1Sa 1:16, Job 7:11-21, 10:1-2, Psa 22:1-3, 77:3-9, 102:1, Tit | ESV | STEP | Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman , for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation .

11 “Therefore I will not ^brestrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will ^ccomplain in ^dthe bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea, or ^ea sea monster,
that you set a guard over me?
13 ^fWhen I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
my couch will ease my complaint,’
14 then you scare me with dreams
and terrify me with visions,
15 so that I would choose strangling
and death rather than my ^gbones.
16 I ^hloathe my life; I would not live forever.
ⁱLeave me alone, for my days are ^ja breath.
17 ^kWhat is man, that you make so much of him,
and that you set your heart on him,
18 ^lvisit him every morning
and ^mtest him every moment?
19 How long will you not ⁿlook away from me,
nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?
20 If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?
Why have you made me ^oyour mark?
Why have I become a burden to you?
21 Why do you not pardon my transgression
and take away my iniquity?
For now I shall lie in ^pthe earth;
you will ^qseek me, ^rbut I shall not be.”

Job 10:1-2

Job Continues: A Plea to God

1 “I ^sloathe my life;
I will give free utterance to my ^tcomplaint;
I will speak in ^uthe bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God, Do not ^vcondemn me;
let me know why you ^wcontend against me.

Psalms 22:1-3

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

1 ^xMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so ^yfar from saving me, from the words of my ^zgroaning?
2 O my God, I cry by ^aaday, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are ^abholy,
^acenthroned on ^adthe praises ^{▼▼Or dwelling in the praises} of Israel.

Psalms 77:3-9

3 When I remember God, I ^afmoan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
4 You hold my eyelids open;
I am so ^agtroubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider ^ahthe days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I said, ^{▼▼Hebrew lacks I said} “Let me remember my ^ajsong in the night;
let me ^akmeditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord ^alspurn forever,
and never again ^ambe favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his ^anpromises at an end for all time?
9 ^aoHas God forgotten to be gracious?
^apHas he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

Psalms 102:1

Do Not Hide Your Face from Me

A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is ^aqfaint and ^arpours out his complaint before the Lord.

1 ^asHear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry ^atcome to you!

This pastoral letter from Paul to Titus was intended to offer encouragement and wisdom as Titus endured ongoing opposition from the ungodly and from legalists within his congregations. Paul instructed Titus to complete his assigned job of establishing overseers (elders) for the churches under his care. He described what sort of people these leaders should be, and how all believers should live in relation to each other as well as in their interactions with nonbelievers. Proper Christian behavior is based on the fact that “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,” and therefore those who believe in Christ are to “live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives” as they await his return (2:11-13). Paul probably wrote this letter in the 60s a.d.

Titus 1

Greeting

1 Paul, a servant ^{▼▼Or slave (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)} of God and ^avan apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and ^awtheir knowledge of the truth, ^axwhich accords with godliness, 2 ^ayin hope of eternal life, which God, ^azwho never lies, ^bapromised ^bbbefore the ages began ^{▼▼Greek before times eternal} 3 and ^bdat the proper time manifested in his word ^bethrough the preaching ^bfwith which I have been entrusted ^bgby the command of God our Savior;

4 To Titus, ^bhmy true child in ^bia common faith:

^bjGrace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Qualifications for Elders

5 ^bkThis is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and ^blappoint elders in every town as I directed you— 6 ^bmif anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, ^{▼▼Or a man of one woman} and his children are believers ^{▼▼Or are faithful} and not open to the charge of ^bpdebauchery or insubordination. 7 For an overseer, ^{▼▼Or bishop; Greek episkopos} ^bras God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not ^bsbe arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent ^btor greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, ^buand disciplined. 9 He must ^bvhold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in ^bwsound ^{▼▼Or healthy; also verse 13} doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

10 For there are many who are insubordinate, ^byempty talkers and deceivers, especially those of ^bzthe circumcision party. ^{▼▼Or especially those of the circumcision} 11 They must be silenced, since ^cbthey are upsetting whole families by teaching ^ccfor shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 ^cdOne of the Cretans, ^{▼▼Greek One of them} a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” ^{▼▼Probably from Epimenides of Crete} 13 This testimony is true. Therefore ^cgrebuke them ^chsharply, that they ^cimay be sound in the faith, 14 ^cjnot devoting themselves to Jewish myths and ^ckthe commands of people ^clwho turn away from the truth. 15 ^cmTo the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and ^cnunbelieving, nothing is pure; but both ^cotheir minds and their consciences are defiled. 16 ^cpThey profess to know God, but they ^cqdeny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, ^crunfit for any good work.

Titus 2

Teach Sound Doctrine

1 But as for you, teach what accords with ^cssound ^{▼▼Or healthy; also verses 2, 8} doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, ^cusound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 ^cvOlder women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, ^cwnot slanderers ^cxor slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, ^cypure, ^czworking at home, kind, and ^dasubmissive to their own husbands, ^dbthat the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge ^dcthe younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be ^dda model of good works, and in your teaching ^deshow integrity, ^dfdignity, 8 and ^dgsound speech that cannot be condemned, ^dhso that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 ^diBondservants ^{▼▼Or Slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)} are to be submissive to their own masters ^dkin everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, ^dlbut showing all good faith, ^dmso that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

11 For ^dnthe grace of God ^dohas appeared, bringing salvation ^dpfor all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and ^dqworldly passions, and ^drto live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in ^dsthe present age, 13 ^dtwaiting for our blessed ^duhope, the ^dvappearing of the glory of our great ^dwGod and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 ^dxwho gave himself for us to ^dyredeem us from all lawlessness and ^dzto purify for himself ^eaa people for his own possession who are ^ebzealous for good works.

15 Declare these things; exhort and ^ecrebuke with all authority. ^edLet no one disregard you.

Titus 3

Be Ready for Every Good Work

1 Remind them ^eeto be submissive to rulers and authorities, ^efto be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 ^egto speak evil of no one, ^ehto avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and ^eito show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For ^ejwe ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when ^ekthe goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, ^elnot because of works done by us in righteousness, but ^emaccording to his own mercy, by ^enthe washing of regeneration and ^eorenewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he ^eppoured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that ^eqbeing justified by his grace we might become ^erheirs ^esaccording to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is ^ettrustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful ^euto devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. 9 But ^evavoid foolish ^ewcontroversies, ^exgenealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for ^eythey are unprofitable and worthless. 10 As for a person who stirs up division, ^ezafter warning him once and then twice, ^fahave nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Final Instructions and Greetings

12 When I send Artemas or ^fbTychicus to you, do your best to come to me ^fcat Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and ^fdApollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 14 And let our people learn ^feto devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not ^ffbe unfruitful.

15 All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith.

^fgGrace be with you all.

1 Samuel 1:16

Job 7:11-21