Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 11

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 11

Job 34-35 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – August 11

Bible reading based on Job 34-35 (NIV84)

See series: Through My Bible

Job 34

1Then Elihu said:

2 “Hear my words, you wise men;
listen to me, you men of learning.

3 For the ear tests words
as the tongue tastes food.

4 Let us discern for ourselves what is right;
let us learn together what is good.

5 “Job says, ‘I am innocent,
but God denies me justice.

6 Although I am right,
I am considered a liar;
although I am guiltless,
his arrow inflicts an incurable wound.’

7 What man is like Job,
who drinks scorn like water?

8 He keeps company with evildoers;
he associates with wicked men.

9 For he says, ‘It profits a man nothing
when he tries to please God.’

10 “So listen to me, you men of understanding.
Far be it from God to do evil,
from the Almighty to do wrong.

11 He repays a man for what he has done;
he brings upon him what his conduct deserves.

12 It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,
that the Almighty would pervert justice.

13 Who appointed him over the earth?
Who put him in charge of the whole world?

14 If it were his intention
and he withdrew his spirit [a]and breath,

15 all mankind would perish together
and man would return to the dust.

16 “If you have understanding, hear this;
listen to what I say.

17 Can he who hates justice govern?
Will you condemn the just and mighty One?

18 Is he not the One who says to kings, ‘You are worthless,’
and to nobles, ‘You are wicked,’

19 who shows no partiality to princes
and does not favor the rich over the poor,
for they are all the work of his hands?

20 They die in an instant, in the middle of the night;
the people are shaken and they pass away;
the mighty are removed without human hand.

21 “His eyes are on the ways of men;
he sees their every step.

22 There is no dark place, no deep shadow,
where evildoers can hide.

23 God has no need to examine men further,
that they should come before him for judgment.

24 Without inquiry he shatters the mighty
and sets up others in their place.

25 Because he takes note of their deeds,
he overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.

26 He punishes them for their wickedness
where everyone can see them,

27 because they turned from following him
and had no regard for any of his ways.

28 They caused the cry of the poor to come before him,
so that he heard the cry of the needy.

29 But if he remains silent, who can condemn him?
If he hides his face, who can see him?
Yet he is over man and nation alike,

30 to keep a godless man from ruling,
from laying snares for the people.

31 “Suppose a man says to God,
‘I am guilty but will offend no more.

32 Teach me what I cannot see;
if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.’

33 Should God then reward you on your terms,
when you refuse to repent?
You must decide, not I;
so tell me what you know.

34 “Men of understanding declare,
wise men who hear me say to me,

35 ‘Job speaks without knowledge;
his words lack insight.’

36 Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost
for answering like a wicked man!

37 To his sin he adds rebellion;
scornfully he claps his hands among us
and multiplies his words against God.”

Job 35

1Then Elihu said:

2 “Do you think this is just?
You say, ‘I will be cleared by God. [b]‘

3 Yet you ask him, ‘What profit is it to me, [c]
and what do I gain by not sinning?’

4 “I would like to reply to you
and to your friends with you.

5 Look up at the heavens and see;
gaze at the clouds so high above you.

6 If you sin, how does that affect him?
If your sins are many, what does that do to him?

7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him,
or what does he receive from your hand?

8 Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself,
and your righteousness only the sons of men.

9 “Men cry out under a load of oppression;
they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.

10 But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
who gives songs in the night,

11 who teaches more to us than to [d] the beasts of the earth
and makes us wiser than [e]the birds of the air?’

12 He does not answer when men cry out
because of the arrogance of the wicked.

13 Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea;
the Almighty pays no attention to it.

14 How much less, then, will he listen
when you say that you do not see him,
that your case is before him
and you must wait for him,

15 and further, that his anger never punishes
and he does not take the least notice of wickedness. [f]

16 So Job opens his mouth with empty talk;
without knowledge he multiplies words.”



Footnotes:

  1. Job 34:14 Or Spirit
  2. Job 35:2 Or My righteousness is more than God’s
  3. Job 35:3 Or you
  4. Job 35:11 Or teaches us by
  5. Job 35:11 Or us wise by
  6. Job 35:15 Symmachus, Theodotion and Vulgate; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 10

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 10

Job 32-33 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – August 10

Bible reading based on Job 32-33 (NIV84)

See series: Through My Bible

Job 32

Elihu

1 So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. 3 He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him. [a] 4 Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. 5But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.

6 So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said:
“I am young in years,
and you are old;
that is why I was fearful,
not daring to tell you what I know.

7 I thought, ‘Age should speak;
advanced years should teach wisdom.’

8 But it is the spirit [b] in a man,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.

9 It is not only the old [c] who are wise,
not only the aged who understand what is right.

10 “Therefore I say: Listen to me;
I too will tell you what I know.

11 I waited while you spoke,
I listened to your reasoning;
while you were searching for words,

12 I gave you my full attention.
But not one of you has proved Job wrong;
none of you has answered his arguments.

13 Do not say, ‘We have found wisdom;
let God refute him, not man.’

14 But Job has not marshaled his words against me,
and I will not answer him with your arguments.

15 “They are dismayed and have no more to say;
words have failed them.

16 Must I wait, now that they are silent,
now that they stand there with no reply?

17 I too will have my say;
I too will tell what I know.

18 For I am full of words,
and the spirit within me compels me;

19 inside I am like bottled-up wine,
like new wineskins ready to burst.

20 I must speak and find relief;
I must open my lips and reply.

21 I will show partiality to no one,
nor will I flatter any man;

22 for if I were skilled in flattery,
my Maker would soon take me away.

Job 33

1 “But now, Job, listen to my words;
pay attention to everything I say.

2 I am about to open my mouth;
my words are on the tip of my tongue.

3 My words come from an upright heart;
my lips sincerely speak what I know.

4 The Spirit of God has made me;
the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

5 Answer me then, if you can;
prepare yourself and confront me.

6 I am just like you before God;
I too have been taken from clay.

7 No fear of me should alarm you,
nor should my hand be heavy upon you.

8 “But you have said in my hearing—
I heard the very words-

9 ‘I am pure and without sin;
I am clean and free from guilt.

10 Yet God has found fault with me;
he considers me his enemy.

11 He fastens my feet in shackles;
he keeps close watch on all my paths.’

12 “But I tell you, in this you are not right,
for God is greater than man.

13 Why do you complain to him
that he answers none of man’s words [d]?

14 For God does speak—now one way, now another—
though man may not perceive it.

15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men
as they slumber in their beds,

16 he may speak in their ears
and terrify them with warnings,

17 to turn man from wrongdoing
and keep him from pride,

18 to preserve his soul from the pit, [e]
his life from perishing by the sword. [f]

19 Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain
with constant distress in his bones,

20 so that his very being finds food repulsive
and his soul loathes the choicest meal.

21 His flesh wastes away to nothing,
and his bones, once hidden, now stick out.

22 His soul draws near to the pit, [g]
and his life to the messengers of death. [h]

23 “Yet if there is an angel on his side
as a mediator, one out of a thousand,
to tell a man what is right for him,

24 to be gracious to him and say,
‘Spare him from going down to the pit [i] ;
I have found a ransom for him’-

25 then his flesh is renewed like a child’s;
it is restored as in the days of his youth.

26 He prays to God and finds favor with him,
he sees God’s face and shouts for joy;
he is restored by God to his righteous state.

27 Then he comes to men and says,
‘I sinned, and perverted what was right,
but I did not get what I deserved.

28 He redeemed my soul from going down to the pit, [j]
and I will live to enjoy the light.’

29 “God does all these things to a man—
twice, even three times-

30 to turn back his soul from the pit, [k]
that the light of life may shine on him.

31 “Pay attention, Job, and listen to me;
be silent, and I will speak.

32 If you have anything to say, answer me;
speak up, for I want you to be cleared.

33 But if not, then listen to me;
be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”



Footnotes:

  1. Job 32:3 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition Job, and so had condemned God
  2. Job 32:8 Or Spirit ; also in verse 18
  3. Job 32:9 Or many ; or great
  4. Job 33:13 Or that he does not answer for any of his actions
  5. Job 33:18 Or preserve him from the grave
  6. Job 33:18 Or from crossing the River
  7. Job 33:22 Or He draws near to the grave
  8. Job 33:22 Or to the dead
  9. Job 33:24 Or grave
  10. Job 33:28 Or redeemed me from going down to the grave
  11. Job 33:30 Or turn him back from the grave


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 9

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 9

Job 30-31 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – August 9

Bible reading based on Job 30-31 (NIV84)

See series: Through My Bible

Job 30

1 “But now they mock me,
men younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to put with my sheep dogs.

2 Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,
since their vigor had gone from them?

3 Haggard from want and hunger,
they roamed [a] the parched land
in desolate wastelands at night.

4 In the brush they gathered salt herbs,
and their food [b]was the root of the broom tree.

5 They were banished from their fellow men,
shouted at as if they were thieves.

6 They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,
among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

7 They brayed among the bushes
and huddled in the undergrowth.

8 A base and nameless brood,
they were driven out of the land.

9 “And now their sons mock me in song;
I have become a byword among them.

10 They detest me and keep their distance;
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

11 Now that God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me,
they throw off restraint in my presence.

12 On my right the tribe [c] attacks;
they lay snares for my feet,
they build their siege ramps against me.

13 They break up my road;
they succeed in destroying me—
without anyone’s helping them. [d]

14 They advance as through a gaping breach;
amid the ruins they come rolling in.

15 Terrors overwhelm me;
my dignity is driven away as by the wind,
my safety vanishes like a cloud.

16 “And now my life ebbs away;
days of suffering grip me.

