Bible Reading Plan

¹ "My eyes have seen all this,^(a)
     my ears have heard and understood it.
² What you know, I also know;
     I am not inferior to you.^(b)
3 But I desire to speak to the Almighty^(c)
     and to argue my case with God.^(d)
4 You, however, smear me with lies;^(e)
     you are worthless physicians,^(f) all of you!^(g)
5 If only you would be altogether silent!^(h)
     For you, that would be wisdom.^(i)
6 Hear now my argument;
     listen to the pleas of my lips.^(j)
7 Will you speak wickedly on God's behalf?
     Will you speak deceitfully for him?^(k)
8 Will you show him partiality?^(l)
     Will you argue the case for God?
⁹ Would it turn out well if he examined you?^(m)
     Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal?^(n)
10 He would surely call you to account
     if you secretly showed partiality.^(o)
11 Would not his splendor^(p) terrify you?
     Would not the dread of him fall on you?^(q)
12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;
     your defenses are defenses of clay.^(r)

¹³ "Keep silent^(s) and let me speak;^(t)
     then let come to me what may.^(u)
14 Why do I put myself in jeopardy
     and take my life in my hands?^(v)
15 Though he slay me, yet will I hope^(w) in him;^(x)
     I will surely^[a] defend my ways to his face.^(y)
16 Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance,^(z)
     for no godless^(aa) person would dare come before him!^(ab)
17 Listen carefully to what I say;^(ac)
     let my words ring in your ears.
¹⁸ Now that I have prepared my case,^(ad)
     I know I will be vindicated.^(ae)
19 Can anyone bring charges against me?^(af)
     If so, I will be silent^(ag) and die.^(ah)

²⁰ "Only grant me these two things, God,
     and then I will not hide from you:
²¹ Withdraw your hand^(ai) far from me,
     and stop frightening me with your terrors.^(aj)
22 Then summon me and I will answer,^(ak)
     or let me speak, and you reply to me.^(al)
23 How many wrongs and sins have I committed?^(am)
     Show me my offense and my sin.^(an)
24 Why do you hide your face^(ao)
     and consider me your enemy?^(ap)
25 Will you torment^(aq) a windblown leaf?^(ar)
     Will you chase^(as) after dry chaff?^(at)
26 For you write down bitter things against me
     and make me reap the sins of my youth.^(au)
27 You fasten my feet in shackles;^(av)
     you keep close watch on all my paths^(aw)
     by putting marks on the soles of my feet.

²⁸ "So man wastes away like something rotten,
     like a garment^(ax) eaten by moths.^(ay)

¹ "Mortals, born of woman,^(a)
     are of few days^(b) and full of trouble.^(c)
2 They spring up like flowers^(d) and wither away;^(e)
     like fleeting shadows,^(f) they do not endure.^(g)
3 Do you fix your eye on them?^(h)
     Will you bring them^[a] before you for judgment?^(i)
4 Who can bring what is pure^(j) from the impure?^(k)
     No one!^(l)
5 A person's days are determined;^(m)
     you have decreed the number of his months⁽ⁿ⁾
     and have set limits he cannot exceed.^(o)
6 So look away from him and let him alone,^(p)
     till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.^(q)

⁷ "At least there is hope for a tree:^(r)
     If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
     and its new shoots^(s) will not fail.^(t)
8 Its roots may grow old in the ground
     and its stump^(u) die in the soil,
⁹ yet at the scent of water^(v) it will bud
     and put forth shoots like a plant.^(w)
10 But a man dies and is laid low;^(x)
     he breathes his last and is no more.^(y)
11 As the water of a lake dries up
     or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,^(z)
12 so he lies down and does not rise;^(aa)
     till the heavens are no more,^(ab) people will not awake
     or be roused from their sleep.^(ac)

¹³ "If only you would hide me in the grave^(ad)
     and conceal me till your anger has passed!^(ae)
If only you would set me a time
     and then remember^(af) me!^(ag)
14 If someone dies, will they live again?
     All the days of my hard service^(ah)
     I will wait for my renewal^[b](ai) to come.
¹⁵ You will call and I will answer you;^(aj)
     you will long for the creature your hands have made.^(ak)
16 Surely then you will count my steps^(al)
     but not keep track of my sin.^(am)
17 My offenses will be sealed^(an) up in a bag;^(ao)
     you will cover over my sin.^(ap)

¹⁸ "But as a mountain erodes and crumbles^(aq)
     and as a rock is moved from its place,^(ar)
19 as water wears away stones
     and torrents^(as) wash away the soil,^(at)
     so you destroy a person's hope.^(au)
20 You overpower them once for all, and they are gone;^(av)
     you change their countenance and send them away.^(aw)
21 If their children are honored, they do not know it;
     if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.^(ax)
22 They feel but the pain of their own bodies^(ay)
     and mourn only for themselves.^(az)"

⁷ "Are you the first man ever born?⁽ⁱ⁾
     Were you brought forth before the hills?^(j)
8 Do you listen in on God's council?^(k)
     Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?^(l)
9 What do you know that we do not know?
     What insights do you have that we do not have?^(m)
10 The gray-haired and the aged⁽ⁿ⁾ are on our side,
     men even older than your father.^(o)
11 Are God's consolations^(p) not enough for you,
     words^(q) spoken gently to you?^(r)
12 Why has your heart^(s) carried you away,
     and why do your eyes flash,
¹³ so that you vent your rage^(t) against God
     and pour out such words^(u) from your mouth?^(v)

¹⁴ "What are mortals, that they could be pure,
     or those born of woman,^(w) that they could be righteous?^(x)
15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,^(y)
     if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,^(z)
16 how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,^(aa)
     who drink up evil^(ab) like water!^(ac)

¹⁷ "Listen to me and I will explain to you;
     let me tell you what I have seen,^(ad)
18 what the wise have declared,
     hiding nothing received from their ancestors^(ae)
19 (to whom alone the land^(af) was given
     when no foreigners moved among them):
²⁰ All his days the wicked man suffers torment,^(ag)
     the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.^(ah)
21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;^(ai)
     when all seems well, marauders attack him.^(aj)
22 He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;^(ak)
     he is marked for the sword.^(al)
23 He wanders about^(am) for food like a vulture;^(an)
     he knows the day of darkness^(ao) is at hand.^(ap)
24 Distress and anguish^(aq) fill him with terror;^(ar)
     troubles overwhelm him, like a king^(as) poised to attack,
²⁵ because he shakes his fist^(at) at God
     and vaunts himself against the Almighty,^(au)
26 defiantly charging against him
     with a thick, strong shield.^(av)

²⁷ "Though his face is covered with fat
     and his waist bulges with flesh,^(aw)
28 he will inhabit ruined towns
     and houses where no one lives,^(ax)
     houses crumbling to rubble.^(ay)
29 He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,^(az)
     nor will his possessions spread over the land.^(ba)
30 He will not escape the darkness;^(bb)
     a flame^(bc) will wither his shoots,^(bd)
     and the breath of God's mouth^(be) will carry him away.^(bf)
31 Let him not deceive^(bg) himself by trusting what is worthless,^(bh)
     for he will get nothing in return.^(bi)
32 Before his time^(bj) he will wither,^(bk)
     and his branches will not flourish.^(bl)
33 He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,^(bm)
     like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.^(bn)
34 For the company of the godless^(bo) will be barren,
     and fire will consume^(bp) the tents of those who love bribes.^(bq)
35 They conceive trouble^(br) and give birth to evil;^(bs)
     their womb fashions deceit."

⁶ "Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved;
     and if I refrain, it does not go away.^(h)
7 Surely, God, you have worn me out;⁽ⁱ⁾
     you have devastated my entire household.^(j)
8 You have shriveled me up—and it has become a witness;
     my gauntness^(k) rises up and testifies against me.^(l)
9 God assails me and tears^(m) me in his anger⁽ⁿ⁾
     and gnashes his teeth at me;^(o)
     my opponent fastens on me his piercing eyes.^(p)
10 People open their mouths^(q) to jeer at me;^(r)
     they strike my cheek^(s) in scorn
     and unite together against me.^(t) <