Through the Bible – Day 177

Bible text(s)

Job 5

Eliphaz continues

Call out for help

1Job, call out for help

and see if an angel comes!

2Envy and jealousy

will kill a stupid fool.

3I have seen fools take root.

But God sends a curse,

suddenly uprooting them

4and leaving their children

helpless in court.

5Then hungry and greedy people

gobble up their crops

and grab their wealth.

6Our suffering isn't caused

by the failure of crops;

7it's all part of life,

like sparks shooting skyward.

8Job, if I were you,

I would ask God for help.

9His miracles are marvellous,

more than we can count.

10God sends showers on earth

and waters the fields.

11He protects the sorrowful

and lifts up those

who have been disgraced.

12-13God swiftly traps the wicked

in their own evil schemes,

and their wisdom fails.

14Darkness is their only companion,

hiding their path at midday.

15God rescues the needy

from the words of the wicked

and the fist of the mighty.

16The poor are filled with hope,

and injustice is silenced.

Consider yourself fortunate

17Consider yourself fortunate

if God All-Powerful

chooses to correct you.

18He may cause injury and pain,

but he will bandage and heal

your cuts and bruises.

19God will protect you from harm,

no matter how often

trouble may strike.

20In times of war and famine,

God will keep you safe.

21You will be sheltered,

without fear of hurtful words

or any other weapon.

22You will laugh at the threat

of destruction and famine.

And you won't be afraid

of wild animals—

23they will no longer be fierce,

and your rocky fields

will become friendly.

24Your home will be secure,

and your sheep will be safe.

25You will have more descendants

than there are blades of grass

on the face of the earth.

26You will live a long life,

and your body will be strong

until the day you die.

27Our experience has proved

these things to be true,

so listen and learn.

Job 6

Job's reply to Eliphaz

It's impossible

1Job said:

2It's impossible to weigh

my misery and grief!

3They outweigh the sand

along the beach,

and that's why I have spoken

without thinking first.

4The fearsome arrows

of God All-Powerful

have filled my soul

with their poison.

5Do oxen and wild donkeys

cry out in distress

unless they are hungry?

6What is food without salt?

What is more tasteless

than the white of an egg?

7That's how my food tastes,

and my appetite is gone.

8-9How I wish that God

would answer my prayer

and do away with me.

10Then I would be comforted,

knowing that in all my pain

I have never disobeyed God.

11Why should I patiently hope

when my strength is gone?

12I am not strong as stone

or bronze,

13and I have finally reached

the end of my rope.

My friends, I am desperate

14My friends, I am desperate,

and you should help me,

even if I no longer respect

God All-Powerful.

15-16But you are treacherous

as streams that swell

with melting snow,

17then suddenly disappear

in the summer heat.

18I am like a caravan,

lost in the desert

while searching for water.

19Caravans from Tema and Sheba

20thought they would find water.

But they were disappointed,

21just as I am with you.

Only one look at my suffering,

and you run away scared.

What have I done wrong?

22Have I ever asked any of you

to give me a gift

23or to purchase my freedom

from brutal enemies?

24What have I done wrong?

Show me,

and I will keep quiet.

25The truth is always painful,

but your arguments

prove nothing.

26Here I am desperate,

and you consider my words

as worthless as wind.

27Why, you would sell an orphan

or your own neighbour!

28Look me straight in the eye;

I won't lie to you.

29Stop accusing me falsely;

my reputation is at stake.

30I know right from wrong,

and I am not telling lies.

Job 7

Job continues

Why is life so hard?

1Why is life so hard?

Why do we suffer?

2We are slaves in search of shade;

we are labourers longing

for our wages.

3God has made my days drag on

and my nights miserable.

4I pray for night to end,

but it stretches out

while I toss and turn.

5My parched skin is covered

with worms, dirt, and sores,

6and my days are running out

quicker than the thread

of a fast-moving needle.

Don't forget!

7I beg you, God, don't forget!

My life is just a breath,

and trouble lies ahead.

8I will vanish from sight,

and no one, including you,

will ever see me again.

9I will disappear in the grave

or vanish from sight

like a passing cloud.

10Never will I return home;

soon I will be forgotten.

11And so, I cry out to you

in agony and distress.

12Am I the sea or a sea monster?

Is that why you imprison me?

13I go to bed, hoping for rest,

14but you torture me

with terrible dreams.

15-16I'd rather choke to death

than live in this body.

Leave me alone and let me die;

my life has no meaning.

17What makes you so concerned

about us humans?

18Why do you test us

from sunrise to sunset?

19Won't you look away

just long enough

for me to swallow?

20Why do you watch us so closely?

What's it to you, if I sin?

Why am I your target

and such a heavy burden?

21Why do you refuse to forgive?

Soon you won't find me,

because I'll be dead.

Job 8

Bildad's first speech

How long will you talk?

1Bildad from Shuah said:

2How long will you talk

and keep saying nothing?

3Does God All-Powerful

stand in the way of justice?

4He made your children pay

for their sins.

5So why don't you turn to him

6and start living right?

Then he will decide

to rescue and restore you

to your place of honour.

7Your future will be brighter

by far than your past.

Our ancestors were wise

8Our ancestors were wise,

so learn from them.

9Our own time has been short,

like a fading shadow,

and we know very little.

10But they will instruct you

with great understanding.

11Papyrus reeds grow healthy

only in a swamp,

12and if the water dries up,

they die sooner than grass.

13Such is the hopeless future

of all who turn from God

14and trust in something as frail

as a spider's web—

15they take hold and fall

because it's so flimsy.

16Sinful people are like plants

with spreading roots and plenty

of sun and water.

17They wrap their roots tightly

around rocks.

18But once they are pulled up,

they have no more place;

19their life slips away,

and other plants grow there.

20We know God doesn't reject

an innocent person

or help a sinner.

21And so, he will make you happy

and give you something

to smile about.

22But your evil enemies

will be put to shame

and disappear for ever.

Job 5:1-8:22CEVOpen in Bible reader

Acts 8

Philip and an Ethiopian official

26The Lord's angel said to Philip, “Go south along the desert road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So Philip left.

An important Ethiopian official happened to be going along that road in his chariot. He was the chief treasurer for Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia. The official had gone to Jerusalem to worship 28and was now on his way home. He was sitting in his chariot, reading the book of the prophet Isaiah.

29The Spirit told Philip to catch up with the chariot. 30Philip ran up close and heard the man reading aloud from the book of Isaiah. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

31The official answered, “How can I understand unless someone helps me?” He then invited Philip to come up and sit beside him.

32The man was reading the passage that said,

“He was led like a sheep

on its way to be killed.

He was silent as a lamb

whose wool

is being cut off,

and he did not say

a word.

33He was treated like a nobody

and did not receive

a fair trial.

How can he have children,

if his life

is snatched away?”

34The official said to Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or about someone else?” 35So Philip began at this place in the Scriptures and explained the good news about Jesus.

36-37As they were going along the road, they came to a place where there was some water. The official said, “Look! Here is some water. Why can't I be baptized?” 38He ordered the chariot to stop. Then they both went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

39After they had come out of the water, the Lord's Spirit took Philip away. The official never saw him again, but he was very happy as he went on his way.

40Philip later appeared in Azotus. He went from town to town, all the way to Caesarea, telling people about Jesus.

Acts 8:26-40CEVOpen in Bible reader
Canadian Bible Societyv.4.26.9
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