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 16

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Contrast the Upright and the Wicked16:1 The plans of the heart belong to man,

But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight,

But the LORD weighs the motives.

3 Commit your works to the LORD

And your plans will be established.

4 The LORD has made everything for its own purpose,

Even the wicked for the day of evil.

5 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD;

Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.

6 By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for,

And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.

7 When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD,

He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

8 Better is a little with righteousness

Than great income with injustice.

9 The mind of man plans his way,

But the LORD directs his steps.

10 A divine decision is in the lips of the king;

His mouth should not err in judgment.

11 A just balance and scales belong to the LORD;

All the weights of the bag are His concern.

12 It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts,

For a throne is established on righteousness.

13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings,

And he who speaks right is loved.

14 The fury of a king is like messengers of death,

But a wise man will appease it.

15 In the light of a king’s face is life,

And his favor is like a cloud with the spring rain.

16 How much better it is to get wisdom than gold!

And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.

17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil;

He who watches his way preserves his life.

18 Pride goes before destruction,

And a haughty spirit before stumbling.

19 It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly

Than to divide the spoil with the proud.

20 He who gives attention to the word will find good,

And blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

21 The wise in heart will be called understanding,

And sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.

22 Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it,

But the discipline of fools is folly.

23 The heart of the wise instructs his mouth

And adds persuasiveness to his lips.

24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb,

Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

25 There is a way which seems right to a man,

But its end is the way of death.

26 A worker’s appetite works for him,

For his hunger urges him on.

27 A worthless man digs up evil,

While his words are like scorching fire.

28 A perverse man spreads strife,

And a slanderer separates intimate friends.

29 A man of violence entices his neighbor

And leads him in a way that is not good.

30 He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things;

He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.

31 A gray head is a crown of glory;

It is found in the way of righteousness.

32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,

And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.

33 The lot is cast into the lap,

But its every decision is from the LORD.

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.