanding nothing, but having a morbid interest concerning controversies and disputes about words, from which come envy, strife, slanders, evil suspicions, ⁵ constant wrangling by people of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who consider godliness to be a means of gain.

¹³ So Saul died on account of his sin which he had sinned against Yahweh concerning the command of Yahweh that he did not keep. He also consulted a medium to seek guidance. ¹⁴ But he did not seek Yahweh. So Yahweh put him to death and turned over the kingship to David, the son of Jesse.

⁵ But now it has come to you, and you are worn out; it touches you, and you are horrified. ⁶ Is not your fear in God your confidence? Is not your hope even* the integrity of your ways?

⁸ "But I myself* will seek God, and to God I would commit my cause.

¹⁴ "Loyal love* should come for the afflicted from his friend, even if* he forsakes the fear of Shaddai.

¹⁰ Or, in Shaddai will he find delight? Will he call upon God at all times?

¹ For the music director. Of David, the servant of Yahweh.*
An oracle: the wicked has rebellion in the midst of his* heart. There is no fear of God before his eyes. ² For he flatters himself in his eyes, hating to detect his iniquity.* ³ The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit. He has ceased to have insight and to do good.

¹²⁶ It is time for Yahweh to act,* for they have broken your law.

¹⁴ They do not cry out to me from their heart, but they wail on their beds; because of grain and new wine they lacerate* themselves; they depart from me.

¹⁰ And if one's relative, who burns the body, lifts it up and brings the body out of the house and he will say to someone in the innermost part of the house, "Are there any more with you?" and he will say, "None," then he will say, "Silence," because we must not invoke the name of Yahweh.

⁶ and those who turned back from _⌊following_⌋* Yahweh, and who did not seek Yahweh, and did not inquire of him."

¹ And he told them a parable to show that they must always pray and not be discouraged,

³¹ Therefore, do we nullify the law through faith? May it never be! But we uphold the law.

²¹ I do not declare invalid the grace of God, for if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died to no purpose.

¹³ He is capturing the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are rushed.

²² It is all one; therefore I say, 'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.' ²³ When the whip* kills suddenly, he mocks at the despair of the innocent. 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?

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.*

¹⁹ You give your mouth free rein for evil, and you harness your tongue to deceit. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your mother's son.

² Your tongue plans destruction, like a sharp razor, working deceit. ³ You love evil more than good, a lie more than speaking _⌊what is right_⌋.* Selah ⁴ You love all devouring words, O deceitful tongue,

³ who sharpen their tongue like a sword. They bend their bow to shoot their arrows—bitter words,

² "Deliver my life, O Yahweh, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue." ³ What shall be given to you,* and what more shall be done to you, deceitful tongue?

³ And they bend their tongue like their bow, for falsehood and not truth is superior in the land, for they go forth* from evil to evil, and they do not know me," _⌊declares_⌋* Yahweh. ⁴ "Let everyone be on your guard against his neighbor, and you must not trust in any brother, for everyone surely betrays, and every neighbor goes about with slander. ⁵ And everyone deceives his neighbor, and they do not speak the truth, they have taught their tongues* to speak lies,* they are tired from going astray.

⁸ Their tongue is a murderous arrow, it speaks deceit. With his mouth he speaks peace with his neighbor, but in his inner parts he sets up his ambush.

²¹ For from within, from the heart of people, come evil plans, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, ²² adulteries, acts of greed, malicious deeds, deceit, licentiousness, _⌊envy_⌋,* abusive speech, pride, foolishness.

⁴⁵ The good person out of the good treasury of his heart brings forth good, and the evil person out of his* evil treasury* brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

²⁶ If anyone thinks he is religious, although he* does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

⁵ So also the tongue is a small member of the body* and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire sets ablaze how great a forest! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire! The world of unrighteousness,* the tongue, is set among our members, defiling the whole body and setting on fire _⌊the course of human existence_⌋*, being set on fire by hell. ⁷ For every species of animals and birds, of reptiles and sea creatures, is being tamed and has been tamed by the human species, ⁸ but no human being is able to tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

²⁰ Even though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me; even though I am blameless, yet* it would pronounce me guilty.

⁸ "Surely you have spoken in my ears, and I have heard the sound of your words:* ⁹ 'I am clean, without transgression; I am pure, and there is no guilt in me. ¹⁰ Look, he finds fault against me; he reckons me as his enemy; ¹¹ he puts my feet in the block; he watches all my paths.' ¹² "Look, in this you are not right—I will answer you: Indeed, God is greater than a human being.

⁵ for Job has said, 'I am righteous, but God has taken away my justice. ⁶ Should I lie concerning my justice? Though I am without transgression, my wound caused by an arrow is incurable.' ⁷ What man is like Job, who drinks scorn like water? ⁸ And he goes on the road in company with instigators of mischief, and walks with men of wickedness. ⁹ Indeed, he says, 'A man does not profit when he takes delight in God.'

² "Do you think this is justice when you say, '_⌊I am right_⌋* before God'? ³ If you ask what it profits you: 'How do I benefit _⌊by refraining from my sin_⌋?'*

⁸ "Indeed, would you annul my justice? Would you condemn me, so that you might be righteous?

³ 'Who is this darkening counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I uttered, but* I did not understand; _⌊things too wonderful for me_⌋,* but I did not know.

⁸ * And they who would cause him* to stumble, their own tongue will be against them. All who gaze on them will shake.*

³⁷ For by your words you will be vindicated, and by your words you will be condemned."

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have just now heard the blasphemy!

²² He said to him, '_⌊By your own words_⌋* I will judge you, wicked slave! You knew that I am a severe man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.

¹ Now Adam knew* Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain. And she said, "I have given birth to a man with the help of Yahweh."

¹² Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding is in length of days.

