Bible Readings for August 21, 2013

Today our passages are Job 1:1–3:26; 1 Corinthians 14:1-17; Psalm 37:12-29; and Proverbs 21:25-26. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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Job 1-3:26 (Contemporary English Version)

Job 1

Job and His Family

 ¹Many years ago, a man named Job lived in the land of Uz. ^[a] He was a truly good person, who respected God and refused to do evil. ²Job had seven sons and three daughters. ³He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred pair of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a large number of servants. He was the richest person in the East.     ⁴Job's sons took turns having feasts in their homes, and they always invited their three sisters to join in the eating and drinking. ⁵After each feast, Job would send for his children and perform a ceremony, as a way of asking God to forgive them of any wrongs they may have done. He would get up early the next morning and offer a sacrifice for each of them, just in case they had sinned or silently cursed God.
   

Angels, the LORD, and Satan

 ⁶One day, when the angels ^[b] had gathered around the LORD, and Satan ^[c] was there with them, ⁷the LORD asked, "Satan, where have you been?" Satan replied, "I have been going all over the earth."     ⁸Then the LORD asked, "What do you think of my servant Job? No one on earth is like him--he is a truly good person, who respects me and refuses to do evil."
    ⁹"Why shouldn't he respect you?" Satan remarked. ¹⁰"You are like a wall protecting not only him, but his entire family and all his property. You make him successful in whatever he does, and his flocks and herds are everywhere. ¹¹Try taking away everything he owns, and he will curse you to your face."
    ¹²The LORD replied, "All right, Satan, do what you want with anything that belongs to him, but don't harm Job."
   Then Satan left.
   

Job Loses Everything

 ¹³Job's sons and daughters were having a feast in the home of his oldest son, ¹⁴when someone rushed up to Job and said, "While your servants were plowing with your oxen, and your donkeys were nearby eating grass, ¹⁵a gang of Sabeans ^[d] attacked and stole the oxen and donkeys! Your other servants were killed, and I was the only one who escaped to tell you." ¹⁶That servant was still speaking, when a second one came running up and saying, "God sent down a fire that killed your sheep and your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you."     ¹⁷Before that servant finished speaking, a third one raced up and said, "Three gangs of Chaldeans ^[e] attacked and stole your camels! All of your other servants were killed, and I am the only one who escaped to tell you." ¹⁸That servant was still speaking, when a fourth one dashed up and said, "Your children were having a feast and drinking wine at the home of your oldest son, ¹⁹when suddenly a windstorm from the desert blew the house down, crushing all of your children. I am the only one who escaped to tell you."
    ²⁰When Job heard this, he tore his clothes and shaved his head because of his great sorrow. He knelt on the ground, then worshiped God ²¹and said:
   "We bring nothing at birth;
   we take nothing
   with us at death.
   The LORD alone gives and takes.
   Praise the name of the LORD!"
    ²²In spite of everything, Job did not sin or accuse God of doing wrong.
   

Job 2

Job Loses His Health

 ¹When the angels ^[f] gathered around the LORD again, Satan ^[g] was there with them, ²and the LORD asked, "Satan, where have you been?" Satan replied, "I have been going all over the earth."     ³Then the LORD asked, "What do you think of my servant Job? No one on earth is like him--he is a truly good person, who respects me and refuses to do evil. And he hasn't changed, even though you persuaded me to destroy him for no reason."
    ⁴Satan answered, "There's no pain like your own. ^[h] People will do anything to stay alive. ⁵Try striking Job's own body with pain, and he will curse you to your face." ⁶"All right!" the LORD replied. "Make Job suffer as much as you want, but just don't kill him." ⁷Satan left and caused painful sores to break out all over Job's body--from head to toe.
    ⁸Then Job sat on the ash-heap to show his sorrow. And while he was scraping his sores with a broken piece of pottery, ⁹his wife asked, "Why do you still trust God? Why don't you curse him and die?"
    ¹⁰Job replied, "Don't talk like a fool! If we accept blessings from God, we must accept trouble as well." In all that happened, Job never once said anything against God.
   

