Bildad Says God Rewards the Good

1Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,

2“How long will you say these things,

And the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

3Does God pervert justice?

Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?

4If your sons sinned against Him,

Then He delivered them into the power of their transgression.

5If you would seek God

And implore the compassion of the Almighty,

6If you are pure and upright,

Surely now He would rouse Himself for you

And restore your righteous estate.

7Though your beginning was insignificant,

Yet your end will increase greatly.

8“Please inquire of past generations,

And consider the things searched out by their fathers.

9For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,

Because our days on earth are as a shadow.

10Will they not teach you and tell you,

And bring forth words from their minds?

11“Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?

Can the rushes grow without water?

12While it is still green and not cut down,

Yet it withers before any other plant.

13So are the paths of all who forget God;

And the hope of the godless will perish,

14Whose confidence is fragile,

And whose trust a spider’s web.

15He trusts in his house, but it does not stand;

He holds fast to it, but it does not endure.

16He thrives before the sun,

And his shoots spread out over his garden.

17His roots wrap around a rock pile,

He grasps a house of stones.

18If he is removed from his place,

Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’

19Behold, this is the joy of His way;

And out of the dust others will spring.

20Lo, God will not reject a man of integrity,

Nor will He support the evildoers.

21He will yet fill your mouth with laughter

And your lips with shouting.

22Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

And the tent of the wicked will be no longer.”

Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Man

1Then Job answered,

2“In truth I know that this is so;

But how can a man be in the right before God?

3If one wished to dispute with Him,

He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

4Wise in heart and mighty in strength,

Who has defied Him without harm?

5It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how,

When He overturns them in His anger;

6Who shakes the earth out of its place,

And its pillars tremble;

7Who commands the sun not to shine,

And sets a seal upon the stars;

8Who alone stretches out the heavens

And tramples down the waves of the sea;

9Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades,

And the chambers of the south;

10Who does great things, unfathomable,

And wondrous works without number.

11Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him;

Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.

12Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him?

Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

13“God will not turn back His anger;

Beneath Him crouch the helpers of Rahab.

14How then can I answer Him,

And choose my words before Him?

15For though I were right, I could not answer;

I would have to implore the mercy of my judge.

16If I called and He answered me,

I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.

17For He bruises me with a tempest

And multiplies my wounds without cause.

18He will not allow me to get my breath,

But saturates me with bitterness.

19If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong one!

And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

20Though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me;

Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.

21I am guiltless;

I do not take notice of myself;

I despise my life.

22It is all one; therefore I say,

‘He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’

23If the scourge kills suddenly,

He mocks the despair of the innocent.

24The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;

He covers the faces of its judges.

If it is not He, then who is it?

25“Now my days are swifter than a runner;

They flee away, they see no good.

26They slip by like reed boats,

Like an eagle that swoops on its prey.

27Though I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,

I will leave off my sad countenance and be cheerful,’

28I am afraid of all my pains,

I know that You will not acquit me.

29I am accounted wicked,

Why then should I toil in vain?

30If I should wash myself with snow

And cleanse my hands with lye,

31Yet You would plunge me into the pit,

And my own clothes would abhor me.

32For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him,

That we may go to court together.

33There is no umpire between us,

Who may lay his hand upon us both.

34Let Him remove His rod from me,

And let not dread of Him terrify me.

35Then I would speak and not fear Him;

But I am not like that in myself.

Job Despairs of God’s Dealings

1“I loathe my own life;

I will give full vent to my complaint;

I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

2I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me;

Let me know why You contend with me.

3Is it right for You indeed to oppress,

To reject the labor of Your hands,

And to look favorably on the schemes of the wicked?

4Have You eyes of flesh?

Or do You see as a man sees?

5Are Your days as the days of a mortal,

Or Your years as man’s years,

6That You should seek for my guilt

And search after my sin?

7According to Your knowledge I am indeed not guilty,

Yet there is no deliverance from Your hand.

8‘Your hands fashioned and made me altogether,

And would You destroy me?

9Remember now, that You have made me as clay;

And would You turn me into dust again?

10Did You not pour me out like milk

And curdle me like cheese;

11Clothe me with skin and flesh,

And knit me together with bones and sinews?

