The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday August 29, 2018 (NIV)

⁵ “If I have walked with lies
or my feet have run after deception,
⁶ then let God weigh me on honest scales,
and he will know I have integrity.

⁷ “If my steps have left the proper path,
or my heart has followed the desire of my eyes,
or my hands are stained with sin,
⁸ then let someone else eat what I have planted,
and let my crops be uprooted.

⁹ “If I have been seduced by a woman
or I have secretly waited near my neighbor’s door,
¹⁰ then let my wife grind for another man,
and let other men kneel over her.
¹¹ That would be a scandal,
and that would be a criminal offense.
¹² It would be a fire that burns even in Abaddon.
It would uproot my entire harvest.

¹³ “If I have abused the rights of my servants, male or female,
when they have disagreed with me,
¹⁴ then what could I do if God rises up?
If he examines me, how could I answer him?
¹⁵ Didn’t he who made me in my mother’s belly make them?
Didn’t the same God form us in the womb?

¹⁶ “If I have refused the requests of the poor
or made a widow’s eyes stop looking for help,
¹⁷ or have eaten my food alone
without letting the orphan eat any of it. . . .
¹⁸ (From my youth the orphan grew up with me
as though I were his father,
and from my birth I treated the widow kindly.)
¹⁹ If I have seen anyone die because he had no clothes
or a poor person going naked. . . .
²⁰ (If his body didn’t bless me,
or the wool from my sheep didn’t keep him warm. . . .)
²¹ If I have shaken my fist at an orphan
because I knew that others would back me up in court,
²² then let my shoulder fall out of its socket,
and let my arm be broken at the elbow.

²³ “A disaster from God terrifies me.
In the presence of his majesty I can do nothing.

²⁴ “If I put my confidence in gold
or said to fine gold, ‘I trust you’. . . .
²⁵ If I enjoyed being very rich
because my hand had found great wealth. . . .
²⁶ If I saw the light shine
or the moon move along in its splendor
²⁷ so that my heart was secretly tempted,
and I threw them a kiss with my hand,
²⁸ then that, too, would be a criminal offense,
and I would have denied God above.

²⁹ “If I enjoyed the ruin of my enemy
or celebrated when harm came to him
³⁰ (even though I didn’t speak sinfully
by calling down a curse on his life). . . .

³¹ “If the people who were in my tent had said,
‘We wish we had never filled our stomachs with his food’. . . .
³² (The visitor never spent the night outside,
because I opened my door to the traveler.)

³³ “If I have covered my disobedience like Adam
and kept my sin to myself,
³⁴ because I dreaded the large, noisy crowd
and because the contempt of the local mobs terrified me
so that I kept quiet and didn’t go outside. . . .

³⁵ “If only I had someone who would listen to me!
Look, here is my signature!
Let the Almighty answer me.
Let the prosecutor write his complaint on a scroll.
³⁶ I would certainly carry it on my shoulder
and place it on my head like a crown.
³⁷ I would tell him the number of my steps
and approach him like a prince.

³⁸ “If my land has cried out against me,
and its furrows have wept. . . .
³⁹ If I have eaten its produce without paying for it
and made its owners breathe their last,
⁴⁰ then let it grow thistles instead of wheat,
and foul-smelling weeds instead of barley.”

“I am young, and you are old.
That’s why I refrained from speaking
and was afraid to tell you what I know.
⁷ I thought, ‘Age should speak,
and experience should teach wisdom.’
⁸ However, there is in humans a Spirit,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
⁹ People do not become wise merely because they live long.
They don’t understand what justice is merely because they’re old.

¹⁰ “That is why I say, ‘Listen to me!
Let me tell you what I know.’
¹¹ I waited for you to speak.
I listened for you to share your understanding
until you could find the right words.
¹² I’ve paid close attention to you,
but none of you refuted Job.
None of you has an answer to what he says.
¹³ So don’t say, ‘We’ve found wisdom.
Let God, not humans, defeat him.’
¹⁴ Job did not choose his words to refute me,
so I won’t answer him with your speeches.

¹⁵ “Job’s friends have been overwhelmed and don’t have any more answers.
They don’t have another word to say.
¹⁶ Should I wait because they don’t speak,
because they stand there and don’t have any more answers?

¹⁷ “I’ll give my answer.
I’ll tell you what I know.
¹⁸ I’m full of words.
The Spirit within me forces me to speak.
¹⁹ My belly is like a bottle of wine that has not been opened,
like new wineskins that are ready to burst.
²⁰ I must speak to get relief.
I must open my mouth and answer.
²¹ I won’t be partial toward anyone
or flatter anyone.
²² I don’t know how to flatter.
If I did, my maker would soon carry me away.

⁴ “God’s Spirit has made me.
The breath of the Almighty gives me life.
⁵ Answer me if you can.
Present your case to me, and take your stand.
⁶ Indeed, I stand in front of God as you do.
I, too, was formed from a piece of clay.
⁷ You certainly don’t need to be terrified of me.
I won’t put too much pressure on you.

⁵ Why are you discouraged, my soul?
Why are you so restless?
Put your hope in God,
because I will still praise him.
He is my savior and my God.