My Refuge and My Fortress
1 He who dwells in athe shelter of the Most High
will abide in bthe shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say1 to the Lord, “My crefuge and my dfortress,
my God, in whom I etrust.”
3 For he will deliver you from fthe snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will gcover you with his pinions,
and under his hwings you will ifind refuge;
his jfaithfulness is ka shield and buckler.
5 lYou will not fear mthe terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
14 “Because he zholds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he aknows my name.
15 When he bcalls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and chonor him.
16 With dlong life I will satisfy him
and eshow him my salvation.”
Job Replies: The Lord Has Done This
1 Then Job answered and said:
2 “No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.
3 But I have bunderstanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know csuch things as these?
4 I am da laughingstock to my friends;
I, who ecalled to God and he answered me,
a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
5 In the thought of one who is fat ease there is contempt for misfortune;
it is ready for those whose feet slip.
6 gThe tents of robbers are at peace,
and those who provoke God are secure,
who bring their god in their hand.1
12 Wisdom is with kthe aged,
and understanding in length of days.
13 l“With God1 are wisdom and might;
he has counsel and understanding.
14 If he tears down, none can rebuild;
if he mshuts a man in, none can open.
15 If he nwithholds the waters, they dry up;
if he osends them out, they overwhelm the land.
16 With him are strength and psound wisdom;
the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leads qcounselors away stripped,
and rjudges he makes fools.
18 He slooses the bonds of kings
and binds a waistcloth on their hips.
19 He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows the mighty.
20 He deprives of speech those who are trusted
tand takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 He upours contempt on princes
and loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He vuncovers the deeps out of darkness
and brings wdeep darkness to light.
23 He xmakes nations great, and he destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and yleads them away.
24 He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth
and zmakes them wander in a trackless waste.
25 They agrope in the dark without light,
and he makes them bstagger like a drunken man.
Witnesses to Jesus
30 d“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and emy judgment is just, because fI seek not my own will gbut the will of him who sent me. 31 hIf I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is ianother who bears witness about me, and jI know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 kYou sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that lthe testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and mshining lamp, and nyou were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But lthe testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For othe works that the Father has given me pto accomplish, the very works that I am doing, qbear witness about me that rthe Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me shas himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, this form you have never seen, 38 and uyou do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 vYou search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and wit is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet xyou refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 yI do not receive glory from people. 42 But zI know that you do not have athe love of God within you. 43 I have come bin my Father’s name, and cyou do not receive me. dIf another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and edo not seek the glory that comes from fthe only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, gon whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for hhe wrote of me. 47 But iif you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
