Thursday in Season after Pentecost

11Verse 11. Now when Job’s three friends— Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite— heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, each of them came from his home, and they met together to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him. 12Verse 12. When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head. 13Verse 13. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw how intense his suffering was. 1Verse 1. After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2Verse 2. And this is what he said: 3Verse 3. “May the day of my birth perish, and the night it was said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ 4Verse 4. If only that day had turned to darkness! May God above disregard it; may no light shine upon it. 5Verse 5. May darkness and gloom reclaim it, and a cloud settle over it; may the blackness of the day overwhelm it. 6Verse 6. If only darkness had taken that night away! May it not appear among the days of the year; may it never be entered in any of the months. 7Verse 7. Behold, may that night be barren; may no joyful voice come into it. 8Verse 8. May it be cursed by those who curse the day — those prepared to rouse Leviathan. 9Verse 9. May its morning stars grow dark; may it wait in vain for daylight; may it not see the breaking of dawn. 10Verse 10. For that night did not shut the doors of the womb to hide the sorrow from my eyes. 11Verse 11. Why did I not perish at birth; why did I not die as I came from the womb? 12Verse 12. Why were there knees to receive me, and breasts that I should be nursed? 13Verse 13. For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest 14Verse 14. with kings and counselors of the earth, who built for themselves cities now in ruins, 15Verse 15. or with princes who had gold, who filled their houses with silver. 16Verse 16. Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, like an infant who never sees daylight? 17Verse 17. There the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary find rest. 18Verse 18. The captives enjoy their ease; they do not hear the voice of the oppressor. 19Verse 19. Both small and great are there, and the slave is freed from his master. 20Verse 20. Why is light given to the miserable, and life to the bitter of soul, 21Verse 21. who long for death that does not come, and search for it like hidden treasure, 22Verse 22. who rejoice and greatly exult when they reach the grave? 23Verse 23. Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? 24Verse 24. I sigh when food is put before me, and my groans pour out like water. 25Verse 25. For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has befallen me. 26Verse 26. I am not at ease or quiet; I have no rest, for trouble has come.”

1Verse 1. Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar, 2Verse 2. Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. 3Verse 3. One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.” 4Verse 4. Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent? 5Verse 5. Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.” 6Verse 6. Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7Verse 7. Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die — you and all who belong to you.” 8Verse 8. Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified. 9Verse 9. Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.” 10Verse 10. Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?” 11Verse 11. Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’ 12Verse 12. Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father — though not the daughter of my mother — and she became my wife. 13Verse 13. So when God had me journey from my father’s house, I said to Sarah, ‘This is how you can show your loyalty to me: Wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’” 14Verse 14. So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him. 15Verse 15. And Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please.” 16Verse 16. And he said to Sarah, “See, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you; you are completely cleared.” 17Verse 17. Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children — 18Verse 18. for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.