Job 36,37

Job 36 New King James Version (NKJV)

Elihu Proclaims God’s Goodness

36 Elihu also proceeded and said:

² “Bear with me a little, and I will show you
That there are yet words to speak on God’s behalf.
³ I will fetch my knowledge from afar;
I will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
⁴ For truly my words are not false;
One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

⁵ “Behold, God is mighty, but despises no one;
He is mighty in strength ^[a]of understanding.
⁶ He does not preserve the life of the wicked,
But gives justice to the oppressed.
⁷ He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous;
But they are on the throne with kings,
For He has seated them forever,
And they are exalted.
⁸ And if they are bound in ^[b]fetters,
Held in the cords of affliction,
⁹ Then He tells them their work and their transgressions—
That they have acted ^[c]defiantly.
¹⁰ He also opens their ear to ^[d]instruction,
And commands that they turn from iniquity.
¹¹ If they obey and serve Him,
They shall spend their days in prosperity,
And their years in pleasures.
¹² But if they do not obey,
They shall perish by the sword,
And they shall die ^[e]without knowledge.

¹³ “But the hypocrites in heart store up wrath;
They do not cry for help when He binds them.
¹⁴ They^[f] die in youth,
And their life ends among the ^[g]perverted persons.
¹⁵ He delivers the poor in their affliction,
And opens their ears in oppression.

¹⁶ “Indeed He would have brought you out of dire distress,
Into a broad place where there is no restraint;
And what is set on your table would be full of richness.
¹⁷ But you are filled with the judgment due the wicked;
Judgment and justice take hold of you.
¹⁸ Because there is wrath, beware lest He take you away with oneblow;
For a large ransom would not help you avoid it.
¹⁹ Will your riches,
Or all the mighty forces,
Keep you from distress?
²⁰ Do not desire the night,
When people are cut off in their place.
²¹ Take heed, do not turn to iniquity,
For you have chosen this rather than affliction.

²² “Behold, God is exalted by His power;
Who teaches like Him?
²³ Who has assigned Him His way,
Or who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?

Elihu Proclaims God’s Majesty

²⁴ “Remember to magnify His work,
Of which men have sung.
²⁵ Everyone has seen it;
Man looks on it from afar.

²⁶ “Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him;
Nor can the number of His years be discovered.
²⁷ For He draws up drops of water,
Which distill as rain from the mist,
²⁸ Which the clouds drop down
And pour abundantly on man.
²⁹ Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds,
The thunder from His canopy?
³⁰ Look, He scatters His light upon it,
And covers the depths of the sea.
³¹ For by these He judges the peoples;
He gives food in abundance.
³² He covers His hands with lightning,
And commands it to ^[h]strike.
³³ His thunder declares it,
The cattle also, concerning ^[i]the rising storm.

Job 37 New King James Version (NKJV)

God’s Works and Wisdom

37 “At this also my heart trembles,
And leaps from its place.
² Hear attentively the thunder of His voice,
And the rumbling that comes from His mouth.
³ He sends it forth under the whole heaven,
His ^[a]lightning to the ends of the earth.
⁴ After it a voice roars;
He thunders with His majestic voice,
And He does not restrain them when His voice is heard.
⁵ God thunders marvelously with His voice;
He does great things which we cannot comprehend.
⁶ For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’;
Likewise to the ^[b]gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength.
⁷ He seals the hand of every man,
That all men may know His work.
⁸ The beasts go into dens,
And remain in their lairs.
⁹ From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind,
And cold from the scattering winds of the north.
¹⁰ By the breath of God ice is given,
And the broad waters are frozen.
¹¹ Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds;
He scatters His ^[c]bright clouds.
¹² And they swirl about, being turned by His guidance,
That they may do whatever He commands them
On the face of ^[d]the whole earth.
¹³ He causes it to come,
Whether for ^[e]correction,
Or for His land,
Or for mercy.

¹⁴ “Listen to this, O Job;
Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
¹⁵ Do you know when God ^[f]dispatches them,
And causes the light of His cloud to shine?
¹⁶ Do you know how the clouds are balanced,
Those wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?
¹⁷ Why are your garments hot,
When He quiets the earth by the south wind?
¹⁸ With Him, have you spread out the skies,
Strong as a cast metal mirror?

¹⁹ “Teach us what we should say to Him,
For we can prepare nothing because of the darkness.
²⁰ Should He be told that I wish to speak?
If a man were to speak, surely he would be swallowed up.
²¹ Even now men cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies,
When the wind has passed and cleared them.
²² He comes from the north as golden splendor;
With God is awesome majesty.
²³ As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him;
He is excellent in power,
In judgment and abundant justice;
He does not oppress.
²⁴ Therefore men fear Him;
He shows no partiality to any who are wise of heart.”

Matthew 10:1-39 New King James Version (NKJV)

The Twelve Apostles

10 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. ² Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and ^[a]Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the ^[b]Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

Sending Out the Twelve

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.⁶ But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven ^[c]is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick,^[d]cleanse the lepers, ^[e]raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. ⁹ Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, ¹⁰ nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.

¹¹ “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out. ¹² And when you go into a household, greet it.¹³ If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. ¹⁵ Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!

Persecutions Are Coming

¹⁶ “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless^[f] as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men, forthey will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.¹⁸ You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; ²⁰ for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

²¹ “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²² And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. ²³ When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.²⁵ It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house ^[g]Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! ²⁶ Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

Jesus Teaches the Fear of God

²⁷ “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. ²⁸ And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in ^[h]hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a ^[i]copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ³⁰ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Confess Christ Before Men

³² “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

Christ Brings Division

³⁴ “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to ‘set^[j] a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; ³⁶ and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his ownhousehold.’ ³⁷ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.