17 Night pierces my bones;
my gnawing pains never rest.

18 In his great power God becomes like clothing to me [e] ;
he binds me like the neck of my garment.

19 He throws me into the mud,
and I am reduced to dust and ashes.

20 “I cry out to you, O God, but you do not answer;
I stand up, but you merely look at me.

21 You turn on me ruthlessly;
with the might of your hand you attack me.

22 You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;
you toss me about in the storm.

23 I know you will bring me down to death,
to the place appointed for all the living.

24 “Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man
when he cries for help in his distress.

25 Have I not wept for those in trouble?
Has not my soul grieved for the poor?

26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, then came darkness.

27 The churning inside me never stops;
days of suffering confront me.

28 I go about blackened, but not by the sun;
I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.

29 I have become a brother of jackals,
a companion of owls.

30 My skin grows black and peels;
my body burns with fever.

31 My harp is tuned to mourning,
and my flute to the sound of wailing.

Job 31

1 “I made a covenant with my eyes
not to look lustfully at a girl.

2 For what is man’s lot from God above,
his heritage from the Almighty on high?

3 Is it not ruin for the wicked,
disaster for those who do wrong?

4 Does he not see my ways
and count my every step?

5 “If I have walked in falsehood
or my foot has hurried after deceit-

6 let God weigh me in honest scales
and he will know that I am blameless-

7 if my steps have turned from the path,
if my heart has been led by my eyes,
or if my hands have been defiled,

8 then may others eat what I have sown,
and may my crops be uprooted.

9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,

10 then may my wife grind another man’s grain,
and may other men sleep with her.

11 For that would have been shameful,
a sin to be judged.

12 It is a fire that burns to Destruction [f] ;
it would have uprooted my harvest.

13 “If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants
when they had a grievance against me,

14 what will I do when God confronts me?
What will I answer when called to account?

15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?

16 “If I have denied the desires of the poor
or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,

17 if I have kept my bread to myself,
not sharing it with the fatherless-

18 but from my youth I reared him as would a father,
and from my birth I guided the widow-

19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,
or a needy man without a garment,

20 and his heart did not bless me
for warming him with the fleece from my sheep,

21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
knowing that I had influence in court,

22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
let it be broken off at the joint.

23 For I dreaded destruction from God,
and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.

24 “If I have put my trust in gold
or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’

25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,
the fortune my hands had gained,

26 if I have regarded the sun in its radiance
or the moon moving in splendor,

27 so that my heart was secretly enticed
and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,

28 then these also would be sins to be judged,
for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.

29 “If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune
or gloated over the trouble that came to him-

30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin
by invoking a curse against his life-

31 if the men of my household have never said,
‘Who has not had his fill of Job’s meat?’-

32 but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,
for my door was always open to the traveler-

33 if I have concealed my sin as men do, [g]
by hiding my guilt in my heart

34 because I so feared the crowd
and so dreaded the contempt of the clans
that I kept silent and would not go outside

35 (“Oh, that I had someone to hear me!
I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;
let my accuser put his indictment in writing.

36 Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,
I would put it on like a crown.

37 I would give him an account of my every step;
like a prince I would approach him.)-

38 “if my land cries out against me
and all its furrows are wet with tears,

39 if I have devoured its yield without payment
or broken the spirit of its tenants,

40 then let briers come up instead of wheat
and weeds instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.



Footnotes:

  1. Job 30:3 Or gnawed
  2. Job 30:4 Or fuel
  3. Job 30:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  4. Job 30:13 Or me. / ‘No one can help him,’ they say .
  5. Job 30:18 Hebrew; Septuagint God grasps my clothing
  6. Job 31:12 Hebrew Abaddon
  7. Job 31:33 Or as Adam did


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 8

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 8

Job 28-29 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – August 8

Bible reading based on Job 28-29 (NIV84)

See series: Through My Bible

Job 28

1 “There is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.

2 Iron is taken from the earth,
and copper is smelted from ore.

3 Man puts an end to the darkness;
he searches the farthest recesses
for ore in the blackest darkness.

4 Far from where people dwell he cuts a shaft,
in places forgotten by the foot of man;
far from men he dangles and sways.

5 The earth, from which food comes,
is transformed below as by fire;

6 sapphires [a] come from its rocks,
and its dust contains nuggets of gold.

7 No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
no falcon’s eye has seen it.

8 Proud beasts do not set foot on it,
and no lion prowls there.

9 Man’s hand assaults the flinty rock
and lays bare the roots of the mountains.

10 He tunnels through the rock;
his eyes see all its treasures.

11 He searches [b] the sources of the rivers
and brings hidden things to light.

12 “But where can wisdom be found?
Where does understanding dwell?

13 Man does not comprehend its worth;
it cannot be found in the land of the living.

14 The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

15 It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
nor can its price be weighed in silver.

16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,
with precious onyx or sapphires.

17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,
nor can it be had for jewels of gold.

18 Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention;
the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.

19 The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it;
it cannot be bought with pure gold.

20 “Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?

21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds of the air.

22 Destruction [c] and Death say,
‘Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.’

23 God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,

24 for he views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.

25 When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,

26 when he made a decree for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm,

27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.

28 And he said to man,
‘The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.’ ”

Job 29

1Job continued his discourse:

2 “How I long for the months gone by,
for the days when God watched over me,

3 when his lamp shone upon my head
and by his light I walked through darkness!

4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house,

5 when the Almighty was still with me
and my children were around me,

6 when my path was drenched with cream
and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.

7 “When I went to the gate of the city
and took my seat in the public square,

8 the young men saw me and stepped aside
and the old men rose to their feet;

9 the chief men refrained from speaking
and covered their mouths with their hands;

10 the voices of the nobles were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.

11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
and those who saw me commended me,

12 because I rescued the poor who cried for help,
and the fatherless who had none to assist him.

13 The man who was dying blessed me;
I made the widow’s heart sing.

14 I put on righteousness as my clothing;
justice was my robe and my turban.

15 I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.

16 I was a father to the needy;
I took up the case of the stranger.

17 I broke the fangs of the wicked
and snatched the victims from their teeth.

18 “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,
my days as numerous as the grains of sand.

19 My roots will reach to the water,
and the dew will lie all night on my branches.

20 My glory will remain fresh in me,
the bow ever new in my hand.’

21 “Men listened to me expectantly,
waiting in silence for my counsel.

22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more;
my words fell gently on their ears.

23 They waited for me as for showers
and drank in my words as the spring rain.

24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;
the light of my face was precious to them. [d]

25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;
I dwelt as a king among his troops;
I was like one who comforts mourners.



Footnotes:

  1. Job 28:6 Or lapis lazuli ; also in verse 16
  2. Job 28:11 Septuagint, Aquila and Vulgate; Hebrew He dams up
  3. Job 28:22 Hebrew Abaddon
  4. Job 29:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 7

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 7

Job 25-27 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – August 7

Bible reading based on Job 25-27 (NIV84)

See series: Through My Bible

Job 25

Bildad

1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2 “Dominion and awe belong to God;
he establishes order in the heights of heaven.

3 Can his forces be numbered?
Upon whom does his light not rise?

4 How then can a man be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?

5 If even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his eyes,

6 how much less man, who is but a maggot—
a son of man, who is only a worm!”

Job 26

Job

1Then Job replied:

2 “How you have helped the powerless!
How you have saved the arm that is feeble!

3 What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
And what great insight you have displayed!

4 Who has helped you utter these words?
And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?

5 “The dead are in deep anguish,
those beneath the waters and all that live in them.

6 Death [a] is naked before God;
Destruction [b]lies uncovered.

7 He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.

8 He wraps up the waters in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.

9 He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds over it.

10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters
for a boundary between light and darkness.

11 The pillars of the heavens quake,
aghast at his rebuke.

12 By his power he churned up the sea;
by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces.

13 By his breath the skies became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.

14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”

Job 27

1And Job continued his discourse:

2 “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,
the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of soul,

3 as long as I have life within me,
the breath of God in my nostrils,

4 my lips will not speak wickedness,
and my tongue will utter no deceit.

5 I will never admit you are in the right;
till I die, I will not deny my integrity.

6 I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it;
my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.

7 “May my enemies be like the wicked,
my adversaries like the unjust!

8 For what hope has the godless when he is cut off,
when God takes away his life?

9 Does God listen to his cry
when distress comes upon him?

10 Will he find delight in the Almighty?
Will he call upon God at all times?

11 “I will teach you about the power of God;
the ways of the Almighty I will not conceal.

12 You have all seen this yourselves.
Why then this meaningless talk?

13 “Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,
the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:

14 However many his children, their fate is the sword;
his offspring will never have enough to eat.

15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
and their widows will not weep for them.

16 Though he heaps up silver like dust
and clothes like piles of clay,

17 what he lays up the righteous will wear,
and the innocent will divide his silver.

18 The house he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,
like a hut made by a watchman.

19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;
when he opens his eyes, all is gone.

20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;
a tempest snatches him away in the night.

21 The east wind carries him off, and he is gone;
it sweeps him out of his place.

22 It hurls itself against him without mercy
as he flees headlong from its power.

23 It claps its hands in derision
and hisses him out of his place.



Footnotes:

  1. Job 23:2 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew / the hand on me
  2. Job 23:2 Or heavy on me in
  3. Job 24:11 Or olives between the millstones ; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  4. Job 24:17 Or them, their morning is like the shadow of death
  5. Job 24:17 Or of the shadow of death
  6. Job 24:19 Hebrew Sheol


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 6

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 6

Job 22-24 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – August 6

Bible reading based on Job 22-24 (NIV84)

See series: Through My Bible

Job 22

Eliphaz

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2 “Can a man be of benefit to God?
Can even a wise man benefit him?

