The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday August 26, 2022 (NIV)

² “I must reply
because I am greatly disturbed.
³ I’ve had to endure your insults,
but now my spirit prompts me to reply.

⁴ “Don’t you realize that from the beginning of time,
ever since people were first placed on the earth,
⁵ the triumph of the wicked has been short lived
and the joy of the godless has been only temporary?
⁶ Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens
and their heads touch the clouds,
⁷ yet they will vanish forever,
thrown away like their own dung.
Those who knew them will ask,
‘Where are they?’
⁸ They will fade like a dream and not be found.
They will vanish like a vision in the night.
⁹ Those who once saw them will see them no more.
Their families will never see them again.
¹⁰ Their children will beg from the poor,
for they must give back their stolen riches.
¹¹ Though they are young,
their bones will lie in the dust.

¹² “They enjoyed the sweet taste of wickedness,
letting it melt under their tongue.
¹³ They savored it,
holding it long in their mouths.
¹⁴ But suddenly the food in their bellies turns sour,
a poisonous venom in their stomach.
¹⁵ They will vomit the wealth they swallowed.
God won’t let them keep it down.
¹⁶ They will suck the poison of cobras.
The viper will kill them.
¹⁷ They will never again enjoy streams of olive oil
or rivers of milk and honey.
¹⁸ They will give back everything they worked for.
Their wealth will bring them no joy.
¹⁹ For they oppressed the poor and left them destitute.
They foreclosed on their homes.
²⁰ They were always greedy and never satisfied.
Nothing remains of all the things they dreamed about.
²¹ Nothing is left after they finish gorging themselves.
Therefore, their prosperity will not endure.

²² “In the midst of plenty, they will run into trouble
and be overcome by misery.
²³ May God give them a bellyful of trouble.
May God rain down his anger upon them.
²⁴ When they try to escape an iron weapon,
a bronze-tipped arrow will pierce them.
²⁵ The arrow is pulled from their back,
and the arrowhead glistens with blood.^[a]
The terrors of death are upon them.
²⁶ Their treasures will be thrown into deepest darkness.
A wildfire will devour their goods,
consuming all they have left.
²⁷ The heavens will reveal their guilt,
and the earth will testify against them.
²⁸ A flood will sweep away their house.
God’s anger will descend on them in torrents.
²⁹ This is the reward that God gives the wicked.
It is the inheritance decreed by God.”

² “Listen closely to what I am saying.
That’s one consolation you can give me.
³ Bear with me, and let me speak.
After I have spoken, you may resume mocking me.

⁴ “My complaint is with God, not with people.
I have good reason to be so impatient.
⁵ Look at me and be stunned.
Put your hand over your mouth in shock.
⁶ When I think about what I am saying, I shudder.
My body trembles.

⁷ “Why do the wicked prosper,
growing old and powerful?
⁸ They live to see their children grow up and settle down,
and they enjoy their grandchildren.
⁹ Their homes are safe from every fear,
and God does not punish them.
¹⁰ Their bulls never fail to breed.
Their cows bear calves and never miscarry.
¹¹ They let their children frisk about like lambs.
Their little ones skip and dance.
¹² They sing with tambourine and harp.
They celebrate to the sound of the flute.
¹³ They spend their days in prosperity,
then go down to the grave^[b] in peace.
¹⁴ And yet they say to God, ‘Go away.
We want no part of you and your ways.
¹⁵ Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him?
What good will it do us to pray?’
¹⁶ (They think their prosperity is of their own doing,
but I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.)

¹⁷ “Yet the light of the wicked never seems to be extinguished.
Do they ever have trouble?
Does God distribute sorrows to them in anger?
¹⁸ Are they driven before the wind like straw?
Are they carried away by the storm like chaff?
Not at all!

¹⁹ “‘Well,’ you say, ‘at least God will punish their children!’
But I say he should punish the ones who sin,
so that they understand his judgment.
²⁰ Let them see their destruction with their own eyes.
Let them drink deeply of the anger of the Almighty.
²¹ For they will not care what happens to their family
after they are dead.

²² “But who can teach a lesson to God,
since he judges even the most powerful?
²³ One person dies in prosperity,
completely comfortable and secure,
²⁴ the picture of good health,
vigorous and fit.
²⁵ Another person dies in bitter poverty,
never having tasted the good life.
²⁶ But both are buried in the same dust,
both eaten by the same maggots.

²⁷ “Look, I know what you’re thinking.
I know the schemes you plot against me.
²⁸ You will tell me of rich and wicked people
whose houses have vanished because of their sins.
²⁹ But ask those who have been around,
and they will tell you the truth.
³⁰ Evil people are spared in times of calamity
and are allowed to escape disaster.
³¹ No one criticizes them openly
or pays them back for what they have done.
³² When they are carried to the grave,
an honor guard keeps watch at their tomb.
³³ A great funeral procession goes to the cemetery.
Many pay their respects as the body is laid to rest,
and the earth gives sweet repose.

³⁴ “How can your empty clichés comfort me?
All your explanations are lies!”

² “Can a person do anything to help God?
Can even a wise person be helpful to him?
³ Is it any advantage to the Almighty if you are righteous?
Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect?
⁴ Is it because you’re so pious that he accuses you
and brings judgment against you?
⁵ No, it’s because of your wickedness!
There’s no limit to your sins.

⁶ “For example, you must have lent money to your friend
and demanded clothing as security.
Yes, you stripped him to the bone.
⁷ You must have refused water for the thirsty
and food for the hungry.
⁸ You probably think the land belongs to the powerful
and only the privileged have a right to it!
⁹ You must have sent widows away empty-handed
and crushed the hopes of orphans.
¹⁰ That is why you are surrounded by traps
and tremble from sudden fears.
¹¹ That is why you cannot see in the darkness,
and waves of water cover you.

¹² “God is so great—higher than the heavens,
higher than the farthest stars.
¹³ But you reply, ‘That’s why God can’t see what I am doing!
How can he judge through the thick darkness?
¹⁴ For thick clouds swirl about him, and he cannot see us.
He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.’

¹⁵ “Will you continue on the old paths
where evil people have walked?
¹⁶ They were snatched away in the prime of life,
the foundations of their lives washed away.
¹⁷ For they said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do to us?’
¹⁸ Yet he was the one who filled their homes with good things,
so I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.

¹⁹ “The righteous will be happy to see the wicked destroyed,
and the innocent will laugh in contempt.
²⁰ They will say, ‘See how our enemies have been destroyed.
The last of them have been consumed in the fire.’

²¹ “Submit to God, and you will have peace;
then things will go well for you.
²² Listen to his instructions,
and store them in your heart.
²³ If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored—
so clean up your life.
²⁴ If you give up your lust for money
and throw your precious gold into the river,
²⁵ the Almighty himself will be your treasure.
He will be your precious silver!

²⁶ “Then you will take delight in the Almighty
and look up to God.
²⁷ You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows to him.
²⁸ You will succeed in whatever you choose to do,
and light will shine on the road ahead of you.
²⁹ If people are in trouble and you say, ‘Help them,’
God will save them.
³⁰ Even sinners will be rescued;
they will be rescued because your hands are pure.”

¹¹ Lord, don’t hold back your tender mercies from me.
Let your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me.
¹² For troubles surround me—
too many to count!
My sins pile up so high
I can’t see my way out.
They outnumber the hairs on my head.
I have lost all courage.

¹³ Please, Lord, rescue me!
Come quickly, Lord, and help me.
¹⁴ May those who try to destroy me
be humiliated and put to shame.
May those who take delight in my trouble
be turned back in disgrace.
¹⁵ Let them be horrified by their shame,
for they said, “Aha! We’ve got him now!”

¹⁶ But may all who search for you
be filled with joy and gladness in you.
May those who love your salvation
repeatedly shout, “The Lord is great!”
¹⁷ As for me, since I am poor and needy,
let the Lord keep me in his thoughts.
You are my helper and my savior.
O my God, do not delay.

² The rich and poor have this in common:
The Lord made them both.

³ A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

⁴ True humility and fear of the Lord
lead to riches, honor, and long life.