JOB 28-30

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Job Tells of Earth’s Treasures28:1 “Surely there is a mine for silver

And a place where they refine gold.

2 “Iron is taken from the dust,

And copper is smelted from rock.

3 “Man puts an end to darkness,

And to the farthest limit he searches out

The rock in gloom and deep shadow.

4 “He sinks a shaft far from habitation,

Forgotten by the foot;

They hang and swing to and fro far from men.

5 “The earth, from it comes food,

And underneath it is turned up as fire.

6 “Its rocks are the source of sapphires,

And its dust contains gold.

7 “The path no bird of prey knows,

Nor has the falcon’s eye caught sight of it.

8 “The proud beasts have not trodden it,

Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

9 “He puts his hand on the flint;

He overturns the mountains at the base.

10 “He hews out channels through the rocks,

And his eye sees anything precious.

11 “He dams up the streams from flowing,

And what is hidden he brings out to the light.

The Search for Wisdom Is Harder12 “But where can wisdom be found?

And where is the place of understanding?

13 “Man does not know its value,

Nor is it found in the land of the living.

14 “The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;

And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

15 “Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,

Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

16 “It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,

In precious onyx, or sapphire.

17 “Gold or glass cannot equal it,

Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.

18 “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;

And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls.

19 “The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,

Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

20 “Where then does wisdom come from?

And where is the place of understanding?

21 “Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living

And concealed from the birds of the sky.

22 “Abaddon and Death say,

‘With our ears we have heard a report of it.’

23 “God understands its way,

And He knows its place.

24 “For He looks to the ends of the earth

And sees everything under the heavens.

25 “When He imparted weight to the wind

And meted out the waters by measure,

26 When He set a limit for the rain

And a course for the thunderbolt,

27 Then He saw it and declared it;

He established it and also searched it out.

28 “And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;

And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

Job’s Past Was Glorious  29:1 And Job again took up his discourse and said,

2 “Oh that I were as in months gone by,

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;

4 As I was in the prime of my days,

When the friendship of God was over my tent;

5 When the Almighty was yet with me,

And my children were around me;

6 When my steps were bathed in butter,

And the rock poured out for me streams of oil!

7 “When I went out to the gate of the city,

When I took my seat in the square,

8 The young men saw me and hid themselves,

And the old men arose and stood.

9 “The princes stopped talking

And put their hands on their mouths;

10 The voice of the nobles was hushed,

And their tongue stuck to their palate.

11 “For when the ear heard, it called me blessed,

And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me,

12 Because I delivered the poor who cried for help,

And the orphan who had no helper.

13 “The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me,

And I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.

14 “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;

My justice was like a robe and a turban.

15 “I was eyes to the blind

And feet to the lame.

16 “I was a father to the needy,

And I investigated the case which I did not know.

17 “I broke the jaws of the wicked

And snatched the prey from his teeth.

18 “Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,

And I shall multiply my days as the sand.

19 ‘My root is spread out to the waters,

And dew lies all night on my branch.

20 ‘My glory is ever new with me,

And my bow is renewed in my hand.’

21 “To me they listened and waited,

And kept silent for my counsel.

22 “After my words they did not speak again,

And my speech dropped on them.

23 “They waited for me as for the rain,

And opened their mouth as for the spring rain.

24 “I smiled on them when they did not believe,

And the light of my face they did not cast down.

25 “I chose a way for them and sat as chief,

And dwelt as a king among the troops,

As one who comforted the mourners.

Job’s Present State Is Humiliating30:1 “But now those younger than I mock me,

Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.

2 “Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?

Vigor had perished from them.

3 “From want and famine they are gaunt

Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,

4 Who pluck mallow by the bushes,

And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.

5 “They are driven from the community;

They shout against them as against a thief,

6 So that they dwell in dreadful valleys,

In holes of the earth and of the rocks.

7 “Among the bushes they cry out;

Under the nettles they are gathered together.

8 “Fools, even those without a name,

They were scourged from the land.

9 “And now I have become their taunt,

I have even become a byword to them.

10 “They abhor me and stand aloof from me,

And they do not refrain from spitting at my face.

11 “Because He has loosed His bowstring and afflicted me,

They have cast off the bridle before me.

12 “On the right hand their brood arises;

They thrust aside my feet and build up against me their ways of destruction.

13 “They break up my path,

They profit from my destruction;

No one restrains them.

14 “As through a wide breach they come,

Amid the tempest they roll on.

15 “Terrors are turned against me;

They pursue my honor as the wind,

And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

16 “And now my soul is poured out within me;

Days of affliction have seized me.

17 “At night it pierces my bones within me,

And my gnawing pains take no rest.

18 “By a great force my garment is distorted;

It binds me about as the collar of my coat.

19 “He has cast me into the mire,

And I have become like dust and ashes.

20 “I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;

I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.

21 “You have become cruel to me;

With the might of Your hand You persecute me.

22 “You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride;

And You dissolve me in a storm.

23 “For I know that You will bring me to death

And to the house of meeting for all living.

24 “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,

Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help?

25 “Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard?

Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

26 “When I expected good, then evil came;

When I waited for light, then darkness came.

27 “I am seething within and cannot relax;

Days of affliction confront me.

28 “I go about mourning without comfort;

I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

29 “I have become a brother to jackals

And a companion of ostriches.

30 “My skin turns black on me,

And my bones burn with fever.

31 “Therefore my harp is turned to mourning,

And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

REVELATION 18

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Babylon Is Fallen  18:1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. 2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”
    4 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; 5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6 Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. 7 To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I SIT as A QUEEN AND I AM NOT A WIDOW, and will never see mourning.’ 8 For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong.
Lament for Babylon    9 “And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’
    11 “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more-- 12 cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every kind of citron wood and every article of ivory and every article made from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble, 13 and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives. 14 The fruit you long for has gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and men will no longer find them. 15 The merchants of these things, who became rich from her, will stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, 16 saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls; 17 for in one hour such great wealth has been laid waste!’ And every shipmaster and every passenger and sailor, and as many as make their living by the sea, stood at a distance, 18 and were crying out as they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What city is like the great city?’ 19 And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea became rich by her wealth, for in one hour she has been laid waste!’ 20 Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.”
    21 Then a strong angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will not be found any longer. 22 And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer; and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer; and the sound of a mill will not be heard in you any longer; 23 and the light of a lamp will not shine in you any longer; and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will not be heard in you any longer; for your merchants were the great men of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.”