3 What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?
What would he gain if your ways were blameless?

4 “Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
and brings charges against you?

5 Is not your wickedness great?
Are not your sins endless?

6 You demanded security from your brothers for no reason;
you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them naked.

7 You gave no water to the weary
and you withheld food from the hungry,

8 though you were a powerful man, owning land—
an honored man, living on it.

9 And you sent widows away empty-handed
and broke the strength of the fatherless.

10 That is why snares are all around you,
why sudden peril terrifies you,

11 why it is so dark you cannot see,
and why a flood of water covers you.

12 “Is not God in the heights of heaven?
And see how lofty are the highest stars!

13 Yet you say, ‘What does God know?
Does he judge through such darkness?

14 Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us
as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’

15 Will you keep to the old path
that evil men have trod?

16 They were carried off before their time,
their foundations washed away by a flood.

17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do to us?’

18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,
so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked.

19 “The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;
the innocent mock them, saying,

20 ‘Surely our foes are destroyed,
and fire devours their wealth.’

21 “Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.

22 Accept instruction from his mouth
and lay up his words in your heart.

23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:
If you remove wickedness far from your tent

24 and assign your nuggets to the dust,
your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,

25 then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.

26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty
and will lift up your face to God.

27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.

28 What you decide on will be done,
and light will shine on your ways.

29 When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
then he will save the downcast.

30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

Job 23

Job

1Then Job replied:

2 “Even today my complaint is bitter;
his hand [a] is heavy in spite of [b]my groaning.

3 If only I knew where to find him;
if only I could go to his dwelling!

4 I would state my case before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.

5 I would find out what he would answer me,
and consider what he would say.

6 Would he oppose me with great power?
No, he would not press charges against me.

7 There an upright man could present his case before him,
and I would be delivered forever from my judge.

8 “But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.

9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.

10 But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

11 My feet have closely followed his steps;
I have kept to his way without turning aside.

12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?
He does whatever he pleases.

14 He carries out his decree against me,
and many such plans he still has in store.

15 That is why I am terrified before him;
when I think of all this, I fear him.

16 God has made my heart faint;
the Almighty has terrified me.

17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,
by the thick darkness that covers my face.

Job 24

1 “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment?
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?

2 Men move boundary stones;
they pasture flocks they have stolen.

3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox in pledge.

4 They thrust the needy from the path
and force all the poor of the land into hiding.

5 Like wild donkeys in the desert,
the poor go about their labor of foraging food;
the wasteland provides food for their children.

6 They gather fodder in the fields
and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.

7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.

8 They are drenched by mountain rains
and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.

9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.

10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;
they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.

11 They crush olives among the terraces [c] ;
they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.

12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.
But God charges no one with wrongdoing.

13 “There are those who rebel against the light,
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths.

14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up
and kills the poor and needy;
in the night he steals forth like a thief.

15 The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk;
he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’
and he keeps his face concealed.

16 In the dark, men break into houses,
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light.

17 For all of them, deep darkness is their morning [d] ;
they make friends with the terrors of darkness. [e]

18 “Yet they are foam on the surface of the water;
their portion of the land is cursed,
so that no one goes to the vineyards.

19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,
so the grave [f]snatches away those who have sinned.

20 The womb forgets them,
the worm feasts on them;
evil men are no longer remembered
but are broken like a tree.

21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow show no kindness.

22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;
though they become established, they have no assurance of life.

23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,
but his eyes are on their ways.

24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
they are cut off like heads of grain.

25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
and reduce my words to nothing?”



Footnotes:

  1. Job 23:2 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew / the hand on me
  2. Job 23:2 Or heavy on me in
  3. Job 24:11 Or olives between the millstones ; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  4. Job 24:17 Or them, their morning is like the shadow of death
  5. Job 24:17 Or of the shadow of death
  6. Job 24:19 Hebrew Sheol


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 5

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 5

Job 20-21 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – August 5

Bible reading based on Job 20-21 (NIV84)

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Job 20

Zophar

1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

2 “My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer
because I am greatly disturbed.

3 I hear a rebuke that dishonors me,
and my understanding inspires me to reply.

4 “Surely you know how it has been from of old,
ever since man [a]was placed on the earth,

5 that the mirth of the wicked is brief,
the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.

6 Though his pride reaches to the heavens
and his head touches the clouds,

7 he will perish forever, like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

8 Like a dream he flies away, no more to be found,
banished like a vision of the night.

9 The eye that saw him will not see him again;
his place will look on him no more.

10 His children must make amends to the poor;
his own hands must give back his wealth.

11 The youthful vigor that fills his bones
will lie with him in the dust.

12 “Though evil is sweet in his mouth
and he hides it under his tongue,

13 though he cannot bear to let it go
and keeps it in his mouth,

14 yet his food will turn sour in his stomach;
it will become the venom of serpents within him.

15 He will spit out the riches he swallowed;
God will make his stomach vomit them up.

16 He will suck the poison of serpents;
the fangs of an adder will kill him.

17 He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

18 What he toiled for he must give back uneaten;
he will not enjoy the profit from his trading.

19 For he has oppressed the poor and left them destitute;
he has seized houses he did not build.

20 “Surely he will have no respite from his craving;
he cannot save himself by his treasure.

21 Nothing is left for him to devour;
his prosperity will not endure.

22 In the midst of his plenty, distress will overtake him;
the full force of misery will come upon him.

23 When he has filled his belly,
God will vent his burning anger against him
and rain down his blows upon him.

24 Though he flees from an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.

25 He pulls it out of his back,
the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors will come over him;

26 total darkness lies in wait for his treasures.
A fire unfanned will consume him
and devour what is left in his tent.

27 The heavens will expose his guilt;
the earth will rise up against him.

28 A flood will carry off his house,
rushing waters [b]on the day of God’s wrath.

29 Such is the fate God allots the wicked,
the heritage appointed for them by God.”

Job 21

Job

1Then Job replied:

2 “Listen carefully to my words;
let this be the consolation you give me.

3 Bear with me while I speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on.

4 “Is my complaint directed to man?
Why should I not be impatient?

5 Look at me and be astonished;
clap your hand over your mouth.

6 When I think about this, I am terrified;
trembling seizes my body.

7 Why do the wicked live on,
growing old and increasing in power?

8 They see their children established around them,
their offspring before their eyes.

9 Their homes are safe and free from fear;
the rod of God is not upon them.

10 Their bulls never fail to breed;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.

11 They send forth their children as a flock;
their little ones dance about.

12 They sing to the music of tambourine and harp;
they make merry to the sound of the flute.

13 They spend their years in prosperity
and go down to the grave [c] in peace. [d]

14 Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
We have no desire to know your ways.

15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
What would we gain by praying to him?’

16 But their prosperity is not in their own hands,
so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked.

17 “Yet how often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out?
How often does calamity come upon them,
the fate God allots in his anger?

18 How often are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff swept away by a gale?

19 It is said, ‘God stores up a man’s punishment for his sons.’
Let him repay the man himself, so that he will know it!

20 Let his own eyes see his destruction;
let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty. [e]

21 For what does he care about the family he leaves behind
when his allotted months come to an end?

22 “Can anyone teach knowledge to God,
since he judges even the highest?

23 One man dies in full vigor,
completely secure and at ease,

24 his body [f] well nourished,
his bones rich with marrow.

25 Another man dies in bitterness of soul,
never having enjoyed anything good.

26 Side by side they lie in the dust,
and worms cover them both.

27 “I know full well what you are thinking,
the schemes by which you would wrong me.

28 You say, ‘Where now is the great man’s house,
the tents where wicked men lived?’

29 Have you never questioned those who travel?
Have you paid no regard to their accounts-

30 that the evil man is spared from the day of calamity,
that he is delivered from [g]the day of wrath?

31 Who denounces his conduct to his face?
Who repays him for what he has done?

32 He is carried to the grave,
and watch is kept over his tomb.

33 The soil in the valley is sweet to him;
all men follow after him,
and a countless throng goes [h]before him.

34 “So how can you console me with your nonsense?
Nothing is left of your answers but falsehood!”



Footnotes:

  1. Job 20:4 Or Adam
  2. Job 20:28 Or The possessions in his house will be carried off, / washed away
  3. Job 21:13 Hebrew Sheol
  4. Job 21:13 Or in an instant
  5. Job 21:20 Verses 17 and 18 may be taken as exclamations and 19 and 20 as declarations.
  6. Job 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  7. Job 21:30 Or man is reserved for the day of calamity, / that he is brought forth to
  8. Job 21:33 Or / as a countless throng went


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 4

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 4

Job 18-19 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – August 4

Bible reading based on Job 18-19 (NIV84)

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Job 18

Bildad

1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2 “When will you end these speeches?
Be sensible, and then we can talk.

3 Why are we regarded as cattle
and considered stupid in your sight?

4 You who tear yourself to pieces in your anger,
is the earth to be abandoned for your sake?
Or must the rocks be moved from their place?

5 “The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out;
the flame of his fire stops burning.

6 The light in his tent becomes dark;
the lamp beside him goes out.

7 The vigor of his step is weakened;
his own schemes throw him down.

8 His feet thrust him into a net
and he wanders into its mesh.

9 A trap seizes him by the heel;
a snare holds him fast.

10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground;
a trap lies in his path.

