Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Now King Ahasuerus imposed a tax on the land and the coastlands of the sea.

²And every accomplishment of his authority and power, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai with which the king honored him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia?

³For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews and in favor with his many kinsmen, one who sought the good of his people and one who spoke for the welfare of his entire nation.

¹There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.

²Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.

³His possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

⁴His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send word and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

⁵When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send word to them and consecrate them, getting up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job did so continually.

⁶Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

⁷The LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

⁸The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”

⁹Then Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

¹⁰Have You not made a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

¹¹But reach out with Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will certainly curse You to Your face.”

¹²Then the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not reach out and put your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.

¹³Now on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

¹⁴a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the female donkeys feeding beside them,

¹⁵and the Sabeans attacked and took them. They also killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

¹⁶While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

¹⁷While he was still speaking, another came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three units and made a raid on the camels and took them, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

¹⁸While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

¹⁹and behold, a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people and they died, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

²⁰Then Job got up, tore his robe, and shaved his head; then he fell to the ground and worshiped.

²¹He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

²²Despite all this, Job did not sin, nor did he blame God.

¹Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD.

²The LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.”

³The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds firm to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”

⁴Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life.

⁵However, reach out with Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face!”

⁶So the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”

⁷Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with severe boils from the sole of his foot to the top of his head.

⁸And Job took a piece of pottery to scrape himself while he was sitting in the ashes.

⁹Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold firm your integrity? Curse God and die!”

¹⁰But he said to her, “You are speaking as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we actually accept good from God but not accept adversity?” Despite all this, Job did not sin with his lips.

¹¹Now when Job’s three friends heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, they came, each one from his own place—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and comfort him.

¹²When they looked from a distance and did not recognize him, they raised their voices and wept. And each of them tore his robe, and they threw dust over their heads toward the sky.

¹³Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, with no one speaking a word to him, for they saw that his pain was very great.

¹Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.

²And Job said,

³“May the day on which I was to be born perish, As well as the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’

⁴May that day be darkness; May God above not care for it, Nor light shine on it.

⁵May darkness and black gloom claim it; May a cloud settle on it; May the blackness of the day terrify it.

⁶As for that night, may darkness seize it; May it not rejoice among the days of the year; May it not come into the number of the months.

⁷Behold, may that night be barren; May no joyful shout enter it.

⁸May those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to disturb Leviathan.

⁹May the stars of its twilight be darkened; May it wait for light but have none, And may it not see the breaking dawn;

¹⁰Because it did not shut the opening of my mother’s womb, Or hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹“Why did I not die at birth, Come out of the womb and pass away?

¹²Why were the knees there in front of me, And why the breasts, that I would nurse?

¹³For now I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept then, I would have been at rest,

¹⁴With kings and counselors of the earth, Who rebuilt ruins for themselves;

¹⁵Or with rulers who had gold, Who were filling their houses with silver.

¹⁶Or like a miscarriage which is hidden, I would not exist, As infants that never saw light.

¹⁷There the wicked cease from raging, And there the weary are at rest.

¹⁸The prisoners are at ease together; They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.

¹⁹The small and the great are there, And the slave is free from his master.

²⁰“Why is light given to one burdened with grief, And life to the bitter of soul,

²¹Who long for death, but there is none, And dig for it more than for hidden treasures;

²²Who are filled with jubilation, And rejoice when they find the grave?

²³Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has shut off?

²⁴For my groaning comes at the sight of my food, And my cries pour out like water.

²⁵For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread encounters me.

²⁶I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.”

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

²“If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient? But who can refrain from speaking?

³Behold, you have taught many, And you have strengthened weak hands.

⁴Your words have helped the stumbling to stand, And you have strengthened feeble knees.

⁵But now it comes to you, and you are impatient; It touches you, and you are horrified.

⁶Is your fear of God not your confidence, And the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed?

⁸According to what I have seen, those who plow wrongdoing And those who sow trouble harvest it.

⁹By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of His anger they come to an end.

¹⁰The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken out.

¹¹The lion perishes for lack of prey, And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹²“Now a word was brought to me secretly, And my ear received a whisper of it.

¹³Amid disquieting thoughts from visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on people,

¹⁴Dread came upon me, and trembling, And made all my bones shake.

¹⁵Then a spirit passed by my face; The hair of my flesh stood up.

¹⁶Something was standing still, but I could not recognize its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I heard a voice:

¹⁷‘Can mankind be righteous before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?

¹⁸He puts no trust even in His servants; And He accuses His angels of error.

