Bible Readings for August 22, 2015

Today our passages are Job 4:1–7:21; 1 Corinthians 14:18-40; Psalm 37:30-40; and Proverbs 21:27. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal. 

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Job 4-7:21 (Contemporary English Version)

Job 4

Eliphaz's First Speech

Please Be Patient and Listen

 ¹Eliphaz from Teman ^[a] said: ²Please be patient and listen    to what I have to say.
    ³Remember how your words
    ⁴have guided and encouraged
   many in need.
    ⁵But now you feel discouraged
   when struck by trouble.
    ⁶You respect God and live right,
   so don't lose hope!
    ⁷No truly innocent person
   has ever died young.
    ⁸In my experience, only those
   who plant seeds of evil
   harvest trouble,
    ⁹and then they are swept away
   by the angry breath of God.
    ¹⁰They may roar and growl
   like powerful lions.
   But when God breaks their teeth,
    ¹¹they starve,
   and their children
   are scattered.
   

A Secret Was Told to Me

 ¹²A secret was told to me    in a faint whisper--
    ¹³I was overcome by sleep,
   but disturbed by dreams;
    ¹⁴I trembled with fear,
    ¹⁵and my hair stood on end,
   as a wind blew past my face.
    ¹⁶It stopped and stood still.
   Then a form appeared--
   a shapeless form.
   And from the silence,
   I heard a voice say,
    ¹⁷"No humans are innocent
   in the eyes of God
   their Creator.
    ¹⁸He finds fault with his servants
   and even with his angels.
    ¹⁹Humans are formed from clay
   and are fragile as moths,
   so what chance do you have?
    ²⁰Born after daybreak,
   you die before nightfall
   and disappear forever.
    ²¹Your tent pegs are pulled up,
   and you leave this life,
   having gained no wisdom."
   

Job 5

Eliphaz Continues

Call Out for Help

 ¹Job, call out for help    and see if an angel comes!
    ²Envy and jealousy
   will kill a stupid fool.
    ³I have seen fools take root.
   But God sends a curse,
   suddenly uprooting them
    ⁴and leaving their children
   helpless in court.
    ⁵Then hungry and greedy people
   gobble down their crops
   and grab up their wealth. ^[b] ⁶Our suffering isn't caused
   by the failure of crops;
    ⁷it's all part of life,
   like sparks shooting skyward.
    ⁸Job, if I were you,
   I would ask God for help.
    ⁹His miracles are marvelous,
   more than we can count.
    ¹⁰God sends showers on earth
   and waters the fields.
    ¹¹He protects the sorrowful
   and lifts up those
   who have been disgraced.
    ¹²God swiftly traps the wicked
    ¹³in their own evil schemes,
   and their wisdom fails.
    ¹⁴Darkness is their only companion,
   hiding their path at noon.
    ¹⁵God rescues the needy
   from the words of the wicked
   and the fist of the mighty.
    ¹⁶The poor are filled with hope,
   and injustice is silenced.
   

Consider Yourself Fortunate

 ¹⁷Consider yourself fortunate    if God All-Powerful
   chooses to correct you.
    ¹⁸He may cause injury and pain,
   but he will bandage and heal
   your cuts and bruises.
    ¹⁹God will protect you from harm,
   no matter how often
   trouble may strike.
    ²⁰In times of war and famine,
   God will keep you safe.
    ²¹You will be sheltered,
   without fear of hurtful words
   or any other weapon.
    ²²You will laugh at the threat
   of destruction and famine.
   And you won't be afraid
   of wild animals--
    ²³they will no longer be fierce,
   and your rocky fields
   will become friendly.
    ²⁴Your home will be secure,
   and your sheep will be safe.
    ²⁵You will have more descendants
   than there are blades of grass
   on the face of the earth.
    ²⁶You will live a long life,
   and your body will be strong
   until the day you die.
    ²⁷Our experience has proven
   these things to be true,
   so listen and learn.
   