11 Terrors startle him on every side
and dog his every step.

12 Calamity is hungry for him;
disaster is ready for him when he falls.

13 It eats away parts of his skin;
death’s firstborn devours his limbs.

14 He is torn from the security of his tent
and marched off to the king of terrors.

15 Fire resides [a] in his tent;
burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling.

16 His roots dry up below
and his branches wither above.

17 The memory of him perishes from the earth;
he has no name in the land.

18 He is driven from light into darkness
and is banished from the world.

19 He has no offspring or descendants among his people,
no survivor where once he lived.

20 Men of the west are appalled at his fate;
men of the east are seized with horror.

21 Surely such is the dwelling of an evil man;
such is the place of one who knows not God.”

Job 19

Job

1Then Job replied:

2 “How long will you torment me
and crush me with words?

3 Ten times now you have reproached me;
shamelessly you attack me.

4 If it is true that I have gone astray,
my error remains my concern alone.

5 If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me
and use my humiliation against me,

6 then know that God has wronged me
and drawn his net around me.

7 “Though I cry, ‘I’ve been wronged!’ I get no response;
though I call for help, there is no justice.

8 He has blocked my way so I cannot pass;
he has shrouded my paths in darkness.

9 He has stripped me of my honor
and removed the crown from my head.

10 He tears me down on every side till I am gone;
he uproots my hope like a tree.

11 His anger burns against me;
he counts me among his enemies.

12 His troops advance in force;
they build a siege ramp against me
and encamp around my tent.

13 “He has alienated my brothers from me;
my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

14 My kinsmen have gone away;
my friends have forgotten me.

15 My guests and my maidservants count me a stranger;
they look upon me as an alien.

16 I summon my servant, but he does not answer,
though I beg him with my own mouth.

17 My breath is offensive to my wife;
I am loathsome to my own brothers.

18 Even the little boys scorn me;
when I appear, they ridicule me.

19 All my intimate friends detest me;
those I love have turned against me.

20 I am nothing but skin and bones;
I have escaped with only the skin of my teeth. [b]

21 “Have pity on me, my friends, have pity,
for the hand of God has struck me.

22 Why do you pursue me as God does?
Will you never get enough of my flesh?

23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,

24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on [c] lead,
or engraved in rock forever!

25 I know that my Redeemer [d] lives,
and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. [e]

26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet [f] in [g]my flesh I will see God;

27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!

28 “If you say, ‘How we will hound him,
since the root of the trouble lies in him, [h]‘

29 you should fear the sword yourselves;
for wrath will bring punishment by the sword,
and then you will know that there is judgment. [i] ”



Footnotes:

  1. Job 18:15 Or Nothing he had remains
  2. Job 19:20 Or only my gums
  3. Job 19:24 Or and
  4. Job 19:25 Or defender
  5. Job 19:25 Or upon my grave
  6. Job 19:26 Or And after I awake, / though this body has been destroyed, / then
  7. Job 19:26 Or / apart from
  8. Job 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts me
  9. Job 19:29 Or / that you may come to know the Almighty


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 3

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 3

Job 15-17 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – August 3

Bible reading based on Job 15-17 (NIV84)

See series: Through My Bible

Job 15

Eliphaz

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2 “Would a wise man answer with empty notions
or fill his belly with the hot east wind?

3 Would he argue with useless words,
with speeches that have no value?

4 But you even undermine piety
and hinder devotion to God.

5 Your sin prompts your mouth;
you adopt the tongue of the crafty.

6 Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
your own lips testify against you.

7 “Are you the first man ever born?
Were you brought forth before the hills?

8 Do you listen in on God’s council?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

9 What do you know that we do not know?
What insights do you have that we do not have?

10 The gray-haired and the aged are on our side,
men even older than your father.

11 Are God’s consolations not enough for you,
words spoken gently to you?

12 Why has your heart carried you away,
and why do your eyes flash,

13 so that you vent your rage against God
and pour out such words from your mouth?

14 “What is man, that he could be pure,
or one born of woman, that he could be righteous?

15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,
if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,

16 how much less man, who is vile and corrupt,
who drinks up evil like water!

17 “Listen to me and I will explain to you;
let me tell you what I have seen,

18 what wise men have declared,
hiding nothing received from their fathers

19 (to whom alone the land was given
when no alien passed among them):

20 All his days the wicked man suffers torment,
the ruthless through all the years stored up for him.

21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;
when all seems well, marauders attack him.

22 He despairs of escaping the darkness;
he is marked for the sword.

23 He wanders about—food for vultures [a] ;
he knows the day of darkness is at hand.

24 Distress and anguish fill him with terror;
they overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack,

25 because he shakes his fist at God
and vaunts himself against the Almighty,

26 defiantly charging against him
with a thick, strong shield.

27 “Though his face is covered with fat
and his waist bulges with flesh,

28 he will inhabit ruined towns
and houses where no one lives,
houses crumbling to rubble.

29 He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,
nor will his possessions spread over the land.

30 He will not escape the darkness;
a flame will wither his shoots,
and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.

31 Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless,
for he will get nothing in return.

32 Before his time he will be paid in full,
and his branches will not flourish.

33 He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,
like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.

34 For the company of the godless will be barren,
and fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes.

35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;
their womb fashions deceit.”

Job 16

Job

1Then Job replied:

2 “I have heard many things like these;
miserable comforters are you all!

3 Will your long-winded speeches never end?
What ails you that you keep on arguing?

4 I also could speak like you,
if you were in my place;
I could make fine speeches against you
and shake my head at you.

5 But my mouth would encourage you;
comfort from my lips would bring you relief.

6 “Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved;
and if I refrain, it does not go away.

7 Surely, O God, you have worn me out;
you have devastated my entire household.

8 You have bound me—and it has become a witness;
my gauntness rises up and testifies against me.

9 God assails me and tears me in his anger
and gnashes his teeth at me;
my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes.

10 Men open their mouths to jeer at me;
they strike my cheek in scorn
and unite together against me.

11 God has turned me over to evil men
and thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.

12 All was well with me, but he shattered me;
he seized me by the neck and crushed me.
He has made me his target;

13 his archers surround me.
Without pity, he pierces my kidneys
and spills my gall on the ground.

14 Again and again he bursts upon me;
he rushes at me like a warrior.

15 “I have sewed sackcloth over my skin
and buried my brow in the dust.

16 My face is red with weeping,
deep shadows ring my eyes;

17 yet my hands have been free of violence
and my prayer is pure.

18 “O earth, do not cover my blood;
may my cry never be laid to rest!

19 Even now my witness is in heaven;
my advocate is on high.

20 My intercessor is my friend [b]
as my eyes pour out tears to God;

21 on behalf of a man he pleads with God
as a man pleads for his friend.

22 “Only a few years will pass
before I go on the journey of no return.

Job 17

1 My spirit is broken,
my days are cut short,
the grave awaits me.

2 Surely mockers surround me;
my eyes must dwell on their hostility.

3 “Give me, O God, the pledge you demand.
Who else will put up security for me?

4 You have closed their minds to understanding;
therefore you will not let them triumph.

5 If a man denounces his friends for reward,
the eyes of his children will fail.

6 “God has made me a byword to everyone,
a man in whose face people spit.

7 My eyes have grown dim with grief;
my whole frame is but a shadow.

8 Upright men are appalled at this;
the innocent are aroused against the ungodly.

9 Nevertheless, the righteous will hold to their ways,
and those with clean hands will grow stronger.

10 “But come on, all of you, try again!
I will not find a wise man among you.

11 My days have passed, my plans are shattered,
and so are the desires of my heart.

12 These men turn night into day;
in the face of darkness they say, ‘Light is near.’

13 If the only home I hope for is the grave, [c]
if I spread out my bed in darkness,

14 if I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’
and to the worm, ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister,’

15 where then is my hope?
Who can see any hope for me?

16 Will it go down to the gates of death [d] ?
Will we descend together into the dust?”



Footnotes:

  1. Job 15:23 Or about, looking for food
  2. Job 16:20 Or My friends treat me with scorn
  3. Job 17:13 Hebrew Sheol
  4. Job 17:16 Hebrew Sheol


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 2

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 2

Job 13-14 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – August 2

Bible reading based on Job 13-14 (NIV84)

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Job 13

1 “My eyes have seen all this,
my ears have heard and understood it.

2 What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.

3 But I desire to speak to the Almighty
and to argue my case with God.

4 You, however, smear me with lies;
you are worthless physicians, all of you!

5 If only you would be altogether silent!
For you, that would be wisdom.

6 Hear now my argument;
listen to the plea of my lips.

7 Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf?
Will you speak deceitfully for him?

8 Will you show him partiality?
Will you argue the case for God?

9 Would it turn out well if he examined you?
Could you deceive him as you might deceive men?

10 He would surely rebuke you
if you secretly showed partiality.

11 Would not his splendor terrify you?
Would not the dread of him fall on you?

12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;
your defenses are defenses of clay.

13 “Keep silent and let me speak;
then let come to me what may.

14 Why do I put myself in jeopardy
and take my life in my hands?

15 Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;
I will surely [a]defend my ways to his face.

16 Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance,
for no godless man would dare come before him!

17 Listen carefully to my words;
let your ears take in what I say.

18 Now that I have prepared my case,
I know I will be vindicated.

19 Can anyone bring charges against me?
If so, I will be silent and die.

20 “Only grant me these two things, O God,
and then I will not hide from you:

21 Withdraw your hand far from me,
and stop frightening me with your terrors.

22 Then summon me and I will answer,
or let me speak, and you reply.

23 How many wrongs and sins have I committed?
Show me my offense and my sin.

24 Why do you hide your face
and consider me your enemy?

25 Will you torment a windblown leaf?
Will you chase after dry chaff?

26 For you write down bitter things against me
and make me inherit the sins of my youth.

27 You fasten my feet in shackles;
you keep close watch on all my paths
by putting marks on the soles of my feet.

28 “So man wastes away like something rotten,
like a garment eaten by moths.

