Bible Readings for August 31, 2013

Today our passages are Job 37:1–39:30; 2 Corinthians 4:13–5:10; Psalm 44:9-26; and Proverbs 22:13. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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Job 37-39:30 (Contemporary English Version)

Job 37

Elihu Continues

I Am Frightened

 ¹I am frightened    and tremble all over,
    ²when I hear the roaring voice
   of God in the thunder,
    ³and when I see his lightning
   flash across the sky.
    ⁴God's majestic voice
   thunders his commands, ^[a] ⁵creating miracles too marvelous
   for us to understand.
    ⁶Snow and heavy rainstorms
    ⁷make us stop and think
   about God's power,
    ⁸and they force animals
   to seek shelter.
    ⁹The windstorms of winter strike,
    ¹⁰and the breath of God
   freezes streams and rivers.
    ¹¹Rain clouds filled with lightning
   appear at God's command,
    ¹²traveling across the sky
    ¹³to release their cargo--
   sometimes as punishment for sin,
   sometimes as kindness.
   

Consider Carefully

 ¹⁴Job, consider carefully    the many wonders of God.
    ¹⁵Can you explain why lightning
   flashes
   at the orders
    ¹⁶of God who knows all things?
   Or how he hangs the clouds
   in empty space?
    ¹⁷You almost melt in the heat
   of fierce desert winds
   when the sky is like brass.
    ¹⁸God can spread out the clouds
   to get relief from the heat,
   but can you?
    ¹⁹Tell us what to say to God!
   Our minds are in the dark,
   and we don't know how
   to argue our case.
    ²⁰Should I risk my life
   by telling God
   that I want to speak?
    ²¹No one can stare at the sun
   after a breeze has blown
   the clouds from the sky.
    ²²Yet the glorious splendor
   of God All-Powerful
   is brighter by far.
    ²³God cannot be seen--
   but his power is great,
   and he is always fair.
    ²⁴And so we humans fear God,
   because he shows no respect
   for those who are proud
   and think they know so much.
   

Job 38

The LORD Speaks

From Out of a Storm

 ¹From out of a storm,    the LORD said to Job:
    ²Why do you talk so much
   when you know so little?
    ³Now get ready to face me!
   Can you answer
   the questions I ask?
    ⁴How did I lay the foundation
   for the earth?
   Were you there?
    ⁵Doubtless you know who decided
   its length and width.
    ⁶What supports the foundation?
   Who placed the cornerstone,
    ⁷while morning stars sang,
   and angels rejoiced?
    ⁸When the ocean was born,
   I set its boundaries
    ⁹and wrapped it in blankets
   of thickest fog.
    ¹⁰Then I built a wall around it,
   locked the gates, ¹¹and said,
   "Your powerful waves stop here!
   They can go no farther."
   

Did You Ever Tell the Sun To Rise?

 ¹²Did you ever tell the sun to rise?    And did it obey?
    ¹³Did it take hold of the earth
   and shake out the wicked
   like dust from a rug?
    ¹⁴Early dawn outlines the hills
   like stitches on clothing
   or sketches on clay.
    ¹⁵But its light is too much
   for those who are evil,
   and their power is broken.
    ¹⁶Job, have you ever walked
   on the ocean floor?
    ¹⁷Have you seen the gate
   to the world of the dead?
    ¹⁸And how large is the earth?
   Tell me, if you know!
    ¹⁹Where is the home of light,
   and where does darkness live?
    ²⁰Can you lead them home?
    ²¹I'm certain you must be able to,
   since you were already born
   when I created everything.
    ²²Have you been to the places
   where I keep snow and hail,
    ²³until I use them to punish
   and conquer nations?
    ²⁴From where does lightning leap,
   or the east wind blow?
    ²⁵Who carves out a path
   for thunderstorms?
   Who sends torrents of rain
    ²⁶on empty deserts
   where no one lives?
    ²⁷Rain that changes barren land
   to meadows green with grass.
    ²⁸Who is the father of the dew
   and of the rain?
    ²⁹Who gives birth to the sleet
   and the frost
    ³⁰that fall in winter,
   when streams and lakes
   freeze solid as a rock?
   

Can You Arrange Stars?

 ³¹Can you arrange stars in groups    such as Orion
   and the Pleiades?
    ³²Do you control the stars
   or set in place the Big Dipper
   and the Little Dipper?
    ³³Do you know the laws
   that govern the heavens,
   and can you make them rule
   the earth?
    ³⁴Can you order the clouds
   to send a downpour,
    ³⁵or will lightning flash
   at your command?
    ³⁶Did you teach birds to know
   that rain or floods
   are on their way? ^[b] ³⁷Can you count the clouds
   or pour out their water
    ³⁸on the dry, lumpy soil?
    ³⁹When lions are hungry,
   do you help them hunt?
    ⁴⁰Do you send an animal
   into their den?
    ⁴¹And when starving young ravens
   cry out to me for food,
   do you satisfy their hunger?
   

Job 39

The LORD Continues

When Do Mountain Goats Give Birth?

 ¹When do mountain goats    and deer give birth?
   Have you been there
   when their young are born?
    ²How long are they pregnant
    ³before they deliver?
    ⁴Soon their young grow strong
   and then leave
   to be on their own.
    ⁵Who set wild donkeys free?
    ⁶I alone help them survive
   in salty desert sand.
    ⁷They stay far from crowded cities
   and refuse to be tamed.
    ⁸Instead, they roam the hills,
   searching for pastureland.
    ⁹Would a wild ox agree
   to live in your barn
   and labor for you?
    ¹⁰Could you force him to plow
   or to drag a heavy log
   to smooth out the soil?
    ¹¹Can you depend on him
   to use his great strength
   and do your heavy work?
    ¹²Can you trust him
   to harvest your grain
   or take it to your barn
   from the threshing place?
   

