Bible Readings for September 1, 2013

Today our passages are Job 40:1–42:17; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21; Psalm 45:1-17; and Proverbs 22:14. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

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Job 40-42:17 (Contemporary English Version)

Job 40

The LORD Continues

I Am the LORD All-Powerful

 ¹I am the LORD All-Powerful,     ²but you have argued
   that I am wrong.
   Now you must answer me.
    ³Job said to the LORD:
    ⁴Who am I to answer you?
    ⁵I did speak once or twice,
   but never again.
    ⁶Then out of the storm
   the LORD said to Job:
    ⁷Face me and answer
   the questions I ask!
    ⁸Are you trying to prove
   that you are innocent
   by accusing me of injustice?
    ⁹Do you have a powerful arm
   and a thundering voice
   that compare with mine?
    ¹⁰If so, then surround yourself
   with glory and majesty.
    ¹¹Show your furious anger!
   Throw down and crush
    ¹²all who are proud and evil.
    ¹³Wrap them in grave clothes
   and bury them together
   in the dusty soil.
    ¹⁴Do this, and I will agree
   that you have won
   this argument.
   

I Created You

 ¹⁵I created both you    and the hippopotamus. ^[a] It eats only grass like an ox,
    ¹⁶but look at the mighty muscles
   in its body ¹⁷and legs.
   Its tail is like a cedar tree,
   and its thighs are thick.
    ¹⁸The bones in its legs
   are like bronze or iron.
    ¹⁹I made it more powerful
   than any other creature,
   yet I am stronger still.
    ²⁰Undisturbed, it eats grass
   while the other animals
   play nearby. ^{[b] 21}It rests in the shade of trees
   along the riverbank
    ²²or hides among reeds
   in the swamp.
    ²³It remains calm and unafraid
   with the Jordan River rushing
   and splashing in its face.
    ²⁴There is no way to capture
   a hippopotamus--
   not even by hooking its nose
   or blinding its eyes.
   

Job 41

The LORD Continues

Can You Catch a Sea Monster?

 ¹Can you catch a sea monster ^[c] by using a fishhook?    Can you tie its mouth shut
   with a rope?
    ²Can it be led around
   by a ring in its nose
   or a hook in its jaw?
    ³Will it beg for mercy?
    ⁴Will it surrender
   as a slave for life?
    ⁵Can it be tied by the leg
   like a pet bird
   for little girls?
    ⁶Is it ever chopped up
   and its pieces bargained for
   in the fish-market?
    ⁷Can it be killed
   with harpoons or spears?
    ⁸Wrestle it just once--
   that will be the end.
    ⁹Merely a glimpse of this monster
   makes all courage melt.
    ¹⁰And if it is too fierce
   for anyone to attack,
   who would dare oppose me?
    ¹¹I am in command of the world
   and in debt to no one.
    ¹²What powerful legs,
   what a stout body
   this monster possesses!
    ¹³Who could strip off its armor
   or bring it under control
   with a harness?
    ¹⁴Who would try to open its jaws,
   full of fearsome teeth?
    ¹⁵Its back ^[d] is covered with shield after shield,
    ¹⁶firmly bound and closer together
    ¹⁷than breath to breath.
   

When This Monster Sneezes

 ¹⁸When this monster sneezes,    lightning flashes,
   and its eyes
   glow like the dawn.
    ¹⁹Sparks and fiery flames
   explode from its mouth.
    ²⁰And smoke spews from its nose
   like steam
   from a boiling pot,
    ²¹while its blazing breath
   scorches everything in sight.
    ²²Its neck is so tremendous
   that everyone trembles,
    ²³the weakest parts of its body
   are harder than iron,
    ²⁴and its heart is stone.
    ²⁵When this noisy monster appears,
   even the most powerful ^[e] turn and run in fear.
    ²⁶No sword or spear can harm it,
    ²⁷and weapons of bronze or iron
   are as useless
   as straw
   or rotten wood.
    ²⁸Rocks thrown from a sling
   cause it no more harm
   than husks of grain.
   This monster fears no arrows,
    ²⁹it simply smiles at spears,
   and striking it with a stick
   is like slapping it with straw.
    ³⁰As it crawls through the mud,
   its sharp and spiny hide
   tears the ground apart.
    ³¹And when it swims down deep,
   the sea starts churning
   like boiling oil,
    ³²and it leaves behind a trail
   of shining white foam.
    ³³No other creature on earth
   is so fearless.
    ³⁴It is king of all proud creatures,
   and it looks upon the others
   as nothing.
   

Job 42

Job's Reply to the LORD

No One Can Oppose You

 ¹Job said:     ²No one can oppose you,
   because you have the power
   to do what you want.
    ³You asked why I talk so much
   when I know so little.
   I have talked about things
   that are far beyond
   my understanding.
    ⁴You told me to listen
   and answer your questions. ^{[f] 5}I heard about you from others;
   now I have seen you
   with my own eyes.
    ⁶That's why I hate myself
   and sit here in dust and ashes
   to show my sorrow.
   

The LORD Corrects Job's Friends

 ⁷The LORD said to Eliphaz:    What my servant Job has said about me is true, but I am angry at you and your two friends for not telling the truth. ⁸So I want you to go over to Job and offer seven bulls and seven goats on an altar as a sacrifice to please me. ^[g] After this, Job will pray, and I will agree not to punish you for your foolishness. ⁹Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar obeyed the LORD, and he answered Job's prayer.
   

