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Bildad’s First Speech to Job[a]
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said:
2 “How long will you speak these things,[b]
seeing[c] that the words of your mouth
are like a great[d] wind?[e]
3 Does God pervert[f] justice?[g]
Or does the Almighty pervert[h] what is right?
4 If[i] your children sinned against him,
he gave them over[j] to the penalty[k] of their sin.
5 But[l] if you will look[m] to God,
and make your supplication[n] to the Almighty,
6 if you become[o] pure[p] and upright,[q]
even now he will rouse himself[r] for you,
and will restore[s] your righteous home.[t]
7 Your beginning[u] will seem so small,
since your future will flourish.[v]
8 “For inquire now of the former[w] generation,
and pay attention[x] to the findings[y]
of their ancestors;[z]
9 For we were born yesterday[aa] and do not have knowledge,
since our days on earth are but a shadow.[ab]
10 Will they not[ac] instruct you and[ad] speak to you,
and bring forth words[ae]
from their understanding?[af]
11 Can the papyrus plant grow tall[ag] where there is no marsh?
Can reeds flourish[ah] without water?
12 While they are still beginning to flower[ai]
and not ripe for cutting,[aj]
they can wither away[ak]
faster than[al] any grass.[am]
13 Such is the destiny[an] of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless[ao] perishes,
14 whose[ap] trust[aq] is in something futile,[ar]
whose security is a spider’s web.[as]
15 He leans against his house but it does not hold up,[at]
he takes hold[au] of it but it does not stand.
16 He is a well-watered plant[av] in[aw] the sun,
its shoots spread[ax] over its garden.[ay]
17 It wraps its roots around a heap of stones[az]
and it looks[ba] for a place among stones.[bb]
18 If he is uprooted[bc] from his place,
then that place[bd] will disown him, saying,[be]
‘I have never seen you!’
19 Indeed, this is the joy of his way,[bf]
and out of the earth[bg] others spring up.[bh]
20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man,[bi]
nor does he grasp the hand[bj]
of the evildoers.
21 He will yet[bk] fill your mouth with laughter,[bl]
and your lips with gladness.
22 Those who hate you[bm] will be clothed with shame,[bn]
and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”
Job’s Reply to Bildad[bo]
9 Then Job answered:
2 “Truly,[bp] I know that this is so.
But how[bq] can a human[br] be just before[bs] God?[bt]
3 If someone wishes[bu] to contend[bv] with him,
he cannot answer[bw] him one time in a thousand.
4 He is wise in heart[bx] and mighty[by] in strength[bz]—
who has resisted[ca] him and remained safe?[cb]
5 He who removes mountains suddenly,[cc]
who overturns them in his anger,[cd]
6 he who shakes the earth out of its place[ce]
so that its pillars tremble,[cf]
7 he who commands the sun, and[cg] it does not shine[ch]
and seals up[ci] the stars,
8 he alone spreads out the heavens,
and treads[cj] on the waves of the sea.[ck]
9 He makes the Bear,[cl] Orion,[cm] and the Pleiades,[cn]
and the constellations of the southern sky;[co]
10 he does great and unsearchable things,[cp]
and wonderful things without number.
11 If[cq] he passes by me, I cannot see[cr] him,[cs]
if he goes by, I cannot perceive him.[ct]
12 If he snatches away,[cu] who can turn him back?[cv]
Who dares to say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 God does not restrain his anger;[cw]
under him the helpers of Rahab[cx] lie crushed.[cy]
The Impossibility of Facing God in Court
14 “How much less,[cz] then, can I answer him[da]
and choose my words[db] to argue[dc] with[dd] him.[de]
15 Although[df] I am innocent,[dg]
I could not answer him;[dh]
I could only plead[di] with my judge[dj] for mercy.
16 If I summoned him, and he answered me,[dk]
I would not believe[dl]
that he would be listening to my voice—
17 he who[dm] crushes[dn] me with a tempest,
and multiplies my wounds for no reason.[do]
18 He does not allow[dp] me to recover[dq] my breath,
for he fills[dr] me with bitterness.
19 If it is a matter of strength,[ds]
most certainly[dt] he is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice,
he will say, ‘Who will summon me?’[du]
20 Although I am innocent,[dv]
my mouth[dw] would condemn me,[dx]
although I am blameless,
it would declare me perverse.[dy]
21 I am blameless.[dz] I do not know myself.[ea]
I despise my life.
