Bildad Speaks: Man Cannot Be Righteous
1 Then oBildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “Dominion and fear are with God;1
he makes peace in his high heaven.
3 Is there any number to his parmies?
Upon whom does his qlight not arise?
4 How then can man be rin the right before God?
How can he who is sborn of woman be tpure?
5 Behold, even the moon is not bright,
and the stars are not pure in his eyes;
6 uhow much less man, who is va maggot,
and wthe son of man, who is a worm!”
Job Replies: God’s Majesty Is Unsearchable
1 Then Job answered and said:
2 “How you have xhelped him who has no power!
How you have saved ythe arm that has no strength!
3 How you have zcounseled him who has no wisdom,
and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
4 With whose help have you uttered words,
and whose breath ahas come out from you?
5 The bdead tremble
under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is cnaked before God,2
and dAbaddon has no covering.
7 He estretches out the north over fthe void
and hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He gbinds up the waters in his thick clouds,
and the cloud is not split open under them.
9 He covers the face of the full moon3
and hspreads over it his cloud.
10 He has inscribed ia circle on the face of the waters
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 jThe pillars of heaven tremble
and are astounded at his krebuke.
12 By his power he lstilled the sea;
by his understanding he shattered mRahab.
13 nBy his wind the heavens were made fair;
his hand pierced othe fleeing serpent.
14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his pways,
and how small qa whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
Job Continues: I Will Maintain My Integrity
1 And Job again rtook up his discourse, and said:
2 “As God lives, who has staken away my right,
and the Almighty, who has tmade my soul bitter,
3 as long as my breath is in me,
and uthe spirit of God is in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not speak vfalsehood,
and my tongue will not utter vdeceit.
5 Far be it from me to say that you are right;
till I die I will not put away my wintegrity from me.
6 I xhold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
my heart does not yreproach me for any of my days.
7 “Let my enemy be as the wicked,
and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 zFor what is the hope of the godless awhen God cuts him off,
when God takes away his life?
9 bWill God hear his cry
when distress comes upon him?
10 Will he ctake delight in the Almighty?
Will he call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
dwhat is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
why then have you become altogether vain?
13 e“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
and the heritage that foppressors receive from the Almighty:
14 If his gchildren are multiplied, it is for hthe sword,
and his descendants have not enough bread.
15 Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
and his iwidows do not weep.
16 Though he jheap up silver like dust,
and pile up clothing like clay,
17 he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and kthe innocent will divide the silver.
18 He builds his lhouse like a moth’s,
like ma booth that na watchman makes.
19 He goes to bed rich, but will odo so no more;
he opens his eyes, and phis wealth is gone.
20 qTerrors overtake him like ra flood;
in the night a whirlwind scarries him off.
21 tThe east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
it usweeps him out of his place.
22 It4 hurls at him vwithout pity;
he flees from its5 power in headlong flight.
23 It wclaps its hands at him
and xhisses at him from its place.
Paul Surrenders His Rights
1 jAm I not free? kAm I not an apostle? lHave I not seen Jesus our Lord? mAre not you my workmanship in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are nthe seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 oDo we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 pDo we not have the right to take along a believing wife,1 as do the other apostles and qthe brothers of the Lord and rCephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 sWho serves as a soldier at his own expense? tWho plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, u“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written vfor our sake, because wthe plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 xIf we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?
Nevertheless, ywe have not made use of this right, but we endure anything zrather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that athose who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that bthose who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
15 But cI have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone ddeprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For enecessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with fa stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching gI may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
19 For hthough I am free from all, iI have made myself a servant to all, that I might jwin more of them. 20 kTo the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To lthose outside the law I became mas one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but nunder the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 oTo the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. pI have become all things to all people, that qby all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, rthat I may share with them in its blessings.
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives sthe prize? So trun that you may obtain it. 25 Every uathlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we van imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I wdo not box as one xbeating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and ykeep it under control,2 lest after preaching to others zI myself should be adisqualified.
