Job 34 Cross References - NSB

¹ ELIHU SPOKE MORE: ² »Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know. ³ »For the ear tests words like the palate tastes food. ⁴ »Let us choose what is right. Let us determine among ourselves what is good. ⁵ »Job has said: ‘I am innocent, and God has taken away my right. ⁶ »‘In spite of being right I am counted a liar. My wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’ ⁷ »Who is there like Job, who drinks up scoffing like water? ⁸ »Who goes in company with evildoers and walks with the wicked? ⁹ »He has said: ‘It profits one nothing to take delight in God.’ ¹⁰ »Hear me, you who have sense, far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong. ¹¹ »According to their deeds he will repay them. According to their ways he will make it befall them. ¹² »Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice. ¹³ »Who gave God authority over the earth? Who has laid on him the entire world? ¹⁴ »If He should determine to do so, If He should gather to himself his spirit and his breath, ¹⁵ »All flesh would perish and man would return to dust. ¹⁶ »But if you understand, hear this; Listen to the sound of my words. ¹⁷ »Shall one who hates justice rule? And will you condemn the righteous Mighty One? ¹⁸ »Should anyone even say to a king: You good-for-nothing scoundrel! Or to nobles, you wicked people! ¹⁹ »The one who is righteous and mighty does not grant special favors to princes or prefer important people to poor people because his hands made them all. ²⁰ »They die suddenly in the middle of the night. People have seizures and pass away. Mighty people are taken away but not by human hands. ²¹ »God's eyes are on a person's ways. He sees all his steps. ²² There is no darkness or deep shadow where troublemakers can hide. ²³ »He does not have to set a time for a person in order to bring him to divine judgment. ²⁴ »He breaks mighty people into pieces without examining them and puts others in their places. ²⁵ »He knows what they do, so he overthrows them at night, and they are crushed. ²⁶ »In return for their evil, he strikes them in public. ²⁷ »This is because they turned away from following him. They did not consider any of his ways. ²⁸ »They forced the poor to cry out to him, and he hears the cry of those who suffer. ²⁹ »If God decided to do nothing at all, no one could criticize him. If he hid his face (refused to assist), we would be helpless. ³⁰ »There would be nothing that nations could do to keep godless oppressors from ruling them. ³¹ »Job, have you confessed your sins to God and promised not to sin again? ³² »Have you asked God to show you your faults, and have you agreed to stop doing evil? ³³ »Since you object to what God does, can you expect him to do what you want? The decision is yours, not mine. Tell us now what you think. ³⁴ »Any sensible person will agree; and the wise that hear me will say ³⁵ that Job is speaking from ignorance and that nothing he says make sense. ³⁶ »Think through everything that Job says. You will see that he talks like an evil man. ³⁷ »To his sins he adds rebellion and in front of us all he mocks God.

¹⁹ »You will eat your food by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground. You came from the ground. For dust you are and to dust you will return.«

¹³ She called the name of Jehovah, who spoke to her: »You are the God who sees me, for she said, ‘I have not seen the one who sees me.’«

²⁵ »Surely you would not do that! Would you slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked? Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?«

²³ Time went by and the king of Egypt died. The Israelites still groaned because they were slaves. So they cried out, and their cries for help went up to God. ²⁴ God heard their groaning. He remembered his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

⁷ Jehovah said: »I have seen how my people are suffering as slaves in Egypt. I have heard them beg for my help because of the way they are being mistreated. I feel sorry for them.

⁹ »My people have begged for my help. I have seen how cruel the Egyptians are to them.

²⁹ At midnight Jehovah killed every firstborn male in Egypt from the firstborn son of Pharaoh who ruled the land to the firstborn son of the prisoner in jail, and also every firstborn animal. ³⁰ Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the other Egyptians got up during the night. There was loud crying throughout Egypt because in every house someone had died.

³⁰ That day Jehovah saved the people of Israel from the Egyptians. The Israelites saw them lying dead on the seashore.

²³ »If you do, I, Jehovah, will answer them when they cry out to me for help, ²⁴ and I will become angry and kill you in war. Your wives will become widows, and your children will be fatherless. ²⁵ »When you lend money to any of my people who are poor, do not act like a moneylender and require him to pay interest. ²⁶ »If you take someone’s cloak as a pledge that he will pay you, you must give it back to him before the sunsets, ²⁷ for it is the only covering he has to keep him warm. What else can he sleep in? When he cries out to me for help, I will answer him because I am merciful. ²⁸ »Do not curse God. Do not curse a ruler of your people.

¹⁵ »‘Do no injustice in judgment. Do not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great. Judge your neighbor fairly.

⁴¹ »‘I will oppose them and bring them into the lands of their enemies. Then, if they humble their uncircumcised hearts and accept their guilt,

¹⁷ »Jehovah your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords! He is the great, the powerful, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.

⁹ »You must kill him! Your hand should be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. ¹⁰ »Stone him to death because he has sought to draw you away from Jehovah your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ¹¹ »All Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.

²¹ »All the men of his city shall stone him to death. In that way you will remove the evil from your midst. All Israel will hear about it and fear.

¹⁹ »Be sure there is no one here today who hears these solemn demands and yet convinces himself that all will be well with him. He would go stubbornly on his own way. That would destroy all of you, good and evil alike.

⁴ »He is the Rock! His work is perfect. For all His ways are just. He is a God of faithfulness and without evil. He is just and upright.

³⁰ Everyone who saw it said: »No such deed has been seen or done since the people of Israel left Egypt! We must do something about this! What will we do?«

⁷ »What are you Israelites going to do about this?«

³⁰ »Jehovah, the God of Israel says: ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father should walk before me all the days of your life.’« Now Jehovah says: »Far be it from me. I will honor those who honor me. I will not regard those who think little of me. ³¹ »‘The days are coming when I will cut off your arm (reduce your strength) and the arm of your father’s house. No old man shall be in your house! ³² »‘You will see the enemy in my house even though God does good for Israel. There will not be an old man in your house forever. ³³ »‘Yet I will keep one of your descendants alive. He will serve me as priest. But he will become blind and lose all hope. All your other descendants will die in the prime of life. ³⁴ »‘Your two sons Hophni and Phinehas will both die on the same day. This will show you a sign that everything I have said will come true. ³⁵ »‘I will choose a priest who will be faithful to me and do everything I desire him to do. I will give him descendants, who will always serve in the presence of my anointed ones forever. ³⁶ »‘Your descendants who survive will have to go to that priest and ask him for money and food, and beg to be allowed to help the priests, in order to have something to eat.’«

¹¹ »I am sorry that I made Saul king. He has turned away from me and disobeyed my commands.« Samuel was angry. All night long he pleaded with Jehovah.

