30 “But now they mock me,(A)
    men younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
    to put with my sheep dogs.(B)
Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,
    since their vigor had gone from them?
Haggard from want and hunger,
    they roamed[a] the parched land(C)
    in desolate wastelands(D) at night.(E)
In the brush they gathered salt herbs,(F)
    and their food[b] was the root of the broom bush.(G)
They were banished from human society,
    shouted at as if they were thieves.
They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,
    among the rocks and in holes in the ground.(H)
They brayed(I) among the bushes(J)
    and huddled in the undergrowth.
A base and nameless brood,(K)
    they were driven out of the land.(L)

“And now those young men mock me(M) in song;(N)
    I have become a byword(O) among them.
10 They detest me(P) and keep their distance;
    they do not hesitate to spit in my face.(Q)
11 Now that God has unstrung my bow(R) and afflicted me,(S)
    they throw off restraint(T) in my presence.
12 On my right(U) the tribe[c] attacks;
    they lay snares(V) for my feet,(W)
    they build their siege ramps against me.(X)
13 They break up my road;(Y)
    they succeed in destroying me.(Z)
    ‘No one can help him,’ they say.
14 They advance as through a gaping breach;(AA)
    amid the ruins they come rolling in.
15 Terrors(AB) overwhelm me;(AC)
    my dignity is driven away as by the wind,
    my safety vanishes like a cloud.(AD)

16 “And now my life ebbs away;(AE)
    days of suffering grip me.(AF)
17 Night pierces my bones;
    my gnawing pains never rest.(AG)
18 In his great power(AH) God becomes like clothing to me[d];
    he binds me like the neck of my garment.
19 He throws me into the mud,(AI)
    and I am reduced to dust and ashes.(AJ)

20 “I cry out to you,(AK) God, but you do not answer;(AL)
    I stand up, but you merely look at me.
21 You turn on me ruthlessly;(AM)
    with the might of your hand(AN) you attack me.(AO)
22 You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;(AP)
    you toss me about in the storm.(AQ)
23 I know you will bring me down to death,(AR)
    to the place appointed for all the living.(AS)

24 “Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man(AT)
    when he cries for help in his distress.(AU)
25 Have I not wept for those in trouble?(AV)
    Has not my soul grieved for the poor?(AW)
26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;
    when I looked for light, then came darkness.(AX)
27 The churning inside me never stops;(AY)
    days of suffering confront me.(AZ)
28 I go about blackened,(BA) but not by the sun;
    I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.(BB)
29 I have become a brother of jackals,(BC)
    a companion of owls.(BD)
30 My skin grows black(BE) and peels;(BF)
    my body burns with fever.(BG)
31 My lyre is tuned to mourning,(BH)
    and my pipe(BI) to the sound of wailing.

31 “I made a covenant with my eyes(BJ)
    not to look lustfully at a young woman.(BK)
For what is our lot(BL) from God above,
    our heritage from the Almighty on high?(BM)
Is it not ruin(BN) for the wicked,
    disaster(BO) for those who do wrong?(BP)
Does he not see my ways(BQ)
    and count my every step?(BR)

“If I have walked with falsehood
    or my foot has hurried after deceit(BS)
let God weigh me(BT) in honest scales(BU)
    and he will know that I am blameless(BV)
if my steps have turned from the path,(BW)
    if my heart has been led by my eyes,
    or if my hands(BX) have been defiled,(BY)
then may others eat what I have sown,(BZ)
    and may my crops be uprooted.(CA)

“If my heart has been enticed(CB) by a woman,(CC)
    or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
10 then may my wife grind(CD) another man’s grain,
    and may other men sleep with her.(CE)
11 For that would have been wicked,(CF)
    a sin to be judged.(CG)
12 It is a fire(CH) that burns to Destruction[e];(CI)
    it would have uprooted my harvest.(CJ)

13 “If I have denied justice to any of my servants,(CK)
    whether male or female,
    when they had a grievance against me,(CL)
14 what will I do when God confronts me?(CM)
    What will I answer when called to account?(CN)
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?(CO)
    Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?(CP)

