JOB 21

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Job Says God Will Deal with the Wicked  21:1 Then Job answered,

2 “Listen carefully to my speech,

And let this be your way of consolation.

3 “Bear with me that I may speak;

Then after I have spoken, you may mock.

4 “As for me, is my complaint to man?

And why should I not be impatient?

5 “Look at me, and be astonished,

And put your hand over your mouth.

6 “Even when I remember, I am disturbed,

And horror takes hold of my flesh.

7 “Why do the wicked still live,

Continue on, also become very powerful?

8 “Their descendants are established with them in their sight,

And their offspring before their eyes,

9 Their houses are safe from fear,

And the rod of God is not on them.

10 “His ox mates without fail;

His cow calves and does not abort.

11 “They send forth their little ones like the flock,

And their children skip about.

12 “They sing to the timbrel and harp

And rejoice at the sound of the flute.

13 “They spend their days in prosperity,

And suddenly they go down to Sheol.

14 “They say to God, ‘Depart from us!

We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

15 ‘Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,

And what would we gain if we entreat Him?’

16 “Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;

The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,

Or does their calamity fall on them?

Does God apportion destruction in His anger?

18 “Are they as straw before the wind,

And like chaff which the storm carries away?

19 “You say, ‘God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons.’

Let God repay him so that he may know it.

20 “Let his own eyes see his decay,

And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

21 “For what does he care for his household after him,

When the number of his months is cut off?

22 “Can anyone teach God knowledge,

In that He judges those on high?

23 “One dies in his full strength,

Being wholly at ease and satisfied;

24 His sides are filled out with fat,

And the marrow of his bones is moist,

25 While another dies with a bitter soul,

Never even tasting anything good.

26 “Together they lie down in the dust,

And worms cover them.

27 “Behold, I know your thoughts,

And the plans by which you would wrong me.

28 “For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman,

And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’

29 “Have you not asked wayfaring men,

And do you not recognize their witness?

30 “For the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity;

They will be led forth at the day of fury.

31 “Who will confront him with his actions,

And who will repay him for what he has done?

32 “While he is carried to the grave,

Men will keep watch over his tomb.

33 “The clods of the valley will gently cover him;

Moreover, all men will follow after him,

While countless ones go before him.

34 “How then will you vainly comfort me,

For your answers remain full of falsehood?”

PSALM 37

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Security of Those Who Trust in the LORD, and Insecurity of the Wicked.A Psalm of David.
37:1 Do not fret because of evildoers,

Be not envious toward wrongdoers.

2 For they will wither quickly like the grass

And fade like the green herb.

3 Trust in the LORD and do good;

Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light

And your judgment as the noonday.

7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,

Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath;

Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

9 For evildoers will be cut off,

But those who wait for the LORD, they will inherit the land.

10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;

And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.

11 But the humble will inherit the land

And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

12 The wicked plots against the righteous

And gnashes at him with his teeth.

13 The Lord laughs at him,

For He sees his day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow

To cast down the afflicted and the needy,

To slay those who are upright in conduct.

15 Their sword will enter their own heart,

And their bows will be broken.

16 Better is the little of the righteous

Than the abundance of many wicked.

17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,

But the LORD sustains the righteous.

18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless,

And their inheritance will be forever.

19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,

And in the days of famine they will have abundance.

20 But the wicked will perish;

And the enemies of the LORD will be like the glory of the pastures,

They vanish--like smoke they vanish away.

21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,

But the righteous is gracious and gives.

22 For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,

But those cursed by Him will be cut off.

23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD,

And He delights in his way.

24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,

Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.

25 I have been young and now I am old,

Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

Or his descendants begging bread.

26 All day long he is gracious and lends,

And his descendants are a blessing.

27 Depart from evil and do good,

So you will abide forever.

28 For the LORD loves justice

And does not forsake His godly ones;

They are preserved forever,

But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

29 The righteous will inherit the land

And dwell in it forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

And his tongue speaks justice.

31 The law of his God is in his heart;

His steps do not slip.

32 The wicked spies upon the righteous

And seeks to kill him.

33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand

Or let him be condemned when he is judged.

34 Wait for the LORD and keep His way,

And He will exalt you to inherit the land;

When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

35 I have seen a wicked, violent man

Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.

36 Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more;

I sought for him, but he could not be found.

37 Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright;

For the man of peace will have a posterity.

38 But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;

The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.

39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;

He is their strength in time of trouble.

40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;

He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

Because they take refuge in Him.

PROVERBS 1

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The Usefulness of Proverbs  1:1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

2 To know wisdom and instruction,

To discern the sayings of understanding,

3 To receive instruction in wise behavior,

Righteousness, justice and equity;

4 To give prudence to the naive,

To the youth knowledge and discretion,

5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning,

And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

6 To understand a proverb and a figure,

The words of the wise and their riddles.

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction

And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;

9 Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head

And ornaments about your neck.

10 My son, if sinners entice you,

Do not consent.

11 If they say, “Come with us,

Let us lie in wait for blood,

Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

12 Let us swallow them alive like Sheol,

Even whole, as those who go down to the pit;

13 We will find all kinds of precious wealth,

We will fill our houses with spoil;

14 Throw in your lot with us,

We shall all have one purse,”

15 My son, do not walk in the way with them.

Keep your feet from their path,

16 For their feet run to evil

And they hasten to shed blood.

17 Indeed, it is useless to spread the baited net

In the sight of any bird;

18 But they lie in wait for their own blood;

They ambush their own lives.

19 So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence;

It takes away the life of its possessors.

Wisdom Warns20 Wisdom shouts in the street,

She lifts her voice in the square;

21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings:

22 “How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded?

And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing

And fools hate knowledge?

23 “Turn to my reproof,

Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;

I will make my words known to you.

24 “Because I called and you refused,

I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention;

25 And you neglected all my counsel

And did not want my reproof;

26 I will also laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when your dread comes,

27 When your dread comes like a storm

And your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

When distress and anguish come upon you.

28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;

They will seek me diligently but they will not find me,

29 Because they hated knowledge

And did not choose the fear of the LORD.

30 “They would not accept my counsel,

They spurned all my reproof.

31 “So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way

And be satiated with their own devices.

32 “For the waywardness of the naive will kill them,

And the complacency of fools will destroy them.

33 “But he who listens to me shall live securely

And will be at ease from the dread of evil.”