Job 23 Cross References - MSB

¹ Then Job answered: ² “Even today my complaint is bitter. His hand is heavy despite my groaning. ³ If only I knew where to find Him, so that I could go to His seat. ⁴ I would plead my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments. ⁵ I would learn how He would answer, and consider what He would say. ⁶ Would He contend with me in His great power? No, He would certainly take note of me. ⁷ Then an upright man could reason with Him, and I would be delivered forever from my Judge. ⁸ If I go east, He is not there, and if I go west, I cannot find Him. ⁹ When He is at work in the north, I cannot behold Him; when He turns to the south, I cannot see Him. ¹⁰ Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. 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. ¹³ But He is unchangeable, and who can oppose Him? He does what He desires. ¹⁴ For He carries out His decree against me, and He has many such plans. ¹⁵ Therefore I am terrified in His presence; when I consider this, I fear Him. ¹⁶ God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me. ¹⁷ Yet I am not silenced by the darkness, by the thick darkness that covers my face.

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.

¹¹ Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

¹ “I loathe my own life; I will express my complaint and speak in the bitterness of my soul.

⁶ and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.

⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah

² In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted. ³ I remembered You, O God, and I groaned; I mused and my spirit grew faint. Selah ⁴ You have kept my eyes from closing; I am too troubled to speak. ⁵ I considered the days of old, the years long in the past. ⁶ At night I remembered my song; in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered: ⁷ “Will the Lord spurn us forever and never show His favor again? ⁸ Is His loving devotion gone forever? Has His promise failed for all time? ⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has His anger shut off His compassion?” Selah

¹⁹ Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall. ²⁰ Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me.

³ Yet I desire to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God.

²¹ Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor!

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.)—

¹ And the LORD said to Job: ² “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who argues with God give an answer.” ³ Then Job answered the LORD: 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.”

⁸ Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.

⁶ Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. ⁷ Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.

⁷ Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.

¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.

⁶ Since, then, it remains for some to enter His rest, and since those who formerly heard the good news did not enter because of their disobedience,

²⁵ Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” ²⁶ So the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place.” ²⁷ Then Abraham answered, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord—though I am but dust and ashes— ²⁸ suppose the fifty righteous ones lack five. Will You destroy the whole city for the lack of five?” He replied, “If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy it.” ²⁹ Once again Abraham spoke to the LORD, “Suppose forty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the forty, I will not do it.” ³⁰ Then Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?” He replied, “If I find thirty there, I will not do it.” ³¹ And Abraham said, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord, suppose twenty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the twenty, I will not destroy it.” ³² Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”

¹² But You have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to count.’”

¹² Why should the Egyptians declare, ‘He brought them out with evil intent, to kill them in the mountains and wipe them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce anger and relent from doing harm to Your people. ¹³ Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to whom You swore by Your very self when You declared, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give your descendants all this land that I have promised, and it shall be their inheritance forever.’”

¹³ But Moses said to the LORD, “The Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought this people from among them. ¹⁴ And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have already heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, that You, O LORD, have been seen face to face, that Your cloud stands over them, and that You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵ If You kill this people as one man, the nations who have heard of Your fame will say, ¹⁶ ‘Because the LORD was unable to bring this people into the land He swore to give them, He has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ ¹⁷ So now I pray, may the power of my Lord be magnified, just as You have declared: ¹⁸ ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.’ ¹⁹ Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your loving devotion, just as You have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”

⁸ O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies? ⁹ When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”

¹⁸ Behold, now that I have prepared my case, I know that I will be vindicated.

¹⁹ Teach us what we should say to Him; we cannot draw up our case when our faces are in darkness.

¹¹ For the sake of Your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, for it is great.

¹ Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.

²⁶ Remind Me, let us argue the matter together. State your case, so that you may be vindicated.

¹⁸ Incline Your ear, O my God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your name. For we are not presenting our petitions before You because of our righteous acts, but because of Your great compassion. ¹⁹ O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For Your sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people bear Your name.”

² I will say to God: Do not condemn me! Let me know why You prosecute me.

²² Then call me, and I will answer, or let me speak, and You can reply. ²³ How many are my iniquities and sins? Reveal to me my transgression and sin.

² “I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted. ³ You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals My counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. ⁴ You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak. I will question you, and you shall inform Me.’ ⁵ My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You. ⁶ Therefore I retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes.”

³ I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.

⁴ God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?

¹⁹ If it is a matter of strength, He is indeed mighty! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

³³ Nor is there a mediator between us, to lay his hand upon us both. ³⁴ Let Him remove His rod from me, so that His terror will no longer frighten me.

²¹ Withdraw Your hand from me, and do not let Your terror frighten me.

³ On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.

⁴ I am not angry. If only thorns and briers confronted Me, I would march and trample them, I would burn them to the ground.

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

³³ As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, with a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and outpoured wrath I will rule over you.

³⁵ And I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, where I will enter into judgment with you face to face.

⁹ But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹⁵ For even if I were right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy.

¹⁸ “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.

⁵ Will He be angry forever? Will He be indignant to the end?’ This you have spoken, but you keep doing all the evil you can.”

¹ Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin. ²¹ But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets. ²² And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and upon all who believe. There is no distinction,

¹ Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

³³ Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is there to condemn us? For Christ, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.

¹¹ Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him; were He to move, I would not recognize Him.

¹⁴ How much less, then, when you say that you do not see Him, that your case is before Him and you must wait for Him,

¹ Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble?

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? ² How long must I wrestle in my soul, with sorrow in my heart each day? How long will my enemy dominate me? ³ Consider me and respond, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death,

¹⁵ Truly You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.

