Bible Reading Plan – Day 263

₈If I were you, I would turn to God

and present my case to him.

₉We cannot understand the great things he does,

and to his miracles there is no end.

₁₀He sends rain on the land

and he waters the fields.

₁₁Yes, it is God who raises the humble

and gives joy to all who mourn.

_12-13He upsets the plans of cunning people,

and traps the wise in their own schemes,

so that nothing they do succeeds;

₁₄even at noon they grope in darkness.

₁₅But God saves the poor from death;

he saves the needy from oppression.

₁₆He gives hope to the poor and silences the wicked.

₁₇Happy is the person whom God corrects!

Do not resent it when he rebukes you.

₁₈God bandages the wounds he makes;

his hand hurts you, and his hand heals.

₁₉Time after time he will save you from harm;

₂₀when famine comes, he will keep you alive,

and in war protect you from death.

₂₁God will rescue you from slander;

he will save you when destruction comes.

₂₂You will laugh at violence and hunger

and not be afraid of wild animals.

₂₃The fields you plough will be free of rocks;

wild animals will never attack you.

₂₄Then you will live at peace in your tent;

when you look at your sheep, you will find them safe.

₂₅You will have as many children

as there are blades of grass in a pasture.

₂₆Like wheat that ripens till harvest time,

you will live to a ripe old age.

₂₇Job, we have learnt this by long study.

It is true, so now accept it.

_1-2If my troubles and griefs were weighed on scales,

₃they would weigh more than the sands of the sea,

so my wild words should not surprise you.

₄Almighty God has pierced me with arrows,

and their poison spreads through my body.

God has lined up his terrors against me.

₅A donkey is content when eating grass,

and a cow is quiet when eating hay.

₆But who can eat tasteless, unsalted food?

What flavour is there in the white of an egg?

₇I have no appetite for food like that,

and everything I eat makes me sick.

₈Why won't God give me what I ask?

Why won't he answer my prayer?

₉If only he would go ahead and kill me!

₁₀If I knew he would, I would leap for joy,

no matter how great my pain.

I know that God is holy;

I have never opposed what he commands.

₁₁What strength have I got to keep on living?

Why go on living when I have no hope?

₁₂Am I made of stone? Is my body bronze?

₁₃I have no strength left to save myself;

there is nowhere I can turn for help.

₁₄In trouble like this I need loyal friends —

whether I've forsaken God or not.

₁₅But you, my friends, you deceive me like streams

that go dry when no rain comes.

₁₆The streams are choked with snow and ice,

₁₇but in the heat they disappear,

and the stream beds lie bare and dry.

₁₈Caravans get lost looking for water;

they wander and die in the desert.

₁₉Caravans from Sheba and Tema search,

₂₀but their hope dies beside dry streams.

₂₁You are like those streams to me,

you see my fate and draw back in fear.

₂₂Have I asked you to give me a gift

or to bribe someone on my behalf

₂₃or to save me from some enemy or tyrant?

₂₄All right, teach me; tell me my faults.

I will be quiet and listen to you.

₂₅Honest words are convincing,

but you are talking nonsense.

₂₆You think I am talking nothing but wind;

then why do you answer my words of despair?

₂₇You would even throw dice for orphan slaves

and make yourselves rich off your closest friends!

₂₈Look me in the face. I won't lie.

₂₉You have gone far enough. Stop being unjust.

Don't condemn me. I'm in the right.

₃₀But you think I am lying —

you think I can't tell right from wrong.

₁Human life is like forced army service,

like a life of hard manual labour,

₂like slaves longing for cool shade;

like workers waiting for their pay.

₃Month after month I have nothing to live for;

night after night brings me grief.

₄When I lie down to sleep, the hours drag;

I toss all night and long for dawn.

₅My body is full of worms;

it is covered with scabs;

pus runs out of my sores.

₆My days pass by without hope,

pass faster than a weaver's shuttle.

₇Remember, O God, my life is only a breath;

my happiness has already ended.

₈You see me now, but never again.

If you look for me, I'll be gone.

_9-10Like a cloud that fades and is gone,

people die and never return;

they are forgotten by all who knew them.

