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13  The Lord looks down from heaven ♦︎
   and beholds all the children of earth.
14  From where he sits enthroned he turns his gaze ♦︎
   on all who dwell on the earth.
15  He fashions all the hearts of them ♦︎
   and understands all their works.
16  No king is saved by the might of his host; ♦︎
   no warrior delivered by his great strength.
17  A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; ♦︎
   for all its strength it cannot save.
18  Behold, the eye of the Lord
      is upon those who fear him, ♦︎
   on those who wait in hope for his steadfast love,
19  To deliver their soul from death ♦︎
   and to feed them in time of famine.
20  Our soul waits longingly for the Lord; ♦︎
   he is our help and our shield.
21  Indeed, our heart rejoices in him; ♦︎
   in his holy name have we put our trust.
22  Let your loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, ♦︎
   as we have set our hope on you.

Job Replies: The Wicked Often Go Unpunished

21Then Job answered:
² ‘Listen carefully to my words,
   and let this be your consolation.
³ Bear with me, and I will speak;
   then after I have spoken, mock on.
⁴ As for me, is my complaint addressed to mortals?
   Why should I not be impatient?
⁵ Look at me, and be appalled,
   and lay your hand upon your mouth.
⁶ When I think of it I am dismayed,
   and shuddering seizes my flesh.
⁷ Why do the wicked live on,
   reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
⁸ Their children are established in their presence,
   and their offspring before their eyes.
⁹ Their houses are safe from fear,
   and no rod of God is upon them.
¹⁰ Their bull breeds without fail;
   their cow calves and never miscarries.
¹¹ They send out their little ones like a flock,
   and their children dance around.
¹² They sing to the tambourine and the lyre,
   and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.
¹³ They spend their days in prosperity,
   and in peace they go down to Sheol.
¹⁴ They say to God, “Leave us alone!
   We do not desire to know your ways.
¹⁵ What is the Almighty,^* that we should serve him?
   And what profit do we get if we pray to him?”
¹⁶ Is not their prosperity indeed their own achievement?^*
   The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.

God’s Election of Israel

9I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit— ²I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people,^* my kindred according to the flesh. ⁴They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; ⁵to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah,^* who is over all, God blessed for ever.^* Amen.

6 It is not as though the word of God had failed. For not all Israelites truly belong to Israel, ⁷and not all of Abraham’s children are his true descendants; but ‘It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named after you.’ ⁸This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. ⁹For this is what the promise said, ‘About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son.’