²³ »The sin of divination is rebellion. Wickedness and idolatry are arrogance. They are evil. Because you rejected the word of Jehovah, he rejects you as king.«

²⁸ Samuel said to him: »Jehovah has torn the kingdom of Israel away from you today. He gave it to someone who is a better man than you.

³⁷ In the morning after the effects of the wine wore off his wife told him what had happened. Nabal had a stroke. He could not move. ³⁸ Ten days later Jehovah made him sicker and Nabal died. ³⁹ David heard Nabal was dead. He said: »Blessed is Jehovah who defended me against the insults of Nabal. He kept me from doing wrong. Jehovah has turned Nabal’s own wickedness back on him.« David sent men on his behalf to propose marriage to Abigail.

¹⁰ »By the living God Jehovah,« David declared, »I know that Jehovah will kill Saul, either when his time comes to die a natural death or when he dies in battle.

¹ King David was settled in his palace. Jehovah kept him safe from all his enemies.

¹¹ »‘I swear to you that I will cause someone from your own family to bring trouble to you. You will see it when I take your wives from you and give them to another man. He will have intercourse with them in broad daylight. ¹² »‘You did this secretly. I will make this happen in broad daylight in front of all Israel.’«

²¹ But Abishai shouted: »You should be killed for cursing Jehovah’s chosen king!«

³ »The God of Israel has spoken. The protector of Israel said to me: ‘The king who rules with justice, who rules in obedience to God.

²⁸ After asking for advice, the king made two golden calves. He said: You have been worshiping in Jerusalem long enough. Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt. ²⁹ He placed one in Bethel and the other in Dan. ³⁰ This became Israel’s sin, worshiping the golden calves. The people went as far as Dan to worship the one calf.

⁷ »Go and tell Jeroboam that this is what Jehovah, the God of Israel, says to him: I chose you from among the people and made you the ruler of my people Israel. ⁸ »I took the kingdom away from David's descendants and gave it to you. You have not been like my servant David. He was completely loyal to me. He obeyed my commands, and did only what I approve of.

¹⁴ »Jehovah will place a king over Israel who will put an end to Jeroboam's house.

⁹ It was the fourth year of King Hezekiah, the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel. Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and laid siege to it. ¹⁰ It was captured at the end of three years. Samaria was taken in the sixth year of Hezekiah's rule, which was the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel. ¹¹ The king of Assyria took Israel away as prisoners into Assyria. They placed them in Halah and in Habor on the river Gozan, and in towns of the Medes. ¹² They did not obey the voice of Jehovah their God. In fact they went against his agreement, even against everything ordered by Moses, the servant of Jehovah. They did not listen to or obey Jehovah.

⁹ But they would not listen. Manasseh enticed them to do evil. In fact they committed more evil than the nations whom Jehovah destroyed before the children of Israel.

¹¹ »You are great and powerful, glorious, splendid, and majestic. Everything in heaven and earth is yours, and you, O Jehovah, are king, supreme ruler over all.

⁹ »The eyes of Jehovah keep close watch over the entire world. He gives strength (shows His strength) to (in behalf of) those whose hearts are loyal to him. You have acted foolishly! Therefore from now on you will always be at war.«

⁷ »Do your work in honor of him and know that he will not allow you to be unfair to anyone or to take bribes.«

¹⁴ All the officials, the priests, and the people became increasingly unfaithful and followed all the disgusting practices of the nations. Although Jehovah made the Temple in Jerusalem holy, they made the Temple unclean. ¹⁵ Jehovah the God of their ancestors repeatedly sent messages through his prophets because he wanted to spare his people and his dwelling place. ¹⁶ They mocked God’s messengers. They despised his words, and made fun of his prophets until Jehovah became angry with his people. He could no longer heal them. ¹⁷ So he had the Babylonian king attack them and execute their best young men in their holy temple. He did not spare the best men or the unmarried women, the old people or the sick people. God handed all of them over to him.

¹³ »After all this and because of our evil-doing and our great sin, and seeing that the punishment that you, O God, have given us, is less than the measure of our sins, and that you have kept from death those of us who are here;

¹³ »After all this and because of our evil-doing and our great sin, and seeing that the punishment that you, O God, have given us, is less than the measure of our sins, and that you have kept from death those of us who are here; ¹⁴ »Are we again to go against your orders, taking wives from among the people who do these disgusting things? Would you not be angry with us till our destruction was complete, till there was not one who got away safe?

³³ »You have been in the right in everything that happened to us. You have been true to us, but we have done evil! ³⁴ »Our kings, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers have not obeyed your Law or given attention to your orders and your witness, with which you gave witness against them. ³⁵ »They have not been your servants in their kingdom! In all the good things you gave them, and in the great and fat land you gave them they have not turned away from their evil doing. ³⁶ »Today, we are servants! As for the land you gave to our fathers, so that the produce of it and the good might be theirs, see, we are servants in it! ³⁷ »And it gives much increase to the kings whom you have put over us because of our sins. They have power over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great trouble. ³⁸ »And because of all this we are making an agreement in good faith, and putting it in writing. Our rulers, our Levites, and our priests are putting their names to it.«

²² In spite of everything that had happened, Job did not sin by blaming God.

¹⁰ He said to her: »You are talking like a godless fool. We accept the good that God gives us. Should we not also accept the bad?« Through all this Job did not speak sinful words.

⁵ »Let darkness and the shadow of death claim it once more. May a cloud settle over it and may blackness overwhelm its light.

⁴ »The Almighty’s arrows are in me. My spirit drinks in their poison. God’s terrors set themselves against me.

³⁰ »Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern destructive malice?«

¹⁷ »What is man that you should magnify him and set your mind on him?

² »How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind. ³ »Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

³ »Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

⁴ »God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against him and prospered?

¹² »He takes away and who can hinder God? Who can say to God: ‘What are you doing?’

¹⁷ »He crushes me with a tempest. He multiplies my wounds without cause.

²² »It is all one thing. Therefore I say: God destroys the blameless and the wicked.

²² »It is all one thing. Therefore I say: God destroys the blameless and the wicked. ²³ »If the scourge slays suddenly, God laughs at the plight of the innocent.