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

⁴ "Where were you at my laying the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you possess understanding. ⁵ Who determined its measurement? Yes, you do know. Or who stretched the measuring line upon it? ⁶ On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, ⁷ when the morning stars were singing together and all the sons of God* shouted for joy? ⁸ "Or who shut the sea in with doors at its bursting, when it went out of the womb, ⁹ at my making the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, ¹⁰ and I prescribed my rule for it, and I set bars and doors, ¹¹ and I said, 'You shall come up to here, but* you shall not go further, and here it will set a boundary _⌊for your proud surging waves_⌋'?* ¹² "Have you _⌊ever in your life_⌋* commanded the morning? Have you made the dawn know its place, ¹³ to take hold of the earth's skirts so that* the wicked might be shaken off from it? ¹⁴ It is changed like clay under a seal, and they appear like a garment. ¹⁵ And their light is withheld from the wicked, and their uplifted arm is broken. ¹⁶ "Have you entered into the sea's sources? Or have you walked around in the recesses of the deep? ¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of deep shadow? ¹⁸ Have you considered closely the earth's vast expanse? Declare it, if you know all of it. ¹⁹ "Where then* is the way where the light dwells? And where then* is its place, ²⁰ that you may take it to its territory, and that you might discern the paths to its home? ²¹ You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great. ²² Have you entered into the storehouses of the snow, or* have you seen the storehouses of the hail, ²³ which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war? ²⁴ Where then* is the way where the light is distributed, where he scatters the east wind upon the earth? ²⁵ "Who has cut open a channel for the torrents and a way for the _⌊thunder bolts_⌋,* ²⁶ to bring rain on a land _⌊where no one lives_⌋,* a desert _⌊where no humans live_⌋,* ²⁷ to satisfy desert and wasteland, and to cause the ground to put forth the rising of grass? ²⁸ Is there a father for the rain, or who fathered the drops of dew? ²⁹ From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who fathered the frost of heaven? ³⁰ Like stone the waters become hard, and the faces of the deep freeze. ³¹ "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or can you loosen the cords of Orion? ³² Can you lead forth the southern constellations at their appointed time, or* can you lead the Bear with its children? ³³ Do you know heaven's statutes, or can you establish their rule on the earth? ³⁴ Can you lift up your voice to the clouds so that* a flood of water may cover you? ³⁵ Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go? And will they say to you, 'Here we are'? ³⁶ Who has put wisdom in the ibis,* or who has given understanding to the rooster?* ³⁷ Who can number the clouds with wisdom? Or* who can tilt heaven's jars, ³⁸ at the flowing of the dust into a cast and the clods cling together? ³⁹ "Can you hunt prey for the lion? And can you satisfy the hunger of strong lions ⁴⁰ when they are crouched in the dens, when they lie in the thicket in an ambush? ⁴¹ Who prepares for the crow its prey, when its young ones cry to God for help, and they wander around _⌊for lack of food_⌋?*

² Before the mountains were born and you brought forth the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

²² "Yahweh possessed* me, the first of his ways, before his acts _⌊of old_⌋.* ²³ From eternity, I was set up from the first, from the beginning* of the earth. ²⁴ When there were no depths, I was brought forth, when there were no springs of _⌊abounding_⌋* water. ²⁵ Before mountains had been shaped, before hills, I was brought forth.

²⁹ "The hidden things _⌊belong to Yahweh_⌋* our God, but the revealed things _⌊belong to us_⌋* to know and to our children _⌊forever_⌋,* in order to do all the words of this law."

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.

² "Truly indeed you* are the people, and wisdom will die with you.*

⁵ _⌊O that_⌋* you* would keep completely silent, and that it would become wisdom for you.* ⁶ Please hear my argument, and listen attentively to the pleadings of my lips.

⁴ as when I was in the days of my prime, when God's confiding was over my _⌊house_⌋,*

¹⁴ Intimate fellowship with Yahweh is for those who fear him, and he makes known his covenant to them.

³² for he who is perverse is an abomination of Yahweh, but those who are upright are his confidence.

¹⁸ For who has stood in the council of Yahweh, that he has seen and heard his word? Who has listened attentively to his word and heard it?*

⁷ Surely my Lord does not do anything unless he has revealed his secret to his servants the prophets.

²⁵ At that time Jesus answered and* said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to young children.*

¹¹ And he answered and* said to them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it has not been granted.

³⁵ in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said,
"I will open my mouth in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden since the creation."**

¹⁵ No longer do I call you slaves, because the slave does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything that I have heard from my Father I have revealed to you.

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

⁹ But just as it is written,
"Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and have not entered into the heart of man, all that* God has prepared for those who love him."* ¹⁰ For* to us God has revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. ¹¹ For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man that is in him? Thus also no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

¹⁶ "For who has known the mind of the Lord; who has advised him?"* But we have the mind of Christ.

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

³ How you* have advised _⌊one who has no wisdom_⌋!* And what sound wisdom you* have made known _⌊in abundance_⌋!* ⁴ _⌊With whose help_⌋* have you* uttered words, and whose breath has come forth from you?*

⁷ You are looking at things according to appearance. If anyone is convinced he himself is Christ's, he should consider this concerning himself again: that just as Christ himself is, so also are we.

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. ²⁴ Five times I received at the hands of the Jews forty lashes less one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. A day and a night I have spent in the deep water. ²⁶ I have been on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from my own people, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers because of false brothers, ²⁷ with toil and hardship, often in sleepless nights, with hunger and thirst, often going hungry, in cold and poorly clothed. ²⁸ Apart from these external things, there is the pressure on me every day of the anxiety about all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is caused to sin, and I do not burn with indignation? ³⁰ If it is necessary to boast, I will boast about _⌊the things related to my weakness_⌋*.

⁷ Remember the old days, _⌊the years long past_⌋;* ask your father, and he will inform you, your elders and they will tell you.*

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?

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

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.'

³¹ A crown of glory is gray hair; by a righteous life it is gained.

²⁴ Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah came near and slapped Micaiah on the cheek and said, "When did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak with you?"

