The Daily Audio Bible
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4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 If we venture to converse with you, will you be offended? Yet who can restrain himself from speaking?
3 Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands.
4 Your words have held firm him who was falling, and you have strengthened the feeble knees.
5 But now it is come upon you, and you faint and are grieved; it touches you, and you are troubled and dismayed.
6 Is not your [reverent] fear of God your confidence and the integrity and uprightness of your ways your hope?
7 Think [earnestly], I beg of you: who, being innocent, ever perished? Or where were those upright and in right standing with God cut off?
8 As I myself have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble and mischief reap the same.
9 By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.
10 The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 The old and strong lion perishes for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.
12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a whisper of it.
13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
14 Fear came upon me and trembling, which made all my bones shake.
15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up!
16 [The spirit] stood still, but I could not discern the appearance of it. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, and then I heard a voice, saying,
17 Can mortal man be just before God, or be more right than He is? Can a man be pure before his Maker, or be more cleansed than He is?(A)
18 Even in His [heavenly] servants He puts no trust or confidence, and His angels He charges with folly and error—
19 How much more those who dwell in houses (bodies) of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed like the moth.
20 Between morning and evening they are destroyed; without anyone noticing it they perish forever.
21 Is not their tent cord plucked up within them [so that the tent falls]? Do they not die, and that without [acquiring] wisdom?
5 Call now—is there any who will answer you? And to which of the holy [angels] will you turn?
2 For [a]vexation and rage kill the foolish man; jealousy and indignation slay the simple.
3 I have seen the foolish taking root [and outwardly prospering], but suddenly I saw that his dwelling was cursed [for his doom was certain].
4 His children are far from safety; [involved in their father’s ruin] they are crushed in the [court of justice in the city’s] gate, and there is no one to deliver them.
5 His harvest the hungry eat and take it even [when it grows] among the thorns; the snare opens for [his] wealth.
6 For affliction comes not forth from the dust, neither does trouble spring forth out of the ground.
7 But man is born to trouble as the sparks and the flames fly upward.
8 As for me, I would seek God and inquire of and require Him, and to God would I commit my cause—
9 Who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number,
10 Who gives rain upon the earth and sends waters upon the fields,
11 So that He sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn He lifts to safety.
12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise or anything of [lasting] worth.
13 He catches the [so-called] wise in their own trickiness, and the counsel of the schemers is brought to a quick end.(B)
14 In the daytime they meet in darkness, and at noon they grope as in the night.
15 But [God] saves [the fatherless] from the sword of their mouth, and the needy from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor have hope, and iniquity shuts her mouth.
17 Happy and fortunate is the man whom God reproves; so do not despise or reject the correction of the Almighty [subjecting you to trial and suffering].
18 For He wounds, but He binds up; He smites, but His hands heal.
19 He will rescue you in six troubles; in seven nothing that is evil [for you] will touch you.
20 In famine He will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword.
21 You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, neither shall you be afraid of destruction when it comes.
22 At destruction and famine you shall laugh, neither shall you be afraid of the living creatures of the earth.
23 For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
24 And you shall know that your tent shall be in peace, and you shall visit your fold and your dwelling and miss nothing [from them].
25 You shall know also that your children shall be many, and your offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, and as a shock of grain goes up [to the threshing floor] in its season.
27 This is what we have searched out; it is true. Hear and heed it and know for yourself [for your good].
6 Then Job answered,
2 Oh, that my impatience and vexation might be [thoroughly] weighed and all my calamity be laid up over against them in the balances, one against the other [to see if my grief is unmanly]!
3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash and wild,
4 [But it is] because the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison which my spirit drinks up; the terrors of God set themselves in array against me.
5 Does the wild ass bray when it has grass? Or does the ox low over its fodder?
6 Can that which has no taste to it be eaten without salt? Or is there any flavor in the white of an egg?
7 [These afflictions] my soul refuses to touch! Such things are like diseased food to me [sickening and repugnant]!
8 Oh, that I might have my request, and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!
9 I even wish that it would please God to crush me, that He would let loose His hand and cut me off!
10 Then would I still have consolation—yes, I would leap [for joy] amid unsparing pain [though I shrink from it]—that I have not concealed or denied the words of the Holy One!
11 What strength have I left, that I should wait and hope? And what is ahead of me, that I should be patient?
12 Is my strength and endurance that of stones? Or is my flesh made of bronze?
13 Is it not that I have no help in myself, and that wisdom is quite driven from me?
14 To him who is about to faint and despair, kindness is due from his friend, lest he forsake the fear of the Almighty.
15 [You] my brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, as the channel of brooks that pass away,
16 Which are black and turbid by reason of the ice, and in which the snows hides itself;
17 When they get warm, they shrink and disappear; when it is hot, they vanish out of their place.
18 The caravans which travel by way of them turn aside; they go into the waste places and perish. [Such is my disappointment in you, the friends I fully trusted.]
19 The caravans of Tema looked [for water], the companies of Sheba waited for them [in vain].
20 They were confounded because they had hoped [to find water]; they came there and were bitterly disappointed.
21 Now to me you are [like a dried-up brook]; you see my dismay and terror, and [believing me to be a victim of God’s anger] you are afraid [to sympathize with me].
22 Did I ever say, Bring me a gift, or Pay a bribe on my account from your wealth
23 To deliver me from the adversary’s hand, or Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?
24 Teach me, and I will hold my peace; and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
25 How forcible are words of straightforward speech! But what does your arguing argue and prove or your reproof reprove?
26 Do you imagine your words to be an argument, but the speeches of one who is desperate to be as wind?
27 Yes, you would cast lots over the fatherless and bargain away your friend.
28 Now be pleased to look upon me, that it may be evident to you if I lie [for surely I would not lie to your face].
29 Return [from your suspicion], I pray you, let there be no injustice; yes, return again [to confidence in me], my vindication is in it.