Accusation of God’s Justice
22 “It is all one![eb] That is why I say,[ec]
‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’
23 If a scourge brings sudden death,[ed]
he mocks[ee] at the despair[ef] of the innocent.[eg]
24 If a land[eh] has been given
into the hand of a wicked man,[ei]
he covers[ej] the faces of its judges;[ek]
if it is not he, then who is it?[el]
Renewed Complaint
25 “My days[em] are swifter than a runner,[en]
they speed by without seeing happiness.
26 They glide by[eo] like reed[ep] boats,
like an eagle that swoops[eq] down on its prey.[er]
27 If I say,[es] ‘I will[et] forget my complaint,
I will change my expression[eu] and be cheerful,’[ev]
28 I dread[ew] all my sufferings,[ex]
for[ey] I know that you do not hold me blameless.[ez]
29 If I am guilty,[fa]
why then[fb] weary myself[fc] in vain?[fd]
30 If I wash myself with snow-melt water,[fe]
and make my hands clean with lye,[ff]
31 then you plunge me into a slimy pit[fg]
and my own clothes abhor me.
32 For he[fh] is not a human being like I am,
that[fi] I might answer him,
that we might come[fj] together in judgment.
33 Nor is there an arbiter[fk] between us,
who[fl] might lay[fm] his hand on us both,[fn]
34 who[fo] would take his[fp] rod[fq] away from me
so that his terror[fr] would not make me afraid.
35 Then[fs] would I speak and not fear him,
but it is not so with me.[ft]
An Appeal for Revelation
10 “I[fu] am weary[fv] of my life;
I will complain freely without restraint;[fw]
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn[fx] me;
tell me[fy] why you are contending[fz] with me.’
3 Is it good for you[ga] to oppress,[gb]
to[gc] despise the work of your hands,
while[gd] you smile[ge]
on the schemes of the wicked?
Motivations of God
4 “Do you have eyes of flesh,[gf]
or do you see[gg] as a human being sees?[gh]
5 Are your days like the days of a mortal,
or your years like the years[gi] of a mortal,
6 that[gj] you must search out[gk] my iniquity,
and inquire about my sin,
7 although you know[gl] that I am not guilty,
and that there is no one who can deliver[gm]
out of your hand?
Contradictions in God’s Dealings
8 “Your hands have shaped[gn] me and made me,
but[go] now you destroy me completely.[gp]
9 Remember that you have made me as with[gq] the clay;
will[gr] you return me to dust?
10 Did you not pour[gs] me out like milk,
and curdle[gt] me like cheese?[gu]
11 You clothed[gv] me with skin and flesh
and knit me together[gw] with bones and sinews.
12 You gave me[gx] life and favor,[gy]
and your intervention[gz] watched over my spirit.
13 “But these things[ha] you have concealed in your heart;
I know that this[hb] is with you:[hc]
14 If I sinned, then you would watch me
and you would not acquit me of my iniquity.
15 If I am guilty,[hd] woe[he] to me,
and if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head;[hf]
I am full of shame,[hg]
and satiated with my affliction.[hh]
16 If I lift myself up,[hi]
you hunt me as a fierce lion,[hj]
and again[hk] you display your power[hl] against me.
17 You bring new witnesses[hm] against me,
and increase your anger against me;
relief troops[hn] come against me.
An Appeal for Relief
18 “Why then did you bring me out from the womb?
I should have died[ho]
and no eye would have seen me!
19 I should have been as though I had never existed;[hp]
I should have been carried
right from the womb to the grave!
20 Are not my days few?[hq]
Cease,[hr] then, and leave[hs] me alone[ht]
that I may find a little comfort,[hu]
21 before I depart, never to return,[hv]
to the land of darkness
and the deepest shadow,[hw]
22 to the land of utter darkness,
like the deepest darkness,
and the deepest shadow and disorder,[hx]
where even the light[hy] is like darkness.”[hz]
Zophar’s First Speech to Job[ia]
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite spoke up and said:
2 “Should not this[ib] abundance of words be answered,[ic]
or should this[id] talkative man[ie]
be vindicated?[if]
3 Should people remain silent[ig] at your idle talk,[ih]
and should no one rebuke[ii] you when you mock?[ij]
4 For you have said, ‘My teaching[ik] is flawless,
and I am pure in your sight.’
