Old/New Testament
Elihu’s Fourth Speech[a]
36 Elihu said further:[b]
2 “Be patient[c] with me a little longer
and I will instruct you,
for I still have words to speak on God’s behalf.[d]
3 With my knowledge I will speak comprehensively,[e]
and to my Creator I will ascribe righteousness.[f]
4 For in truth, my words are not false;
it is one complete[g] in knowledge
who is with you.
5 Indeed, God is mighty; and he does not despise people,[h]
he[i] is mighty, and firm[j] in his intent.[k]
6 He does not allow the wicked to live,[l]
but he gives justice to the poor.
7 He does not take his eyes[m] off the righteous;
but with kings on the throne
he seats the righteous[n] and exalts them forever.[o]
8 But if they are bound in chains,[p]
and held captive by the cords of affliction,
9 then he reveals[q] to them what they have done,[r]
and their transgressions,
that they were behaving proudly.
10 And he reveals[s] this[t] for correction,
and says that they must turn[u] from evil.
11 If they obey and serve him,
they live out their days in prosperity
and their years in pleasantness.[v]
12 But if they refuse to listen,
they pass over the river of death,[w]
and expire without knowledge.
13 The godless at heart[x] nourish anger,[y]
they do not cry out even when he binds them.
14 They die[z] in their youth,
and their life ends among the male cultic prostitutes.[aa]
15 He delivers the afflicted by[ab] their[ac] afflictions,
he reveals himself to them[ad] by their suffering.
16 And surely, he drew you[ae] from the mouth of distress,
to a wide place, unrestricted,[af]
and to the comfort[ag] of your table
filled with rich food.[ah]
17 But now you are preoccupied with the judgment due the wicked,
judgment and justice take hold of you.
18 Be careful that[ai] no one entices you with riches;
do not let a large bribe[aj] turn you aside.
19 Would your wealth[ak] sustain you,
so that you would not be in distress,[al]
even all your mighty efforts?[am]
20 Do not long for the cover of night
to drag people away from their homes.[an]
21 Take heed, do not turn to evil,
for because of this you have been tested[ao] by affliction.
22 Indeed, God is exalted in his power;
who is a teacher[ap] like him?
23 Who has prescribed his ways for him?
Or said to him, ‘You have done what is wicked’?
24 Remember to extol[aq] his work,
which people have praised in song.
25 All humanity has seen it;
people gaze on it from afar.
The Work and Wisdom of God
26 “Yes, God is great—beyond our knowledge![ar]
The number of his years is unsearchable.
27 He draws up drops of water;
they distill[as] the rain into its mist,[at]
28 which the clouds pour down
and shower on humankind abundantly.
29 Who can understand the spreading of the clouds,
the thunderings of his pavilion?[au]
30 See how he scattered[av] his lightning[aw] about him;
he has covered the depths[ax] of the sea.
31 It is by these that he judges[ay] the nations
and supplies food in abundance.
32 With his hands[az] he covers[ba] the lightning,
and directs it against its target.
33 [bb] His thunder announces the coming storm,
the cattle also, concerning the storm’s approach.[bc]
37 At this also my heart pounds
and leaps from its place.
2 Listen carefully[bd] to the thunder of his voice,
to the rumbling[be] that proceeds from his mouth.
3 Under the whole heaven he lets it go,
even his lightning to the far corners[bf] of the earth.
4 After that a voice roars;
he thunders with an exalted voice,
and he does not hold back his lightning bolts[bg]
when his voice is heard.
5 God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways;[bh]
he does great things beyond our understanding.[bi]
6 For to the snow he says, ‘Fall[bj] to earth,’
and to the torrential rains,[bk] ‘Pour down.’[bl]
7 He causes everyone to stop working,[bm]
so that all people[bn] may know[bo] his work.
8 The wild animals go to their lairs,
and in their dens they remain.
9 A tempest blows out from its chamber,
icy cold from the driving winds.[bp]
10 The breath of God produces ice,
and the breadth of the waters freeze solid.
11 He loads the clouds with moisture;[bq]
he scatters his lightning through the clouds.
12 The clouds[br] go round in circles,
wheeling about according to his plans,
to carry out[bs] all that he commands them
over the face of the whole inhabited world.
13 Whether it is for punishment,[bt]
or for his land,
or for mercy,
he causes it to find its mark.[bu]
14 “Pay attention to this, Job!
Stand still and consider the wonders God works.
15 Do you know how God commands them,[bv]
how he makes lightning flash in his storm cloud?[bw]
16 Do you know about the balancing[bx] of the clouds,
that wondrous activity of him who is perfect in knowledge?
17 You, whose garments are hot
when the earth is still because of the south wind,
18 will you, with him, spread out[by] the clouds,
solid as a mirror of molten metal?
19 Tell us what we should[bz] say to him.
We cannot prepare a case[ca]
because of the darkness.
20 Should he be informed that I want[cb] to speak?
If a man speaks, surely he will be swallowed up!
21 But now, the sun[cc] cannot be looked at[cd]—
it is bright in the skies—
after a wind passed and swept the clouds away.[ce]
22 From the north he comes in golden splendor;[cf]
around God is awesome majesty.
23 As for the Almighty,[cg] we cannot attain to him!
He is great in power,
but justice[ch] and abundant righteousness he does not oppress.
24 Therefore people fear him,
for he does not regard all the wise in heart.”[ci]
22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided[a] to send men chosen from among them, Judas called Barsabbas and Silas,[b] leaders among the brothers, to Antioch[c] with Paul and Barnabas. 23 They sent this letter with them:[d]
From the apostles[e] and elders, your brothers,[f] to the Gentile brothers and sisters[g] in Antioch,[h] Syria,[i] and Cilicia, greetings! 24 Since we have heard that some have gone out from among us with no orders from us and have confused[j] you, upsetting[k] your minds[l] by what they said,[m] 25 we have unanimously[n] decided[o] to choose men to send to you along with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul, 26 who[p] have risked their lives[q] for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.[r] 27 Therefore we are sending[s] Judas and Silas[t] who will tell you these things themselves in person.[u] 28 For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us[v] not to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules:[w] 29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols[x] and from blood and from what has been strangled[y] and from sexual immorality.[z] If you keep yourselves from doing these things,[aa] you will do well. Farewell.[ab]
30 So when they were dismissed,[ac] they went down to Antioch,[ad] and after gathering the entire group[ae] together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they read it aloud,[af] the people[ag] rejoiced at its encouragement.[ah] 32 Both Judas and Silas, who were prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with a long speech.[ai] 33 After[aj] they had spent some time there,[ak] they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.[al] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch,[am] teaching and proclaiming (along with many others)[an] the word of the Lord.[ao]
Paul and Barnabas Part Company
36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return[ap] and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord[aq] to see how they are doing.”[ar] 37 Barnabas wanted to bring John called Mark along with them too, 38 but Paul insisted[as] that they should not take along this one who had left them in Pamphylia[at] and had not accompanied them in the work. 39 They had[au] a sharp disagreement,[av] so that they parted company. Barnabas took along[aw] Mark and sailed away to Cyprus,[ax] 40 but Paul chose Silas and set out, commended[ay] to the grace of the Lord by the brothers and sisters.[az] 41 He passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening[ba] the churches.
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