Tuesday, 25 June

1.   After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth . 2.   And Job spoke, and said: 3.   "May the day perish on which I was born, And the night in which it was said, ‘A male child is conceived.’ 4.   May that day be darkness; May God above not seek it, Nor the light shine upon it. 5.   May darkness and the shadow of death claim it; May a cloud settle on it; May the blackness of the day terrify it. 6.   As for that night, may darkness seize it; May it not rejoice among the days of the year, May it not come into the number of the months. 7.   Oh, may that night be barren! May no joyful shout come into it! 8.   May those curse it who curse the day, Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan. 9.   May the stars of its morning be dark; May it look for light, but have none, And not see the dawning of the day; 10.   Because it did not shut up the doors of my mother’s womb, Nor hide sorrow from my eyes. 11.   "Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? 12.   Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? 13.   For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest 14.   With kings and counselors of the earth, Who built ruins for themselves, 15.   Or with princes who had gold, Who filled their houses with silver; 16.   Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, Like infants who never saw light? 17.   There the wicked cease from troubling, And there the weary are at rest. 18.   There the prisoners rest together; They do not hear the voice of the oppressor. 19.   The small and great are there, And the servant is free from his master. 20.   "Why is light given to him who is in misery, And life to the bitter of soul, 21.   Who long for death, but it does not come , And search for it more than hidden treasures; 22.   Who rejoice exceedingly, And are glad when they can find the grave? 23.   Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in? 24.   For my sighing comes before I eat, And my groanings pour out like water. 25.   For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me. 26.   I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes."

1.   Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2.   " If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary? But who can withhold himself from speaking? 3.   Surely you have instructed many, And you have strengthened weak hands. 4.   Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, And you have strengthened the feeble knees; 5.   But now it comes upon you, and you are weary; It touches you, and you are troubled. 6.   Is not your reverence your confidence? And the integrity of your ways your hope? 7.   "Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? 8.   Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity And sow trouble reap the same. 9.   By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of His anger they are consumed. 10.   The roaring of the lion, The voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken. 11.   The old lion perishes for lack of prey, And the cubs of the lioness are scattered. 12.   "Now a word was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it. 13.   In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, 14.   Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones shake. 15.   Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up. 16.   It stood still, But I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; There was silence; Then I heard a voice saying : 17.   ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? 18.   If He puts no trust in His servants, If He charges His angels with error, 19.   How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before a moth? 20.   They are broken in pieces from morning till evening; They perish forever, with no one regarding. 21.   Does not their own excellence go away? They die, even without wisdom.’

1.   Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate. 2.   Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" He answered and said to him, " It is as you say." 3.   And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. 4.   Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!" 5.   But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled. 6.   Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested. 7.   And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion. 8.   Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them. 9.   But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" 10.   For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. 11.   But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. 12.   Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?" 13.   So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!" 14.   Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!" 15.   So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him , to be crucified. 16.   Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. 17.   And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head , 18.   and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 19.   Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. 20.   And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him. 21.   Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross. 22.   And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. 23.   Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it . 24.   And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take. 25.   Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. 26.   And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27.   With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. 28.   So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors." 29.   And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30.   "save Yourself, and come down from the cross!" 31.   Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. 32.   "Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.