Old/New Testament
17 My spirit is broken,[a]
my days have faded out,[b]
the grave[c] awaits me.
2 Surely mockery[d] is with me;[e]
my eyes must dwell on their hostility.[f]
3 Set my pledge[g] beside you.
Who else will put up security for me?[h]
4 Because[i] you have closed their[j] minds to understanding,
therefore you will not exalt them.[k]
5 If a man denounces his friends for personal gain,[l]
the eyes of his children will fail.
6 He has made me[m] a byword[n] to people,
I am the one in whose face they spit.[o]
7 My eyes have grown dim[p] with grief;
my whole frame[q] is but a shadow.
8 Upright men are appalled[r] at this;
the innocent man is troubled[s] with the godless.
9 But the righteous man holds to his way,
and the one with clean hands grows stronger.[t]
Anticipation of Death
10 “But turn, all of you,[u] and come[v] now![w]
I will not find a wise man among you.
11 My days have passed, my plans[x] are shattered,
even[y] the desires[z] of my heart.
12 These men[aa] change[ab] night into day;
they say,[ac] ‘The light is near
in the face of darkness.’[ad]
13 If[ae] I hope for the grave to be my home,
if I spread out my bed in darkness,
14 if I cry out[af] to corruption,[ag] ‘You are my father,’
and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’
15 where then[ah] is my hope?
And my hope,[ai] who sees it?
16 Will[aj] it[ak] go down to the barred gates[al] of death?
Will[am] we descend[an] together into the dust?”
Bildad’s Second Speech[ao]
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:
2 “How long until you[ap] make an end of words?[aq]
You must consider,[ar] and then[as] we can talk.
3 Why should we be regarded as beasts,
and considered stupid[at] in your sight?
4 You who tear yourself[au] to pieces in your anger,
will the earth be abandoned[av] for your sake?
Or will a rock be moved from its place?[aw]
5 “Yes,[ax] the lamp[ay] of the wicked is extinguished;
his flame of fire[az] does not shine.
6 The light in his tent grows dark;
his lamp above him is extinguished.[ba]
7 His vigorous steps[bb] are restricted,[bc]
and his own counsel throws him down.[bd]
8 For he has been thrown into a net by his feet[be]
and he wanders into a mesh.[bf]
9 A trap[bg] seizes him by the heel;
a snare[bh] grips him.
10 A rope is hidden for him[bi] on the ground
and a trap for him[bj] lies on the path.
11 Terrors[bk] frighten him on all sides
and dog[bl] his every step.
12 Calamity is[bm] hungry for him,[bn]
and misfortune is ready at his side.[bo]
13 It eats away parts of his skin;[bp]
the most terrible death[bq] devours his limbs.
14 He is dragged from the security of his tent,[br]
and marched off[bs] to the king of terrors.[bt]
15 Fire resides in his tent;[bu]
over his residence burning sulfur is scattered.
16 Below his roots dry up,
and his branches wither above.
17 His memory perishes from the earth,
he has no name in the land.[bv]
18 He is driven[bw] from light into darkness
and is banished from the world.
19 He has neither children nor descendants[bx] among his people,
no survivor in those places he once stayed.[by]
20 People of the west[bz] are appalled at his fate;[ca]
people of the east are seized with horror,[cb] saying,[cc]
21 ‘Surely such is the residence[cd] of an evil man;
and this is the place of one who has not known God.’”[ce]
Job’s Reply to Bildad[cf]
19 Then Job answered:
2 “How long will you torment me[cg]
and crush[ch] me with your words?[ci]
3 These ten times[cj] you have been reproaching me;[ck]
you are not ashamed to attack me.[cl]
4 But even if it were[cm] true that I have erred,[cn]
my error[co] remains solely my concern!
5 If indeed[cp] you would exalt yourselves[cq] above me
and plead my disgrace against me,[cr]
6 know[cs] then that God has wronged me[ct]
and encircled[cu] me with his net.[cv]
Job’s Abandonment and Affliction
7 “If[cw] I cry out,[cx] ‘Violence!’[cy]
I receive no answer;[cz]
I cry for help,
but there is no justice.
8 He has blocked[da] my way so I cannot pass,
and has set darkness[db] over my paths.
