Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹“Behold, my eye has seen all this, My ear has heard and understood it.

²What you know I also know; I am not inferior to you.

³“But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to argue with God.

⁴But you smear me with lies; You are all worthless physicians.

⁵Oh that you would be completely silent, And that it would become your wisdom!

⁶Please hear my argument, And give your attention to the contentions of my lips.

⁷Will you speak what is unjust for God, And speak what is deceitful for Him?

⁸Will you show partiality for Him? Will you contend for God?

⁹Will it go well when He examines you? Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?

¹⁰He will certainly punish you If you secretly show partiality.

¹¹Will His majesty not terrify you, And the dread of Him fall upon you?

¹²Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay.

¹³“Be silent before me so that I may speak; Then let come upon me what may.

¹⁴Why should I take my flesh in my teeth, And put my life in my hands?

¹⁵Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.

¹⁶This also will be my salvation, For a godless person cannot come before His presence.

¹⁷Listen carefully to my speech, And let my declaration fill your ears.

¹⁸Behold now, I have prepared my case; I know that I will be vindicated.

¹⁹Who could contend with me? For then I would be silent and die.

²⁰“Only two things I ask that You do not do to me, Then I will not hide from Your face:

²¹Remove Your hand from me, And may the dread of You not terrify me.

²²Then call and I will answer; Or let me speak, then reply to me.

²³How many are my guilty deeds and sins? Make known to me my wrongdoing and my sin.

²⁴Why do You hide Your face And consider me Your enemy?

²⁵Will You scare away a scattered leaf? Or will You pursue the dry chaff?

²⁶For You write bitter things against me And make me inherit the guilty deeds of my youth.

²⁷You put my feet in the stocks And watch all my paths; You set a limit for the soles of my feet,

²⁸While I am decaying like a rotten thing, Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

¹“Man, who is born of woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil.

²Like a flower he comes out and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.

³You also open Your eyes on him And bring him into judgment with Yourself.

⁴Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one!

⁵Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And You have set his limits so that he cannot pass.

⁶Look away from him so that he may rest, Until he fulfills his day like a hired worker.

⁷“For there is hope for a tree, When it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And its shoots will not fail.

⁸Though its roots grow old in the ground, And its stump dies in the dry soil,

⁹At the scent of water it will flourish And produce sprigs like a plant.

¹⁰But a man dies and lies prostrate. A person passes away, and where is he?

¹¹As water evaporates from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dried up,

¹²So a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens no longer exist, He will not awake nor be woken from his sleep.

¹³“Oh that You would hide me in Sheol, That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, That You would set a limit for me and remember me!

¹⁴If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait Until my relief comes.

¹⁵You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands.

¹⁶For now You number my steps, You do not observe my sin.

¹⁷My wrongdoing is sealed up in a bag, And You cover over my guilt.

¹⁸“But the falling mountain crumbles away, And the rock moves from its place;

¹⁹Water wears away stones, Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth; So You destroy a man’s hope.

²⁰You forever overpower him and he departs; You change his appearance and send him away.

²¹His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it; Or they become insignificant, and he does not perceive it.

²²However, his body pains him, And his soul mourns for himself.”

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

²“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, And fill himself with the east wind?

³Should he argue with useless talk, Or with words which do not benefit?

⁴Indeed, you do away with reverence, And hinder meditation before God.

⁵For your wrongdoing teaches your mouth, And you choose the language of the cunning.

⁶Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; And your own lips testify against you.

⁷“Were you the first person to be born, Or were you brought forth before the hills?

⁸Do you hear the secret discussion of God, And limit wisdom to yourself?

⁹What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that we do not?

¹⁰Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, Older than your father.

¹¹Are the consolations of God too little for you, Or the word spoken gently to you?

¹²Why does your heart take you away? And why do your eyes wink,

¹³That you can turn your spirit against God And produce such words from your mouth?

¹⁴What is man, that he would be pure, Or he who is born of a woman, that he would be righteous?

¹⁵Behold, He has no trust in His holy ones, And the heavens are not pure in His sight;

¹⁶How much less one who is detestable and corrupt: A person who drinks malice like water!

¹⁷“I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare;

¹⁸What wise people have told, And have not concealed from their fathers,

¹⁹To whom alone the land was given, And no stranger passed among them.

