Old/New Testament
Third Cycle of Speeches[a]
Eliphaz’s Third Speech
Chapter 22
Is God Punishing You for Your Piety?[b] 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded:
2 “Can anyone be of the slightest interest to God,
even if that person is recognized for his wisdom?
3 Does the Almighty derive any pleasure if you are righteous?
Does he profit if you lead a blameless life?
4 Is he punishing you for your piety
and therefore will bring you to justice?
5 Is not your wickedness great?
Is there any limit to your iniquities?
The Injustice Job Has Committed[c]
6 “You have exacted pledges from your brothers as security
and left them naked, stripped of their clothing.[d]
7 To the thirsty you offered no water to drink,
and you withheld bread from those who were starving.
8 Should the land belong only to the powerful?
Are only those who are favored allowed to dwell in it?
9 “You have sent widows away empty-handed
and left orphans without any means of support.
10 That is why snares surround you
and sudden terror causes you to cringe,
11 why light has turned to darkness, leaving you unable to see,
and flood waters envelop you.
The Unbelief of Job
12 “Does not God who dwells in the heights of the heavens
behold how lofty are the highest stars?
13 Even so, you say, ‘What does God know?
How can he possibly judge through such deep darkness?
14 He cannot possibly see through the thick clouds
as he roams through the vault of the heavens.’
15 “Will you still continue to follow the ancient way
that those who are wicked have trod?
16 They were snatched away before their time;
their foundations were swept away by a flood.[e]
17 They had said to God, ‘Leave us alone!’
and thought, ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’
18 “Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,
even though his plans and theirs were diametrically opposed.
19 The upright rejoice at witnessing such a spectacle,
and the innocent deride them:
20 ‘See how our enemies have been destroyed,
and what remained of their wealth has been consumed by fire.’[f]
If You Return to the Almighty . . .
21 “Come to terms with God and be reconciled.
In this way good fortune will come to you.
22 Accept the instruction from his lips
and keep his words in your heart.[g]
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;
if you remove iniquity from your tent
24 and treat gold as if it were only dust
and the gold of Ophir[h] as pebbles from the stream,
25 then the Almighty himself will be your gold
and your precious silver.
26 “For then the Almighty will be your delight
and you will lift up your face to God.
27 You will pray to him and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
28 Whatever decision you make will be successful,
and light will shine along your path.
29 For God brings low the arrogant
while he saves the humble.
30 He delivers anyone who is innocent;
if your hands are clean, you will be saved.”
Job’s Seventh Response
Chapter 23
If Only I Knew Where To Find God![i] 1 Job then answered with these words:
2 “My complaint remains bitter;
despite my groans, God’s hand lies heavy on me.
3 Oh, if only I knew where to find him
so that I might discover his dwelling.
4 I would present my case before him
and state arguments in my defense.
5 “Then I would learn what he would answer me,
and contemplate his words to me.
6 He would not use his power to contend with me;
he would only need to consider my arguments.
7 There an upright man could reason with him,
and I would receive a verdict of acquittal.
8 [j]“But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I cannot behold him.
9 When I seek him in the north, I cannot find him;
when I turn to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.
God Has Caused My Courage To Fail[k]
10 “And yet he is aware of everywhere I go;
if he were to test me, I would emerge like pure gold.
11 My footsteps have not strayed from the path he established;
I have followed his way and never turned aside.
12 I have not strayed from the commandments of his lips;
I have treasured in my heart the words of his mouth.
13 But once he has made a decision, who can oppose him?
Whatever he desires, that he does.
14 He will not turn aside from what he has planned for me,
as is true of all his other decrees.
15 “That is why I am in such fear of him;
whenever I think of him, I am terrified.
16 God has caused my courage to fail;
the Almighty has filled me with dread.
17 For darkness hides me from him,
and obscurity veils his presence from me.
Chapter 24
The Injustice Crying Out in the World[l]
1 “The actual day of judgment is known by the Almighty;
why does he not reveal it to his faithful?[m]
2 Those who are wicked move boundary stones;
they seize flocks and pasture them.
