Old/New Testament
Bildad’s First Speech to Job[a]
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said:
2 “How long will you speak these things,[b]
seeing[c] that the words of your mouth
are like a great[d] wind?[e]
3 Does God pervert[f] justice?[g]
Or does the Almighty pervert[h] what is right?
4 If[i] your children sinned against him,
he gave them over[j] to the penalty[k] of their sin.
5 But[l] if you will look[m] to God,
and make your supplication[n] to the Almighty,
6 if you become[o] pure[p] and upright,[q]
even now he will rouse himself[r] for you,
and will restore[s] your righteous home.[t]
7 Your beginning[u] will seem so small,
since your future will flourish.[v]
8 “For inquire now of the former[w] generation,
and pay attention[x] to the findings[y]
of their ancestors;[z]
9 For we were born yesterday[aa] and do not have knowledge,
since our days on earth are but a shadow.[ab]
10 Will they not[ac] instruct you and[ad] speak to you,
and bring forth words[ae]
from their understanding?[af]
11 Can the papyrus plant grow tall[ag] where there is no marsh?
Can reeds flourish[ah] without water?
12 While they are still beginning to flower[ai]
and not ripe for cutting,[aj]
they can wither away[ak]
faster than[al] any grass.[am]
13 Such is the destiny[an] of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless[ao] perishes,
14 whose[ap] trust[aq] is in something futile,[ar]
whose security is a spider’s web.[as]
15 He leans against his house but it does not hold up,[at]
he takes hold[au] of it but it does not stand.
16 He is a well-watered plant[av] in[aw] the sun,
its shoots spread[ax] over its garden.[ay]
17 It wraps its roots around a heap of stones[az]
and it looks[ba] for a place among stones.[bb]
18 If he is uprooted[bc] from his place,
then that place[bd] will disown him, saying,[be]
‘I have never seen you!’
19 Indeed, this is the joy of his way,[bf]
and out of the earth[bg] others spring up.[bh]
20 “Surely, God does not reject a blameless man,[bi]
nor does he grasp the hand[bj]
of the evildoers.
21 He will yet[bk] fill your mouth with laughter,[bl]
and your lips with gladness.
22 Those who hate you[bm] will be clothed with shame,[bn]
and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”
Job’s Reply to Bildad[bo]
9 Then Job answered:
2 “Truly,[bp] I know that this is so.
But how[bq] can a human[br] be just before[bs] God?[bt]
3 If someone wishes[bu] to contend[bv] with him,
he cannot answer[bw] him one time in a thousand.
4 He is wise in heart[bx] and mighty[by] in strength[bz]—
who has resisted[ca] him and remained safe?[cb]
5 He who removes mountains suddenly,[cc]
who overturns them in his anger,[cd]
6 he who shakes the earth out of its place[ce]
so that its pillars tremble,[cf]
7 he who commands the sun, and[cg] it does not shine[ch]
and seals up[ci] the stars,
8 he alone spreads out the heavens,
and treads[cj] on the waves of the sea.[ck]
9 He makes the Bear,[cl] Orion,[cm] and the Pleiades,[cn]
and the constellations of the southern sky;[co]
10 he does great and unsearchable things,[cp]
and wonderful things without number.
11 If[cq] he passes by me, I cannot see[cr] him,[cs]
if he goes by, I cannot perceive him.[ct]
12 If he snatches away,[cu] who can turn him back?[cv]
Who dares to say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 God does not restrain his anger;[cw]
under him the helpers of Rahab[cx] lie crushed.[cy]
The Impossibility of Facing God in Court
14 “How much less,[cz] then, can I answer him[da]
and choose my words[db] to argue[dc] with[dd] him.[de]
15 Although[df] I am innocent,[dg]
I could not answer him;[dh]
I could only plead[di] with my judge[dj] for mercy.
16 If I summoned him, and he answered me,[dk]
I would not believe[dl]
that he would be listening to my voice—
17 he who[dm] crushes[dn] me with a tempest,
and multiplies my wounds for no reason.[do]
18 He does not allow[dp] me to recover[dq] my breath,
for he fills[dr] me with bitterness.
19 If it is a matter of strength,[ds]
most certainly[dt] he is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice,
he will say, ‘Who will summon me?’[du]
20 Although I am innocent,[dv]
my mouth[dw] would condemn me,[dx]
although I am blameless,
it would declare me perverse.[dy]
21 I am blameless.[dz] I do not know myself.[ea]
I despise my life.
Accusation of God’s Justice
22 “It is all one![eb] That is why I say,[ec]
‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’
23 If a scourge brings sudden death,[ed]
he mocks[ee] at the despair[ef] of the innocent.[eg]
24 If a land[eh] has been given
into the hand of a wicked man,[ei]
he covers[ej] the faces of its judges;[ek]
if it is not he, then who is it?[el]
Renewed Complaint
25 “My days[em] are swifter than a runner,[en]
they speed by without seeing happiness.
