August 21  

Daily Bible in a Year

Daily Old and New Testaments, Psalms, and Proverbs

  •   Job 1-3
    Job 1-3

    Job's Character and Wealth
    1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed[a]God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.
    Satan Allowed to Test Job
    6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[b] also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?”9 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
    Satan Takes Job's Property and Children
    13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants[c] with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
    20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
    22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
    Satan Attacks Job's Health
    2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”
    7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.
    9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”[d] In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
    Job's Three Friends
    11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.
    Job Laments His Birth
    3 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said:
    3 
    “Let the day perish on which I was born,
         and the night that said,
         ‘A man is conceived.’

    4 
    Let that day be darkness!
         May God above not seek it,
         nor light shine upon it.
    5 
    Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.
         Let clouds dwell upon it;
         let the blackness of the day terrify it.

    6 
    That night—let thick darkness seize it!
         Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
         let it not come into the number of the months.

    7 
    Behold, let that night be barren;
         let no joyful cry enter it.

    8 
    Let those curse it who curse the day,
         who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.

    9 
    Let the stars of its dawn be dark;
         let it hope for light, but have none,
         nor see the eyelids of the morning,

    10 
    because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,
         nor hide trouble from my eyes.
    11 
    “Why did I not die at birth,
         come out from the womb and expire?
    12 
    Why did the knees receive me?     Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?

    13 
    For then I would have lain down and been quiet;
         I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,

    14 
    with kings and counselors of the earth
         who rebuilt ruins for themselves,

    15 
    or with princes who had gold,
         who filled their houses with silver.

    16 
    Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,
         as infants who never see the light?

    17 
    There the wicked cease from troubling,
         and there the weary are at rest.

    18 
    There the prisoners are at ease together;
         they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.

    19 
    The small and the great are there,
         and the slave is free from his master.

    20 
    “Why is light given to him who is in misery,
         and life to the bitter in soul,

    21 
    who long for death, but it comes not,
         and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,

    22 
    who rejoice exceedingly
         and are glad when they find the grave?

    23 
    Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,
         whom God has hedged in?

    24 
    For my sighing comes instead of[e] my bread,
         and my groanings are poured out like water.

    25 
    For the thing that I fear comes upon me,
         and what I dread befalls me.

    26 
    I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
         I have no rest, but trouble comes.”
    Footnotes:
    1. Job 1:5 The Hebrew word bless is used euphemistically for curse in 1:5, 11; 2:5, 9
    2. Job 1:6 Hebrew the Accuser or the Adversary; so throughout chapters 1–2
    3. Job 1:15 Hebrew the young men; also verses 16, 17
    4. Job 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11
    5. Job 3:24 Or like; Hebrew before
  •   1 Corinthians 14:1-17
    1 Corinthians 14:1-17

    Prophecy and Tongues
    14 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. 3 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.
    6 Now, brothers,[a] if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? 8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9 So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, 11 but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 12 So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
    13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider[b] say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up.
    Footnotes:
    1. 1 Corinthians 14:6 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 20, 26, 39
    2. 1 Corinthians 14:16 Or of him that is without gifts
  •   Psalm 37:12-29
    Psalm 37:12-29

    12 
    The wicked plots against the righteous
         and gnashes his teeth at him,

    13 
    but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
         for he sees that his day is coming.

    14 
    The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
         to bring down the poor and needy,
         to slay those whose way is upright;

    15 
    their sword shall enter their own heart,
         and their bows shall be broken.

    16 
    Better is the little that the righteous has
         than the abundance of many wicked.

    17 
    For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
         but the Lord upholds the righteous.

    18 
    The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
         and their heritage will remain forever;

    19 
    they are not put to shame in evil times;
         in the days of famine they have abundance.

    20 
    But the wicked will perish;
         the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;
         they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

    21 
    The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
         but the righteous is generous and gives;

    22 
    for those blessed by the Lord[a] shall inherit the land,
         but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

    23 
    The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
         when he delights in his way;

    24 
    though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
         for the Lord upholds his hand.

    25 
    I have been young, and now am old,
         yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
         or his children begging for bread.

    26 
    He is ever lending generously,
         and his children become a blessing.

    27 
    Turn away from evil and do good;
         so shall you dwell forever.

    28 
    For the Lord loves justice;
         he will not forsake his saints.
     They are preserved forever,
         but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

    29 
    The righteous shall inherit the land
         and dwell upon it forever.

    Footnotes:
    1. Psalm 37:22 Hebrew by him
  •   Proverbs 21:25-26

    Proverbs 21:25-26

    25 
    The desire of the sluggard kills him,

        for his hands refuse to labor.

    26 
    All day long he craves and craves,

        but the righteous gives and does not hold back.


    English Standard Version (ESV)
    The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.