³⁰ »If I wash myself with snow water, and cleanse my hands with soap, ³¹ »Yet you will plunge me into the pit, and my own clothes will abhor me. ³² »God is not a man, as I am: That I may answer him and we should go to court together. ³³ »Nor is there any mediator between us who may lay his hand on us both.

² »I will say to God: ‘Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me. ³ »‘Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?

⁷ »‘You know that I am not guilty and that no one can force me from your hand!

⁹ »‘Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again?

² »Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? ³ »Should your idle talk reduce men to silence? Should no one rebuke you when you mock?

³ »Should your idle talk reduce men to silence? Should no one rebuke you when you mock? ⁴ »You say to God: ‘My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.’

⁶ and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.

¹¹ »He recognizes deceitful men. When he sees evil, does he not take note?

³ »I have a mind as well as you! I am not inferior to you! Who does not know all these things?

² »Should a wise man answer with empty notions or be filled with the hot east wind?

⁵ »Your sin inspires your mouth. You choose the tongue of the crafty.

¹⁶ how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks up evil like water!

³¹ »Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless. He will get nothing in return.

¹³ »His arrows surround me. Without mercy he splits my kidneys open. He pours out my gall on the ground.

¹⁷ »There is no violence in my hands. My prayer is pure.

²¹ »O that a man might plead with God As a man with his neighbor!

⁷ »Why do the wicked live on, reach old age, and become mighty in power?

¹⁴ »They say to God: ‘Leave us alone! We do not desire to know your ways.’ ¹⁵ »Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? And what do we gain if we pray to him? ¹⁶ »Is their prosperity indeed their own achievement? The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.

³⁰ »They say the wicked are spared in the day of calamity, and are rescued in the day of wrath?

⁹ »You have sent widows away empty-handed. You crush the arms of the orphans. ¹⁰ »Therefore snares are around you, and sudden terror overwhelms you!

⁶ »The tents of marauders prosper and those who provoke God are secure in what God’s hand brings them.

¹¹ »Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food?

¹⁴ »What he tears down cannot be rebuilt. The man he imprisons cannot be released.

¹⁹ »He leads priests away stripped and overthrows men long established.

²¹ »He pours out contempt upon nobles and disarms the mighty.

² »I know what you know. I am not inferior to you!

² »I know what you know. I am not inferior to you! ³ »But I want to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. ⁴ »You are smearing me with lies. As doctors you are worthless, all of you! ⁵ »If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom. ⁶ »Hear my argument. Listen to the plea of my lips.

⁸ »Will you show him partiality? Will you argue the case for God?

⁴ »You tear yourself to pieces in your anger! Is the earth to be abandoned for your sake? Or must the rocks be moved from their place?

² »How long will you torment me and depress me with words?

¹⁵ »Will you keep to the old way that the wicked have trod?

¹⁷ »They said to God: ‘Leave us alone.’ They asked: ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’

² »Even today my complaint is bitter rebellion. God’s hand is heavy despite my groaning.

⁷ »There the upright would reason with him. I would be delivered forever from my Judge. ⁸ »Behold, I go forward but He is not there. I go backward, but I cannot perceive him. ⁹ »He acts on the left and I cannot behold. He turns on the right and I cannot see him.

¹³ »But he is unchangeable and who can turn him? He does what he wants to do.

¹⁶ »God has made my heart faint. The Almighty has dismayed (shocked) me.

¹ »Why does the Almighty not keep time? Why do those who know him never see his days?

¹² »The dying groan from the city. The throat of the wounded cries for help. Yet God pays no attention to their prayer.

¹⁷ »For deep darkness is morning to all of them. They are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.

² »Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; ³ when his lamp shone over my head, and by his light I walked through darkness.

¹² »This is because I delivered the poor who cried, and the orphan who had no helper. ¹³ »The blessing of the wretched came upon me. 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 turban.

²³ »Yes, I know that you will bring me to death, to the house appointed for all living.

³ »Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong? ⁴ »Does he not see my ways and count my every step?

¹⁵ »Did the one who made me in the womb make them? And did that one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁹ »If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or a poor person without covering, ²⁰ whose loins have not blessed me, and who was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

³⁰ »I have not let my mouth sin by asking for their lives with a curse.

¹ So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

² »I am about to open my mouth. My words are on the tip of my tongue.

⁵ »Answer me then, if you can, and prepare yourself to confront me.

⁹ »I am pure and without sin! I am clean and free from guilt.

¹⁶ »Job opens his mouth in empty talk. He multiplies words without knowledge.«

¹⁹ »Would your wealth or even all your mighty efforts sustain you so you would not be in distress? ²⁰ »Do not desire the night, to drag people away from their homes.

²³ »Who has prescribed his ways for him, or said to him: You have done wrong?

²³ »We cannot find the Almighty. He is exalted in power but will not do violence to justice and abundant righteousness.

² »Who is this that conceals (hides) counsel using words without knowledge?

⁴ »Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. ⁵ »Who determined its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? ⁶ »On what were its foundations set and who laid its cornerstone? ⁷ while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? ⁸ »Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb?

⁵ I spoke once, but I cannot answer twice. I will proceed no further.«

⁸ »Would you undo my justice? Would you condemn me so that you can be righteous?

⁸ »Would you undo my justice? Would you condemn me so that you can be righteous? ⁹ »Do you have an arm (power) like God’s? Can your voice thunder like his? ¹⁰ »Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor. Clothe yourself in honor and majesty. ¹¹ »Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low!

¹¹ »Who has preceded me that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is mine.

³ »You asked: ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge? Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.’

⁶ »Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.« ⁷ »I am angry with you and your two friends, because you did not speak correctly about me, as my servant Job has.

⁷ Jehovah is righteous. He loves a righteous way of life. Upright people will see his face (contemplate his presence).

² »As God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty? Who has made me taste bitterness?

⁴ my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will not utter deceit. ⁵ »I will not admit you are in the right. Until I die, I will not deny my integrity! ⁶ »I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it! My conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.

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

²³ »Men will clap their hands in derision (ridicule) and hiss him out of his place.

¹ JOB UTTERED THESE WORDS:

²⁶ »He prays to God and finds favor with him. He sees God’s face and shouts for joy! God restores him to his righteous state. ²⁷ »He comes to men and says: ‘I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved.’

³² »If you have anything to say answer me. Speak up, for I want you to be cleared.

² »Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know.

² »Hear my words, you wise men, and give ear to me, you who know. ³ »For the ear tests words like the palate tastes food. ⁴ »Let us choose what is right. Let us determine among ourselves what is good.