12You have granted me life and lovingkindness;

And Your care has preserved my spirit.

13Yet these things You have concealed in Your heart;

I know that this is within You:

14If I sin, then You would take note of me,

And would not acquit me of my guilt.

15If I am wicked, woe to me!

And if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head.

I am sated with disgrace and conscious of my misery.

16Should my head be lifted up, You would hunt me like a lion;

And again You would show Your power against me.

17You renew Your witnesses against me

And increase Your anger toward me;

Hardship after hardship is with me.

18‘Why then have You brought me out of the womb?

Would that I had died and no eye had seen me!

19I should have been as though I had not been,

Carried from womb to tomb.’

20Would He not let my few days alone?

Withdraw from me that I may have a little cheer

21Before I go—and I shall not return—

To the land of darkness and deep shadow,

22The land of utter gloom as darkness itself,

Of deep shadow without order,

And which shines as the darkness.”

Zophar Rebukes Job

1Then Zophar the Naamathite answered,

2“Shall a multitude of words go unanswered,

And a talkative man be acquitted?

3Shall your boasts silence men?

And shall you scoff and none rebuke?

4For you have said, ‘My teaching is pure,

And I am innocent in your eyes.’

5But would that God might speak,

And open His lips against you,

6And show you the secrets of wisdom!

For sound wisdom has two sides.

Know then that God forgets a part of your iniquity.

7“Can you discover the depths of God?

Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?

8They are high as the heavens, what can you do?

Deeper than Sheol, what can you know?

9Its measure is longer than the earth

And broader than the sea.

10If He passes by or shuts up,

Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?

11For He knows false men,

And He sees iniquity without investigating.

12An idiot will become intelligent

When the foal of a wild donkey is born a man.

13“If you would direct your heart right

And spread out your hand to Him,

14If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,

And do not let wickedness dwell in your tents;

15Then, indeed, you could lift up your face without moral defect,

And you would be steadfast and not fear.

16For you would forget your trouble,

As waters that have passed by, you would remember it.

17Your life would be brighter than noonday;

Darkness would be like the morning.

18Then you would trust, because there is hope;

And you would look around and rest securely.

19You would lie down and none would disturb you,

And many would entreat your favor.

20But the eyes of the wicked will fail,

And there will be no escape for them;

And their hope is to breathe their last.”

The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection

1Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 9For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 11Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

12Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

The Order of Resurrection

20But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, 24then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

PSALM 38

Prayer of a Suffering Penitent.

A Psalm of David, for a memorial.

1O Lord, rebuke me not in Your wrath,

And chasten me not in Your burning anger.

2For Your arrows have sunk deep into me,

And Your hand has pressed down on me.

3There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation;

There is no health in my bones because of my sin.

4For my iniquities are gone over my head;

As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.

5My wounds grow foul and fester

Because of my folly.

6I am bent over and greatly bowed down;

I go mourning all day long.

7For my loins are filled with burning,

And there is no soundness in my flesh.

8I am benumbed and badly crushed;

I groan because of the agitation of my heart.

9Lord, all my desire is before You;

And my sighing is not hidden from You.

10My heart throbs, my strength fails me;

And the light of my eyes, even that has gone from me.

11My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;

And my kinsmen stand afar off.

12Those who seek my life lay snares for me;

And those who seek to injure me have threatened destruction,

And they devise treachery all day long.

13But I, like a deaf man, do not hear;

And I am like a mute man who does not open his mouth.

14Yes, I am like a man who does not hear,

And in whose mouth are no arguments.

15For I hope in You, O Lord;

You will answer, O Lord my God.

16For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,

Who, when my foot slips, would magnify themselves against me.”

17For I am ready to fall,

And my sorrow is continually before me.

18For I confess my iniquity;

I am full of anxiety because of my sin.

19But my enemies are vigorous and strong,

And many are those who hate me wrongfully.

20And those who repay evil for good,

They oppose me, because I follow what is good.

21Do not forsake me, O Lord;

O my God, do not be far from me!

22Make haste to help me,

O Lord, my salvation!

28A false witness will perish,

But the man who listens to the truth will speak forever.

29A wicked man displays a bold face,

But as for the upright, he makes his way sure.