Old/New Testament
Zophar Answers
20 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:
2 “My ·troubled thoughts [distress; worries] cause me to ·answer [respond],
because ·I am very upset [L of the agitation within me].
3 You ·correct [instruct] me and I am ·insulted [shamed],
but ·I understand how to answer you [or a spirit beyond my understanding gives me an answer].
4 “·You [L Do you not…?] know how it has been ·for a long time [since time immemorial],
ever since ·people were first put [or he put people] on the earth.
5 The ·happiness [luxuriance; enjoyment] of evil people is brief,
and the joy of the ·wicked [L godless] lasts only a moment.
6 ·Their pride may be [L They may go] as high as the heavens,
and their heads may touch the clouds,
7 but they will ·be gone [perish] forever, like their own dung.
People who ·knew [L saw] them will say, ‘Where are they?’
8 They will fly away like a dream
and not be found again;
they will be ·chased away [put to flight] like a vision in the night.
9 ·Those who [L The eye that] saw them will not see them again;
the places where they lived will see them no more.
10 Their children will ·have to pay back [or run after] the poor,
and ·they will have to give up [L their hand will return] their wealth.
11 They had the strength of their youth in their bones,
but it will lie with them in the dust of death.
12 “Evil may taste sweet in their mouths,
and they may hide it under their tongues.
13 They ·cannot stand to [L fight/linger over it and do not] let go of it;
they ·keep it in their mouths [L hide it under their tongues].
14 But their food ·will turn sour [L turns over] in their stomachs,
like the poison of a ·snake [asp] inside them.
15 They have swallowed riches, but they will ·spit [vomit] them out;
God will make them ·vomit [disgorge] ·their riches up [L it from their bellies; Prov. 11:4; 21:6].
16 They will suck the poison of ·snakes [asps],
and the ·snake’s fangs [L viper’s tongue] will kill them.
17 They will not ·admire [L look at] ·the sparkling streams [or streams of oil]
or the rivers flowing with honey and ·cream [or butter; or curds].
18 They must give back ·what they worked for [their gains] ·without eating it [unswallowed];
they will not enjoy the ·money they made from their trading [or benefit of their reward],
19 because they ·troubled the poor and left them with nothing [L crushed and abandoned the poor].
They have ·taken [stolen] houses they did not build [Prov. 28:27; 29:7].
20 “Evil people never ·lack an appetite [L experience ease/comfort in their bellies],
and nothing ·escapes their selfishness [L they covet escapes them].
21 But nothing will be left ·for them to eat [or after they eat];
their riches will not continue.
22 When they still have plenty, ·trouble will catch up to them [L they will have distress],
and ·great misery [L all the force/hand of trouble] will come down on them.
23 When the wicked fill their stomachs,
God will send his burning anger against them,
·and blows of punishment will fall on them like rain [or raining it on them like their food].
24 The wicked may run away from an iron weapon,
but a bronze ·arrow [L bow] will ·stab [pierce] them.
25 They will pull the arrows out of their backs
and pull the points out of their ·livers [L gall bladders].
·Terrors [Dread] will come over them;
26 total darkness ·waits for their treasure [or is stored up for them].
A fire not fanned by people [C perhaps lightning] will ·destroy [L consume] them
and ·burn up [L horrible things will happen to] ·what is left of [or the survivors in] their tents.
27 The heavens will ·show [reveal] their guilt,
and the earth will rise up against them.
28 ·A flood will carry their houses away [or The possessions of their house will be taken away],
·swept away [L like the torrents] on the day of God’s anger.
29 This is ·what God plans for evil [L the lot/fate of guilty] people;
·this is what he has decided they will receive [L the inheritance decreed by God].”
Job Answers Zophar
21 Then Job answered:
2 “Listen carefully to my words [C Job feels that his previous speeches have not been heard],
and let this be ·the way you comfort me [L your consolation].
3 ·Be patient [Bear with me] while I speak.
After I have finished, you may ·continue to make fun of [ridicule; mock] me.
4 “My complaint is not just against people;
I have reason to be impatient.
5 Look at me and be ·shocked [desolated];
put your hand over your mouth in shock.
6 When I think about this [C the success of the wicked], I am terribly afraid
and ·my body shakes [L trembling seizes my flesh].
7 Why ·do evil people live a long time [L are evil people allowed to live]?
They grow old and ·become more powerful [increase in strength].
8 They see their children ·around [L established before] them;
they watch them grow up.
9 Their homes are safe and without fear;
·God does not punish them [L God’s rod is not on them].
10 Their bulls never fail to mate;
their cows ·have healthy calves [L calve and have no miscarriages].
11 They send out their ·children [infants] like a flock [C they will have many children, a sign of blessing];
their ·little ones [children] dance about.
12 They sing to the music of tambourines and ·harps [lyres],
and the sound of the flute makes them ·happy [rejoice].
13 Evil people ·enjoy successful lives [L live out their days in prosperity]
and then go ·peacefully [in tranquility] to ·the grave [L Sheol].
14 They say to God, ‘·Leave us alone [Get away from me]!
We don’t ·want [desire] to know your ways.
15 Who is ·the Almighty [Shaddai] that we should serve him?
What would we gain by ·praying to [interceding with] him?’
16 ·The success of the wicked is not their own doing [or Is not the success/prosperity of the wicked in their control/hand?].
Their ·way of thinking [plan; counsel] is ·different [far] from ·mine [or his; C that is, God’s].
