JOB 5

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God Is Just5:1 “Call now, is there anyone who will answer you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 “For anger slays the foolish man,

And jealousy kills the simple.

3 “I have seen the foolish taking root,

And I cursed his abode immediately.

4 “His sons are far from safety,

They are even oppressed in the gate,

And there is no deliverer.

5 “His harvest the hungry devour

And take it to a place of thorns,

And the schemer is eager for their wealth.

6 “For affliction does not come from the dust,

Nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

7 For man is born for trouble,

As sparks fly upward.

8 “But as for me, I would seek God,

And I would place my cause before God;

9 Who does great and unsearchable things,

Wonders without number.

10 “He gives rain on the earth

And sends water on the fields,

11 So that He sets on high those who are lowly,

And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

12 “He frustrates the plotting of the shrewd,

So that their hands cannot attain success.

13 “He captures the wise by their own shrewdness,

And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.

14 “By day they meet with darkness,

And grope at noon as in the night.

15 “But He saves from the sword of their mouth,

And the poor from the hand of the mighty.

16 “So the helpless has hope,

And unrighteousness must shut its mouth.

17 “Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves,

So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

18 “For He inflicts pain, and gives relief;

He wounds, and His hands also heal.

19 “From six troubles He will deliver you,

Even in seven evil will not touch you.

20 “In famine He will redeem you from death,

And in war from the power of the sword.

21 “You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,

And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.

22 “You will laugh at violence and famine,

And you will not be afraid of wild beasts.

23 “For you will be in league with the stones of the field,

And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

24 “You will know that your tent is secure,

For you will visit your abode and fear no loss.

25 “You will know also that your descendants will be many,

And your offspring as the grass of the earth.

26 “You will come to the grave in full vigor,

Like the stacking of grain in its season.

27 “Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is.

Hear it, and know for yourself.”

JOB 6

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Job’s Friends Are No Help  6:1 Then Job answered,

2 “Oh that my grief were actually weighed

And laid in the balances together with my calamity!

3 “For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas;

Therefore my words have been rash.

4 “For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,

Their poison my spirit drinks;

The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

5 “Does the wild donkey bray over his grass,

Or does the ox low over his fodder?

6 “Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,

Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

7 “My soul refuses to touch them;

They are like loathsome food to me.

8 “Oh that my request might come to pass,

And that God would grant my longing!

9 “Would that God were willing to crush me,

That He would loose His hand and cut me off!

10 “But it is still my consolation,

And I rejoice in unsparing pain,

That I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

11 “What is my strength, that I should wait?

And what is my end, that I should endure?

12 “Is my strength the strength of stones,

Or is my flesh bronze?

13 “Is it that my help is not within me,

And that deliverance is driven from me?

14 “For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;

So that he does not forsake the fear of the Almighty.

15 “My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi,

Like the torrents of wadis which vanish,

16 Which are turbid because of ice

And into which the snow melts.

17 “When they become waterless, they are silent,

When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

18 “The paths of their course wind along,

They go up into nothing and perish.

19 “The caravans of Tema looked,

The travelers of Sheba hoped for them.

20 “They were disappointed for they had trusted,

They came there and were confounded.

21 “Indeed, you have now become such,

You see a terror and are afraid.

22 “Have I said, ‘Give me something,’

Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’

23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the hand of the adversary,’

Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

24 “Teach me, and I will be silent;

And show me how I have erred.

25 “How painful are honest words!

But what does your argument prove?

26 “Do you intend to reprove my words,

When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?

27 “You would even cast lots for the orphans

And barter over your friend.

28 “Now please look at me,

And see if I lie to your face.

29 “Desist now, let there be no injustice;

Even desist, my righteousness is yet in it.

30 “Is there injustice on my tongue?

Cannot my palate discern calamities?

PROVERBS 8

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The Commendation of Wisdom8:1 Does not wisdom call,

And understanding lift up her voice?

2 On top of the heights beside the way,

Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

3 Beside the gates, at the opening to the city,

At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:

4 “To you, O men, I call,

And my voice is to the sons of men.

5 “O naive ones, understand prudence;

And, O fools, understand wisdom.

6 “Listen, for I will speak noble things;

And the opening of my lips will reveal right things.

7 “For my mouth will utter truth;

And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8 “All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness;

There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.

9 “They are all straightforward to him who understands,

And right to those who find knowledge.

10 “Take my instruction and not silver,

And knowledge rather than choicest gold.

11 “For wisdom is better than jewels;

And all desirable things cannot compare with her.

12 “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,

And I find knowledge and discretion.

13 “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;

Pride and arrogance and the evil way

And the perverted mouth, I hate.

14 “Counsel is mine and sound wisdom;

I am understanding, power is mine.

15 “By me kings reign,

And rulers decree justice.

16 “By me princes rule, and nobles,

All who judge rightly.

17 “I love those who love me;

And those who diligently seek me will find me.

18 “Riches and honor are with me,

Enduring wealth and righteousness.

19 “My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,

And my yield better than choicest silver.

20 “I walk in the way of righteousness,

In the midst of the paths of justice,

21 To endow those who love me with wealth,

That I may fill their treasuries.

22 “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way,

Before His works of old.

23 “From everlasting I was established,

From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.

24 “When there were no depths I was brought forth,

When there were no springs abounding with water.

25 “Before the mountains were settled,

Before the hills I was brought forth;

26 While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,

Nor the first dust of the world.

27 “When He established the heavens, I was there,

When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,

28 When He made firm the skies above,

When the springs of the deep became fixed,

29 When He set for the sea its boundary

So that the water would not transgress His command,

When He marked out the foundations of the earth;

30 Then I was beside Him, as a master workman;

And I was daily His delight,

Rejoicing always before Him,

31 Rejoicing in the world, His earth,

And having my delight in the sons of men.

32 “Now therefore, O sons, listen to me,

For blessed are they who keep my ways.

33 “Heed instruction and be wise,

And do not neglect it.

34 “Blessed is the man who listens to me,

Watching daily at my gates,

Waiting at my doorposts.

35 “For he who finds me finds life

And obtains favor from the LORD.

36 “But he who sins against me injures himself;

All those who hate me love death.”

LUKE 13

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Call to Repent  13:1 Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? 3 I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
    6 And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. 7 And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”
Healing on the Sabbath    10 And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” 13 And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God. 14 But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? 16 And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17 As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.
Parables of Mustard Seed and Leaven    18 So He was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and THE BIRDS OF THE AIR NESTED IN ITS BRANCHES.”
    20 And again He said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”
Teaching in the Villages    22 And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; 27 and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ 28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. 29 And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”
    31 Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.” 32 And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’ 33 Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem. 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! 35 Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’”