Job 14

1 “Man born of woman
is of few days and full of trouble.

2 He springs up like a flower and withers away;
like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

3 Do you fix your eye on such a one?
Will you bring him [b]before you for judgment?

4 Who can bring what is pure from the impure?
No one!

5 Man’s days are determined;
you have decreed the number of his months
and have set limits he cannot exceed.

6 So look away from him and let him alone,
till he has put in his time like a hired man.

7 “At least there is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its new shoots will not fail.

8 Its roots may grow old in the ground
and its stump die in the soil,

9 yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put forth shoots like a plant.

10 But man dies and is laid low;
he breathes his last and is no more.

11 As water disappears from the sea
or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,

12 so man lies down and does not rise;
till the heavens are no more, men will not awake
or be roused from their sleep.

13 “If only you would hide me in the grave [c]
and conceal me till your anger has passed!
If only you would set me a time
and then remember me!

14 If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my hard service
I will wait for my renewal [d]to come.

15 You will call and I will answer you;
you will long for the creature your hands have made.

16 Surely then you will count my steps
but not keep track of my sin.

17 My offenses will be sealed up in a bag;
you will cover over my sin.

18 “But as a mountain erodes and crumbles
and as a rock is moved from its place,

19 as water wears away stones
and torrents wash away the soil,
so you destroy man’s hope.

20 You overpower him once for all, and he is gone;
you change his countenance and send him away.

21 If his sons are honored, he does not know it;
if they are brought low, he does not see it.

22 He feels but the pain of his own body
and mourns only for himself.”



Footnotes:

  1. Job 13:15 Or He will surely slay me; I have no hope—/ yet I will
  2. Job 14:3 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew me
  3. Job 14:13 Hebrew Sheol
  4. Job 14:14 Or release


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 1

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – August 1

Job 11-12 (NIV84)


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Bible reading based on Job 11-12 (NIV84)

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Job 11

Zophar

1Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

2 “Are all these words to go unanswered?
Is this talker to be vindicated?

3 Will your idle talk reduce men to silence?
Will no one rebuke you when you mock?

4 You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless
and I am pure in your sight.’

5 Oh, how I wish that God would speak,
that he would open his lips against you

6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.

7 “Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?

8 They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than the depths of the grave [a]—what can you know?

9 Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.

10 “If he comes along and confines you in prison
and convenes a court, who can oppose him?

11 Surely he recognizes deceitful men;
and when he sees evil, does he not take note?

12 But a witless man can no more become wise
than a wild donkey’s colt can be born a man. [b]

13 “Yet if you devote your heart to him
and stretch out your hands to him,

14 if you put away the sin that is in your hand
and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,

15 then you will lift up your face without shame;
you will stand firm and without fear.

16 You will surely forget your trouble,
recalling it only as waters gone by.

17 Life will be brighter than noonday,
and darkness will become like morning.

18 You will be secure, because there is hope;
you will look about you and take your rest in safety.

19 You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,
and many will court your favor.

20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
and escape will elude them;
their hope will become a dying gasp.”

Job 12

Job

1Then Job replied:

2 “Doubtless you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!

3 But I have a mind as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know all these things?

4 “I have become a laughingstock to my friends,
though I called upon God and he answered—
a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!

5 Men at ease have contempt for misfortune
as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

6 The tents of marauders are undisturbed,
and those who provoke God are secure—
those who carry their god in their hands. [c]

7 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;

8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish of the sea inform you.

9 Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the LORD has done this?

10 In his hand is the life of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.

11 Does not the ear test words
as the tongue tastes food?

12 Is not wisdom found among the aged?
Does not long life bring understanding?

13 “To God belong wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his.

14 What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
the man he imprisons cannot be released.

15 If he holds back the waters, there is drought;
if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.

16 To him belong strength and victory;
both deceived and deceiver are his.

17 He leads counselors away stripped
and makes fools of judges.

18 He takes off the shackles put on by kings
and ties a loincloth [d]around their waist.

19 He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows men long established.

20 He silences the lips of trusted advisers
and takes away the discernment of elders.

21 He pours contempt on nobles
and disarms the mighty.

22 He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings deep shadows into the light.

23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and disperses them.

24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;
he sends them wandering through a trackless waste.

25 They grope in darkness with no light;
he makes them stagger like drunkards.



Footnotes:

  1. Job 11:8 Hebrew than Sheol
  2. Job 11:12 Or wild donkey can be born tame
  3. Job 12:6 Or secure / in what God’s hand brings them
  4. Job 12:18 Or shackles of kings / and ties a belt


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 31

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 31

Job 9:25-10:22 (NIV84)


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Bible reading based on Job 9:25-10:22 (NIV84)

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 25 “My days are swifter than a runner;
they fly away without a glimpse of joy.

26 They skim past like boats of papyrus,
like eagles swooping down on their prey.

27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will change my expression, and smile,’

28 I still dread all my sufferings,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.

29 Since I am already found guilty,
why should I struggle in vain?

30 Even if I washed myself with soap [a]
and my hands with washing soda,

31 you would plunge me into a slime pit
so that even my clothes would detest me.

32 “He is not a man like me that I might answer him,
that we might confront each other in court.

33 If only there were someone to arbitrate between us,
to lay his hand upon us both,

34 someone to remove God’s rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.

35 Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot.

Job 10

1 “I loathe my very life;
therefore I will give free rein to my complaint
and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.

2 I will say to God: Do not condemn me,
but tell me what charges you have against me.

3 Does it please you to oppress me,
to spurn the work of your hands,
while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?

4 Do you have eyes of flesh?
Do you see as a mortal sees?

5 Are your days like those of a mortal
or your years like those of a man,

6 that you must search out my faults
and probe after my sin-

7 though you know that I am not guilty
and that no one can rescue me from your hand?

8 “Your hands shaped me and made me.
Will you now turn and destroy me?

9 Remember that you molded me like clay.
Will you now turn me to dust again?

10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese,

11 clothe me with skin and flesh
and knit me together with bones and sinews?

12 You gave me life and showed me kindness,
and in your providence watched over my spirit.

13 “But this is what you concealed in your heart,
and I know that this was in your mind:

14 If I sinned, you would be watching me
and would not let my offense go unpunished.

15 If I am guilty—woe to me!
Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head,
for I am full of shame
and drowned in [b]my affliction.

16 If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion
and again display your awesome power against me.

17 You bring new witnesses against me
and increase your anger toward me;
your forces come against me wave upon wave.

18 “Why then did you bring me out of the womb?
I wish I had died before any eye saw me.

19 If only I had never come into being,
or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!

20 Are not my few days almost over?
Turn away from me so I can have a moment’s joy

21 before I go to the place of no return,
to the land of gloom and deep shadow, [c]

22 to the land of deepest night,
of deep shadow and disorder,
where even the light is like darkness.”



Footnotes:

  1. Job 9:30 Or snow
  2. Job 10:15 Or and aware of
  3. Job 10:21 Or and the shadow of death ; also in verse 22


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 30

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 30

Job 8-9:24 (NIV84)


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Bible reading based on Job 8-9:24 (NIV84)

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Job 8

Bildad

1Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:

2 “How long will you say such things?
Your words are a blustering wind.

3 Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

4 When your children sinned against him,
he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.

5 But if you will look to God
and plead with the Almighty,

6 if you are pure and upright,
even now he will rouse himself on your behalf
and restore you to your rightful place.

7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
so prosperous will your future be.

8 “Ask the former generations
and find out what their fathers learned,

9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,
and our days on earth are but a shadow.

10 Will they not instruct you and tell you?
Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?

11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
Can reeds thrive without water?

12 While still growing and uncut,
they wither more quickly than grass.

13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.

14 What he trusts in is fragile [a] ;
what he relies on is a spider’s web.

15 He leans on his web, but it gives way;
he clings to it, but it does not hold.

16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots over the garden;

17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.

18 But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’

19 Surely its life withers away,
and [b]from the soil other plants grow.

20 “Surely God does not reject a blameless man
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.

21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.

22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be no more.”

Job 9

Job

1Then Job replied:

2 “Indeed, I know that this is true.
But how can a mortal be righteous before God?

3 Though one wished to dispute with him,
he could not answer him one time out of a thousand.

4 His wisdom is profound, his power is vast.
Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?

5 He moves mountains without their knowing it
and overturns them in his anger.

6 He shakes the earth from its place
and makes its pillars tremble.

7 He speaks to the sun and it does not shine;
he seals off the light of the stars.

8 He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads on the waves of the sea.

9 He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

10 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.

11 When he passes me, I cannot see him;
when he goes by, I cannot perceive him.

12 If he snatches away, who can stop him?
Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

13 God does not restrain his anger;
even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.

14 “How then can I dispute with him?
How can I find words to argue with him?

15 Though I were innocent, I could not answer him;
I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.

16 Even if I summoned him and he responded,
I do not believe he would give me a hearing.

17 He would crush me with a storm
and multiply my wounds for no reason.

18 He would not let me regain my breath
but would overwhelm me with misery.

19 If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty!
And if it is a matter of justice, who will summon him [c]?

20 Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me;
if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty.

21 “Although I am blameless,
I have no concern for myself;
I despise my own life.

22 It is all the same; that is why I say,
‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

23 When a scourge brings sudden death,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.

24 When a land falls into the hands of the wicked,
he blindfolds its judges.
If it is not he, then who is it?



Footnotes:

  1. Job 8:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  2. Job 8:19 Or Surely all the joy it has / is that
  3. Job 9:19 See Septuagint; Hebrew me .


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 29

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 29

Job 6-7 (NIV84)

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Bible reading based on Job 6-7 (NIV84)

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Job 6

Job

1Then Job replied:

2 “If only my anguish could be weighed
and all my misery be placed on the scales!

