Job 17-19
Contemporary English Version
Job Complains to God
My Hopes Have Died
17 My hopes have died,
my time is up,
and the grave is ready.
2 All I can see are angry crowds,
making fun of me.
3 If you, Lord, don't help,
who will pay the price
for my release?
4 My friends won't really listen,
all because of you,
and so you must be the one
to prove them wrong.
5 They have condemned me,
just to benefit themselves;
now blind their children.
6 You, God, are the reason
I am insulted and spit on.
7 I am almost blind with grief;
my body is a mere shadow.
8 People who are truly good
would feel so alarmed,
that they would become angry
with my worthless friends.
9 They would do the right thing
and because they did,
they would grow stronger.[a]
10 But none of my friends
show any sense.
11 My life is drawing to an end;
hope has disappeared.
12 But all my friends can do
is offer empty hopes.[b]
13 I could tell the world below
to prepare me a bed.
14 Then I could greet the grave
as my father
and say to the worms,
“Hello, mother and sisters!”
15 But what kind of hope is that?
16 Will it keep me company
in the world of the dead?
Bildad's Second Speech
How Long Will You Talk?
18 Bildad from Shuah[c] said:
2 How long will you talk?
Be sensible! Let us speak.
3 Or do you think that we
are dumb animals?
4 You cut yourself in anger.
Will that shake the earth
or even move the rocks?
* 5 (A) The lamps of sinful people
soon are snuffed out,
6 leaving their tents dark.
7 Their powerful legs become weak,
and they stumble on schemes
of their own doing.
* 8 Before they know it,
9 they are trapped in a net,
10 hidden along the path.
11 Terror strikes and pursues
from every side.
12 Starving, they run,
only to meet disaster,
13 then afterwards to be eaten alive
by death itself.
14 Those sinners are dragged
from the safety of their tents
to die a gruesome death.
15 Then their tents and possessions
are burned to ashes,
16 and they are left like trees,
dried up from the roots.
17 They are gone and forgotten,
18 thrown far from the light
into a world of darkness,
19 without any children
to carry on their name.
20 Everyone, from east to west,
is overwhelmed with horror.
21 Such is the fate of sinners
and their families
who don't know God.
Job's Reply to Bildad
How Long Will You Torture Me?
19 Job said:
2 How long will you torture me
with your words?
3 Isn't ten times enough
for you to accuse me?
Aren't you ashamed?
4 Even if I have sinned,
you haven't been harmed.
5 You boast of your goodness,
claiming I am suffering
because I am guilty.
6 But God is the one at fault
for finding fault with me.
7 Though I pray to be rescued
from this torment,
no whisper of justice
answers me.
8 God has me trapped
with a wall of darkness
9 and stripped of respect.
10 God rips me apart,
uproots my hopes,
11 and attacks with fierce anger,
as though I were his enemy.
12 His entire army advances,
then surrounds my tent.
I Am Forgotten
* 13 God has turned relatives
and friends against me,
14 and I am forgotten.
15 My guests and my servants
consider me a stranger,
16 and when I call my servants,
they pay no attention.
17 My breath disgusts my wife;
everyone in my family
turns away.
18 Young children can't stand me,
and when I come near,
they make fun.
19 (B) My best friends and loved ones
have turned from me.
20 I am skin and bones—
just barely alive.
21 My friends, I beg you for pity!
God has made me his target.
22 Hasn't he already done enough?
Why do you join the attack?
23 I wish that my words
could be written down
24 or chiseled into rock.
25 I know that my Protector[d] lives,
and at the end
he will stand on this earth.
26 My flesh may be destroyed,
yet from this body
I will see God.[e]
27 Yes, I will see him for myself,
and I long for that moment.
28 My friends, you think up ways
to blame and torment me, saying
I brought it on myself.
29 But watch out for the judgment,
when God will punish you!
Footnotes
- 17.9 stronger: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 8,9.
- 17.12 hopes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 12.
- 18.1 Shuah: See the note at 2.11.
- 19.25 Protector: Or “Defender” or “Savior.”
- 19.26 God: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 25,26.
Acts 10:1-23
Contemporary English Version
Peter and Cornelius
10 In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, who was the captain of a group of soldiers called “The Italian Unit.” 2 Cornelius was a very religious man. He worshiped God, and so did everyone else who lived in his house. He had given a lot of money to the poor and was always praying to God.
3 One afternoon at about three o'clock,[a] Cornelius had a vision. He saw an angel from God coming to him and calling him by name. 4 Cornelius was surprised and stared at the angel. Then he asked, “What is this all about?”
The angel answered, “God has heard your prayers and knows about your gifts to the poor. 5 Now send some men to Joppa for a man named Simon Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the leather maker, who lives in a house near the sea.” 7 After saying this, the angel left.
Cornelius called in two of his servants and one of his soldiers who worshiped God. 8 He explained everything to them and sent them off to Joppa.
9 (A) The next day about noon these men were coming near Joppa. Peter went up on the roof[b] of the house to pray 10 and became very hungry. While the food was being prepared, he fell sound asleep and had a vision. 11 He saw heaven open, and something came down like a huge sheet held up by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 A voice said to him, “Peter, get up! Kill these and eat them.”
14 (B) But Peter said, “Lord, I can't do that! I've never eaten anything that is unclean and not fit to eat.”[c]
15 The voice spoke to him again, “When God says that something can be used for food, don't say it isn't fit to eat.”
16 This happened three times before the sheet was suddenly taken back to heaven.
17 Peter was still wondering what all this meant, when the men sent by Cornelius came and stood at the gate. They had found their way to Simon's house 18 and were asking if Simon Peter was staying there.
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three[d] men are here looking for you. 20 Hurry down and go with them. Don't worry, I sent them.”
21 Peter went down and said to the men, “I am the one you are looking for. Why have you come?”
22 They answered, “Captain Cornelius sent us. He is a good man who worships God and is liked by the Jewish people. One of God's holy angels told Cornelius to send for you, so he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Peter invited them to spend the night.
The next morning, Peter and some of the Lord's followers in Joppa left with the men who had come from Cornelius.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 10.3 at about three o'clock: Probably while he was praying (see 3.1 and the note there).
- 10.9 roof: In Palestine the houses usually had a flat roof. Stairs on the outside led up to the roof, which was made of beams and boards covered with packed earth.
- 10.14 unclean and not fit to eat: The Law of Moses taught that some foods were not fit to eat.
- 10.19 Three: One manuscript has “two”; some manuscripts have “some.”
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