The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the GW. Switch to the GW to read along with the audio.
Job Vindicates Himself
31 “I made a covenant with[a] my eyes;
how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin?[b]
2 What then would be one’s lot from God above,
one’s heritage from the Almighty[c] on high?
3 Is it not misfortune for the unjust,
and disaster for those who work iniquity?
4 Does he not see my ways
and count all my steps?
5 If[d] I have walked in falsehood,
and if[e] my foot has hastened[f] to deceit—
6 let him[g] weigh me with honest[h] scales;
then God will discover[i] my integrity.
7 If my footsteps have strayed from the way,
if my heart has gone after my eyes,[j]
or if anything[k] has defiled my hands,
8 then let me sow[l] and let another eat,
and let my crops[m] be uprooted.
9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,[n]
10 then let my wife turn the millstone[o] for another man,
and may other men commit adultery with her.[p]
11 For I would have committed[q] a shameful act,[r]
an iniquity to be judged.[s]
12 For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction,[t]
and it would uproot[u] all my harvest.
13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants
or my female servants
when they disputed[v] with me,
14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment;[w]
when he intervenes,[x]
how will I respond to him?
15 Did not the one who made me in the womb make them?[y]
Did not the same one form us in the womb?
16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired,[z]
or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself,
and did not share any of it with orphans[aa]—
18 but from my youth I raised the orphan[ab] like a father,
and from my mother’s womb[ac] I guided the widow[ad]—
19 If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing,
or a poor man without a coat,
20 whose heart did not bless me[ae]
as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep,[af]
21 if I have raised my hand[ag] to vote against the orphan,
when I saw my support in the court,[ah]
22 then[ai] let my arm fall from the shoulder,[aj]
let my arm be broken off at the socket.[ak]
23 For the calamity from God was a terror to me,[al]
and by reason of his majesty[am] I was powerless.
24 “If I have put my confidence in gold
or said to pure gold,
‘You are my security!’
25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth,
or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,
26 if I looked at the sun[an] when it was shining,
and the moon advancing as a precious thing,
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed,
and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth,[ao]
28 then this[ap] also would be iniquity to be judged,[aq]
for I would have been false[ar] to God above.
29 If[as] I have rejoiced over the misfortune of my enemy[at]
or exulted[au] because calamity[av] found him—
30 I[aw] have not even permitted my mouth[ax] to sin
by asking[ay] for his life through a curse—
31 if[az] the members of my household[ba] have never said,[bb]
‘If only there were[bc] someone
who has not been satisfied from Job’s[bd] meat!’—
32 But[be] no stranger[bf] had to spend the night outside,
for I opened my doors to the traveler[bg]—
33 if[bh] I have covered my transgressions as men do,[bi]
by hiding[bj] iniquity in my heart,[bk]
34 because I was terrified[bl] of the great multitude,[bm]
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I remained silent
and would not go outdoors—
Job’s Appeal
35 “If only I had[bn] someone to hear me!
Here is my signature[bo]—
let the Almighty answer me!
If only I had an indictment[bp]
that my accuser had written.[bq]
36 Surely[br] I would wear it proudly[bs] on my shoulder,
I would bind[bt] it on me like a crown;
37 I would give him an accounting of my steps;
like a prince I would draw near to him.
Job’s Final Solemn Oath[bu]
38 “If my land cried out against me[bv]
and all its furrows wept together,
39 if I have eaten its produce without paying,[bw]
or caused the death[bx] of its owners,[by]
40 then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat,
and in place of barley, noxious weeds.”[bz]
The words of Job are ended.
V. The Speeches of Elihu (32:1-37:24)
Elihu’s First Speech[ca]
32 So these three men refused to answer[cb] Job further, because he was righteous in his[cc] own eyes. 2 Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry.[cd] He was angry[ce] with Job for justifying[cf] himself rather than God.[cg] 3 With Job’s[ch] three friends he was also angry, because they could not find[ci] an answer, and so declared Job guilty.[cj] 4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking[ck] to Job, because the others[cl] were older than he was. 5 But when Elihu saw[cm] that the three men had no further reply,[cn] he became very angry.
Elihu Claims Wisdom
6 So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up:[co]
“I am young,[cp] but you are elderly;
that is why I was fearful,[cq]
and afraid to explain[cr] to you what I know.
7 I said to myself, ‘Age[cs] should speak,[ct]
and length of years[cu] should make wisdom known.’
8 But it is a spirit in people,
the breath[cv] of the Almighty,
that makes them understand.
9 It is not the aged[cw] who are wise,
nor old men who understand what is right.
10 Therefore I say, ‘Listen[cx] to me.
I, even I, will explain what I know.’
11 Look, I waited for you to speak;[cy]
I listened closely to your wise thoughts,[cz] while you were searching for words.
12 Now I was paying you close attention,[da]
yet[db] there was no one proving Job wrong,[dc]
not one of you was answering his statements.
13 So do not say,[dd] ‘We have found wisdom.
God will refute[de] him, not man.’
14 Job[df] has not directed[dg] his words to me,
and so I will not reply to him with your arguments.[dh]
Job’s Friends Failed to Answer[di]
15 “They are dismayed[dj] and cannot answer anymore;
they have nothing left to say.[dk]
16 And I have waited.[dl] But because they do not speak,
because they stand there and answer no more,
17 I too will answer my part,
I too will explain what I know.