¹⁹How much more those who live in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth!

²⁰Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unregarded, they perish forever.

²¹Is their tent-cord not pulled out within them? They die, yet without wisdom.’

¹“Call now, is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

²For irritation kills the fool, And jealousy brings death to the simple.

³I have seen the fool taking root, And I cursed his home immediately.

⁴His sons are far from safety, They are also oppressed at the gate, And there is no one to save them.

⁵The hungry devour his harvest And take it to a place of thorns, And the schemer is eager for their wealth.

⁶For disaster does not come from the dust, Nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

⁷For man is born for trouble, As sparks fly upward.

⁸“But as for me, I would seek God, And I would make my plea before God,

⁹Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number.

¹⁰He gives rain on the earth, And sends water on the fields,

¹¹So that He sets on high those who are lowly, And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

¹²He frustrates the schemes of the shrewd, So that their hands cannot attain success.

¹³He captures the wise by their own cleverness, And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.

¹⁴By day they meet with darkness, And grope at noon as in the night.

¹⁵But He saves from the sword of their mouth, And the poor from the hand of the strong.

¹⁶So the helpless has hope, And injustice has shut its mouth.

¹⁷“Behold, happy is the person whom God disciplines, So do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.

¹⁸For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, but His hands also heal.

¹⁹In six troubles He will save you; Even in seven, evil will not touch you.

²⁰In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war, from the power of the sword.

²¹You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.

²²You will laugh at violence and hunger, And you will not be afraid of wild animals.

²³For you will be in league with the stones of the field, And the animals of the field will be at peace with you.

²⁴You will know that your tent is secure, For you will visit your home and have nothing missing.

²⁵You will also know that your descendants will be many, And your offspring as the grass of the earth.

²⁶You will come to the grave at a ripe age, Like the stacking of grain in its season.

²⁷Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is. Hear it, and know for yourself.”

¹Then Job responded,

²“Oh if only my grief were actually weighed And laid in the balances together with my disaster!

³For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; For that reason my words have been rash.

⁴For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, My spirit drinks their poison; The terrors of God line up against me.

⁵Does the wild donkey bray over his grass, Or does the ox low over his feed?

⁶Can something tasteless be eaten without salt, Or is there any taste in the juice of an alkanet plant?

⁷My soul refuses to touch them; They are like loathsome food to me.

⁸“Oh, that my request might come to pass, And that God would grant my hope!

⁹Oh, that God would decide to crush me, That He would let loose His hand and cut me off!

¹⁰But it is still my comfort, And I rejoice in unsparing pain, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should endure?

¹²Is my strength the strength of stones, Or is my flesh bronze?

¹³Is it that my help is not within me, And that a good outcome is driven away from me?

¹⁴“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend; So that he does not abandon the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi, Like the torrents of wadis which drain away,

¹⁶Which are darkened because of ice, And into which the snow melts.

¹⁷When they dry up, they vanish; When it is hot, they disappear from their place.

¹⁸The paths of their course wind along, They go up into wasteland and perish.

¹⁹The caravans of Tema looked, The travelers of Sheba hoped for them.

²⁰They were put to shame, for they had trusted, They came there and were humiliated.

²¹Indeed, you have now become such, You see terrors and are afraid.

²²Have I said, ‘Give me something,’ Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’

²³Or, ‘Save me from the hand of the enemy,’ Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

²⁴“Teach me, and I will be silent; And show me how I have done wrong.

²⁵How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove?

²⁶Do you intend to rebuke my words, When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?

²⁷You would even cast lots for the orphans, And barter over your friend.

²⁸Now please look at me, And see if I am lying to your face.

²⁹Please turn away, let there be no injustice; Turn away, my righteousness is still in it.

³⁰Is there injustice on my tongue? Does my palate not discern disasters?

¹“Is a person not forced to labor on earth, And are his days not like the days of a hired worker?

²As a slave pants for the shade, And as a hired worker who eagerly waits for his wages,

³So I am allotted worthless months, And nights of trouble are apportioned to me.

⁴When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night continues, And I am continually tossing until dawn.

⁵My flesh is clothed with maggots and a crust of dirt, My skin hardens and oozes.

⁶My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And they come to an end without hope.

⁷“Remember that my life is a mere breath; My eye will not see goodness again.

⁸The eye of him who sees me will no longer look at me; Your eyes will be on me, but I will not exist.

⁹When a cloud vanishes, it is gone; In the same way one who goes down to Sheol does not come up.

¹⁰He will not return to his house again, Nor will his place know about him anymore.

