Daily Text and Bible Reading: Wednesday, June 18 [Press play below]

39.1 “Do you know the time when the mountain goats give birth? Have you watched the deer give birth to their young?
39.2 Do you count the months that they must complete? Do you know the time when they give birth?
39.3 They crouch down when they give birth to their young, And their labor pains end.
39.4 Their young become strong and grow up in the open field; They go out and do not return to them.
39.5 Who set the wild donkey free, And who untied the ropes of the wild donkey?
39.6 I have made the desert plain its home And the salt land its dwelling.
39.7 It scorns the tumult of the city; It does not hear the shouts of the driver.
39.8 It roams the hills, seeking pasture, Looking for every green plant.
39.9 Is the wild bull willing to serve you? Will it spend the night in your stable?
39.10 Will you hold a wild bull to the furrow with a rope, Or will it follow you to plow the valley?
39.11 Will you trust in its great strength And let it do your heavy work?
39.12 Will you rely on it to bring back your harvest, And will it gather it to your threshing floor?
39.13 The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully, But can her pinions and plumage compare with the stork’s?
39.14 For she leaves her eggs on the ground, And she keeps them warm in the dust.
39.15 She forgets that some foot may crush them Or that a wild animal may trample them.
39.16 She treats her sons harshly, as if they were not hers; She has no fear that her labor may be in vain.
39.17 For God has deprived her of wisdom And given her no share in understanding.
39.18 But when she rises up and flaps her wings, She laughs at the horse and at its rider.
39.19 Are you the one who gives the horse its strength? Do you clothe its neck with a rustling mane?
39.20 Can you cause it to leap like a locust? Its majestic snorting is terrifying.
39.21 It paws the ground in the valley and exults mightily; It charges into the battle.
39.22 It laughs at fear and is afraid of nothing. It does not turn back because of the sword.
39.23 The quiver rattles against it, The spear and the javelin flash.
39.24 Trembling with excitement, it surges forward, It cannot stand still at the sound of the horn.
39.25 When the horn blows, it says, ‘Aha!’ It smells the battle from afar And hears the shouting of commanders and the battle cry.
39.26 Is it by your understanding that the falcon soars, Spreading its wings to the south?
39.27 Or is it at your order that an eagle flies upward And builds its nest high up,
39.28 Spending the night on a cliff, Dwelling in its stronghold on a rocky crag?
39.29 From there it searches for food; Its eyes look far into the distance.
39.30 Its young sip up blood; And wherever the slain are, there it is.”
40.1 Jehovah continued to answer Job:
40.2 “Should a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let the one who wants to reprove God answer.”
40.3 Job said in answer to Jehovah:
40.4 “Look! I am unworthy. What can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth.
40.5 I spoke once, but I will not answer again; Twice, but I will say no more.”
40.6 Then Jehovah answered Job out of the windstorm:
40.7 “Brace yourself, please, like a man; I will question you, and you inform me.
40.8 Will you call into question my justice? Will you condemn me so that you may be right?
40.9 Do you have an arm as powerful as the true God’s, Or can your voice thunder like his?
40.10 Adorn yourself, please, with glory and majesty; Clothe yourself with dignity and splendor.
40.11 Release the fury of your anger; Look at everyone who is haughty, and bring him low.
40.12 Look at everyone who is haughty, and humble him, And tread down the wicked where they stand.
40.13 Hide them all in the dust; Bind them in the hidden place,
40.14 Then even I would acknowledge to you That your right hand can save you.
40.15 Here, now, is Behemoth, which I made as I made you. It eats grass like a bull.
40.16 Look at the strength in its hips And the power in the muscles of its belly!
40.17 It stiffens its tail like a cedar; The sinews of its thighs are woven together.
40.18 Its bones are tubes of copper; Its limbs are like wrought-iron rods.
40.19 It ranks first among the works of God; Only its Maker can approach it with his sword.
40.20 For the mountains produce food for it, Where all the wild animals play.
40.21 It lies down under the lotus trees, In the shelter of the reeds of the marsh.
40.22 The lotus trees cast their shadow on it, And the poplars of the valley surround it.
40.23 If the river is turbulent, it does not panic. It is confident, although the Jordan rushes against its mouth.
40.24 Can anyone capture it while it is watching, Or pierce its nose with a hook?"
41.1 “Can you catch Leviathan with a fishhook Or hold down its tongue with a rope?