3 It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—
no wonder my words have been impetuous.

4 The arrows of the Almighty are in me,
my spirit drinks in their poison;
God’s terrors are marshaled against me.

5 Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass,
or an ox bellow when it has fodder?

6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
or is there flavor in the white of an egg [a]?

7 I refuse to touch it;
such food makes me ill.

8 “Oh, that I might have my request,
that God would grant what I hope for,

9 that God would be willing to crush me,
to let loose his hand and cut me off!

10 Then I would still have this consolation—
my joy in unrelenting pain—
that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.

11 “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
What prospects, that I should be patient?

12 Do I have the strength of stone?
Is my flesh bronze?

13 Do I have any power to help myself,
now that success has been driven from me?

14 “A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends,
even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,
as the streams that overflow

16 when darkened by thawing ice
and swollen with melting snow,

17 but that cease to flow in the dry season,
and in the heat vanish from their channels.

18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;
they go up into the wasteland and perish.

19 The caravans of Tema look for water,
the traveling merchants of Sheba look in hope.

20 They are distressed, because they had been confident;
they arrive there, only to be disappointed.

21 Now you too have proved to be of no help;
you see something dreadful and are afraid.

22 Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,
pay a ransom for me from your wealth,

23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
ransom me from the clutches of the ruthless’?

24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet;
show me where I have been wrong.

25 How painful are honest words!
But what do your arguments prove?

26 Do you mean to correct what I say,
and treat the words of a despairing man as wind?

27 You would even cast lots for the fatherless
and barter away your friend.

28 “But now be so kind as to look at me.
Would I lie to your face?

29 Relent, do not be unjust;
reconsider, for my integrity is at stake. [b]

30 Is there any wickedness on my lips?
Can my mouth not discern malice?

Job 7

1 “Does not man have hard service on earth?
Are not his days like those of a hired man?

2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,
or a hired man waiting eagerly for his wages,

3 so I have been allotted months of futility,
and nights of misery have been assigned to me.

4 When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’
The night drags on, and I toss till dawn.

5 My body is clothed with worms and scabs,
my skin is broken and festering.

6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
and they come to an end without hope.

7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;
my eyes will never see happiness again.

8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
you will look for me, but I will be no more.

9 As a cloud vanishes and is gone,
so he who goes down to the grave [c]does not return.

10 He will never come to his house again;
his place will know him no more.

11 “Therefore I will not keep silent;
I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit,
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

12 Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep,
that you put me under guard?

13 When I think my bed will comfort me
and my couch will ease my complaint,

14 even then you frighten me with dreams
and terrify me with visions,

15 so that I prefer strangling and death,
rather than this body of mine.

16 I despise my life; I would not live forever.
Let me alone; my days have no meaning.

17 “What is man that you make so much of him,
that you give him so much attention,

18 that you examine him every morning
and test him every moment?

19 Will you never look away from me,
or let me alone even for an instant?

20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
O watcher of men?
Why have you made me your target?
Have I become a burden to you? [d]

21 Why do you not pardon my offenses
and forgive my sins?
For I will soon lie down in the dust;
you will search for me, but I will be no more.”



Footnotes:

  1. Job 6:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Job 6:29 Or my righteousness still stands
  3. Job 7:9 Hebrew Sheol
  4. Job 7:20 A few manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition and Septuagint; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text I have become a burden to myself .


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 28

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 28

Job 4-5 (NIV84)


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Job 4

Eliphaz

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2 “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
But who can keep from speaking?

3 Think how you have instructed many,
how you have strengthened feeble hands.

4 Your words have supported those who stumbled;
you have strengthened faltering knees.

5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;
it strikes you, and you are dismayed.

6 Should not your piety be your confidence
and your blameless ways your hope?

7 “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?
Where were the upright ever destroyed?

8 As I have observed, those who plow evil
and those who sow trouble reap it.

9 At the breath of God they are destroyed;
at the blast of his anger they perish.

10 The lions may roar and growl,
yet the teeth of the great lions are broken.

11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

12 “A word was secretly brought to me,
my ears caught a whisper of it.

13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
when deep sleep falls on men,

14 fear and trembling seized me
and made all my bones shake.

15 A spirit glided past my face,
and the hair on my body stood on end.

16 It stopped,
but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
and I heard a hushed voice:

17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?
Can a man be more pure than his Maker?

18 If God places no trust in his servants,
if he charges his angels with error,

19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,
whose foundations are in the dust,
who are crushed more readily than a moth!

20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
unnoticed, they perish forever.

21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,
so that they die without wisdom?’ [a]

Job 5

1 “Call if you will, but who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 Resentment kills a fool,
and envy slays the simple.

3 I myself have seen a fool taking root,
but suddenly his house was cursed.

4 His children are far from safety,
crushed in court without a defender.

5 The hungry consume his harvest,
taking it even from among thorns,
and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

6 For hardship does not spring from the soil,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground.

7 Yet man is born to trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.

8 “But if it were I, I would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him.

9 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.

10 He bestows rain on the earth;
he sends water upon the countryside.

11 The lowly he sets on high,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.

12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.

13 He catches the wise in their craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are swept away.

14 Darkness comes upon them in the daytime;
at noon they grope as in the night.

15 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth;
he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.

16 So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.

17 “Blessed is the man whom God corrects;
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. [b]

18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;
he injures, but his hands also heal.

19 From six calamities he will rescue you;
in seven no harm will befall you.

20 In famine he will ransom you from death,
and in battle from the stroke of the sword.

21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,
and need not fear when destruction comes.

22 You will laugh at destruction and famine,
and need not fear the beasts of the earth.

23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

24 You will know that your tent is secure;
you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.

25 You will know that your children will be many,
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.

26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,
like sheaves gathered in season.

27 “We have examined this, and it is true.
So hear it and apply it to yourself.”



Footnotes:

  1. Job 4:21 Some interpreters end the quotation after verse 17.
  2. Job 5:17 Hebrew Shaddai ; here and throughout Job


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 27

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 27

Job 1-3 (NIV84)


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Job 1

Prologue

1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters, 3and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

4 His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.

Job’s First Test

6 One day the angels [a] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan [b] also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”

8Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

12 The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

13 One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

16While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

17While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, 19when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!”

20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will depart. [c]
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised.”

22In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Job 2

Job’s Second Test

1 On another day the angels [d] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.”

3Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

4 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. 5But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

6The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes.

9His wife said to him, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!”

10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish [e] woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Job’s Three Friends

11 When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. 12 When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. 13Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

Job 3

Job Speaks

1 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2He said:

3 “May the day of my birth perish,
and the night it was said, ‘A boy is born!’

4 That day—may it turn to darkness;
may God above not care about it;
may no light shine upon it.

5 May darkness and deep shadow [f] claim it once more;
may a cloud settle over it;
may blackness overwhelm its light.

6 That night—may thick darkness seize it;
may it not be included among the days of the year
nor be entered in any of the months.

7 May that night be barren;
may no shout of joy be heard in it.

8 May those who curse days [g] curse that day,
those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.

9 May its morning stars become dark;
may it wait for daylight in vain
and not see the first rays of dawn,

10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
to hide trouble from my eyes.

11 “Why did I not perish at birth,
and die as I came from the womb?

12 Why were there knees to receive me
and breasts that I might be nursed?

13 For now I would be lying down in peace;
I would be asleep and at rest

14 with kings and counselors of the earth,
who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,

15 with rulers who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.

16 Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child,
like an infant who never saw the light of day?

17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,
and there the weary are at rest.

18 Captives also enjoy their ease;
they no longer hear the slave driver’s shout.

19 The small and the great are there,
and the slave is freed from his master.

20 “Why is light given to those in misery,
and life to the bitter of soul,

21 to those who long for death that does not come,
who search for it more than for hidden treasure,

22 who are filled with gladness
and rejoice when they reach the grave?

23 Why is life given to a man
whose way is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?

24 For sighing comes to me instead of food;
my groans pour out like water.

25 What I feared has come upon me;
what I dreaded has happened to me.

26 I have no peace, no quietness;
I have no rest, but only turmoil.”



Footnotes:

  1. Job 1:6 Hebrew the sons of God
  2. Job 1:6 Satan means accuser .
  3. Job 1:21 Or will return there
  4. Job 2:1 Hebrew the sons of God
  5. Job 2:10 The Hebrew word rendered foolish denotes moral deficiency.
  6. Job 3:5 Or and the shadow of death
  7. Job 3:8 Or the sea


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 26

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 26

Ephesians 6:10-24 (NIV84)


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The Armor of God

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Final Greetings

21Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.

23Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.



Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 25

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 25

Ephesians 5:3-6:9 (NIV84)


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 3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.[a] 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be partners with them.

8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
“Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives and Husbands

22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing[b] her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body. 31“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”[c] 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 6

Children and Parents

1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2“Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3“that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”[d] 4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Slaves and Masters

5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

9And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.



Footnotes:

  1. Ephesians 5:5 Or kingdom of the Christ and God
  2. Ephesians 5:26 Or having cleansed
  3. Ephesians 5:31 Gen. 2:24
  4. Ephesians 6:3 Deut. 5:16


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 24

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 24

Ephesians 4-5:2 (NIV84)


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Bible reading based on Ephesians 4-5:2 (NIV84)

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Ephesians 4

Unity in the Body of Christ

1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it[a] says:
“When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men.”[b] 9(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions[c]? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Living as Children of Light

17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26“In your anger do not sin”[d]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold. 28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 5

1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.



Footnotes:

  1. Ephesians 4:8 Or God
  2. Ephesians 4:8 Psalm 68:18
  3. Ephesians 4:9 Or the depths of the earth
  4. Ephesians 4:26 Psalm 4:4


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 23

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 23

Ephesians 3 (NIV84)


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Ephesians 3

Paul the Preacher to the Gentiles

1For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

2Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

7I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. 8Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 13I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

A Prayer for the Ephesians

14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom his whole family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.



Footnotes:

  1. Ephesians 3:15 Or whom all fatherhood


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 22

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 22

Ephesians 2 (NIV84)

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Ephesians 2

Made Alive in Christ

1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

One in Christ

11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.



Footnotes:

  1. Ephesians 2:3 Or our flesh


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 21

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 21

Ephesians 1:15-23 (NIV84)

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Bible reading based on Ephesians 1:15-23 (NIV84)

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Thanksgiving and Prayer

15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.



Footnotes:

  1. Ephesians 1:17 Or a spirit


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 20

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 20

Ephesians 1:1-14 (NIV84)


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Ephesians 1

1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To the saints in Ephesus,[a] the faithful[b]in Christ Jesus:

2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he[c] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

11In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.



Footnotes:

  1. Ephesians 1:1 Some early manuscripts do not have in Ephesus.
  2. Ephesians 1:1 Or believers who are
  3. Ephesians 1:5 Or sight in love. 5 He
  4. Ephesians 1:9 Or us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he
  5. Ephesians 1:11 Or were made heirs


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 19

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 19

1 Samuel 31 (NIV84)


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1 Samuel 31

Saul Takes His Life

1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically.

4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.”
But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. 6So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.

7When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.

8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people. 10They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.

11 When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard of what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men journeyed through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.




Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 18

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 18

1 Samuel 29-30 (NIV84)


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Bible reading based on 1 Samuel 29-30 (NIV84)

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1 Samuel 29

Achish Sends David Back to Ziklag

1 The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. 2 As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. 3 The commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?”
Achish replied, “Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.”

4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with him and said, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master’s favor than by taking the heads of our own men? 5 Isn’t this the David they sang about in their dances:
” ‘Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?”

6 So Achish called David and said to him, “As surely as the LORD lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until now, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don’t approve of you. 7Turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers.”

8“But what have I done?” asked David. “What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can’t I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”

9 Achish answered, “I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, ‘He must not go up with us into battle.’ 10Now get up early, along with your master’s servants who have come with you, and leave in the morning as soon as it is light.”

11So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

1 Samuel 30

David Destroys the Amalekites

1 David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, 2and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way.

3 When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. 4 So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep. 5 David’s two wives had been captured—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel. 6David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, 8 and David inquired of the LORD, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?”
“Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.”

9 David and the six hundred men with him came to the Besor Ravine, where some stayed behind, 10for two hundred men were too exhausted to cross the ravine. But David and four hundred men continued the pursuit.

11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. They gave him water to drink and food to eat- 12part of a cake of pressed figs and two cakes of raisins. He ate and was revived, for he had not eaten any food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.

13 David asked him, “To whom do you belong, and where do you come from?”
He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago. 14We raided the Negev of the Kerethites and the territory belonging to Judah and the Negev of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag.”

15 David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”
He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.”

16 He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. 17 David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. 18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. 20He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”

21 Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Ravine. They came out to meet David and the people with him. As David and his men approached, he greeted them. 22But all the evil men and troublemakers among David’s followers said, “Because they did not go out with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered. However, each man may take his wife and children and go.”

23 David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the forces that came against us. 24 Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” 25David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.

26When David arrived in Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to the elders of Judah, who were his friends, saying, “Here is a present for you from the plunder of the LORD’s enemies.”

27 He sent it to those who were in Bethel, Ramoth Negev and Jattir; 28 to those in Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa 29 and Racal; to those in the towns of the Jerahmeelites and the Kenites; 30 to those in Hormah, Bor Ashan, Athach 31 and Hebron; and to those in all the other places where David and his men had roamed.




Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 17

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 17

Note:

On Tuesday, July 17 the WELS Mobile app installed from the iPhone/iPad App Store, Google Play Store, or Amazon will be removed. Any users with the app installed on their devices will find that many of the features will no longer function correctly. The reason for this change is that a new WELS App is now available at https://wels.app. This new app provides all the same functionality as the old WELS Mobile app and more. Please read all about it in a recent blog posted entitled WELS App Launches.


1 Samuel 27-28 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – July 17

Bible reading based on 1 Samuel 27-28 (NIV84)

See series: Through My Bible

1 Samuel 27

David Among the Philistines

1But David thought to himself, “One of these days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”

2 So David and the six hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maoch king of Gath. 3 David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal. 4When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

5Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”

6 So on that day Achish gave him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. 7David lived in Philistine territory a year and four months.

8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) 9Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish.

10 When Achish asked, “Where did you go raiding today?” David would say, “Against the Negev of Judah” or “Against the Negev of Jerahmeel” or “Against the Negev of the Kenites.” 11 He did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he thought, “They might inform on us and say, ‘This is what David did.’ ” And such was his practice as long as he lived in Philistine territory. 12Achish trusted David and said to himself, “He has become so odious to his people, the Israelites, that he will be my servant forever.”

1 Samuel 28

Saul and the Witch of Endor

1In those days the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army.”

2 David said, “Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do.”
Achish replied, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.”

3Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.

4 The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all the Israelites and set up camp at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. 6 He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. 7 Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”
“There is one in Endor,” they said.

8So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”

9But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”

10Saul swore to her by the LORD, “As surely as the LORD lives, you will not be punished for this.”

11 Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
“Bring up Samuel,” he said.

12When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”

13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”
The woman said, “I see a spirit [a]coming up out of the ground.”

14 “What does he look like?” he asked.
“An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said.
Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”

16 Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy? 17 The LORD has done what he predicted through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today. 19The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines.”

20Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and night.

21 When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly shaken, she said, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me to do. 22Now please listen to your servant and let me give you some food so you may eat and have the strength to go on your way.”

23 He refused and said, “I will not eat.”
But his men joined the woman in urging him, and he listened to them. He got up from the ground and sat on the couch.

24 The woman had a fattened calf at the house, which she butchered at once. She took some flour, kneaded it and baked bread without yeast. 25 Then she set it before Saul and his men, and they ate. That same night they got up and left.



Footnotes:

  1. 1 Samuel 28:13 Or see spirits ; or see gods


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 16

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 16

1 Samuel 25-26 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – July 16

Bible reading based on 1 Samuel 25-26 (NIV84)

See series: Through My Bible

1 Samuel 25

David, Nabal and Abigail

1 Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah.
Then David moved down into the Desert of Maon. [a] 2 A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel. 3His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was surly and mean in his dealings.

4 While David was in the desert, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep. 5 So he sent ten young men and said to them, “Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name. 6Say to him: ‘Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours!

7 ” ‘Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing. 8Ask your own servants and they will tell you. Therefore be favorable toward my young men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.’ ”

9When David’s men arrived, they gave Nabal this message in David’s name. Then they waited.

10 Nabal answered David’s servants, “Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. 11Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?”

12 David’s men turned around and went back. When they arrived, they reported every word. 13David said to his men, “Put on your swords!” So they put on their swords, and David put on his. About four hundred men went up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.

14 One of the servants told Nabal’s wife Abigail: “David sent messengers from the desert to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at them. 15 Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. 16 Night and day they were a wall around us all the time we were herding our sheep near them. 17Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.”

18 Abigail lost no time. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs [b] of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. 19Then she told her servants, “Go on ahead; I’ll follow you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

20 As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending toward her, and she met them. 21 David had just said, “It’s been useless—all my watching over this fellow’s property in the desert so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good. 22 May God deal with David, [c]be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!”

23 When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said: “My lord, let the blame be on me alone. Please let your servant speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. 25May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name is Fool, and folly goes with him. But as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my master sent.

26 “Now since the LORD has kept you, my master, from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, may your enemies and all who intend to harm my master be like Nabal. 27 And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my master, be given to the men who follow you. 28 Please forgive your servant’s offense, for the LORD will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my master, because he fights the LORD’s battles. Let no wrongdoing be found in you as long as you live. 29 Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my master will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the LORD your God. But the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. 30 When the LORD has done for my master every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him leader over Israel, 31my master will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the LORD has brought my master success, remember your servant.”

32 David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. 33 May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. 34Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.”

35Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, “Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request.”

36 When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until daybreak. 37 Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone. 38About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal and he died.

39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise be to the LORD, who has upheld my cause against Nabal for treating me with contempt. He has kept his servant from doing wrong and has brought Nabal’s wrongdoing down on his own head.”
Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife. 40His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, “David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife.”

41 She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, “Here is your maidservant, ready to serve you and wash the feet of my master’s servants.” 42 Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five maids, went with David’s messengers and became his wife. 43 David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel, and they both were his wives. 44 But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Paltiel [d]son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

1 Samuel 26

David Again Spares Saul’s Life

1The Ziphites went to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding on the hill of Hakilah, which faces Jeshimon?”

2 So Saul went down to the Desert of Ziph, with his three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search there for David. 3 Saul made his camp beside the road on the hill of Hakilah facing Jeshimon, but David stayed in the desert. When he saw that Saul had followed him there, 4 he sent out scouts and learned that Saul had definitely arrived. [e]

5Then David set out and went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of the army, had lain down. Saul was lying inside the camp, with the army encamped around him.

6 David then asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down into the camp with me to Saul?”
“I’ll go with you,” said Abishai.

7So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. Abner and the soldiers were lying around him.

8Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of my spear; I won’t strike him twice.”

9 But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless? 10 As surely as the LORD lives,” he said, “the LORD himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed. Now get the spear and water jug that are near his head, and let’s go.”

