Old/New Testament
To which of the holy ones[c] will you turn?[d]
2 For[e] wrath kills the foolish person,[f]
and anger[g] slays the silly one.
3 I myself[h] have seen the fool[i] taking root,
but suddenly I cursed his place of residence.[j]
4 His children are far[k] from safety,
and they are crushed[l] at the place where judgment is rendered,[m]
nor is there anyone to deliver them.[n]
5 The hungry[o] eat up his harvest,[p]
and take it even from behind the thorns,[q]
and the thirsty[r] pant for[s] their wealth.[t]
6 For evil does not come up from the dust,[u]
nor does trouble spring up from the ground,
7 but people[v] are born[w] to trouble,
as surely as the sparks[x] fly[y] upward.[z]
Blessings for the One Who Seeks God[aa]
8 “But[ab] as for me,[ac] I would seek[ad] God,[ae]
and to God[af] I would set forth my case.[ag]
9 He does[ah] great and unsearchable[ai] things,
marvelous things without[aj] number;[ak]
10 he gives[al] rain on the earth,[am]
and sends[an] water on the fields;[ao]
11 he sets[ap] the lowly[aq] on high,
that those who mourn[ar] are raised[as] to safety.
12 He frustrates[at] the plans[au] of the crafty[av]
so that[aw] their hands cannot accomplish
what they had planned.[ax]
13 He catches[ay] the wise in their own craftiness,[az]
and the counsel of the cunning[ba] is brought to a quick end.[bb]
14 They meet with darkness in the daytime,[bc]
and grope about[bd] in the noontime as if it were night.[be]
15 So he saves[bf] from the sword that comes from their mouth,[bg]
even[bh] the poor from the hand of the powerful.
16 Thus the poor have hope,
and iniquity[bi] shuts its mouth.[bj]
17 “Therefore,[bk] blessed[bl] is the man whom God corrects,[bm]
so do not despise the discipline[bn] of the Almighty.[bo]
18 For[bp] he[bq] wounds,[br] but he also bandages;
he strikes, but his hands also heal.
19 He will deliver you[bs] from six calamities;
yes, in seven[bt] no evil will touch you.
20 In time of famine[bu] he will redeem you from death,
and in time of war from the power of the sword.[bv]
21 You will be protected[bw] from malicious gossip,[bx]
and will not be afraid of the destruction[by] when it comes.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine[bz]
and need not[ca] be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
23 For you will have a pact with the stones[cb] of the field,
and the wild animals[cc] will be at peace[cd] with you.
24 And[ce] you will know[cf] that your home[cg] will be secure,[ch]
and when you inspect[ci] your domains,
you will not be missing[cj] anything.
25 You will also know that your children[ck] will be numerous,
and your descendants[cl] like the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to your grave in a full age,[cm]
As stacks of grain are harvested in their season.
27 Look, we have investigated this, so it is true.
Hear it,[cn] and apply it for your own[co] good.”[cp]
Job Replies to Eliphaz
6 Then Job responded:[cq]
2 “Oh, if only[cr] my grief[cs] could be weighed,[ct]
and my misfortune laid[cu] on the scales too![cv]
3 But because it is heavier[cw] than the sand[cx] of the sea,
that is why my words have been wild.[cy]
4 For the arrows[cz] of the Almighty[da] are within me;
my spirit[db] drinks their poison;[dc]
God’s sudden terrors[dd] are arrayed against[de] me.
Complaints Reflect Suffering
5 “Does the wild donkey[df] bray[dg] when it is near grass?[dh]
Or[di] does the ox bellow[dj] over its fodder?[dk]
6 Can food that is tasteless[dl] be eaten without salt?
Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?[dm]
7 I[dn] have refused[do] to touch such things;[dp]
they are like loathsome food to me.[dq]
A Cry for Death
8 “Oh that[dr] my request would be realized,[ds]
and that God would grant me what I long for![dt]
9 And that God would be willing[du] to crush me,
that he would let loose[dv] his hand
and[dw] kill me.[dx]
10 Then I would yet have my comfort,[dy]
then[dz] I would rejoice,[ea]
in spite of pitiless pain,[eb]
for[ec] I have not concealed the words[ed] of the Holy One.[ee]
11 What is my strength, that I should wait?[ef]
And what is my end,[eg]
that I should prolong my life?
12 Is my strength like that of stones?[eh]
Or is my flesh made of bronze?
13 Is not[ei] my power to help myself nothing,
and has not every resource[ej] been driven from me?
Disappointing Friends
14 “To the one in despair, kindness[ek] should come from his friend[el]
even if[em] he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15 My brothers[en] have been as treacherous[eo] as a seasonal stream,[ep]
and as the riverbeds of the intermittent streams[eq]
that flow away.[er]
16 They[es] are dark[et] because of ice;
snow is piled up[eu] over them.[ev]
17 When they are scorched,[ew] they dry up,
when it is hot, they vanish[ex] from their place.
18 Caravans[ey] turn aside from their routes;
they go[ez] into the wasteland[fa] and perish.[fb]
19 The caravans of Tema[fc] looked intently[fd] for these streams;[fe]
the traveling merchants[ff] of Sheba hoped for them.
20 They were distressed,[fg]
because each one had been[fh] so confident;
they arrived there,[fi] but were disappointed.
21 For now[fj] you have become like these streams that are no help;[fk]
you see a terror,[fl] and are afraid.
Friends’ Fears
22 “Have I[fm] ever said,[fn] ‘Give me something,
and from your fortune[fo] make gifts[fp] in my favor’?
