Job 24-28; Psalms 141 - Prayer Tents

Job Asks Why the Wicked Are Not Punished

24"Why doesn't the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment? Why must the godly wait for him in vain?H6256H6845H7706H3045H2372H3117 2Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers. They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures.H5381H1367H1497H5739H7462 3They take the orphan's donkey and demand the widow's ox as security for a loan.H5090H2543H3490H2254H490H7794H2254 4The poor are pushed off the path; the needy must hide together for safety.H5186H34H1870H6041H6035H776H2244H3162 5Like wild donkeys in the wilderness, the poor must spend all their time looking for food, searching even in the desert for food for their children.H6501H4057H3318H6467H7836H2964H6160H3899H5288 6They harvest a field they do not own, and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked.H7114H7114H1098H7704H3953H3754H7563 7All night they lie naked in the cold, without clothing or covering.H6174H3885H3830H3682H7135 8They are soaked by mountain showers, and they huddle against the rocks for want of a home.H7372H2230H2022H2263H6697H4268 9"The wicked snatch a widow's child from her breast, taking the baby as security for a loan.H1497H3490H7699H2254H6041 10The poor must go about naked, without any clothing. They harvest food for others while they themselves are starving.H1980H6174H3830H5375H6016H7457 11They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it, and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.H6671H996H7791H1869H3342H6770 12The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the wounded cry for help, yet God ignores their moaning.H4962H5008H5892H5315H2491H7768H433H7760H8604 13"Wicked people rebel against the light. They refuse to acknowledge its ways or stay in its paths.H4775H216H5234H1870H3427H5410 14The murderer rises in the early dawn to kill the poor and needy; at night he is a thief.H7523H6965H216H6991H6041H34H3915H1590 15The adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, 'No one will see me then.' He hides his face so no one will know him.H5869H5003H8104H5399H559H5869H7789H5643H7760H6440 16Thieves break into houses at night and sleep in the daytime. They are not acquainted with the light.H2822H2864H1004H2856H3119H3045H216 17The black night is their morning. They ally themselves with the terrors of the darkness.H1242H3162H6757H5234H1091H6757 18"But they disappear like foam down a river. Everything they own is cursed, and they are afraid to enter their own vineyards.H7031H6440H4325H2513H7043H776H6437H1870H3754 19The grave consumes sinners just as drought and heat consume snow.H6723H2527H1497H7950H4325H7585H2398 20Their own mothers will forget them. Maggots will find them sweet to eat. No one will remember them. Wicked people are broken like a tree in the storm.H7358H7911H7415H4988H2142H5766H7665H6086 21They cheat the woman who has no son to help her. They refuse to help the needy widow.H7462H6135H3205H3190H490 22"God, in his power, drags away the rich. They may rise high, but they have no assurance of life.H4900H47H3581H6965H539H2416 23They may be allowed to live in security, but God is always watching them.H5414H983H8172H5869H1870 24And though they are great now, in a moment they will be gone like all others, cut off like heads of grain.H7426H4592H4355H7092H1870H5243H7218H7641 25Can anyone claim otherwise? Who can prove me wrong?"H645H7760H3576H7760H4405H408

Bildad’s Third Response to Job

25Then Bildad the Shuhite replied.H6030H1085H7747H559 2"God is powerful and dreadful. He enforces peace in the heavens.H4910H6343H6213H7965H4791 3Who is able to count his heavenly army? Doesn't his light shine on all the earth?H3426H4557H1416H216H6965 4How can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone born of a woman be pure?H582H6663H410H2135H3205H802 5God is more glorious than the moon; he shines brighter than the stars.H3394H166H3556H2141H5869 6In comparison, people are maggots; we mortals are mere worms."H582H7415H1121H120H8438

Job’s Ninth Speech: A Response to Bildad

26Then Job spoke again.H347H6030H559 2"How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the weak!H5826H3581H3467H2220H3808H5797 3How you have enlightened my stupidity! What wise advice you have offered!H3289H3808H2451H7230H3045H8454 4Where have you gotten all these wise sayings? Whose spirit speaks through you?H5046H4405H5397H3318 5"The dead tremble—those who live beneath the waters.H7496H2342H4325H7931 6The underworld is naked in God's presence. The place of destruction is uncovered.H7585H6174H11H3682 7God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.H5186H6828H8414H8518H776H1099 8He wraps the rain in his thick clouds, and the clouds don't burst with the weight.H6887H4325H5645H6051H1234 9He covers the face of the moon, shrouding it with his clouds.H270H6440H3678H6576H6051 10He created the horizon when he separated the waters; he set the boundary between day and night.H2328H6440H4325H2706H216H2822H8503 11The foundations of heaven tremble; they shudder at his rebuke.H5982H8064H7322H8539H1606 12By his power the sea grew calm. By his skill he crushed the great sea monster.H7280H3220H3581H8394H8394H4272H7293 13His Spirit made the heavens beautiful, and his power pierced the gliding serpent.H7307H8235H8064H3027H2342H1281H5175 14These are just the beginning of all that he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of his power?"H7098H1870H8102H1697H8085H7482H1369H995