⁸ "But I myself* will seek God, and to God I would commit my cause. ⁹ He is doing great and _⌊unsearchable_⌋* things, marvelous things _⌊without number_⌋*— ¹⁰ the one who is giving rain on the _⌊surface of_⌋* the earth and is sending water on the _⌊surface of_⌋* the fields, ¹¹ to set the lowly on high, and those mourning are lifted to safety. ¹² He is frustrating the devices of the crafty, and their hands do not achieve success. ¹³ He is capturing the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are rushed. ¹⁴ In the daytime they meet with darkness, and they grope at noon* as in the night. ¹⁵ And* he saves from the sword of* their mouth, _⌊even_⌋* the poor from the hand of the strong. ¹⁶ So* there is hope* for the powerless, and wickedness shuts its mouth. ¹⁷ "Look, happy is the human being whom God reproves; and you must not despise the discipline of Shaddai, ¹⁸ for he himself* wounds, but* he binds up; he strikes, but* his hands heal. ¹⁹ _⌊From_⌋* six troubles he will deliver you, and in seven evil shall not touch you. ²⁰ In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the _⌊power of_⌋* the sword. ²¹ From the scourge of the tongue you shall be hidden, and you shall not be afraid of* destruction when it comes. ²² At destruction and famine* you shall laugh, and you shall not fear the wild animals of the earth. ²³ For your covenant will be with the stones of the field, and the wild animals* of the field will be at peace with you. ²⁴ And you shall know that your tent is safe, and you will inspect your fold, and you shall not be missing anything. ²⁵ And you shall know that your offspring are many, and your descendants like the vegetation of the earth. ²⁶ You shall come in maturity to the grave, as the raising up of a stack of sheaves in its season.

¹³ "If you yourself* direct your heart and stretch out your hands to him— ¹⁴ if iniquity* is in your hand, put it far away, and you must not let wickedness reside in your tents— ¹⁵ surely then you will lift up your face without* blemish, and you will be firmly established and will not fear.* ¹⁶ For you yourself* will forget your misery; you will remember it as water that has flowed past. ¹⁷ "_⌊And your life will be brighter than noon_⌋;* its darkness will be like the morning. ¹⁸ And you will have confidence because there is hope; and you will be well protected—_⌊you will sleep in safety_⌋.* ¹⁹ And you will lie down, and _⌊no one will make you afraid_⌋;* _⌊and many will entreat your favor_⌋.*

⁸ Have you listened in God's confidential discussion? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?

¹⁶ And what's more, he allured you _⌊out of distress_⌋* into a broad place, where in place of it was no constraint; and what was set on your table is full of fatness.

³ Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in all affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, thus through Christ our comfort overflows also.

⁶ But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us by the coming of Titus,

¹³ "If you yourself* direct your heart and stretch out your hands to him—

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

¹⁹ Let not those who are wrongfully my enemies* rejoice over me. Nor let those who hate me without cause wink the eye.

¹³ Winking in his eye, shuffling in his foot, pointing in his fingers,

⁹ Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth! Follow the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes— but know that God will bring you into judgment for all these things.

³ But Peter said, "Ananias, for what reason has Satan filled your heart, that you lied to the Holy Spirit and kept back for yourself some of the proceeds of the piece of land? ⁴ When it* remained to you, did it not remain yours? And when it* was sold, was it at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to people, but to God!"

²² Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and ask the Lord if perhaps the intent of your heart may be forgiven you!"

¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he* is dragged away and enticed by his own desires. ¹⁵ Then desire, after it* has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it* is brought to completion, gives birth to death.

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

³ Is it good for you that you oppress, that you despise the labor of your hands, and you smile over the schemes of the wicked?

²⁵ Because he stretched out his hand against God, and he was arrogant to Shaddai; ²⁶ he _⌊stubbornly_⌋* runs against him _⌊with his thick-bossed shield_⌋.* ²⁷ "Because he has covered his face with his fat and has gathered fat upon his loins,

¹³ Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

¹³ "Your words have been harsh* against me," says Yahweh. "But you say, 'How have we spoken together against you?'

⁷ because the mindset of the flesh is enmity toward God, for it is not subjected to the law of God, for it is not able to do so, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God.

² For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual,* able to hold in check his whole body also. ³ And if we put bits in the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. ⁴ Behold also ships: although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot wishes. ⁵ So also the tongue is a small member of the body* and boasts great things. Behold how small a fire sets ablaze how great a forest! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire! The world of unrighteousness,* the tongue, is set among our members, defiling the whole body and setting on fire _⌊the course of human existence_⌋*, being set on fire by hell.

⁴⁶ "If they sin against you (for there is not a person who does not sin) and you are angry with them and you give them to an enemy and they take them captive to the land of the enemy far or near,

³⁶ When they sin against you—for there is no person who does not sin—and you become angry with them and place them before their enemy that they carry them away as captives to a land far or near,

² "Truly I know that it is so, but* how can a human being be just before God?

⁴ "Who can bring a clean thing from an unclean thing? No one!*

⁴ "Indeed,* how can a human being be righteous before God? And how will he who is born of a woman be pure? ⁵ Look, even the moon _⌊is not bright_⌋,* and the stars are not pure in his sight. ⁶ _⌊How much less_⌋* for a human being who is a maggot, and _⌊a human_⌋* who is a worm?"

³ All have gone astray; they are altogether corrupt. There is not one who does good; there is not even one.

⁵ Behold, in iniquity I was born, and in sin my mother conceived me.

⁹ Who will say "I have made my heart* clean; I am pure from my sin"?

²⁰ Surely there is no one righteous on the earth who continually does good and never sins.

²⁹ Look! This alone I found: God made mankind upright, but they have devised many schemes."

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

¹⁸ For I know that good does not live in me, that is, in my flesh. For the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.

²² But the scripture imprisoned all under sin, in order that the promise could be given by faith* in Jesus Christ to those who believe.

² in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience, ³ among whom also we all formerly lived in the desires of our flesh, doing the will* of the flesh and of the mind, and we were children of wrath* by nature, as also the rest of them were.

⁸ If we say that we do not have sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, so that he will forgive us our* sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

¹⁸ Look, he does not trust in his servants and he charges his angels with error.

¹ "Call now, is there anyone answering you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

⁵ Look, even the moon _⌊is not bright_⌋,* and the stars are not pure in his sight.

