Sunday, September 29, 2019

Job 3

¹After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. ²He said:

³"May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, 'A boy is born!' ⁴That day--may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine upon it. ⁵May darkness and deep shadow claim it once more; may a cloud settle over it; may blackness overwhelm its light. ⁶That night--may thick darkness seize it; may it not be included among the days of the year nor be entered in any of the months. ⁷May that night be barren; may no shout of joy be heard in it. ⁸May those who curse days curse that day, those who are ready to rouse Leviathan. ⁹May its morning stars become dark; may it wait for daylight in vain and not see the first rays of dawn, ¹⁰for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me to hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹"Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb? ¹²Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I might be nursed? ¹³For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest ¹⁴with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins, ¹⁵with rulers who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. ¹⁶Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day? ¹⁷There the wicked cease from turmoil, and there the weary are at rest. ¹⁸Captives also enjoy their ease; they no longer hear the slave driver's shout. ¹⁹The small and the great are there, and the slave is freed from his master.

²⁰"Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, ²¹to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, ²²who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave? ²³Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? ²⁴For sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water. ²⁵What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. ²⁶I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil."

Psalm 88

¹A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to [mahalath leannoth.] A [maskil] of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before you. ²May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. ³For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave. ⁴I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength. ⁵I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care. ⁶You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. ⁷Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. [Selah] ⁸You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape; ⁹my eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you. ¹⁰Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do those who are dead rise up and praise you? [Selah] ¹¹Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction? ¹²Are your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion? ¹³But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you. ¹⁴Why, O LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me? ¹⁵From my youth I have been afflicted and close to death; I have suffered your terrors and am in despair. ¹⁶Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me. ¹⁷All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me. ¹⁸You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend.

Luke 8:9–18

⁹His disciples asked him what this parable meant. ¹⁰He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

" 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'

¹¹"This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. ¹²Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. ¹⁴The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. ¹⁵But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

¹⁶"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. ¹⁷For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. ¹⁸Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him."