⁸ »Who goes in company with evildoers and walks with the wicked? ⁹ »He has said: ‘It profits one nothing to take delight in God.’ ¹⁰ »Hear me, you who have sense, far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.

¹⁰ »Hear me, you who have sense, far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong. ¹¹ »According to their deeds he will repay them. According to their ways he will make it befall them.

¹¹ »According to their deeds he will repay them. According to their ways he will make it befall them. ¹² »Of a truth, God will not do wickedly, and the Almighty will not pervert justice.

¹⁶ »But if you understand, hear this; Listen to the sound of my words.

²⁰ »They die suddenly in the middle of the night. People have seizures and pass away. Mighty people are taken away but not by human hands. ²¹ »God's eyes are on a person's ways. He sees all his steps.

³⁴ »Any sensible person will agree; and the wise that hear me will say

³⁶ »Think through everything that Job says. You will see that he talks like an evil man.

² »Do you think this to be just? You say: ‘I am in the right before God.’ ³ »If you ask: ‘What advantage do I have? How am I better off than if I had sinned?’

³ »If you ask: ‘What advantage do I have? How am I better off than if I had sinned?’

⁹ »Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out. They call for help because of the arm of the mighty.

¹¹ »Who teaches us more than the animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the air?

⁹ »When I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, ¹⁰ when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, ¹¹ when I said: ‘This far you may come and no farther’; here is where your proud waves halt? ¹² »Have you ever commanded the morning, or shown the dawn its place? ¹³ »It might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? ¹⁴ »The earth takes shape like clay under a seal. Its features stand out like those of a garment. ¹⁵ »The wicked are denied their light, and their upraised arm is broken. ¹⁶ »Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? ¹⁷ »Have the gates of death been shown to you? Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? ¹⁸ »Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this. ¹⁹ »Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And where does darkness reside? ²⁰ »Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings? ²¹ »Surely you know, for you were already born! You have lived so many years! ²² »Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail? ²³ »These I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle. ²⁴ »What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth? ²⁵ »Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm? ²⁶ »Who waters a land where no man lives, a desert with no one in it? ²⁷ Who satisfies a desolate wasteland to make it sprout with grass? ²⁸ »Does the rain have a father? Who has begotten the drops of dew? ²⁹ »From whose womb comes the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens ³⁰ when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen? ³¹ »Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? ³² »Can you bring forth the constellations of the zodiac in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? (Mazzaroth Constellation) ³³ »Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? ³⁴ »Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water? ³⁵ »Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you: Here we are? ³⁶ »Who endowed the innermost being with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind? ³⁷ »Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens? ³⁸ This when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together? ³⁹ »Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions ⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? ⁴¹ »Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?

³ JOB ANSWERED JEHOVAH: ⁴ »I am so insignificant. How can I answer you? I will put my hand over my mouth.

¹ Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful mockers.

² The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against Jehovah and against his Anointed One. ³ They say: »Let us break their chains of control and throw off their oppressive rule.« ⁴ The One who dwells in heaven laughs. Jehovah scoffs at them.

⁹ »You will rule them with an iron scepter. You will dash them to pieces like pottery!«

⁵ The arrogant shall not stand before your eyes. You hate all who practice sin.

⁵ »Because oppressed people are robbed and needy people groan, I will now arise,« says Jehovah. »I will provide safety for those who long for it.«

⁸ The wicked walk about when immorality increases among the sons of men.

¹ ([Psalm of David]) How long, O Jehovah? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

³ You have probed my heart. You have confronted me at night. You have tested me like silver, but you found nothing wrong. I have decided that my mouth will not sin.

¹² Who can notice (discern) (understand) every mistake? Forgive my hidden faults.

² Examine me, O Jehovah, and test me. Look closely (deeply) into my heart and mind.

⁴ I do not sit with deceitful men, and I will not be found among hypocrites.

⁹ Do not hide your face from me. Do not angrily turn me away. You have been my help. Do not leave me! Do not abandon me, O God of my salvation!

⁵ Jehovah will tear them down and never build them up again. This is because they never consider what he has done or what his hands have made.

⁷ By your favor, O Jehovah, you made my mountain to stand strong. You hid your face and I was alarmed (dismayed).

⁸ Jehovah says: »I will instruct you. I will teach you the way that you should go. I will advise you as my eyes watch over you.

¹⁵ He who fashions all their hearts observes and understands all their works.

¹⁵ Jehovah’s eyes watch over righteous people. His ears hear their cry for help.

⁴ Make your ways known to me, O Jehovah, and teach me your paths. ⁵ Make me walk (guide me) (bend me) in your truth and teach me because you are my God of salvation. I wait all day long for you.

⁴ Be happy with Jehovah and he will provide you with the desires of your heart.

⁶ They trust their riches and brag about their abundant wealth. ⁷ No one can ever redeem (buy back) his brother or pay God a ransom for his life.

¹⁰ The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. ¹¹ Men will say: Truly there is a reward for the righteous. Truly there is a God who judges the earth.

⁴ He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces.

¹² Behold, these are the ungodly. They prosper in the world; they increase in wealth. ¹³ I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. ¹⁴ I have been plagued all day long, and chastened every morning. ¹⁵ If I say, I will speak thus; then, I would offend the generation of your children.

¹⁹ How are they destroyed, suddenly! They are utterly consumed with terrors.

¹⁸ »When you see a thief, you make friends with him. You keep company with people who commit adultery.

¹² Loving-kindness belongs to you, O Jehovah. You reward a person based on what he has done.

³⁰ If his descendants abandon my law and do not live by my rules, ³¹ if they violate my statutes and do not obey my commandments, ³² then with a rod I will punish their transgression and their crimes with beatings.

³ You turn men back into dust and say: »Return, O sons of men!« ⁴ In your sight a thousand years are like a single day, like yesterday, already past like an hour in the night. ⁵ You sweep mortals away in the sleep of death. They sprout again in the morning like grass. ⁶ In the morning they blossom and sprout. In the evening they fade and wither away. ⁷ Your anger consumes us. We are troubled by your rage. ⁸ You set our sins in front of you. You put our secret sins in the light of your presence. ⁹ Indeed, all our days slip away because of your fury. We live out our years like one long sigh. ¹⁰ The days of our lives are seventy or eighty years if we are in good health. But the best of them bring trouble and misery. Indeed, they are soon gone, and we fly away.

