Unsinkable Hope: God’s Promises and Your Mental Health

Commissioned: Powered Up: Living With the Holy Spirit

Jesus Never Caught Anxiety

When You Start a Fast

Know God Better: Bible Reading for Families

The New Testament in 90 Days Reading Plan

7 Days to Phone Freedom

Don't Give In

God Is Writing Your Story

Released

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkJOB">
      <div class="chapter ch23" data-usfm="JOB.23">
         <div class="label">23</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Job</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="JOB.23.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">Then Job replied:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="JOB.23.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="JOB.23.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">&#8220;Even today my complaint is bitter;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="JOB.23.2"><span class="content">his hand</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">23:2 </span><span class="ft">Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew </span><span class="fqa">/&#160;the hand on me</span></span></span><span class="content"> is heavy in spite of</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">23:2 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">heavy on me in</span></span></span><span class="content"> my groaning.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="JOB.23.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="JOB.23.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">If only I knew where to find him;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="JOB.23.3"><span class="content">if only I could go to his dwelling!</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="JOB.23.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="JOB.23.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">I would state my case before him</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="JOB.23.4"><span class="content">and fill my mouth with arguments.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="JOB.23.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="JOB.23.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">I would find out what he would answer me,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="JOB.23.5"><span class="content">and consider what he would say to me.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="JOB.23.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="JOB.23.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">Would he vigorously oppose me?</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="JOB.23.6"><span class="content">No, he would not press charges against me.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="JOB.23.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="JOB.23.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">There the upright can establish their innocence before him,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="JOB.23.7"><span class="content">and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="JOB.23.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="JOB.23.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">&#8220;But if I go to the east, he is not there;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="JOB.23.8"><span class="content">if I go to the west, I do not find him.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="JOB.23.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="JOB.23.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="JOB.23.9"><span class="content">when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="JOB.23.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="JOB.23.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">But he knows the way that I take;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="JOB.23.10"><span class="content">when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="JOB.23.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="JOB.23.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">My feet have closely followed his steps;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="JOB.23.11"><span class="content">I have kept to his way without turning aside.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="JOB.23.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="JOB.23.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">I have not departed from the commands of his lips;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="JOB.23.12"><span class="content">I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="JOB.23.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="JOB.23.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">&#8220;But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="JOB.23.13"><span class="content">He does whatever he pleases.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="JOB.23.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="JOB.23.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">He carries out his decree against me,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="JOB.23.14"><span class="content">and many such plans he still has in store.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="JOB.23.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="JOB.23.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">That is why I am terrified before him;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="JOB.23.15"><span class="content">when I think of all this, I fear him.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="JOB.23.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="JOB.23.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">God has made my heart faint;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="JOB.23.16"><span class="content">the Almighty has terrified me.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="JOB.23.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="JOB.23.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="JOB.23.17"><span class="content">by the thick darkness that covers my face.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkJOB">
      <div class="chapter ch24" data-usfm="JOB.24">
         <div class="label">24</div><div class="q1"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="JOB.24.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">&#8220;Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment?</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="JOB.24.1"><span class="content">Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="JOB.24.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="JOB.24.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">There are those who move boundary stones;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="JOB.24.2"><span class="content">they pasture flocks they have stolen.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="JOB.24.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="JOB.24.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">They drive away the orphan&#8217;s donkey</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="JOB.24.3"><span class="content">and take the widow&#8217;s ox in pledge.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="JOB.24.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="JOB.24.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">They thrust the needy from the path</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="JOB.24.4"><span class="content">and force all the poor of the land into hiding.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="JOB.24.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="JOB.24.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Like wild donkeys in the desert,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="JOB.24.5"><span class="content">the poor go about their labor of foraging food;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="JOB.24.5"><span class="content">the wasteland provides food for their children.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="JOB.24.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="JOB.24.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">They gather fodder in the fields</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="JOB.24.6"><span class="content">and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="JOB.24.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="JOB.24.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="JOB.24.7"><span class="content">they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="JOB.24.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="JOB.24.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">They are drenched by mountain rains</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="JOB.24.8"><span class="content">and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="JOB.24.