¹⁶ He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.

⁴⁶ How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath keep burning like fire?

¹⁷ I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him.

¹⁹ For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.”

² Remember that these forty years the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments.

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.

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.

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.”

⁵ My ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You. ⁶ Therefore I retract my words, and I repent in dust and ashes.” 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.”

⁶ For the LORD guards the path of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

³ You have tried my heart; You have visited me in the night. You have tested me and found no evil; I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.

¹⁰ For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us like silver.

¹ For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me and known me. ² You know when I sit and when I rise; You understand my thoughts from afar. ³ You search out my path and my lying down; You are aware of all my ways.

³ A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.

⁹ This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”

² But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. ³ And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.

¹⁷ Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things,” he replied. “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.

¹⁹ Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 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.

² Now here is the king walking before you, and I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. ³ Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.” ⁴ “You have not wronged us or oppressed us,” they replied, “nor have you taken anything from the hand of man.” ⁵ Samuel said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is a witness,” they replied.

⁹ Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

⁵ My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped.

²⁰ The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands. ²¹ For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God. ²² For all His ordinances are before me; I have not disregarded His statutes. ²³ And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity. ²⁴ So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

³ The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and well-doing.

¹⁸ Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from Your path.

⁵ But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.

⁶ and those who turn back from following the LORD, neither seeking the LORD nor inquiring of Him.”

¹³ The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall away. ¹⁴ The seeds that fell among the thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵ But the seeds on good soil are those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, cling to it, and by persevering produce a crop.

¹⁸ When they came to him, he said, “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I arrived in the province of Asia. ¹⁹ I served the Lord with great humility and with many tears, especially in the trials that came upon me through the plots of the Jews.

³³ I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. ³⁴ You yourselves know that these hands of mine have ministered to my own needs and those of my companions.

⁷ To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.

¹² And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the integrity and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.

¹⁰ You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.

²⁰ If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first. ²¹ It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn away from the holy commandment passed on to them. ²² Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”

¹⁰ It still brings me comfort, and joy through unrelenting pain, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

²² Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.

⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true, being altogether righteous. ¹⁰ They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

¹¹ I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.

¹⁰³ How sweet are Your words to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth!

¹²⁷ Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, even the purest gold.

¹⁶ Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.

⁴² And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?

⁴⁶ The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

³² But He told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

³⁴ Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.

⁶⁶ From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus asked the Twelve, “Do you want to leave too?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

³¹ So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.

²² strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

³⁸ But the righteous will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.” ³⁹ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

² Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow,

¹⁹ They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.

¹⁹ God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? ²⁰ I have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it.

¹² If He takes away, who can stop Him? Who dares to ask Him, ‘What are You doing?’ ¹³ God does not restrain His anger; the helpers of Rahab cower beneath Him.

¹⁰ If He comes along to imprison you, or convenes a court, who can stop Him?

¹⁴ What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released.

²⁹ But when He remains silent, who can condemn Him? When He hides His face, who can see Him? Yet He watches over both man and nation,

³ Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases.

⁶ The LORD does all that pleases Him in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and in all their depths.

²¹ Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.

¹⁵ What is crooked cannot be straightened, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

¹⁴ I know that everything God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God does it so that they should fear Him.

²⁴ The LORD of Hosts has sworn: “Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand. ²⁵ I will break Assyria in My land; I will trample him on My mountain. His yoke will be taken off My people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.” ²⁶ This is the plan devised for the whole earth, and this is the hand stretched out over all the nations. ²⁷ The LORD of Hosts has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is outstretched, so who can turn it back?

¹⁰ I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

³⁵ All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”

¹⁹ One of you will say to me, “Why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?”

⁹ And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ ¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ. ¹¹ In Him we were also chosen as God’s own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,

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.

³ So I am allotted months of futility, and nights of misery are appointed me.

¹⁹ Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters, but Your footprints were not to be found.

² Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.

²⁷ Why do you say, O Jacob, and why do you assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my claim is ignored by my God”? ²⁸ Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out.

⁹ The voice of the LORD calls out to the city (and it is sound wisdom to fear Your name): “Heed the rod and the One who ordained it.

³³ O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!

³ so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this.

⁹ For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸ and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.

¹⁵ If I am guilty, woe to me! And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift my head. I am full of shame and aware of my affliction.

³ If only I knew where to find Him, so that I could go to His seat.

²³ For calamity from God terrifies me, and His splendor I cannot overpower.

³ I remembered You, O God, and I groaned; I mused and my spirit grew faint. Selah

¹²⁰ My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.

¹⁶ I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the people who invade us.

³ saying to them, “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be alarmed or terrified because of them.

²⁰ “Do not call me Naomi,” she replied. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has dealt quite bitterly with me.

² “As surely as God lives, who has deprived me of justice—the Almighty, who has embittered my soul—

¹⁴ I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.

¹⁶ Your wrath has swept over me; Your terrors have destroyed me.

⁵ Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”

¹⁶ For I will not accuse you forever, nor will I always be angry; for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me, with the breath of those I have made.

⁴⁶ Do not let your heart grow faint, and do not be afraid when the rumor is heard in the land; for a rumor will come one year—and then another the next year—of violence in the land and of ruler against ruler.

¹⁵ Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

²⁰ ‘Therefore I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place.’” So they brought her answer back to the king.

⁹ that God would be willing to crush me, to unleash His hand and cut me off!

²² He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword.

⁶ The light in his tent grows dark, and the lamp beside him goes out.

¹⁸ He is driven from light into darkness and is chased from the inhabited world.

⁸ He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; He has veiled my paths with darkness.

¹¹ it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.

¹ The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, while no one considers that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil.