JOB 27

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Job Affirms His Righteousness  27:1 Then Job continued his discourse and said,

2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right,

And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,

3 For as long as life is in me,

And the breath of God is in my nostrils,

4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,

Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.

5 “Far be it from me that I should declare you right;

Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

6 “I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go.

My heart does not reproach any of my days.

The State of the Godless7 “May my enemy be as the wicked

And my opponent as the unjust.

8 “For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off,

When God requires his life?

9 “Will God hear his cry

When distress comes upon him?

10 “Will he take delight in the Almighty?

Will he call on God at all times?

11 “I will instruct you in the power of God;

What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

12 “Behold, all of you have seen it;

Why then do you act foolishly?

13 “This is the portion of a wicked man from God,

And the inheritance which tyrants receive from the Almighty.

14 “Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;

And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.

15 “His survivors will be buried because of the plague,

And their widows will not be able to weep.

16 “Though he piles up silver like dust

And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,

17 He may prepare it, but the just will wear it

And the innocent will divide the silver.

18 “He has built his house like the spider’s web,

Or as a hut which the watchman has made.

19 “He lies down rich, but never again;

He opens his eyes, and it is no longer.

20 “Terrors overtake him like a flood;

A tempest steals him away in the night.

21 “The east wind carries him away, and he is gone,

For it whirls him away from his place.

22 “For it will hurl at him without sparing;

He will surely try to flee from its power.

23 “Men will clap their hands at him

And will hiss him from his place.

JOB 28

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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.’”

PROVERBS 15

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Contrast the Upright and the Wicked15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath,

But a harsh word stirs up anger.

2 The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable,

But the mouth of fools spouts folly.

3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place,

Watching the evil and the good.

4 A soothing tongue is a tree of life,

But perversion in it crushes the spirit.

5 A fool rejects his father’s discipline,

But he who regards reproof is sensible.

6 Great wealth is in the house of the righteous,

But trouble is in the income of the wicked.

7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge,

But the hearts of fools are not so.

8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,

But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,

But He loves one who pursues righteousness.

10 Grievous punishment is for him who forsakes the way;

He who hates reproof will die.

11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD,

How much more the hearts of men!

12 A scoffer does not love one who reproves him,

He will not go to the wise.

13 A joyful heart makes a cheerful face,

But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.

14 The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge,

But the mouth of fools feeds on folly.

15 All the days of the afflicted are bad,

But a cheerful heart has a continual feast.

16 Better is a little with the fear of the LORD

Than great treasure and turmoil with it.

17 Better is a dish of vegetables where love is

Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,

But the slow to anger calms a dispute.

19 The way of the lazy is as a hedge of thorns,

But the path of the upright is a highway.

20 A wise son makes a father glad,

But a foolish man despises his mother.

21 Folly is joy to him who lacks sense,

But a man of understanding walks straight.

22 Without consultation, plans are frustrated,

But with many counselors they succeed.

23 A man has joy in an apt answer,

And how delightful is a timely word!

24 The path of life leads upward for the wise

That he may keep away from Sheol below.

25 The LORD will tear down the house of the proud,

But He will establish the boundary of the widow.

26 Evil plans are an abomination to the LORD,

But pleasant words are pure.

27 He who profits illicitly troubles his own house,

But he who hates bribes will live.

28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,

But the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

29 The LORD is far from the wicked,

But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

30 Bright eyes gladden the heart;

Good news puts fat on the bones.

31 He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof

Will dwell among the wise.

32 He who neglects discipline despises himself,

But he who listens to reproof acquires understanding.

33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom,

And before honor comes humility.

PSALM 95

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Praise to the LORD, and Warning against Unbelief.95:1 O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD,

Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,

Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

3 For the LORD is a great God

And a great King above all gods,

4 In whose hand are the depths of the earth,

The peaks of the mountains are His also.

5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it,

And His hands formed the dry land.

6 Come, let us worship and bow down,

Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

7 For He is our God,

And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

Today, if you would hear His voice,

8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

As in the day of Massah in the wilderness,

9 “When your fathers tested Me,

They tried Me, though they had seen My work.

10 “For forty years I loathed that generation,

And said they are a people who err in their heart,

And they do not know My ways.

11 “Therefore I swore in My anger,

Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”

PSALM 96

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A Call to Worship the LORD the Righteous Judge.96:1 Sing to the LORD a new song;

Sing to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Sing to the LORD, bless His name;

Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

3 Tell of His glory among the nations,

His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

4 For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised;

He is to be feared above all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

But the LORD made the heavens.

6 Splendor and majesty are before Him,

Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,

Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name;

Bring an offering and come into His courts.

9 Worship the LORD in holy attire;

Tremble before Him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns;

Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved;

He will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

Let the sea roar, and all it contains;

12 Let the field exult, and all that is in it.

Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy

13 Before the LORD, for He is coming,

For He is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness

And the peoples in His faithfulness.