Job 6

Job's Reply to Eliphaz

It's Impossible

 ¹Job said:     ²It's impossible to weigh
   my misery and grief!
    ³They outweigh the sand
   along the beach,
   and that's why I have spoken
   without thinking first.
    ⁴The fearsome arrows
   of God All-Powerful
   have filled my soul
   with their poison.
    ⁵Do oxen and wild donkeys
   cry out in distress
   unless they are hungry?
    ⁶What is food without salt?
   What is more tasteless
   than the white of an egg? ^[c] ⁷That's how my food tastes,
   and my appetite is gone.
    ⁸How I wish that God
   would answer my prayer
    ⁹and do away with me.
    ¹⁰Then I would be comforted,
   knowing that in all of my pain
   I have never disobeyed God.
    ¹¹Why should I patiently hope
   when my strength is gone?
    ¹²I am not strong as stone
   or bronze,
    ¹³and I have finally reached
   the end of my rope.
   

My Friends, I Am Desperate

 ¹⁴My friends, I am desperate,    and you should help me,
   even if I no longer respect
   God All-Powerful. ^[d] ¹⁵But you are treacherous
    ¹⁶as streams that swell
   with melting snow,
    ¹⁷then suddenly disappear
   in the summer heat.
    ¹⁸I am like a caravan,
   lost in the desert
   while searching for water.
    ¹⁹Caravans from Tema and Sheba ^[e] ²⁰thought they would find water.
   But they were disappointed,
    ²¹just as I am with you. ^[f] Only one look at my suffering,
   and you run away scared.
   

What Have I Done Wrong?

 ²²Have I ever asked any of you    to give me a gift
    ²³or to purchase my freedom
   from brutal enemies?
    ²⁴What have I done wrong?
   Show me,
   and I will keep quiet.
    ²⁵The truth is always painful,
   but your arguments
   prove nothing.
    ²⁶Here I am desperate,
   and you consider my words
   as worthless as wind.
    ²⁷Why, you would sell an orphan
   or your own neighbor!
    ²⁸Look me straight in the eye;
   I won't lie to you.
    ²⁹Stop accusing me falsely;
   my reputation is at stake.
    ³⁰I know right from wrong,
   and I am not telling lies.
   

Job 7

Job Continues

Why Is Life So Hard?

 ¹Why is life so hard?    Why do we suffer?
    ²We are slaves in search of shade;
   we are laborers longing
   for our wages.
    ³God has made my days drag on
   and my nights miserable.
    ⁴I pray for night to end,
   but it stretches out
   while I toss and turn.
    ⁵My parched skin is covered
   with worms, dirt, and sores,
    ⁶and my days are running out
   quicker than the thread
   of a fast-moving needle.
   

Don't Forget!

 ⁷I beg you, God, don't forget!    My life is just a breath,
   and trouble lies ahead.
    ⁸I will vanish from sight,
   and no one, including you,
   will ever see me again.
    ⁹I will disappear in the grave
   or vanish from sight
   like a passing cloud.
    ¹⁰Never will I return home;
   soon I will be forgotten.
    ¹¹And so, I cry out to you
   in agony and distress.
    ¹²Am I the sea or a sea monster?
   Is that why you imprison me? ^[g] ¹³I go to bed, hoping for rest,
    ¹⁴but you torture me
   with terrible dreams.
    ¹⁵I'd rather choke to death
   than live in this body.
    ¹⁶Leave me alone and let me die;
   my life has no meaning.
    ¹⁷What makes you so concerned
   about us humans?
    ¹⁸Why do you test us
   from sunrise to sunset?
    ¹⁹Won't you look away
   just long enough
   for me to swallow?
    ²⁰Why do you watch us so closely?
   What's it to you, if I sin?
   Why am I your target
   and such a heavy burden?
    ²¹Why do you refuse to forgive?
   Soon you won't find me,
   because I'll be dead.
   

Footnotes:

1. Job 4:1 Teman: See the note at 2.11.
2. Job 5:5 wealth: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
3. Job 6:6 What is more tasteless. . . egg: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
4. Job 6:14 and you should help me. . . God All-Powerful: Or "and if you don't help me, you no longer respect God All-Powerful."
5. Job 6:19 Tema and Sheba: Tema was a region in northwest Arabia, and Sheba was probably a region in southwest Arabia.
6. Job 6:21 just. . . you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. Job 7:12 sea monster. . . imprison me: "Sea monster" translates the Hebrew word "Tannin," which was possibly a sea monster similar to Leviathan (3.8), Rahab (9.13), and Behemoth (40.15). According to 38.8-11, God makes the sea his prisoner by setting its boundaries.

