Old/New Testament
Bildad’s First Speech[a]
Chapter 8
Does God Pervert Justice?[b] 1 Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said:
2 “How long will you say such things?
The words of your mouth are like a turbulent wind.
3 Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty distort the truth?
4 If your children sinned against him,
he has delivered them into the power of their transgressions.
5 “If you yourself will now seek God
as one who is pure and upright
and make supplication to the Almighty,
6 then he will rouse himself on your behalf
and restore the prosperity of your house.
7 Your former state will seem inconsequential
in the light of your future prosperity.
Inquire Now of Former Generations
8 “Inquire now of former generations
and reflect on what their ancestors came to realize.
9 For we are only born yesterday and know nothing,
since our days on earth are but a shadow.[c]
10 Will they not instruct you and tell you,
and utter words out of their understanding?
11 “Can a papyrus flourish where there is no marsh?
Can reeds grow without water?
12 While yet green and not cut down,
they wither more quickly than any plant.
13 Such is the fate of all those who forget God;
thus the hope of the godless man will perish.
14 His confidence is only a thread,
his trust a spider’s web.
15 If he leans against his house, it will begin to totter;
if he clings to it, it will not endure.
16 “At dawn he seems quite strong and virile,
like a plant whose young roots spread out over the garden.
17 His roots are entwined around a pile of stones;
he draws his strength from among the rocks.
18 But if someone uproots him from his place,
it will disown him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’
19 There he lies, rotting along the roadside,[d]
and others will sprout forth from the soil.
20 “Be assured, God will not reject a blameless person,
nor will he grasp the hand of the wrongdoer.
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with joyful cries.
22 Those who hate you will be covered with shame,
and the tent of the wicked will cease to exist.”
Job’s Second Response[e]
Chapter 9
The Irresistible Power of God.[f] 1 Job then answered with these words:
2 “Indeed, I realize that this is true,
but how can anyone claim to be righteous before God?
3 If someone wished to debate with him,
he could not answer him once in a thousand.
4 God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
who then has resisted him and remained unscathed?
5 “He moves mountains without their realizing it
and overturns them in his anger.
6 He shakes the earth out of its place,
and makes its pillars tremble.
7 He commands the sun, and it does not rise;
he seals up the light of the stars.
8 He alone stretches out the heavens
and tramples upon the waves of the sea.
9 He made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades[g] and the constellations of the South.
10 “God performs deeds that are beyond understanding
and marvels that cannot be numbered.
11 If he passes near me, I do not see him;
he moves on, imperceptible to me.
12 If he snatches something away, who can stop him?
Who will dare to ask him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 God will not relent in his wrath;
the servants of Rahab lie prostrate at his feet.
Even If I Am Innocent, How Can I Answer God?[h]
14 “How then can I possibly reply to him
or devise arguments to counter him?
15 Even if I am innocent, how can I answer him?
I can only plead that he have mercy on me.
16 “Even if I summoned him and he responded,
I do not believe that he would listen to what I said.
17 He might crush me in a tempest
and multiply my wounds without cause.
18 He might leave me no opportunity to regain my breath
and fill me with bitterness.
19 “If it is a contest of strength,
I cannot compete with him.
If it is a matter of judgment,
who can summon him to present his evidence?
20 Even though I am innocent,
my own mouth might condemn me.
Even though I am blameless,
he might prove me guilty.
21 But am I without blame?
I am no longer certain.
Life itself I despise.
22 “It is all the same; that is why I say,
‘He destroys both the innocent and the wicked.’
23 When a deadly scourge suddenly appears,
he mocks the despair of the innocent.
24 When the earth is given into the hands of the wicked,
he blindfolds the eyes of its judges.[i]
If it is not he who does so,
then who else is responsible?
There Is No Arbiter To Judge between God and Me
25 “My days pass more swiftly than a runner;
they fly away without any experience of happiness.
26 They skim past like boats of papyrus,
like an eagle swooping upon its prey.
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaints,
I will put on a cheerful face instead of a sad countenance,’
28 I will still dread my sufferings,
for I know that you will not hold me innocent.
29 “If I am to be condemned as guilty,
why then should I struggle in vain?
30 If I should wash myself with snow
and cleanse my hands with lye,
31 you would plunge me into a dung-filled ditch
so that even my clothes would abhor me.
32 “For God is not a man like me,
someone before whom I can plead my case
or whom I can confront in a court.
33 There is no arbiter to judge between us
with the power to render a verdict,
34 someone who could remove God’s rod from me
so that I would not shrink from him in terror.
35 Then I would speak out without fear of him,
for I know I am not what I am thought to be.
Chapter 10
Tell Me Why![j]
1 “I loathe my very life;
therefore I will give free rein to my complaints
and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God: ‘Do not condemn me,
but simply let me know what is your charge against me.
3 Do you get any joy in oppressing me,
spurning the work of your own hands
while approving the schemes of the wicked?
4 “ ‘Do you have eyes of flesh?
Do you see as a mortal sees?
5 Are your days like those of a mortal,
or your years like those of a man,
6 that you investigate my iniquity
and keep a record of my sins,
7 even though you know that I am innocent
and have no one to rescue me from your hand?
I Realize What Was Your Intent[k]
8 “ ‘Your hands created and fashioned me;
will you now turn away and destroy me?
9 Remember that you fashioned me like clay;
will you now reduce me again to dust?
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese?
11 You clothed me with skin and flesh
and knit me together with bones and sinews.
12 “ ‘You have given me life and kindness,
and in your providence you have preserved my spirit.
13 Yet within your heart you had a secret plan,
and I realize what was your intent:
14 you would be watching me,
and if I sinned, you would not absolve me of my guilt.
15 “ ‘Woe to me if I should be wicked.
Even if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head,
for I am filled with shame
and bent over with affliction.
16 Should I lift up my head, you hunt me like a proud lion,
confronting me time and again with your awesome power.
17 You renew your onslaughts against me,
your fury increasing incessantly
as fresh troops assail me wave after wave.
Let Me Alone So That I May Have a Few Moments of Happiness
18 “ ‘Why did you bring me forth from the womb?
It would have been better if I had died
before an eye had beheld me,
19 and had been carried from the womb to the grave
as though I had never existed.
20 Do I not have but a few remaining days of life?
Let me alone so that I may have a few moments of happiness
21 before I go to the place of no return,
to the land of gloom and darkness,
22 to the land of deepest night,
a land of gloom and disorder,
where even the light is like darkness.’ ”
26 Baptism of a High Official.[a] Then the angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and head south along the road that leads from Jerusalem down to Gaza, the desert road.” 27 Therefore, he got up and set out.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,[b] an official at the court of the Candace, that is, the queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was now returning home. As he sat in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join that chariot.” 30 When Philip ran up, he heard him reading from the prophet Isaiah, and he asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 He replied, “How can I, unless I have someone to instruct me?” Then he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.
32 This was the Scripture passage he had been reading:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter;
like a lamb that is silent before its shearer
he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will be able to speak of his posterity?
For his life on earth has been taken away.”
34 Then the eunuch said to Philip, “Please tell me, about whom is the prophet speaking—about himself or someone else?” 35 And so Philip, starting with this text of Scripture, proceeded to explain to him the good news of Jesus.
36 As they were traveling along the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, here is some water. What is to prevent me from being baptized?” [ 37 And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch said in reply, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”][c] 38 Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and he baptized him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but he went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared in Azotus[d] and continued his journey, proclaiming the good news in every town until he reached Caesarea.
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