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40 Moreover, the Lord answered Job and said:
2 “Will he who argues with the Almighty instruct Him?
He who rebukes God, let him answer it.”
Job Replies to the Lord
3 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
4 “Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You?
I will lay my hand over my mouth.
5 Once have I spoken, but I will not answer;
yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.”
The Lord Challenges Job
6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:
7 “Prepare yourself now like a man;
I will question you,
and you will answer Me.
8 “Will you indeed annul My judgment?
Will you condemn Me, that you may be righteous?
9 Have you an arm like God?
Or can you thunder with a voice like Him?
10 Adorn yourself now with majesty and excellence,
and array yourself with glory and beauty.
11 Let loose the rage of your wrath,
and look on every one who is proud and abase him;
12 look on every one who is proud and bring him low,
and tread down the wicked in their place.
13 Hide them in the dust together,
and imprison them in the hidden place of the grave.
14 Then I will also confess to you
that your own right hand can save you.
15 “Look now at the behemoth
which I made along with you;
he eats grass like an ox.
16 See now his strength is in his hips,
and his power is in the muscles of his belly.
17 He moves his tail like a cedar;
the sinews of his thighs are wrapped together.
18 His bones are like strong pieces of brass;
his bones are like bars of iron.
19 He is the first of the works of God;
He who made him can bring near His sword.
20 Surely the mountains bring forth food for him,
where all the beasts of the field play.
21 He lies under the shady trees,
in the thicket of the reed and marsh.
22 The shady trees cover him with their shadow;
the willows of the brook surround him.
23 Look, the river rages, but he is not alarmed;
he trusts that he can draw up the Jordan into his mouth.
24 Can anyone catch it by its eyes,
or pierce its nose with a snare?
41 “Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook[a]
or snare his tongue with a line which you let down?
2 Can you put a cord into his nose,
or pierce his jaw with a hook?
3 Will he make many supplications to you?
Will he speak soft words to you?
4 Will he make a covenant with you?
Will you take him for a servant forever?
5 Will you play with him as with a bird?
Or will you put him on a leash for your maidens?
6 Will your companions make a banquet of him?
Will they divide him among the merchants?
7 Can you fill his skin with harpoons
or his head with fishing spears?
8 Lay your hand on him;
remember the battle—you will do it no more.
9 Notice, any hope of overcoming him is in vain;
shall not one be overwhelmed at the sight of him?
10 No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.
Who then is able to stand before Me?
11 Who has preceded Me that I should repay him?
Everything under heaven is Mine.
12 “I will not conceal his limbs,
nor his power, nor his graceful proportions.
13 Who can remove his outer garment?
Or who can approach him with a double bridle?
14 Who can open the jaws of his face?
His teeth are terrible all around.
15 His scales are his pride,
shut up tightly as with a seal.
16 One is so near to another
that no air can come between them.
17 They are joined to each other;
they stick together that they cannot be separated.
18 His sneezing flashes forth light,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go burning lights,
and sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of his nostrils goes smoke
as out of a seething pot or cauldron.
21 His breath kindles coals,
and a flame goes out of his mouth.
22 In his neck remains strength,
and sorrow is turned into joy before him.
23 The folds of his flesh are joined together;
they are firm on him; they cannot be moved.
24 His heart is as firm as a stone,
yes, as hard as a piece of the lower millstone.
25 When he raises up himself even the gods are afraid;
because of his crashings they are beside themselves.
26 The sword that reaches him cannot avail,
nor does the spear, the arrow, or the javelin.
27 He counts iron as straw,
and brass as rotten wood.
28 The arrow cannot make him flee;
slingstones are turned into stubble by him.
29 Arrows are counted as straw;
he laughs at the shaking of a spear.
30 Sharp stones are his underside;
he leaves a mark in the mire like a sharp threshing sledge.
31 He makes the deep to boil like a pot;
he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 He leaves a shining wake behind him;
one would think the deep had white hair.
33 On earth there is nothing like him,
a creature made without fear.
34 He beholds all high things;
he is a king over all the children of pride.”
Job’s Repentance
42 Then Job answered the Lord and said:
2 “I know that You can do everything,
and that no thought can be withheld from You.
3 ‘Who is he who hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me which I did not know.
4 “ ‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you declare to Me.’
5 I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees You.
6 Therefore I abhor myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”
Epilogue
7 And so it was, that after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has. 8 And now, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job will pray for you. For him I will accept, lest I deal with you according to your folly, in that you have not spoken of Me the thing which is right like My servant Job.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord had commanded them; the Lord also accepted Job.
10 And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 Then all of his brothers, and all his sisters, and all of those who had been of acquaintance before came to Job, and they ate bread with him in his house, and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. Every man also gave him a piece of money and an earring of gold.
12 So the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning, for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys. 13 He had also seven sons and three daughters. 14 He called the name of the first Jemimah; and the name of the second Keziah; and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. 15 In all the land, there were no women as beautiful as the daughters of Job, and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers.
16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and their sons to the fourth generation. 17 So Job died, being old and full of days.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men. But we are revealed to God, and I trust we are also revealed in your consciences. 12 For we are not commending ourselves again to you. Instead, we give you occasion to boast on our behalf, that you may have something to answer those who boast in appearance and not in heart. 13 If we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ constrains us, because we thus judge: that if one died for all, then all have died. 15 And He died for all, that those who live should not from now on live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16 So from now on we do not regard anyone according to the flesh. Yes, though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet we do not regard Him as such from now on. 17 Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new. 18 All this is from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them, and has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We implore you in Christ’s stead: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Psalm 45
For the Music Director. To the melody of “Lilies.” A Contemplative Maskil of the sons of Korah. A love song.
1 My heart is overflowing with a good thought;
I am speaking my works for the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skilled scribe.
2 You are fairer than all the sons of men;
favor is poured on your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
with your splendor and your majesty.
4 In your majesty ride prosperously
because of truth and meekness and righteousness;
and your right hand will teach you awesome things.
5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies;
peoples will fall under you.
6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
the scepter of Your kingdom is an upright scepter.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, anointed you
with the oil of gladness above your companions.
8 All your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia;
from the ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad.
9 Kings’ daughters are among your honorable women;
at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
10 Listen, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;
forget your own people, and your father’s house,
11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him.
12 The daughter of Tyre will be there with a gift;
even the rich among the people will entreat your favor.
13 The royal daughter is all glorious within her chamber;
her clothing is plaited gold.
14 She shall be brought to the king in embroidered garments;
the virgins, her companions who follow her,
shall be brought to you.
15 With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought;
they shall enter into the king’s palace.
16 Your sons shall succeed your fathers;
you will make them princes in all the land.
17 I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
therefore the people will praise you forever and ever.
14 The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit;
he who is detested by the Lord will fall therein.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.