An Ostrich Proudly Flaps Her Wings

 ¹³An ostrich proudly    flaps her wings,
   but not because
   she loves her young.
    ¹⁴She abandons her eggs
   and lets the dusty ground
   keep them warm.
    ¹⁵And she doesn't seem to worry
   that the feet of an animal
   could crush them all.
    ¹⁶She treats her eggs as though
   they were not her own,
   unconcerned that her work
   might be for nothing.
    ¹⁷I myself made her foolish
   and without common sense.
    ¹⁸But once she starts running, ^[c] she laughs at a rider
   on the fastest horse.
   

Did You Give Horses Their Strength?

 ¹⁹Did you give horses their strength    and the flowing hair
   along their necks?
    ²⁰Did you make them able
   to jump like grasshoppers
   or to frighten people
   with their snorting?
    ²¹Before horses are ridden
   into battle,
   they paw at the ground,
   proud of their strength.
    ²²Laughing at fear, they rush
   toward the fighting,
    ²³while the weapons of their riders
   rattle and flash in the sun.
    ²⁴Unable to stand still,
   they gallop eagerly into battle
   when trumpets blast.
    ²⁵Stirred by the distant smells
   and sounds of war,
   they snort
   in reply to the trumpet.
    ²⁶Did you teach hawks to fly south
   for the winter?
    ²⁷Did you train eagles ^[d] to build ²⁸their nests on rocky cliffs,
    ²⁹where they can look down
   to spot their next meal?
    ³⁰Then their young gather to feast
   wherever the victim lies.
   

Footnotes:

1. Job 37:4 commands: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 4.
2. Job 38:36 way: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 36.
3. Job 39:18 starts running: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
4. Job 39:27 eagles: Or "vultures."

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2 Corinthians 4:13-5:10 (Contemporary English Version)

¹³In the Scriptures it says, "I spoke because I had faith." We have that same kind of faith. So we speak ¹⁴because we know that God raised the Lord Jesus to life. And just as God raised Jesus, he will also raise us to life. Then he will bring us into his presence together with you. ¹⁵All of this has been done for you, so that more and more people will know how kind God is and will praise and honor him.
   

Faith in the Lord

 ¹⁶We never give up. Our bodies are gradually dying, but we ourselves are being made stronger each day. ¹⁷These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing. ¹⁸Things that are seen don't last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. That's why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen.    

2 Corinthians 5

 ¹Our bodies are like tents that we live in here on earth. But when these tents are destroyed, we know that God will give each of us a place to live. These homes will not be buildings that someone has made, but they are in heaven and will last forever. ²While we are here on earth, we sigh because we want to live in that heavenly home. ³We want to put it on like clothes and not be naked.     ⁴These tents we now live in are like a heavy burden, and we groan. But we don't do this just because we want to leave these bodies that will die. It is because we want to change them for bodies that will never die. ⁵God is the one who makes all of this possible. He has given us his Spirit to make us certain that he will do it. ⁶So always be cheerful!
   As long as we are in these bodies, we are away from the Lord. ⁷But we live by faith, not by what we see. ⁸We should be cheerful, because we would rather leave these bodies and be at home with the Lord. ⁹But whether we are at home with the Lord or away from him, we still try our best to please him. ¹⁰After all, Christ will judge each of us for the good or the bad that we do while living in these bodies.

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Psalm 44:9-26 (Contemporary English Version)

⁹But now you have rejected us;
   you don't lead us into battle,
   and we look foolish.
    ¹⁰You made us retreat,
   and our enemies have taken
   everything we own.
    ¹¹You let us be slaughtered
   like sheep,
   and you scattered us
   among the nations.
    ¹²You sold your people
   for little or nothing,
   and you earned no profit.
    ¹³You made us look foolish
   to our neighbors,
   and people who live nearby
   insult us and sneer.
    ¹⁴Foreigners joke about us
   and shake their heads.
    ¹⁵I am embarrassed every day,
   and I blush with shame.
    ¹⁶But others mock and sneer,
   as they watch my enemies
   take revenge on me.
    ¹⁷All of this has happened to us,
   though we didn't forget you
   or break our agreement.
    ¹⁸We always kept you in mind
   and followed your teaching.
    ¹⁹But you crushed us,
   and you covered us
   with deepest darkness
   where wild animals live.
    ²⁰We did not forget you
   or lift our hands in prayer
   to foreign gods.
    ²¹You would have known it
   because you discover
   every secret thought.
    ²²We face death all day for you.
   We are like sheep on their way
   to be slaughtered.
    ²³Wake up! Do something, Lord!
   Why are you sleeping?
   Don't desert us forever.
    ²⁴Why do you keep looking away?
   Don't forget our sufferings
   and all of our troubles.
    ²⁵We are flat on the ground,
   holding on to the dust.
    ²⁶Do something! Help us!
   Show how kind you are
   and come to our rescue.

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Proverbs 22:13 (Contemporary English Version)

¹³Don't be so lazy that you say,
   "If I go to work,
   a lion will eat me!"

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Verse of the Day

“Bow down and worship the LORD our Creator! The LORD is our God, and we are his people, the sheep he takes care of in his own pasture. Listen to God's voice today!” - Psalm 95:6-7

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, wrote, “There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.”