¹¹“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

¹²Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me?

¹³If I say, ‘My couch will comfort me, My bed will ease my complaint,’

¹⁴Then You frighten me with dreams, And terrify me by visions,

¹⁵So that my soul would choose suffocation, Death rather than my pains.

¹⁶I waste away; I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are only a breath.

¹⁷What is man that You exalt him, And that You are concerned about him,

¹⁸That You examine him every morning And put him to the test every moment?

¹⁹Will You never turn Your gaze away from me, Nor leave me alone until I swallow my spittle?

²⁰Have I sinned? What have I done to You, Watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, So that I am a burden to myself?

²¹Why then do You not forgive my wrongdoing And take away my guilt? For now I will lie down in the dust; And You will search for me, but I will no longer exist.”

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,

²“How long will you say these things, And the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

³Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?

⁴If your sons sinned against Him, Then He turned them over to the power of their wrongdoing.

⁵If you will search for God And implore the compassion of the Almighty,

⁶If you are pure and upright, Surely now He will stir Himself for you And restore your righteous estate.

⁷Though your beginning was insignificant, Yet your end will increase greatly.

⁸“Please inquire of past generations, And consider the things searched out by their fathers.

⁹For we are only of yesterday and know nothing, Because our days on earth are as a shadow.

¹⁰Will they not teach you and tell you, And bring forth words from their minds?

¹¹“Can papyrus grow tall without a marsh? Can the rushes grow without water?

¹²While it is still green and not cut down, Yet it withers before any other plant.

¹³So are the paths of all who forget God; And the hope of the godless will perish,

¹⁴His confidence is fragile, And his trust is a spider’s web.

¹⁵He depends on his house, but it does not stand; He holds on to it, but it does not endure.

¹⁶He flourishes before the sun, And his shoots spread out over his garden.

¹⁷His roots wrap around a rock pile, He grasps a house of stones.

¹⁸If he is removed from his place, Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’

¹⁹Behold, this is the joy of His way; And out of the dust others will spring.

²⁰Behold, God will not reject a person of integrity, Nor will He help evildoers.

²¹He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, And your lips with joyful shouting.

²²Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, And the tent of the wicked will no longer exist.”

¹Then Job responded,

²“In truth I know that this is so; But how can a person be in the right with God?

³If one wished to dispute with Him, He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

⁴Wise in heart and mighty in strength, Who has defied Him without harm?

⁵It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know how, When He overturns them in His anger.

⁶It is He who shakes the earth from its place, And its pillars tremble;

⁷Who commands the sun not to shine, And puts a seal on the stars;

⁸Who alone stretches out the heavens, And tramples down the waves of the sea;

⁹Who makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the constellations of the south.

¹⁰It is He who does great things, the unfathomable, And wondrous works without number.

¹¹If He were to pass by me, I would not see Him; Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.

¹²If He were to snatch away, who could restrain Him? Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

¹³“God will not turn back His anger; Beneath Him the helpers of Rahab cower.

¹⁴How then can I answer Him, And choose my words before Him?

¹⁵For though I were right, I could not answer; I would have to implore the mercy of my Judge.

¹⁶If I called and He answered me, I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.

¹⁷For He bruises me with a storm And multiplies my wounds without cause.

¹⁸He will not allow me to get my breath, But He saturates me with bitterness.

¹⁹If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong one! And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

²⁰Though I am righteous, my mouth will condemn me; Though I am guiltless, He will declare me guilty.

²¹I am guiltless; I do not take notice of myself; I reject my life.

²²It is all one; therefore I say, ‘He destroys the guiltless and the wicked.’

²³If the whip kills suddenly, He mocks the despair of the innocent.

²⁴The earth is handed over to the wicked; He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?

²⁵“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good.

²⁶They slip by like reed boats, Like an eagle that swoops on its prey.

²⁷Though I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put my face in order and be cheerful,’

²⁸I am afraid of all my pains, I know that You will not acquit me.

²⁹I am guilty, Why then should I struggle in vain?

³⁰If I washed myself with snow, And cleansed my hands with lye,

³¹Then You would plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes would loathe me.

³²For He is not a man, as I am, that I may answer Him— That we may go to court together!

³³There is no arbitrator between us, Who can place his hand upon us both.

³⁴Let Him remove His rod from me, And let not the dread of Him terrify me.

³⁵Then I would speak and not fear Him; But I am not like that in myself.

¹“I am disgusted with my own life; I will express my complaint freely; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

²I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; Let me know why You contend with me.

