The Daily Audio Bible

Elihu Keeps On Talking

37 “At this my heart shakes with fear and jumps from its place. ² Listen to the thunder of His voice and the noise that comes from His mouth. ³ He lets it loose under the whole heaven. He lets His lightning go to the ends of the earth. ⁴ His voice sounds after it. He thunders with His great and powerful voice. And He does not hold back the lightning when His voice is heard. ⁵ God thunders with His great voice. He does great things which we cannot understand. ⁶ For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain, ‘Be strong.’ ⁷ He stops the work of every man, that all men may know His work. ⁸ Then the wild animals go to their holes, and stay where they live. ⁹ The storm comes from the south, and the cold from the north. ¹⁰ Water becomes ice by the breath of God. The wide waters become ice. ¹¹ He loads the heavy clouds with water and they send out His lightning. ¹² It changes its path and turns around by His leading, doing whatever He tells it to do on the earth where people live. ¹³ He causes it to happen for punishment, or for His world, or because of His love.

¹⁴ “Hear this, O Job. Stop and think about the great works of God. ¹⁵ Do you know how God does them, and makes the lightning shine from His cloud? ¹⁶ Do you know how the clouds are set in heaven, the great works of Him Who is perfect in understanding? ¹⁷ Do you know why you are hot in your clothes when the land becomes quiet because of the south wind? ¹⁸ Can you help Him spread out the sky, making it as hard as a mirror made from heated brass? ¹⁹ Teach us what we should say to Him. We cannot put words together to help us because of darkness. ²⁰ Should He be told that I want to speak? Did a man ever wish to be swallowed up?

²¹ “Now men cannot look on the light when it is bright in the sky, when the wind has passed and made it clear. ²² A bright gold light is seen in the north. Around God is great power. ²³ We cannot come near the All-powerful. He is lifted high with power. And He is right and fair and good and will not make it hard for us. ²⁴ So men honor Him with fear. He has respect for any who are wise in heart.”

The Lord Answers Job

38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the strong wind and said, ² “Who is this that makes words of wisdom dark by speaking without much learning? ³ Now get ready like a man, and I will ask you some questions and you answer Me. ⁴ Where were you when I began building the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. ⁵ Who decided how big it was to be, since you know? Who looked to see if it was as big as it should be? ⁶ What was it built upon? Who laid its first stone, ⁷ when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God called out for joy?

⁸ “Who shut up the sea with doors, when it rushed out from its secret place? ⁹ I made clouds its clothing, and put much darkness around it. ¹⁰ I marked the places where it could not pass, and set locks and doors. ¹¹ And I said, ‘You will come this far, and no farther. Here will your proud waves stop.’

¹² “Have you ever in your life told the morning when to come, and caused the first light of day to know its place, ¹³ that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the sinful be shaken out of it? ¹⁴ It is changed like clay when an object is pushed down to mark it, and they stand out like clothing. ¹⁵ The light of the sinful is held back, and the arm lifted up is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you gone into the wells of the sea? Have you walked on the bottom of the deep sea? ¹⁷ Have the gates of death been shown to you? Or have you seen the gates of the deep darkness? ¹⁸ Have you understood how great the earth is? Tell Me, if you know all this.

¹⁹ “Where does the light come from? And where is the place of darkness, ²⁰ that you may take it to its land, and know the paths to its home? ²¹ You know, for you were born then. You are very old! ²² Have you gone into the store-houses of the snow? Have you seen the store-houses of the hail, ²³ which I have kept for the time of trouble, for the day of war and battle? ²⁴ What is the way to the place where the light is divided, or the east wind spread over the earth?

²⁵ “Who has cut open a way for the flood, and a path for the thunderstorm? ²⁶ Who brings rain on the land without people, on a desert without a man in it, ²⁷ to fill the need of the wasted land, and to make the grass grow? ²⁸ Does the rain have a father? Who has given birth to the drops of rain? ²⁹ Who gave birth to ice? And who gave birth to the snow water of heaven? ³⁰ Water becomes hard like stone, and the top of the sea is covered with ice.

³¹ “Can you tie the chains of the stars of Pleiades, or loose the ropes of Orion? ³² Can you lead the groups of stars out at the right times? Can you lead the stars of the Bear with her young? ³³ Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you make them to rule over the earth?

³⁴ “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of water may cover you? ³⁵ Can you send out lightnings, that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? ³⁶ Who has given wisdom to the heart? Who has given understanding to the mind? ³⁷ Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can push over the water jars of the heavens, ³⁸ when the dust gathers together and becomes hard?

³⁹ “Can you hunt food for the lion? Can you fill the hunger of the young lions, ⁴⁰ when they lie in their own place in the rock, or wait in their hiding place? ⁴¹ Who gets the food ready for the raven, when its young cry to God and go about without food?

The Lord Is Speaking to Job

39 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch the deer giving birth? ² Can you number the months that they carry their young? Or do you know the time when their young are born? ³ They get down and give birth to their young, and get rid of their pains. ⁴ Their young ones become strong. They grow up in the open field. They leave and do not return to them.

