Scripture quotations are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.
Job 31
"I made a covenant with my eyes,
so how could I look closely upon a virgin?
And what is the portion of God from above
or the heritage of Shaddai from on high?
Is not disaster for the evil one
and ruin for the workers of mischief?
Does he not see my ways
and count all my steps?
"If I have walked with falseness,
and my foot has hastened to deceit,
let him weigh me in the balance of justice,
and let God know my blamelessness.
If my steps have turned aside from the way,
and my heart has walked after my eyes,
and my hand has clung to a spot,
let me sow, and let another eat,
and let my crops be rooted out.
"If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and at my neighbor’s doorway I have lain in wait,
let my wife grind for another,
and let other men kneel over her,
for that is a shameful act,
and that is a criminal offense.
Indeed, that is a fire that will consume up to Abaddon,
and it would uproot all my crop.
"If I have rejected my male or female slave’s case
when their complaint was against me,
then what shall I do when God rises up?
And when he enquires, how shall I answer him?
Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
"If I have withheld the desire of the poor from them,
or I have caused the widow’s eyes to fail,
or I have eaten my morsel alone,
and the orphan has not eaten from it
(for from my childhood he grew up with me like a father,
and from my mother’s womb I guided her),
if I have seen the one who perishes because of no clothing
or that there is no covering for the poor,
if his loins have not blessed me,
or by means of my sheep’s fleece he has warmed himself,
if I have raised my hand against an orphan
because I saw my supporters at the gate,
then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
Indeed, the disaster from God was a dread for me,
and I was powerless because of his majesty.
"If I have made gold my trust,
or I have called fine gold my security,
if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great
or because my hand found a fortune,
if I looked at the sun when it shone
or at the moon moving in splendor,
and I was secretly enticed,
and my hand threw them a kiss,
this also is an iniquity to be judged,
for I have deceived God above.
"If I have rejoiced at the ruin of the one who hated me
or have exulted when evil overtook him—
no, I have not allowed my mouth to sin,
to ask his life with a curse.
Have the people of my tent not said,
‘O that someone had not been satisfied with his meat’?
An alien has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my door to the traveler.
Have I concealed my transgressions as other human beings
to hide my iniquity in my bosom
because I dreaded the great multitude,
and the contempt of clans terrified me,
so that I kept quiet, I did not go out of the doorway?
O that I had someone hearing me!
Here is my signature;
let Shaddai answer me!
As for the written communication that my adversary has written,
I would surely carry it on my shoulder;
I would bind it on me like a crown.
I would give him an account of my steps;
I would approach him like a noble.
If my land has cried out against me,
and its furrows have wept together,
if I have eaten its yield without payment,
or I have caused the breath of its owners to die,
let thorns grow in place of wheat
and noxious weeds in place of barley."
The words of Job are ended.
Job 32
Then these three men ceased from answering Job because he was righteous in his own eyes. So Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite, from the clan of Ram, became angry. He became angry at Job because he justified himself rather than God, and he became angry at his three friends because they had not found an answer, and they had declared Job guilty. Thus Elihu had waited for Job to speak because they were older than he. When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, he became angry. Then Elihu the son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up and said,
"I am young, but you are old;
therefore I feared and became afraid of explaining my knowledge to you.
I thought, ‘Let days speak,
and let many years teach wisdom.’
"Truly, it is a spirit in a human being,
and the breath of Shaddai teaches them.
It is not the aged who are wise,
or it is not the elders who understand justice.
Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;
let me also declare my knowledge myself.’
"Look, I waited for your words;
I listened for your insight,
until you searched out what to say.
And I directed my attention to you;
and, look, there is no one for Job who refuted,
answering his words among you.
So do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;
let God refute him, not a man.’
But he did not direct his words to me,
and I will not answer him with your words.
"They are dismayed; they no longer answer;
they have nothing to say.
And I have waited because they do not speak,
because they stand there and no longer answer.
I myself will answer my share also;
I myself will declare my knowledge also,
for I am full of words;
the spirit within me urges me.
"Look, my internal organs are like unopened wine,
like new wineskins it is ready to burst open.
Let me speak that I may find relief;
let me open my lips, and let me answer.
Please let me not show partiality to anyone,
and let me not show flattery to human beings,
for I do not know how to flatter,
else my Maker would soon put an end to me.
Job 33
"But now, please hear my speeches, Job,
and hear all my words.
Please look, I open my mouth;
my tongue in my mouth speaks.
My words declare my heart’s uprightness,
and my lips sincerely speak what my lips know.
The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of Shaddai gives life to me.
"If you are able, answer me.
Present your argument before me; take your stand.
Look, before God I am like you;
I myself was also formed from clay.
Look, dread of me should not terrify you,
and my hand will not be heavy upon you.
"Surely you have spoken in my ears,
and I have heard the sound of your words:
‘I am clean, without transgression;
I am pure, and there is no guilt in me.
Look, he finds fault against me;
he reckons me as his enemy;
he puts my feet in the block;
he watches all my paths.’
"Look, in this you are not right—I will answer you:
Indeed, God is greater than a human being.
Why do you contend against him,
that he will not answer all a person’s words?
Indeed, God speaks in one way,
even in two, yet someone does not perceive it.