41.2 Can you put a rope through its nostrils Or pierce its jaws with a hook?
41.3 Will it make many pleas to you, Or will it speak gently to you?
41.4 Will it make a covenant with you, So that you may make it your slave for life?
41.5 Will you play with it as with a bird Or tie it on a leash for your little girls?
41.6 Will traders barter for it? Will they divide it up among merchants?
41.7 Will you fill its hide with harpoons Or its head with fishing spears?
41.8 Lay your hand on it; You will remember the battle and never do it again!
41.9 Any hope of subduing it is futile. The mere sight of it would overwhelm you.
41.10 No one dares to stir it up. So who is it who can stand up to me?
41.11 Who has given me anything first that I should repay him? Whatever is under the heavens is mine.
41.12 I will not be silent about its limbs, About its mightiness and its well-formed body.
41.13 Who has removed its outer covering? Who will enter its open jaws?
41.14 Who can pry open the doors of its mouth? Its teeth all around are fearsome.
41.15 Its back has rows of scales Tightly sealed together.
41.16 Each one fits so closely to the other That no air can come between them.
41.17 They are stuck to one another; They cling together and cannot be separated.
41.18 Its snorting flashes out light, And its eyes are like the rays of dawn.
41.19 Flashes of lightning go out of its mouth; Fiery sparks escape.
41.20 Smoke pours out of its nostrils, Like a furnace fueled with rushes.
41.21 Its breath sets coals ablaze, And a flame shoots from its mouth.
41.22 There is great strength in its neck, And dismay runs before it.
41.23 The folds of its flesh are tightly joined together; They are firm, as though cast upon it and immovable.
41.24 Its heart is hard as stone, Yes, hard as a lower millstone.
41.25 When it rises up, even the mighty are frightened; Its thrashing causes bewilderment.
41.26 No sword that reaches it will prevail; Nor will spear, dart, or arrowhead.
41.27 It regards iron as straw, Copper as rotten wood.
41.28 An arrow does not make it flee; Slingstones turn into stubble against it.
41.29 It regards a club as stubble, And it laughs at the rattling of a javelin.
41.30 Underneath, it is like sharp fragments of pottery; It spreads itself in the mud like a threshing sledge.
41.31 It makes the deep boil just like a pot; It stirs up the sea like an ointment pot.
41.32 It leaves a glistening wake in its path. One would think that the deep had white hair.
41.33 There is nothing like it on the earth, A creature made to have no fear.
41.34 It glares at everything that is haughty. It is king over all the majestic wild beasts.”
42.1 Then Job said in reply to Jehovah:
42.2 “Now I know that you are able to do all things And that nothing you have in mind to do is impossible for you.
42.3 You said, ‘Who is this who is obscuring my counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I spoke, but without understanding About things too wonderful for me, which I do not know.
42.4 You said, ‘Please listen, and I will speak. I will question you, and you inform me.’
42.5 My ears have heard about you, But now I do see you with my eyes.
42.6 That is why I take back what I said, And I repent in dust and ashes.”
42.7 After Jehovah had spoken these words to Job, Jehovah said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and your two companions, for you have not spoken the truth about me as my servant Job has.
42.8 Now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job, and offer up a burnt sacrifice for yourselves. And my servant Job will pray for you. I will surely accept his request not to deal with you according to your foolishness, for you have not spoken the truth about me as my servant Job has.”
42.9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what Jehovah had told them to do. And Jehovah accepted Job’s prayer.
42.10 After Job had prayed for his companions, Jehovah removed Job’s tribulation and restored his prosperity. Jehovah gave him double what he had before.
42.11 All his brothers and sisters and all his former friends came to him and ate a meal with him in his house. They sympathized with him and comforted him over all the calamity that Jehovah had allowed to come upon him. Each of them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring.
42.12 So Jehovah blessed the last part of Job’s life more than the beginning, and Job came to have 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 pairs of cattle, and 1,000 female donkeys.
42.13 He also came to have seven more sons and three more daughters.
42.14 He named the first daughter Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.
42.15 No women in all the land were as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers.
42.16 After this Job lived for 140 years, and he saw his children and his grandchildren—four generations.
42.17 Finally Job died, after a long and satisfying life.