Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Job 32

¹So these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. ²But Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God. ³He was also angry with the three friends, because they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him. ⁴Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job because they were older than he. ⁵But when he saw that the three men had nothing more to say, his anger was aroused.

⁶So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said:

"I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know. ⁷I thought, 'Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.' ⁸But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. ⁹It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right.

¹⁰"Therefore I say: Listen to me; I too will tell you what I know. ¹¹I waited while you spoke, I listened to your reasoning; while you were searching for words, ¹²I gave you my full attention. But not one of you has proved Job wrong; none of you has answered his arguments. ¹³Do not say, 'We have found wisdom; let God refute him, not man.' ¹⁴But Job has not marshaled his words against me, and I will not answer him with your arguments.

¹⁵"They are dismayed and have no more to say; words have failed them. ¹⁶Must I wait, now that they are silent, now that they stand there with no reply? ¹⁷I too will have my say; I too will tell what I know. ¹⁸For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me; ¹⁹inside I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst. ²⁰I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply. ²¹I will show partiality to no one, nor will I flatter any man; ²²for if I were skilled in flattery, my Maker would soon take me away.

Psalm 113

¹Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. ²Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore. ³From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. ⁴The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. ⁵Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, ⁶who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? ⁷He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; ⁸he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. ⁹He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD.

Luke 18:15–30

¹⁵People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. ¹⁶But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁷I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

¹⁸A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

¹⁹"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. ²⁰You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.' "

²¹"All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said.

²²When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

²³When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. ²⁴Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

²⁶Those who heard this asked, "Who then can be saved?"

²⁷Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

²⁸Peter said to him, "We have left all we had to follow you!"

²⁹"I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God ³⁰will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."