Elihu Rebukes Job
1 “But now, hear my speech, O Job,
and listen to all my words.
2 Behold, I jopen my mouth;
the tongue in my mouth speaks.
3 My words declare the uprightness of my heart,
and what my lips know they speak sincerely.
4 kThe Spirit of God has made me,
and lthe breath of the Almighty gives me life.
5 mAnswer me, if you can;
nset your words in order before me; take your stand.
6 Behold, I am toward God as you are;
I too was pinched off from a piece of oclay.
7 Behold, no pfear of me need terrify you;
my qpressure will not be heavy upon you.
8 “Surely you have spoken in my ears,
and I have heard the sound of your words.
9 You say, ‘I am rpure, without stransgression;
I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.
10 Behold, he finds occasions against me,
he tcounts me as his enemy,
11 he uputs my feet in the stocks
and vwatches all my paths.’
12 “Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you,
for God is greater than man.
13 Why do you wcontend against him,
saying, ‘He xwill answer none of man’s1 words’?2
14 For God yspeaks in one way,
zand in two, though man adoes not perceive it.
15 In ba dream, in ca vision of dthe night,
when cdeep sleep falls on men,
while they slumber on their beds,
16 then he eopens the ears of men
and terrifies3 them with warnings,
17 that he may turn man aside from his fdeed
and conceal pride from a man;
18 he keeps back his soul from the pit,
his life from gperishing by the sword.
19 “Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed
and with continual strife in his hbones,
20 so that his ilife loathes bread,
and his appetite jthe choicest food.
21 His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,
and his bones that were not seen kstick out.
22 His soul draws near lthe pit,
and his life to mthose who bring death.
23 If there be for him nan angel,
oa mediator, pone of the thousand,
to declare to man what is qright for him,
24 and he is merciful to him, and says,
‘Deliver him from going down into the pit;
I have found ra ransom;
25 let his flesh sbecome fresh with youth;
let him return to the days of his youthful vigor’;
26 then man4 tprays to God, and he accepts him;
he usees his face with a shout of joy,
and he vrestores to man his righteousness.
27 He sings before men and says:
‘I wsinned and perverted what was right,
and it was not repaid to me.
28 He has redeemed my xsoul from going down yinto the pit,
and my life shall zlook upon the light.’
29 “Behold, God does all these things,
twice, athree times, with a man,
30 to bring back his soul from the pit,
that he may be lighted with bthe light of life.
31 Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
32 If you have any words, canswer me;
dspeak, for I desire to justify you.
33 If not, elisten to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”
Elihu Asserts God’s Justice
1 Then Elihu answered and said:
2 “Hear my words, you wise men,
and give ear to me, you who know;
3 for gthe ear tests words
as the palate tastes food.
4 Let us choose hwhat is right;
let us know among ourselves what is good.
5 For Job has said, ‘I am iin the right,
and jGod has taken away my right;
6 in spite of my right I am counted a liar;
my wound is incurable, though I am kwithout transgression.’
7 What man is like Job,
who ldrinks up scoffing like water,
8 who travels in company with evildoers
and walks mwith wicked men?
9 For nhe has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
that he should take delight in God.’
10 “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:
far be it from God that he should odo wickedness,
and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.
11 For according to pthe work of a man he will repay him,
and qaccording to his ways he will make it befall him.
12 Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
and rthe Almighty will not pervert justice.
13 Who gave him charge over the earth,
and who slaid on him5 the whole world?
14 If he should tset his heart to it
and ugather to himself his vspirit and his breath,
15 all flesh would perish together,
and man would wreturn to dust.
16 “If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I say.
17 xShall one who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,
18 who ysays to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’
19 who zshows no partiality to princes,
nor regards the rich amore than the poor,
for bthey are all the work of his hands?
20 In a moment cthey die;
at dmidnight the people are shaken and pass away,
and the mighty are taken away by eno human hand.
21 “For his eyes are on fthe ways of a man,
and he sees all his fsteps.
22 There is no ggloom or hdeep darkness
where evildoers may hide themselves.
23 For God6 has no need to consider a man further,
that he should go before God in ijudgment.
24 He jshatters the mighty without investigation
and sets lothers in their place.
25 Thus, knowing their works,
he moverturns them in the night, and they are crushed.
26 He strikes them for their wickedness
in a place for all to see,
27 because they turned aside from nfollowing him
and had no regard for any of his ways,
28 so that they ocaused the cry of the poor to come to him,
and he pheard the cry of the afflicted—
29 When he is quiet, who can condemn?
When he hides his face, who can behold him,
whether it be a nation or a man?—
30 that a godless man should not reign,
that he should not ensnare the people.
