1 “Why are lnot times of judgment mkept by the Almighty,
and why do those who know him never see his ndays?
2 Some move olandmarks;
they seize flocks and pasture them.
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
they ptake the widow’s ox for a pledge.
4 They qthrust the poor off the road;
the poor of the earth rall hide themselves.
5 Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert
the poor1 sgo out to their toil, tseeking game;
the wasteland yields food for their children.
6 They gather their2 fodder in the field,
and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.
7 They ulie all night naked, without clothing,
and have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains
and vcling to the rock for lack of shelter.
9 (There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast,
and they take a pledge against the poor.)
10 They go about naked, without clothing;
hungry, they wcarry the sheaves;
11 among the olive rows of the wicked3 they make oil;
they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst.
12 From out of the city the dying4 groan,
and the soul of xthe wounded cries for help;
yet God charges no one with ywrong.
13 “There are those who rebel zagainst the light,
who are not acquainted with its ways,
and do not stay in its paths.
14 The murderer rises before it is light,
that he amay kill the poor and needy,
and in the night he is like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer also waits for bthe twilight,
saying, ‘No ceye will see me’;
and he veils his face.
16 In the dark they ddig through houses;
by day they shut themselves up;
they do not know the light.
17 For edeep darkness is morning to all of them;
for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.
18 “You say, f‘Swift are they on the face of the waters;
their portion is cursed in the land;
no treader turns toward their vineyards.
19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;
so does gSheol those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them;
the worm finds them sweet;
they are hno longer remembered,
so wickedness is broken like ia tree.’
21 “They wrong the barren, childless woman,
and do no good to the widow.
22 Yet God5 prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;
they rise up when they despair of life.
23 He gives them security, and they are supported,
and his jeyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted ka little while, and then lare gone;
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are mcut off like the heads of grain.
25 If it is nnot so, who will prove me a liar
and show that there is nothing in what I say?”
Bildad Speaks: Man Cannot Be Righteous
1 Then oBildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “Dominion and fear are with God;6
he makes peace in his high heaven.
3 Is there any number to his parmies?
Upon whom does his qlight not arise?
4 How then can man be rin the right before God?
How can he who is sborn of woman be tpure?
5 Behold, even the moon is not bright,
and the stars are not pure in his eyes;
6 uhow much less man, who is va maggot,
and wthe son of man, who is a worm!”
Job Replies: God’s Majesty Is Unsearchable
1 Then Job answered and said:
2 “How you have xhelped him who has no power!
How you have saved ythe arm that has no strength!
3 How you have zcounseled him who has no wisdom,
and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
4 With whose help have you uttered words,
and whose breath ahas come out from you?
5 The bdead tremble
under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is cnaked before God,7
and dAbaddon has no covering.
7 He estretches out the north over fthe void
and hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He gbinds up the waters in his thick clouds,
and the cloud is not split open under them.
9 He covers the face of the full moon8
and hspreads over it his cloud.
10 He has inscribed ia circle on the face of the waters
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 jThe pillars of heaven tremble
and are astounded at his krebuke.
12 By his power he lstilled the sea;
by his understanding he shattered mRahab.
13 nBy his wind the heavens were made fair;
his hand pierced othe fleeing serpent.
14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his pways,
and how small qa whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
The Lord Upholds My Life
To the choirmaster: with tstringed instruments. A Maskil1 of David, uwhen the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”
1 O God, save me by your vname,
and vindicate me by your might.
2 O God, whear my prayer;
give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 xFor ystrangers2 have risen against me;
ruthless men zseek my life;
they do not set God before themselves. Selah
4 Behold, aGod is my helper;
the Lord is the upholder of my life.
5 He will return the evil to my enemies;
6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, dfor it is good.
7 For he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eye has elooked in triumph on my enemies.
The Parable of the Persistent Widow
1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought ralways to pray and not slose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who tneither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, u‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And vwill not God give justice to whis elect, xwho cry to him day and night? yzWill he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them aspeedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, bwill he find faith on earth?”
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 He also told this parable to some cwho trusted din themselves that they were righteous, eand treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men fwent up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, gstanding by himself, prayed1 hthus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 iI fast twice a week; jI give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, gstanding far off, kwould not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but lbeat his breast, saying, ‘God, mbe merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For neveryone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Let the Children Come to Me
15 oNow they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they prebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, q“Let the children come to me, and rdo not hinder them, qfor to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 sTruly, I say to you, whoever does not treceive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
The Rich Ruler
18 uAnd a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to vinherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: w‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” 21 And he said, x“All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. ySell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have ztreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 aBut when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, b“How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter cthe kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter cthe kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, d“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 And Peter said, “See, ewe have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, fthere is no one who has left house or wife or brothers2 or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive gmany times more hin this time, and in ithe age to come eternal life.”
Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time
31 jAnd taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, kwe are going up to Jerusalem, and leverything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be mdelivered over to the Gentiles and will be nmocked and shamefully treated and ospit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on pthe third day he will rise.” 34 qBut they understood none of these things. rThis saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar
35 sAs he drew near to Jericho, ta blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, u“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, vSon of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front wrebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 x“What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; yyour faith has zmade you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, aglorifying God. And ball the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
