Old/New Testament
VI. The Divine Speeches (38:1-42:6)
The Lord’s First Speech[a]
38 Then the Lord answered[b] Job out of the whirlwind:[c]
2 “Who is this[d] who darkens counsel[e]
with words without knowledge?
3 Get ready for a difficult task[f] like a man;
I will question you
and you will inform me.
God’s questions to Job
4 “Where were you
when I laid the foundation[g] of the earth?
Tell me,[h] if you possess understanding.
5 Who set its measurements—if[i] you know—
or who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what[j] were its bases[k] set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 when the morning stars[l] sang[m] in chorus,[n]
and all the sons of God[o] shouted for joy?
8 “Who shut up[p] the sea with doors
when it burst forth,[q] coming out of the womb,
9 when I made[r] the storm clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,[s]
10 when I prescribed[t] its limits,
and set in place[u] its bolts and doors,
11 when I said, ‘To here you may come[v]
and no farther,[w]
here your proud waves will be confined’?[x]
12 Have you ever in your life[y] commanded the morning,
or made the dawn know[z] its place,
13 that it might seize the corners of the earth,[aa]
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;[ab]
its features[ac] are dyed[ad] like a garment.
15 Then from the wicked the light is withheld,
and the arm raised in violence[ae] is broken.[af]
16 Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea,[ag]
or walked about in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you?[ah]
Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness?[ai]
18 Have you considered the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know it all.
19 “In what direction[aj] does light reside,
and darkness, where is its place,
20 that you may take them to their borders
and perceive the pathways to their homes?[ak]
21 You know, for you were born before them;[al]
and the number of your days is great!
22 Have you entered the storehouse[am] of the snow,
or seen the armory[an] of the hail,
23 which I reserve for the time of trouble,
for the day of war and battle?[ao]
24 In what direction is lightning[ap] dispersed,
or the east winds scattered over the earth?
25 Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains,
and a path for the rumble of thunder,
26 to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land,[aq]
a wilderness where there are no human beings,[ar]
27 to satisfy a devastated and desolate land,
and to cause it to sprout with vegetation?[as]
28 Does the rain have a father,
or who has fathered the drops of the dew?
29 From whose womb does the ice emerge,
and the frost from the sky,[at] who gives birth to it,
30 when the waters become hard[au] like stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?
31 Can you tie the bands[av] of the Pleiades,
or release the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead out
the constellations[aw] in their seasons,
or guide the Bear with its cubs?[ax]
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens,
or can you set up their rule over the earth?
34 Can you raise your voice to the clouds
so that a flood of water covers you?[ay]
35 Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go?
Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the heart,[az]
or has imparted understanding to the mind?
37 Who by wisdom can count the clouds,
and who can tip over[ba] the water jars of heaven,
38 when the dust hardens[bb] into a mass,
and the clumps of earth stick together?
39 “Do you hunt prey for the lioness,
and satisfy the appetite[bc] of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens,
when they wait in ambush in the thicket?
41 Who prepares prey for the raven,
when its young cry out to God
and wander about[bd] for lack of food?
39 “Are you acquainted with the way[be]
the mountain goats[bf] give birth?
Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?
2 Do you count the months they must fulfill,
and do you know the time they give birth?[bg]
3 They crouch, they bear[bh] their young,
they bring forth the offspring they have carried.[bi]
4 Their young grow strong, and grow up in the open;[bj]
they go off, and do not return to them.
5 Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who released the bonds of the donkey,
6 to whom I appointed the arid rift valley[bk] for its home,
the salt wastes as its dwelling place?
7 It scorns the tumult in the town;
it does not hear the shouts of a driver.[bl]
8 It ranges the hills as its pasture,
and searches after every green plant.
9 Is the wild ox willing to be your servant?
Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?
10 Can you bind the wild ox[bm] to a furrow with its rope,
will it till the valleys, following after you?
11 Will you rely on it because its strength is great?
Will you commit[bn] your labor to it?
12 Can you count[bo] on it to bring in[bp] your grain,[bq]
and gather the grain[br] to your threshing floor?[bs]
13 [bt] “The wings of the ostrich[bu] flap with joy,[bv]
but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork?[bw]
14 For she leaves[bx] her eggs on the ground,
and lets them be warmed on the soil.
15 She forgets that a foot might crush them,
or that a wild animal[by] might trample them.
16 She is harsh[bz] with her young,
as if they were not hers;
she is unconcerned about the uselessness of her labor.
17 For God deprived her of wisdom,
and did not impart understanding to her.
18 But as soon as she springs up,[ca]
she laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 “Do you give the horse its strength?
Do you clothe its neck with a mane?[cb]
20 Do you make it leap[cc] like a locust?
Its proud neighing[cd] is terrifying!
21 It[ce] paws the ground in the valley,[cf]
exulting mightily,[cg]
it goes out to meet the weapons.
22 It laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
it does not shy away from the sword.
23 On it the quiver rattles;
the lance and javelin[ch] flash.
24 In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground;[ci]
it cannot stand still[cj] when the trumpet is blown.
25 At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’
And from a distance it catches the scent of battle,
the thunderous shouting of commanders,
and the battle cries.
