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.

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

⁴But you forgers of lies, You are all worthless physicians.

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

⁶Now hear my reasoning, And heed the pleadings of my lips.

⁷Will you speak wickedly for God, And talk deceitfully for Him?

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

⁹Will it be well when He searches you out? Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man?

¹⁰He will surely rebuke you If you secretly show partiality.

¹¹Will not His excellence make you afraid, And the dread of Him fall upon you?

¹²Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay.

¹³“Hold your peace with me, and let me speak, Then let come on me what may!

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

¹⁵Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.

¹⁶He also shall be my salvation, For a hypocrite could not come before Him.

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

¹⁸See now, I have prepared my case, I know that I shall be vindicated.

¹⁹Who is he who will contend with me? If now I hold my tongue, I perish.

²⁰“Only two things do not do to me, Then I will not hide myself from You:

²¹Withdraw Your hand far from me, And let not the dread of You make me afraid.

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

²³How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin.

²⁴Why do You hide Your face, And regard me as Your enemy?

²⁵Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro? And will You pursue dry stubble?

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

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

²⁸“Man decays like a rotten thing, Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

¹“Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble.

²He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue.

³And do You open Your eyes on such a one, And bring me to judgment with Yourself?

⁴Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!

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

⁶Look away from him that he may rest, Till like a hired man he finishes his day.

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

⁸Though its root may grow old in the earth, And its stump may die in the ground,

⁹Yet at the scent of water it will bud And bring forth branches like a plant.

¹⁰But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he?

¹¹As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up,

¹²So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep.

¹³“Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

¹⁴If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes.

¹⁵You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands.

¹⁶For now You number my steps, But do not watch over my sin.

¹⁷My transgression is sealed up in a bag, And You cover my iniquity.

¹⁸“But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, And as a rock is moved from its place;

¹⁹As water wears away stones, And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth; So You destroy the hope of man.

²⁰You prevail forever against him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away.

²¹His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.

²²But his flesh will be in pain over it, And his soul will mourn over it.”

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

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

³Should he reason with unprofitable talk, Or by speeches with which he can do no good?

⁴Yes, you cast off fear, And restrain prayer before God.

⁵For your iniquity teaches your mouth, And you choose the tongue of the crafty.

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

⁷“Are you the first man who was born? Or were you made before the hills?

⁸Have you heard the counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

⁹What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not in us?

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

¹¹Are the consolations of God too small for you, And the word spoken gently with you?

¹²Why does your heart carry you away, And what do your eyes wink at,

¹³That you turn your spirit against God, And let such words go out of your mouth?

¹⁴“What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?

¹⁵If God puts no trust in His saints, And the heavens are not pure in His sight,

¹⁶How much less man, who is abominable and filthy, Who drinks iniquity like water!

¹⁷“I will tell you, hear me; What I have seen I will declare,

¹⁸What wise men have told, Not hiding anything received from their fathers,

¹⁹To whom alone the land was given, And no alien passed among them:

²⁰The wicked man writhes with pain all his days, And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.

²¹Dreadful sounds are in his ears; In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.

²²He does not believe that he will return from darkness, For a sword is waiting for him.

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

²⁴Trouble and anguish make him afraid; They overpower him, like a king ready for battle.

²⁵For he stretches out his hand against God, And acts defiantly against the Almighty,

²⁶Running stubbornly against Him With his strong, embossed shield.

²⁷“Though he has covered his face with his fatness, And made his waist heavy with fat,

²⁸He dwells in desolate cities, In houses which no one inhabits, Which are destined to become ruins.

²⁹He will not be rich, Nor will his wealth continue, Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.

³⁰He will not depart from darkness; The flame will dry out his branches, And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.

³¹Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself, For futility will be his reward.

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

³³He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine, And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.

³⁴For the company of hypocrites will be barren, And fire will consume the tents of bribery.

³⁵They conceive trouble and bring forth futility; Their womb prepares deceit.”

¹Then Job answered and said:

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

³Shall words of wind have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer?

