Old/New Testament
Chapter 17
Where Then Will My Hope Be?[a]
1 “My spirit is broken,
my days are numbered,
and the grave is ready to receive me.
2 I am surrounded by mockers who taunt me,
and my eyes dwell on their hostility.
3 “I call upon you to be a witness on my behalf,
for there is no one else to whom I can turn.
4 You have closed the minds of others to reason,
but surely you will not allow them to triumph.
5 “Like a man who invites others to dine with him,
while the eyes of his children are failing,[b]
6 I have become a byword in every land,
someone people spit upon.
7 My eyes have become increasingly blinded with grief,
and all my members have been reduced to a shadow.
8 [c]The righteous are appalled at this,
and the innocent are indignant at the wicked.
9 The upright continue to adhere to a righteous path,
and those whose hands are pure will grow stronger.
10 “Even so, come forward, all of you, and continue your attack.
I will not find even one man among you who is wise.
11 My days have passed and my plans are foiled;
the strings of my heart have been severed.
12 My enemies would have me believe that night is day
and that the light will soon eradicate the darkness.
13 “If I foresee the netherworld as my dwelling,
if I spread out my bed in the darkness,
14 if I call the grave my father
and the worm my mother or my sister,
15 where then will my hope be,
and who can foresee any happiness for me?
16 Will they accompany me to the netherworld?
Will we descend together into the dust?”
Bildad’s Second Speech[d]
Chapter 18
The Light of the Wicked Is Extinguished.
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite responded:
2 “When will you cease this torrent of words?
Once you start to think rationally,
then we can have a sensible discussion.
3 Why do you treat us like animals
and regard us as ignorant?
4 In your anger you tear yourself to pieces,
but the earth will not be forsaken on your account,
nor will a single rock be moved from its place.
5 “The light of the wicked is extinguished,
and the flame of his fire no longer shines.
6 The light in his tent begins to fade
and the lamp above him is put out.
7 His vigorous stride begins to falter
and his own plans fail miserably.
8 He rushes headlong into a net,
and his feet are ensnared.
9 “A trap seizes him by the heel,
leaving him unable to escape.
10 A noose lies hidden on the ground for him;
pitfalls lie across his path.
11 Terrors alarm him on every side,
hounding his every step.
12 His strength is weakened by hunger,
and disaster awaits him on all sides.
13 “His skin is eaten away by disease;
the firstborn of death devours his limbs.[e]
14 He is dragged from the security of his tent
and carted off to the king of terrors.[f]
15 Anyone can live in his tent since it is no longer his;
brimstone[g] is scattered over his dwelling.
16 His roots dry up below,
and his branches wither above.
17 “All memory of him vanishes from the earth;
his name is quickly forgotten.
18 He is thrust from light into darkness
and banished from the world.
19 He leaves no offspring or posterity among his people;
there is no survivor where he once lived.
20 Inhabitants of the west are appalled at his fate,
while those of the east are struck with horror.
21 Such indeed is the dwelling of the impious;
such is the home of everyone who cares nothing for God.”
Job’s Fifth Response[h]
Chapter 19
God Has Wronged Me.[i] 1 Job then answered with these words:
2 “How much longer will you torment me
and oppress me with your words?
3 You have reproached me now ten times,
and you mistreat me shamelessly.
4 And even if it were true that I have erred,
the fault would be completely mine.
5 “If indeed you want to exalt yourselves above me
and use my humiliation against me,
6 know that God has wronged me
and cast his net over me.
7 Even when I protest that I have been wronged,
no one comes forward to support me,
and I receive no justice when I cry out for help.
8 “He has blocked my path so that I cannot pass,
and he has shrouded my way in darkness.
9 He has deprived me of my honor
and removed the crown from my head.
10 He assails me on every side until I succumb;
he has uprooted my hope like a tree.
11 He has inflamed his anger against me
and looks upon me as his enemy.
12 His troops move forward as a single force;
they have surrounded me with siegeworks
and encamped around my tent.
13 “He has caused my brethren to turn against me;
my friends are completely estranged from me.
14 My relatives and my companions now ignore me,
and those who were guests in my house have forgotten me.
15 Even my serving girls regard me as a stranger;
I have become an alien in their eyes.
16 When I summon my servant, he does not respond,
no matter how much I plead with him.
17 “My wife finds my breath repulsive;
my stench is loathsome to my relatives.
18 Even young children despise me;[j]
when I approach, they turn their backs on me.
19 All of my dearest friends abhor me;
those I love have turned against me.
20 I have become just skin and bones
and have escaped with only my gums.[k]
21 “Have pity on me, my friends, have pity on me,
for the hand of God has touched me.
22 Must you pursue me just as God does?
Will not my flesh ever be enough to satisfy you?[l]
I Know That My Redeemer Lives[m]
23 “How I wish that my words might be written down
and inscribed on a scroll!
24 How I wish that with an iron chisel and with lead
they were engraved in stone forever!
25 “But I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that at the end he will stand upon the dust.
26 After my awakening, he will call me close to him,
and then from my own flesh I will see God.
27 I will see him with my own eyes;
my eyes, not those of another, will behold him.
How my heart within me yearns for that moment!
28 “As for you who say,
‘How we will persecute him,
for the root of the trouble lies in him,’
29 beware of the sword that is pointed toward you,
for the avenger of wickedness is the sword,
and then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.”
Baptism of the Centurion Cornelius
Chapter 10
The Vision of Cornelius.[a] 1 In Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius who was a centurion of the so-called Italian cohort.[b] 2 He was a devout and God-fearing man, as were all the members of his household. He gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.
3 One afternoon about three o’clock,[c] he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God approaching him and calling to him, “Cornelius!” 4 He stared at him in terror and asked, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel said, “Your prayers and acts of charity have ascended as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send some men to Joppa and summon a man named Simon, who is also called Peter. 6 He is lodging with another Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier on his staff. 8 He told them all that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
The Vision of Peter.[d] 9 About noon[e] the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He then saw heaven opened and something that looked like a large sheet descending, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals as well as reptiles and birds of the air.
13 A voice then said to him, “Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord. For I have never eaten anything profane or unclean.” 15 The voice spoke again to him, for a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” 16 This happened three times, and then immediately the object was taken up into heaven again.
17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision he had seen, suddenly the men who were sent by Cornelius appeared. They had asked for directions to Simon’s house, and now they were standing at the entrance 18 and inquiring whether Simon known as Peter was lodging there.
19 As Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Some men have come to see you. 20 Hurry down and go with them without any hesitation, for I have sent them.”
21 Then Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason you have come?” 22 They replied, “A centurion named Cornelius, who is greatly respected by the entire Jewish nation as an upright and Godfearing man, was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23 So he invited them in and gave them lodging.
The next day, he set out with them, accompanied by some of the brethren from Joppa.
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