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First Reading: Job Chapter 8 and 9
Job 8
8:1 Bildad: Job Should Repent
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 "How long will you speak these things,And the words of your mouth be
like a strong wind? 3 Does God subvert judgment?Or does the Almighty pervert
justice? 4 If your sons have sinned against Him,He has cast them away for their
transgression. 5 If you would earnestly seek GodAnd make your supplication to
the Almighty, 6 If you were pure and upright,Surely now He would awake for you,And
prosper your rightful dwelling place. 7 Though your beginning was small,Yet
your latter end would increase abundantly.
8 "For inquire, please, of the former age,And consider the things discovered
by their fathers; 9 For we were born yesterday, and know nothing,Because our
days on earth are a shadow. 10 Will they not teach you and tell you,And utter
words from their heart?
11 "Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?Can the reeds flourish without
water? 12 While it is yet green and not cut down,It withers before any other
plant. 13 So are the paths of all who forget God;And the hope of the hypocrite
shall perish, 14 Whose confidence shall be cut off,And whose trust is a spider's
web. 15 He leans on his house, but it does not stand.He holds it fast, but it
does not endure. 16 He grows green in the sun,And his branches spread out in
his garden. 17 His roots wrap around the rock heap,And look for a place in the
stones. 18 If he is destroyed from his place,Then it will deny him, saying,
'I have not seen you.'
19 "Behold, this is the joy of His way,And out of the earth others will
grow. 20 Behold, God will not cast away the blameless,Nor will He uphold the
evildoers. 21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughing,And your lips with rejoicing.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,And the dwelling place of the
wicked will come to nothing."
Job 9
9:1 Job: There Is No Mediator
Then Job answered and said:
2 "Truly I know it is so,But how can a man be righteous before God? 3 If
one wished to contend with Him,He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
4 God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.Who has hardened himself against
Him and prospered? 5 He removes the mountains, and they do not know When He
overturns them in His anger; 6 He shakes the earth out of its place,And its
pillars tremble; 7 He commands the sun, and it does not rise;He seals off the
stars; 8 He alone spreads out the heavens,And treads on the waves of the sea;
9 He made the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,And the chambers of the south; 10
He does great things past finding out,Yes, wonders without number. 11 If He
goes by me, I do not see Him;If He moves past, I do not perceive Him; 12 If
He takes away, who can hinder Him?Who can say to Him, 'What are You doing?'
13 God will not withdraw His anger,The allies of the proud lie prostrate beneath
Him.
14 "How then can I answer Him,And choose my words to reason with Him? 15
For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him;I would beg mercy of my
Judge. 16 If I called and He answered me,I would not believe that He was listening
to my voice. 17 For He crushes me with a tempest,And multiplies my wounds without
cause. 18 He will not allow me to catch my breath,But fills me with bitterness.
19 If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong;And if of justice, who
will appoint my day in court? 20 Though I were righteous, my own mouth would
condemn me;Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.
21 "I am blameless, yet I do not know myself;I despise my life. 22 It is
all one thing;Therefore I say,'He destroys the blameless and the wicked.' 23
If the scourge slays suddenly,He laughs at the plight of the innocent. 24 The
earth is given into the hand of the wicked.He covers the faces of its judges.If
it is not He, who else could it be?
25 "Now my days are swifter than a runner;They flee away, they see no good.
26 They pass by like swift ships,Like an eagle swooping on its prey. 27 If I
say, 'I will forget my complaint,I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,'
28 I am afraid of all my sufferings;I know that You will not hold me innocent.
29 If I am condemned,Why then do I labor in vain? 30 If I wash myself with snow
water,And cleanse my hands with soap, 31 Yet You will plunge me into the pit,And
my own clothes will abhor me.
32 "For He is not a man, as I am,That I may answer Him,And that we should
go to court together. 33 Nor is there any mediator between us,Who may lay his
hand on us both. 34 Let Him take His rod away from me,And do not let dread of
Him terrify me. 35 Then I would speak and not fear Him,But it is not so with
me.
Luke 6
6:1 Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
(Matt 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28)
Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the
grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing
them in their hands. 2 And some of the Pharisees said to them, "Why are
you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?"
3 But Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read this, what David
did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he went into the
house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him,
which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?" 5 And He said to them,
"The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."
6 Healing on the Sabbath
(Matt 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6)
Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and
taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 So the scribes
and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that
they might find an accusation against Him. 8 But He knew their thoughts, and
said to the man who had the withered hand, "Arise and stand here."
And he arose and stood. 9 Then Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one
thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or
to destroy?" 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the
man, "Stretch out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was restored
as whole as the other. 11 But they were filled with rage, and discussed with
one another what they might do to Jesus.
12 The Twelve Apostles
(Matt 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19)
Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray,
and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called
His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:
14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John;
Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and
Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also
became a traitor.
17 Jesus Heals a Great Multitude
(cf. Matt 4:24,25; Mark 3:7-12)
And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples
and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast
of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, 18
as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.
19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him
and healed them all.
20 The Beatitudes
(Matt 5:1-12)
Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:
"Blessed are you poor,For yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you
who hunger now,For you shall be filled.Blessed are you who weep now,For you
shall laugh. 22 Blessed are you when men hate you,And when they exclude you,And
revile you, and cast out your name as evil,For the Son of Man's sake. 23 Rejoice
in that day and leap for joy!For indeed your reward is great in heaven,For in
like manner their fathers did to the prophets.
24 Jesus Pronounces Woes
"But woe to you who are rich,For you have received your consolation. 25
Woe to you who are full,For you shall hunger.Woe to you who laugh now,For you
shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,For so did
their fathers to the false prophets.
27 Love Your Enemies
(Matt 5:38-48)
"But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate
you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him
who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone
who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.
31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
32 "But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For
even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do
good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And
if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that
to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. 35 But love
your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward
will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the
unthankful and evil. 36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
37 Do Not Judge
(Matt 7:1-5)
"Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not
be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given
to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be
put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured
back to you."
39 And He spoke a parable to them: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will
they not both fall into the ditch? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but
everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. 41 And why do you
look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your
own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the
speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in
your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then
you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.
43 A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit
(Matt 7:15-20)
"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good
fruit. 44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs
from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. 45 A good man out
of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of
the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of
the heart his mouth speaks.
46 Build on the Rock
(Matt 7:21-27)
"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?
47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you
whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid
the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently
against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth
without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately
it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
JOB
Part 3 of 4
Some of the questions that are asked in the book of Job are:
In chapter 42, after all of the suffering and questioning, Job replies to God: "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
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