³Is it right for You indeed to oppress, To reject the work of Your hands, And to look favorably on the plan of the wicked?

⁴Do You have eyes of flesh? Or do You see as mankind sees?

⁵Are Your days like the days of a mortal, Or Your years like a man’s year,

⁶That You should search for my guilt And carefully seek my sin?

⁷According to Your knowledge I am indeed not guilty, Yet there is no one to save me from Your hand.

⁸‘Your hands fashioned and made me altogether, Yet would You destroy me?

⁹Remember that You have made me as clay; Yet would You turn me into dust again?

¹⁰Did You not pour me out like milk, And curdle me like cheese,

¹¹Clothe me with skin and flesh, And intertwine me with bones and tendons?

¹²You have granted me life and goodness; And Your care has guarded my spirit.

¹³Yet You have concealed these things in Your heart; I know that this is within You:

¹⁴If I have sinned, You will take note of me, And will not acquit me of my guilt.

¹⁵If I am wicked, woe to me! But if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head. I am full of shame, and conscious of my misery.

¹⁶And should my head be high, You would hunt me like a lion; And You would show Your power against me again.

¹⁷You renew Your witnesses against me And increase Your anger toward me; Hardship after hardship is with me.

¹⁸‘Why then did You bring me out of the womb? If only I had died and no eye had seen me!

¹⁹I should have been as though I had not been, Brought from womb to tomb.’

²⁰Would He not leave my few days alone? Withdraw from me so that I may have a little cheerfulness

²¹Before I go—and I shall not return— To the land of darkness and deep shadow,

²²The land of utter gloom like darkness itself, Of deep shadow without order, And it shines like darkness.”

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite responded,

²“Shall a multitude of words go unanswered, And a talkative man be acquitted?

³Shall your boasts silence people? And will you scoff, and no one rebuke?

⁴For you have said, ‘My teaching is pure, And I am innocent in your eyes.’

⁵But if only God would speak, And open His lips against you,

⁶And show you the secrets of wisdom! For sound wisdom has two sides. Know then that God forgets part of your guilt.

⁷“Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?

⁸They are as high as the heavens; what can you do? Deeper than Sheol; what can you know?

⁹Its measurement is longer than the earth And broader than the sea.

¹⁰If He passes by or apprehends people, Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?

¹¹For He knows false people, And He sees injustice without investigating.

¹²An idiot will become intelligent When a wild donkey is born a human.

¹³“If you would direct your heart rightly And spread out your hands to Him,

¹⁴If wrongdoing is in your hand, put it far away, And do not let malice dwell in your tents;

¹⁵Then, indeed, you could lift up your face without moral blemish, And you would be firmly established and not fear.

¹⁶For you would forget your trouble; Like waters that have passed by, you would remember it.

¹⁷Your life would be brighter than noonday; Darkness would be like the morning.

¹⁸Then you would trust, because there is hope; And you would look around and rest securely.

¹⁹You would lie down and none would disturb you, And many would flatter you.

²⁰But the eyes of the wicked will fail, And there will be no escape for them; And their hope is to breathe their last.”

¹Then Job responded,

²“Truly then you are the people, And with you wisdom will die!

³But I have intelligence as well as you; I am not inferior to you. And who does not know such things as these?

⁴I am a joke to my friends, The one who called on God and He answered him; The just and blameless man is a joke.

⁵He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt, As prepared for those whose feet slip.

⁶The tents of the destroyers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure, Whom God brings into their power.

⁷“But just ask the animals, and have them teach you; And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you.

⁸Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you; And have the fish of the sea tell you.

⁹Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this,

¹⁰In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?

¹¹Does the ear not put words to the test, As the palate tastes its food?

¹²Wisdom is with the aged, And with long life comes understanding.

¹³“Wisdom and might are with Him; Advice and understanding belong to Him.

¹⁴Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt; He imprisons a person, and there is no release.

¹⁵Behold, He restrains the waters, and they dry up; And He sends them out, and they inundate the earth.

¹⁶Strength and sound wisdom are with Him. One who goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.

¹⁷He makes advisers walk barefoot And makes fools of judges.

¹⁸He undoes the binding of kings, And ties a loincloth around their waist.

¹⁹He makes priests walk barefoot, And overthrows the secure ones.

²⁰He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders.

²¹He pours contempt on nobles, And loosens the belt of the strong.

²²He reveals mysteries from the darkness, And brings the deep darkness into light.

²³He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away.

²⁴He deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of intelligence And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.

²⁵They grope in darkness with no light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken person.