26 “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars,[ck]
and spreads its wings toward the south?
27 Is it at your command[cl] that the eagle soars,
and builds its nest on high?
28 It lives on a rock and spends the night there,
on a rocky crag[cm] and a fortress.[cn]
29 From there it spots[co] its prey,[cp]
its eyes gaze intently from a distance.
30 And its young ones devour the blood,
and where the dead carcasses[cq] are,
there it is.”
Job’s Reply to God’s Challenge
40 Then the Lord answered[cr] Job:
2 “Will the one who contends[cs] with the Almighty correct him?[ct]
Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”
3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4 “Indeed, I am completely unworthy[cu]—how could I reply to you?
I put[cv] my hand over my mouth to silence myself.[cw]
5 I have spoken once, but I cannot answer;
twice, but I will say no more.”[cx]
The Lord’s Second Speech[cy]
6 Then the Lord answered[cz] Job from the whirlwind:
7 “Get ready for a difficult task[da] like a man.
I will question you and you will inform me.
8 Would you indeed annul[db] my justice?
Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?
9 Do you have an arm as powerful as God’s,[dc]
and can you thunder with a voice like his?
10 Adorn yourself, then, with majesty and excellency,
and clothe yourself with glory and honor.
11 Scatter abroad[dd] the abundance[de] of your anger.
Look at every proud man[df] and bring him low;
12 Look at every proud man and abase him;
crush the wicked on the spot.[dg]
13 Hide them in the dust[dh] together,
imprison[di] them[dj] in the grave.[dk]
14 Then I myself will acknowledge[dl] to you
that your own right hand can save you.[dm]
The Description of Behemoth[dn]
15 “Look now at Behemoth,[do] which I made as[dp] I made you;
it eats grass like the ox.
16 Look[dq] at its strength in its loins,
and its power in the muscles of its belly.
17 It makes its tail stiff[dr] like a cedar,
the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs like bars of iron.
19 It ranks first among the works of God,[ds]
the One who made it
has furnished it with a sword.[dt]
20 For the hills bring it food,[du]
where all the wild animals play.
21 Under the lotus trees it lies,
in the secrecy of the reeds and the marsh.
22 The lotus trees conceal it in their[dv] shadow;
the poplars by the stream conceal it.
23 If the river rages,[dw] it is not disturbed,
it is secure,[dx] though the Jordan
should surge up to its mouth.
24 Can anyone catch it by its eyes,[dy]
or pierce its nose with a snare?[dz]
Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
16 He also came to Derbe[a] and to Lystra.[b] A disciple[c] named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer,[d] but whose father was a Greek.[e] 2 The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well[f] of him.[g] 3 Paul wanted Timothy[h] to accompany him, and he took[i] him and circumcised[j] him because of the Jews who were in those places,[k] for they all knew that his father was Greek.[l] 4 As they went through the towns,[m] they passed on[n] the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the Gentile believers[o] to obey.[p] 5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number every day.[q]
Paul’s Vision of the Macedonian Man
6 They went through the region of Phrygia[r] and Galatia,[s] having been prevented[t] by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message[u] in the province of Asia.[v] 7 When they came to[w] Mysia,[x] they attempted to go into Bithynia,[y] but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow[z] them to do this,[aa] 8 so they passed through[ab] Mysia[ac] and went down to Troas.[ad] 9 A[ae] vision appeared to Paul during the night: A Macedonian man was standing there[af] urging him,[ag] “Come over[ah] to Macedonia[ai] and help us!” 10 After Paul[aj] saw the vision, we[ak] attempted[al] immediately to go over to Macedonia,[am] concluding that God had called[an] us to proclaim the good news to them.
Arrival at Philippi
11 We put out to sea[ao] from Troas[ap] and sailed a straight course[aq] to Samothrace,[ar] the next day to Neapolis,[as] 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district[at] of Macedonia,[au] a Roman colony.[av] We stayed in this city for some days. 13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the side of the river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down[aw] and began to speak[ax] to the women[ay] who had assembled there.[az] 14 A[ba] woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth[bb] from the city of Thyatira,[bc] a God-fearing woman, listened to us.[bd] The Lord opened her heart to respond[be] to what Paul was saying. 15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us,[bf] “If[bg] you consider me to be a believer in the Lord,[bh] come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded[bi] us.
Paul and Silas Are Thrown Into Prison
16 Now[bj] as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit that enabled her to foretell the future by supernatural means.[bk] She[bl] brought her owners[bm] a great profit by fortune-telling.[bn] 17 She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out,[bo] “These men are servants[bp] of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way[bq] of salvation.”[br] 18 She continued to do this for many days. But Paul became greatly annoyed,[bs] and turned[bt] and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ[bu] to come out of her!” And it came out of her at once.[bv] 19 But when her owners[bw] saw their hope of profit[bx] was gone, they seized[by] Paul and Silas and dragged[bz] them into the marketplace[ca] before the authorities. 20 When[cb] they had brought them[cc] before the magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion.[cd] They are[ce] Jews 21 and are advocating[cf] customs that are not lawful for us to accept[cg] or practice,[ch] since we are[ci] Romans.”
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