² Seraphs were standing above him. _⌊Each had six wings_⌋:* with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And the one called to the other and said,
"Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of hosts! The _⌊whole earth is full of his glory_⌋."* ⁴ And the pivots of the thresholds shook from the sound of those who called, and the house* was filled with smoke. ⁵ And I said, "Woe to me! For I am destroyed!* For I am a man _⌊of unclean lips_⌋,* and I am living among* a people _⌊of unclean lips_⌋,* for my eyes have seen the king, Yahweh of hosts!"

¹⁹ How much more dwellers in clay houses, whose foundation is in the dust? They are crushed like a moth.

¹² "Though wickedness tastes sweet in his mouth, and he hides it under his tongue,

⁷ What man is like Job, who drinks scorn like water?

⁶ Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."

¹ For the music director. Of David.*
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt. They do abominable deeds. There is none who does good. ² Yahweh looks down from heaven upon the children of humankind to see whether there is one who has insight, one who cares about God. ³ All have gone astray; they are altogether corrupt. There is not one who does good; there is not even one.

³ _⌊All of them_⌋* have turned back. They are altogether corrupt. There is none who does good; there is not even one.

²⁸ A worthless witness will mock justice, and the mouth of the wicked will devour iniquity.

²⁸ And just as they did not see fit _⌊to recognize God_⌋*, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do the things that are not proper, ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greediness, malice, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malevolence. They are gossipers, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boasters, contrivers of evil, disobedient to parents,

⁹ What then? Do we have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already charged both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, ¹⁰ just as it is written,
"There is no one righteous, not even one; ¹¹ there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. ¹² All have turned aside together; they have become worthless; There is no one who practices kindness; there is not even one.* ¹³ Their throat is an opened grave; they deceive with their tongues; the venom of asps is under their lips,* ¹⁴ whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.* ¹⁵ Their feet are swift to shed blood; ¹⁶ destruction and distress are in their paths, ¹⁷ and they have not known the way of peace.* ¹⁸ The fear of God is not before their eyes."* ¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those under the law, in order that every mouth may be closed and the whole world may become accountable to God.

³ For we also were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, enslaved to various desires and pleasures, spending our lives in wickedness and envy, despicable, hating one another.

²⁷ "Look, we have searched this out—it is true; hear it and know it _⌊yourself_⌋."*

¹ "But now, please hear my speeches,* Job, and hear* all my words.

² "Hear my words, you wise men, and listen to me, you who know,

² "Bear with me a little longer, and _⌊I will explain_⌋,* for _⌊I still have something to say on God's behalf_⌋.*

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

¹⁸ And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not abandon me until I proclaim your _⌊strength_⌋* to this generation, your power to every one that comes after.

³ that we have heard and known, and our ancestors* have told us. ⁴ We will not hide them from their children,* telling the next generation the praises of Yahweh, and his power and his wonders that he has done. ⁵ For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law* in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors* to teach to their children, ⁶ so that the next generation might know— children yet to be born— that they might rise up and tell their children,

¹⁹ The living, the living one praises you like me today; a father will make your faithfulness known to children.

²⁵ And to Eber two sons were born. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and the name of his brother was Joktan.

³² These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations* and in their nations. And from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.

⁸ _⌊When the Most High apportioned_⌋* the nations, at his dividing up of the sons of humankind, he fixed the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the children of Israel.*

¹⁷ And you will know that I, Yahweh your God, am dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem will be a place of holiness, and strangers will pass through it no longer.

¹ "Why are not times kept by Shaddai, and why do not those who know him see his days?

¹³ "This is the portion of the wicked human being with God, and they receive from Shaddai the inheritance of the ruthless.

³ You return man to the dust, _⌊saying_⌋,* "Return, O sons of man." ⁴ For a thousand years in your eyes are like yesterday when it passes, or like a watch in the night.

¹² So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

³ This is the _⌊injustice_⌋* that is done under the sun: the same fate comes to everyone. Also the hearts of _⌊humans_⌋* are full of evil; delusion is in their hearts during their lives, and then they die.

¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many possessions stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, celebrate!" ' ²⁰ But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your life* is demanded from you, and the things which you have prepared—whose will they be?' ²¹ So is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and who is not rich toward God!"

²² For we know that the whole creation groans together and suffers agony together until now.

¹ Come now, you rich people, weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming upon you! ² Your wealth has rotted, and your clothing has become moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and silver have become corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you, and it will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days. ⁴ Behold, the wages that were held back by you from the workers who reap your fields cry out, and the cries of the reapers have come to the ears of the Lord of hosts. ⁵ You have lived self-indulgently on the earth* and have lived luxuriously. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous person; he does not resist you.

⁹ And Yahweh God called to the man* and said to him, "Where are you?" ¹⁰ And he replied,* "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I am naked, so I hid myself."

³⁶ As for* the ones who remain among you, I will bring* fearfulness in their hearts in the land of their enemies; and a sound of a windblown leaf shall pursue them, and they shall flee like flight _⌊before_⌋* a sword, and they shall fall, but* there shall not be a pursuer.

³⁶ Then Abigail went to Nabal, and look, _⌊he was holding a feast_⌋* in his house like the feast of the king. _⌊Nabal was enjoying himself_⌋,* and he was very drunk, so she did not tell him a thing, _⌊nothing at all_⌋,* until the light of morning. ³⁷ _⌊And then_⌋* in the morning when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these words. Then his heart died _⌊within him_⌋,* and he became like a stone. ³⁸ _⌊And then_⌋,* about ten days later, Yahweh struck Nabal and he died.

⁶ Now the Lord had caused the camp of the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, the sound of horses, and the sound of a great army. So they said _⌊to one another_⌋,* "Look, the king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us!"

¹³ And then there was one day when* his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their firstborn brother's house. ¹⁴ And a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing, and the female donkeys were feeding _⌊beside them_⌋.* ¹⁵ Then* the Sabeans _⌊attacked_⌋,* and they took them, and they slew the servants _⌊by the edge of the sword_⌋.* But* I escaped, even I alone, to tell you." ¹⁶ While this one was still speaking, _⌊another_⌋* came and said, "The fire of God fell from the heavens, and it blazed up against the sheep and goats and against the servants, and it consumed them. But I escaped, even I alone, to tell you." ¹⁷ While this one was still speaking, _⌊another_⌋* came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three divisions, and they made a raid on the camels, and they carried them away, and they struck your servants _⌊by the edge of the sword_⌋,* but I escaped, even I alone, to tell you." ¹⁸ At the time* this one was speaking, _⌊another_⌋* came and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their firstborn brother's house. ¹⁹ And behold,* a great wind came from across the desert, and it struck the four corners of the house _⌊so that_⌋* it fell upon the young people, and they died. But I escaped, even I alone, to tell you."

