喬碩諾爸碎碎念

Bible reading note

Job 31

“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman. For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high? if my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled, then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her. Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers? if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments, if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court, if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained, “If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune or gloated over the trouble that came to him— but no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler— (“Oh, that I had someone to hear me! I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser put his indictment in writing. then let briers come up instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.

Job 32

So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said: “I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know. I gave you my full attention. But not one of you has proved Job wrong; none of you has answered his arguments. “They are dismayed and have no more to say; words have failed them. for if I were skilled in flattery, my Maker would soon take me away.

Job 33

“But now, Job, listen to my words; pay attention to everything I say. I am about to open my mouth; my words are on the tip of my tongue. I am the same as you in God’s sight; I too am a piece of clay. Yet God has found fault with me; he considers me his enemy. Why do you complain to him that he responds to no one’s words? he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, so that their body finds food repulsive and their soul loathes the choicest meal. and he is gracious to that person and says to God, ‘Spare them from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for them— And they will go to others and say, ‘I have sinned, I have perverted what is right, but I did not get what I deserved. “God does all these things to a person— twice, even three times— But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

Job 34

Then Elihu said: “Hear my words, you wise men; listen to me, you men of learning. “Job says, ‘I am innocent, but God denies me justice. Is there anyone like Job, who drinks scorn like water? He repays everyone for what they have done; he brings on them what their conduct deserves. Who appointed him over the earth? Who put him in charge of the whole world? “If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I say. Is he not the One who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’ and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’ They die in an instant, in the middle of the night; the people are shaken and they pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand. “His eyes are on the ways of mortals; he sees their every step. Without inquiry he shatters the mighty and sets up others in their place. because they turned from following him and had no regard for any of his ways. But if he remains silent, who can condemn him? If he hides his face, who can see him? Yet he is over individual and nation alike, Should God then reward you on your terms, when you refuse to repent? You must decide, not I; so tell me what you know. To his sin he adds rebellion; scornfully he claps his hands among us and multiplies his words against God.”

Job 35

Then Elihu said: “Do you think this is just? You say, ‘I am in the right, not God.’ “I would like to reply to you and to your friends with you. Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people. But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea; the Almighty pays no attention to it. and further, that his anger never punishes and he does not take the least notice of wickedness.

Job 36

Elihu continued: “Bear with me a little longer and I will show you that there is more to be said in God’s behalf. I get my knowledge from afar; I will ascribe justice to my Maker. He does not take his eyes off the righteous; he enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever. But if people are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction, But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword and die without knowledge. But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction. Be careful that no one entices you by riches; do not let a large bribe turn you aside. Beware of turning to evil, which you seem to prefer to affliction. Remember to extol his work, which people have praised in song. “He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea. His thunder announces the coming storm; even the cattle make known its approach.

Job 37

“At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place. Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice, to the rumbling that comes from his mouth. After that comes the sound of his roar; he thunders with his majestic voice. When his voice resounds, he holds nothing back. So that everyone he has made may know his work, he stops all people from their labor. The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen. At his direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever he commands them. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? can you join him in spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze? Now no one can look at the sun, bright as it is in the skies after the wind has swept them clean. Therefore, people revere him, for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart?”

Job 38

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge? Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it? “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? “What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside? “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, to water a land where no one lives, an uninhabited desert, when the waters become hard as stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth? Who gives the ibis wisdom or gives the rooster understanding? when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket?

Job 39

“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return. “Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will it stay by your manger at night? Will you rely on it for its great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to it? unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them. “Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane? The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance. Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high? Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.”

Job 40

The Lord said to Job: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm: Do you have an arm like God’s, and can your voice thunder like his? Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you. What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly! Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh. Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose?

Job 41

“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope? Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook? Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life? Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants? No one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against me? “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form. each is so close to the next that no air can pass between. Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds. Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone. Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood. It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment. Nothing on earth is its equal— a creature without fear.

Job 42

Then Job replied to the Lord: “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer. All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.