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="JOB.24.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">The fatherless child is snatched from the breast;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="JOB.24.9"><span class="content">the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="JOB.24.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="JOB.24.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">Lacking clothes, they go about naked;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="JOB.24.10"><span class="content">they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="JOB.24.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="JOB.24.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">They crush olives among the terraces</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">24:11 </span><span class="ft">The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.</span></span></span><span class="content">;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="JOB.24.11"><span class="content">they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="JOB.24.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="JOB.24.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">The groans of the dying rise from the city,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="JOB.24.12"><span class="content">and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="JOB.24.12"><span class="content">But God charges no one with wrongdoing.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="JOB.24.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="JOB.24.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">&#8220;There are those who rebel against the light,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="JOB.24.13"><span class="content">who do not know its ways</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="JOB.24.13"><span class="content">or stay in its paths.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="JOB.24.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="JOB.24.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="JOB.24.14"><span class="content">kills the poor and needy,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="JOB.24.14"><span class="content">and in the night steals forth like a thief.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="JOB.24.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="JOB.24.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="JOB.24.15"><span class="content">he thinks, &#8216;No eye will see me,&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="JOB.24.15"><span class="content">and he keeps his face concealed.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="JOB.24.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="JOB.24.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">In the dark, thieves break into houses,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="JOB.24.16"><span class="content">but by day they shut themselves in;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="JOB.24.16"><span class="content">they want nothing to do with the light.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="JOB.24.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="JOB.24.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">For all of them, midnight is their morning;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="JOB.24.17"><span class="content">they make friends with the terrors of darkness.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="JOB.24.17"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="JOB.24.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">&#8220;Yet they are foam on the surface of the water;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="JOB.24.18"><span class="content">their portion of the land is cursed,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="JOB.24.18"><span class="content">so that no one goes to the vineyards.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="JOB.24.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="JOB.24.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="JOB.24.19"><span class="content">so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="JOB.24.19"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="JOB.24.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">The womb forgets them,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="JOB.24.20"><span class="content">the worm feasts on them;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="JOB.24.20"><span class="content">the wicked are no longer remembered</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="JOB.24.20"><span class="content">but are broken like a tree.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="JOB.24.20"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="JOB.24.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">They prey on the barren and childless woman,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="JOB.24.21"><span class="content">and to the widow they show no kindness.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="JOB.24.21"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="JOB.24.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">But God drags away the mighty by his power;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="JOB.24.22"><span class="content">though they become established, they have no assurance of life.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="JOB.24.22"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="JOB.24.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">He may let them rest in a feeling of security,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="JOB.24.23"><span class="content">but his eyes are on their ways.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="JOB.24.23"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="JOB.24.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="JOB.24.24"><span class="content">they are brought low and gathered up like all others;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="JOB.24.24"><span class="content">they are cut off like heads of grain.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="JOB.24.24"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="JOB.24.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">&#8220;If this is not so, who can prove me false</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="JOB.24.25"><span class="content">and reduce my words to nothing?&#8221;</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkISA">
      <div class="chapter ch32" data-usfm="ISA.32">
         <div class="label">32</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The Kingdom of Righteousness</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ISA.32.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">See, a king will reign in righteousness</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ISA.32.1"><span class="content">and rulers will rule with justice.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ISA.32.1"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ISA.32.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">Each one will be like a shelter from the wind</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ISA.32.2"><span class="content">and a refuge from the storm,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ISA.32.2"><span class="content">like streams of water in the desert</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ISA.32.2"><span class="content">and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.</span></span></div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ISA.32.2"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ISA.32.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ISA.32.3"><span class="content">and the ears of those who hear will listen.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ISA.32.3"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ISA.32.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">The fearful heart will know and understand,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ISA.32.4"><span class="content">and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ISA.32.4"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ISA.32.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">No longer will the fool be called noble</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ISA.32.5"><span class="content">nor the scoundrel be highly respected.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ISA.32.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ISA.32.