₁₁No! I can't be quiet!

I am angry and bitter.

I have to speak.

₁₂Why do you keep me under guard?

Do you think I am a sea monster?

₁₃I lie down and try to rest;

I look for relief from my pain.

₁₄But you — you terrify me with dreams;

you send me visions and nightmares

₁₅until I would rather be strangled

than live in this miserable body.

₁₆I give up; I am tired of living.

Leave me alone. My life makes no sense.

₁₇Why are human beings so important to you?

Why pay attention to what they do?

₁₈You inspect them every morning

and test them every minute.

₁₉Won't you look away long enough

for me to swallow my spittle?

₂₀Are you harmed by my sin, you jailer?

Why use me for your target practice?

Am I so great a burden to you?

₂₁Can't you ever forgive my sin?

Can't you pardon the wrong I do?

Soon I will be in my grave,

and I'll be gone when you look for me.

_1-2Are you finally through with your windy speech?

₃God never twists justice;

he never fails to do what is right.

₄Your children must have sinned against God,

and so he punished them as they deserved.

₅But turn now and plead with Almighty God;

₆if you are so honest and pure,

then God will come and help you

and restore your household as your reward.

₇All the wealth you lost will be nothing

compared with what God will give you then.

₈Look for a moment at ancient wisdom;

consider the truths our ancestors learnt.

₉Our life is short, we know nothing at all;

we pass like shadows across the earth.

₁₀But let the wise ancestors teach you;

listen to what they had to say:

₁₁“Reeds can't grow where there is no water;

they are never found outside a swamp.

₁₂If the water dries up, they are the first to wither,

while still too small to be cut and used.

₁₃Godless men are like those reeds;

their hope is gone, once God is forgotten.

₁₄They trust a thread — a spider's web.

₁₅If they lean on a web, will it hold them up?

If they grab for a thread, will it help them stand?”

₁₆The wicked sprout like weeds in the sun,

like weeds that spread all through the garden.

₁₇Their roots wrap round the stones

and hold fast to every rock.

₁₈But then pull them up —

no one will ever know they were there.

₁₉Yes, that's all the joy wicked people have;

others now come and take their places.

₂₀But God will never abandon the faithful

or ever give help to evil people.

₂₁He will let you laugh and shout again,

₂₂but he will bring disgrace on those who hate you,

and the homes of the wicked will vanish.

_1-2Yes, I've heard all that before.

But how can a human being win a case against God?

₃How can anyone argue with him?

He can ask a thousand questions

that no one could ever answer.

₄God is so wise and powerful;

no one can stand up against him.

₅Without warning he moves mountains

and in anger he destroys them.

₆God sends earthquakes and shakes the ground;

he rocks the pillars that support the earth.

₇He can keep the sun from rising,

and the stars from shining at night.

₈No one helped God spread out the heavens

or trample the sea monster's back.

₉God hung the stars in the sky — the Great Bear,

Orion, the Pleiades, and the stars of the south.

₁₀We cannot understand the great things he does,

and to his miracles there is no end.

₁₁God passes by, but I cannot see him.

₁₂He takes what he wants, and no one can stop him;

no one dares ask him, “What are you doing?”

₁₃God's anger is constant. He crushed his enemies

who helped Rahab, the sea monster, oppose him.

₁₄So how can I find words to answer God?

₁₅Though I am innocent, all I can do

is beg for mercy from God my judge.

₁₆Yet even then, if he lets me speak,

I can't believe he would listen to me.

₁₇He sends storms to batter and bruise me

without any reason at all.

₁₈He won't let me get my breath;

he has filled my life with bitterness.

₁₉Should I try force? Try force on God?

Should I take him to court? Could anyone make him go?

₂₀I am innocent and faithful, but my words sound guilty,

and everything I say seems to condemn me.

_21-22I am innocent, but I no longer care.

I am sick of living. Nothing matters;

innocent or guilty, God will destroy us.

₂₃When an innocent person suddenly dies,

God laughs.

₂₄God gave the world to the wicked.

He made all the judges blind.

And if God didn't do it, who did?