5 But if only God would speak,[il]
if only he would open his lips against you,[im]
6 and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom—
for true wisdom has two sides[in]—
so that you would know[io]
that God has forgiven some of your sins.[ip]
7 “Can you discover[iq] the essence[ir] of God?
Can you find out[is] the perfection of the Almighty?[it]
8 It is higher[iu] than the heavens—what can you do?
It is deeper than Sheol[iv]—what can you know?
9 Its measure is longer than the earth,
and broader than the sea.
10 If he comes by[iw] and confines[ix] you[iy]
and convenes a court,[iz]
then who can prevent[ja] him?
11 For he[jb] knows deceitful[jc] men;
when he sees evil, will he not[jd] consider it?[je]
12 But an empty man will become wise,
when a wild donkey’s colt is born a human being.[jf]
13 “As for you,[jg] if you prove faithful,[jh]
and if[ji] you stretch out your hands toward him,[jj]
14 if[jk] iniquity is in your hand—put it far away,[jl]
and do not let evil reside in your tents.
15 For[jm] then you will lift up your face
without[jn] blemish;[jo]
you will be securely established[jp]
and will not fear.
16 For you[jq] will forget your trouble;[jr]
you will remember it
like water that[js] has flowed away.
17 And life[jt] will be brighter[ju] than the noonday;
though there be darkness,[jv]
it will be like the morning.
18 And you will be secure, because there is hope;
you will be protected[jw]
and will take your rest in safety.
19 You will lie down with[jx] no one to make you afraid,
and many will seek your favor.[jy]
20 But the eyes of the wicked fail,[jz]
and escape[ka] eludes them;
their one hope[kb] is to breathe their last.”[kc]
Christ’s Resurrection
15 Now I want to make clear for you,[a] brothers and sisters,[b] the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I passed on to you as of first importance[c] what I also received—that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised[d] on the third day according to the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,[e] then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters[f] at one time, most of whom are still alive,[g] though some have fallen asleep.[h] 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time,[i] he appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain. In fact, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, this is the way we preach and this is the way you believed.
No Resurrection?
12 Now if Christ is being preached as raised from the dead,[j] how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty. 15 Also, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified against God that he raised Christ from the dead, when in reality he did not raise him, if indeed the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless; you are still in your sins. 18 Furthermore, those who have fallen asleep[k] in Christ have also perished. 19 For if only in this life we have hope in Christ, we should be pitied more than anyone.
20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man,[l] the resurrection of the dead also came through a man.[m] 22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; then when Christ comes, those who belong to him.[n] 24 Then[o] comes the end,[p] when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he has brought to an end all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be eliminated is death. 27 For he has put everything in subjection under his feet.[q] But when it says “everything” has been put in subjection, it is clear that this does not include the one who put everything in subjection to him. 28 And when all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.
Psalm 38[a]
A psalm of David, written to get God’s attention.[b]
38 O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger.
Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury.[c]
2 For your arrows pierce[d] me,
and your hand presses me down.[e]
3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment;[f]
I am deprived of health because of my sin.[g]
4 For my sins overwhelm me;[h]
like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.
5 My wounds[i] are infected and starting to smell,[j]
because of my foolish sins.[k]
6 I am dazed[l] and completely humiliated;[m]
all day long I walk around mourning.
7 For I am overcome with shame,[n]
and my whole body is sick.[o]
8 I am numb with pain and severely battered;[p]
I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel.[q]
9 O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire;[r]
my groaning is not hidden from you.
10 My heart beats quickly;
my strength leaves me.
I can hardly see.[s]
11 Because of my condition,[t] even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance;[u]
my neighbors stand far away.[v]
12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me;[w]
those who want to harm me speak destructive words.
All day long they say deceitful things.
13 But I am like a deaf man—I hear nothing;
I am like a mute who cannot speak.[x]
14 I am like a man who cannot hear
and is incapable of arguing his defense.[y]
15 Yet[z] I wait for you, O Lord!
You will respond, O Lord, my God!
16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me;[aa]
when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me.[ab]
17 For I am about to stumble,
and I am in constant pain.[ac]
18 Yes,[ad] I confess my wrongdoing,
and I am concerned about my sins.
19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous;[ae]
those who hate me without cause outnumber me.[af]
20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;
though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me.[ag]
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord.
My God, do not remain far away from me.
22 Hurry and help me,[ah] O Lord, my deliverer.
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