Bible Readings for August 23, 2015

Today our passages are Job 8:1–11:20; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28; Psalm 38:1-22; and Proverbs 21:28-29. 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 8-11:20 (Contemporary English Version)

Job 8

Bildad's First Speech

How Long Will You Talk?

 ¹Bildad from Shuah ^[a] said: ²How long will you talk    and keep saying nothing?
    ³Does God All-Powerful
   stand in the way of justice?
    ⁴He made your children pay
   for their sins.
    ⁵So why don't you turn to him
    ⁶and start living right?
   Then he will decide
   to rescue and restore you
   to your place of honor.
    ⁷Your future will be brighter
   by far than your past.
   

Our Ancestors Were Wise

 ⁸Our ancestors were wise,    so learn from them.
    ⁹Our own time has been short,
   like a fading shadow,
   and we know very little.
    ¹⁰But they will instruct you
   with great understanding.
    ¹¹Papyrus reeds grow healthy
   only in a swamp,
    ¹²and if the water dries up,
   they die sooner than grass.
    ¹³Such is the hopeless future
   of all who turn from God
    ¹⁴and trust in something as frail
   as a spider's web--
    ¹⁵they take hold and fall
   because it's so flimsy.
    ¹⁶Sinful people are like plants
   with spreading roots
   and plenty
   of sun and water.
    ¹⁷They wrap their roots tightly
   around rocks. ^{[b] 18}But once they are pulled up,
   they have no more place;
    ¹⁹their life slips away, ^[c] and other plants grow there.
    ²⁰We know God doesn't reject
   an innocent person
   or help a sinner.
    ²¹And so, he will make you happy
   and give you something
   to smile about.
    ²²But your evil enemies
   will be put to shame
   and disappear forever.
   

Job 9

Job's Reply to Bildad

What You Say Is True

 ¹Job said:     ²What you say is true.
   No human is innocent
   in the sight of God.
    ³Not once in a thousand times
   could we win our case
   if we took him to court.
    ⁴God is wise and powerful--
   who could possibly
   oppose him and win?
    ⁵When God becomes angry,
   he can move mountains
   before they even know it.
    ⁶God can shake the earth loose
   from its foundations
    ⁷or command the sun and stars
   to hold back their light.
    ⁸God alone stretched out the sky,
   stepped on the sea, ^{[d] 9}and set the stars in place--
   the Big Dipper and Orion,
   the Pleiades and the stars
   in the southern sky.
    ¹⁰Of all the miracles God works,
   we cannot understand a one.
    ¹¹God walks right past me,
   without making a sound.
    ¹²And if he grabs something,
   who can stop him
   or raise a question?
    ¹³When God showed his anger,
   the servants of the sea monster ^[e] fell at his feet.
    ¹⁴How, then, could I possibly
   argue my case with God?
   

Though I Am Innocent

 ¹⁵Even though I am innocent,    I can only beg for mercy.
    ¹⁶And if God came into court
   when I called him,
   he would not hear my case.
    ¹⁷He would strike me with a storm ^[f] and increase my injuries
   for no reason at all.
    ¹⁸Before I could get my breath,
   my miseries would multiply.
    ¹⁹God is much stronger than I am,
   and who would call me into court
   to give me justice?
    ²⁰Even if I were innocent,
   God would prove me wrong. ^{[g] 21}I am not guilty,
   but I no longer care
   what happens to me.
    ²²What difference does it make?
   God destroys the innocent
   along with the guilty.
    ²³When a good person dies
   a sudden death,
   God sits back and laughs.
    ²⁴And who else but God
   blindfolds the judges,
   then lets the wicked
   take over the earth?
   

My Life Is Speeding By

 ²⁵My life is speeding by,    without a hope of happiness.
    ²⁶Each day passes swifter
   than a sailing ship
   or an eagle swooping down.
    ²⁷Sometimes I try to be cheerful
   and to stop complaining,
    ²⁸but my sufferings frighten me,
   because I know that God
   still considers me guilty.
    ²⁹So what's the use of trying
   to prove my innocence?
    ³⁰Even if I washed myself
   with the strongest soap,
    ³¹God would throw me into a pit
   of stinking slime,
   leaving me
   disgusting to my clothes.
    ³²God isn't a mere human like me.
   I can't put him on trial.
    ³³Who could possibly judge
   between the two of us?
    ³⁴Can someone snatch away
   the stick God carries
   to frighten me?
    ³⁵Then I could speak up
   without fear of him,
   but for now, I cannot speak. ^[h]

Job 10

Job Complains to God

I Am Sick of Life!