¹⁵ They make it known that Jehovah is upright. He is my rock. He is never unrighteous.

⁵ They crush your people, O Jehovah. They make those who belong to you suffer.

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

⁴³ Let those who think they are wise pay attention to these things so they will understand the loving kindness of Jehovah.

¹³⁷ You are righteous, O Jehovah. Your judgments are upright.

⁷ He lifts the poor from the dust. He lifts the needy from a garbage heap. ⁸ He seats them with important people, with the leaders (princes) of his people.

⁵ Jehovah will lead those who turn away from their crooked ways with the workers of iniquity. Israel will have peace.

⁶ Everything Jehovah desires he does in the heavens and in earth, and in the seas and all deep places.

⁷ Answer me quickly, O Jehovah for my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will become like those who go down to the pit. ⁸ Let me hear your loving kindness in the morning. For I trust in you! Teach me the way in which I should walk for to you I am lifted up. ⁹ Deliver me, O Jehovah, from my enemies. I take refuge in you. ¹⁰ Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

¹⁷ Jehovah is righteous in all his ways. He is kind in all his deeds.

¹⁵ My son, do not walk in the way with them. Withhold your food from their path!

²² »How long, you simple (stupid) (foolish) ones, will you love simplicity (foolishness) (stupidity)? The scoffers delight in scoffing. Fools hate knowledge!

²⁹ »You have no use for knowledge and you refuse to respect Jehovah. ³⁰ »You rejected my advice and paid no attention when I warned you. ³¹ »Now you will get what you deserve for what you have done. Your own advice will make you sick.

¹² It will deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things.

¹⁴ Do not enter the path of the wicked. Do not walk in the way of evil men.

¹⁷ They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

²¹ The ways of man are before the eyes of Jehovah. He ponders all his paths.

²³ »I was made from long ago, before the earth began. ²⁴ »When there were no depths or fountains abounding with water, I was brought forth. ²⁵ »Before the mountains were settled, before the hills I was brought forth: ²⁶ »He had not made the earth or the fields or the highest part of the dust of the world. ²⁷ »When he prepared the heavens, I was there. When he circled the face of the deep: ²⁸ »When he established the clouds above, when he strengthened the fountains of the deep, ²⁹ »When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his command, when he appointed the foundations of the earth, ³⁰ »Then I was beside him, as a master workman with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.

¹¹ If I say: »Certainly the darkness will overwhelm me!« Then the light around me will be night. ¹² Even the darkness is not dark to you. And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to you.

²³ Examine me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious (troubled) (painful) (disturbing) thoughts.

²³ Examine me, O God, and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious (troubled) (painful) (disturbing) thoughts. ²⁴ See if there is any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

⁵ A wise man will hear and will increase learning. A man of understanding will procure wise counsel.

³² He who commits adultery with a woman lacks judgment and destroys himself.

²⁹ The way of Jehovah is a rock (stronghold) to the upright. The workers of iniquity will be destroyed.

³¹ The righteous will be rewarded on the earth much more than the wicked and the sinner.

²⁰ The one who walks with wise men will be wise. A companion of fools will be destroyed.

³¹ He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker. He who honors his Maker has mercy for the poor.

³ The eyes of Jehovah are in everywhere watching the evil and the good.

²⁶ It is not good to punish the righteous. It is not good to strike princes because of their uprightness.

² The rich and the poor meet together (are alike) (have a common bond) for Jehovah created them both.

¹² You may say: »We did not know this,« but God knows and judges your motives. He keeps watch on you and knows. He will reward each man according to his deeds.

³² He who refuses instruction (discipline) despises his own life. But he who listens to reproof understands.

¹³ The man who covers his sins will not be blessed; but whoever confesses and leaves them will have mercy.

² When the righteous increase the people rejoice. When the wicked rule the people mourn. ³ He who loves wisdom makes his father rejoice. But he who keeps company with fornicators wastes his wealth. ⁴ The king establishes the land by justice. He who receives gifts overthrows it. ⁵ A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet. ⁶ In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare. But the righteous sings and rejoices. ⁷ The righteous considers the cause of the poor. The wicked do not get to know it. ⁸ Scornful men bring a city into a snare. Wise men turn away anger. ⁹ If a wise man disputes with a foolish man, whether the fool rages or laughs, there is no rest. ¹⁰ The bloodthirsty hate the upright. The righteous are concerned for his life. ¹¹ A fool loses his temper. But a wise man holds it back. ¹² If a ruler listens to lies, all his servants are wicked.

⁸ If you see oppression of the poor and denial of justice and righteousness in the country, do not be shocked at the sight. One official watches over another official and there are higher officials over them.

¹⁸ Wisdom is better than weapons of war, yet one sinner destroys much good.

⁷ Then the dust will return to the earth as it was. The spirit (life) will return to God who gave it.

⁸ »They all hold swords. They are experts in war. Every man has his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night.

¹⁴ Jehovah enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people: »It is you who have devoured the vineyard. The plunder of the poor is in your houses.

⁷ I am Jehovah of Hosts (All Powerful)! Israel is the vineyard, and Judah is the garden I tended with care. I had hoped for honesty and for justice, but dishonesty and cries for mercy were all I found.

¹² At their feasts there are lyres and harps, tambourines and flutes, and wine. Yet, they do not pay attention to what Jehovah is doing or respect what his hands have done.

⁵ Righteousness will be the belt around his loins. Faithfulness will be the belt around His waist.

³ When that day comes, Jehovah will give you relief from your pain and suffering, from the hard slavery you were forced to do. ⁴ You will mock the king of Babylon with this saying: »How the tyrant has come to an end! How his attacks have come to an end! ⁵ »Jehovah has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of rulers. ⁶ »They struck the people with fury, with blows that did not stop. They ruled nations in anger, persecuting them without restraint. ⁷ »The whole earth rests and is quiet. It breaks out into shouts of joy. ⁸ »‘Even the cypress trees rejoice over you. The cedars of Lebanon say: ‘Since you have fallen, no lumberjack has come to attack us.’

¹ Surely in a night Ar of Moab is devastated and ruined. Certainly in a night Kir of Moab is devastated and ruined.

¹⁵ You are in for trouble, if you try to hide your plans from Jehovah! You think what you do in the dark cannot be seen. So you ask: »Who sees us, who knows us?«

¹³ »For that reason your sin will be like a high wall with a bulging crack, ready to fall. All of a sudden it will fall.