31 “For has anyone said to God,
‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more;
32 rteach me what I do not see;
if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?
33 Will he then make repayment to suit you,
because you reject it?
For you must choose, and not I;
therefore sdeclare what you know.7
34 Men of understanding will say to me,
and the wise man who hears me will say:
35 ‘Job tspeaks without knowledge;
his words are without insight.’
36 Would that Job were tried to the end,
because he answers like wicked men.
37 For he adds rebellion to his sin;
he uclaps his hands among us
and multiplies his words against God.”
God Who Judges the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to hDo Not Destroy. A iMiktam1 of David.
1 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?2
Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands jdeal out violence on earth.
3 The wicked are kestranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
4 lThey have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5 so that it mdoes not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
6 O God, nbreak the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7 Let them ovanish like water that runs away;
when he paims his arrows, let them be blunted.
8 Let them be like the snail othat dissolves into slime,
like qthe stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of rthorns,
10 tThe righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will ubathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is va reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who wjudges on earth.”
The Plot to Kill Jesus
1 rNow the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called sthe Passover. 2 And the chief priests and the scribes twere seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people.
Judas to Betray Jesus
3 uThen vSatan entered into wJudas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. 4 He went away and conferred with the chief priests and xofficers how he might betray him to them. 5 And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented and sought an opportunity to ybetray him to them in the absence of a crowd.
The Passover with the Disciples
7 zThen came athe day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 So Jesus1 sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” 9 They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” 10 He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters 11 and tell the master of the house, b‘The Teacher says to you, Where is cthe guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12 And he will show you da large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” 13 And they went and found it ejust as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
Institution of the Lord’s Supper
14 fAnd when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it2 guntil it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and hwhen he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 iFor I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine guntil the kingdom of God comes.” 19 jAnd he took bread, and hwhen he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, k“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, k“This cup that is poured out for you is lthe new mcovenant in my blood.3 21 nBut behold, the hand of him who betrays me is owith me on the table. 22 For the Son of Man goes pas it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!” 23 And they began to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this.
Who Is the Greatest?
24 qA dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. 25 rAnd he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles sexercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 26 tBut not so with you. Rather, let sthe greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 27 For who is the greater, uone who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But vI am among you as the one who serves.
28 “You are those who have stayed with me win my trials, 29 and xI assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 ythat you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and zsit on thrones judging athe twelve tribes of Israel.
Jesus Foretells Peter’s Denial
31 “Simon, Simon, behold, bSatan demanded to have you,4 cthat he might sift you like wheat, 32 but dI have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, estrengthen your brothers.” 33 Peter5 said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both fto prison and gto death.” 34 hJesus6 said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”
Scripture Must Be Fulfilled in Jesus
35 And he said to them, i“When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?” They said, “Nothing.” 36 He said to them, “But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. 37 For I tell you that jthis Scripture must be fulfilled in me: k‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For lwhat is written about me has its fulfillment.” 38 And they said, “Look, Lord, here are two mswords.” And he said to them, n“It is enough.”
Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
39 oAnd he came out and went, pas was his custom, to qthe Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 rAnd when he came to sthe place, he said to them, t“Pray that you may not uenter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and vknelt down and prayed, 42 saying, w“Father, if you are willing, remove xthis cup from me. yNevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him zan angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And wbeing in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.7 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and apray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
47 bWhile he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called cJudas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike dwith the sword?” 50 And one of them struck the servant8 of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. 52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests and eofficers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? 53 When fI was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is gyour hour, and hthe power of darkness.”
Peter Denies Jesus
54 iThen they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, jand Peter was following at a distance. 55 kAnd when they had kindled a fire in the middle of lthe courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. 56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” 57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” 58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” 59 And after an interval of about an hour still another minsisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” 60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and nlooked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, o“Before the rooster crows today, you will pdeny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.
Jesus Is Mocked
63 qNow the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. 64 qThey also blindfolded him and kept asking him, r“Prophesy! rWho is it that struck you?” 65 And they said many other things against him, sblaspheming him.
Jesus Before the Council
66 tWhen day came, uthe assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their vcouncil, and they wsaid, 67 x“If you are ythe Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, 68 and if I ask you, you will not answer. 69 But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated zat the right hand of the power of God.” 70 So they all said, “Are you athe Son of God, then?” And he said to them, b“You say that I am.” 71 Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”
