1 But the Lord, answering Job out of the whirlwind, said:
2 Gird your waist like a man. I will question you, and you must answer me.
3 Will you make my judgment null and void; and will you condemn me so that you may be justified?
4 And do you have an arm like God, or a voice like thunder?
5 Envelop yourself with splendor, and raise yourself up on high, and be glorious, and put on splendid garments.
6 Scatter the arrogant with your wrath, and, when you see all the arrogant, humble them.
7 Look down upon each of the arrogant and confound them, and crush the impious in their place.
8 Hide them in the dust together and plunge their faces into the pit.
9 Then I will confess that your right hand is able to save you.
10 Behold, the behemoth, whom I created along with you, eats hay like an ox.
11 His strength is in his lower back, and his power is in the center of his abdomen.
12 He draws up his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs have been drawn together.
13 His bones are like pipes of brass; his cartilage is like plates of iron.
14 He is the beginning of the ways of God, who made him; he will use him as his sword.
15 The mountains bring forth grass for him; all the beasts of the field will play there.
16 He sleeps in the shadows, under the cover of branches, and in moist places.
17 The shadows cover his shadow; the willows of the brook will encircle him.
18 Behold, he will drink a river and not be amazed, and he has confidence that the Jordan could flow into his mouth.
19 He will seize him through his eyes, as if with a hook, and he will bore through his nostrils, as if with stakes.
20 Can you draw out the leviathan with a hook, and can you bind his tongue with a cord?
21 Can you place a ring in his nose, or bore through his jaw with an arm band?
22 Will he offer many prayers to you, or speak to you quietly?
23 Will he form a covenant with you, and will you accept him as a servant forever?
24 Will you play with him as with a bird, or tether him for your handmaids?
25 Will your friends cut him into pieces, will dealers distribute him?
26 Will you fill up bags with his hide, and let his head be used as a home for fishes?
27 Place your hand upon him; remember the battle and speak no more.
28 Behold, his hope will fail him, and in the sight of all, he will be thrown down.
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36 and so that he would establish dwelling places for the sons of foreigners in all their parts, and would distribute their land by lot.
37 And so, the king took the remaining part of the army, and he went forth from Antioch, the city of his kingdom, in the one hundred and forty-seventh year. And he crossed over the river Euphrates, and he traveled through the upper regions.
38 Then Lysias chose Ptolemy, the son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor and Gorgias, powerful men from among the king’s friends.
39 And he sent them with forty thousand men, and seven thousand horsemen, to enter into the land of Judah, and to destroy it, according to the word of the king.
40 And so, they proceeded with all their power, and they arrived and took a position near Emmaus, in the land of the plains.
41 And the merchants of the regions heard of their name. And they took very much silver, and gold, and servants, and they came into the camp to take the sons of Israel into servitude. And armies from Syria and from the lands of foreigners were added to them.
42 And Judas and his brothers saw that evils were being multiplied, and that armies had been positioned near their borders. And they knew the words of the king, which ordered the people to be put to death and to be utterly consumed.
43 And they said, each one to his neighbor, “Let us relieve the dejection of our people, and let us fight on behalf of our people and our sacred places.”
44 And an assembly was gathered together, so that they would be prepared for battle, and so that they could pray and ask for mercy and compassion.
45 Now Jerusalem was not inhabited, but was like a desert. There was no one who entered or exited from among her children. And the sanctuary was trampled upon, and the sons of foreigners were in the stronghold. This place was the habitation of the Gentiles. And delight was taken away from Jacob, and the music of flute and harp ceased in that place.
46 And they gathered together and came to Mizpah, opposite Jerusalem. For a place of prayer was in Mizpah, in the former Israel.
47 And they fasted on that day, and they clothed themselves with haircloth, and they placed ashes on their heads, and they tore their garments.
48 And they laid open the books of the law, in which the Gentiles searched for the likeness of their idols.
49 And they brought the priestly ornaments, and the first fruits and tithes, and they roused the Nazirites, who had fulfilled their days.
50 And they cried out with a loud voice toward heaven, saying: “What shall we do with these, and where shall we take them?
51 For your holy things have been trampled and defiled, and your priests have been in mourning and in humiliation.
52 And behold, the Nations gather together against us, to destroy us. You know what they intend against us.
53 How shall we be able to stand before their face, unless you, O God, assist us?”
54 Then they sounded the trumpets with a loud call.
55 And after this, Judas appointed commanders over the people: over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and over tens.
56 And he said to those who were building houses, or who had betrothed wives, who were planting vineyards, or who were terribly afraid, that they should return, each one to his own house, according to the law.
57 So they moved the camp, and relocated to the south of Emmaus.
58 And Judas said: “Gird yourselves, and be sons of power, and be ready in the morning, so that you may fight against these nations that have assembled against us, so as to destroy us and our sacred things.
59 For it is better for us to die in battle, than to see evils come to our nation and to the sacred places.
60 Nevertheless, as it shall be willed in heaven, so let it be.”
67 Before I was humbled I offended; therefore have I kept thy word.
68 Thou art good; and in thy goodness teach me thy justifications.
69 The iniquity of the proud hath been multiplied over me: but I will seek thy commandments with my whole heart.
70 Their heart is curdled like milk: but I have meditated on thy law.
71 It is good for me that thou hast humbled me, that I may learn thy justifications.
72 The law of thy mouth is good to me, above thousands of gold and silver.
73 JOD. Thy hands have made me and formed me: give me understanding, and I will learn thy commandments.
1 Concerning other things, brothers, pray for us, so that the Word of God may advance and be glorified, just as it is among you,
2 and so that we may be freed from pertinacious and evil men. For not everyone is faithful.
3 But God is faithful. He will strengthen you, and he will guard you from evil.
4 And we have confidence about you in the Lord, that you are doing, and will continue to do, just as we have instructed.
5 And may the Lord direct your hearts, in the charity of God and with the patience of Christ.
6 But we strongly caution you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to draw yourselves away from every brother who is walking in disorder and not according to the tradition that they received from us.
7 For you yourselves know the manner in which you ought to imitate us. For we were not disorderly among you.
8 Nor did we eat bread from anyone for free, but rather, we worked night and day, in hardship and weariness, so as not to be burdensome to you.
9 It was not as if we had no authority, but this was so that we might present ourselves as an example to you, in order to imitate us.
10 Then, too, while we were with you, we insisted on this to you: that if anyone was not willing to work, neither should he eat.
11 For we have heard that there are some among you who act disruptively, not working at all, but eagerly meddling.
12 Now we charge those who act in this way, and we beg them in the Lord Jesus Christ, that they work in silence and eat their own bread.
13 And you, brothers, do not grow weak in doing good.
14 But if anyone does not obey our word by this epistle, take note of him and do not keep company with him, so that he may be ashamed.
15 But do not be willing to consider him as an enemy; instead, correct him as a brother.
16 Then may the Lord of peace himself give you an everlasting peace, in every place. May the Lord be with all of you.
17 The greeting of Paul with my own hand, which is the seal in every epistle. So do I write.
18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