Job's Three Friends

 ¹¹Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuah, and Zophar from Naamah ^[i] were three of Job's friends, and they heard about his troubles. So they agreed to visit Job and comfort him. ¹²When they came near enough to see Job, they could hardly recognize him. And in their great sorrow, they tore their clothes, then sprinkled dust on their heads and cried bitterly. ¹³For seven days and nights, they sat silently on the ground beside him, because they realized what terrible pain he was in.

Job 3

Job's First Speech

Blot Out the Day of My Birth

 ¹Finally, Job cursed the day    of his birth
    ²by saying to God:
    ³Blot out the day of my birth
   and the night when my parents
   created a son.
    ⁴Forget about that day,
   cover it with darkness,
    ⁵and send thick, gloomy shadows
   to fill it with dread.
    ⁶Erase that night from the calendar
   and conceal it with darkness.
    ⁷Don't let children be created
   or joyful shouts be heard
   ever again in that night.
    ⁸Let those with magic powers ^[j] place a curse on that day.
    ⁹Darken its morning stars
   and remove all hope of light,
    ¹⁰because it let me be born
   into a world of trouble.
   

Why Didn't I Die at Birth?

 ¹¹Why didn't I die at birth?     ¹²Why was I accepted ^[k] and allowed to nurse
   at my mother's breast?
    ¹³Now I would be at peace
   in the silent world below
    ¹⁴with kings and their advisors
   whose palaces lie in ruins,
    ¹⁵and with rulers once rich
   with silver and gold.
    ¹⁶I wish I had been born dead
   and then buried,
   never to see
   the light of day.
    ¹⁷In the world of the dead,
   the wicked and the weary rest
   without a worry.
    ¹⁸Everyone is there--
    ¹⁹where captives and slaves
   are free at last.
   

Why Does God Let Me Live?

 ²⁰Why does God let me live    when life is miserable
   and so bitter?
    ²¹I keep longing for death
   more than I would seek
   a valuable treasure.
    ²²Nothing could make me happier
   than to be in the grave.
    ²³Why do I go on living
   when God has me surrounded,
   and I can't see the road?
    ²⁴Moaning and groaning
   are my food and drink,
    ²⁵and my worst fears
   have all come true.
    ²⁶I have no peace or rest--
   only troubles and worries.
   

Footnotes:

1. Job 1:1 Uz: The exact location of this place is unknown, though it was possibly somewhere in northwest Arabia.
2. Job 1:6 angels: See the note at 15.8.
3. Job 1:6 Satan: Hebrew "the accuser."
4. Job 1:15 Sabeans: Perhaps the people of Sheba in what is now southwest Arabia (see Isaiah 60.6).
5. Job 1:17 Chaldeans: People from the region of Babylonia, northeast of Palestine.
6. Job 2:1 angels: See the note at 15.8.
7. Job 2:1 Satan: See the note at 1.6.
8. Job 2:4 There's no pain like your own: The Hebrew text has "Skin for skin," which was probably a popular saying.
9. Job 2:11 Teman. . . Shuah. . . Naamah: Teman was a place in northern Edom; Shuah may have been a town on the Euphrates River or else further south, near the towns of Dedan and Sheba; Naamah may have been located on the road between Beirut and Damascus, though its exact location is unknown.
10. Job 3:8 those with magic powers: The Hebrew text has "those who can place a curse on the day and rouse up Leviathan," which was some kind of sea monster. God's victory over this monster sometimes stood for God's power over all creation and sometimes for his defeat of his enemies (see Isaiah 27.1). In Job 41.1, Leviathan is either a sea monster or a crocodile with almost supernatural powers.
11. Job 3:12 Why was I accepted: The Hebrew text has "Why were there knees to receive me," which may refer either to Job's mother or to his father, who would have placed Job on his knees to show that he had accepted him as his child.