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">For fools speak folly,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ISA.32.6"><span class="content">their hearts are bent on evil:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ISA.32.6"><span class="content">They practice ungodliness</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ISA.32.6"><span class="content">and spread error concerning the </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ISA.32.6"><span class="content">the hungry they leave empty</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ISA.32.6"><span class="content">and from the thirsty they withhold water.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ISA.32.6"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ISA.32.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Scoundrels use wicked methods,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ISA.32.7"><span class="content">they make up evil schemes</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ISA.32.7"><span class="content">to destroy the poor with lies,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ISA.32.7"><span class="content">even when the plea of the needy is just.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ISA.32.7"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ISA.32.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">But the noble make noble plans,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ISA.32.8"><span class="content">and by noble deeds they stand.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">The Women of Jerusalem</span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ISA.32.8"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ISA.32.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">You women who are so complacent,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ISA.32.9"><span class="content">rise up and listen to me;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ISA.32.9"><span class="content">you daughters who feel secure,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ISA.32.9"><span class="content">hear what I have to say!</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ISA.32.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ISA.32.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">In little more than a year</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ISA.32.10"><span class="content">you who feel secure will tremble;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ISA.32.10"><span class="content">the grape harvest will fail,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ISA.32.10"><span class="content">and the harvest of fruit will not come.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ISA.32.10"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ISA.32.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Tremble, you complacent women;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ISA.32.11"><span class="content">shudder, you daughters who feel secure!</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ISA.32.11"><span class="content">Strip off your fine clothes</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ISA.32.11"><span class="content">and wrap yourselves in rags.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ISA.32.11"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ISA.32.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ISA.32.12"><span class="content">for the fruitful vines</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ISA.32.12"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ISA.32.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">and for the land of my people,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ISA.32.13"><span class="content">a land overgrown with thorns and briers&#8212;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ISA.32.13"><span class="content">yes, mourn for all houses of merriment</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ISA.32.13"><span class="content">and for this city of revelry.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ISA.32.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ISA.32.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">The fortress will be abandoned,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ISA.32.14"><span class="content">the noisy city deserted;</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ISA.32.14"><span class="content">citadel and watchtower will become a wasteland forever,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ISA.32.14"><span class="content">the delight of donkeys, a pasture for flocks,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ISA.32.14"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ISA.32.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">till the Spirit is poured on us from on high,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ISA.32.15"><span class="content">and the desert becomes a fertile field,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ISA.32.15"><span class="content">and the fertile field seems like a forest.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ISA.32.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ISA.32.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">The </span><span class="nd"><span class="content">Lord</span></span><span class="content">&#8217;s justice will dwell in the desert,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ISA.32.16"><span class="content">his righteousness live in the fertile field.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ISA.32.16"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ISA.32.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">The fruit of that righteousness will be peace;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ISA.32.17"><span class="content">its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ISA.32.17"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ISA.32.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">My people will live in peaceful dwelling places,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ISA.32.18"><span class="content">in secure homes,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ISA.32.18"><span class="content">in undisturbed places of rest.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ISA.32.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ISA.32.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">Though hail flattens the forest</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ISA.32.19"><span class="content">and the city is leveled completely,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ISA.32.19"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ISA.32.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">how blessed you will be,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ISA.32.20"><span class="content">sowing your seed by every stream,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ISA.32.20"><span class="content">and letting your cattle and donkeys range free.</span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
   <div class="book bkROM">
      <div class="chapter ch9" data-usfm="ROM.9">
         <div class="label">9</div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Paul&#8217;s Anguish Over Israel</span></div><div class="p"><span class="content">  </span><span class="verse v1" data-usfm="ROM.9.1"><span class="label">1</span><span class="content">I speak the truth in Christ&#8212;I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit&#8212; </span></span><span class="verse v2" data-usfm="ROM.9.2"><span class="label">2</span><span class="content">I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. </span></span><span class="verse v3" data-usfm="ROM.9.3"><span class="label">3</span><span class="content">For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, </span></span><span class="verse v4" data-usfm="ROM.9.4"><span class="label">4</span><span class="content">the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. </span></span><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ROM.9.5"><span class="label">5</span><span class="content">Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised!</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:5 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">Messiah, who is over all. God be forever praised! </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="fqa">Messiah. God who is over all be forever praised!</span></span></span><span class="content"> Amen.