Bible Society of South Africa

Bible Reading Plan – Day 264

Bible text(s)

Job 9

25My days race by, not one of them good.

26My life passes like the swiftest boat,

as fast as an eagle swooping down on a rabbit.

27-28If I smile and try to forget my pain,

all my suffering comes back to haunt me;

I know that God does hold me guilty.

29Since I am held guilty, why should I bother?

30No soap can wash away my sins.

31God throws me into a pit of filth,

and even my clothes are ashamed of me.

32If God were human, I could answer him;

we could go to court to decide our quarrel.

33But there is no one to step between us —

no one to judge both God and me.

34Stop punishing me, God!

Keep your terrors away!

35I am not afraid. I am going to talk

because I know my own heart.

Job 10

1I am tired of living.

Listen to my bitter complaint.

2Don't condemn me, God.

Tell me! What is the charge against me?

3Is it right for you to be so cruel?

To despise what you yourself have made?

And then to smile on the schemes of wicked people?

4Do you see things as we do?

5Is your life as short as ours?

6Then why do you track down all my sins

and hunt down every fault I have?

7You know that I am not guilty,

that no one can save me from you.

8Your hands formed and shaped me,

and now those same hands destroy me.

9Remember that you made me from clay;

are you going to crush me back to dust?

10You gave my father strength to beget me;

you made me grow in my mother's womb.

11You formed my body with bones and sinews

and covered the bones with muscles and skin.

12You have given me life and constant love,

and your care has kept me alive.

13But now I know that all that time

you were secretly planning to harm me.

14You were watching to see if I would sin,

so that you could refuse to forgive me.

15As soon as I sin, I'm in trouble with you,

but when I do right, I get no credit.

I am miserable and covered with shame.

16If I have any success at all,

you hunt me down like a lion;

to hurt me you even work miracles.

17You always have some witness against me;

your anger towards me grows and grows;

you always plan some new attack.

18Why, God, did you let me be born?

I should have died before anyone saw me.

19To go from the womb straight to the grave

would have been as good as never existing.

20Isn't my life almost over? Leave me alone!

Let me enjoy the time I have left.

21I am going soon and will never come back —

going to a land that is dark and gloomy,

22a land of darkness, shadows, and confusion,

where the light itself is darkness.

Job 11

Zophar

1-2Will no one answer all this nonsense?

Does talking so much put you in the right?

3Job, do you think we can't answer you?

That your mocking words will leave us speechless?

4You claim that what you say is true;

you claim you are pure in the sight of God.

5How I wish God would answer you!

6He would tell you there are many sides to wisdom;

there are things too deep for human knowledge.

God is punishing you less than you deserve.

7Can you discover the limits and bounds

of the greatness and power of God?

8The sky is no limit for God,

but it lies beyond your reach.

God knows the world of the dead,

but you do not know it.

9God's greatness is broader than the earth,

wider than the sea.

10If God arrests you and brings you to trial,

who is there to stop him?

11God knows which people are worthless;

he sees all their evil deeds.

12Stupid people will start being wise

when wild donkeys are born tame.

13Put your heart right, Job. Reach out to God.

14Put away evil and wrong from your home.

15Then face the world again, firm and courageous.

16Then all your troubles will fade from your memory,

like floods that are past and remembered no more.

17Your life will be brighter than sunshine at noon,

and life's darkest hours will shine like the dawn.

18You will live secure and full of hope;

God will protect you and give you rest.

19You won't be afraid of your enemies;

many people will ask you for help.

20But the wicked will look round in despair

and find that there is no way to escape.

Their one hope is that death will come.

Job 12

Job

1-2Yes, you are the voice of the people.

When you die, wisdom will die with you.

3But I have as much sense as you have;

I am in no way inferior to you;

everyone knows all that you have said.

4Even my friends laugh at me now;

they laugh, although I am righteous and blameless;

but there was a time when God answered my prayers.

5You have no troubles, and yet you make fun of me;

you hit someone who is about to fall.

6But thieves and godless people live in peace,

though their only god is their own strength.

7Even birds and animals have much they could teach you;

8ask the creatures of earth and sea for their wisdom.

9All of them know that the LORD's hand made them.

10It is God who directs the lives of his creatures;

everyone's life is in his power.

11But just as your tongue enjoys tasting food,

your ears enjoy hearing words.

12-13Old people have wisdom,

but God has wisdom and power.

Old people have insight;

God has insight and power to act.

14When God tears down, who can rebuild,

and who can free those God imprisons?

15Drought comes when God withholds rain;

floods come when he turns water loose.

16God is strong and always victorious;

both deceived and deceiver are in his power.

17He takes away the wisdom of rulers

and makes leaders act like fools.

18He dethrones kings and makes them prisoners;

19he humbles priests and men of power.

20He silences those who are trusted,

and takes the wisdom of old people away.

21He disgraces those in power

and puts an end to the strength of rulers.

22He sends light to places dark as death.

23He makes nations strong and great,

but then he defeats and destroys them.

24He makes their leaders foolish

and lets them wander confused and lost;

25they grope in the dark and stagger like drunkards.

Job 13

1-2Everything you say, I have heard before.

I understand it all; I know as much as you do.

I'm not your inferior.

3But my dispute is with God, not you;

I want to argue my case with him.

4You cover up your ignorance with lies;

you are like doctors who can't heal anyone.

5Say nothing, and someone may think you are wise!

6Listen while I state my case.

7Why are you lying?

Do you think your lies will benefit God?

8Are you trying to defend him?

Are you going to argue his case in court?

9If God looks at you closely, will he find anything good?

Do you think you can fool God as you fool others?

10Even though your prejudice is hidden,

he will reprimand you,

11and his power will fill you with terror.

12Your proverbs are as useless as ashes;

your arguments crumble like clay.

13Be quiet and give me a chance to speak,

and let the results be what they will.

14I am ready to risk my life.

15I've lost all hope, so what if God kills me?

I am going to state my case to him.

16It may even be that my boldness will save me,

since no wicked person would dare to face God.

17Now listen to my words of explanation.

18I am ready to state my case,

because I know I am in the right.

19Are you coming to accuse me, God?

If you do, I am ready to be silent and die.

20Let me ask for two things; agree to them,

and I will not try to hide from you;

21stop punishing me, and don't crush me with terror.

22Speak first, O God, and I will answer.

Or let me speak, and you answer me.

23What are my sins? What wrongs have I done?

What crimes am I charged with?

24Why do you avoid me?

Why do you treat me like an enemy?

25Are you trying to frighten me? I'm nothing but a leaf;

you are attacking a piece of dry straw.

26You bring bitter charges against me,

even for what I did when I was young.

27You bind chains on my feet;

you watch every step I take,

and even examine my footprints.

28As a result, I crumble like rotten wood,

like a moth-eaten coat.

Job 9:25-13:28GNBOpen in Bible reader
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