Job Cross References - MSB

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil. ² He had seven sons and three daughters, ³ and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East. ⁴ Job’s sons would take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. ⁵ And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice. ⁶ One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. ⁷ “Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.” ⁸ Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.” ⁹ Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing? ¹⁰ Have You not placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. ¹¹ But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.” ¹² “Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man himself.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. ¹³ One day, while Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁴ a messenger came and reported to Job: “While the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, ¹⁵ the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!” ¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The fire of God fell from heaven. It burned and consumed the sheep and the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you!” ¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels, and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!” ¹⁸ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, ¹⁹ when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you!” ²⁰ Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped, ²¹ saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” ²² In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrongdoing.

⁹ This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.

²³ The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.

¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.”

²⁰ Some time later, Abraham was told, “Milcah has also borne sons to your brother Nahor: ²¹ Uz the firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (the father of Aram),

²⁸ These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

²¹ Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

³ “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

¹⁷ The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. The sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Meshech.

⁴² The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. The sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

²⁰ So this is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah. He did what was good and upright and true before the LORD his God. ²¹ He was diligent in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law and the commandments, in order to seek his God. And so he prospered.

⁸ Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.”

³ Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”

¹¹ My feet have followed in His tracks; I have kept His way without turning aside. ¹² I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.

²⁸ And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

¹ “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin? ² For what is the allotment of God from above, or the heritage from the Almighty on high? ³ Does not disaster come to the unjust and calamity to the workers of iniquity? ⁴ Does He not see my ways and count my every step? ⁵ If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit, ⁶ let God weigh me with honest scales, that He may know my integrity. ⁷ If my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has followed my eyes, or if impurity has stuck to my hands, ⁸ then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted. ⁹ If my heart has been enticed by my neighbor’s wife, or I have lurked at his door, ¹⁰ then may my own wife grind grain for another, and may other men sleep with her. ¹¹ For that would be a heinous crime, an iniquity to be judged. ¹² For it is a fire that burns down to Abaddon; it would root out my entire harvest. ¹³ If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they made a complaint against me, ¹⁴ what will I do when God rises to judge? How will I answer when called to account? ¹⁵ Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb? ¹⁶ If I have denied the desires of the poor or allowed the widow’s eyes to fail, ¹⁷ if I have eaten my morsel alone, not sharing it with the fatherless— ¹⁸ though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow— ¹⁹ if I have seen one perish for lack of clothing, or a needy man without a cloak, ²⁰ if his heart has not blessed me for warming him with the fleece of my sheep, ²¹ if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate, ²² then may my arm fall from my shoulder and be torn from its socket. ²³ For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower. ²⁴ If I have put my trust in gold or called pure gold my security, ²⁵ if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much, ²⁶ if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, ²⁷ so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, ²⁸ this would also be an iniquity to be judged, for I would have denied God on high. ²⁹ If I have rejoiced in my enemy’s ruin, or exulted when evil befell him— ³⁰ I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse— ³¹ if the men of my house have not said, ‘Who is there who has not had his fill?’— ³² but no stranger had to lodge on the street, for my door has been open to the traveler— ³³ if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart, ³⁴ because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside— ³⁵ (Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment. ³⁶ Surely I would carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown. ³⁷ I would give account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.)— ³⁸ if my land cries out against me and its furrows weep together, ³⁹ if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants, ⁴⁰ then let briers grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” Thus conclude the words of Job.

¹³ To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.

⁶ By loving devotion and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns aside from evil.

²⁰ all the mixed tribes; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines: Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;

²¹ So rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz. Yet the cup will pass to you as well; you will get drunk and expose yourself.

¹⁴ then even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, their righteousness could deliver only themselves, declares the Lord GOD.

²⁰ then as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, they could not deliver their own sons or daughters. Their righteousness could deliver only themselves.

⁶ Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord.

¹¹ See how blessed we consider those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. He is full of compassion and mercy.

¹¹ He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

¹¹ Haman recounted to them his glorious wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored and promoted him over the other officials and servants.

¹³ Be silent, and I will speak. Then let come to me what may.

¹³ And he also had seven sons and three daughters.

³⁸ He blesses them, and they multiply greatly; He does not let their herds diminish.

³ Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. ⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one’s youth. ⁵ Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. He will not be put to shame when he confronts the enemies at the gate.

³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.

⁵ And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,

¹⁶ He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.

⁶ But the land was unable to support both of them while they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they were unable to coexist.

⁶ But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.

¹ Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.

²³ Will not their livestock, their possessions, and all their animals become ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell among us.”

⁷ And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’

³² and this plunder remained from the spoils the soldiers had taken: 675,000 sheep, ³³ 72,000 cattle, ³⁴ 61,000 donkeys,

³ Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,

⁵ For the Midianites came with their livestock and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were innumerable, and they entered the land to ravage it.

¹² Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the other people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as countless as the sand on the seashore.

¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.

² Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. He was a very wealthy man with a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel.

³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.

⁴ Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.

¹⁰ Since he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain, he built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns. And since he was a lover of the soil, he had farmers and vinedressers in the hill country and in the fertile fields.

²⁹ He made cities for himself, and he acquired herds of sheep and cattle in abundance, for God gave him very great wealth.

⁹ The princes refrained from speaking and covered their mouths with their hands. ¹⁰ The voices of the nobles were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roofs of their mouths.

²⁵ I chose their course and presided as chief. So I dwelt as a king among his troops, as a comforter of the mourners.

¹² So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.

²² The blessing of the LORD enriches, and He adds no sorrow to it.

¹ A song of ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!

¹ Continue in brotherly love.

⁵ Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.

²⁰ Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.

³ So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated.

² So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments. ³ Then let us arise and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to God, who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”

¹² Then Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.

¹⁰ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. They must wash their clothes

⁵ Then he sent out some young men of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD.

³ If one’s offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the LORD. ⁴ He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. ⁵ And he shall slaughter the young bull before the LORD, and Aaron’s sons the priests are to present the blood and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. ⁶ Next, he is to skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces.

¹⁰ Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. ¹¹ The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a curse. So they brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) ¹² They placed him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them. ¹³ Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹⁴ “Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and have all who heard him lay their hands on his head; then have the whole assembly stone him. ¹⁵ And you are to tell the Israelites, ‘If anyone curses his God, he shall bear the consequences of his sin. ¹⁶ Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must surely be put to death; the whole assembly must surely stone him, whether he is a foreign resident or native; if he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.

⁵ “In peace,” he replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

³¹ And Elijah took twelve stones, one for each tribe of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come and said, “Israel shall be your name.”

¹⁰ But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify, ‘You have cursed both God and the king!’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

¹³ And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.

³⁰ After the priests and Levites had purified themselves, they purified the people, the gates, and the wall.

¹¹ But stretch out Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

⁹ Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!”

⁴ When your children sinned against Him, He gave them over to their rebellion.

¹⁰ Will he delight in the Almighty? Will he call upon God at all times?

²⁵ When Leviathan rises up, the mighty are terrified; they withdraw before his thrashing.

⁸ So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has.”

³ In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice; at daybreak I lay my plea before You and wait in expectation.

¹⁰ Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

¹⁴ Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?

⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? ¹⁰ I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.

²¹ For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, adultery, sexual immorality, murder, theft, ²² greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. ²³ All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.”

⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.

⁷ Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?

⁵⁵ Now the Jewish Passover was near, and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem to purify themselves before the Passover.

²² Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to God. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart.

²⁶ So the next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he entered the temple to give notice of the date when their purification would be complete and the offering would be made for each of them.

⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

² I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.

² the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.

⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown.

¹⁹ Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.

¹ Then Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.

¹ On another day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him.

⁷ while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

²⁰ Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command.

²⁵ “Look!” he exclaimed. “I see four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!”

¹ Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

¹⁰ See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.

³⁸ the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”

⁹ And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. ¹⁰ And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down—he who accuses them day and night before our God.

²⁵ When Gehazi went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Gehazi, where have you been?” “Your servant did not go anywhere,” he replied.

² “Where have you come from?” said the LORD to Satan. “From roaming through the earth,” he replied, “and walking back and forth in it.”

¹⁰ Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.” ¹¹ And the riders answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is at rest and tranquil.”

⁷ As the strong horses went out, they were eager to go and patrol the earth; and the LORD said, “Go and patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth.

⁴³ When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.