30 Is there wrong on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern what is destructive?
7 Is there not an [appointed] warfare and hard labor to man upon earth? And are not his days like the days of a hireling?
2 As a servant earnestly longs for the shade and the evening shadows, and as a hireling who looks for the reward of his work,
3 So am I allotted months of futile [suffering], and [long] nights of misery are appointed to me.
4 When I lie down I say, When shall I arise and the night be gone? And I am full of tossing to and fro till the dawning of the day.
5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken and has become loathsome, and it closes up and breaks out afresh.
6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.
7 Oh, remember that my life is but wind (a puff, a breath, a sob); my eye shall see good no more.
8 The eye of him who sees me shall see me no more; while your eyes are upon me, I shall be gone.
9 As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away, so he who goes down to Sheol (the place of the dead) shall come up no more.
10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
11 Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul [O Lord]!
12 Am I the sea, or the sea monster, that You set a watch over me?
13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint,
14 Then You scare me with dreams and terrify me through visions,
15 So that I would choose strangling and death rather than these my bones.
16 I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, for my days are a breath (futility).
17 What is man that You should magnify him and think him important? And that You should set Your mind upon him?(C)
18 And that You should visit him every morning and try him every moment?
19 How long will Your [plaguing] glance not look away from me, nor You let me alone till I swallow my spittle?
20 If I have sinned, what [harm] have I done You, O You Watcher and Keeper of men? Why have You set me as a mark for You, so that I am a burden to myself [and You]?
21 And why do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now shall I lie down in the dust; and [even if] You will seek me diligently, [it will be too late, for] I shall not be.
18 I thank God that I speak in [strange] tongues (languages) more than any of you or all of you put together;
19 Nevertheless, in public worship, I would rather say five words with my understanding and intelligently in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a [strange] tongue (language).
20 Brethren, do not be children [immature] in your thinking; continue to be babes in [matters of] evil, but in your minds be mature [men].
21 It is written in the Law, By men of strange languages and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and not even then will they listen to Me, says the Lord.(A)
22 Thus [unknown] tongues are meant for a [supernatural] sign, not for believers but for unbelievers [on the point of believing], while prophecy (inspired preaching and teaching, interpreting the divine will and purpose) is not for unbelievers [on the point of believing] but for believers.
23 Therefore, if the whole church assembles and all of you speak in [unknown] tongues, and the ungifted and uninitiated or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are demented?
24 But if all prophesy [giving inspired testimony and interpreting the divine will and purpose] and an unbeliever or untaught outsider comes in, he is told of his sin and reproved and convicted and convinced by all, and his defects and needs are examined (estimated, determined) and he is called to account by all,
25 The secrets of his heart are laid bare; and so, falling on [his] face, he will worship God, declaring that God is among you in very truth.
26 What then, brethren, is [the right course]? When you meet together, each one has a hymn, a teaching, a disclosure of special knowledge or information, an utterance in a [strange] tongue, or an interpretation of it. [But] let everything be constructive and edifying and for the good of all.
27 If some speak in a [strange] tongue, let the number be limited to two or at the most three, and each one [taking his] turn, and let one interpret and explain [what is said].
28 But if there is no one to do the interpreting, let each of them keep still in church and talk to himself and to God.
29 So let two or three prophets speak [those inspired to preach or teach], while the rest pay attention and weigh and discern what is said.
30 But if an inspired revelation comes to another who is sitting by, then let the first one be silent.
31 For in this way you can give testimony [prophesying and thus interpreting the divine will and purpose] one by one, so that all may be instructed and all may be stimulated and encouraged;
32 For the spirits of the prophets (the speakers in tongues) are under the speaker’s control [and subject to being silenced as may be necessary],
33 For He [Who is the source of their prophesying] is not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order. As [is the practice] in all the churches of the saints (God’s people),
34 The women should keep quiet in the churches, for they are not authorized to speak, but should take a secondary and subordinate place, just as the Law also says.(B)
35 But if there is anything they want to learn, they should ask their own husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to talk in church [[a]for her to usurp and exercise authority over men in the church].
36 What! Did the word of the Lord originate with you [Corinthians], or has it reached only you?
37 If anyone thinks and claims that he is a prophet [filled with and governed by the Holy Spirit of God and inspired to interpret the divine will and purpose in preaching or teaching] or has any other spiritual endowment, let him understand (recognize and acknowledge) that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord.
38 But if anyone disregards or does not recognize [[b]that it is a command of the Lord], he is disregarded and not recognized [he is [c]one whom God knows not].
39 So [to conclude], my brethren, earnestly desire and set your hearts on prophesying (on being inspired to preach and teach and to interpret God’s will and purpose), and do not forbid or hinder speaking in [unknown] tongues.
40 But all things should be done with regard to decency and propriety and in an orderly fashion.
30 The mouth of the [uncompromisingly] righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks with justice.
31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the [uncompromisingly] righteous and seek to put them to death.
33 The Lord will not leave them in their hands, or [suffer them to] condemn them when they are judged.
34 Wait for and expect the Lord and keep and heed His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; [in the end] when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
35 I have seen a wicked man in great power and spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil,
36 Yet he passed away, and behold, he was not; yes, I sought and inquired for him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless man and behold the upright, for there is a happy end for the man of peace.
38 As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together; in the end the wicked shall be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the [consistently] righteous is of the Lord; He is their Refuge and secure Stronghold in the time of trouble.
40 And the Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they trust and take refuge in Him.
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is exceedingly disgusting and abhorrent [to the Lord]—how much more when he brings it with evil intention?
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation