Day 227 of 730

¹"My spirit is consumed. My days are extinct, And the grave is ready for me.

²Surely there are mockers with me. My eye dwells on their provocation.

³"Now give a pledge, be collateral for me with yourself. Who is there who will strike hands with me?

⁴For you have hidden their heart from understanding, Therefore you shall not exalt them.

⁵He who denounces his friends for a prey, Even the eyes of his children shall fail.

⁶"But he has made me a byword of the people. They spit in my face.

⁷My eye also is dim by reason of sorrow. All my members are as a shadow.

⁸Upright men shall be astonished at this. The innocent shall stir up himself against the godless.

⁹Yet shall the righteous hold on his way. He who has clean hands shall grow stronger and stronger.

¹⁰But as for you all, come on now again; I shall not find a wise man among you.

¹¹My days are past, my plans are broken off, as are the thoughts of my heart.

¹²They change the night into day, saying 'The light is near' in the presence of darkness.

¹³If I look for Sheol as my house, if I have spread my couch in the darkness,

¹⁴If I have said to corruption, 'You are my father;' to the worm, 'My mother,' and 'my sister;'

¹⁵where then is my hope? As for my hope, who shall see it?

¹⁶Shall it go down with me to the gates of Sheol, or descend together into the dust?"

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,

²"How long will you hunt for words? Consider, and afterwards we will speak.

³Why are we counted as animals, which have become unclean in your sight?

⁴You who tear yourself in your anger, shall the earth be forsaken for you? Or shall the rock be removed out of its place?

⁵"Yes, the light of the wicked shall be put out, The spark of his fire shall not shine.

⁶The light shall be dark in his tent. His lamp above him shall be put out.

⁷The steps of his strength shall be shortened. His own counsel shall cast him down.

⁸For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he wanders into its mesh.

⁹A snare will take him by the heel. A trap will catch him.

¹⁰A noose is hidden for him in the ground, a trap for him in the way.

¹¹Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall chase him at his heels.

¹²His strength shall be famished. Calamity shall be ready at his side.

¹³The members of his body shall be devoured. The firstborn of death shall devour his members.

¹⁴He shall be rooted out of his tent where he trusts. He shall be brought to the king of terrors.

¹⁵There shall dwell in his tent that which is none of his. Sulfur shall be scattered on his habitation.

¹⁶His roots shall be dried up beneath. Above shall his branch be cut off.

¹⁷His memory shall perish from the earth. He shall have no name in the street.

¹⁸He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.

¹⁹He shall have neither son nor grandson among his people, nor any remaining where he sojourned.

²⁰Those who come after shall be astonished at his day, as those who went before were frightened.

²¹Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous. This is the place of him who doesn't know God."

¹My cry goes to God! Indeed, I cry to God for help, and for him to listen to me.

²In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. My hand was stretched out in the night, and did not get tired. My soul refused to be comforted.

³I remember God, and I groan. I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed. Selah.

⁴You hold my eyelids open. I am so troubled that I can't speak.

⁵I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.

⁶I remember my song in the night. I consider in my own heart; my spirit diligently inquires:

⁷"Will the Lord reject us forever? Will he be favorable no more?

⁸Has his loving kindness vanished forever? Does his promise fail for generations?

⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he, in anger, withheld his compassion?" Selah.

¹⁰Then I thought, "I will appeal to this: the years of the right hand of the Most High."

¹¹I will remember Yah's deeds; for I will remember your wonders of old.

¹²I will also meditate on all your work, and consider your doings.

¹³Your way, God, is in the sanctuary. What god is great like God?

¹⁴You are the God who does wonders. You have made your strength known among the peoples.

¹⁵You have redeemed your people with your arm, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

¹⁶The waters saw you, God. The waters saw you, and they writhed. The depths also convulsed.

¹⁷The clouds poured out water. The skies resounded with thunder. Your arrows also flashed around.

¹⁸The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind. The lightnings lit up the world. The earth trembled and shook.

¹⁹Your way was through the sea; your paths through the great waters. Your footsteps were not known.

²⁰You led your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father; but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

²Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death.

³The Lord will not allow the soul of the righteous to go hungry, but he thrusts away the desire of the wicked.

⁴He becomes poor who works with a lazy hand, but the hand of the diligent brings wealth.

⁵He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during the harvest is a son who causes shame.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

⁷The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸The wise in heart accept commandments, but a chattering fool will fall.

⁹He who walks blamelessly walks surely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.

¹⁰One winking with the eye causes sorrow, but a chattering fool will fall.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a spring of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

¹²Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs.

¹³Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has discernment, but a rod is for the back of him who is void of understanding.

¹⁴Wise men lay up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near ruin.

¹⁵The rich man's wealth is his strong city. The destruction of the poor is their poverty.

¹⁶The labor of the righteous leads to life. The increase of the wicked leads to sin.

¹⁷He is in the way of life who heeds correction, but he who forsakes reproof leads others astray.

¹⁸He who hides hatred has lying lips. He who utters a slander is a fool.

¹⁹In the multitude of words there is no lack of disobedience, but he who restrains his lips does wisely.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is like choice silver. The heart of the wicked is of little worth.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, but the foolish die for lack of understanding.

²²The Lord's blessing brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.

²³It is a fool's pleasure to do wickedness, but wisdom is a man of understanding's pleasure.

²⁴What the wicked fear, will overtake them, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more; but the righteous stand firm forever.

²⁶As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.

²⁷The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

²⁸The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hope of the wicked will perish.

²⁹The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright, but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.

³⁰The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land.

³¹The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked is perverse.