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1 Corinthians 14:1-17 (Contemporary English Version)

1 Corinthians 14

Speaking Unknown Languages and Prophesying

 ¹Love should be your guide. Be eager to have the gifts that come from the Holy Spirit, especially the gift of prophecy. ²If you speak languages that others don't know, God will understand what you are saying, though no one else will know what you mean. You will be talking about mysteries that only the Spirit understands. ³But when you prophesy, you will be understood, and others will be helped. They will be encouraged and made to feel better.     ⁴By speaking languages that others don't know, you help only yourself. But by prophesying you help everyone in the church. ⁵I am glad for you to speak unknown languages, although I had rather for you to prophesy. In fact, prophesying does much more good than speaking unknown languages, unless someone can help the church by explaining what you mean.
    ⁶My friends, what good would it do, if I came and spoke unknown languages to you and didn't explain what I meant? How would I help you, unless I told you what God had shown me or gave you some knowledge or prophecy or teaching? ⁷If all musical instruments sounded alike, how would you know the difference between a flute and a harp? ⁸If a bugle call isn't clear, how would you know to get ready for battle?
    ⁹That's how it is when you speak unknown languages. If no one can understand what you are talking about, you will only be talking to the wind. ¹⁰There are many different languages in this world, and all of them make sense. ¹¹But if I don't understand the language that someone is using, we will be like foreigners to each other. ¹²If you really want spiritual gifts, choose the ones that will be most helpful to the church.
    ¹³When we speak languages that others don't know, we should pray for the power to explain what we mean. ¹⁴For example, if I use an unknown language in my prayers, my spirit prays but my mind is useless. ¹⁵Then what should I do? There are times when I should pray with my spirit, and times when I should pray with my mind. Sometimes I should sing with my spirit, and at other times I should sing with my mind.
    ¹⁶Suppose some strangers are in your worship service, when you are praising God with your spirit. If they don't understand you, how will they know to say, "Amen"? ¹⁷You may be worshiping God in a wonderful way, but no one else will be helped.

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Psalm 37:12-29 (Contemporary English Version)

¹²Merciless people make plots
   against good people
   and snarl like animals,
    ¹³but the Lord laughs and knows
   their time is coming soon.
    ¹⁴The wicked kill with swords
   and shoot arrows
   to murder
   the poor and the needy
   and all who do right.
    ¹⁵But they will be killed
   by their own swords,
   and their arrows
   will be broken.
    ¹⁶It is better to live right
   and be poor
   than to be sinful and rich.
    ¹⁷The wicked will lose all
   of their power,
   but the LORD gives strength
   to everyone who is good.
    ¹⁸Those who obey the LORD
   are daily in his care,
   and what he has given them
   will be theirs forever.
    ¹⁹They won't be in trouble
   when times are bad,
   and they will have plenty
   when food is scarce.
    ²⁰Wicked people are enemies
   of the LORD
   and will vanish like smoke
   from a field on fire.
    ²¹An evil person borrows
   and never pays back;
   a good person is generous
   and never stops giving.
    ²²Everyone the LORD blesses
   will receive the land;
   everyone the LORD curses
   will be destroyed.
    ²³If you do what the LORD wants,
   he will make certain
   each step you take is sure.
    ²⁴The LORD will hold your hand,
   and if you stumble,
   you still won't fall.
    ²⁵As long as I can remember,
   good people have never
   been left helpless,
   and their children have never
   gone begging for food.
    ²⁶They gladly give and lend,
   and their children
   turn out good.
    ²⁷If you stop sinning
   and start doing right,
   you will keep living
   and be secure forever.
    ²⁸The LORD loves justice,
   and he won't ever desert
   his faithful people.
   He always protects them,
   but destroys the children
   of the wicked.
    ²⁹God's people will own the land
   and live here forever.

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Proverbs 21:25-26 (Contemporary English Version)

²⁵If you want too much
   and are too lazy to work,
   it could be fatal.
    ²⁶But people who obey God
   are always generous.

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Verse of the Day

“Every day, you are kind, and at night you give me a song as my prayer to you, the living LORD God.” - Psalm 42:8

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Sara Teasdale, American lyrical poet, wrote, “I have no riches but my thoughts. Yet these are wealth enough for me.”