Job 27–28 (Listen)

Job Continues: I Will Maintain My Integrity

27 And Job again took up his discourse, and said:

2   “As God lives, who has taken away my right,
    and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,
3   as long as my breath is in me,
    and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
4   my lips will not speak falsehood,
    and my tongue will not utter deceit.
5   Far be it from me to say that you are right;
    till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
6   I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
    my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.
7   “Let my enemy be as the wicked,
    and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8   For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off,
    when God takes away his life?
9   Will God hear his cry
    when distress comes upon him?
10   Will he take delight in the Almighty?
    Will he call upon God at all times?
11   I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
    what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12   Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
    why then have you become altogether vain?
13   “This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
    and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty:
14   If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword,
    and his descendants have not enough bread.
15   Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
    and his widows do not weep.
16   Though he heap up silver like dust,
    and pile up clothing like clay,
17   he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,
    and the innocent will divide the silver.
18   He builds his house like a moth's,
    like a booth that a watchman makes.
19   He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more;
    he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone.
20   Terrors overtake him like a flood;
    in the night a whirlwind carries him off.
21   The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
    it sweeps him out of his place.
22   It¹ hurls at him without pity;
    he flees from its² power in headlong flight.
23   It claps its hands at him
    and hisses at him from its place.

Job Continues: Where Is Wisdom?

28   “Surely there is a mine for silver,
    and a place for gold that they refine.
2   Iron is taken out of the earth,
    and copper is smelted from the ore.
3   Man puts an end to darkness
    and searches out to the farthest limit
    the ore in gloom and deep darkness.
4   He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;
    they are forgotten by travelers;
    they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.
5   As for the earth, out of it comes bread,
    but underneath it is turned up as by fire.
6   Its stones are the place of sapphires,³
    and it has dust of gold.
7   “That path no bird of prey knows,
    and the falcon's eye has not seen it.
8   The proud beasts have not trodden it;
    the lion has not passed over it.
9   “Man puts his hand to the flinty rock
    and overturns mountains by the roots.
10   He cuts out channels in the rocks,
    and his eye sees every precious thing.
11   He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,
    and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.
12   “But where shall wisdom be found?
    And where is the place of understanding?
13   Man does not know its worth,
    and it is not found in the land of the living.
14   The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
    and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
15   It cannot be bought for gold,
    and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
16   It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
    in precious onyx or sapphire.
17   Gold and glass cannot equal it,
    nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
18   No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
    the price of wisdom is above pearls.
19   The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
    nor can it be valued in pure gold.
20   “From where, then, does wisdom come?
    And where is the place of understanding?
21   It is hidden from the eyes of all living
    and concealed from the birds of the air.
22   Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’
23   “God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
24   For he looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
25   When he gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,
26   when he made a decree for the rain
    and a way for the lightning of the thunder,
27   then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it, and searched it out.
28   And he said to man,
  ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

(ESV)

Psalm 55 (Listen)

Cast Your Burden on the Lord

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil¹ of David.

55   Give ear to my prayer, O God,
    and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2   Attend to me, and answer me;
    I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
3   because of the noise of the enemy,
    because of the oppression of the wicked.
  For they drop trouble upon me,
    and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
4   My heart is in anguish within me;
    the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5   Fear and trembling come upon me,
    and horror overwhelms me.
6   And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest;
7   yes, I would wander far away;
    I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8   I would hurry to find a shelter
    from the raging wind and tempest.”
9   Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues;
    for I see violence and strife in the city.
10   Day and night they go around it
    on its walls,
  and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11     ruin is in its midst;
  oppression and fraud
    do not depart from its marketplace.
12   For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
    then I could bear it;
  it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—
    then I could hide from him.
13   But it is you, a man, my equal,
    my companion, my familiar friend.
14   We used to take sweet counsel together;
    within God's house we walked in the throng.
15   Let death steal over them;
    let them go down to Sheol alive;
    for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
16   But I call to God,
    and the LORD will save me.
17   Evening and morning and at noon
    I utter my complaint and moan,
    and he hears my voice.
18   He redeems my soul in safety
    from the battle that I wage,
    for many are arrayed against me.
19   God will give ear and humble them,
    he who is enthroned from of old, Selah
  because they do not change
    and do not fear God.
20   My companion² stretched out his hand against his friends;
    he violated his covenant.
21   His speech was smooth as butter,
    yet war was in his heart;
  his words were softer than oil,
    yet they were drawn swords.
22   Cast your burden on the LORD,
    and he will sustain you;
  he will never permit
    the righteous to be moved.
23   But you, O God, will cast them down
    into the pit of destruction;
  men of blood and treachery
    shall not live out half their days.
  But I will trust in you.

(ESV)

Luke 19 (Listen)

Jesus and Zacchaeus

19 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

The Parable of the Ten Minas

11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants,¹ he gave them ten minas,^{A mina was about three months' wages for a laborer">2} and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant!³ Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”

The Triumphal Entry

28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

45 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48 but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

(ESV)