³⁰ Jehovah will make his majestic voice heard. He will come with all his might, with furious anger, with firestorms, windstorms, rainstorms, and hailstones. ³¹ The people of Assyria will be shattered at the sound of Jehovah’s voice. He will strike them with his rod. ³² To the sound of tambourines and lyres, Jehovah will pound on them. He will fight them in battle, swinging his fists (displaying his power). ³³ Topheth was prepared long ago. It was made ready for the king. It was made deep and wide and piled high with plenty of burning logs. Jehovah’s breath will be like a flood of burning sulfur, setting it on fire.

¹⁷ An act of righteousness will bring about peace and security forever.

³ »The bull knows its owner, and donkey knows where its master feeds it. But Israel does not know. My people do not understand!«

¹⁹ »If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land. ²⁰ »Refuse and rebel and swords will devour you. Jehovah has spoken.«

² The people who walk in darkness (ignorance) (lies) have seen a great light (truth). A light has dawned on those who live in the land of the shadow of death (the grave) (calamity).

¹⁶ That is why the Almighty Jehovah of Hosts will send a degenerative disease against brave men. A flame will be turned into a raging fire under his power. ¹⁷ The Light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame. It will burn and consume his thorns and his briers in a single day! ¹⁸ It will completely destroy the splendor of his forests and fertile fields, as when a sick man wastes away. ¹⁹ And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down.

² The Spirit of Jehovah will rest on him. The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and respect for Jehovah will be his. ³ He will delight in the reverence of Jehovah. He will not judge by what his eyes see, nor make a decision by what his ears hear. ⁴ But with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth (power of his words), and with the spirit (breath) of his lips he will destroy the wicked.

²² They will be gathered like prisoners in the dungeon tower. They will be confined in prison and after many days they will be punished.

³ You will keep the steadfast mind in perfect peace, because he trusts (hopes) in you.

⁴ »I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle. I would set them all on fire.

³⁶ The angel of Jehovah put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. The people got up the next morning and saw all the dead bodies!

³⁸ One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword. They escaped to the land of Ararat. Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.

¹³ Who has understood the mind of Jehovah, or has instructed him, as his counselor? ¹⁴ Whom did Jehovah consult to enlighten him? Who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?

³ He will not break off a bent reed nor extinguish a flickering lamp. He will bring lasting justice to all.

⁹ »Does a clay pot dare argue with its maker, a pot that is like all the others? Does the clay ask the potter what he is doing? Does the pot complain that its maker has no skill?

¹⁶ For I will not contend (rebuke) forever! Nor will I always be angry! The spirit would fail before me, and those whom I have made.

¹⁸ »Because of their actions and their thoughts, I am coming to gather the nations of every language. They will come and see my glory.

²⁴ »Then they will go out and look at the corpses of those who have rebelled (sinned) against me. The worms that eat them will not die. The fire that burns them will not go out and they will disgust all humanity.«

⁵ Jehovah says: »What bad thing (injustice) did your fathers find in me that they went so far away from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless (lead astray) themselves.

¹ Jehovah, if I argued my case with you, you would prove to be right. Indeed, I must question you about matters of justice. Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why do dishonest people succeed with impunity?

¹⁷ »I see everything that they do. They cannot hide anything from me. Their wickedness cannot be hidden; I can see it.

¹⁰ »I, Jehovah, search the heart and examine the mind (inner man). I give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.

²⁴ »Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?« asks Jehovah. »Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?« Declares Jehovah.

¹⁸ »I hear the people of Israel say in grief, ‘Jehovah, we were like an untamed animal, but you taught us to obey. Bring us back for we are ready to return to you, Jehovah our God. ¹⁹ »‘We turned away from you. But soon we wanted to return. After you had punished us we hung our heads in grief. We were ashamed and disgraced because we sinned when we were young.’«

¹⁹ »You are great in counsel and mighty in deed. Your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men. You give to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.

⁸ »Suppose nations or kingdoms will not serve or surrender to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will punish those nations by wars, famines, and plagues, until I have put an end to them by Nebuchadnezzar's power,« says Jehovah.

²⁰ He says: »You are my war-club, my weapon of war. I shatter nations with you and with you I destroy kingdoms. ²¹ »I will use you to crush horses and their riders. I will use you to crush chariots and their drivers. ²² »I will use you to crush men and women. I will use you to crush the old and the young. I will use you to crush young men and women. ²³ »I will use you to crush shepherds and their flocks. I will use you to crush farmers and their oxen. I will use you to crush governors and officials.

¹⁷ »But your people say: ‘Jehovah’s way is not right.’ Yet, their ways are not right. ¹⁸ »If the righteous person turns from the right things that he has done and does evil, he will die because of it. ¹⁹ »If the wicked person turns from his wickedness and does what is fair and right, he will live because of it. ²⁰ »The people of Israel say: ‘Jehovah’s way is not right.’ I will judge each of you by your own ways, people of Israel.«

²¹ »He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to the discerning.

³⁴ »You watched while a stone was cut out without hands. It struck the statue upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

³⁴ »You watched while a stone was cut out without hands. It struck the statue upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. ³⁵ »The iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broke in pieces together. It became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors. The wind carried them away and no place was found for them. The stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

⁴⁴ »In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. Its sovereignty will not be entrusted to another people. It will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and it will stand forever! ⁴⁵ »You saw a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. It broke the iron, brass, clay, silver, and the gold to pieces. The great God made known to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and the interpretation of it is sure.«

³⁵ All the inhabitants of the earth are considered as nothing. He does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth. None can stop him, or say to him: ‘What do you do?’

²⁸ »PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.« ²⁹ Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. ³⁰ In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain.

³⁰ In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain. ³¹ Darius the Mede received the kingdom. He was sixty-two years old.

¹¹ »Ephraim is oppressed. He is crushed in judgment because he was content to walk after man's command.

² »It never enters their hearts that I will remember all this evil. But their sins surround them, and I cannot avoid seeing them.

⁷ »Jehovah has sworn by the pride of Jacob: I will never forget any of their works.

² »Though they dig into the grave my hand will take them. Though they climb to heaven I will bring them down. ³ »Though they hide on top of Mount Carmel I will search and find them and take them from there. Though they hide from my sight on the bottom of the sea I will command the serpent to bite them.

⁸ »Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful kingdom! Yet, I will destroy it from off the face of the earth! I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,« said Jehovah.

⁷ »O Jehovah, righteousness belongs to you! Shame belongs to us this day! To the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you.

