Passage results

Listen to this passage

Job 34

 ¹ Then Elihu said:

 ² "Hear my words, you wise men;
       listen to me, you men of learning.

 ³ For the ear tests words
       as the tongue tastes food.

 ⁴ Let us discern for ourselves what is right;
       let us learn together what is good.

 ⁵ "Job says, 'I am innocent,
       but God denies me justice.

 ⁶ Although I am right,
       I am considered a liar;
       although I am guiltless,
       his arrow inflicts an incurable wound.'

 ⁷ What man is like Job,
       who drinks scorn like water?

 ⁸ He keeps company with evildoers;
       he associates with wicked men.

 ⁹ For he says, 'It profits a man nothing
       when he tries to please God.'

 ¹⁰ "So listen to me, you men of understanding.
       Far be it from God to do evil,
       from the Almighty to do wrong.

 ¹¹ He repays a man for what he has done;
       he brings upon him what his conduct deserves.

 ¹² It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,
       that the Almighty would pervert justice.

 ¹³ Who appointed him over the earth?
       Who put him in charge of the whole world?

 ¹⁴ If it were his intention
       and he withdrew his spirit ^[a] and breath,

 ¹⁵ all mankind would perish together
       and man would return to the dust.

 ¹⁶ "If you have understanding, hear this;
       listen to what I say.

 ¹⁷ Can he who hates justice govern?
       Will you condemn the just and mighty One?

 ¹⁸ Is he not the One who says to kings, 'You are worthless,'
       and to nobles, 'You are wicked,'

 ¹⁹ who shows no partiality to princes
       and does not favor the rich over the poor,
       for they are all the work of his hands?

 ²⁰ They die in an instant, in the middle of the night;
       the people are shaken and they pass away;
       the mighty are removed without human hand.

 ²¹ "His eyes are on the ways of men;
       he sees their every step.

 ²² There is no dark place, no deep shadow,
       where evildoers can hide.

 ²³ God has no need to examine men further,
       that they should come before him for judgment.

 ²⁴ Without inquiry he shatters the mighty
       and sets up others in their place.

 ²⁵ Because he takes note of their deeds,
       he overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.

 ²⁶ He punishes them for their wickedness
       where everyone can see them,

 ²⁷ because they turned from following him
       and had no regard for any of his ways.

 ²⁸ They caused the cry of the poor to come before him,
       so that he heard the cry of the needy.

 ²⁹ But if he remains silent, who can condemn him?
       If he hides his face, who can see him?
       Yet he is over man and nation alike,

 ³⁰ to keep a godless man from ruling,
       from laying snares for the people.

 ³¹ "Suppose a man says to God,
       'I am guilty but will offend no more.

 ³² Teach me what I cannot see;
       if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.'

 ³³ Should God then reward you on your terms,
       when you refuse to repent?
       You must decide, not I;
       so tell me what you know.

 ³⁴ "Men of understanding declare,
       wise men who hear me say to me,

 ³⁵ 'Job speaks without knowledge;
       his words lack insight.'

 ³⁶ Oh, that Job might be tested to the utmost
       for answering like a wicked man!

 ³⁷ To his sin he adds rebellion;
       scornfully he claps his hands among us
       and multiplies his words against God."

Job 35

 ¹ Then Elihu said:

 ² "Do you think this is just?
       You say, 'I will be cleared by God. ^[b] '

 ³ Yet you ask him, 'What profit is it to me, ^[c]
       and what do I gain by not sinning?'

 ⁴ "I would like to reply to you
       and to your friends with you.

 ⁵ Look up at the heavens and see;
       gaze at the clouds so high above you.

 ⁶ If you sin, how does that affect him?
       If your sins are many, what does that do to him?

 ⁷ If you are righteous, what do you give to him,
       or what does he receive from your hand?

 ⁸ Your wickedness affects only a man like yourself,
       and your righteousness only the sons of men.

 ⁹ "Men cry out under a load of oppression;
       they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful.

 ¹⁰ But no one says, 'Where is God my Maker,
       who gives songs in the night,

 ¹¹ who teaches more to us than to ^[d] the beasts of the earth
       and makes us wiser than ^[e] the birds of the air?'

 ¹² He does not answer when men cry out
       because of the arrogance of the wicked.

 ¹³ Indeed, God does not listen to their empty plea;
       the Almighty pays no attention to it.

 ¹⁴ How much less, then, will he listen
       when you say that you do not see him,
       that your case is before him
       and you must wait for him,

 ¹⁵ and further, that his anger never punishes
       and he does not take the least notice of wickedness. ^[f]

 ¹⁶ So Job opens his mouth with empty talk;
       without knowledge he multiplies words."

Listen to this passage
View commentary related to this passage

Acts 15

The Council at Jerusalem

 ⁵Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."

 ⁶The apostles and elders met to consider this question. ⁷After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. ⁸God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. ⁹He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. ¹⁰Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? ¹¹No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

 ¹²The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. ¹³When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. ¹⁴Simon^[a] has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. ¹⁵The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
 ¹⁶" 'After this I will return
      and rebuild David's fallen tent.
   Its ruins I will rebuild,
      and I will restore it,
 ¹⁷that the remnant of men may seek the Lord,
      and all the Gentiles who bear my name,
   says the Lord, who does these things'^{[b]
    18}that have been known for ages.^[c]

 ¹⁹"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. ²⁰Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. ²¹For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."