18 For I am full of words,
and the spirit within me[dm] constrains me.[dn]
19 Inside I am like wine that has no outlet,[do]
like new wineskins[dp] ready to burst!
20 I will speak,[dq] so that I may find relief;
I will open my lips, so that I may answer.
21 I will not show partiality to any person,[dr]
nor will I confer a title[ds] on anyone.
22 For I do not know how to give honorary titles,[dt]
if I did,[du] my Creator would quickly do away with me.[dv]
Elihu Invites Job’s Attention
33 “But now, O Job, listen to my words,
and hear[dw] everything I have to say.[dx]
2 See now, I have opened[dy] my mouth;
my tongue in my mouth has spoken.[dz]
3 My words come from the uprightness of my heart,[ea]
and my lips will utter knowledge sincerely.[eb]
4 The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.[ec]
5 Reply to me, if you can;
set your arguments[ed] in order before me
and take your stand.
6 Look, I am just like you in relation to God;
I too have been molded[ee] from clay.
7 Therefore no fear of me should terrify you,
nor should my pressure[ef] be heavy on you.[eg]
Elihu Rejects Job’s Plea of Innocence
8 “Indeed, you have said in my hearing[eh]
(I heard the sound of the words!):
9 [ei] ‘I am pure, without transgression;
I am clean[ej] and have no iniquity.
10 [ek] Yet God[el] finds occasions[em] with me;
he regards me as his enemy.
11 [en] He puts my feet in shackles;
he watches closely all my paths.’
12 Now in this, you are not right—I answer you,[eo]
for God is greater than a human being.[ep]
13 Why do you contend against him,
that he does not answer all a person’s[eq] words?
Elihu Disagrees With Job’s View of God
14 “For God speaks, the first time in one way,
the second time in another,
though a person does not perceive[er] it.
15 In a dream, a night vision,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they sleep in their beds.
16 Then he gives a revelation[es] to people,
and terrifies them with warnings,[et]
17 to turn a person from his sin,[eu]
and to cover a person’s pride.[ev]
18 He spares a person’s life from corruption,[ew]
his very life from crossing over[ex] the river.
19 Or a person is chastened[ey] by pain on his bed,
and with the continual strife of his bones,[ez]
20 so that his life loathes food,
and his soul rejects appetizing fare.[fa]
21 His flesh wastes away from sight,
and his bones, which were not seen,
are easily visible.[fb]
22 He[fc] draws near to the place of corruption,
and his life to the messengers of death.[fd]
23 If there is an angel beside him,
one mediator[fe] out of a thousand,
to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness;[ff]
24 and if[fg] God[fh] is gracious to him and says,
‘Spare[fi] him from going down
to the place of corruption,
I have found a ransom for him,’[fj]
25 then his flesh is restored[fk] like a youth’s;
he returns to the days of his youthful vigor.[fl]
26 He entreats God, and God[fm] delights in him,
he sees God’s face[fn] with rejoicing,
and God[fo] restores to him his righteousness.[fp]
27 That person sings[fq] to others,[fr] saying:
‘I have sinned and falsified what is right,
but I was not punished according to what I deserved.[fs]
28 He redeemed my life[ft]
from going down to the place of corruption,
and my life sees the light!’
Elihu’s Appeal to Job[fu]
29 “Indeed, God does all these things,
twice, three times, in his dealings[fv] with a person,
30 to turn back his life from the place of corruption,
that he may be enlightened with the light of life.
31 Pay attention, Job—listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
32 If you have any words,[fw] reply to me;
speak, for I want to justify you.[fx]
33 If not, you listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”
A Living Letter
3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? We don’t need letters of recommendation to you or from you as some other people do, do we?[a] 2 You yourselves are our letter,[b] written on our hearts, known and read by everyone, 3 revealing[c] that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us,[d] written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets[e] but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. 5 Not that we are adequate[f] in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy[g] is from God, 6 who made us adequate[h] to be servants of a new covenant[i] not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
The Greater Glory of the Spirit’s Ministry
7 But if the ministry that produced death—carved in letters on stone tablets[j]—came with glory, so that the Israelites[k] could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face[l] (a glory[m] which was made ineffective),[n] 8 how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be?[o] 9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation,[p] how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness[q] excel[r] in glory! 10 For indeed, what had been glorious now[s] has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it.[t] 11 For if what was made ineffective[u] came with[v] glory, how much more has what remains[w] come in glory! 12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we behave with great boldness,[x] 13 and not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites[y] from staring[z] at the result[aa] of the glory that was made ineffective.[ab] 14 But their minds were closed.[ac] For to this very day, the same veil remains when they hear the old covenant read.[ad] It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away.[ae] 15 But until this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds,[af] 16 but when one[ag] turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.[ah] 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present,[ai] there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord,[aj] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another,[ak] which is from[al] the Lord, who is the Spirit.[am]
Psalm 43[a]
43 Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me[b] against an ungodly nation.
Deliver me[c] from deceitful and evil men.[d]
2 For you are the God who shelters me.[e]
Why do you reject me?[f]
Why must I walk around[g] mourning[h]
because my enemies oppress me?
3 Reveal[i] your light[j] and your faithfulness.
They will lead me;[k]
they will escort[l] me back to your holy hill,[m]
and to the place where you live.[n]
4 Then I will go[o] to the altar of God,
to the God who gives me ecstatic joy,[p]
so that I may express my thanks to you,[q] O God, my God, with a harp.
5 Why are you depressed,[r] O my soul?[s]
Why are you upset?[t]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[u]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.