⁴I also could speak as you do, If your soul were in my soul’s place. I could heap up words against you, And shake my head at you;

⁵But I would strengthen you with my mouth, And the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.

⁶“Though I speak, my grief is not relieved; And if I remain silent, how am I eased?

⁷But now He has worn me out; You have made desolate all my company.

⁸You have shriveled me up, And it is a witness against me; My leanness rises up against me And bears witness to my face.

⁹He tears me in His wrath, and hates me; He gnashes at me with His teeth; My adversary sharpens His gaze on me.

¹⁰They gape at me with their mouth, They strike me reproachfully on the cheek, They gather together against me.

¹¹God has delivered me to the ungodly, And turned me over to the hands of the wicked.

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

¹³His archers surround me. He pierces my heart and does not pity; He pours out my gall on the ground.

¹⁴He breaks me with wound upon wound; He runs at me like a warrior.

¹⁵“I have sewn sackcloth over my skin, And laid my head in the dust.

¹⁶My face is flushed from weeping, And on my eyelids is the shadow of death;

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

¹⁸“O earth, do not cover my blood, And let my cry have no resting place!

¹⁹Surely even now my witness is in heaven, And my evidence is on high.

²⁰My friends scorn me; My eyes pour out tears to God.

²¹Oh, that one might plead for a man with God, As a man pleads for his neighbor!

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

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

²Are not mockers with me? And does not my eye dwell on their provocation?

³“Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself. Who is he who will shake hands with me?

⁴For You have hidden their heart from understanding; Therefore You will not exalt them.

⁵He who speaks flattery to his friends, Even the eyes of his children will fail.

⁶“But He has made me a byword of the people, And I have become one in whose face men spit.

⁷My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow, And all my members are like shadows.

⁸Upright men are astonished at this, And the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite.

⁹Yet the righteous will hold to his way, And he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger.

¹⁰“But please, come back again, all of you, For I shall not find one wise man among you.

¹¹My days are past, My purposes are broken off, Even the thoughts of my heart.

¹²They change the night into day; ‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness.

¹³If I wait for the grave as my house, If I make my bed in the darkness,

¹⁴If I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ And to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’

¹⁵Where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it?

¹⁶Will they go down to the gates of Sheol? Shall we have rest together in the dust?”

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

²“How long till you put an end to words? Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.

³Why are we counted as beasts, And regarded as stupid in your sight?

⁴You who tear yourself in anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for you? Or shall the rock be removed from its place?

⁵“The light of the wicked indeed goes out, And the flame of his fire does not shine.

⁶The light is dark in his tent, And his lamp beside him is put out.

⁷The steps of his strength are shortened, And his own counsel casts him down.

⁸For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walks into a snare.

⁹The net takes him by the heel, And a snare lays hold of him.

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

¹¹Terrors frighten him on every side, And drive him to his feet.

¹²His strength is starved, And destruction is ready at his side.

¹³It devours patches of his skin; The firstborn of death devours his limbs.

¹⁴He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent, And they parade him before the king of terrors.

¹⁵They dwell in his tent who are none of his; Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.

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

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

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

¹⁹He has neither son nor posterity among his people, Nor any remaining in his dwellings.

²⁰Those in the west are astonished at his day, As those in the east are frightened.

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

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“How long will you torment my soul, And break me in pieces with words?

³These ten times you have reproached me; You are not ashamed that you have wronged me.

⁴And if indeed I have erred, My error remains with me.

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

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

⁷“If I cry out concerning wrong, I am not heard. If I cry aloud, there is no justice.

⁸He has fenced up my way, so that I cannot pass; And He has set darkness in my paths.

⁹He has stripped me of my glory, And taken the crown from my head.

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

¹¹He has also kindled His wrath against me, And He counts me as one of His enemies.

¹²His troops come together And build up their road against me; They encamp all around my tent.

¹³“He has removed my brothers far from me, And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

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

¹⁵Those who dwell in my house, and my maidservants, Count me as a stranger; I am an alien in their sight.

¹⁶I call my servant, but he gives no answer; I beg him with my mouth.