23 Or, ‘Deliver me[fq] from the enemy’s power,[fr]
and from the hand of tyrants[fs] ransom[ft] me’?
No Sin Discovered
24 “Teach[fu] me and I, for my part,[fv] will be silent;
explain to me[fw] how I have been mistaken.[fx]
25 How painful are[fy] honest words!
But[fz] what does your reproof[ga] prove?[gb]
26 Do you intend to criticize mere words,
and treat[gc] the words of a despairing man as wind?
27 Yes, you would gamble[gd] for the fatherless,
and auction off[ge] your friend.
Other Explanation
28 “Now then, be good enough to look[gf] at me;[gg]
and I will not[gh] lie to your face!
29 Relent,[gi] let there be no falsehood;[gj]
reconsider,[gk] for my righteousness is intact![gl]
30 Is there any falsehood[gm] on my lips?
Can my mouth[gn] not discern evil things?[go]
The Brevity of Life
7 “Does not humanity have hard service[gp] on earth?
Are not their days also like the days of a hired man?[gq]
2 Like a servant[gr] longing for the evening shadow,[gs]
and like a hired man looking for[gt] his wages,[gu]
3 thus[gv] I have been made to inherit[gw]
months of futility,[gx]
and nights of sorrow[gy]
have been appointed[gz] to me.
4 If I lie down, I say,[ha] ‘When will I arise?’
And the night stretches on[hb]
and I toss and turn restlessly[hc]
until the day dawns.
5 My body[hd] is clothed with[he] worms[hf] and dirty scabs;[hg]
my skin is broken[hh] and festering.
6 My days[hi] are swifter[hj] than a weaver’s shuttle[hk]
and they come to an end without hope.[hl]
7 Remember[hm] that my life is but a breath,
that[hn] my eyes will never again[ho] see happiness.
8 The eye of him who sees me now will see me no more;[hp]
your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.[hq]
9 As[hr] a cloud is dispersed and then disappears,[hs]
so the one who goes down to the grave[ht]
does not come up again.[hu]
10 He returns no more to his house,
nor does his place of residence[hv] know him[hw] anymore.
Job Remonstrates with God
11 “Therefore,[hx] I will not refrain my mouth;[hy]
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain[hz] in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea, or the creature of the deep,[ia]
that you must put[ib] me under guard?[ic]
13 If[id] I say,[ie] ‘My bed will comfort me,[if]
my couch will ease[ig] my complaint,’
14 then you scare me[ih] with dreams
and terrify[ii] me with[ij] visions,
15 so that I[ik] would prefer[il] strangling,[im]
and[in] death[io] more[ip] than life.[iq]
16 I loathe[ir] it;[is] I do not want to live forever;
leave me alone,[it] for my days are a vapor![iu]
Insignificance of Humans
17 “What is mankind[iv] that you make so much of them,[iw]
and that you pay attention[ix] to them?
18 And that you visit[iy] them every morning,
and try[iz] them every moment?[ja]
19 Will you never[jb] look away from me,[jc]
will you not let me alone[jd]
long enough to swallow my spittle?
20 If[je] I have sinned—what have I done to you,[jf]
O watcher of men?[jg]
Why have you set me as your target?[jh]
Have I become a burden to you?[ji]
21 And why do you not pardon my transgression,
and take away my iniquity?
For now I will lie down in the dust,[jj]
and you will seek me diligently,[jk]
but I will be gone.”
8 1 And Saul agreed completely with killing[a] him.
Saul Begins to Persecute the Church
Now on that day a great[b] persecution began[c] against the church in Jerusalem, and all[d] except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions[e] of Judea and Samaria. 2 Some[f] devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation[g] over him.[h] 3 But Saul was trying to destroy[i] the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off[j] both men and women and put them in prison.[k]
Philip Preaches in Samaria
4 Now those who had been forced to scatter went around proclaiming the good news of the word. 5 Philip went down to the main city of Samaria[l] and began proclaiming[m] the Christ[n] to them. 6 The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said,[o] as they heard and saw the miraculous signs[p] he was performing. 7 For unclean spirits,[q] crying with loud shrieks, were coming out of many who were possessed,[r] and many paralyzed and lame people were healed. 8 So there was[s] great joy[t] in that city.
9 Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic[u] and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 10 All the people,[v] from the least to the greatest, paid close attention to him, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’”[w] 11 And they paid close attention to him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God[x] and the name of Jesus Christ,[y] they began to be baptized,[z] both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed close to[aa] Philip constantly, and when he saw the signs and great miracles that were occurring, he was amazed.[ab]
14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word[ac] of God, they sent[ad] Peter and John to them. 15 These two[ae] went down and prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 16 (For the Spirit[af] had not yet come upon[ag] any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)[ah] 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on the Samaritans,[ai] and they received the Holy Spirit.[aj]
18 Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit[ak] was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power[al] too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you,[am] because you thought you could acquire[an] God’s gift with money! 21 You have no share or part[ao] in this matter[ap] because your heart is not right before God! 22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord[aq] that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart.[ar] 23 For I see that you are bitterly envious[as] and in bondage to sin.” 24 But Simon replied,[at] “You pray to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said may happen to[au] me.”
25 So after Peter and John[av] had solemnly testified[aw] and spoken the word of the Lord,[ax] they started back to Jerusalem, proclaiming[ay] the good news to many Samaritan villages[az] as they went.[ba]
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