⁷ »O Jehovah, righteousness belongs to you! Shame belongs to us this day! To the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you. ⁸ »O Jehovah, to us belongs shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.

⁸ »O Jehovah, to us belongs shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. ⁹ »To Jehovah our God belong mercies and forgiveness. We have rebelled against him.

⁹ »To Jehovah our God belong mercies and forgiveness. We have rebelled against him. ¹⁰ »We have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. ¹¹ »Yes, all Israel have transgressed your law and turned aside, that they should not obey your voice. Therefore the curse has been poured out upon us. It is the oath that is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God. We have sinned against you. ¹² »He confirmed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our judges who ruled us. He brought a great evil on us. Nothing under heaven has been done like what was done to Jerusalem. ¹³ »As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this evil has come upon us. Yet we have not earnestly requested the favor of Jehovah our God. We should turn from our iniquities, and have discernment in your truth. ¹⁴ »Therefore Jehovah watched over the evil and brought it upon us. Jehovah our God is righteous in all his works. We have not obeyed his voice.

¹¹ »I gave you a king when I was angry, and I took him away when I was furious.

¹⁶ »The statutes of Omri and the works of the house of Ahab are observed. You walk in their counsels. I will make you desolation! The inhabitants will be hissed. You will bear the reproach of my people.«

⁹ I will bear the indignation of Jehovah, because I have sinned against him. He will plead my cause, and execute judgment for me. He will bring me forth to the light and I will see his righteousness.

¹² You are from everlasting, O Jehovah my God, my Holy One, You are eternal. O Jehovah, you have appointed them (the Chaldean) to execute judgment. You, O Rock, have established them for correction. ¹³ Your eyes are too pure to look at evil. You cannot look at perversity. Why do you look at treacherous persons and not act? Why do you keep quiet when the wicked destroy the man who is more righteous?

⁶ »The same for those who have turned back from following Jehovah, and those who have not sought Jehovah or inquired of Him.«

¹⁵ »Can you see what has happened to you,« Jehovah asked, »before you started to rebuild the Temple? ¹⁶ »You would go to a pile of grain looking for twenty bushels, but there would be only ten. You would go to draw fifty gallons of wine from a vat and find only twenty. ¹⁷ »I struck you with scorching winds, mildew and hail to ruin everything you tried to grow,« declared Jehovah, »but you still did not repent. ¹⁸ »Today is the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the day that the foundation of the Temple of Jehovah was completed. See what is going to happen from now on. ¹⁹ »There is no grain left. The grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced. However from now on I will bless you.«

⁶ He answered: »This is the word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel.« Then Jehovah of Hosts said: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.’«

¹⁴ »You have said: ‘There is no value to serve God. What is the use of doing what he says or of trying to show Jehovah of Hosts that we are sorry for what we have done?’

²³ »I will say to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of evil.’

⁶ »There was a shout at midnight. ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come meet him.’

²⁷ »The Son of man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels. He will then reward each man according to his deeds.

¹² »They said: ‘The last ones have done only one hour’s work. You have made them equal to us. We have undergone the hard work of the day and the burning heat.’ ¹³ »He told them: ‘I do you no wrong. You made an agreement with me for a penny. ¹⁴ »‘Take what is yours and leave. I wish to give to the last workers the same as to you. ¹⁵ »‘Is it lawful for me to do what I wish with what is mine? Or is your eye jealous because I am generous?’

⁸ »Produce fruit that is worthy of repentance. Do not say we have Abraham for our father. I tell you, that God is able to make these stones into children for Abraham. ⁹ »The axe is now at the root of the trees. Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown in to the fire.« ¹⁰ The people asked him: »What must we do?« ¹¹ He answered: »He who has two coats let him give to him who has none. He who has food let him do likewise.« ¹² Tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him: »Teacher, what must we do?« ¹³ He told them: »Collect no more than that which is prescribed.« ¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him: »What must we do?« And he said: »Do not take money from any one by force. Never falsely accuse any one wrongfully and be content with your wages.«

²⁰ »But God said to him: ‘You fool this night you will give up your life. Then who will have all these things you accumulated?’

²⁶ »The days of the Son of man will be like the days of Noah. ²⁷ »They ate, they drank and they got married until Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came, and destroyed them all. ²⁸ »The days of Lot were similar. They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted and they built. ²⁹ »But when Lot left Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

³¹ »A man will be on the housetop. He should not go down into the house to take his possessions. He that is in the field should likewise not return to the house. ³² »Remember Lot’s wife!

²⁷ »Again he will say: ‘I do not know where you come from. Get away from me, you wicked people!’

²⁴ »Do not judge according to appearance! Judge a righteous judgment.«

²⁷ »Peace I leave with you! My peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives to you. Do not let your heart be troubled or full of fear.

³⁴ Peter opened his mouth, and said, »I truly perceive that God shows no partiality.

³⁸ Paul did not think it a good idea to take him with them. So he left them at Pamphylia.

³ Paul said to him: »God will strike you, white washed wall! Do you sit judging me according to the Law, and against law command me to be struck?«

²³ Immediately the angel of God killed him, because he did not give God the glory. He was eaten by worms and died.

⁵ Then Paul said, »I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest. It is written: You shall not speak evil of the ruler of your people.«

⁶ He will render to each according to his works.

¹¹ God is not partial! (God does not play favorites!)

⁴ Certainly not! But let God be true, and every man false. It is written: So that you should be proved righteous in your words and should overcome when you are judged. ⁵ If our unrighteousness defines God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? God is not unrighteous when he vents his anger is he? I speak in human terms.

⁵ If our unrighteousness defines God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? God is not unrighteous when he vents his anger is he? I speak in human terms. ⁶ Not at all! For how will God judge the world? ⁷ But what if my untruth serves God’s glory by making his truth stand out more clearly? Why should I be condemned as a sinner?

³¹ What shall we then say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He that did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, will he not with him freely give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against the ones God has chosen? It is God who justifies (makes righteous). ³⁴ Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yes rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

¹⁴ What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? There is not!

²⁰ Yes, but you, O man, who are you to answer back to God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it: »Why have you made me this way?« (Isaiah 45:9)

³⁴ For who has known the mind of Jehovah? Or who has been his counselor? (Isaiah 40:13) ³⁵ Or who has first given to him, that it shall be repaid to him again? (Job 41:11)

³⁵ Or who has first given to him, that it shall be repaid to him again? (Job 41:11) ³⁶ For from him, and through him, and to him are all things: Glory to him forever! Amen.