¹⁷My breath is offensive to my wife, And I am repulsive to the children of my own body.

¹⁸Even young children despise me; I arise, and they speak against me.

¹⁹All my close friends abhor me, And those whom I love have turned against me.

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

²¹“Have pity on me, have pity on me, O you my friends, 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 inscribed in a book!

²⁴That they were engraved on a rock With an iron pen and lead, forever!

²⁵For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;

²⁶And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God,

²⁷Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

²⁸If you should say, ‘How shall we persecute him?’— Since the root of the matter is found in me,

²⁹Be afraid of the sword for yourselves; For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, That you may know there is a judgment.”

¹Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

²“Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer, Because of the turmoil within me.

³I have heard the rebuke that reproaches me, And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.

⁴“Do you not know this of old, Since man was placed on earth,

⁵That the triumphing of the wicked is short, And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment?

⁶Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens, And his head reaches to the clouds,

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

⁸He will fly away like a dream, and not be found; Yes, he will be chased away like a vision of the night.

⁹The eye that saw him will see him no more, Nor will his place behold him anymore.

¹⁰His children will seek the favor of the poor, And his hands will restore his wealth.

¹¹His bones are full of his youthful vigor, But it will lie down with him in the dust.

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

¹³Though he spares it and does not forsake it, But still keeps it in his mouth,

¹⁴Yet his food in his stomach turns sour; It becomes cobra venom within him.

¹⁵He swallows down riches And vomits them up again; God casts them out of his belly.

¹⁶He will suck the poison of cobras; The viper’s tongue will slay him.

¹⁷He will not see the streams, The rivers flowing with honey and cream.

¹⁸He will restore that for which he labored, And will not swallow it down; From the proceeds of business He will get no enjoyment.

¹⁹For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor, He has violently seized a house which he did not build.

²⁰“Because he knows no quietness in his heart, He will not save anything he desires.

²¹Nothing is left for him to eat; Therefore his well-being will not last.

²²In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress; Every hand of misery will come against him.

²³When he is about to fill his stomach, God will cast on him the fury of His wrath, And will rain it on him while he is eating.

²⁴He will flee from the iron weapon; A bronze bow will pierce him through.

²⁵It is drawn, and comes out of the body; Yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall. Terrors come upon him;

²⁶Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. An unfanned fire will consume him; It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent.

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

²⁸The increase of his house will depart, And his goods will flow away in the day of His wrath.

²⁹This is the portion from God for a wicked man, The heritage appointed to him by God.”

¹Then Job answered and said:

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

³Bear with me that I may speak, And after I have spoken, keep mocking.

⁴“As for me, is my complaint against man? And if it were, why should I not be impatient?

⁵Look at me and be astonished; Put your hand over your mouth.

⁶Even when I remember I am terrified, And trembling takes hold of my flesh.

⁷Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power?

⁸Their descendants are established with them in their sight, And their offspring before their eyes.

⁹Their houses are safe from fear, Neither is the rod of God upon them.

¹⁰Their bull breeds without failure; Their cow calves without miscarriage.

¹¹They send forth their little ones like a flock, And their children dance.

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

¹³They spend their days in wealth, And in a moment go down to the grave.

¹⁴Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us, For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.

¹⁵Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’

¹⁶Indeed their prosperity is not in their hand; The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their destruction come upon them, The sorrows God distributes in His anger?

¹⁸They are like straw before the wind, And like chaff that a storm carries away.

¹⁹They say, ‘God lays up one’s iniquity for his children’; Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.

²⁰Let his 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 cut in half?

²²“Can anyone teach God knowledge, Since He judges those on high?

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

²⁴His pails are full of milk, And the marrow of his bones is moist.

²⁵Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul, Never having eaten with pleasure.

²⁶They lie down alike in the dust, And worms cover them.

²⁷“Look, I know your thoughts, And the schemes with which you would wrong me.

²⁸For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince? And where is the tent, The dwelling place of the wicked?’

²⁹Have you not asked those who travel the road? And do you not know their signs?

³⁰For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom; They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.