¹¹ "Sudden terrors terrify him all around, and they chase him at his heels.

⁵ that the rejoicing of the wicked is _⌊short_⌋,* and the joy of the godless _⌊lasts only a moment_⌋?* ⁶ Even though his stature mounts up to the heaven, and his head reaches to the clouds, ⁷ he will perish forever like his dung; those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?'

²² In the fullness of his excess _⌊he will be in distress_⌋;* all of misery's power will come upon him. ²³ _⌊When his stomach fills up_⌋,* God will send _⌊his burning anger_⌋* upon him, and he will let it rain down upon him* as his food. ²⁴ "He will flee from an iron weapon, but an arrow of bronze will pierce him. ²⁵ He draws it forth, and it comes out from his body, and the glittering point comes from his gall-bladder; terrors come upon him.

²⁰ Terrors overtake him like the water; a storm wind carries him off in the night.

¹⁸ Surely you set them on slippery places. You cause them to fall onto ruin.* ¹⁹ How they become a desolation in a moment! They come to a complete end by terrors. ²⁰ Like a dream upon awakening, when you wake up, O Lord, you will despise their fleeting form.*

⁷ When the wicked flourish like grass and all the workers of evil blossom, it is so they can be destroyed forever.

²⁶ I will also laugh at your calamity;* I will mock when panic* comes upon you. ²⁷ When your panic comes like a storm, and your calamity arrives like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you,

²¹ So on an appointed day Herod, after* putting on royal clothing and sitting down on the judgment seat, began to deliver a public address to them. ²² But the people began to call out loudly,* "The voice of a god and not of a man!" 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 nor grumble, just as some of them grumbled, and were destroyed by the destroyer.

³ Whenever they say "Peace and security," then sudden destruction will overtake them like the birth pains of _⌊a pregnant woman_⌋*, and they will not possibly escape.

¹¹ They have as king over them the angel of the abyss, _⌊whose name_⌋* in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.

³³ While he was still speaking with them, suddenly the messenger was coming down to him, and he said, "Look this trouble is from Yahweh. Why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?"

¹¹ What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that _⌊I should hold out_⌋?*

¹⁶ If I summon him, and he should answer me, I do not believe that he will listen to my voice—

²⁹ be afraid for yourselves _⌊because of the sword_⌋,* for wrath brings punishment by* the sword, so that you may know that there is judgment."

¹⁴ If their children multiply, it is for the sword, and his offspring _⌊do not have enough to eat_⌋.*

²¹ And it* will pass through it* distressed and hungry, and this shall happen: when it is hungry, it will be enraged, and it will curse its king and its gods,* and it will face upwar ²² or look to the earth. But look! Distress and darkness, the gloom of affliction! And it will be thrust into darkness!

⁵ And throwing the silver coins into the temple he departed. And he went away and* hanged himself.

¹² When you till the ground _⌊it shall no longer yield its strength to you_⌋.* You shall be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth."

⁵ Furthermore,* the light of the wicked is put out, and the flame of his fire will not shine. ⁶ The light becomes dark in his tent, and his lamp above him is put out.

¹² His wealth will become hunger, and disaster is ready for his stumbling.

¹⁸ "They thrust him from light into darkness, and they drive him out from the world.

³ Through want and through barren hunger they are gnawing in the dry region in the darkness of desolation and waste. ⁴ They are picking salt herbs, the leaves of bushes, and the roots of broom trees to warm themselves.

¹⁵ As for them, they wander for food. If they are not satisfied, then they continue all night.*

¹⁰ and let his children wander aimlessly and beg, and let them plead from their ruins.

⁸ For if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in all of them! Let him remember that the days of the darkness will be many— all that is coming is vanity!

⁶ We have made a deal with Egypt and Assyria to be satisfied with food.

⁹ _⌊We risk our life for food_⌋* because of the sword of the desert.

² A day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick darkness, like the dawn spreads on the mountains, a great and strong army! There has been nothing like it from old, and after it nothing will be again _⌊for generations to come_⌋.*

²⁰ Is not the day of Yahweh darkness and not light, and pitch dark with no brightness in it?

¹⁵ That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of disaster and ruination, a day of darkness and deep gloom, a day of clouds* and thick clouds,*

²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that is about to consume the adversaries.

³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by murder with a sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, impoverished, afflicted, mistreated, ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about on deserts and mountains and in caves and in holes in the ground.

² "If only my vexation could be well weighed, and my calamity could be lifted up together with it in the balances, ³ for then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; therefore my words have been rash, ⁴ for the arrows of Shaddai are in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

¹⁴³ Trouble and anguish have found me; your commands delight me.

²⁷ When your panic comes like a storm, and your calamity arrives like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you,

¹¹ like a _⌊robber_⌋* shall your poverty come, and what you lack like an armed man.

³⁴ and your poverty will come running, and your lack like an armed warrior.

³ I myself I have commanded my consecrated ones, I have also summoned my mighty warriors concerning my anger, the _⌊ones who exalt over_⌋* my majesty.

³⁷ And taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be distressed and troubled. ³⁸ Then he said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me."

⁹ There will be affliction and distress for every _⌊human being_⌋* who does evil, of the Jew first and of the Greek,

² And Pharaoh said, "Who is Yahweh that I should listen to his voice to release Israel? I do not know Yahweh, and also I will not release Israel." ³ And they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day journey into the desert, and let us sacrifice to Yahweh our God, lest he strike us with plague or with sword."

¹⁷ Still you are behaving haughtily to my people by not releasing them.