"In a dream, a vision of the night,
when a deep sleep falls on men slumbering on their bed,
then he opens the ear of men,
and he frightens them with a warning
to turn human beings aside from their deeds,
and he keeps man from pride.
He spares his life from the pit
and his life from passing over the river of death.
"And he is reproved with pain on his bed,
even with the strife of his bones continually,
so that his life loathes bread,
and his inner self loathes appetizing food.
His flesh is wasted away from sight,
and his bones, which are invisible, are bared.
And he draws near to the pit
and his life to the killers.
"If there is a messenger beside him, a mediator, one of a thousand,
to declare to a human being his uprightness
so that he is gracious to him, and he says,
‘Deliver him from descending into the pit;
I have found a ransom.’
His flesh is renewed with his youth;
he returns to the days of his youthful strength.
He prays to God, then he accepts him,
and he sees his face with a shout of joy,
and he repays to the human being his righteousness.
"He will sing to men, and he will say,
‘I have sinned and have perverted what is right,
and it was not paid back to me.
He redeemed my life from going down into the pit,
so I will enjoy the light.’
Look, God does all these things
twice, three times with a person
to bring his life back from the pit
so that he may enjoy the light of life.
"Listen attentively, Job; listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.
If you have anything to say, answer me;
speak, for I desire to justify you.
If not, you listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom."
Psalm 102
A prayer of one afflicted, when he grows faint
and pours out his lament before Yahweh.
O Yahweh, hear my prayer,
and let my cry for help come to you.
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my trouble.
Incline your ear to me.
In the day I call, answer me quickly,
for my days vanish in smoke,
and my bones are charred like a hearth.
My heart is struck like grass and withers.
Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.
Because of the sound of my groaning
my bones cling to my skin.
I am like an owl of the wilderness;
I am like a little owl of the ruins.
I lie awake and I am
like a lone bird on a roof.
All the day my enemies reproach me;
those who mock me swear oaths against me.
Indeed, I eat ashes like bread
and mix my drink with tears
because of your indignation and anger,
for you have picked me up and thrown me away.
My days are like a lengthened shadow,
and I wither like grass.
But you, O Yahweh, abide forever,
and your remembrance from generation to generation.
You rise up and take pity on Zion,
because it is time to favor it,
for the appointed time has come.
Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
and show favor to its dust.
Then the nations will fear the name of Yahweh,
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
For Yahweh will rebuild Zion;
he will appear in his glory.
He will turn his attention to the prayer of the destitute
and will not despise their prayer.
Let this be written for the next generation,
so that a people yet to be created may praise Yah,
that he looked down from his holy height.
Yahweh looked from heaven over the earth
to hear the groaning of the prisoner,
to liberate those destined to die,
so that they may make known in Zion the name of Yahweh,
and his praise in Jerusalem,
when the peoples assemble,
together with kingdoms, to serve Yahweh.
He has broken my strength along the way;
he has cut short my days.
I say, "My God, do not carry me off
from my life in the middle of my days."
Your years continue throughout all generations.
Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you will endure.
And like a garment they will all wear out,
you will replace them like clothing, and they will be set aside.
But you are the same,
and your years do not end.
The children of your servants will continue,
and their descendants will be established before you.
Revelation 19
After these things I heard something like the loud sound of a great crowd in heaven saying,
"Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
because his judgments are true and righteous,
because he has passed judgment on the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality,
and has avenged the blood of his slaves shed by her hand!"
And a second time they said,
"Hallelujah!"
And her smoke goes up forever and ever. And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying,
"Amen! Hallelujah!"
And a voice came out from the throne, saying,
"Praise our God
all his slaves,
and those who fear him,
the small and the great!"
And I heard something like the sound of a great crowd and something like the sound of many waters and something like the sound of powerful thunder, saying,
"Hallelujah!
For the Lord God, the All-Powerful, reigns!
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him the glory,
because the wedding celebration of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has prepared herself.
And it has been granted to her that she be dressed in bright, clean fine linen (for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints).
And he said to me, "Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet of the wedding celebration of the Lamb!" And he said to me, "These are the true words of God." And I fell down before his feet to worship him, and he said to me, "Do not do that! I am a fellow slave of you and of your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and the one seated on it was called "Faithful" and "True," and with justice he judges and makes war. Now his eyes were a flame of fire, and on his head were many royal headbands having a name written that no one except he himself knows. And he was dressed in an outer garment dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies that are in heaven, dressed in clean, white fine linen, were following him on white horses. And out of his mouth came a sharp sword, so that with it he could strike the nations. And he will shepherd them with an iron rod, and he stomps the winepress of the wine of the furious wrath of God, the All-Powerful. And he has a name written on his outer garment and on his thigh: "King of kings and Lord of lords."
And I saw one angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly directly overhead,
"Come! Assemble for the great banquet of God,
in order that you may eat the flesh of kings,
and the flesh of military tribunes,
and the flesh of the powerful,
and the flesh of horses and those seated on them,
and the flesh of all people,
both free and slave,
and small and great!"
And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war with the one who is seated on the horse and with his army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs before him, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur. And the rest were killed by the sword of the one who is seated on the horse—the sword that comes out of his mouth—and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.