NKJV Bible in 365 Days
Reviewing Job's Past Life, Maintaining His Innocence — May 7
Job 29-31
Job 29
1 Job further continued his discourse, and said: 365N 127.1
2 “Oh, that I were as in months past, As in the days when God watched over me; 365N 127.2
3 When His lamp shone upon my head, And when by His light I walked through darkness; 365N 127.3
4 Just as I was in the days of my prime, When the friendly counsel of God was over my tent; 365N 127.4
5 When the Almighty was yet with me, When my children were around me; 365N 127.5
6 When my steps were bathed with [a] cream, And the rock poured out rivers of oil for me! 365N 127.6
7 “When I went out to the gate by the city, When I took my seat in the open square, 365N 127.7
8 The young men saw me and hid, And the aged arose and stood; 365N 127.8
9 The princes refrained from talking, And put their hand on their mouth; 365N 127.9
10 The voice of nobles was hushed, And their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth. 365N 127.10
11 When the ear heard, then it blessed me, And when the eye saw, then it approved me; 365N 127.11
12 Because I delivered the poor who cried out, The fatherless and the one who had no helper. 365N 127.12
13 The blessing of a perishing man came upon me, And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. 365N 127.13
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was like a robe and a turban. 365N 127.14
15 I was eyes to the blind, And I was feet to the lame. 365N 127.15
16 I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know. 365N 127.16
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked, And plucked the victim from his teeth. 365N 127.17
18 “Then I said, ‘I shall die in my nest, And multiply my days as the sand. 365N 127.18
19 My root is spread out to the waters, And the dew lies all night on my branch. 365N 127.19
20 My glory is fresh within me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.’ 365N 127.20
21 “ Men listened to me and waited, And kept silence for my counsel. 365N 127.21
22 After my words they did not speak again, And my speech settled on them as dew. 365N 127.22
23 They waited for me as for the rain, And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain. 365N 127.23
24 If I mocked at them, they did not believe it, And the light of my countenance they did not cast down. 365N 127.24
25 I chose the way for them, and sat as chief; So I dwelt as a king in the army, As one who comforts mourners. 365N 127.25
Job 30
1 “But now they mock at me, men [a] younger than I, Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock. 365N 127.26
2 Indeed, what profit is the strength of their hands to me? Their vigor has perished. 365N 127.27
3 They are gaunt from want and famine, Fleeing late to the wilderness, desolate and waste, 365N 127.28
4 Who pluck [b] mallow by the bushes, And broom tree roots for their food. 365N 127.29
5 They were driven out from among men, They shouted at them as at a thief. 365N 127.30
6 They had to live in the clefts of the [c] valleys, In [d] caves of the earth and the rocks. 365N 127.31
7 Among the bushes they brayed, Under the nettles they nestled. 365N 127.32
8 They were sons of fools, Yes, sons of vile men; They were scourged from the land. 365N 127.33
9 “And now I am their taunting song; Yes, I am their byword. 365N 127.34
10 They abhor me, they keep far from me; They do not hesitate to spit in my face. 365N 127.35
11 Because He has loosed [e] my bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off restraint before me. 365N 127.36
12 At my right hand the rabble arises; They push away my feet, And they raise against me their ways of destruction. 365N 127.37
13 They break up my path, They promote my calamity; They have no helper. 365N 127.38
14 They come as broad breakers; Under the ruinous storm they roll along. 365N 127.39
15 Terrors are turned upon me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed like a cloud. 365N 127.40
16 “And now my soul is poured out because of my plight; The days of affliction take hold of me. 365N 127.41
17 My bones are pierced in me at night, And my gnawing pains take no rest. 365N 127.42
18 By great force my garment is disfigured; It binds me about as the collar of my coat. 365N 127.43
19 He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes. 365N 127.44
20 “I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me. 365N 127.45
21 But You have become cruel to me; With the strength of Your hand You oppose me. 365N 127.46
22 You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it; You spoil my success. 365N 127.47
23 For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living. 365N 127.48
24 “Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins, If they cry out when He destroys it. 365N 127.49
25 Have I not wept for him who was in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor? 365N 127.50
26 But when I looked for good, evil came to me; And when I waited for light, then came darkness. 365N 127.51
27 [f] My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; Days of affliction confront me. 365N 127.52
28 I go about mourning, but not in the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help. 365N 127.53
29 I am a brother of jackals, And a companion of ostriches. 365N 127.54
30 My skin grows black and falls from me; My bones burn with fever. 365N 127.55
31 My harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the voice of those who weep. 365N 127.56
Job 31
1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I [a] look upon a young woman? 365N 127.57
2 For what is the allotment of God from above, And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high? 365N 127.58
3 Is it not destruction for the wicked, And disaster for the workers of iniquity? 365N 127.59
4 Does He not see my ways, And count all my steps? 365N 127.60
5 “If I have walked with falsehood, Or if my foot has hastened to deceit, 365N 127.61
6 [b] Let me be weighed on honest scales, That God may know my integrity. 365N 127.62
7 If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart walked after my eyes, Or if any spot adheres to my hands, 365N 127.63
8 Then let me sow, and another eat; Yes, let my harvest be [c] rooted out. 365N 127.64
9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, 365N 127.65
10 Then let my wife grind for another, And let others bow down over her. 365N 127.66
11 For that would be wickedness; Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment. 365N 127.67
12 For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase. 365N 127.68
13 “If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me, 365N 127.69
14 What then shall I do when God rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him? 365N 127.70
15 Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb? 365N 127.71
16 “If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail, 365N 127.72
17 Or eaten my morsel by myself, So that the fatherless could not eat of it 365N 127.73
18 (But from my youth I reared him as a father, And from my mother’s womb I guided [d] the widow ); 365N 127.74
19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or any poor man without covering; 365N 127.75
20 If his [e] heart has not blessed me, And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; 365N 127.76
21 If I have raised my hand against the fatherless, When I saw I had help in the gate; 365N 127.77
22 Then let my arm fall from my shoulder, Let my arm be torn from the socket. 365N 127.78
23 For destruction from God is a terror to me, And because of His magnificence I cannot endure. 365N 127.79
24 “If I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, ‘ You are my confidence’; 365N 127.80
25 If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gained much; 365N 127.81
26 If I have observed the [f] sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness, 365N 127.82
27 So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand; 365N 127.83
28 This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment, For I would have denied God who is above. 365N 127.84
29 “If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, Or lifted myself up when evil found him 365N 127.85
30 (Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for a curse on his [g] soul); 365N 127.86
31 If the men of my tent have not said, ‘Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?’ 365N 127.87
32 ( But no sojourner had to lodge in the street, For I have opened my doors to the [h] traveler); 365N 127.88
33 If I have covered my transgressions as [i] Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom, 365N 127.89
34 Because I feared the great multitude, And dreaded the contempt of families, So that I kept silence And did not go out of the door— 365N 127.90
35 Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my mark. Oh, that the Almighty would answer me, That my [j] Prosecutor had written a book! 365N 127.91
36 Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, And bind it on me like a crown; 365N 127.92
37 I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him. 365N 127.93
38 “If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together; 365N 127.94
39 If I have eaten its [k] fruit without money, Or caused its owners to lose their lives; 365N 127.95
40 Then let thistles grow instead of wheat, And weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended. 365N 127.96