Job 39; Job 40; Job 41; Job 42; Psalms 1; Psalms 2; Psalms 3; Psalms 4; Psalms 5; Psalms 6; Psalms 7; Psalms 8; Psalms 9

Job 39

1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?

2 Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth?

3 They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended.

4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return.

5 “Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied its ropes?

6 I gave it the wasteland as its home, the salt flats as its habitat.

7 It laughs at the commotion in the town; it does not hear a driver’s shout.

8 It ranges the hills for its pasture and searches for any green thing.

9 “Will the wild ox consent to serve you? Will it stay by your manger at night?

10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness? Will it till the valleys behind you?

11 Will you rely on it for its great strength? Will you leave your heavy work to it?

12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain and bring it to your threshing floor?

13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, though they cannot compare with the wings and feathers of the stork.

14 She lays her eggs on the ground and lets them warm in the sand,

15 unmindful that a foot may crush them, that some wild animal may trample them.

16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers; she cares not that her labor was in vain,

17 for God did not endow her with wisdom or give her a share of good sense.

18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run, she laughs at horse and rider.

19 “Do you give the horse its strength or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?

20 Do you make it leap like a locust, striking terror with its proud snorting?

21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength, and charges into the fray.

22 It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; it does not shy away from the sword.

23 The quiver rattles against its side, along with the flashing spear and lance.

24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.

25 At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’ It catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.

26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom and spread its wings toward the south?

27 Does the eagle soar at your command and build its nest on high?

28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night; a rocky crag is its stronghold.

29 From there it looks for food; its eyes detect it from afar.

30 Its young ones feast on blood, and where the slain are, there it is.”

Job 40

1 The LORD said to Job:

2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”

3 Then Job answered the LORD:

4 “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.

5 I spoke once, but I have no answer— twice, but I will say no more.”

6 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm:

7 “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.

8 “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?

9 Do you have an arm like God’s, and can your voice thunder like his?

10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.

11 Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at all who are proud and bring them low,

12 look at all who are proud and humble them, crush the wicked where they stand.

13 Bury them all in the dust together; shroud their faces in the grave.

14 Then I myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you.

15 “Look at Behemoth, which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.

16 What strength it has in its loins, what power in the muscles of its belly!

17 Its tail sways like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.

18 Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like rods of iron.

19 It ranks first among the works of God, yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.

20 The hills bring it their produce, and all the wild animals play nearby.

21 Under the lotus plants it lies, hidden among the reeds in the marsh.

22 The lotuses conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream surround it.

23 A raging river does not alarm it; it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.

24 Can anyone capture it by the eyes, or trap it and pierce its nose?

Job 41

1 “Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook or tie down its tongue with a rope?

2 Can you put a cord through its nose or pierce its jaw with a hook?

3 Will it keep begging you for mercy? Will it speak to you with gentle words?

4 Will it make an agreement with you for you to take it as your slave for life?

5 Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?

6 Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants?

7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears?

8 If you lay a hand on it, you will remember the struggle and never do it again!

9 Any hope of subduing it is false; the mere sight of it is overpowering.

10 No one is fierce enough to rouse it. Who then is able to stand against me?

11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me.

12 “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs, its strength and its graceful form.

13 Who can strip off its outer coat? Who can penetrate its double coat of armor ?

14 Who dares open the doors of its mouth, ringed about with fearsome teeth?

15 Its back has rows of shields tightly sealed together;

16 each is so close to the next that no air can pass between.

17 They are joined fast to one another; they cling together and cannot be parted.

18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the rays of dawn.

19 Flames stream from its mouth; sparks of fire shoot out.

20 Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.

21 Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.

22 Strength resides in its neck; dismay goes before it.

23 The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.

24 Its chest is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.

25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified; they retreat before its thrashing.

26 The sword that reaches it has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.

27 Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.

28 Arrows do not make it flee; slingstones are like chaff to it.

29 A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.

30 Its undersides are jagged potsherds, leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.

31 It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.

32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had white hair.

33 Nothing on earth is its equal— a creature without fear.

34 It looks down on all that are haughty; it is king over all that are proud.”

Job 42

1 Then Job replied to the LORD:

2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

3 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.

4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’

5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.

6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

7 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.

8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.”

9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the LORD told them; and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer.

10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.

11 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.

12 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.

13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters.

14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch.

15 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.

16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

17 And so Job died, an old man and full of years.

Psalms 1

1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,

2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night.

3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Psalms 2

1 Why do the nations conspireand the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against his anointed, saying,

3 “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”

4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.

5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

6 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”

7 I will proclaim the LORD’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.

8 Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.

9 You will break them with a rod of iron ; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

10 Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth.

11 Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.

12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Psalms 3

1 LORD, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!

2 Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.”

3 But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.

4 I call out to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy mountain.

5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

6 I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.

7 Arise, LORD! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

8 From the LORD comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people.

Psalms 4

1 Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

2 How long will you people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods

3 Know that the LORD has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.

4 Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.

5 Offer the sacrifices of the righteous and trust in the LORD.

6 Many, LORD, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?” Let the light of your face shine on us.

7 Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound.

8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Psalms 5

1 Listen to my words, LORD, consider my lament.

2 Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

3 In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.

4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people are not welcome.

5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong;

6 you destroy those who tell lies. The bloodthirsty and deceitful you, LORD, detest.

7 But I, by your great love, can come into your house; in reverence I bow down toward your holy temple.

8 Lead me, LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies— make your way straight before me.

9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with malice. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they tell lies.

10 Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

12 Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Psalms 6

1 LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.

2 Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am faint; heal me, LORD, for my bones are in agony.

3 My soul is in deep anguish. How long, LORD, how long?

4 Turn, LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.

5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave?

6 I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.

7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.

8 Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.

9 The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.

10 All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

Psalms 7

1 LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me,

2 or they will tear me apart like a lion and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

3 LORD my God, if I have done this and there is guilt on my hands—

4 if I have repaid my ally with evil or without cause have robbed my foe—

5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust.

6 Arise, LORD, in your anger; rise up against the rage of my enemies. Awake, my God; decree justice.

7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you, while you sit enthroned over them on high.

8 Let the LORD judge the peoples. Vindicate me, LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High.

9 Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure— you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts.

10 My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.

11 God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day.

12 If he does not relent, he will sharpen his sword; he will bend and string his bow.

13 He has prepared his deadly weapons; he makes ready his flaming arrows.

14 Whoever is pregnant with evil conceives trouble and gives birth to disillusionment.

15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit they have made.

16 The trouble they cause recoils on them; their violence comes down on their own heads.

17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.

Psalms 8

1 LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.

2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

5 You have made them a little lower than the angelsand crowned them with glory and honor.

6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet:

7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild,

8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.

9 LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalms 9

1 I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

3 My enemies turn back; they stumble and perish before you.

4 For you have upheld my right and my cause, sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.

5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.

6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies, you have uprooted their cities; even the memory of them has perished.

7 The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment.

8 He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity.

9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.

11 Sing the praises of the LORD, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.

12 For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.

13 LORD, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death,

14 that I may declare your praises in the gates of Daughter Zion, and there rejoice in your salvation.

15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

16 The LORD is known by his acts of justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.

17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.

18 But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

19 Arise, LORD, do not let mortals triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence.

20 Strike them with terror, LORD; let the nations know they are only mortal.