Old/New Testament
The Brevity of Life
14 “Man, born of woman,[a]
lives but a few days,[b] and they are full of trouble.[c]
2 He grows up[d] like a flower and then withers away;[e]
he flees like a shadow, and does not remain.[f]
3 Do you fix your eye[g] on such a one?[h]
And do you bring me[i] before you for judgment?
4 Who can make[j] a clean thing come from an unclean?[k]
No one!
5 Since man’s days[l] are determined,[m]
the number of his months is under your control;[n]
you have set his limit[o] and he cannot pass it.
6 Look away from him and let him desist,[p]
until he fulfills[q] his time like a hired man.
The Inevitability of Death
7 “But there is hope for[r] a tree:[s]
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its new shoots will not fail.
8 Although its roots may grow old[t] in the ground
and its stump begins to die[u] in the soil,[v]
9 at the scent[w] of water it will flourish[x]
and put forth[y] shoots like a new plant.
10 But man[z] dies and is powerless;[aa]
he expires—and where is he?[ab]
11 As[ac] water disappears from the sea,[ad]
or a river drains away and dries up,
12 so man lies down and does not rise;
until the heavens are no more,[ae]
they[af] will not awake
nor arise from their sleep.
The Possibility of Another Life
13 “O that[ag] you would hide me in Sheol,[ah]
and conceal me till your anger has passed![ai]
O that you would set me a time[aj]
and then remember me![ak]
14 If a man dies, will he live again?[al]
All the days of my hard service[am] I will wait[an]
until my release comes.[ao]
15 You will call[ap] and I[aq]—I will answer you;
you will long for[ar] the creature you have made.[as]
The Present Condition[at]
16 “Surely now you count my steps;[au]
then you would not mark[av] my sin.[aw]
17 My offenses would be sealed up[ax] in a bag;[ay]
you would cover over[az] my sin.
18 But as[ba] a mountain falls away and crumbles,[bb]
and as a rock will be removed from its place,
19 as water wears away stones,
and torrents[bc] wash away the soil,[bd]
so you destroy man’s hope.[be]
20 You overpower him once for all,[bf]
and he departs;
you change[bg] his appearance
and send him away.
21 If[bh] his sons are honored,[bi]
he does not know it;[bj]
if they are brought low,
he does not see[bk] it.
22 His flesh only has pain for him,[bl]
and he mourns for himself.”[bm]
Eliphaz’s Second Speech[bn]
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “Does a wise man answer with blustery knowledge,[bo]
or fill his belly[bp] with the east wind?[bq]
3 Does he argue[br] with useless[bs] talk,
with words that have no value in them?
4 But you even break off[bt] piety,[bu]
and hinder[bv] meditation[bw] before God.
5 Your sin inspires[bx] your mouth;
you choose the language[by] of the crafty.[bz]
6 Your own mouth condemns[ca] you, not I;
your own lips testify against[cb] you.
7 “Were you the first man ever born?
Were you brought forth before the hills?
8 Do you listen in on God’s secret council?[cc]
Do you limit[cd] wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we don’t know?
What do you understand that we don’t understand?[ce]
10 The gray-haired[cf] and the aged are on our side,[cg]
men far older than your father.[ch]
11 Are God’s consolations[ci] too trivial for you,[cj]
or a word spoken[ck] in gentleness to you?
12 Why[cl] has your heart carried you away,[cm]
and why do your eyes flash,[cn]
13 when you turn your rage[co] against God
and allow such words to escape[cp] from your mouth?
14 What is man that he should be pure,
or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
15 If God[cq] places no trust in his holy ones,[cr]
if even the heavens[cs] are not pure in his eyes,
16 how much less man, who is abominable and corrupt,[ct]
who drinks in evil like water![cu]
17 “I will explain to you;
listen to me,
and what[cv] I have seen, I will declare,[cw]
18 what wise men declare,
hiding nothing,
from the tradition of[cx] their ancestors,[cy]
19 to whom alone the land was given
when no foreigner passed among them.[cz]
20 All his days[da] the wicked man suffers torment,[db]
throughout the number of the years
that[dc] are stored up for the tyrant.[dd]
21 Terrifying sounds fill[de] his ears;
in a time of peace marauders[df] attack him.
22 He does not expect[dg] to escape from darkness;[dh]
he is marked for the sword;[di]
23 he wanders about—food for vultures[dj]—
he knows that the day of darkness is at hand.[dk]
24 Distress and anguish[dl] terrify him;
they prevail against him
like a king ready to launch an attack,[dm]
25 for he stretches out his hand against God,[dn]
and vaunts himself[do] against the Almighty,
26 defiantly charging against him[dp]
with a thick, strong shield![dq]
27 Because he covered his face with fat,[dr]
and made[ds] his hips bulge with fat,[dt]
28 he lived in ruined towns[du]
and in houses where[dv] no one lives,
where they are ready to crumble into heaps.[dw]
29 He will not grow rich,
and his wealth will not endure,
nor will his possessions[dx] spread over the land.