²⁰The wicked person writhes in pain all his days, And the years reserved for the ruthless are numbered.

²¹Sounds of terror are in his ears; While he is at peace the destroyer comes upon him.

²²He does not believe that he will return from darkness, And he is destined for the sword.

²³He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.

²⁴Distress and anguish terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,

²⁵Because he has reached out with his hand against God, And is arrogant toward the Almighty.

²⁶He rushes headlong at Him With his massive shield.

²⁷For he has covered his face with his fat, And put fat on his waist.

²⁸He has lived in desolate cities, In houses no one would inhabit, Which are destined to become ruins.

²⁹He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure; And his property will not stretch out on the earth.

³⁰He will not escape from darkness; The flame will dry up his shoot, And he will go away by the breath of His mouth.

³¹Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For his reward will be emptiness.

³²It will be accomplished before his time, And his palm branch will not be green.

³³He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine, And will cast off his flower like the olive tree.

³⁴For the company of the godless is barren, And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt.

³⁵They conceive harm and give birth to wrongdoing, And their mind prepares deception.”

¹Then Job responded,

²“I have heard many things like these; Miserable comforters are you all!

³Is there no end to windy words? Or what provokes you that you answer?

⁴I too could speak like you, If only I were in your place. I could compose words against you And shake my head at you.

⁵Or I could strengthen you with my mouth, And the condolence of my lips could lessen your pain.

⁶“If I speak, my pain is not lessened, And if I refrain, what pain leaves me?

⁷But now He has exhausted me; You have laid waste all my group of loved ones.

⁸And you have shriveled me up, It has become a witness; And my infirmity rises up against me, It testifies to my face.

⁹His anger has torn me and hunted me down, He has gnashed at me with His teeth; My enemy glares at me.

¹⁰They have gaped at me with their mouths, They have slapped me on the cheek with contempt; They have massed themselves against me.

¹¹God hands me over to criminals, And tosses me into the hands of the wicked.

¹²I was at ease, but He shattered me, And He has grasped me by my neck and shaken me to pieces; He has also set me up as His target.

¹³His arrows surround me. He splits my kidneys open without mercy; He pours out my bile on the ground.

¹⁴He breaks through me with breach after breach; He runs at me like a warrior.

¹⁵I have sewed sackcloth over my skin, And thrust my horn in the dust.

¹⁶My face is flushed from weeping, And deep darkness is on my eyelids,

¹⁷Although there is no violence in my hands, And my prayer is pure.

¹⁸“Earth, do not cover my blood, And may there be no resting place for my cry.

¹⁹Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, And my advocate is on high.

²⁰My friends are my scoffers; My eye weeps to God,

²¹That one might plead for a man with God As a son of man with his neighbor!

²²For when a few years are past, I shall go the way of no return.

¹“My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, The grave is ready for me.

²Mockers are certainly with me, And my eye gazes on their provocation.

³“Make a pledge for me with Yourself; Who is there that will be my guarantor?

⁴For You have kept their hearts away from understanding; Therefore You will not exalt them.

⁵He who informs against friends for a share of the spoils, The eyes of his children also will perish.

⁶“But He has made me a proverb among the people, And I am one at whom people spit.

⁷My eye has also become inexpressive because of grief, And all my body parts are like a shadow.

⁸The upright will be appalled at this, And the innocent will stir himself up against the godless.

⁹Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his way, And the one who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

¹⁰But come again all of you now, For I do not find a wise man among you.

¹¹My days are past, my plans are torn apart, The wishes of my heart.

¹²They make night into day, saying, ‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.

¹³If I hope for Sheol as my home, I make my bed in the darkness;

¹⁴If I call to the grave, ‘You are my father’; To the maggot, ‘my mother and my sister’;

¹⁵Where then is my hope? And who looks at my hope?

¹⁶Will it go down with me to Sheol? Shall we together go down into the dust?”

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,

²“How long will you hunt for words? Show understanding, and then we can talk.

³Why are we regarded as animals, As stupid in your eyes?

⁴You who tear yourself in your anger— Should the earth be abandoned for your sake, Or the rock moved from its place?

⁵“Indeed, the light of the wicked goes out, And the spark from his fire does not shine.

⁶The light in his tent is darkened, And his lamp goes out above him.

⁷His vigorous stride is shortened, And his own plan brings him down.

⁸For he is thrown into the net by his own feet, And he steps on the webbing.

⁹A snare seizes him by the heel, And a trap snaps shut on him.

¹⁰A noose for him is hidden in the ground, And a trap for him on the pathway.

¹¹All around sudden terrors frighten him, And harass him at every step.

¹²His strength is famished, And disaster is ready at his side.

¹³It devours parts of his skin, The firstborn of death devours his limbs.

¹⁴He is torn from the security of his tent, And they march him before the king of terrors.

¹⁵Nothing of his dwells in his tent; Brimstone is scattered on his home.

¹⁶His roots are dried below, And his branch withers above.

¹⁷The memory of him perishes from the earth, And he has no name abroad.

¹⁸He is driven from light into darkness, And chased from the inhabited world.

¹⁹He has no offspring or descendants among his people, Nor any survivor where he resided.

²⁰Those in the west are appalled at his fate, And those in the east are seized with horror.

²¹Certainly these are the dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

¹Then Job responded,

²“How long will you torment me And crush me with words?

³These ten times you have insulted me; You are not ashamed to wrong me.

⁴Even if I have truly done wrong, My error stays with me.

⁵If indeed you exalt yourselves against me And prove my disgrace to me,

⁶Know then that God has wronged me And has surrounded me with His net.

⁷“Behold, I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer; I shout for help, but there is no justice.

⁸He has blocked my way so that I cannot pass, And He has put darkness on my paths.

⁹He has stripped my honor from me And removed the crown from my head.

¹⁰He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone; And He has uprooted my hope like a tree.

¹¹He has also kindled His anger against me And considered me as His enemy.

¹²His troops come together And build up their way against me And camp around my tent.

¹³“He has removed my brothers far from me, And my acquaintances have completely turned away from me.

¹⁴My relatives have failed, And my close friends have forgotten me.

¹⁵Those who live in my house and my servant women consider me a stranger. I am a foreigner in their sight.

¹⁶I call to my servant, but he does not answer; I have to implore his favor with my mouth.

¹⁷My breath is offensive to my wife, And I am loathsome to my own brothers.

¹⁸Even young children despise me; I stand up and they speak against me.

¹⁹All my associates loathe me, And those I love have turned against me.

²⁰My bone clings to my skin and my flesh, And I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.

²¹Pity me, pity me, you friends of mine, For the hand of God has struck me.

²²Why do you persecute me as God does, And are not satisfied with my flesh?

²³“Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were recorded in a book!

²⁴That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever!

²⁵Yet as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last, He will take His stand on the earth.

²⁶Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I will see God,

²⁷Whom I, on my part, shall behold for myself, And whom my eyes will see, and not another. My heart faints within me!

²⁸If you say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’ And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find?’

²⁹Then be afraid of the sword for yourselves, For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, So that you may know there is judgment.”

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite responded,

²“Therefore my disquieting thoughts make me respond, Even because of my inward agitation.

³I listened to the reprimand which insults me, And the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.

⁴Do you know this from ancient times, From the establishment of mankind on earth,

⁵That the rejoicing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the godless momentary?

⁶Though his arrogance reaches the heavens, And his head touches the clouds,

⁷He perishes forever like his refuse; Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

⁸He flies away like a dream, and they cannot find him; Like a vision of the night he is chased away.

⁹The eye which saw him sees him no longer, And his place no longer beholds him.

¹⁰His sons favor the poor, And his hands give back his wealth.

¹¹His bones are full of his youthful strength, But it lies down with him in the dust.

¹²“Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth And he hides it under his tongue,

¹³Though he desires it and will not let it go, But holds it in his mouth,

¹⁴Yet his food in his stomach is changed To the venom of cobras within him.

¹⁵He swallows riches, But will vomit them up; God will expel them from his belly.

¹⁶He sucks the poison of cobras; The viper’s tongue kills him.

¹⁷He does not look at the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and curds.

¹⁸He returns the product of his labor And cannot swallow it; As to the riches of his trading, He cannot even enjoy them.

