9th December

¹ Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,² Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?³ Should thy lies make men hold their peace? and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee ashamed?⁴ For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.⁵ But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee;⁶ And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.⁷ Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?⁸ It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?⁹ The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.¹⁰ If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?¹¹ For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?¹² For vain men would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt.¹³ If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;¹⁴ If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.¹⁵ For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:¹⁶ Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away:¹⁷ And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday: thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.¹⁸ And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.¹⁹ Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee.²⁰ But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.

¹ Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.² The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.³ That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.⁴ The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.⁵ Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.⁶ For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.⁷ Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.⁸ Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.⁹ I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.¹⁰ Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.¹¹ In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.¹² In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.¹³ Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.¹⁴ Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.¹⁵ According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.¹⁶ The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.¹⁷ They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the LORD our God, and shall fear because of thee.¹⁸ Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.¹⁹ He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.²⁰ Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

¹ My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.² For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.³ Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.⁴ Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.⁵ Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!⁶ And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.⁷ For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:⁸ But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.⁹ Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.¹¹ Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?¹² Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.¹³ Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.¹⁴ But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.¹⁵ This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.¹⁶ For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.¹⁷ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.¹⁸ And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

¹ From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?² Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.³ Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.⁴ Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.⁵ Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?⁶ But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.⁹ Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.¹¹ Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.¹² There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?¹³ Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:¹⁴ Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.¹⁵ For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.¹⁶ But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.¹⁷ Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.