30 He will not escape the darkness;[dy]
a flame will wither his shoots
and he will depart
by the breath of God’s mouth.[dz]
31 Let him not trust in what is worthless,[ea]
deceiving himself;
for worthlessness will be his reward.[eb]
32 Before his time[ec] he will be paid in full,[ed]
and his branches will not flourish.[ee]
33 Like a vine he will let his sour grapes fall,[ef]
and like an olive tree
he will shed his blossoms.[eg]
34 For the company of the godless is barren,[eh]
and fire[ei] consumes the tents of those who accept bribes.[ej]
35 They conceive[ek] trouble and bring forth evil;
their belly[el] prepares deception.”
Job’s Reply to Eliphaz[em]
16 Then Job replied:
2 “I have heard many things like these before.
What miserable comforters[en] are you all!
3 Will[eo] there be an end to your[ep] windy words?[eq]
Or what provokes[er] you that you answer?[es]
4 I also could speak[et] like you,
if[eu] you were in my place;
I could pile up[ev] words against you
and I could shake my head at you.[ew]
5 But[ex] I would strengthen[ey] you with my words;[ez]
comfort from my lips would bring[fa] you relief.
Abandonment by God and Man
6 “But[fb] if I speak, my pain is not relieved,[fc]
and if I refrain from speaking,
how much[fd] of it goes away?
7 Surely now he[fe] has worn me out,
you have devastated my entire household.
8 You have seized me,[ff]
and it[fg] has become a witness;
my leanness[fh] has risen up against me
and testifies against me.
9 His[fi] anger has torn me[fj] and persecuted[fk] me;
he has gnashed at me with his teeth;
my adversary locks[fl] his eyes on me.
10 People[fm] have opened their mouths against me,
they have struck my cheek in scorn;[fn]
they unite[fo] together against me.
11 God abandons me to evil men,[fp]
and throws[fq] me into the hands of wicked men.
12 I was in peace, and he has shattered me.[fr]
He has seized me by the neck and crushed me.[fs]
He has made me his target;
13 his archers[ft] surround me.
Without pity[fu] he pierces[fv] my kidneys
and pours out my gall[fw] on the ground.
14 He breaks through against me, time and time again;[fx]
he rushes[fy] against me like a warrior.
15 I have sewed sackcloth on my skin,[fz]
and buried[ga] my horn[gb] in the dust;
16 my face is reddened[gc] because of weeping,[gd]
and on my eyelids there is a deep darkness,[ge]
17 although[gf] there is no violence in my hands
and my prayer is pure.
An Appeal to God as Witness
18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,[gg]
nor let there be a secret[gh] place for my cry.
19 Even now my witness[gi] is in heaven;
my advocate[gj] is on high.
20 My intercessor is my friend[gk]
as my eyes pour out tears[gl] to God;
21 and[gm] he contends with God on behalf of man
as a man[gn] pleads[go] for his friend.
22 For the years that lie ahead are few,[gp]
and then I will go on the way of no return.[gq]
22 But Saul became more and more capable,[a] and was causing consternation[b] among the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving[c] that Jesus[d] is the Christ.[e]
Saul’s Escape from Damascus
23 Now after some days had passed, the Jews plotted[f] together to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plot against him.[g] They were also watching[h] the city gates[i] day and night so that they could kill him. 25 But his disciples took him at night and let him down through an opening[j] in the wall by lowering him in a basket.[k]
Saul Returns to Jerusalem
26 When he arrived in Jerusalem, he attempted to associate[l] with the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe[m] that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took[n] Saul,[o] brought[p] him to the apostles, and related to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, that[q] the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly[r] in the name of Jesus. 28 So he was staying with them, associating openly with them[s] in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He was speaking and debating[t] with the Greek-speaking Jews,[u] but they were trying to kill him. 30 When the brothers found out about this, they brought him down to Caesarea[v] and sent him away to Tarsus.
31 Then[w] the church throughout Judea, Galilee,[x] and Samaria experienced[y] peace and thus was strengthened.[z] Living[aa] in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church[ab] increased in numbers.
Peter Heals Aeneas
32 Now[ac] as Peter was traveling around from place to place,[ad] he also came down to the saints who lived in Lydda.[ae] 33 He found there a man named Aeneas who had been confined to a mattress for eight years because[af] he was paralyzed. 34 Peter[ag] said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ[ah] heals you. Get up and make your own bed!”[ai] And immediately he got up. 35 All[aj] those who lived in Lydda[ak] and Sharon[al] saw him, and they[am] turned[an] to the Lord.
Peter Raises Dorcas
36 Now in Joppa[ao] there was a disciple named Tabitha (which in translation means[ap] Dorcas).[aq] She was continually doing good deeds and acts of charity.[ar] 37 At that time[as] she became sick[at] and died. When they had washed[au] her body,[av] they placed it in an upstairs room. 38 Because Lydda[aw] was near Joppa, when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Come to us without delay.”[ax] 39 So Peter got up and went with them, and[ay] when he arrived[az] they brought him to the upper room. All[ba] the widows stood beside him, crying and showing him[bb] the tunics[bc] and other clothing[bd] Dorcas used to make[be] while she was with them. 40 But Peter sent them all outside,[bf] knelt down,[bg] and prayed. Turning[bh] to the body, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.[bi] 41 He gave[bj] her his hand and helped her get up. Then he called[bk] the saints and widows and presented her alive. 42 This became known throughout all[bl] Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.[bm] 43 So[bn] Peter[bo] stayed many days in Joppa with a man named[bp] Simon, a tanner.[bq]
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