JOB 23

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Job Says He Longs for God  23:1 Then Job replied,

2 “Even today my complaint is rebellion;

His hand is heavy despite my groaning.

3 “Oh that I knew where I might find Him,

That I might come to His seat!

4 “I would present my case before Him

And fill my mouth with arguments.

5 “I would learn the words which He would answer,

And perceive what He would say to me.

6 “Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power?

No, surely He would pay attention to me.

7 “There the upright would reason with Him;

And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

8 “Behold, I go forward but He is not there,

And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

9 When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;

He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.

10 “But He knows the way I take;

When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

11 “My foot has held fast to His path;

I have kept His way and not turned aside.

12 “I have not departed from the command of His lips;

I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

13 “But He is unique and who can turn Him?

And what His soul desires, that He does.

14 “For He performs what is appointed for me,

And many such decrees are with Him.

15 “Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;

When I consider, I am terrified of Him.

16 “It is God who has made my heart faint,

And the Almighty who has dismayed me,

17 But I am not silenced by the darkness,

Nor deep gloom which covers me.

JOB 24

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Job Says God Seems to Ignore Wrongs24:1 “Why are times not stored up by the Almighty,

And why do those who know Him not see His days?

2 “Some remove the landmarks;

They seize and devour flocks.

3 “They drive away the donkeys of the orphans;

They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

4 “They push the needy aside from the road;

The poor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.

5 “Behold, as wild donkeys in the wilderness

They go forth seeking food in their activity,

As bread for their children in the desert.

6 “They harvest their fodder in the field

And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

7 “They spend the night naked, without clothing,

And have no covering against the cold.

8 “They are wet with the mountain rains

And hug the rock for want of a shelter.

9 “Others snatch the orphan from the breast,

And against the poor they take a pledge.

10 “They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,

And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.

11 “Within the walls they produce oil;

They tread wine presses but thirst.

12 “From the city men groan,

And the souls of the wounded cry out;

Yet God does not pay attention to folly.

13 “Others have been with those who rebel against the light;

They do not want to know its ways

Nor abide in its paths.

14 “The murderer arises at dawn;

He kills the poor and the needy,

And at night he is as a thief.

15 “The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,

Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’

And he disguises his face.

16 “In the dark they dig into houses,

They shut themselves up by day;

They do not know the light.

17 “For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness,

For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.

18 “They are insignificant on the surface of the water;

Their portion is cursed on the earth.

They do not turn toward the vineyards.

19 “Drought and heat consume the snow waters,

So does Sheol those who have sinned.

20 “A mother will forget him;

The worm feeds sweetly till he is no longer remembered.

And wickedness will be broken like a tree.

21 “He wrongs the barren woman

And does no good for the widow.

22 “But He drags off the valiant by His power;

He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

23 “He provides them with security, and they are supported;

And His eyes are on their ways.

24 “They are exalted a little while, then they are gone;

Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up;

Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

25 “Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar,

And make my speech worthless?”

PROVERBS 17

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Contrast the Upright and the Wicked17:1 Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it

Than a house full of feasting with strife.

2 A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully,

And will share in the inheritance among brothers.

3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,

But the LORD tests hearts.

4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips;

A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

5 He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker;

He who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

6 Grandchildren are the crown of old men,

And the glory of sons is their fathers.

7 Excellent speech is not fitting for a fool,

Much less are lying lips to a prince.

8 A bribe is a charm in the sight of its owner;

Wherever he turns, he prospers.

9 He who conceals a transgression seeks love,

But he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends.

10 A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding

Than a hundred blows into a fool.

11 A rebellious man seeks only evil,

So a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

12 Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs,

Rather than a fool in his folly.

13 He who returns evil for good,

Evil will not depart from his house.

14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

So abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.

15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous,

Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.

16 Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom,

When he has no sense?

17 A friend loves at all times,

And a brother is born for adversity.

18 A man lacking in sense pledges

And becomes guarantor in the presence of his neighbor.

19 He who loves transgression loves strife;

He who raises his door seeks destruction.

20 He who has a crooked mind finds no good,

And he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.

21 He who sires a fool does so to his sorrow,

And the father of a fool has no joy.

22 A joyful heart is good medicine,

But a broken spirit dries up the bones.

23 A wicked man receives a bribe from the bosom

To pervert the ways of justice.

24 Wisdom is in the presence of the one who has understanding,

But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

25 A foolish son is a grief to his father

And bitterness to her who bore him.

26 It is also not good to fine the righteous,

Nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

27 He who restrains his words has knowledge,

And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

28 Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;

When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.

LUKE 20

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Jesus’ Authority Questioned  20:1 On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him, 2 and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” 3 Jesus answered and said to them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me: 4 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?” 5 They reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered that they did not know where it came from. 8 And Jesus said to them, “Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Parable of the Vine-growers    9 And He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. 10 At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 And he proceeded to send another slave; and they beat him also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out. 13 The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the vine-growers saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard it, they said, “May it never be!” 17 But Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,

THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone’?

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”
Tribute to Caesar    19 The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that He spoke this parable against them. 20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of the governor. 21 They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 23 But He detected their trickery and said to them, 24 “Show Me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 And He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were unable to catch Him in a saying in the presence of the people; and being amazed at His answer, they became silent.
Is There a Resurrection?    27 Now there came to Him some of the Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection), 28 and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that IF A MAN’S BROTHER DIES, having a wife, AND HE IS CHILDLESS, HIS BROTHER SHOULD MARRY THE WIFE AND RAISE UP CHILDREN TO HIS BROTHER. 29 Now there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless; 30 and the second 31 and the third married her; and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally the woman died also. 33 In the resurrection therefore, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”
    34 Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB. 38 Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him.” 39 Some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 For they did not have courage to question Him any longer about anything.
    41 Then He said to them, “How is it that they say the Christ is David’s son? 42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms,

‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,

“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

43 UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET.”’

44 Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ and how is He his son?”
    45 And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 47 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”