Job 4:7-11

4:7 Call to mind now:

Who, being innocent, ever perished?

And where were upright people ever destroyed?

4:8 Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity

and those who sow trouble reap the same.

4:9 By the breath of God they perish,

and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.

4:10 There is the roaring of the lion

and the growling of the young lion,

but the teeth of the young lions are broken.

4:11 The mighty lion perishes for lack of prey,

and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

Job 5:1-5

5:1 “Call now! Is there anyone who will answer you?

To which of the holy ones will you turn?

5:2 For wrath kills the foolish person,

and anger slays the silly one.

5:3 I myself have seen the fool taking root,

but suddenly I cursed his place of residence.

5:4 His children are far from safety,

and they are crushed at the place where judgment is rendered,

nor is there anyone to deliver them.

5:5 The hungry eat up his harvest,

and take it even from behind the thorns,

and the thirsty swallow up their fortune.

Job 8:3-4

8:3 Does God pervert justice?

Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?

8:4 If your children sinned against him,

he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.

Job 18:5-21

18:5 “Yes, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished;

his flame of fire does not shine.

18:6 The light in his tent grows dark;

his lamp above him is extinguished.

18:7 His vigorous steps are restricted,

and his own counsel throws him down.

18:8 For he has been thrown into a net by his feet

and he wanders into a mesh.

18:9 A trap seizes him by the heel;

a snare grips him.

18:10 A rope is hidden for him on the ground

and a trap for him lies on the path.

18:11 Terrors frighten him on all sides

and dog his every step.

18:12 Calamity is hungry for him,

and misfortune is ready at his side.

18:13 It eats away parts of his skin;

the most terrible death devours his limbs.

18:14 He is dragged from the security of his tent,

and marched off to the king of terrors.

18:15 Fire resides in his tent;

over his residence burning sulfur is scattered.

18:16 Below his roots dry up,

and his branches wither above.

18:17 His memory perishes from the earth,

he has no name in the land.

18:18 He is driven from light into darkness

and is banished from the world.

18:19 He has neither children nor descendants among his people,

no survivor in those places he once stayed.

18:20 People of the west are appalled at his fate;

people of the east are seized with horror, saying,

18:21 ‘Surely such is the residence of an evil man;

and this is the place of one who has not known God.’”

Job 21:27-34

Futile Words, Deceptive Answers

21:27 “Yes, I know what you are thinking,

the schemes by which you would wrong me.

21:28 For you say,

‘Where now is the nobleman’s house,

and where are the tents in which the wicked lived?’

21:29 Have you never questioned those who travel the roads?

Do you not recognize their accounts –

21:30 that the evil man is spared

from the day of his misfortune,

that he is delivered

from the day of God’s wrath?

21:31 No one denounces his conduct to his face;

no one repays him for what he has done.

21:32 And when he is carried to the tombs,

and watch is kept over the funeral mound,

21:33 The clods of the torrent valley are sweet to him;

behind him everybody follows in procession,

and before him goes a countless throng.

21:34 So how can you console me with your futile words?

Nothing is left of your answers but deception!”

Job 22:6-30

22:6 “For you took pledges from your brothers

for no reason,

and you stripped the clothing from the naked.

22:7 You gave the weary no water to drink

and from the hungry you withheld food.

22:8 Although you were a powerful man, owning land,

an honored man living on it,

22:9 you sent widows away empty-handed,

and the arms of the orphans you crushed.

22:10 That is why snares surround you,

and why sudden fear terrifies you,

22:11 why it is so dark you cannot see,

and why a flood of water covers you.

22:12 “Is not God on high in heaven?

And see the lofty stars, how high they are!

22:13 But you have said, ‘What does God know?

Does he judge through such deep darkness?

22:14 Thick clouds are a veil for him, so he does not see us,

as he goes back and forth

in the vault of heaven.’

22:15 Will you keep to the old path

that evil men have walked –

22:16 men who were carried off before their time,

when the flood was poured out

on their foundations?

22:17 They were saying to God, ‘Turn away from us,’

and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’

22:18 But it was he who filled their houses

with good things –

yet the counsel of the wicked

was far from me.

22:19 The righteous see their destruction and rejoice;

the innocent mock them scornfully, saying,

22:20 ‘Surely our enemies are destroyed,

and fire consumes their wealth.’

22:21 “Reconcile yourself with God,

and be at peace with him;

in this way your prosperity will be good.

22:22 Accept instruction from his mouth

and store up his words in your heart.

22:23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up;

if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent,

22:24 and throw your gold in the dust –

your gold of Ophir

among the rocks in the ravines –

22:25 then the Almighty himself will be your gold,

and the choicest silver for you.

22:26 Surely then you will delight yourself in the Almighty,

and will lift up your face toward God.

22:27 You will pray to him and he will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows to him.

22:28 Whatever you decide on a matter,

it will be established for you,

and light will shine on your ways.

22:29 When people are brought low and you say

‘Lift them up!’

then he will save the downcast;

22:30 he will deliver even someone who is not innocent,

who will escape through the cleanness of your hands.”

Exodus 20:16

20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Psalms 119:69

119:69 Arrogant people smear my reputation with lies,

but I observe your precepts with all my heart.