3 They drive off the donkey belonging to the orphan;
they take away the widow’s ox as security.
4 They push aside the needy off the road;
those who are destitute are forced into hiding.
5 “Like wild donkeys of the wilderness
the poor go forth at dawn
searching the wasteland for food
with which to feed their children.
6 In the fields they reap what is not theirs
and steal from the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Without clothing, they spend the night naked,
lacking anything to shelter them from the cold.
8 They are soaked by the mountain rain
and cling to the rocks as a source of shelter.
9 “The fatherless child is snatched from the breast
and carried off as a pledge of security.
10 They go about their work naked, without clothing;
despite their hunger they carry the sheaves.
11 Along the pathways they press out the oil;
they tread the winepresses but themselves suffer thirst.
12 From the town the groans of the dying are heard,
and those who are wounded cry out for help,
yet God remains deaf to their prayer.
13 “There also are those who rebel against the light;
they are ignorant of its ways
and refuse to frequent its paths.
14 When nightfall descends, the murderer arises
to slay the poor and the needy;
during the night he steals forth like a thief.
15 “The eye of the adulterer also waits eagerly for twilight,
thinking, ‘No eye will see me.’
16 In the darkness men break into houses,
but during the day they shut themselves in,
for they are strangers to daylight.
17 Deep darkness is morning to them;
they only feel comfortable amid the terrors of the night.
God Carefully Monitors the Conduct of the Mighty[n]
18 “Such men are debris on the surface of the water;
their portion in the land is accursed,
and no laborer will toil in their vineyards.
19 As drought and heat melt the snow,
so does the netherworld cause sinners to disappear.
20 The womb that shaped them remembers them no more,
and the worm sucks them dry.
21 “They maltreat the barren and childless woman
and show no kindness to the widow.
22 God may sustain the mighty through his strength,
but he carefully monitors their conduct.
23 He grants them a sense of security,
but his eyes are fixed on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a while,
and then they are gone;
they wither and fade like a flower,
shriveling up like ears of grain.
25 “If all this is not true, who will prove me wrong
and show that my words are sheer nonsense?”
Chapter 11
Peter’s Explanation of Cornelius’ Baptism. 1 The apostles and the brethren in Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God. 2 Therefore, when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers protested to him, 3 saying, “Why did you enter the house of uncircumcised men and eat with them?”
4 Peter replied by explaining the facts to them step by step, saying, 5 “While I was praying one day in the city of Joppa, I fell into a trance and had a vision. I saw something like a large sheet lowered down from heaven by its four corners, and it landed close to me.
6 “I looked into it carefully and observed four-footed animals, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds. 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!’ 8 But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord. For nothing profane or unclean has ever been in my mouth.’ 9 But the voice spoke to me from heaven for a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ 10 This happened three times, and then everything was taken up into heaven again.
11 “At that very moment, three men arrived at the house where we were staying. They had been sent to me from Caesarea. 12 The Spirit instructed me to go with them without any hesitation. These six brethren also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house who said, ‘Send to Joppa and ask for Simon who is also called Peter. 14 He will give you a message that will grant salvation to you and your entire household.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit descended upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning, 16 and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave them the same gift that he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to oppose God?”
18 When they heard this, they held their peace, and they praised God, saying, “God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
19 A Church at Antioch.[a] Meanwhile, those who had scattered after the persecution that arose because of Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia,[b] Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word only to Jews. 20 However, among them there were some natives of Cyprus and Cyrene who went to Antioch where they started preaching also to the Greeks, proclaiming to them the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of them became believers and turned to the Lord.
22 News of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and perceived the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with resolute devotion, 24 for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number of people were added to the Lord.
25 Barnabas then went to Tarsus[c] to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
Threats against the Church[d]
27 A Famine in the World.[e] During these days, some prophets[f] came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a severe famine would afflict the entire world. This in fact occurred during the reign of Claudius. 29 The disciples decided to send relief to the brethren living in Judea, each according to his means. 30 This they did, delivering it to the elders[g] through Barnabas and Saul.
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