Day 236 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

Job 35

1 And Elius resumed and said, 2 What is this that thou thinkest to be according to right? who art thou that thou hast said, I am righteous before the Lord? 4 I will answer thee, and thy three friends. 5 Look up to the sky and see; and consider the clouds, how high [they are] above thee. 6 If thou hast sinned, what wilt thou do? and if too thou hast transgressed much, what canst thou perform? 7 And suppose thou art righteous, what wilt thou give him? or what shall he receive of thy hand? 8 Thy ungodliness [may affect] a man who is like to thee; or thy righteousness a son of man. 9 They that are oppressed of a multitude will be ready to cry out; they will call for help because of the arm of many. 10 But none said, Where is God that made me, who appoints the night-watches; 11 who makes me to differ from the four-footed beasts of the earth, and from the birds of the sky? 12 There they shall cry, and none shall hearken, even because of the insolence of wicked men. 13 For the Lord desires not to look on error, for he is the Almighty One. 14 He beholds them that perform lawless deeds, and he will save me: and do thou plead before him, if thou canst praise him, as it is [possible] even now. 15 For he is not [now] regarding his wrath, nor has he noticed severely any trespass. 16 Yet Job vainly opens his mouth, in ignorance he multiplies words.

Job 36

1 And Elius further continued, and said, 2 Wait for me yet a little while, that I may teach thee: for there is yet speech in me. 3 Having fetched my knowledge from afar, and according to my works, 4 I will speak just things truly, and thou shalt not unjustly receive unjust words. 5 But know that the Lord will not cast off an innocent man: being mighty in strength of wisdom, 6 he will not by any means save alive the ungodly: and he will grant the judgment of the poor. 7 He will not turn away his eyes from the righteous, but [they shall be] with kings on the throne: and he will establish them in triumph, and they shall be exalted. 8 But they that are bound in fetters shall be holden in cords of poverty. 9 And he shall recount to them their works, and their transgressions, for such will act with violence. 10 But he will hearken to the righteous: and he has said that they shall turn from unrighteousness. 11 If they should hear and serve [him], they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in honour. 12 But he preserves not the ungodly; because they are not willing to know the Lord, and because when reproved they were disobedient. 13 And the hypocrites in heart will array wrath [against themselves]; they will not cry, because he has bound them. 14 Therefore let their soul die in youth, and their life be wounded by messengers [of death]. 15 Because they afflicted the weak and helpless: and he will vindicate the judgment of the meek. 16 And he has also enticed thee out of the mouth of the enemy: 17 [there is] a deep gulf [and] a rushing stream beneath it, and thy table came down full of fatness. Judgment shall not fail from the righteous; 18 but there shall be wrath upon the ungodly, by reason of the ungodliness of the bribes which they received for iniquities. 19 Let not [thy] mind willingly turn thee aside from the petition of the feeble that are in distress. 20 And draw not forth all the mighty [men] by night, so that the people should go up instead of them. 21 But take heed lest thou do that which is wrong: for of this thou hast made choice because of poverty. 22 Behold, the Mighty One shall prevail by his strength: for who is powerful as he is? 23 And who is he that examines his works? or who can say, He has wrought injustice? 24 Remember that his works are great [beyond] those which men have attempted. 25 Every man has seen in himself, how many mortals are wounded. 26 Behold, the Mighty One is great, and we shall not know [him]: the number of his years is even infinite. 27 And the drops of rain are numbered by him, and shall be poured out in rain to form a cloud. 28 The ancient [heavens] shall flow, and the clouds overshadow innumerable mortals: 28a he has fixed a time to cattle, and they know the order of rest. 28b [Yet] by all these things thy understanding is not astonished, neither is thy mind disturbed in [thy] body. 29 And though one should understand the outspreadings of the clouds, [or] the measure of his tabernacle; 30 behold he will stretch his bow against him, and he covers the bottom of the sea. 31 For by them he will judge the nations: he will give food to him that has strength. 32 He has hidden the light in [his] hands, and given charge concerning it to the interposing [cloud]. 33 The Lord will declare concerning this [to] his friend: [but there is] a portion also for unrighteousness.

Job 37

1 At this also my heart is troubled, and moved out of its place. 2 Hear thou a report by the anger of the Lord's wrath, and a discourse shall come out of his mouth. 3 His dominion is under the whole heaven, and his light is at the extremities of the earth. 4 After him shall be a cry with a [loud] voice; he shall thunder with the voice of his excellency, yet he shall not cause men to pass away, for one shall hear his voice. 5 The Mighty One shall thunder wonderfully with his voice: for he has done great things which we knew not; 6 commanding the snow, Be thou upon the earth, and the stormy rain, and the storm of the showers of his might. 7 He seals up the hand of every man, that every man may know his own weakness. 8 And the wild beasts come in under the covert, and rest in [their] lair. 9 Troubles come on out of the secret chambers, and cold from the mountain-tops. 10 And from the breath of the Mighty One he will send frost; and he guides the water in whatever way he pleases. 11 And [if] a cloud obscures [what is] precious [to him], his light will disperse the cloud. 12 And he will carry round the encircling [clouds] by his governance, to [perform] their works: whatsoever he shall command them, 13 this has been appointed by him on the earth, whether for correction, [or] for his land, or if he shall find him [an object] for mercy. 14 Hearken to this, O Job: stand still, and be admonished of the power of the Lord. 15 We know that God has disposed his works, having made light out of darkness. 16 And he knows the divisions of the clouds, and the signal overthrows of the ungodly. 17 But thy robe is warm, and there is quiet upon the land. 18 Wilt thou establish with him [foundations] for the ancient [heavens? they are] strong as a molten mirror. 19 Wherefore teach me, what shall we say to him? and let us cease from saying much. 20 Have I a book or a scribe by me, that I may stand and put man to silence? 21 But the light is not visible to all: it shines afar off in the heavens, as that which is from him in the clouds. 22 From the north [come] the clouds shining like gold: in these great are the glory and honour of the Almighty; 23 and we do not find another his equal in strength: [as for] him that judges justly, dost thou not think that he listens? 24 Wherefore men shall fear him; and the wise also in heart shall fear him.

1 Corinthians 15

1 Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was given to me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. 12 Now if Christ is preached, that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. 14 If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith also is in vain. 15 Yes, we are also found false witnesses of God, because we testified about God that he raised up Christ, whom he didn’t raise up if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead aren’t raised, neither has Christ been raised. 17 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. 18 Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable. 20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruit of those who are asleep. 21 For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s at his coming. 24 Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God the Father, when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For, “He put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when he says, “All things are put in subjection”, it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all things to him. 28 When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all. 29 Or else what will they do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead aren’t raised at all, why then are they baptized for the dead? 30 Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour? 31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 32 If I fought with animals at Ephesus for human purposes, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, then “let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 Don’t be deceived! “Evil companionships corrupt good morals.” 34 Wake up righteously and don’t sin, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. 35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised?” and, “With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish one, that which you yourself sow is not made alive unless it dies. 37 That which you sow, you don’t sow the body that will be, but a bare grain, maybe of wheat, or of some other kind. 38 But God gives it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. 40 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial differs from that of the terrestrial. 41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown perishable; it is raised imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is also a spiritual body. 45 So also it is written, “The first man Adam became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, that which is spiritual isn’t first, but that which is natural, then that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the one made of dust, such are those who are also made of dust; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 As we have borne the image of those made of dust, let’s also bear the image of the heavenly. 50 Now I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood can’t inherit God’s Kingdom; neither does the perishable inherit imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.