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1 Corinthians 14:18-40 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁸I thank God that I speak unknown languages more than any of you. ¹⁹But words that make sense can help the church. That's why in church I had rather speak five words that make sense than to speak ten thousand words in a language that others don't know.
    ²⁰My friends, stop thinking like children. Think like mature people and be as innocent as tiny babies. ²¹In the Scriptures the Lord says,
   "I will use strangers
   who speak unknown languages
   to talk to my people.
   They will speak to them
   in foreign languages,
   but still my people
   won't listen to me."
    ²²Languages that others don't know may mean something to unbelievers, but not to the Lord's followers. Prophecy, on the other hand, is for followers, not for unbelievers. ²³Suppose everyone in your worship service started speaking unknown languages, and some outsiders or some unbelievers come in. Won't they think you are crazy? ²⁴But suppose all of you are prophesying when those unbelievers and outsiders come in. They will realize that they are sinners, and they will want to change their ways because of what you are saying. ²⁵They will tell what is hidden in their hearts. Then they will kneel down and say to God, "We are certain that you are with these people."
   

Worship Must Be Orderly

 ²⁶My friends, when you meet to worship, you must do everything for the good of everyone there. That's how it should be when someone sings or teaches or tells what God has said or speaks an unknown language or explains what the language means. ²⁷No more than two or three of you should speak unknown languages during the meeting. You must take turns, and someone should always be there to explain what you mean. ²⁸If no one can explain, you must keep silent in church and speak only to yourself and to God.     ²⁹Two or three persons may prophesy, and everyone else must listen carefully. ³⁰If someone sitting there receives a message from God, the speaker must stop and let the other person speak. ³¹Let only one person speak at a time, then all of you will learn something and be encouraged. ³²A prophet should be willing to stop and let someone else speak. ³³God wants everything to be done peacefully and in order.
   When God's people meet in church, ³⁴the women must not be allowed to speak. They must keep quiet and listen, as the Law of Moses teaches. ³⁵If there is something they want to know, they can ask their husbands when they get home. It is disgraceful for women to speak in church. ³⁶God's message did not start with you people, and you are not the only ones it has reached.
    ³⁷If you think of yourself as a prophet or a spiritual person, you will know that I am writing only what the Lord has commanded. ³⁸So don't pay attention to anyone who ignores what I am writing. ³⁹My friends, be eager to prophesy and don't stop anyone from speaking languages that others don't know. ⁴⁰But do everything properly and in order.

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Psalm 37:30-40 (Contemporary English Version)

³⁰Words of wisdom come
   when good people speak
   for justice.
    ³¹They remember God's teachings,
   and they never take
   a wrong step.
    ³²The wicked try to trap
   and kill good people,
    ³³but the LORD is on their side,
   and he will defend them
   when they are on trial.
    ³⁴Trust the LORD and follow him.
   He will give you the land,
   and you will see
   the wicked destroyed.
    ³⁵I have seen brutal people
   abuse others
   and grow strong
   like trees in rich soil. ^[a] ³⁶Suddenly they disappeared!
   I looked, but they were gone
   and no longer there.
    ³⁷Think of the bright future
   waiting
   for all the families
   of honest
   and innocent
   and peace-loving people.
    ³⁸But not a trace will be left
   of the wicked
   or their families.
    ³⁹The LORD protects his people,
   and they can come to him
   in times of trouble.
    ⁴⁰The LORD helps them
   and saves them from the wicked
   because they run to him.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 37:35 like. . . soil: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Proverbs 21:27 (Contemporary English Version)

²⁷The Lord despises the offerings
   of wicked people
   with evil motives.

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Verse of the Day

“God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won't he freely give us everything else?” - Romans 8:32

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature, Lucius Annaeus Seneca wrote, “No man was ever wise by chance.”