Old/New Testament
Zophar’s First Speech to Job[a]
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite spoke up and said:
2 “Should not this[b] abundance of words be answered,[c]
or should this[d] talkative man[e]
be vindicated?[f]
3 Should people remain silent[g] at your idle talk,[h]
and should no one rebuke[i] you when you mock?[j]
4 For you have said, ‘My teaching[k] is flawless,
and I am pure in your sight.’
5 But if only God would speak,[l]
if only he would open his lips against you,[m]
6 and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom—
for true wisdom has two sides[n]—
so that you would know[o]
that God has forgiven some of your sins.[p]
7 “Can you discover[q] the essence[r] of God?
Can you find out[s] the perfection of the Almighty?[t]
8 It is higher[u] than the heavens—what can you do?
It is deeper than Sheol[v]—what can you know?
9 Its measure is longer than the earth,
and broader than the sea.
10 If he comes by[w] and confines[x] you[y]
and convenes a court,[z]
then who can prevent[aa] him?
11 For he[ab] knows deceitful[ac] men;
when he sees evil, will he not[ad] consider it?[ae]
12 But an empty man will become wise,
when a wild donkey’s colt is born a human being.[af]
13 “As for you,[ag] if you prove faithful,[ah]
and if[ai] you stretch out your hands toward him,[aj]
14 if[ak] iniquity is in your hand—put it far away,[al]
and do not let evil reside in your tents.
15 For[am] then you will lift up your face
without[an] blemish;[ao]
you will be securely established[ap]
and will not fear.
16 For you[aq] will forget your trouble;[ar]
you will remember it
like water that[as] has flowed away.
17 And life[at] will be brighter[au] than the noonday;
though there be darkness,[av]
it will be like the morning.
18 And you will be secure, because there is hope;
you will be protected[aw]
and will take your rest in safety.
19 You will lie down with[ax] no one to make you afraid,
and many will seek your favor.[ay]
20 But the eyes of the wicked fail,[az]
and escape[ba] eludes them;
their one hope[bb] is to breathe their last.”[bc]
Job’s Reply to Zophar[bd]
12 Then Job answered:
2 “Without a doubt you are the people,[be]
and wisdom will die with you.[bf]
3 I also have understanding[bg] as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.[bh]
Who does not know such things as these?[bi]
4 I am[bj] a laughingstock[bk] to my friends,[bl]
I, who called on God and whom he answered[bm]—
a righteous and blameless[bn] man
is a laughingstock!
5 For calamity,[bo] there is derision
(according to the ideas of the fortunate[bp])—
a fate[bq] for those whose feet slip.
6 But[br] the tents of robbers are peaceful,
and those who provoke God are confident[bs]—
who carry their god in their hands.[bt]
Knowledge of God’s Wisdom[bu]
7 “But now, ask the animals and they[bv] will teach you,
or the birds of the sky and they will tell you.
8 Or speak[bw] to the earth[bx] and it will teach you,
or let the fish of the sea declare to you.
9 Which of all these[by] does not know
that the hand of the Lord[bz] has done[ca] this?
10 In his hand[cb] is the life[cc] of every creature
and the breath of all the human race.[cd]
11 Does not the ear test words,
as[ce] the tongue[cf] tastes food?[cg]
12 Is not wisdom found among the aged?[ch]
Does not long life bring understanding?
13 “With God[ci] are wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his.[cj]
14 If[ck] he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt;
if he imprisons a person, there is no escape.[cl]
15 If he holds back the waters, then they dry up;[cm]
if he releases them,[cn] they destroy[co] the land.
16 With him are strength and prudence;[cp]
both the one who goes astray[cq]
and the one who misleads are his.
17 He[cr] leads[cs] counselors away stripped[ct]
and makes judges[cu] into fools.[cv]
18 He loosens[cw] the bonds[cx] of kings
and binds a loincloth[cy] around their waist.
19 He leads priests away stripped[cz]
and overthrows[da] the potentates.[db]
20 He deprives the trusted advisers[dc] of speech[dd]
and takes away the discernment[de] of elders.
21 He pours contempt on noblemen
and disarms[df] the powerful.[dg]
22 He reveals the deep things of darkness,
and brings deep shadows[dh] into the light.
23 He makes nations great,[di] and destroys them;
he extends the boundaries of nations
and disperses[dj] them.[dk]
24 He deprives the leaders of the earth[dl]
of their understanding;[dm]
he makes them wander
in a trackless desert waste.[dn]
25 They grope about in darkness[do] without light;
he makes them stagger[dp] like drunkards.
