Job 11-13

New American Standard Bible

Zophar Rebukes Job

11 Then Zophar the Naamathite responded,

²“Shall a multitude of words go unanswered,
And a ^(A)talkative man be acquitted?
³Shall your boasts silence people?
And will you ^(B)scoff, and no one rebuke?
⁴For ^(C)you have said, ‘My teaching is pure,
And ^(D)I am innocent in your eyes.’
⁵But if only God would speak,
And open His lips against you,
⁶And show you the secrets of wisdom!
For sound wisdom ^[a]^(E)has two sides.
Know then that God ^[b]forgets part of ^(F)your guilt.

⁷“^(G)Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
⁸They are as ^(H)high as ^[c]the heavens; what can you do?
Deeper than ^[d]^(I)Sheol; what can you know?
⁹Its measurement is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.
¹⁰If He passes by or apprehends people,
Or calls an assembly, ^(J)who can restrain Him?
¹¹For ^(K)He knows false people,
And He ^(L)sees injustice ^[e]without investigating.
¹²^[f]^(M)An idiot will become intelligent
When a ^(N)wild donkey is born a human.

¹³“^(O)If you would ^(P)direct your heart rightly
And ^(Q)spread out your hands to Him,
¹⁴If wrongdoing is in your hand, ^(R)put it far away,
And do not let malice dwell in your tents;
¹⁵Then, indeed, you could ^(S)lift up your face without moral blemish,
And you would be firmly established and ^(T)not fear.
¹⁶For you would ^(U)forget your trouble;
Like ^(V)waters that have passed by, you would remember it.
¹⁷Your ^[g]life would ^[h]be ^(W)brighter than noonday;
Darkness would be like the morning.
¹⁸Then you would trust, because there is hope;
And you would look around and rest securely.
¹⁹You would ^(X)lie down and none would disturb you,
And many would ^[i]^(Y)flatter you.
²⁰But the ^(Z)eyes of the wicked will fail,
And ^[j]there will ^(AA)be no escape for them;
And their ^(AB)hope is ^[k]^(AC)to breathe their last.”

Job Chides His Accusers

12 Then Job responded,

²“Truly then ^(AD)you are the people,
And with you wisdom will die!
³But ^(AE)I have intelligence as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
And ^[l]who does not know such things as these?
⁴I am a ^(AF)joke to ^[m]my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and ^(AG)blameless man is a joke.
⁵^[n]He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.
⁶The ^(AH)tents of the destroyers prosper,
And those who provoke God ^(AI)are secure,
^[o]Whom God brings ^(AJ)into their power.

⁷“But just ask the animals, and have them teach you;
And the birds of the sky, and have them tell you.
⁸Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you;
And have the fish of the sea tell you.
⁹Who among all these does not know
That ^(AK)the hand of the Lord has done this,
¹⁰^(AL)In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And ^(AM)the breath of all mankind?
¹¹Does ^(AN)the ear not put words to the test,
As the palate ^[p]tastes its food?
¹²Wisdom is with the ^(AO)aged,
And with ^[q]long life comes understanding.

Job Speaks of the Power of God

¹³“^(AP)Wisdom and ^(AQ)might are with Him;
Advice and ^(AR)understanding belong to Him.
¹⁴Behold, He ^(AS)tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He ^[r]^(AT)imprisons a person, and ^[s]there is no release.
¹⁵Behold, He ^(AU)restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He ^(AV)sends them out, and they ^[t]inundate the earth.
¹⁶Strength and sound wisdom are with Him.
One who ^(AW)goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.
¹⁷He makes ^(AX)advisers walk ^[u]barefoot
And makes fools of ^(AY)judges.
¹⁸He ^(AZ)undoes the binding of kings,
And ties a loincloth around their waist.
¹⁹He makes priests walk ^[v]barefoot,
And overthrows ^(BA)the secure ones.
²⁰He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And ^(BB)takes away the discernment of the elders.
²¹He ^(BC)pours contempt on nobles,
And ^(BD)loosens the belt of the strong.
²²He ^(BE)reveals mysteries from the darkness,
And brings the deep darkness into light.
²³He ^(BF)makes the nations great, then destroys them;
He ^[w]enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
²⁴He ^(BG)deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of ^[x]intelligence
And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.
²⁵They ^(BH)grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them ^(BI)stagger like a drunken person.

Job Says His Friends’ Proverbs Are Ashes

13 “^(BJ)Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.
²^(BK)What you know I also know;
I am not inferior to you.

³“But ^(BL)I would speak to ^[y]the Almighty,
And I desire to ^(BM)argue with God.
⁴But you ^(BN)smear me with lies;
You are all ^(BO)worthless physicians.
⁵Oh that you would ^(BP)be completely silent,
And that it would become your wisdom!
⁶Please hear my argument,
And give your attention to the contentions of my lips.
⁷Will you ^(BQ)speak what is unjust for God,
And speak what is deceitful for Him?
⁸Will you ^(BR)show partiality for Him?
Will you contend for God?
⁹Will it go well when He examines you?
Or ^(BS)will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?
¹⁰He will certainly punish you
If you secretly ^(BT)show partiality.
¹¹Will ^(BU)His ^[z]majesty not terrify you,
And the dread of Him fall upon you?
¹²Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.

