1 Silver has its fissures where it is first found, and gold has a place where it is melted.
2 Iron is taken from the earth, and ore, unbound by heat, is turned into brass.
3 He has established a time for darkness, and he has settled on an end for all things, as well as for the stone that is in the gloom and shadow of death.
4 The burning separates a pilgrim people from those who have been forgotten by the feet of the destitute man and from the unapproachable.
5 The land, where bread appeared in its place, has been destroyed by fire.
6 Its stones are embedded with sapphires, and its soil, with gold.
7 The bird does not know its path, nor has the eye of the vulture beheld it.
8 The sons of merchants have not walked there, nor has the lioness traveled through it.
9 He has stretched out his hand to the rocks; he has overturned the foundations of the mountains.
10 He has cut rivers through the rocks, and his eye has seen all precious things.
11 The depths of rivers he has also examined, and he has brought hidden things into the light.
12 But, in truth, where is wisdom to be found, and where is the place of understanding?
13 Man does not know its price, nor is it found in the land of those who live in sweetness.
14 The abyss declares, “It is not in me.” And the sea says, “It is not with me.”
15 The finest gold will not be paid for it, nor will silver be weighed in exchange for it.
16 It will not be compared with the dyed colors of India, nor with the very costly stone sardonyx, nor with the sapphire.
17 Neither gold nor crystal will be its equal; neither will vessels of gold be fitted for it.
18 The exalted and the eminent will not be remembered in comparison with it. Yet wisdom is drawn out of concealment.
19 The topaz of Ethiopia will not be equal to it, nor will it be compared to the purest dyes.
20 So then, where does wisdom begin, and where is the place of understanding?
21 It has been hidden from the eyes of all living things, just as the birds of the heavens escape notice.
22 Perdition and death have said, “With our ears, we have heard its fame.”
23 God understands its way, and he knows its location.
24 For he beholds the limits of the world, and he looks upon all things that are under heaven.
25 He created a counterweight for the winds, and he suspended the waters to measure them.
26 At that time, he gave a law to the rain and a path to the resounding storms.
27 Then he saw and explained it, and he made ready and examined it.
28 And he said to man, “Behold the fear of the Lord. Such is wisdom. And to withdraw from evil, this is understanding.”
1 Job also added to this, using figures of speech, and he said:
2 Who will grant to me that I might be as I was in former months, according to the days when God kept watch over me?
3 At that time, his lamp shined over my head, and by his light, I walked through the darkness.
4 I was then just as in the days of my youth, when God was privately in my tabernacle.
5 At that time, the Almighty was with me and my children surrounded me.
6 Then, I washed my feet with butter, and a boulder poured out rivers of oil for me.
7 When I went to the gate of the city, or to the main street, they prepared a chair for me.
8 The youths saw me and hid themselves, and the elders, rising up, remained standing.
9 The leaders stopped talking, and they placed a finder over their mouth.
10 The commanders subdued their voice, and their tongue adhered to their throat.
11 The ear that heard me, blessed me, and the eye that saw me, gave testimony for me.
12 This was because I had freed the poor, who cried out, and the orphan, who had no helper.
13 The blessing of him who would have been destroyed came upon me, and I consoled the heart of the widow.
14 I put on justice, and I clothed myself with my judgment, like a robe and a diadem.
15 I was an eye for the blind and a foot for the lame.
16 I was the father of the poor; and if I lacked knowledge about any case, I investigated very diligently.
17 I crushed the jaws of the impious, and I took away prey from his teeth.
18 And I said, “I will die in my little nest, and like a palm tree, I will multiply my days.
19 My root has been spread beside the waters, and the dew will remain with my harvest.
20 My glory will always be restored, and my bow will be restored to my hand.”
21 Those who heard me, expected vindication, and they listened closely in silence to my counsel.
22 To my words, they dared to add nothing, and my eloquence poured over them.
23 They waited for me as for rain, and they opened their mouth as for belated rains.
24 If I had ever laughed at them, they would not have believed it, and the light of my face was not cast down towards the ground.
25 If I wished to go to them, I sat down first, and, though I sat like a king surrounded by an army, yet I was a comforter to whose who mourned.
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29 And the land shook on behalf of the inhabitants in it, and the entire house of Jacob was clothed with confusion.
30 And after two years of days, the king sent the prince of his tributes to the cities of Judah, and he came to Jerusalem with a great crowd.
31 And he spoke peaceful words to them, in deceitfulness; and they believed him.
32 And he rushed upon the city suddenly, and he struck it with a great scourging, and he destroyed many of the people of Israel.