Job Pleads His Cause to God[dq]
13 “Indeed, my eyes have seen all this,[dr]
my ears have heard and understood it.
2 What you know,[ds] I[dt] know also;
I am not inferior[du] to you!
3 But I wish to speak[dv] to the Almighty,[dw]
and I desire to argue[dx] my case[dy] with God.
4 But you, however, are inventors of lies;[dz]
all of you are worthless physicians![ea]
5 If only you would keep completely silent![eb]
For you, that would be wisdom.[ec]
6 “Listen now to my argument,[ed]
and be attentive to my lips’ contentions.[ee]
7 Will you speak wickedly[ef] on God’s behalf?[eg]
Will you speak deceitfully for him?
8 Will you show him partiality?[eh]
Will you argue the case[ei] for God?
9 Would it turn out well if he would examine[ej] you?
Or as one deceives[ek] a man would you deceive him?
10 He would certainly rebuke[el] you
if you secretly[em] showed partiality.
11 Would not his splendor[en] terrify[eo] you
and the fear he inspires[ep] fall on you?
12 Your maxims[eq] are proverbs of ashes;[er]
your defenses[es] are defenses of clay.[et]
13 “Refrain from talking[eu] with me so that[ev] I may speak;
then let come to me[ew] what may.[ex]
14 Why[ey] do I put myself in peril,[ez]
and take my life in my hands?
15 Even if he slays me, I will hope in him;[fa]
I will surely[fb] defend[fc] my ways to his face.
16 Moreover, this will become my deliverance,
for no godless person would come before him.[fd]
17 Listen carefully[fe] to my words;
let your ears be attentive to my explanation.[ff]
18 See now,[fg] I have prepared[fh] my[fi] case;[fj]
I know that I am right.[fk]
19 Who[fl] will contend with me?
If anyone can, I will be silent and die.[fm]
20 Only in two things spare me,[fn] O God,[fo]
and then I will not hide from your face:
21 Remove[fp] your hand[fq] far from me
and stop making me afraid with your terror.[fr]
22 Then call,[fs] and I will answer,
or I will speak, and you respond to me.
23 How many are my[ft] iniquities and sins?
Show me my transgression and my sin.[fu]
24 Why do you hide your face[fv]
and regard me as your enemy?
25 Do you wish to torment[fw] a windblown[fx] leaf
and chase after dry chaff?[fy]
26 For you write down[fz] bitter things against me
and cause me to inherit the sins of my youth.[ga]
27 And you put my feet in the stocks[gb]
and you watch all my movements;[gc]
you put marks[gd] on the soles of my feet.
28 So I[ge] waste away like something rotten,[gf]
like a garment eaten by moths.
The Conversion of Saul
9 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats[a] to murder[b] the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest 2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues[c] in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way,[d] either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners[e] to Jerusalem.[f] 3 As he was going along, approaching[g] Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed[h] around him. 4 He[i] fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul,[j] why are you persecuting me?”[k] 5 So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting! 6 But stand up[l] and enter the city and you will be told[m] what you must do.” 7 (Now the men[n] who were traveling with him stood there speechless,[o] because they heard the voice but saw no one.)[p] 8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open,[q] he could see nothing.[r] Leading him by the hand, his companions[s] brought him into Damascus. 9 For[t] three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything.[u]
10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The[v] Lord[w] said to him in a vision, “Ananias,” and he replied, “Here I am,[x] Lord.” 11 Then the Lord told him, “Get up and go to the street called ‘Straight,’[y] and at Judas’ house look for a man from Tarsus named Saul. For he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision[z] a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he may see again.” 13 But Ananias replied,[aa] “Lord, I have heard from many people[ab] about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison[ac] all who call on your name!”[ad] 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument[ae] to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel.[af] 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”[ag] 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, placed[ah] his hands on Saul[ai] and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here,[aj] has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”[ak] 18 Immediately[al] something like scales[am] fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He[an] got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, his strength returned.
For several days[ao] he was with the disciples in Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,[ap] saying, “This man is the Son of God.”[aq] 21 All[ar] who heard him were amazed and were saying, “Is this not[as] the man who in Jerusalem was ravaging[at] those who call on this name, and who had come here to bring them as prisoners[au] to the chief priests?”
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