³¹Who condemns his way to his face? And who repays him for what he has done?

³²Yet he shall be brought to the grave, And a vigil kept over the tomb.

³³The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him; Everyone shall follow him, As countless have gone before him.

³⁴How then can you comfort me with empty words, Since falsehood remains in your answers?”

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“Can a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?

³Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?

⁴“Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you, And enters into judgment with you?

⁵Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquity without end?

⁶For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, And stripped the naked of their clothing.

⁷You have not given the weary water to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry.

⁸But the mighty man possessed the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it.

⁹You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

¹⁰Therefore snares are all around you, And sudden fear troubles you,

¹¹Or darkness so that you cannot see; And an abundance of water covers you.

¹²“Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!

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

¹⁴Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven.’

¹⁵Will you keep to the old way Which wicked men have trod,

¹⁶Who were cut down before their time, Whose foundations were swept away by a flood?

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

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

¹⁹“The righteous see it and are glad, And the innocent laugh at them:

²⁰‘Surely our adversaries are cut down, And the fire consumes their remnant.’

²¹“Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you.

²²Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart.

²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; You will remove iniquity far from your tents.

²⁴Then you will lay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.

²⁵Yes, the Almighty will be your gold And your precious silver;

²⁶For then you will have your delight in the Almighty, And lift up your face to God.

²⁷You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows.

²⁸You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.

²⁹When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’ Then He will save the humble person.

³⁰He will even deliver one who is not innocent; Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”

¹Then Job answered and said:

²“Even today my complaint is bitter; My hand is listless because of my groaning.

³Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat!

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

⁵I would know the words which He would answer me, And understand what He would say to me.

⁶Would He contend with me in His great power? No! But He would take note of me.

⁷There the upright could reason with Him, And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

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

⁹When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him; When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.

¹⁰But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

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

¹²I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.

¹³“But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever His soul desires, that He does.

¹⁴For He performs what is appointed for me, And many such things are with Him.

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

¹⁶For God made my heart weak, And the Almighty terrifies me;

¹⁷Because I was not cut off from the presence of darkness, And He did not hide deep darkness from my face.

¹“Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, Why do those who know Him see not His days?

²“Some remove landmarks; They seize flocks violently and feed on them;

³They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; They take the widow’s ox as a pledge.

⁴They push the needy off the road; All the poor of the land are forced to hide.

⁵Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, They go out to their work, searching for food. The wilderness yields food for them and for their children.

⁶They gather their fodder in the field And glean in the vineyard of the wicked.

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

⁸They are wet with the showers of the mountains, And huddle around the rock for want of shelter.

⁹“Some snatch the fatherless from the breast, And take a pledge from the poor.

¹⁰They cause the poor to go naked, without clothing; And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.

¹¹They press out oil within their walls, And tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst.

¹²The dying groan in the city, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not charge them with wrong.

¹³“There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths.

¹⁴The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is like a thief.

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

¹⁶In the dark they break into houses Which they marked for themselves in the daytime; They do not know the light.

¹⁷For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; If someone recognizes them, They are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

¹⁸“They should be swift on the face of the waters, Their portion should be cursed in the earth, So that no one would turn into the way of their vineyards.

¹⁹As drought and heat consume the snow waters, So the grave consumes those who have sinned.

²⁰The womb should forget him, The worm should feed sweetly on him; He should be remembered no more, And wickedness should be broken like a tree.

²¹For he preys on the barren who do not bear, And does no good for the widow.

²²“But God draws the mighty away with His power; He rises up, but no man is sure of life.

²³He gives them security, and they rely on it; Yet His eyes are on their ways.

²⁴They are exalted for a little while, Then they are gone. They are brought low; They are taken out of the way like all others; They dry out like the heads of grain.

²⁵“Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech worth nothing?”

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

²“Dominion and fear belong to Him; He makes peace in His high places.

³Is there any number to His armies? Upon whom does His light not rise?

⁴How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?

⁵If even the moon does not shine, And the stars are not pure in His sight,

⁶How much less man, who is a maggot, And a son of man, who is a worm?”