 ¹I am sick of life!    And from my deep despair,
   I complain to you, my God.
    ²Don't just condemn me!
   Point out my sin.
    ³Why do you take such delight
   in destroying those you created
   and in smiling on sinners?
    ⁴Do you look at things
   the way we humans do?
    ⁵Is your life as short as ours?
    ⁶Is that why you are so quick
   to find fault with me?
    ⁷You know I am innocent,
   but who can defend me
   against you?
    ⁸Will you now destroy
   someone you created?
    ⁹Remember that you molded me
   like a piece of clay.
   So don't turn me back
   into dust once again.
    ¹⁰As cheese is made from milk,
   you created my body
   from a tiny drop.
    ¹¹Then you tied my bones together
   with muscles
   and covered them
   with flesh and skin.
    ¹²You, the source of my life,
   showered me with kindness
   and watched over me.
   

You Have Not Explained

 ¹³You have not explained    all of your mysteries,
    ¹⁴but you catch and punish me
   each time I sin.
    ¹⁵Guilty or innocent,
   I am condemned and ashamed
   because of my troubles.
    ¹⁶No matter how hard I try,
   you keep hunting me down
   like a powerful lion. ^{[i] 17}You never stop accusing me;
   you become furious and attack
   over and over again.
    ¹⁸Why did you let me be born?
   I would rather have died
   before birth
    ¹⁹and been carried to the grave
   without ever breathing.
    ²⁰I have only a few days left.
   Why don't you leave me alone? ^[j] Let me find some relief,
    ²¹before I travel to the land
    ²²of darkness and despair,
   the place of no return.
   

Job 11

Zophar's First Speech

So Much Foolish Talk

 ¹Zophar from Naamah ^[k] said: ²So much foolish talk    cannot go unanswered.
    ³Your words have silenced others
   and made them ashamed;
   now it is only right for you
   to be put to shame.
    ⁴You claim to be innocent
   and argue that your beliefs
   are acceptable to God.
    ⁵But I wish he would speak
    ⁶and let you know
   that wisdom
   has many different sides.
   You would then discover
   that God has punished you
   less
   than you deserve.
    ⁷Can you understand the mysteries
   surrounding God All-Powerful?
    ⁸They are higher than the heavens
   and deeper than the grave.
   So what can you do
   when you know so little,
    ⁹and these mysteries outreach
   the earth and the ocean?
    ¹⁰If God puts you in prison
   or drags you to court,
   what can you do?
    ¹¹God has the wisdom to know
   when someone is worthless
   and sinful,
    ¹²but it's easier to tame
   a wild donkey
   than to make a fool wise. ^[l]

Surrender Your Heart to God

 ¹³Surrender your heart to God,    turn to him in prayer,
    ¹⁴and give up your sins--
   even those you do in secret.
    ¹⁵Then you won't be ashamed;
   you will be confident
   and fearless.
    ¹⁶Your troubles will go away
   like water beneath a bridge,
    ¹⁷and your darkest night
   will be brighter than noon.
    ¹⁸You will rest safe and secure,
   filled with hope
   and emptied of worry.
    ¹⁹You will sleep without fear
   and be greatly respected.
    ²⁰But those who are evil
   will go blind and lose their way.
   Their only escape is death!
   

Footnotes:

1. Job 8:1 Shuah: See the note at 2.11.
2. Job 8:17 rocks: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 17.
3. Job 8:19 their. . . away: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
4. Job 9:8 sea: Or "sea monster" (see verse 13 and the note there).
5. Job 9:13 the sea monster: The Hebrew text has "Rahab," which was some kind of sea monster with supernatural powers (see the notes at 3.8 and 26.12).
6. Job 9:17 strike. . . storm: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. Job 9:20 God. . . wrong: Or "my own words would prove me wrong."
8. Job 9:35 but. . . speak: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
9. Job 10:16 lion: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 16.
10. Job 10:20 I have only. . . alone: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
11. Job 11:1 Naamah: See the note at 2.11.
12. Job 11:12 it's. . . wise: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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1 Corinthians 15:1-28 (Contemporary English Version)