²³ " 'And if you do not accept correction from* me through these things, but* you go against me in hostility,

⁷ So the Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come* to the camp." And they said, "Woe to us, _⌊for this has never happened before!_⌋* ⁸ Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the same gods who struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues in the desert. ⁹ Take courage and be men, you Philistines, lest you end up serving the Hebrews just like they have served you. Be men and fight!"

⁶ Why should you harden your hearts like the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their heart? Is it not just like when he dealt with them wantonly so that they sent them away and they left?

⁹ then* he declares their work to them, and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.

⁹ Or do you have an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his? ¹⁰ Adorn* yourself with pride and dignity, and clothe yourself with splendor. ¹¹ Pour out the overflowing of your anger, and look at all the proud, and humble them.

⁷ "Look, the man who would not make God his refuge, but he trusted in the greatness of his wealth; he took refuge in his destructiveness."

⁹ They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue roams the earth.

¹¹ And they say, "How does God know?" and, "Does the Most High have knowledge?"

⁹ Be broken, you peoples, and be dismayed. And listen, all distant parts of the earth; gird yourselves and be dismayed; gird yourselves and be dismayed! ¹⁰ _⌊Make a plan_⌋,* but it will be frustrated! Speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us!

¹² And this shall happen: when the Lord has finished all his work against _⌊Mount Zion_⌋* and Jerusalem, "I will punish the _⌊arrogance_⌋* of the king of Assyria and _⌊his haughtiness_⌋."* ¹³ For he says,
"I have done it by the strength of my hand and by my wisdom, for I have understanding, and I have removed the boundaries of peoples, and I have plundered their stores, and like a bull I have brought down _⌊the inhabitants_⌋.* ¹⁴ And my hand has found, like a nest, the wealth of the peoples, and like the gathering of forsaken eggs, I myself have gathered all the earth. And there was no fluttering wing or open mouth or chirp."

⁴ _⌊I have no wrath_⌋.* Whatever gives me thorns and briers, I will step forth against in battle. I will set it on fire altogether.

⁴ Who has accomplished and done this, calling the generations from the _⌊beginning_⌋?* I, Yahweh, am first; and I am the one with the last. ⁵ The coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble. They have drawn near, and they have come. ⁶ Each one helps* his neighbor; he says to his brother, "Take courage!" ⁷ And the artisan encourages the _⌊goldsmith_⌋,* the one who makes smooth with the hammer encourages the one who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, "It is good!" And they strengthen it with nails so it cannot be knocked over.

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.

⁵ So he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting!

¹ Now at that time, Herod the king laid hands on some of those from the church to harm them.*

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.

⁸ Judah, as for you, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies. The sons of your father shall bow down to you.

²² And in the time of his distress, King Ahaz continued to act unfaithfully against Yahweh.

¹³ Do you not know what I have done, I and my ancestors,* to all the peoples of the lands? Were the gods of the nations of all the lands at all able to save their land from my hand? ¹⁴ Who among all the gods of those nations whom my ancestors* utterly destroyed was able to save his people from my hand, that your God will be able to save you from my hand? ¹⁵ So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive you. Do not let him urge you according to this. Do not put trust in him, for no god of any nation and kingdom has been able to save his people from my hand and from the hand of my ancestors.* Surely then your God will not save you from my hand!'" ¹⁶ And still more his servants said against Yahweh God and against Hezekiah his servant. ¹⁷ And he wrote letters to treat Yahweh the God of Israel with contempt and spoke against him, saying, "As the gods of the nations of the earth who did not save their people from my hand, so likewise the God of Hezekiah will not save his people from my hand."

¹² "I was at ease, then* he broke me in two, and he seized me by my neck; then* he shattered me and set me up as a target for him.

⁴⁰ And you _⌊made my enemies turn their backs_⌋,* then I destroyed those who hated me.

¹⁵ And Jeshurun grew fat, and he kicked; you grew fat, you bloated, and you became obstinate; and he abandoned God, his maker, and he scoffed at the rock of his salvation.

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

¹⁰ They have shut off their calloused* heart; with their mouth they speak arrogantly.

⁷ Their eye bulges from fat.* Imaginings overflow their heart.

³¹ the anger of God rose against them, and he killed some of the stoutest of them, even the young men of Israel he caused to bow down in death.

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."

²⁸ They have grown fat, they have grown sleek, also, _⌊their evil deeds have no limit_⌋.* They do not judge with justice, the legal cause of the orphan, or allow it to succeed, and the legal case of the poor, they do not defend.

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

¹⁵ "_⌊Nothing_⌋* remains for him in his tent; sulfur is scattered upon his dwelling place.

⁸ Ah! Those who _⌊join_⌋* house with house, they join field together with field until _⌊there is no place_⌋* and you are caused to dwell alone in the midst of the land. ⁹ Yahweh of hosts said in my ears:
_⌊Surely_⌋* many houses shall become a desolation, large and beautiful ones without inhabitant. ¹⁰ For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath,* and the seed of a homer will yield an ephah.*

¹¹ And I will make Jerusalem as heaps of ruins, a lair of jackals, and the towns of Judah I will make a desolation, _⌊without inhabitants_⌋.*

¹⁸ "Micah the Morashtite was prophesying in the days of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, and he said to all the people of Judah, _⌊saying_⌋:*
'Thus says Yahweh of hosts, "Zion will be plowed, and Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the _⌊temple_⌋* as high places of wood." '

³⁷ And Babylon will become as a heap of stones, a lair of jackals, an object of horror, and an object of hissing, _⌊without_⌋* inhabitants.

¹² Therefore on account of you Zion will be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem will be a heap of rubble, and _⌊the temple mount_⌋* as a high place in a forest.

¹⁸ Who is a God like you, forgiving sin and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, for he delights in loyal love.

²² In the fullness of his excess _⌊he will be in distress_⌋;* all of misery's power will come upon him. ²³ _⌊When his stomach fills up_⌋,* God will send _⌊his burning anger_⌋* upon him, and he will let it rain down upon him* as his food. ²⁴ "He will flee from an iron weapon, but an arrow of bronze will pierce him. ²⁵ He draws it forth, and it comes out from his body, and the glittering point comes from his gall-bladder; terrors come upon him. ²⁶ _⌊Total darkness_⌋* is hidden for his treasures;* _⌊an unfanned fire_⌋* will devour him; the remnant* _⌊will be consumed_⌋* in his tent. ²⁷ The heavens will reveal his guilt, and the earth will rise up against him. ²⁸ The products of his house will be carried away* like gushing waters* on the day of his wrath.

