Old/New Testament
Job’s Present Misery
30 “But now they mock me, those who are younger[a] than I,
whose fathers I disdained too much[b]
to put with my sheep dogs.[c]
2 Moreover, the strength of their[d] hands—
what use was it to me?
Those whose strength[e] had perished,
3 gaunt[f] with want and hunger,
they would roam[g] the parched land,
by night a desolate waste.[h]
4 By the brush[i] they would gather[j] herbs from the salt marshes,[k]
and the root of the broom tree was their food.
5 They were banished from the community[l]—
people[m] shouted at them
as they would shout at thieves[n]—
6 so that they had to live[o]
in the dry stream beds,[p]
in the holes of the ground, and among the rocks.
7 They brayed[q] like animals among the bushes
and were huddled together[r] under the nettles.
8 Sons of senseless and nameless people,[s]
they were driven out of the land with whips.[t]
Job’s Indignities
9 “And now I have become their taunt song;
I have become a byword[u] among them.
10 They detest me and maintain their distance;[v]
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.
11 Because God has untied[w] my tent cord and afflicted me,
people throw off all restraint in my presence.[x]
12 On my right the young rabble[y] rise up;
they drive me from place to place,[z]
and build up siege ramps[aa] against me.[ab]
13 They destroy[ac] my path;
they succeed in destroying me[ad]
without anyone assisting[ae] them.
14 They come in as through a wide breach;
amid the crash[af] they come rolling in.[ag]
15 Terrors are turned loose[ah] on me;
they drive away[ai] my honor like the wind,
and as a cloud my deliverance has passed away.
Job’s Despondency
16 “And now my soul pours itself out within me;[aj]
days of suffering take hold of me.
17 Night pierces[ak] my bones;[al]
my gnawing pains[am] never cease.
18 With great power God[an] grasps my clothing;[ao]
he binds me like the collar[ap] of my tunic.
19 He has flung me into the mud,
and I have come to resemble dust and ashes.
20 I cry out to you,[aq] but you do not answer me;
I stand up,[ar] and you only look at me.[as]
21 You have become cruel to me;[at]
with the strength of your hand you attack me.[au]
22 You pick me up on the wind and make me ride on it;[av]
you toss me about[aw] in the storm.[ax]
23 I know that you are bringing[ay] me to death,
to the meeting place for all the living.
The Contrast With the Past
24 “Surely one does not stretch out his hand
against a broken man[az]
when he cries for help in his distress.[ba]
25 Have I not wept for the unfortunate?[bb]
Was not my soul grieved for the poor?
26 But when I hoped for good, trouble came;
when I expected light, then darkness came.
27 My heart[bc] is in turmoil[bd] unceasingly;[be]
the days of my affliction confront me.
28 I go about blackened,[bf] but not by the sun;
in the assembly I stand up and cry for help.
29 I have become a brother to jackals
and a companion of ostriches.[bg]
30 My skin has turned dark on me;[bh]
my body[bi] is hot with fever.[bj]
31 My harp is used for[bk] mourning
and my flute for the sound of weeping.
Job Vindicates Himself
31 “I made a covenant with[bl] my eyes;
how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin?[bm]
2 What then would be one’s lot from God above,
one’s heritage from the Almighty[bn] on high?
3 Is it not misfortune for the unjust,
and disaster for those who work iniquity?
4 Does he not see my ways
and count all my steps?
5 If[bo] I have walked in falsehood,
and if[bp] my foot has hastened[bq] to deceit—
6 let him[br] weigh me with honest[bs] scales;
then God will discover[bt] my integrity.
7 If my footsteps have strayed from the way,
if my heart has gone after my eyes,[bu]
or if anything[bv] has defiled my hands,
8 then let me sow[bw] and let another eat,
and let my crops[bx] be uprooted.
9 If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,[by]
10 then let my wife turn the millstone[bz] for another man,
and may other men commit adultery with her.[ca]
11 For I would have committed[cb] a shameful act,[cc]
an iniquity to be judged.[cd]
12 For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction,[ce]
and it would uproot[cf] all my harvest.
13 “If I have disregarded the right of my male servants
or my female servants
when they disputed[cg] with me,
14 then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment;[ch]
when he intervenes,[ci]
how will I respond to him?
15 Did not the one who made me in the womb make them?[cj]
Did not the same one form us in the womb?
16 If I have refused to give the poor what they desired,[ck]
or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17 If I ate my morsel of bread myself,
and did not share any of it with orphans[cl]—
18 but from my youth I raised the orphan[cm] like a father,
and from my mother’s womb[cn] I guided the widow[co]—
19 If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing,
or a poor man without a coat,
20 whose heart did not bless me[cp]
as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep,[cq]
21 if I have raised my hand[cr] to vote against the orphan,
when I saw my support in the court,[cs]
22 then[ct] let my arm fall from the shoulder,[cu]
let my arm be broken off at the socket.[cv]
23 For the calamity from God was a terror to me,[cw]
and by reason of his majesty[cx] I was powerless.