33 And he took the spoils of the city, and he burned it with fire, and he destroyed its houses and the walls around it.
34 And they led away the women as captives, and they possessed the children and the cattle.
35 And they built up the city of David with a great and strong wall, and with strong towers, and it became a stronghold for them.
36 And they set up in that place a sinful people, wicked men, and together they grew strong in it. And they stored up weapons and provisions. And they gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem,
37 and deposited them in that place. And they became a great snare.
38 And this became a place of ambush against the sanctuary and a diabolical evil in Israel.
39 And they poured out innocent blood around the sanctuary, and they contaminated the sanctuary.
40 And the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled because of them, and the city became the dwelling place of outsiders, and she became a stranger to her own offspring, and her own children abandoned her.
41 Her sanctuary was desolate, like a place of solitude, her feast days were turned into mourning, her sabbaths into disgrace, her honors into nothing.
42 Her shame was multiplied according to her glory, and her loftiness was turned into lamentation.
43 And king Antiochus wrote to all his kingdom, that all the people must be one, and that each one should relinquish his own law.
44 And all Gentiles consented, according to the word of king Antiochus.
45 And many out of Israel consented to his servitude, and they sacrificed to idols, and they polluted the Sabbath.
46 And the king sent letters, by the hand of messengers, to Jerusalem and to all the cities of Judah: that they should follow the law of the Nations of the earth,
47 and that they should prohibit holocausts and sacrifices and atonements to be made in the temple of God,
48 and that they should prohibit the celebration of the Sabbath and the solemn days.
18 Open thou my eyes: and I will consider the wondrous things of thy law.
19 I am a sojourner on the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.
20 My soul hath coveted to long for thy justifications, at all times.
21 Thou hast rebuked the proud: they are cursed who decline from thy commandments.
22 Remove from reproach and contempt: because I have sought after thy testimonies.
23 For princes sat, and spoke against me: but thy servant was employed in thy justifications.
24 For thy testimonies are my meditation: and thy justifications my counsel.
15 And let the peace of Christ lift up your hearts. For in this peace, you have been called, as one body. And be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ live in you in abundance, with all wisdom, teaching and correcting one another, with psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing to God with the grace in your hearts.
17 Let everything whatsoever that you do, whether in word or in deed, be done all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
18 Wives, be submissive to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be bitter toward them.
20 Children, obey your parents in all things. For this is well-pleasing to the Lord.
21 Fathers, do not provoke your children to indignation, lest they lose heart.
22 Servants, obey, in all things, your lords according to the flesh, not serving only when seen, as if to please men, but serving in simplicity of heart, fearing God.
23 Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as for the Lord, and not for men.
24 For you know that you will receive from the Lord the repayment of an inheritance. Serve Christ the Lord.
25 For whoever causes injury shall be repaid for what he has wrongfully done. And there no favoritism with God.
1 You masters, supply your servants with what is just and equitable, knowing that you, too, have a Master in heaven.
2 Pursue prayer. Be watchful in prayer with acts of thanksgiving.
3 Pray together, for us also, so that God may open a door of speech to us, so as to speak the mystery of Christ, (because of which, even now, I am in chains)
4 so that I may manifest it in the manner that I ought to speak.
5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming this age.
6 Let your speech be ever graceful, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to respond to each person.
7 As for the things that concern me, Tychicus, a most beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord, will make everything known to you.
8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that he may know the things that concern you, and may console your hearts,
9 with Onesimus, a most beloved and faithful brother, who is from among you. They shall make known to you everything that is happening here.
10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, greets you, as does Mark, the near cousin of Barnabas, about whom you have received instructions, (if he comes to you, receive him)
11 and Jesus, who is called Justus, and those who are of the circumcision. These alone are my assistants, unto the kingdom of God; they have been a consolation to me.
12 Epaphras greets you, who is from among you, a servant of Christ Jesus, ever solicitous for you in prayer, so that you may stand, perfect and complete, in the entire will of God.
13 For I offer testimony to him, that he has labored greatly for you, and for those who are at Laodicea, and for those at Hierapolis.
14 Luke, a most beloved physician, greets you, as does Demas.
15 Greet the brothers who are at Laodicea, and Nymphas, and those who are at his house, a church.
16 And when this epistle has been read among you, cause it to be read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and you should read that which is from the Laodiceans.
17 And tell Archippus: “See to the ministry that you have received in the Lord, in order to fulfill it.”
18 The greeting of Paul by my own hand. Remember my chains. May grace be with you. Amen.