26 They glide by[eo] like reed[ep] boats,
like an eagle that swoops[eq] down on its prey.[er]
27 If I say,[es] ‘I will[et] forget my complaint,
I will change my expression[eu] and be cheerful,’[ev]
28 I dread[ew] all my sufferings,[ex]
for[ey] I know that you do not hold me blameless.[ez]
29 If I am guilty,[fa]
why then[fb] weary myself[fc] in vain?[fd]
30 If I wash myself with snow-melt water,[fe]
and make my hands clean with lye,[ff]
31 then you plunge me into a slimy pit[fg]
and my own clothes abhor me.
32 For he[fh] is not a human being like I am,
that[fi] I might answer him,
that we might come[fj] together in judgment.
33 Nor is there an arbiter[fk] between us,
who[fl] might lay[fm] his hand on us both,[fn]
34 who[fo] would take his[fp] rod[fq] away from me
so that his terror[fr] would not make me afraid.
35 Then[fs] would I speak and not fear him,
but it is not so with me.[ft]
An Appeal for Revelation
10 “I[fu] am weary[fv] of my life;
I will complain freely without restraint;[fw]
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn[fx] me;
tell me[fy] why you are contending[fz] with me.’
3 Is it good for you[ga] to oppress,[gb]
to[gc] despise the work of your hands,
while[gd] you smile[ge]
on the schemes of the wicked?
Motivations of God
4 “Do you have eyes of flesh,[gf]
or do you see[gg] as a human being sees?[gh]
5 Are your days like the days of a mortal,
or your years like the years[gi] of a mortal,
6 that[gj] you must search out[gk] my iniquity,
and inquire about my sin,
7 although you know[gl] that I am not guilty,
and that there is no one who can deliver[gm]
out of your hand?
Contradictions in God’s Dealings
8 “Your hands have shaped[gn] me and made me,
but[go] now you destroy me completely.[gp]
9 Remember that you have made me as with[gq] the clay;
will[gr] you return me to dust?
10 Did you not pour[gs] me out like milk,
and curdle[gt] me like cheese?[gu]
11 You clothed[gv] me with skin and flesh
and knit me together[gw] with bones and sinews.
12 You gave me[gx] life and favor,[gy]
and your intervention[gz] watched over my spirit.
13 “But these things[ha] you have concealed in your heart;
I know that this[hb] is with you:[hc]
14 If I sinned, then you would watch me
and you would not acquit me of my iniquity.
15 If I am guilty,[hd] woe[he] to me,
and if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head;[hf]
I am full of shame,[hg]
and satiated with my affliction.[hh]
16 If I lift myself up,[hi]
you hunt me as a fierce lion,[hj]
and again[hk] you display your power[hl] against me.
17 You bring new witnesses[hm] against me,
and increase your anger against me;
relief troops[hn] come against me.
An Appeal for Relief
18 “Why then did you bring me out from the womb?
I should have died[ho]
and no eye would have seen me!
19 I should have been as though I had never existed;[hp]
I should have been carried
right from the womb to the grave!
20 Are not my days few?[hq]
Cease,[hr] then, and leave[hs] me alone[ht]
that I may find a little comfort,[hu]
21 before I depart, never to return,[hv]
to the land of darkness
and the deepest shadow,[hw]
22 to the land of utter darkness,
like the deepest darkness,
and the deepest shadow and disorder,[hx]
where even the light[hy] is like darkness.”[hz]
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
26 Then an angel of the Lord[a] said to Philip,[b] “Get up and go south[c] on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert[d] road.)[e] 27 So[f] he got up[g] and went. There[h] he met[i] an Ethiopian eunuch,[j] a court official of Candace,[k] queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He[l] had come to Jerusalem to worship,[m] 28 and was returning home, sitting[n] in his chariot, reading[o] the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran up[p] to it[q] and heard the man[r] reading the prophet Isaiah. He[s] asked him,[t] “Do you understand what you’re reading?” 31 The man[u] replied, “How in the world can I,[v] unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of scripture the man[w] was reading was this:
“He was led like a sheep to slaughter,
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did[x] not open his mouth.
33 In humiliation[y] justice was taken from him.[z]
Who can describe his posterity?[aa]
For his life was taken away[ab] from the earth.”[ac]
34 Then the eunuch said[ad] to Philip, “Please tell me,[ae] who is the prophet saying this about—himself or someone else?”[af] 35 So Philip started speaking,[ag] and beginning with this scripture[ah] proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. 36 Now as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water! What is to stop me[ai] from being baptized?”[aj] 38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water,[ak] and Philip baptized[al] him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any more, but[am] went on his way rejoicing.[an] 40 Philip, however, found himself[ao] at Azotus,[ap] and as he passed through the area,[aq] he proclaimed the good news[ar] to all the towns[as] until he came to Caesarea.[at]
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