Job Is Sure He Will Be Vindicated

¹³“^(BV)Be silent before me so that I may speak;
Then let come upon me what may.
¹⁴Why should I take my flesh in my teeth,
And ^(BW)put my life in my ^[aa]hands?
¹⁵^(BX)Though He slay me,
I will ^[ab]hope in Him.
Nevertheless I ^(BY)will argue my ways ^[ac]before Him.
¹⁶This also will be my ^(BZ)salvation,
For ^(CA)a godless person cannot come before His presence.
¹⁷Listen carefully to my speech,
And let my declaration fill your ears.
¹⁸Behold now, I have ^(CB)prepared my case;
I know that ^(CC)I will be vindicated.
¹⁹^(CD)Who could contend with me?
For then I would be silent and ^(CE)die.

²⁰“Only two things I ask that You do not do to me,
Then I will not hide from Your face:
²¹^(CF)Remove Your ^[ad]hand from me,
And may the dread of You not terrify me.
²²Then call and ^(CG)I will answer;
Or let me speak, then reply to me.
²³^(CH)How many are my guilty deeds and sins?
Make known to me my wrongdoing and my sin.
²⁴Why do You ^(CI)hide Your face
And consider me ^(CJ)Your enemy?
²⁵Will You scare away a ^(CK)scattered leaf?
Or will You pursue the dry ^(CL)chaff?
²⁶For You write ^(CM)bitter things against me
And ^(CN)make me inherit the guilty deeds of my youth.
²⁷You ^(CO)put my feet in the stocks
And watch all my paths;
You ^[ae]set a limit for the soles of my feet,
²⁸While ^[af]I am decaying like a ^(CP)rotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

Footnotes

Job 11:6 Lit is double
Job 11:6 Lit causes to be forgotten for you
Job 11:8 Lit the heights of heaven
Job 11:8 I.e., the netherworld
Job 11:11 Or and does not investigate
Job 11:12 Lit A hollow man
Job 11:17 Lit lifespan
Job 11:17 Lit rise above noonday
Job 11:19 Lit soften your face
Job 11:20 Lit escape has perished from them
Job 11:20 Lit the expiring of the soul
Job 12:3 Lit with whom is there not like these?
Job 12:4 Lit his
Job 12:5 Lit Contempt for calamity is the thought of him who is at ease
Job 12:6 Or He who brings God into his hand.
Job 12:11 Lit tastes food for itself
Job 12:12 Lit length of days
Job 12:14 Lit shuts against
Job 12:14 Lit it is not opened
Job 12:15 Lit overturn
Job 12:17 Or stripped
Job 12:19 Or stripped
Job 12:23 Or spreads out
Job 12:24 Lit heart
Job 13:3 Heb Shaddai
Job 13:11 Lit exaltation
Job 13:14 Lit palm
Job 13:15 Lit wait for
Job 13:15 Lit to His face
Job 13:21 Lit palm
Job 13:27 Lit carve for
Job 13:28 Lit he is

Acts 9:1-21

New American Standard Bible

The Conversion of Saul

9 ^(A)Now ^[a]Saul, still ^(B)breathing ^[b]threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, ²and asked for ^(C)letters from him to ^(D)the synagogues in ^(E)Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to ^[c]^(F)the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them in shackles to Jerusalem. ³Now as he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and ^(G)suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; ⁴and ^(H)he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” ⁵And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, ⁶but get up and enter the city, and ^(I)it will be told to you what you must do.” ⁷The men who traveled with him ^(J)stood speechless, ^(K)hearing the ^[d]voice but seeing no one. ⁸Saul got up from the ground, and ^(L)though his eyes were open, he ^[e]could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into ^(M)Damascus. ⁹And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰Now there was a disciple in ^(N)Damascus named ^(O)Ananias; and the Lord said to him in ^(P)a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from ^(Q)Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, ¹²and he has seen ^[f]in a vision a man named Ananias come in and ^(R)lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, ^(S)how much harm he did to ^(T)Your ^[g]saints in Jerusalem; ¹⁴and here he ^(U)has authority from the chief priests to ^[h]arrest all who ^(V)call on Your name.” ¹⁵But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^(W)he is a chosen ^[i]instrument of Mine, to bear My name before ^(X)the Gentiles and ^(Y)kings and the sons of Israel; ¹⁶for ^(Z)I will show him how much he must suffer in behalf of My name.” ¹⁷So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after ^(AA)laying his hands on him said, “^(AB)Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be ^(AC)filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸And immediately something like fish scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; ¹⁹and he took food and was strengthened.

Saul Begins to Preach Christ

Now ^(AD)for several days he was with ^(AE)the disciples who were in Damascus, ²⁰and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus ^(AF)in the synagogues, ^[j]saying, “He is ^(AG)the Son of God.” ²¹All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem ^(AH)destroyed those who ^(AI)called on this name, and had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?”