¹⁹For he has oppressed and neglected the poor; He has seized a house which he has not built.

²⁰“Because he knew no quiet within him, He does not retain anything he desires.

²¹Nothing remains for him to devour, Therefore his prosperity does not endure.

²²In the fullness of his excess he will be cramped; The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him.

²³When he fills his belly, God will send His fierce anger on him And rain it on him while he is eating.

²⁴He may flee from the iron weapon, But the bronze bow will pierce him.

²⁵It is drawn and comes out of his back, Even the flashing point from his gallbladder; Terrors come upon him,

²⁶Complete darkness is held in reserve for his treasures, And unfanned fire will devour him; It will consume the survivor in his tent.

²⁷The heavens will reveal his guilt, And the earth will rise up against him.

²⁸The increase of his house will disappear; His possessions will flow away on the day of His anger.

²⁹This is a wicked person’s portion from God, The inheritance decreed to him by God.”

¹Then Job responded,

²“Listen carefully to my speech, And let this be your way of consolation.

³Bear with me that I may speak; Then after I have spoken, you may mock me.

⁴As for me, is my complaint to a mortal? Or why should I not be impatient?

⁵Look at me, and be astonished, And put your hand over your mouth.

⁶Even when I remember, I am disturbed, And horror takes hold of my flesh.

⁷Why do the wicked still live, Grow old, and also become very powerful?

⁸Their descendants endure with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes,

⁹Their houses are safe from fear, And the rod of God is not on them.

¹⁰His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not miscarry.

¹¹They send out their boys like the flock, And their children dance.

¹²They sing with the tambourine and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the flute.

¹³They spend their days in prosperity, And suddenly they go down to Sheol.

¹⁴Yet they say to God, ‘Go away from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

¹⁵Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’

¹⁶Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand; The advice of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out, Or does their disaster fall on them? Does God apportion destruction in His anger?

¹⁸Are they as straw before the wind, And like chaff which the storm carries away?

¹⁹You say, ‘God saves up a person’s wrongdoing for his sons.’ Let God repay him so that he may know it.

²⁰Let his own eyes see his destruction, And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

²¹For what does he care about his household after him, When the number of his months is at an end?

²²Can anyone teach God knowledge, In that He judges those on high?

²³One dies in his full strength, Being wholly undisturbed and at ease;

²⁴His sides are filled with fat, And the marrow of his bones is wet,

²⁵While another dies with a bitter soul, Never even tasting anything good.

²⁶Together they lie down in the dust, And maggots cover them.

²⁷“Behold, I know your thoughts, And the plots you devise against me.

²⁸For you say, ‘Where is the house of the nobleman, And where is the tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?’

²⁹Have you not asked travelers, And do you not examine their evidence?

³⁰For the wicked person is spared a day of disaster; They are led away from a day of fury.

³¹Who confronts him with his actions, And who repays him for what he has done?

³²When he is carried to the grave, People will keep watch over his tomb.

³³The clods of the valley will gently cover him; Moreover, all mankind will follow after him, While countless others go before him.

³⁴So how dare you give me empty comfort? For your answers remain nothing but falsehood!”

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

²“Can a strong man be of use to God, Or a wise one be useful to himself?

³Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous, Or gain if you make your ways blameless?

⁴Is it because of your reverence that He punishes you, That He enters into judgment against you?

⁵Is your wickedness not abundant, And is there no end to your guilty deeds?

⁶For you have seized pledges from your brothers without cause, And stripped people naked.

⁷You have given the weary no water to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry.

⁸But the earth belongs to the powerful man, And the one who is honorable dwells on it.

⁹You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of orphans has been crushed.

¹⁰Therefore traps surround you, And sudden dread terrifies you,

¹¹Or darkness, so that you cannot see, And a flood of water covers you.

¹²“Is God not in the height of heaven? Look also at the highest stars, how high they are!

¹³But you say, ‘What does God know? Can He judge through the thick darkness?

¹⁴Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see; And He walks on the vault of heaven.’

¹⁵Will you keep to the ancient path Which wicked people have walked,

¹⁶Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundations were washed away by a river?

¹⁷They said to God, ‘Go away from us!’ And ‘What can the Almighty do to them?’