² Do not be conformed to this world (religious, social, political, and economic arrangement). But be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

⁷ Render therefore to all their due. Provide tribute to whom tribute is due. Give custom to whom custom is owed. Render fear to whom fear is owed and offer honor to whom honor is deserved.

¹⁵ He that is spiritual judges all things, yet no man judges him.

⁵ Do not judge anything before the time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make apparent the counsels of the hearts. Then each man’s praise will come from God.

² Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world? And if you will judge the world, are you unworthy to judge these small matters? ³ Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the matters that pertain to this life? ⁴ If you have judgments of things pertaining to this life, would you appoint as judges those who mean nothing to the congregation? ⁵ I speak to shame you. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? Not one who would be able to judge between his brothers?

²⁰ Brothers, do not be like children in understanding. When it comes to evil be innocent children but in your thinking be mature adults.

¹⁰ We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether it is good or bad.

¹⁵ I speak as to wise men. You judge what I say.

³³ Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals.

⁶ Those who were recognized as important people did not add a single thing to my message. What sort of people they were makes no difference to me. God does not play favorites (show partiality).

¹¹ When Cephas came to Antioch, I openly resisted him because he was completely wrong. ¹² He ate with the people of the nations until some men James sent arrived. When they arrived, he drew back and separated himself. He feared those who were of the circumcised people. ¹³ The rest of the Jews were hypocrites with him, so much that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. ¹⁴ I saw that they did not walk uprightly according to the truth of the good news. Therefore I said to Cephas, in front of them all: »If you, being a Jew, live as the nations do and not as the Jews, why do you compel the people of the nations to live like the Jews?«

⁷ Do not be deceived. God is not mocked! A man will harvest what he sows. ⁸ He that sows to his own flesh will harvest corruption of the flesh. But he that sows to the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

²² You put away your former way (course) (behavior) (conversation) of life, the old self that was corrupt with the lusts of deceit.

²⁵ Put away falsehood. Speak truth each one of you with his neighbor: for we are members (belonging to) (together with) of one another. ²⁶ Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down upon your anger (rage). ²⁷ Do not give the devil an opportunity. ²⁸ He that steals must steal no more. Let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have something to give to someone in need.

⁷ The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁹ You masters, do the same things to them. Do not threaten! You know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven. There is no favoritism with him.

²⁵ For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong that he has done. There is no partiality.

² For you know perfectly that the »Day of Jehovah« will come like a thief in the night. (Zephaniah 1:14)

²¹ Prove all things; hold fast to what is good.

⁶ It is a righteous thing for God to repay with affliction (great suffering and distress) those who afflict you. ⁷ You who are afflicted rest with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire.

⁴ He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship. As a result, he seats himself in the sanctuary of God and declares (promotes) himself to be like God. (Ezekiel 28:2) ⁵ Do you remember that I repeatedly told you about these things when I was still with you? ⁶ There is something that keeps this from happening now, and you know what it is. At the proper time, then, the wicked one will appear. ⁷ The secret of evil (lawlessness) is even now at work. But there is one who restrains the evil till he is taken out of the way. ⁸ Then the evil (lawless) one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will put him to death with the breath of his mouth, and destroy him by the manifestation (brightness) (advent) (revelation) of his coming. (Greek: parousia: presence, return, being near) ⁹ The evil (lawless) one will come with the power of Satan and perform all kinds of false signs and wonders. ¹⁰ He will use every kind of wicked deceit on those who will perish. They will perish because they did not welcome and love the truth so as to be saved. ¹¹ So God dispatches the power of deceit (error) to work in them so that they are allowed to believe what is false.

²⁰ Reprove the sinner in the sight of all, that the rest also may be in fear.

²⁴ Some men's sins are known publicly, leading to judgment; and some men’s sin becomes known later.

¹⁰ For Demas forsook me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica. Crescens went to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.

² If the word spoken through angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward (penalty).

¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. All things are uncovered and laid bare before him. We must account to him. (Romans 2:16; 14:12)

¹⁴ But solid food belongs to mature people. It belongs to those who by reason of use have their senses trained to know the difference between good and evil.

³⁹ We are not people who turn back and are destroyed. Instead, we have faith and are saved.

²⁶ He considered the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. He looked intently (respectfully) for the payment of the reward.

²⁸ Let us be thankful, because we will receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let us be grateful and worship (serve) (intensely adore) God in a way that will please him, with reverence and awe.

¹³ Let no man say when he is tempted: »God tempts me.« God cannot be tempted with evil, and he tempts (entices) (tests) (trys) no one.

⁴ Behold, the wages of the laborers who harvested your fields, which are held back by you, cry out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of Jehovah of Hosts.

¹¹ As you know, those who have endured are called blessed. You have heard of the patience (perseverance) (endurance) of Job, and have seen the outcome Jehovah provided, how he was very tender with his affection and mercy. (Psalm 103:8)

¹⁷ If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time you spend here in reverence.

¹⁷ Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Reverence and respect God. Honor the king.

³ They speak evil words about you because of their extreme greed. They will exploit you with false evil words. Their judgment from long ago is not idle. Their destruction will not delay.

¹⁰ This is primarily for those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble at glorious ones but speak abusively.

⁵ Listen, my dearly beloved brothers! Did God choose poor people in the world to be rich in faith and to receive the kingdom he promised to those who love him?

¹⁵ The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the military commanders, and the mighty men, and every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶ They said to the mountains and rocks: »Fall on us, and hide us from the presence of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

³ One of his heads appeared to have had a fatal wound. His fatal wound had healed, and the entire world followed the beast with admiration. ⁴ Men worshiped the dragon that gave power to the beast. They worshiped the beast, saying: »Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?«

¹¹ Then I saw another wild beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb and he spoke like a dragon. ¹² He exercises all the authority of the first beast that came ahead of him. The second beast causes the earth and those who live there to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. ¹³ He performed great signs, so that he made fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. ¹⁴ And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles he had power to do in the sight of the beast. He says to those who dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast that had the wound by a sword and yet lives.

⁹ »The kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her, when they see the smoke of her burning. ¹⁰ »They will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, and say: 'Woe, woe to the great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.'

²⁰ »Rejoice over her, you heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God pronounced judgment for you against her.«

¹² I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. The books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged according to the things written in the books, according to their works.

⁸ In like manner these men also in their dreams defile the flesh, reject authority and speak evil of glorious ones.

¹² »'Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work.