“Elihu Responds to Job’s Friends Job’s three friends refused to reply further to him because he kept insisting on his innocence.
2 Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the clan of Ram, became angry. He was angry because Job refused to admit that he had sinned and that God was right in punishing him. 3 He was also angry with Job’s three friends, for they made God[a] appear to be wrong by their inability to answer Job’s arguments. 4 Elihu had waited for the others to speak to Job because they were older than he. 5 But when he saw that they had no further reply, he spoke out angrily. 6 Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite said,
“I am young and you are old, so I held back from telling you what I think. 7 I thought, ‘Those who are older should speak, for wisdom comes with age.’ 8 But there is a spirit[b] within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent. 9 Sometimes the elders are not wise. Sometimes the aged do not understand justice. 10 So listen to me, and let me tell you what I think.
11 “I have waited all this time, listening very carefully to your arguments, listening to you grope for words. 12 I have listened, but not one of you has refuted Job or answered his arguments. 13 And don’t tell me, ‘He is too wise for us. Only God can convince him.’ 14 If Job had been arguing with me, I would not answer with your kind of logic! 15 You sit there baffled, with nothing more to say. 16 Should I continue to wait, now that you are silent? Must I also remain silent? 17 No, I will say my piece. I will speak my mind. 18 For I am full of pent-up words, and the spirit within me urges me on. 19 I am like a cask of wine without a vent, like a new wineskin ready to burst! 20 I must speak to find relief, so let me give my answers. 21 I won’t play favorites or try to flatter anyone. 22 For if I tried flattery, my Creator would soon destroy me.”
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“Elihu Presents His Case against Job “Listen to my words, Job; pay attention to what I have to say. 2 Now that I have begun to speak, let me continue. 3 I speak with all sincerity; I speak the truth. 4 For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. 5 Answer me, if you can; make your case and take your stand. 6 Look, you and I both belong to God. I, too, was formed from clay. 7 So you don’t need to be afraid of me. I won’t come down hard on you.
8 “You have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard your very words. 9 You said, ‘I am pure; I am without sin; I am innocent; I have no guilt. 10 God is picking a quarrel with me, and he considers me his enemy. 11 He puts my feet in the stocks and watches my every move.’
12 “But you are wrong, and I will show you why. For God is greater than any human being. 13 So why are you bringing a charge against him? Why say he does not respond to people’s complaints? 14 For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. 15 He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds. 16 He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings. 17 He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride. 18 He protects them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death.
19 “Or God disciplines people with pain on their sickbeds, with ceaseless aching in their bones. 20 They lose their appetite for even the most delicious food. 21 Their flesh wastes away, and their bones stick out. 22 They are at death’s door; the angels of death wait for them.
23 “But if an angel from heaven appears— a special messenger to intercede for a person and declare that he is upright— 24 he will be gracious and say, ‘Rescue him from the grave, for I have found a ransom for his life.’ 25 Then his body will become as healthy as a child’s, firm and youthful again. 26 When he prays to God, he will be accepted. And God will receive him with joy and restore him to good standing. 27 He will declare to his friends, ‘I sinned and twisted the truth, but it was not worth it.[a] 28 God rescued me from the grave, and now my life is filled with light.’
29 “Yes, God does these things again and again for people. 30 He rescues them from the grave so they may enjoy the light of life. 31 Mark this well, Job. Listen to me, for I have more to say. 32 But if you have anything to say, go ahead. Speak, for I am anxious to see you justified. 33 But if not, then listen to me. Keep silent and I will teach you wisdom!””
ENCOURAGEMENT
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“The Temptation of Jesus Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,[a] 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry.
3 Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’[b]”
5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.”
8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’[c]”
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. 11 And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’[d]”
12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’[e]”
13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth 14 Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power. Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. 15 He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
16 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. 17 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, 19 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.[f]”
20 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 21 Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”
22 Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
23 Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ 24 But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.
25 “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. 27 And many in Israel had leprosy in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.”
28 When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. 29 Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, 30 but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.
Jesus Casts Out a Demon 31 Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. 32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.
33 Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil[g] spirit—cried out, shouting, 34 “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
35 But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.
36 Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” 37 The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.
Jesus Heals Many People 38 After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. 39 Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.
40 As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. 41 Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.
Jesus Continues to Preach 42 Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. 43 But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” 44 So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.”