¹⁸Yet He filled their houses with good things; But the advice of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁹The righteous see and are glad, And the innocent mock them, saying,

²⁰‘Truly our enemies are eliminated, And fire has consumed their abundance.’

²¹“Be reconciled with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you.

²²Please receive instruction from His mouth, And put His words in your heart.

²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored; If you remove injustice far from your tent,

²⁴And put your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,

²⁵Then the Almighty will be your gold And abundant silver to you.

²⁶For then you will take pleasure in the Almighty And lift up your face to God.

²⁷You will pray to Him, and He will hear you; And you will pay your vows.

²⁸You will also decide something, and it will be established for you; And light will shine on your ways.

²⁹When they have brought you low, you will speak with confidence, And He will save the humble person.

³⁰He will rescue one who is not innocent, And he will be rescued due to the cleanness of your hands.”

¹Then Job responded,

²“Even today my complaint is rebellion; His hand is heavy despite my groaning.

³Oh that I knew how to find Him, That I might come to His home!

⁴I would present my case before Him And fill my mouth with arguments.

⁵I would learn the words which He would answer, And perceive what He would tell me.

⁶Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power? No, surely He would pay attention to me.

⁷There the upright would argue with Him; And I would be free of my Judge forever.

⁸“Behold, I go forward but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

⁹When He acts on the left, I cannot see Him; He turns to the right, but I cannot see Him.

¹⁰But He knows the way I take; When He has put me to the test, I will come out as gold.

¹¹My foot has held on to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside.

¹²I have not failed the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

¹³But He is unique, and who can make Him turn? Whatever His soul desires, He does it.

¹⁴For He carries out what is destined for me, And many such destinies are with Him.

¹⁵Therefore, I would be terrified at His presence; When I consider this, I am frightened of Him.

¹⁶It is God who has made my heart faint, And the Almighty who has terrified me,

¹⁷But I am not destroyed by darkness, Nor by deep gloom which covers me.

¹“Why are times not stored up by the Almighty, And why do those who know Him not see His days?

²People remove landmarks; They seize and devour flocks.

³They drive away the donkeys of orphans; They seize the widow’s ox as a pledge.

⁴They push the needy aside from the road; The poor of the land have to hide themselves together.

⁵Behold, like wild donkeys in the wilderness They go out scavenging for food in their activity, As bread for their children in the desert.

⁶They harvest their feed in the field And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

⁷They spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering against the cold.

⁸They are wet from the mountain rains, And they hug the rock for lack of a shelter.

⁹Others snatch an orphan from the breast, And they seize it as a pledge against the poor.

¹⁰The poor move about naked without clothing, And they carry sheaves, while going hungry.

¹¹Within the walls they produce oil; They tread wine presses but go thirsty.

¹²From the city people groan, And the souls of the wounded cry for help; Yet God does not pay attention to the offensiveness.

¹³“Others have been with those who rebel against the light; They do not want to know its ways Nor stay in its paths.

¹⁴The murderer arises at dawn; He kills the poor and the needy, And at night he is like a thief.

¹⁵The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight, Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’ And he disguises his face.

¹⁶In the darkness they dig into houses, They shut themselves up by day; They do not know the light.

¹⁷For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness, For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.

¹⁸“They are insignificant on the surface of the water; Their plot of land on the earth is cursed. They do not turn toward the vineyards.

¹⁹Dryness and heat snatch away the snow waters, As Sheol snatches those who have sinned.

²⁰A mother will forget him; The maggot feeds sweetly until he is no longer remembered. And injustice will be broken like a tree.

²¹He wrongs the infertile woman, And does no good for the widow.

²²But He drags off the mighty by His power; He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

²³He provides them with security, and they are supported; And His eyes are on their ways.

²⁴They are exalted a little while, then they are gone; Moreover, they are brought low, and like everything they are gathered up; Like the heads of grain they wither.

²⁵Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar, And make my speech worthless?”

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,

²“Dominion and awe belong to Him Who makes peace in His heights.

³Is there any number to His troops? And upon whom does His light not rise?

⁴How then can mankind be righteous with God? Or how can anyone who is born of woman be pure?

⁵If even the moon has no brightness And the stars are not pure in His sight,

⁶How much less man, that maggot, And a son of man, that worm!”