24 “If I have put my confidence in gold
or said to pure gold,
‘You are my security!’
25 if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth,
or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,
26 if I looked at the sun[cy] when it was shining,
and the moon advancing as a precious thing,
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed,
and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth,[cz]
28 then this[da] also would be iniquity to be judged,[db]
for I would have been false[dc] to God above.
29 If[dd] I have rejoiced over the misfortune of my enemy[de]
or exulted[df] because calamity[dg] found him—
30 I[dh] have not even permitted my mouth[di] to sin
by asking[dj] for his life through a curse—
31 if[dk] the members of my household[dl] have never said,[dm]
‘If only there were[dn] someone
who has not been satisfied from Job’s[do] meat!’—
32 But[dp] no stranger[dq] had to spend the night outside,
for I opened my doors to the traveler[dr]—
33 if[ds] I have covered my transgressions as men do,[dt]
by hiding[du] iniquity in my heart,[dv]
34 because I was terrified[dw] of the great multitude,[dx]
and the contempt of families terrified me,
so that I remained silent
and would not go outdoors—
Job’s Appeal
35 “If only I had[dy] someone to hear me!
Here is my signature[dz]—
let the Almighty answer me!
If only I had an indictment[ea]
that my accuser had written.[eb]
36 Surely[ec] I would wear it proudly[ed] on my shoulder,
I would bind[ee] it on me like a crown;
37 I would give him an accounting of my steps;
like a prince I would draw near to him.
Job’s Final Solemn Oath[ef]
38 “If my land cried out against me[eg]
and all its furrows wept together,
39 if I have eaten its produce without paying,[eh]
or caused the death[ei] of its owners,[ej]
40 then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat,
and in place of barley, noxious weeds.”[ek]
The words of Job are ended.
26 Brothers,[a] descendants[b] of Abraham’s family,[c] and those Gentiles among you who fear God,[d] the message[e] of this salvation has been sent to us. 27 For the people who live in Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize[f] him,[g] and they fulfilled the sayings[h] of the prophets that are read every Sabbath by condemning[i] him.[j] 28 Though[k] they found[l] no basis[m] for a death sentence,[n] they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 When they had accomplished[o] everything that was written[p] about him, they took him down[q] from the cross[r] and placed him[s] in a tomb. 30 But God raised[t] him from the dead, 31 and[u] for many days he appeared to those who had accompanied[v] him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These[w] are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we proclaim to you the good news about the promise to our ancestors,[x] 33 that this promise[y] God has fulfilled to us, their children, by raising[z] Jesus, as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son;[aa] today I have fathered you.’[ab] 34 But regarding the fact that he has raised Jesus[ac] from the dead, never[ad] again to be[ae] in a state of decay, God[af] has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you[ag] the holy and trustworthy promises[ah] made to David.’[ai] 35 Therefore he also says in another psalm,[aj] ‘You will not permit your Holy One[ak] to experience[al] decay.’[am] 36 For David, after he had served[an] God’s purpose in his own generation, died,[ao] was buried with his ancestors,[ap] and experienced[aq] decay, 37 but the one[ar] whom God raised up did not experience[as] decay. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through this one[at] forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by this one[au] everyone who believes is justified[av] from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify[aw] you.[ax] 40 Watch out,[ay] then, that what is spoken about by[az] the prophets does not happen to you:
41 ‘Look, you scoffers; be amazed and perish![ba]
For I am doing a work in your days,
a work you would never believe, even if someone tells you.’”[bb]
42 As Paul and Barnabas[bc] were going out,[bd] the people[be] were urging[bf] them to speak about these things[bg] on the next Sabbath. 43 When the meeting of the synagogue[bh] had broken up,[bi] many of the Jews and God-fearing proselytes[bj] followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and were persuading[bk] them[bl] to continue[bm] in the grace of God.
44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city assembled together to hear the word of the Lord.[bn] 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy,[bo] and they began to contradict[bp] what Paul was saying[bq] by reviling him.[br] 46 Both Paul and Barnabas replied courageously,[bs] “It was necessary to speak the word of God[bt] to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy[bu] of eternal life, we[bv] are turning to the Gentiles.[bw] 47 For this[bx] is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have appointed[by] you to be a light[bz] for the Gentiles, to bring salvation[ca] to the ends of the earth.’”[cb] 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice[cc] and praise[cd] the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life[ce] believed. 49 So the word of the Lord was spreading[cf] through the entire region. 50 But the Jews incited[cg] the God-fearing women of high social standing and the prominent men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out[ch] of their region. 51 So after they shook[ci] the dust off their feet[cj] in protest against them, they went to Iconium.[ck] 52 And the disciples were filled with joy[cl] and with the Holy Spirit.
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