12So David took the spear and water jug near Saul’s head, and they left. No one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up. They were all sleeping, because the LORD had put them into a deep sleep.

13 Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away; there was a wide space between them. 14 He called out to the army and to Abner son of Ner, “Aren’t you going to answer me, Abner?”
Abner replied, “Who are you who calls to the king?”

15 David said, “You’re a man, aren’t you? And who is like you in Israel? Why didn’t you guard your lord the king? Someone came to destroy your lord the king. 16What you have done is not good. As surely as the LORD lives, you and your men deserve to die, because you did not guard your master, the LORD’s anointed. Look around you. Where are the king’s spear and water jug that were near his head?”

17 Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is that your voice, David my son?”
David replied, “Yes it is, my lord the king.” 18 And he added, “Why is my lord pursuing his servant? What have I done, and what wrong am I guilty of? 19 Now let my lord the king listen to his servant’s words. If the LORD has incited you against me, then may he accept an offering. If, however, men have done it, may they be cursed before the LORD! They have now driven me from my share in the LORD’s inheritance and have said, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ 20Now do not let my blood fall to the ground far from the presence of the LORD. The king of Israel has come out to look for a flea—as one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

21Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again. Surely I have acted like a fool and have erred greatly.”

22 “Here is the king’s spear,” David answered. “Let one of your young men come over and get it. 23 The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness. The LORD delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed. 24As surely as I valued your life today, so may the LORD value my life and deliver me from all trouble.”

25 Then Saul said to David, “May you be blessed, my son David; you will do great things and surely triumph.”
So David went on his way, and Saul returned home.



Footnotes:

  1. 1 Samuel 25:1 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew Paran
  2. 1 Samuel 25:18 That is, probably about a bushel (about 37 liters)
  3. 1 Samuel 25:22 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew with David’s enemies
  4. 1 Samuel 25:44 Hebrew Palti , a variant of Paltiel
  5. 1 Samuel 26:4 Or had come to Nacon


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 15

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 15

1 Samuel 23-24 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – July 15

Bible reading based on 1 Samuel 23-24 (NIV84)

See series: Through My Bible

1 Samuel 23

David Saves Keilah

1 When David was told, “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,” 2 he inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?”
The LORD answered him, “Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”

3But David’s men said to him, “Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!”

4 Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, “Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand.” 5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. 6(Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)

Saul Pursues David

7 Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, “God has handed him over to me, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars.” 8And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men.

9 When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.” 10 David said, “O LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. 11 Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant.”
And the LORD said, “He will.”

12 Again David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?”
And the LORD said, “They will.”

13So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.

14David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.

15 While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. 16 And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. 17 “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” 18The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.

19 The Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hakilah, south of Jeshimon? 20Now, O king, come down whenever it pleases you to do so, and we will be responsible for handing him over to the king.”

21 Saul replied, “The LORD bless you for your concern for me. 22 Go and make further preparation. Find out where David usually goes and who has seen him there. They tell me he is very crafty. 23 Find out about all the hiding places he uses and come back to me with definite information. [a]Then I will go with you; if he is in the area, I will track him down among all the clans of Judah.”

24 So they set out and went to Ziph ahead of Saul. Now David and his men were in the Desert of Maon, in the Arabah south of Jeshimon. 25Saul and his men began the search, and when David was told about it, he went down to the rock and stayed in the Desert of Maon. When Saul heard this, he went into the Desert of Maon in pursuit of David.

26 Saul was going along one side of the mountain, and David and his men were on the other side, hurrying to get away from Saul. As Saul and his forces were closing in on David and his men to capture them, 27 a messenger came to Saul, saying, “Come quickly! The Philistines are raiding the land.” 28 Then Saul broke off his pursuit of David and went to meet the Philistines. That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth. [b] 29And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.

1 Samuel 24

David Spares Saul’s Life

1 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” 2So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.

3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, “This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said [c]to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’ ” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.

5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD’s anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.” 7With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

8 Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes how the LORD delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lift my hand against my master, because he is the LORD’s anointed.’ 11 See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. Now understand and recognize that I am not guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. 12 May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. 13As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you.

14 “Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? 15May the LORD be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand.”

16 When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept aloud. 17 “You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18 You have just now told me of the good you did to me; the LORD delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today. 20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21Now swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”

22 So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.



Footnotes:

  1. 1 Samuel 23:23 Or me at Nacon
  2. 1 Samuel 23:28 Sela Hammahlekoth means rock of parting .
  3. 1 Samuel 24:4 Or “Today the LORD is saying


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 14

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 14

1 Samuel 21:10-22:23 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – July 14

Bible reading based on 1 Samuel 21:10-22:23 (NIV84)

See series: Through My Bible

David at Gath

10 That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. 11 But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances:
” ‘Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?”

12 David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. 13So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.

14 Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? 15Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?”

1 Samuel 22

David at Adullam and Mizpah

1 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. 2All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.

3 From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, “Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?” 4So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.

5But the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah.” So David left and went to the forest of Hereth.

Saul Kills the Priests of Nob

6 Now Saul heard that David and his men had been discovered. And Saul, spear in hand, was seated under the tamarisk tree on the hill at Gibeah, with all his officials standing around him. 7 Saul said to them, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Will the son of Jesse give all of you fields and vineyards? Will he make all of you commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds? 8Is that why you have all conspired against me? No one tells me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse. None of you is concerned about me or tells me that my son has incited my servant to lie in wait for me, as he does today.”

9 But Doeg the Edomite, who was standing with Saul’s officials, said, “I saw the son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. 10Ahimelech inquired of the LORD for him; he also gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 Then the king sent for the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and his father’s whole family, who were the priests at Nob, and they all came to the king. 12 Saul said, “Listen now, son of Ahitub.”
“Yes, my lord,” he answered.

13Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, giving him bread and a sword and inquiring of God for him, so that he has rebelled against me and lies in wait for me, as he does today?”

14 Ahimelech answered the king, “Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king’s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household? 15Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of his father’s family, for your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair.”

16But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and your father’s whole family.”

17 Then the king ordered the guards at his side: “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because they too have sided with David. They knew he was fleeing, yet they did not tell me.”
But the king’s officials were not willing to raise a hand to strike the priests of the LORD.

18 The king then ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests.” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck them down. That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. 19He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep.

20 But Abiathar, a son of Ahimelech son of Ahitub, escaped and fled to join David. 21 He told David that Saul had killed the priests of the LORD. 22 Then David said to Abiathar: “That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your father’s whole family. 23 Stay with me; don’t be afraid; the man who is seeking your life is seeking mine also. You will be safe with me.”



Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.



Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 13

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Through My Bible Yr 1 – July 13

1 Samuel 20-21:9 (NIV84)


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Through My Bible – July 13

Bible reading based on 1 Samuel 20-21:9 (NIV84)

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1 Samuel 20

David and Jonathan

1Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take my life?”

2“Never!” Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without confiding in me. Why would he hide this from me? It’s not so!”

3But David took an oath and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the LORD lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”

4Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.”

5 So David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival, and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. 6 If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because an annual sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.’ 7 If he says, ‘Very well,’ then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper, you can be sure that he is determined to harm me. 8As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant with you before the LORD. If I am guilty, then kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?”

9“Never!” Jonathan said. “If I had the least inkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you?”

10David asked, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”

11“Come,” Jonathan said, “let’s go out into the field.” So they went there together.

12 Then Jonathan said to David: “By the LORD, the God of Israel, I will surely sound out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know? 13 But if my father is inclined to harm you, may the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I do not let you know and send you away safely. May the LORD be with you as he has been with my father. 14 But show me unfailing kindness like that of the LORD as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, 15and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family—not even when the LORD has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”

16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD call David’s enemies to account.” 17And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

18 Then Jonathan said to David: “Tomorrow is the New Moon festival. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. 21 Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,’ then come, because, as surely as the LORD lives, you are safe; there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then you must go, because the LORD has sent you away. 23And about the matter you and I discussed—remember, the LORD is witness between you and me forever.”

24 So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon festival came, the king sat down to eat. 25 He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan, [a] and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty. 26 Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, “Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean—surely he is unclean.” 27But the next day, the second day of the month, David’s place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”

28 Jonathan answered, “David earnestly asked me for permission to go to Bethlehem. 29He said, ‘Let me go, because our family is observing a sacrifice in the town and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”

30 Saul’s anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? 31As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send and bring him to me, for he must die!”

32 “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” Jonathan asked his father. 33But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David.

34Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the month he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David.

35 In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, 36 and he said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 When the boy came to the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, “Isn’t the arrow beyond you?” 38 Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. 39 (The boy knew nothing of all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) 40Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, “Go, carry them back to town.”

41After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together—but David wept the most.

42Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.’ ” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.

1 Samuel 21

David at Nob

1David went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he met him, and asked, “Why are you alone? Why is no one with you?”

2 David answered Ahimelech the priest, “The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place. 3Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever you can find.”

4But the priest answered David, “I don’t have any ordinary bread on hand; however, there is some consecrated bread here—provided the men have kept themselves from women.”

5 David replied, “Indeed women have been kept from us, as usual whenever [b] I set out. The men’s things [c] are holy even on missions that are not holy. How much more so today!” 6So the priest gave him the consecrated bread, since there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence that had been removed from before the LORD and replaced by hot bread on the day it was taken away.

7Now one of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the LORD; he was Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s head shepherd.

8David asked Ahimelech, “Don’t you have a spear or a sword here? I haven’t brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king’s business was urgent.”

9 The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one.”
David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”



Footnotes:

  1. 1 Samuel 20:25 Septuagint; Hebrew wall. Jonathan arose
  2. 1 Samuel 21:5 Or from us in the past few days since
  3. 1 Samuel 21:5 Or bodies


Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.