Job 3-4

New International Version

Job Speaks

3 After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.^(A) ²He said:

³“May the day of my birth perish,
    and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’^(B)
⁴That day—may it turn to darkness;
    may God above not care about it;
    may no light shine on it.
⁵May gloom and utter darkness^(C) claim it once more;
    may a cloud settle over it;
    may blackness overwhelm it.
⁶That night—may thick darkness^(D) seize it;
    may it not be included among the days of the year
    nor be entered in any of the months.
⁷May that night be barren;
    may no shout of joy^(E) be heard in it.
⁸May those who curse days^[a] curse that day,^(F)
    those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.^(G)
⁹May its morning stars become dark;
    may it wait for daylight in vain
    and not see the first rays of dawn,^(H)
¹⁰for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
    to hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹“Why did I not perish at birth,
    and die as I came from the womb?^(I)
¹²Why were there knees to receive me^(J)
    and breasts that I might be nursed?
¹³For now I would be lying down^(K) in peace;
    I would be asleep and at rest^(L)
¹⁴with kings and rulers of the earth,^(M)
    who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,^(N)
¹⁵with princes^(O) who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.^(P)
¹⁶Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,^(Q)
    like an infant who never saw the light of day?^(R)
¹⁷There the wicked cease from turmoil,^(S)
    and there the weary are at rest.^(T)
¹⁸Captives^(U) also enjoy their ease;
    they no longer hear the slave driver’s^(V) shout.^(W)
¹⁹The small and the great are there,^(X)
    and the slaves are freed from their owners.

²⁰“Why is light given to those in misery,
    and life to the bitter of soul,^(Y)
²¹to those who long for death that does not come,^(Z)
    who search for it more than for hidden treasure,^(AA)
²²who are filled with gladness
    and rejoice when they reach the grave?^(AB)
²³Why is life given to a man
    whose way is hidden,^(AC)
    whom God has hedged in?^(AD)
²⁴For sighing^(AE) has become my daily food;^(AF)
    my groans^(AG) pour out like water.^(AH)
²⁵What I feared has come upon me;
    what I dreaded^(AI) has happened to me.^(AJ)
²⁶I have no peace,^(AK) no quietness;
    I have no rest,^(AL) but only turmoil.”^(AM)

Eliphaz

4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite^(AN) replied:

²“If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    But who can keep from speaking?^(AO)
³Think how you have instructed many,^(AP)
    how you have strengthened feeble hands.^(AQ)
⁴Your words have supported those who stumbled;^(AR)
    you have strengthened faltering knees.^(AS)
⁵But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;^(AT)
    it strikes^(AU) you, and you are dismayed.^(AV)
⁶Should not your piety be your confidence^(AW)
    and your blameless^(AX) ways your hope?

⁷“Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?^(AY)
    Where were the upright ever destroyed?^(AZ)
⁸As I have observed,^(BA) those who plow evil^(BB)
    and those who sow trouble reap it.^(BC)
⁹At the breath of God^(BD) they perish;
    at the blast of his anger they are no more.^(BE)
¹⁰The lions may roar^(BF) and growl,
    yet the teeth of the great lions^(BG) are broken.^(BH)
¹¹The lion perishes for lack of prey,^(BI)
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.^(BJ)

¹²“A word^(BK) was secretly brought to me,
    my ears caught a whisper^(BL) of it.^(BM)
¹³Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people,^(BN)
¹⁴fear and trembling^(BO) seized me
    and made all my bones shake.^(BP)
¹⁵A spirit glided past my face,
    and the hair on my body stood on end.^(BQ)
¹⁶It stopped,
    but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a hushed voice:^(BR)
¹⁷‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?^(BS)
    Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?^(BT)
¹⁸If God places no trust in his servants,^(BU)
    if he charges his angels with error,^(BV)
¹⁹how much more those who live in houses of clay,^(BW)
    whose foundations^(BX) are in the dust,^(BY)
    who are crushed^(BZ) more readily than a moth!^(CA)
²⁰Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
    unnoticed, they perish forever.^(CB)
²¹Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,^(CC)
    so that they die^(CD) without wisdom?’^(CE)

Footnotes

Job 3:8 Or curse the sea

Acts 7:44-60

New International Version

⁴⁴“Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law^(A) with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.^(B) ⁴⁵After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them.^(C) It remained in the land until the time of David,^(D) ⁴⁶who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.^[a]^(E) ⁴⁷But it was Solomon who built a house for him.^(F)

⁴⁸“However, the Most High^(G) does not live in houses made by human hands.^(H) As the prophet says:

⁴⁹“‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.^(I)
What kind of house will you build for me?
says the Lord.
Or where will my resting place be?
⁵⁰Has not my hand made all these things?’^[b]^(J)

⁵¹“You stiff-necked people!^(K) Your hearts^(L) and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! ⁵²Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?^(M) They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him^(N)— ⁵³you who have received the law that was given through angels^(O) but have not obeyed it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

⁵⁴When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious^(P) and gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit,^(Q) looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.^(R) ⁵⁶“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open^(S) and the Son of Man^(T) standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸dragged him out of the city^(U) and began to stone him.^(V) Meanwhile, the witnesses^(W) laid their coats^(X) at the feet of a young man named Saul.^(Y)

⁵⁹While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”^(Z) ⁶⁰Then he fell on his knees^(AA) and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”^(AB) When he had said this, he fell asleep.^(AC)