9 He has stripped me of my honor
and has taken the crown off my head.[dc]
10 He tears me down[dd] on every side until I perish;[de]
he uproots[df] my hope[dg] like an uprooted[dh] tree.
11 Thus[di] his anger burns against me,
and he considers me among his enemies.[dj]
12 His troops[dk] advance together;
they throw up[dl] a siege ramp against me,
and they camp around my tent.
Job’s Forsaken State
13 “He has put my relatives[dm] far from me;
my acquaintances only[dn] turn away from me.
14 My kinsmen have failed me;
my friends[do] have forgotten me.[dp]
15 My guests[dq] and my servant girls
consider[dr] me a stranger;
I am a foreigner[ds] in their eyes.
16 I summon[dt] my servant, but he does not respond,
even though I implore[du] him with my own mouth.
17 My breath is repulsive[dv] to my wife;
I am loathsome[dw] to my brothers.[dx]
18 Even youngsters have scorned me;
when I get up,[dy] they scoff at me.[dz]
19 All my closest friends[ea] detest me;
and those whom[eb] I love have turned against me.[ec]
20 My bones stick to my skin and my flesh;[ed]
I have escaped[ee] alive[ef] with only the skin of my teeth.
21 Have pity on me, my friends, have pity on me,
for the hand of God has struck me.
22 Why do you pursue me like God does?[eg]
Will you never be satiated with my flesh?[eh]
Job’s Assurance of Vindication
23 “O that[ei] my words were written down!
O that they were written on a scroll![ej]
24 O that with an iron chisel and with lead[ek]
they were engraved in a rock forever!
25 As for me, I know that my Redeemer[el] lives,
and that as the last[em]
he will stand upon the earth.[en]
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,[eo]
yet in my flesh[ep] I will see God,[eq]
27 whom I will see for myself,[er]
and whom my own eyes will behold,
and not another.[es]
My heart[et] grows faint within me.[eu]
28 If you say, ‘How we will pursue him,
since the root of the trouble is found in him!’[ev]
29 Fear the sword yourselves,
for wrath[ew] brings the punishment[ex] by the sword,
so that you may know
that there is judgment.”[ey]
Peter Visits Cornelius
10 Now there was a man in Caesarea[a] named Cornelius, a centurion[b] of what was known as the Italian Cohort.[c] 2 He[d] was a devout, God-fearing man,[e] as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people[f] and prayed to God regularly. 3 About three o’clock one afternoon[g] he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God[h] who came in[i] and said to him, “Cornelius.” 4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius[j] replied,[k] “What is it, Lord?” The angel[l] said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity[m] have gone up as a memorial[n] before God. 5 Now[o] send men to Joppa[p] and summon a man named Simon,[q] who is called Peter. 6 This man is staying as a guest with a man named Simon, a tanner,[r] whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who had spoken to him departed, Cornelius[s] called two of his personal servants[t] and a devout soldier from among those who served him,[u] 8 and when he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
9 About noon[v] the next day, while they were on their way and approaching[w] the city, Peter went up on the roof[x] to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing the meal, a trance came over him.[y] 11 He[z] saw heaven[aa] opened[ab] and an object something like a large sheet[ac] descending,[ad] being let down to earth[ae] by its four corners. 12 In it[af] were all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles[ag] of the earth and wild birds.[ah] 13 Then[ai] a voice said[aj] to him, “Get up, Peter; slaughter[ak] and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything defiled and ritually unclean!”[al] 15 The voice[am] spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not consider[an] ritually unclean!”[ao] 16 This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into heaven.[ap]
17 Now while Peter was puzzling over[aq] what the vision he had seen could signify, the men sent by Cornelius had learned where Simon’s house was[ar] and approached[as] the gate. 18 They[at] called out to ask if Simon, known as Peter,[au] was staying there as a guest. 19 While Peter was still thinking seriously about[av] the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look! Three men are looking for you. 20 But get up,[aw] go down, and accompany them without hesitation,[ax] because I have sent them.” 21 So Peter went down[ay] to the men and said, “Here I am,[az] the person you’re looking for. Why have you come?” 22 They said, “Cornelius the centurion,[ba] a righteous[bb] and God-fearing man, well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation,[bc] was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear a message[bd] from you.” 23 So Peter[be] invited them in and entertained them as guests.
On the next day he got up and set out[bf] with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa[bg] accompanied him.
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