A Happy Ending

 ¹⁰After Job had prayed for his three friends, the LORD made Job twice as rich as he had been before. ¹¹Then Job gave a feast for his brothers and sisters and for his old friends. They expressed their sorrow for the suffering the LORD had brought on him, and they each gave Job some silver and a gold ring.     ¹²The LORD now blessed Job more than ever; he gave him fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand pair of oxen, and a thousand donkeys.
    ¹³In addition to seven sons, Job had three daughters, ¹⁴whose names were Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren Happuch. ¹⁵They were the most beautiful women in that part of the world, and Job gave them shares of his property, along with their brothers.
    ¹⁶Job lived for another one hundred forty years--long enough to see his great-grandchildren have children of their own-- ¹⁷and when he finally died, he was very old.
   

Footnotes:

1. Job 40:15 the hippopotamus: The Hebrew text has "Behemoth," which was sometimes understood to be a sea monster like Rahab (9.13; 26.12), Leviathan (3.8; 41.1), and Tannin (7.12).
2. Job 40:20 nearby: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 20.
3. Job 41:1 sea monster: The Hebrew text has "Leviathan," which may refer to a sea monster or possibly to a crocodile in this verse (see the note at 3.8).
4. Job 41:15 back: Two ancient translations; Hebrew "pride."
5. Job 41:25 most powerful: Or "gods."
6. Job 42:4 questions: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 4.
7. Job 42:8 sacrifice to please me: These sacrifices have traditionally been called "whole burnt offerings" because the whole animal was burned on the altar. A main purpose of such sacrifices was to please the LORD with the smell of the sacrifice, and so in the CEV they are often called "sacrifices to please the LORD."

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2 Corinthians 5:11-21 (Contemporary English Version)

Bringing People to God

 ¹¹We know what it means to respect the Lord, and we encourage everyone to turn to him. God himself knows what we are like, and I hope you also know what kind of people we are. ¹²We are not trying once more to brag about ourselves. But we want you to be proud of us, when you are with those who are not sincere and brag about what others think of them.     ¹³If we seem out of our minds, it is between God and us. But if we are in our right minds, it is for your good. ¹⁴We are ruled by Christ's love for us. We are certain that if one person died for everyone else, then all of us have died. ¹⁵And Christ did die for all of us. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us.
    ¹⁶We are careful not to judge people by what they seem to be, though we once judged Christ in that way. ¹⁷Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. ¹⁸God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others.
    ¹⁹What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace. ²⁰We were sent to speak for Christ, and God is begging you to listen to our message. We speak for Christ and sincerely ask you to make peace with God. ²¹Christ never sinned! But God treated him as a sinner, so that Christ could make us acceptable to God.

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Psalm 45:1-17 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 45

(A special psalm for the people of Korah and for the music leader. To the tune "Lilies." A love song.)

For a Royal Wedding

 ¹My thoughts are filled    with beautiful words
   for the king,
   and I will use my voice
   as a writer would use
   pen and ink.
    ²No one is as handsome as you!
   Your words are always kind.
   That is why God
   will always bless you.
    ³Mighty king, glorious ruler,
   strap on your sword
    ⁴and ride out in splendor!
   Win victories for truth
   and mercy and justice.
   Do fearsome things
   with your powerful arm.
    ⁵Send your sharp arrows
   through enemy hearts
   and make all nations fall
   at your feet.
    ⁶You are God, and you will rule
   forever as king. ^[a] Your royal power
   brings about justice.
    ⁷You love justice and hate evil.
   And so, your God chose you
   and made you happier
   than any of your friends.
    ⁸The sweet aroma of the spices
   myrrh, aloes, and cassia,
   covers your royal robes.
   You enjoy the music of harps
   in palaces decorated
   with ivory.
    ⁹Daughters of kings are here,
   and your bride stands
   at your right side,
   wearing a wedding gown
   trimmed with pure gold. ^{[b] 10}Bride of the king,
   listen carefully to me.
   Forget your own people
   and your father's family.
    ¹¹The king is your husband,
   so do what he desires.
    ¹²All of the richest people
   from the city of Tyre
   will try to influence you
    ¹³with precious treasures.
   Your bride, my king,
   has inward beauty, ^[c] and her wedding gown is woven
   with threads of gold.
    ¹⁴Wearing the finest garments,
   she is brought to you,
   followed by her young friends,
   the bridesmaids.
    ¹⁵Everyone is excited,
   as they follow you
   to the royal palace.
    ¹⁶Your sons and your grandsons
   will also be kings
   as your ancestors were.
   You will make them the rulers
   everywhere on earth.
    ¹⁷I will make your name famous
   from now on,
   and you will be praised
   forever and ever.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 45:6 You. . . king: Or " God has made you king, and you will rule forever."
2. Psalm 45:9 trimmed with pure gold: Hebrew has " with gold from Ophir," which may have been in Africa or India. Gold from there was considered the very best.
3. Psalm 45:13 has inward beauty: Or " is dressed in her room."

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Proverbs 22:14 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁴The words of a bad woman
   are like a deep pit;
   if you make the LORD angry,
   you will fall right in.

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Verse of the Day

“Teach your children right from wrong, and when they are grown they will still do right.” - Proverbs 22:6

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

Khalil Gibran,  Lebanese artist, poet, and writer, wrote, “Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.”