16 “If I have denied the desires of the poor(CQ)
    or let the eyes of the widow(CR) grow weary,(CS)
17 if I have kept my bread to myself,
    not sharing it with the fatherless(CT)
18 but from my youth I reared them as a father would,
    and from my birth I guided the widow(CU)
19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,(CV)
    or the needy(CW) without garments,
20 and their hearts did not bless me(CX)
    for warming them with the fleece(CY) from my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,(CZ)
    knowing that I had influence in court,(DA)
22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
    let it be broken off at the joint.(DB)
23 For I dreaded destruction from God,(DC)
    and for fear of his splendor(DD) I could not do such things.(DE)

24 “If I have put my trust in gold(DF)
    or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’(DG)
25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,(DH)
    the fortune my hands had gained,(DI)
26 if I have regarded the sun(DJ) in its radiance
    or the moon(DK) moving in splendor,
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed(DL)
    and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,(DM)
28 then these also would be sins to be judged,(DN)
    for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.(DO)

29 “If I have rejoiced at my enemy’s misfortune(DP)
    or gloated over the trouble that came to him(DQ)
30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin
    by invoking a curse against their life(DR)
31 if those of my household have never said,
    ‘Who has not been filled with Job’s meat?’(DS)
32 but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,
    for my door was always open to the traveler(DT)
33 if I have concealed(DU) my sin as people do,[f]
    by hiding(DV) my guilt in my heart
34 because I so feared the crowd(DW)
    and so dreaded the contempt of the clans
    that I kept silent(DX) and would not go outside—

35 (“Oh, that I had someone to hear me!(DY)
    I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;
    let my accuser(DZ) put his indictment in writing.
36 Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,(EA)
    I would put it on like a crown.(EB)
37 I would give him an account of my every step;(EC)
    I would present it to him as to a ruler.(ED))—

38 “if my land cries out against me(EE)
    and all its furrows are wet(EF) with tears,
39 if I have devoured its yield without payment(EG)
    or broken the spirit of its tenants,(EH)
40 then let briers(EI) come up instead of wheat
    and stinkweed(EJ) instead of barley.”

The words of Job are ended.(EK)

Footnotes

  1. Job 30:3 Or gnawed
  2. Job 30:4 Or fuel
  3. Job 30:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  4. Job 30:18 Hebrew; Septuagint power he grasps my clothing
  5. Job 31:12 Hebrew Abaddon
  6. Job 31:33 Or as Adam did

26 “Fellow children of Abraham(A) and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation(B) has been sent. 27 The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus,(C) yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets(D) that are read every Sabbath. 28 Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed.(E) 29 When they had carried out all that was written about him,(F) they took him down from the cross(G) and laid him in a tomb.(H) 30 But God raised him from the dead,(I) 31 and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.(J) They are now his witnesses(K) to our people.

32 “We tell you the good news:(L) What God promised our ancestors(M) 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.(N) As it is written in the second Psalm:

“‘You are my son;
    today I have become your father.’[a](O)

34 God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said,

“‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’[b](P)

35 So it is also stated elsewhere:

“‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’[c](Q)

36 “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep;(R) he was buried with his ancestors(S) and his body decayed. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead(T) did not see decay.

38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.(U) 39 Through him everyone who believes(V) is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.(W) 40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:

41 “‘Look, you scoffers,
    wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
    that you would never believe,
    even if someone told you.’[d](X)

42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue,(Y) the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.(Z)

44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying(AA) and heaped abuse(AB) on him.

46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first.(AC) Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.(AD) 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us:

“‘I have made you[e] a light for the Gentiles,(AE)
    that you[f] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’[g](AF)

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord;(AG) and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

49 The word of the Lord(AH) spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.(AI) 51 So they shook the dust off their feet(AJ) as a warning to them and went to Iconium.(AK) 52 And the disciples(AL) were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.(AM)

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 13:33 Psalm 2:7
  2. Acts 13:34 Isaiah 55:3
  3. Acts 13:35 Psalm 16:10 (see Septuagint)
  4. Acts 13:41 Hab. 1:5
  5. Acts 13:47 The Greek is singular.
  6. Acts 13:47 The Greek is singular.
  7. Acts 13:47 Isaiah 49:6

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