</span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">God&#8217;s Sovereign Choice</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v5" data-usfm="ROM.9.5"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v6" data-usfm="ROM.9.6"><span class="label">6</span><span class="content">It is not as though God&#8217;s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. </span></span><span class="verse v7" data-usfm="ROM.9.7"><span class="label">7</span><span class="content">Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham&#8217;s children. On the contrary, &#8220;It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:7 </span><span class="ft">Gen. 21:12</span></span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v8" data-usfm="ROM.9.8"><span class="label">8</span><span class="content">In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God&#8217;s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham&#8217;s offspring. </span></span><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ROM.9.9"><span class="label">9</span><span class="content">For this was how the promise was stated: &#8220;At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:9 </span><span class="ft">Gen. 18:10,14</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v9" data-usfm="ROM.9.9"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v10" data-usfm="ROM.9.10"><span class="label">10</span><span class="content">Not only that, but Rebekah&#8217;s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. </span></span><span class="verse v11" data-usfm="ROM.9.11"><span class="label">11</span><span class="content">Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad&#8212;in order that God&#8217;s purpose in election might stand: </span></span><span class="verse v12" data-usfm="ROM.9.12"><span class="label">12</span><span class="content">not by works but by him who calls&#8212;she was told, &#8220;The older will serve the younger.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:12 </span><span class="ft">Gen. 25:23</span></span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ROM.9.13"><span class="label">13</span><span class="content">Just as it is written: &#8220;Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:13 </span><span class="ft">Mal. 1:2,3</span></span></span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v13" data-usfm="ROM.9.13"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v14" data-usfm="ROM.9.14"><span class="label">14</span><span class="content">What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! </span></span><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ROM.9.15"><span class="label">15</span><span class="content">For he says to Moses,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ROM.9.15"><span class="content">&#8220;I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ROM.9.15"><span class="content">and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:15 </span><span class="ft">Exodus 33:19</span></span></span></span></div><div class="m"><span class="verse v15" data-usfm="ROM.9.15"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v16" data-usfm="ROM.9.16"><span class="label">16</span><span class="content">It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God&#8217;s mercy. </span></span><span class="verse v17" data-usfm="ROM.9.17"><span class="label">17</span><span class="content">For Scripture says to Pharaoh: &#8220;I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:17 </span><span class="ft">Exodus 9:16</span></span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ROM.9.18"><span class="label">18</span><span class="content">Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v18" data-usfm="ROM.9.18"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v19" data-usfm="ROM.9.19"><span class="label">19</span><span class="content">One of you will say to me: &#8220;Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?&#8221; </span></span><span class="verse v20" data-usfm="ROM.9.20"><span class="label">20</span><span class="content">But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? &#8220;Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, &#8216;Why did you make me like this?&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:20 </span><span class="ft">Isaiah 29:16; 45:9</span></span></span><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ROM.9.21"><span class="label">21</span><span class="content">Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?</span></span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v21" data-usfm="ROM.9.21"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v22" data-usfm="ROM.9.22"><span class="label">22</span><span class="content">What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath&#8212;prepared for destruction? </span></span><span class="verse v23" data-usfm="ROM.9.23"><span class="label">23</span><span class="content">What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory&#8212; </span></span><span class="verse v24" data-usfm="ROM.9.24"><span class="label">24</span><span class="content">even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? </span></span><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ROM.9.25"><span class="label">25</span><span class="content">As he says in Hosea:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ROM.9.25"><span class="content">&#8220;I will call them &#8216;my people&#8217; who are not my people;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ROM.9.25"><span class="content">and I will call her &#8216;my loved one&#8217; who is not my loved one,&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:25 </span><span class="ft">Hosea 2:23</span></span></span></span></div><div class="m"><span class="verse v25" data-usfm="ROM.9.25"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ROM.9.26"><span class="label">26</span><span class="content">and,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ROM.9.26"><span class="content">&#8220;In the very place where it was said to them,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ROM.9.26"><span class="content">&#8216;You are not my people,&#8217;</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ROM.9.26"><span class="content">there they will be called &#8216;children of the living God.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:26 </span><span class="ft">Hosea 1:10</span></span></span></span></div><div class="m"><span class="verse v26" data-usfm="ROM.9.26"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="ROM.9.27"><span class="label">27</span><span class="content">Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="ROM.9.27"><span class="content">&#8220;Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="ROM.9.27"><span class="content">only the remnant will be saved.</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v27" data-usfm="ROM.9.27"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="ROM.9.28"><span class="label">28</span><span class="content">For the Lord will carry out</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="ROM.9.28"><span class="content">his sentence on earth with speed and finality.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:28 </span><span class="ft">Isaiah 10:22,23 (see Septuagint)</span></span></span></span></div><div class="m"><span class="verse v28" data-usfm="ROM.9.28"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="ROM.9.29"><span class="label">29</span><span class="content">It is just as Isaiah said previously:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="ROM.9.29"><span class="content">&#8220;Unless the Lord Almighty</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="ROM.9.29"><span class="content">had left us descendants,</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="ROM.9.29"><span class="content">we would have become like Sodom,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="ROM.9.29"><span class="content">we would have been like Gomorrah.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:29 </span><span class="ft">Isaiah 1:9</span></span></span></span></div><div class="s1"><span class="heading">Israel&#8217;s Unbelief</span></div><div class="p"><span class="verse v29" data-usfm="ROM.9.29"><span class="content">  </span></span><span class="verse v30" data-usfm="ROM.9.30"><span class="label">30</span><span class="content">What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; </span></span><span class="verse v31" data-usfm="ROM.9.31"><span class="label">31</span><span class="content">but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. </span></span><span class="verse v32" data-usfm="ROM.9.32"><span class="label">32</span><span class="content">Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. </span></span><span class="verse v33" data-usfm="ROM.9.33"><span class="label">33</span><span class="content">As it is written:</span></span></div><div class="q1"><span class="verse v33" data-usfm="ROM.9.33"><span class="content">&#8220;See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v33" data-usfm="ROM.9.33"><span class="content">and a rock that makes them fall,</span></span></div><div class="q2"><span class="verse v33" data-usfm="ROM.9.33"><span class="content">and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.&#8221;</span><span class="note f"><span class="label">#</span><span class=" body"><span class="fr">9:33 </span><span class="ft">Isaiah 8:14; 28:16</span></span></span></span></div>
      </div>
   </div>
</div>

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