1 Corinthians 15

Christ Was Raised to Life

 ¹My friends, I want you to remember the message that I preached and that you believed and trusted. ²You will be saved by this message, if you hold firmly to it. But if you don't, your faith was all for nothing.     ³I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. That part is:
   Christ died for our sins,
   as the Scriptures say.
    ⁴He was buried,
   and three days later
   he was raised to life,
   as the Scriptures say.
    ⁵Christ appeared to Peter, ^[a] then to the twelve.
    ⁶After this, he appeared
   to more than five hundred
   other followers.
   Most of them are still alive,
   but some have died.
    ⁷He also appeared to James,
   and then to all
   of the apostles.
    ⁸Finally, he appeared to me, even though I am like someone who was born at the wrong time. ^{[b] 9}I am the least important of all the apostles. In fact, I caused so much trouble for God's church that I don't even deserve to be called an apostle. ¹⁰But God was kind! He made me what I am, and his wonderful kindness wasn't wasted. I worked much harder than any of the other apostles, although it was really God's kindness at work and not me. ¹¹But it doesn't matter if I preached or if they preached. All of you believed the message just the same.
   

God's People Will Be Raised to Life

 ¹²If we preach that Christ was raised from death, how can some of you say that the dead will not be raised to life? ¹³If they won't be raised to life, Christ himself wasn't raised to life. ¹⁴And if Christ wasn't raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith. ¹⁵If the dead won't be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying that he raised Christ to life, when he really did not.     ¹⁶So if the dead won't be raised to life, Christ wasn't raised to life. ¹⁷Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins. ¹⁸And those people who died after putting their faith in him are completely lost. ¹⁹If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else.
    ²⁰But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. ²¹Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ. ²²Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us. ²³But we must each wait our turn. Christ was the first to be raised to life, and his people will be raised to life when he returns. ²⁴Then after Christ has destroyed all powers and forces, the end will come, and he will give the kingdom to God the Father.
    ²⁵Christ will rule until he puts all his enemies under his power, ²⁶and the last enemy he destroys will be death. ²⁷When the Scriptures say that he will put everything under his power, they don't include God. It was God who put everything under the power of Christ. ²⁸After everything is under the power of God's Son, he will put himself under the power of God, who put everything under his Son's power. Then God will mean everything to everyone.
   

Footnotes:

1. 1 Corinthians 15:5 Peter: See the note at 1.12.
2. 1 Corinthians 15:8 who was born at the wrong time: The meaning of these words in Greek is not clear.

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Psalm 38:1-22 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 38

(A psalm by David to be used when an offering is made.)

A Prayer in Times of Trouble

 ¹When you are angry, LORD,    please don't punish me
   or even correct me.
    ²You shot me with your arrows,
   and you struck me
   with your hand.
    ³My body hurts all over
   because of your anger.
   Even my bones are in pain,
   and my sins ⁴are so heavy
   that I am crushed.
    ⁵Because of my foolishness,
   I am covered with sores
   that stink and spread.
    ⁶My body is twisted and bent,
   and I groan all day long.
    ⁷Fever has my back in flames,
   and I hurt all over.
    ⁸I am worn out and weak,
   moaning and in distress.
    ⁹You, Lord, know every one
   of my deepest desires,
   and my noisy groans
   are no secret to you.
    ¹⁰My heart is beating fast.
   I feel weak all over,
   and my eyes are red.
    ¹¹Because of my sickness,
   no friends or neighbors
   will come near me.
    ¹²All who want me dead
   set traps to catch me,
   and those who want
   to harm and destroy me
   plan and plot all day.
    ¹³I am not able to hear
   or speak a word;
    ¹⁴I am completely deaf
   and can't make a sound.
    ¹⁵I trust you, LORD God,
   and you will do something.
    ¹⁶I said, "Don't let them laugh
   or brag because I slip."
    ¹⁷I am about to collapse
   from constant pain.
    ¹⁸I told you my sins,
   and I am sorry for them.
    ¹⁹Many deadly and powerful
   enemies hate me,
    ²⁰and they repay evil for good
   because I try to do right.
    ²¹You are the LORD God!
   Stay nearby
   and don't desert me.
    ²²You are the one who saves me.
   Please hurry and help.

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Proverbs 21:28-29 (Contemporary English Version)

²⁸If you tell lies in court,
   you are done for;
   only a reliable witness
   can do the job.
    ²⁹Wicked people bluff their way,
   but God's people think
   before they take a step.

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Verse of the Day

“When I felt my feet slipping, you came with your love and kept me steady. And when I was burdened with worries, you comforted me and made me feel secure.” - Psalm 94:18-19

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history, Confucius wrote, “I hear, I know. I see, I remember. I do, I understand.”