⁵ “Who has let the wild donkey go free? Who has taken off the ropes which held the fast donkey? ⁶ I gave him the desert for a home, and the salt land for a place to live. ⁷ He hates the noise of the city. He does not hear the calls of the man who drives him. ⁸ He goes looking for grass to eat on the mountains. He looks for every green thing. ⁹ Will the wild ox be willing to serve you? Will he stay through the night by the food you give him to eat? ¹⁰ Can you tie the wild ox to a plow in the field? Will he follow you to plow the valleys? ¹¹ Will you trust in him because he is very strong, and leave your work to him? ¹² Will you trust him to return and bring your grain to your grain-floor?

¹³ “The wings of the ostrich wave with joy, but are they the wings of love? ¹⁴ For she leaves her eggs to the earth and lets them get warm in the dust. ¹⁵ She forgets that a foot might crush them, or that the wild animal may step on them. ¹⁶ She is bad in the way she acts toward her young, as if they were not hers. Her work of giving birth is for nothing, for she does not care. ¹⁷ Because God has not given her wisdom or her share of understanding. ¹⁸ When she begins to run, she laughs at the horse and the horseman.

¹⁹ “Do you give the horse his strength? Do you dress his neck with long hair? ²⁰ Do you make him jump like the locust? The powerful noise he makes with his nostrils fills men with fear. ²¹ He hits his foot against the ground in the valley, and has joy in his strength. He goes out to meet the battle. ²² He laughs at fear and is not afraid. He does not turn back from the sword. ²³ The arrows and spears he carries make noise as they hit together. ²⁴ He runs fast over the ground with shaking and anger. He cannot stand still at the sound of the horn. ²⁵ When the horn sounds, he laughs without fear. He smells the battle from far away. He hears the thunder of the captains, and the war cry.

²⁶ “Is it by your understanding that the hawk flies, spreading his wings toward the south? ²⁷ Is it because the eagle is obeying you that he flies high and makes his nest in a high place? ²⁸ He lives on a high rock. His strong place is on the mountain-top that is hard to reach. ²⁹ From there he looks for his food. His eyes see it from far away. ³⁰ He is where dead bodies are and his young ones drink the blood.”

¹³ The Holy Writings say, “I believed, so I spoke.” ^(A) We have the same kind of faith as David had. We also believe, so we speak. ¹⁴ We know that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. He will raise us up also. God will take us to Himself and He will take you. ¹⁵ These things happened for your good. As more people receive God’s favor, they will give thanks for the shining-greatness of God.

Life Now—Life in Heaven

¹⁶ This is the reason we do not give up. Our human body is wearing out. But our spirits are getting stronger every day. ¹⁷ The little troubles we suffer now for a short time are making us ready for the great things God is going to give us forever. ¹⁸ We do not look at the things that can be seen. We look at the things that cannot be seen. The things that can be seen will come to an end. But the things that cannot be seen will last forever.

Our Weak Human Bodies

5 Our body is like a house we live in here on earth. When it is destroyed, we know that God has another body for us in heaven. The new one will not be made by human hands as a house is made. This body will last forever. ² Right now we cry inside ourselves because we wish we could have our new body which we will have in heaven. ³ We will not be without a body. We will live in a new body. ⁴ While we are in this body, we cry inside ourselves because things are hard for us. It is not that we want to die. Instead, we want to live in our new bodies. We want this dying body to be changed into a living body that lasts forever. ⁵ It is God Who has made us ready for this change. He has given us His Spirit to show us what He has for us.

⁶ We are sure of this. We know that while we are at home in this body we are not with the Lord. ⁷ Our life is lived by faith. We do not live by what we see in front of us. ⁸ We are sure we will be glad to be free of these bodies. It will be good to be at home with the Lord. ⁹ So if we stay here on earth or go home to Him, we always want to please Him. ¹⁰ For all of us must stand before Christ when He says who is guilty or not guilty. Each one will receive pay for what he has done. He will be paid for the good or the bad done while he lived in this body.

⁹ But now You have turned from us and have put us to shame. You do not go out with our armies. ¹⁰ You made us turn away from those who fight against us. And those who hate us have robbed us. ¹¹ You give us up to be eaten like sheep. You have spread us out among the nations. ¹² You sell Your people for nothing, and become no richer from their price. ¹³ You have made us a shame to our neighbors. Those around us laugh and make fun of us. ¹⁴ You have made us hated among the nations. The people laugh at us. ¹⁵ All day long my shame is with me and has become too much for me. ¹⁶ Those who talk against me, and who hate me are around me and want to punish me.

¹⁷ All this has come upon us, but we have not forgotten You. We have not been false to Your agreement. ¹⁸ Our heart has not turned away. And our steps have not turned from Your way. ¹⁹ But You have crushed us in a place of wild dogs, and covered us with the shadow of death.

²⁰ If we had forgotten the name of our God, or put out our hands to a strange god, ²¹ would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. ²² But we are killed all day long because of You. We are thought of as sheep that are ready to be killed. ²³ Awake, O Lord! Why do You sleep? Rise up! Do not turn away from us forever. ²⁴ Why do You hide Your face? Why do You forget our troubles and our suffering? ²⁵ For our soul is brought down to the dust. Our body holds on to the earth. ²⁶ Rise up and help us! Save us because of Your loving-kindness.

¹³ The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I will be killed in the streets!”