⁸ Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

⁹ And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

¹² Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea; with great fury the devil has come down to you, knowing he has only a short time.” ¹³ And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. ¹⁴ But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. ¹⁵ Then from the mouth of the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away in the torrent. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth to swallow up the river that had poured from the dragon’s mouth. ¹⁷ And the dragon was enraged at the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And I stood on the shore of the sea.

⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore.

³ Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any man on the face of the earth.

⁷ But this is not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. ⁸ I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”

⁷ Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.

³⁰ Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹ He was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread throughout the surrounding nations.

²⁵ Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses.

¹⁵ The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people, but I did not do this because of my fear of God.

¹ There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil.

²⁰ Behold, God does not reject the blameless, nor will He strengthen the hand of evildoers.

²² It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’ ²³ When the scourge brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent.

⁴ I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

⁸ The upright are appalled at this, and the innocent are stirred against the godless. ⁹ Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

¹⁴ If He were to set His heart to it and withdraw His Spirit and breath,

⁷ After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has. ⁸ So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken accurately about Me, as My servant Job has.”

²³ And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.

¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes.

²⁷ Turn away from evil and do good, so that you will abide forever.

¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.

²⁰ I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him.

¹⁶ Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!

¹ “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.

⁴ “Son of man,” he said to me, “look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Report to the house of Israel everything you see.”

³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on Him. “if You are the Christ,” he said, “Save Yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same judgment?

⁴⁷ When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”

²¹ saying: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

¹⁰ “You speak as a foolish woman speaks,” he told her. “Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

¹⁴ Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways. ¹⁵ Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’

¹⁰ “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.

²⁶ What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

⁸ For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.

⁶ Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.

¹ After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

¹² Now Isaac sowed seed in the land, and that very year he reaped a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him,

³⁰ Indeed, you had very little before my arrival, but now your wealth has increased many times over. The LORD has blessed you wherever I set foot. But now, when may I also provide for my own household?”

⁴³ Thus Jacob became exceedingly prosperous. He owned large flocks, maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.

⁵ From the time that he put Joseph in charge of his household and all he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s household on account of him. The LORD’s blessing was on everything he owned, both in his house and in his field.

²⁵ by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of the heavens above, with blessings of the depths below, with blessings of the breasts and womb.

¹³ He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil, the young of your herds and the lambs of your flocks—in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you.

² And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God: ³ You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. ⁴ The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. ⁵ Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed. ⁶ You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

¹¹ Bless his substance, O LORD, and accept the work of his hands. Smash the loins of those who rise against him, and of his foes so they can rise no more.”

²⁷ The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, ‘Destroy him!’

¹⁶ They were a wall around us, both day and night, the whole time we were herding our sheep near them.

³ and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.

⁶ when my steps were bathed in cream and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!

²⁵ if I have rejoiced in my great wealth because my hand had gained so much,

¹² For surely You, O LORD, bless the righteous; You surround them with the shield of Your favor.

⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and he delivers them.

²¹ You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.

¹² Why have You broken down its walls, so that all who pass by pick its fruit?

¹⁷ May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish for us the work of our hands—yes, establish the work of our hands!

¹ A song of ascents. Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in His ways! ² For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours. ³ Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table. ⁴ In this way indeed shall blessing come to the man who fears the LORD.

² He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well. He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes, but the fruit it produced was sour!

⁵ Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.

⁵ For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”

⁸ For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—

⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

¹¹ So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

⁵ And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

¹² “Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man himself.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

⁵ But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

⁵ But now trouble has come upon you, and you are weary. It strikes you, and you are dismayed.

²¹ Have pity on me, my friends, have pity, for the hand of God has struck me.

¹⁵ “Do not touch My anointed ones! Do no harm to My prophets!”

²⁵ Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.

²¹ They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God.

¹³ “Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ ¹⁴ You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?

⁹ And the people were scorched by intense heat, and men cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues; yet they did not repent and give Him glory.

¹¹ and curse the God of heaven for their pains and sores; yet they did not repent of their deeds.

²¹ And great hailstones weighing almost a hundred pounds each rained down on them from above. And men cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous.

⁶ “Here,” said Abram, “your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her.

²³ So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has pronounced disaster against you.”

⁴ “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life. ⁵ But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.” ⁶ “Very well,” said the LORD to Satan. “He is in your hands, but you must spare his life.” ⁷ So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

¹⁰ Even the wrath of man shall praise You; with the survivors of wrath You will clothe Yourself.

⁸ By warfare and exile You contended with her and removed her with a fierce wind, as on the day the east wind blows.

⁵ “Here he is,” replied King Zedekiah. “He is in your hands, since the king can do nothing to stop you.”

³² There on the hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding. So the demons begged Jesus to let them enter the pigs, and He gave them permission. ³³ Then the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

³¹ And the Lord said “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. ³² But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands. ³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”

¹³ No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.

⁷ or because of these surpassingly great revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

⁴ Job’s sons would take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

¹ Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

¹² For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.

¹⁹ Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

²⁷ People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. ²⁹ But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

³⁴ But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.

¹⁷ The messenger answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

¹³ Then a messenger came to David and reported, “The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.”

³¹ One courier races to meet another, and messenger follows messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city has been captured from end to end.

⁷ The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. And the sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.

²⁸ Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

³ Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites, and the Leummites.

²⁰ But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped. His name was Abiathar, and he fled to David. ²¹ And Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD.

¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The fire of God fell from heaven. It burned and consumed the sheep and the servants, and I alone have escaped to tell you!” ¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and reported: “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels, and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁹ when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹⁹ The caravans of Tema look for water; the travelers of Sheba hope to find it.

¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

¹⁴ This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, along with the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you; they will come over in chains and bow down to you. They will confess to you: ‘God is indeed with you, and there is no other; there is no other God.’”

⁴² accompanied by the sound of a carefree crowd. Drunkards were brought in from the desert along with men from the rabble, who put bracelets on your wrists and beautiful crowns on your head.

⁸ I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans—to a distant nation.” Indeed, the LORD has spoken.

²⁴ Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.

²⁸ Pray to the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not need to stay any longer.”

²⁴ Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.

² So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died in the presence of the LORD.

¹ Soon the people began to complain about their hardship in the hearing of the LORD, and when He heard them, His anger was kindled, and fire from the LORD blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. ² And the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down. ³ So that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD had burned among them.

¹⁵ Then terror struck the Philistines in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even those in the outposts and raiding parties trembled. Indeed, the earth quaked and panic spread from God.

³⁸ Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and it licked up the water in the trench.

¹⁰ Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men.

¹² Again Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men.

¹⁴ Behold, fire has come down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty, with all their men. But now may my life be precious in your sight.”

⁴ This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land.

¹³ And the second beast performed great signs to cause even fire from heaven to come down upon the earth in the presence of the people.

²⁸ During his father Terah’s lifetime, Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

³¹ And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.

³ “Where have you come from?” David asked. “I have escaped from the Israelite camp,” he replied.

¹⁵ the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”

¹³ Look at the land of the Chaldeans—a people now of no account. The Assyrians destined it for the desert creatures; they set up their siege towers and stripped its palaces. They brought it to ruin.

⁶ For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans—that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.

²⁸ Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant!”

¹³ One day, while Job’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

² “If only my grief could be weighed and placed with my calamity on the scales. ³ For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas—no wonder my words have been rash.

¹⁴ He breaks me with wound upon wound; He rushes me like a mighty warrior.

⁹ He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head. ¹⁰ He tears me down on every side until I am gone; He uproots my hope like a tree.

² “Even today my complaint is bitter. His hand is heavy despite my groaning.

¹⁴ Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword; and his offspring will never have enough food.

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.

² It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.

¹⁹ As often as it passes through, it will carry you away; it will sweep through morning after morning, by day and by night.” The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror.

¹² Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see! Is there any sorrow like mine, which was inflicted on me, which the LORD made me suffer on the day of His fierce anger?

⁶ “I beset all your cities with cleanness of teeth and all your towns with lack of bread, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD. ⁷ “I also withheld the rain from you when the harvest was three months away. I sent rain on one city but withheld it from another. One field received rain; another without rain withered. ⁸ People staggered from city to city for water to drink, but they were not satisfied; yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD. ⁹ “I struck you with blight and mildew in your growing gardens and vineyards; the locust devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD. ¹⁰ “I sent plagues among you like those of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camp, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD. ¹¹ “Some of you I overthrew as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.

³² They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not.” ³³ His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”

³⁶ Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”

³⁰ Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines.” Then he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people in it. So in his death he killed more than he had killed in his life.

³³ The king was shaken and went up to the gate chamber and wept. And as he walked, he cried out, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

³⁰ The rest of them fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled to the city and hid in an inner room.

¹¹ At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A searing wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward the daughter of My people, but not to winnow or to sift; ¹² a wind too strong for that comes from Me. Now I also pronounce judgments against them.”

²⁷ The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”

¹ At that time some of those present told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. ² To this Jesus replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this fate? ³ No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

⁴ When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”

² in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes,

³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

¹⁸ Then I fell down before the LORD for forty days and forty nights, as I had done the first time. I did not eat bread or drink water because of all the sin you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD and provoking Him to anger.

¹⁶ David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground. ¹⁷ The elders of his household stood beside him to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat anything with them. ¹⁸ On the seventh day the child died. But David’s servants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Look, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not listen to us. So how can we tell him the child is dead? He may even harm himself.” ¹⁹ When David saw that his servants were whispering to one another, he perceived that the child was dead. So he asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” “He is dead,” they replied. ²⁰ Then David got up from the ground, washed and anointed himself, changed his clothes, and went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they set food before him, and he ate.

³ When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD: “For He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.”

³ When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled out some hair from my head and beard, and sat down in horror.

³⁹ Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”

⁶ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.

¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground—because out of it were you taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

² Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”

⁵ And now, do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you.

⁷ The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.

¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and did not hide a thing from him. “He is the LORD,” replied Eli. “Let Him do what is good in His eyes.”

¹² Perhaps the LORD will see my affliction and repay me with good for the cursing I receive today.”

¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.

¹⁹ But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Will there not at least be peace and security in my lifetime?”

¹ Of David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, so that the king drove him away. I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.

⁹ I have become mute; I do not open my mouth because of what You have done.

¹⁷ For when he dies, he will carry nothing away; his abundance will not follow him down.

³⁸ Now, however, You have spurned and rejected him; You are enraged by Your anointed one. ³⁹ You have renounced the covenant with Your servant and sullied his crown in the dust. ⁴⁰ You have broken down all his walls; You have reduced his strongholds to rubble. ⁴¹ All who pass by plunder him; he has become a reproach to his neighbors. ⁴² You have exalted the right hand of his foes; You have made all his enemies rejoice. ⁴³ You have bent the edge of his sword and have not sustained him in battle. ⁴⁴ You have ended his splendor and cast his throne to the ground. ⁴⁵ You have cut short the days of his youth; You have covered him with shame. Selah ⁴⁶ How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath keep burning like fire? ⁴⁷ Remember the briefness of my lifespan! For what futility You have created all men! ⁴⁸ What man can live and never see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah ⁴⁹ Where, O Lord, is Your loving devotion of old, which You faithfully swore to David? ⁵⁰ Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants, which I bear in my heart from so many people— ⁵¹ how Your enemies have taunted, O LORD, and have mocked every step of Your anointed one! ⁵² Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and amen.

¹⁵ As a man came from his mother’s womb, so he will depart again, naked as he arrived. He takes nothing for his labor to carry in his hands.

¹⁹ Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.

⁷ before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

¹⁵ Therefore glorify the LORD in the east. Extol the name of the LORD, the God of Israel in the islands of the sea.

²⁴ Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned? They were unwilling to walk in His ways, and they would not obey His law.

⁷ I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.

³⁸ Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High?

⁶ If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?

¹⁵ Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

²⁸ They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen.

²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, so certainly we cannot carry anything out of it.

¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

¹⁰ Therefore listen to me, O men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wrong, and from the Almighty to act unjustly.

¹⁸ who says to kings, ‘You are worthless!’ and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’ ¹⁹ who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.

⁴ “Behold, I am insignificant. How can I reply to You? I place my hand over my mouth. ⁵ I have spoken once, but I have no answer—twice, but I have nothing to add.” ⁶ Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: ⁷ “Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me. ⁸ Would you really annul My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?

²⁰ But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”

⁴ Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

¹² Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

⁷ so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, honor, and glory, at the revelation of Jesus Christ.