Job Replies: There Is No Arbiter
1 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Truly I know that it is so:
But how can a man be zin the right before God?
3 If one wished to acontend with him,
one could not answer him once in a thousand times.
4 He is bwise in heart and mighty in strength
—who has chardened himself against him, and succeeded?—
5 he who removes mountains, and they know it not,
when he overturns them in his anger,
6 who dshakes the earth out of its place,
and eits pillars tremble;
7 who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
who seals up the stars;
8 who alone fstretched out the heavens
and trampled the waves of the sea;
9 who gmade hthe Bear and iOrion,
the Pleiades jand the chambers of the south;
10 who does kgreat things beyond searching out,
and marvelous things beyond number.
11 Behold, he passes by me, and I lsee him not;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
12 Behold, he snatches away; mwho can turn him back?
nWho will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 “God will not turn back his anger;
beneath him bowed the helpers of oRahab.
14 pHow then can I qanswer him,
choosing my words with him?
15 rThough I am in the right, I cannot answer him;
I must sappeal for mercy to my accuser.1
16 If I summoned him and he answered me,
I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.
17 For he crushes me with a tempest
and multiplies my wounds twithout cause;
18 he will not let me get my breath,
but fills me with bitterness.
19 If it is a contest of ustrength, behold, he is mighty!
If it is a matter of justice, who can vsummon him?2
20 Though I am in the right, wmy own mouth would condemn me;
though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
21 I am xblameless; I regard not myself;
I yloathe my life.
22 It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He zdestroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
23 When adisaster brings sudden death,
he mocks at the calamity3 of the innocent.
24 bThe earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
he ccovers the faces of its judges—
dif it is not he, who then is it?
25 “My edays are swifter than fa runner;
they flee away; they see no good.
26 They go by like gskiffs of reed,
like han eagle swooping on the prey.
27 If I say, i‘I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad face, and jbe of good cheer,’
28 I become kafraid of all my suffering,
for I know you will not lhold me innocent.
29 I shall be mcondemned;
why then do I labor in vain?
30 If I wash myself with snow
and ncleanse my hands with lye,
31 yet you will plunge me into a pit,
and my own clothes will oabhor me.
32 For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him,
that we should pcome to trial together.
33 qThere is no4 arbiter between us,
who might lay his hand on us both.
34 rLet him take his srod away from me,
and let tnot dread of him terrify me.
35 Then I would speak without fear of him,
for I am not so in myself.
Job Continues: A Plea to God
1 “I uloathe my life;
I will give free utterance to my vcomplaint;
I will speak in wthe bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God, Do not xcondemn me;
let me know why you ycontend against me.
3 zDoes it seem good to you to oppress,
to despise athe work of your hands
band favor the designs of the wicked?
4 Have you ceyes of flesh?
dDo you see as man sees?
5 Are your days as the days of man,
or your eyears as a man’s years,
6 that you fseek out my iniquity
and search for my sin,
7 although you gknow that I am not guilty,
and there is hnone to deliver out of your hand?
8 iYour hands fashioned and made me,
and now you have destroyed me altogether.
9 Remember that you have made me like jclay;
and will you return me to the kdust?
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese?
11 You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and knit me together with bones and sinews.
12 You have granted me life and steadfast love,
and your care has preserved my spirit.
13 Yet these things you hid in your heart;
I know that lthis was your purpose.
14 If I sin, you mwatch me
and do not nacquit me of my iniquity.
15 oIf I am guilty, woe to me!
If I am pin the right, I cannot lift up my head,
for I am filled with disgrace
and qlook on my affliction.
16 And were my head lifted up,5 you would hunt me like ra lion
and again work swonders against me.
17 You renew your twitnesses against me
and increase your vexation toward me;
you ubring fresh troops against me.
18 v“Why did you bring me out from the womb?
Would that I had died before any eye had seen me
19 wand were as though I had not been,
carried from the womb to the grave.
20 xAre not my days few?
yThen cease, and leave me alone, zthat I may find a little cheer
21 before I go—and aI shall not return—
to the land of bdarkness and cdeep shadow,
22 the land of gloom like thick darkness,
like deep shadow without any order,
where light is as thick darkness.”
God Is King over All the Earth
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of wthe Sons of Korah.
1 xClap your hands, all peoples!
yShout to God with loud songs of joy!
2 For the Lord, the Most High, zis to be feared,
aa great king over all the earth.
3 He bsubdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our cheritage for us,
dthe pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
5 God ehas gone up with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is fthe King of all the earth;
8 God hreigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
9 iThe princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For jthe shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly exalted!
The Lord’s Prayer
1 Now Jesus1 was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, gas John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, h“When you pray, say:
i“Father, jhallowed be kyour name.
lYour kingdom come.
3 mGive us neach day our daily bread,2
4 and oforgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And plead us not into temptation.”
5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything qbecause he is his friend, yet because of his impudence3 he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 And I tell you, rask, and sit will be given to you; tseek, and you will find; uknock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for4 a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, wwho are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father xgive the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Jesus and Beelzebul
14 yNow he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. 15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons zby Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” 16 while others, ato test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. 17 bBut he, cknowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. 18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, dby whom do eyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if it is by fthe finger of God that I cast out demons, then gthe kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; 22 hbut when one stronger than he attacks him and iovercomes him, he takes away his jarmor in which he trusted and kdivides his spoil. 23 lWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Return of an Unclean Spirit
24 m“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through nwaterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And othe last state of that person is worse than the first.”
True Blessedness
27 As he said these things, pa woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, q“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” 28 But he said, r“Blessed rather are those swho hear the word of God and tkeep it!”
The Sign of Jonah
29 uWhen the crowds were increasing, he began to say, v“This generation is an evil generation. wIt seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as xJonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 yThe queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and zcondemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, asomething greater than Solomon is here. 32 bThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and zcondemn it, for cthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, asomething greater than Jonah is here.
The Light in You
33 d“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 34 Your eye is ethe lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is fbad, your body is full of darkness. 35 eTherefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, gas when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”
Woes to the Pharisees and Lawyers
37 While Jesus5 was speaking, ha Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. 38 The Pharisee was astonished to see ithat he did not first wash before dinner. 39 And the Lord said to him, j“Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of kgreed and wickedness. 40 lYou fools! jDid not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But mgive as alms those things that are within, and behold, neverything is clean for you.
42 o“But woe to you Pharisees! For pyou tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect qjustice and rthe love of God. sThese you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For tyou love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! uFor you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”
45 One of vthe lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you wlawyers also! For xyou load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 yWoe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 zSo you are witnesses and you aconsent to the deeds of byour fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also cthe Wisdom of God said, d‘I will send them eprophets and apostles, fsome of whom they will gkill and persecute,’ 50 so that hthe blood of all the prophets, shed ifrom the foundation of the world, may be jcharged against this generation, 51 from the blood of kAbel to the blood of lZechariah, who perished between mthe altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be jrequired of this generation. 52 Woe to you nlawyers! oFor you have taken away the key of pknowledge. You qdid not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”
53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, 54 rlying in wait for him, sto catch him in something he might say.