¹⁵ Will you keep to the way of old that the people of mischief have trod, ¹⁶ who were snatched away _⌊before their time_⌋,* whose foundation was washed away by a current? ¹⁷ Those who said to God, 'Turn away from us,' and 'What can Shaddai do to us?' ¹⁸ Yet* he himself* filled up their houses with good things, but* the schemes of the wicked are repugnant to me. ¹⁹ The righteous see, and they rejoice, but* the innocent one mocks at them. ²⁰ _⌊Surely_⌋* our foe perishes, and fire has consumed their remainder.*

¹⁶ If he heaps up silver like the dust and fashions clothing like the clay, ¹⁷ he makes it ready, and the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver.

¹⁶ Do not fear when a man becomes rich, when the wealth* of his house increases, ¹⁷ because when he dies he will not take away any of it. His wealth will not follow down after him.

² And he summoned him and* said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give the account of your management, because you can no longer manage.'

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, ²¹ and was longing to be filled with what fell from the table of the rich man. But even the dogs came and* licked his sores. ²² Now it happened that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to _⌊Abraham's side_⌋.* And the rich man also died and was buried.

¹¹ For the sun rises with its burning heat and dries up the grass, and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is lost. So also the rich person in his pursuits* will wither away.

¹ Come now, you rich people, weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are coming upon you! ² Your wealth has rotted, and your clothing has become moth-eaten. ³ Your gold and silver have become corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you, and it will consume your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days.

⁹ By* the breath of God they perish, and by* the blast of his anger they come to an end.

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

²¹ Before I go—and I will not return— to the land of darkness and deep shadow, ²² to the land of darkness, like the darkness of a deep shadow and _⌊chaos_⌋,* so that* it shines forth like darkness.'"

²² _⌊He cannot trust that he will return_⌋* from darkness, and he himself* is destined for the sword.

²⁶ _⌊Total darkness_⌋* is hidden for his treasures;* _⌊an unfanned fire_⌋* will devour him; the remnant* _⌊will be consumed_⌋* in his tent.

²⁰ _⌊Surely_⌋* our foe perishes, and fire has consumed their remainder.*

⁴ But he shall judge the poor with righteousness, and he shall decide for the needy of the earth with rectitude. And he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and he shall kill the wicked person with the breath of his lips.

³³ For Topheth has been prepared from yesterday; indeed, it is made ready for the king. He makes its pile of wood deep and wide; he makes fire and wood _⌊abundant_⌋.* The breath of Yahweh burns in it like a stream of sulfur.

⁴ Look! It is given to the fire as fuel. The fire will consume two of its ends, and its middle will be charred. Is it useful for anything? ⁵ Look! _⌊When it is in perfect condition_⌋,* it will not be used for anything, _⌊how much less_⌋* _⌊when the fire has consumed it_⌋* and it is charred; and then can it be used again for anything? ⁶ Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: _⌊Just like_⌋* the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest* which I gave to the fire for fuel, so I have given the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ⁷ And I will set my face against them. From the fire they may_⌊escape_⌋,* but the fire will yet consume them, and they will know that I am Yahweh _⌊when I set my face against them_⌋.*

⁴⁷ And you must say to the forest of the Negev, 'Hear the word of Yahweh, thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I am kindling against you a fire, and it will devour in you every fresh tree and every dry tree; the blaze of the flame will not be quenched, and all the surfaces from the south to the north will be scorched by it. ⁴⁸ And all creatures will see that I, Yahweh, I kindled it—it will not be quenched!" '"

¹² But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!"

¹³ Then the king said to the servants, 'Tie him up _⌊hand and foot_⌋* and* throw him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!'

⁴¹ Then he will also say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!

⁴³ And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than, having two hands, to go into hell—into the unquenchable fire!*

⁴⁵ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life lame than, having two feet, to be thrown into hell!*

⁴⁷ And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than, having two eyes, to be thrown into hell, ⁴⁸ 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished.'* ⁴⁹ For everyone will be salted with fire.

⁸ with burning flame* giving punishment to those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, ⁹ who will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength,

¹⁷ These people are waterless springs and mists driven by a hurricane, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved.

¹³ wild waves of the sea foaming up their own shameful deeds, wandering stars, for whom the deep gloom of darkness has been reserved for eternity.

¹⁵ And out of his mouth came a sharp sword, so that with it he could strike the nations. And he will shepherd them with an iron rod,* and he stomps the winepress of the wine of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful.

⁸ Just as I have seen, plowers of mischief and sowers of trouble will reap it.

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

¹⁰ Do not trust in extortion, and do not put vain confidence in robbery. If wealth increases, do not set your heart on it.

⁸ He who sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his anger will fail.

¹⁰ For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and you have not remembered the rock of your refuge; therefore you plant plants of pleasantness, and you _⌊plant_⌋* a vine of a foreigner. ¹¹ On your planting day you make them grow, and in the morning of your sowing you bring them into bloom, yet the harvest will flee* in a day of sickness and incurable pain.

²⁰ He feeds on ashes; a _⌊deceived mind_⌋* misleads him. And he cannot save _⌊himself_⌋,* and he cannot say, "Is this not an illusion in my right hand?"

⁴ There is nobody _⌊who pleads with_⌋* justice, and there is nobody who judges with honesty. They rely on nothing and speak vanity. They conceive trouble and beget iniquity;

⁷ Because they sow the wind, they will reap the whirlwind. The standing grain does not have heads;* it will not yield flour. And if it would yield, strangers would devour it.

⁸ Those who worship vain idols forsake their loyal love.*

³ For if anyone thinks he is something although he* is nothing, he is deceiving himself.

⁷ Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked, for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap, ⁸ because the one who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.

⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.