17 Yet how often are the lamps of evil people ·turned off [extinguished; C the implied answer is not often; Job questions the type of teaching found in Proverbs; Prov. 24:19–20]?
How often does ·trouble [calamity] come to them [Prov. 24:21–22]?
How often ·do they suffer God’s angry punishment [L does he deal out pain in his anger]?
18 ·How often are they [or Let them be] like straw in the wind
or like chaff that is blown away by a storm [Ps. 1:4]?
19 It is said [C defenders of the idea that the wicked suffer for their sins], ‘God ·saves [stores] up a person’s ·punishment [guilt] for his children.’
But God should ·punish [pay back] the wicked themselves so they will know it.
20 Their eyes should see their own destruction,
and they should ·suffer [L drink from the] the anger of ·the Almighty [Shaddai].
21 They do not care about the families they leave behind
when their lives have come to an end.
22 “·No one [L Who…?] can teach knowledge to God;
he is the one who judges even the most ·important [exalted] people [C Job wants to teach God to punish the wicked but thinks his attempt will be futile].
23 One person dies ·while he still has all his strength [L in perfect vigor],
feeling completely safe and ·comfortable [untroubled].
24 His ·body [or pail] was ·well fed [L full of milk],
and ·his bones were strong and healthy [L the marrow of his bones were well lubricated].
25 But another person dies ·with an unhappy heart [L in bitterness],
never enjoying ·any happiness [or the good life].
26 They ·are buried next to each other [L lie down together in the dust],
and worms cover them both.
27 “I know very well your thoughts
and your ·plans [schemes] to ·wrong [hurt; do violence to] me.
28 You [C the friends] ask, ‘Where is this ·great man’s [L prince’s] house?
Where are the tents where the wicked live [C they don’t agree with Job that the wicked are rich and successful]?’
29 Have you never asked those who ·travel [L pass by on the road]?
Have you ·never listened to their stories [L not recognized their signs]?
30 On the day of ·God’s anger and punishment [L calamity; disaster],
it is the wicked who are spared.
31 Who will accuse them to their faces?
Who will pay them back for the evil they have done?
32 They are carried to their graves,
and someone keeps watch over their tombs [C a sign of a peaceful death and burial].
33 The dirt in the valley seems sweet to them.
Everybody follows after them,
and many people go before them.
34 “So how can you comfort me with this ·nonsense [empty/meaningless drivel]?
Your answers are ·only lies [or disloyal]!”
24 On the following day they came to Caesarea [10:1]. Cornelius was ·waiting for [expecting] them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him. 26 But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up. I too am only a ·human [mortal].” 27 As he talked with Cornelius, Peter went inside where he ·saw [L found] many people gathered. 28 He said, “You people understand that it is against our law for Jewish people to associate with or visit anyone who is a ·foreigner [Gentile]. But God has shown me that I should not call any person unholy [profane; common] or unclean [defiled]. 29 That is why I did not ·argue [object] when I was asked to come here. Now, please tell me why you sent for me.”
30 Cornelius said, “Four days ago [10:3], I was praying in my house at this same time—·three o’clock in the afternoon [L at the ninth hour]. Suddenly, there was a man standing before me wearing ·shining [dazzling] clothes. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and ·has seen that you give to the poor and remembers you [L your alms have been remembered by/before God]. 32 So send some men to Joppa and ask Simon [L who is called] Peter to come. Peter is staying [as a guest] in the house of a man, ·also named Simon, who is a tanner [or named Simon Byrseus; 9:43] and has a house beside the sea [see 10:5–6].’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was ·very good [kind] of you to come. Now we are all here ·before [in the presence of; or available to] God to hear everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
34 Peter ·began to speak [L opened his mouth]: “I ·really [truly] understand now that ·to God every person is the same [God does not show favoritism/partiality]. 35 [L But] In every ·country [nation] God accepts anyone who ·worships [L fears] him and ·does what is right [practices righteousness]. 36 You know the ·message [word] that God has sent to the people of Israel ·is the Good News that peace [announcing/proclaiming the Gospel of peace that] has come through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Lord of all people [C both Jews and Gentiles]! 37 You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after John [C the Baptist] preached to the people about baptism [Luke 3]. 38 You know about Jesus from Nazareth, that God ·gave him [L anointed him with] the Holy Spirit and power. You know how Jesus went everywhere doing good and healing those who were ·ruled [oppressed] by the devil, because God was with him. 39 We ·saw [witnessed] what Jesus did in [L the region/country of] Judea and in Jerusalem, but ·the Jews in Jerusalem [L they] killed him by hanging him on a ·cross [L tree]. 40 Yet, on the third day, God raised Jesus ·to life [or from the dead] and caused him to be seen, 41 not by all the people, but only by the witnesses God had already chosen. And we are those witnesses who ate and drank with him after he was raised from the dead. 42 He ·told [commanded] us to preach to the people and to ·tell them [testify; bear witness] that he is the one whom God ·chose [appointed; determined] to be the judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets ·say it is true [witnessed; testified] that all who believe in Jesus will be forgiven of their sins through Jesus’ name.”
44 While Peter was still saying ·this [L these words], the Holy Spirit ·came down [L fell] on all those who ·were listening [L heard the word/message]. 45 The ·Jewish [L circumcised] believers who came with Peter were ·amazed [astonished] that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been ·given [L poured out] even to the ·nations [Gentiles]. 46 [L For] ·These believers [L They] heard them speaking in different languages [L tongues; C either other languages or ecstatic utterance] and ·praising [magnifying] God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we did!” 48 So Peter ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
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