¹⁶ He is _⌊thriving_⌋* _⌊before_⌋* the sun, and his plant shoots spread over his garden. ¹⁷ His roots twine over a stone heap; he sees a house of stone. ¹⁸ If he destroys him from his place, then* it deceives him, saying, 'I have never seen you.' ¹⁹ Look, this is the joy of his way, and from dust others will spring up.

⁷ "Indeed, there is hope for a tree: if it is cut down, then* it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not cease; ⁸ though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the dust, ⁹ at* the scent of water it will bud, and it will put forth branches like a young plant.

¹⁶ His roots dry up _⌊below_⌋,* and its branches* wither away above.* ¹⁷ His remembrance perishes from the earth, and there is not a name for him on the street.

¹⁶ who were snatched away _⌊before their time_⌋,* whose foundation was washed away by a current?

⁵ but God will pull you down forever. He will snatch you and tear you away from your tent, and he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah ⁶ And the righteous will see and fear, and will laugh at him, saying, ⁷ "Look, the man who would not make God his refuge, but he trusted in the greatness of his wealth; he took refuge in his destructiveness." ⁸ But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house* of God. I trust the loyal love of God forever and ever.

²³ But you, O God, you will bring them down to the pit of corruption. The men of bloodshed and deceit will not live half their days, but I will trust you.

¹⁷ Do not act excessively wicked, and do not be a fool, lest you die before your time.

¹¹ _⌊When its branches are dry_⌋,* they are broken; women are coming and setting light to it.
For it is not a people of understanding;
therefore his maker will not have compassion on him, and his creator will not show him favor.

⁸ It was planted in* a good field by* many waters* to produce branches* and to bear fruit to become* _⌊a beautiful vine_⌋." '* ⁹ Say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Will it prosper? Will he not tear out its roots, and will he not make its fruit scaly, and it will wither, and all of the freshness of its vegetation will dry up? And to lift it from its roots _⌊will not require great strength or many people_⌋.* ¹⁰ And look! Though it is planted, will it prosper? _⌊When the east wind strikes it_⌋,* will it not dry up completely? On the garden bed of its vegetation it will dry up!" '"

¹⁶ Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, they shall not bear fruit. Even if they give birth, I will kill the cherished offspring of their womb.

⁵ I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily plant, and he will strike his roots like the trees of Lebanon. ⁶ His new plant shoots will spread out; his splendor will be like the olive tree, and his scent like the trees of Lebanon. ⁷ _⌊They will again dwell_⌋* in my* shadow; they will grow grain and they will blossom like the plant vine; his fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁶ If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and dries up, and they gather them and throw them* into the fire, and they are burned.

³⁹ You shall plant vineyards and you shall dress* them, but you shall not drink wine and you shall not gather grapes, for the worm shall eat it.* ⁴⁰ There shall be olive trees for you in all of your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself, for your olives* shall drop off.

⁹ The land mourns; it languishes. Lebanon feels abashed; it withers. Sharon is like the desert, and Bashan and Carmel _⌊are losing their leaves_⌋.*

¹³ and the stars of heaven* fell to the earth like a fig tree throws down its unripe figs when* shaken by a great wind.

³ But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after gain, they took bribes, and they perverted justice.

³ Here I am! Testify against me before Yahweh and before his anointed one! Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe, that I may shut my eyes _⌊regarding_⌋* him?-then I will restore it to you."

¹³ So are the paths of all who forget God; and the hope of the godless will perish,

²² Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked _⌊will be no more_⌋."*

¹⁴ if iniquity* is in your hand, put it far away, and you must not let wickedness reside in your tents—

¹ Then* Zophar the Naamathite answered and said,

⁵ Is not your wickedness great, and there is no end to your iniquities? ⁶ "Indeed, you have required a pledge from your family for nothing, and you have stripped off the clothes of the naked. ⁷ You have given no water for the weary to drink, and you withheld food from the hungry. ⁸ And the land _⌊belongs to the man of power_⌋,* and _⌊the favored_⌋* lives in it. ⁹ You have sent widows away empty-handed, and the arms of orphans were crushed.

⁸ for what is the hope of the godless when he cuts them off, when God takes away his life?

¹² because I saved the needy who cried for help, and I saved* the orphan for whom there was no helper. ¹³ The blessing of the wretched came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. ¹⁴ I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a headband. ¹⁵ "I was eyes to the blind, and I was feet to the lame. ¹⁶ I was a father to the poor, and I investigated _⌊the stranger's_⌋* legal dispute. ¹⁷ And I broke the evil one's jaw bones, and I made his prey drop from his teeth.

¹³ And the godless of heart cherish anger; they do not cry for help when he binds them.

¹⁴ Sinners are afraid in Zion; trembling has seized the godless: "Who of us can _⌊live_⌋* with devouring fire? Who of us can _⌊live_⌋* with everlasting consuming hearths?" ¹⁵ He who walks in righteousness and speaks uprightness, who rejects the gain of extortion, who _⌊refuses_⌋* a bribe, who stops up his ears* from hearing _⌊bloodshed_⌋* and shuts his eyes from seeing evil.

¹¹ Therefore, because you trample on the poor and you take a grain tax from them, you built houses of dressed stone, but you will not live in them. You built vineyards of delightfulness, but you will not drink their wine. ¹² For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are numerous, you foes of the righteous, those who take a bribe, and _⌊those who_⌋* push aside the poor ones in the gate!

² The faithful person has perished from the land, and there is none who is upright among humankind. All of them lie in wait; each hunts his brother with a net.

⁵¹ and will cut him in two and assign his place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

¹⁴ See, he* travails with* evil. He is pregnant with trouble, and he gives birth to deception.

⁴ There is nobody _⌊who pleads with_⌋* justice, and there is nobody who judges with honesty. They rely on nothing and speak vanity. They conceive trouble and beget iniquity; ⁵ they hatch viper eggs, and they weave a spider web. One who eats their eggs dies, and that which is pressed is hatched as a serpent.

¹³ You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies,* because you have trusted in your strength, in the multitude of your warriors.

¹⁵ Then desire, after it* has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it* is brought to completion, gives birth to death.