15 But some men came down from Judea and were instructing the brethren, Unless you are circumcised in accordance with the Mosaic custom, you cannot be saved.^(A)

² And when Paul and Barnabas had no small disagreement and discussion with them, it was decided that Paul and Barnabas and some of the others of their number should go up to Jerusalem [and confer] with the apostles (special messengers) and the elders about this matter.

³ So, being ^[a]fitted out and sent on their way by the church, they went through both Phoenicia and Samaria telling of the conversion of the Gentiles (the heathen), and they caused great rejoicing among all the brethren.

⁴ When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were heartily welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they told them all that God had accomplished through them.

⁵ But some who believed [who ^[b]acknowledged Jesus as their Savior and devoted themselves to Him] belonged to the sect of the Pharisees, and they rose up and said, It is necessary to circumcise [the Gentile converts] and to charge them to obey the Law of Moses.

⁶ The apostles and the elders were assembled together to look into and consider this matter.

⁷ And after there had been a long debate, Peter got up and said to them, Brethren, you know that quite a while ago God made a choice or selection from among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the message of the Gospel [concerning the ^[c]attainment through Christ of salvation in the kingdom of God] and believe (credit and place their confidence in it).

⁸ And God, Who is acquainted with and understands the heart, bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit as He also did to us;

⁹ And He made no difference between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith (^[d]by a strong and welcome conviction that Jesus is the Messiah, through Whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God).

¹⁰ Now then, why do you try to test God by putting a yoke on the necks of the disciples, such as neither our forefathers nor we [ourselves] were able to endure?

¹¹ But we believe that we are saved through the grace (the undeserved favor and mercy) of the Lord Jesus, just as they [are].

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38 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

² Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?^(A)

³ Gird up now your loins like a man, and I will demand of you, and you declare to Me.

⁴ Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Declare to Me, if you have and know understanding.

⁵ Who determined the measures of the earth, if you know? Or who stretched the measuring line upon it?

⁶ Upon what were the foundations of it fastened, or who laid its cornerstone,

⁷ When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

⁸ Or who shut up the sea with doors when it broke forth and issued out of the womb?—

⁹ When I made the clouds the garment of it, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it,

¹⁰ And marked for it My appointed boundary and set bars and doors,^(B)

¹¹ And said, Thus far shall you come and no farther; and here shall your proud waves be stayed?^(C)

¹² Have you commanded the morning since your days began and caused the dawn to know its place,

¹³ So that [light] may get hold of the corners of the earth and shake the wickedness [of night] out of it?

¹⁴ It is changed like clay into which a seal is pressed; and things stand out like a many-colored garment.

¹⁵ From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken.

¹⁶ Have you explored the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?

¹⁷ Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of deep darkness?

¹⁸ Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know it all.

¹⁹ Where is the ^[a]way where light dwells? And as for darkness, where is its abode,

²⁰ That you may conduct it to its home, and may know the paths to its house?

²¹ You must know, since you were born then! Or because you are so extremely old!

²² Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasuries of the hail,

²³ Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?^(D)

²⁴ By what way is the light distributed, or the east wind spread over the earth?

²⁵ Who has prepared a channel for the torrents of rain, or a path for the thunderbolt,

²⁶ To cause it to rain on the uninhabited land [and] on the desert where no man lives,

²⁷ To satisfy the waste and desolate ground and to cause the tender grass to spring forth?

²⁸ Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?

²⁹ Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who has given it birth?

³⁰ The waters are congealed like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

³¹ Can you bind the chains of [the cluster of stars called] Pleiades, or loose the cords of [the constellation] Orion?

³² Can you lead forth the signs of the zodiac in their season? Or can you guide [the stars of] the Bear with her young?

³³ Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule upon the earth?

³⁴ Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that an abundance of waters may cover you?

³⁵ Can you send lightnings, that they may go and say to you, Here we are?

³⁶ Who has put wisdom in the inward parts [or in the dark clouds]? Or who has given understanding to the mind [or to the meteor]?

³⁷ Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the [water] bottles of the heavens

³⁸ When [heat has caused] the dust to run into a mass and the clods to cleave fast together?

³⁹ Can you [Job] hunt the prey for the lion? Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions

⁴⁰ When they couch in their dens or lie in wait in their hiding place?

⁴¹ Who provides for the raven its prey when its young ones cry to God and wander about for lack of food?

39 Do you know the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth [their young]? [Or] do you observe when the hinds are giving birth? [Do you attend to all this, Job?]

² Can you number the months that they carry their offspring? Or do you know the time when they are delivered,

³ When they bow themselves, bring forth their young ones, [and] cast out their pains?

⁴ Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field; they go forth and return not to them.

⁵ Who has sent out the wild donkey, giving him his freedom? Or who has loosed the bands of the swift donkey [by which his tame brother is bound—he, the shy, the swift-footed, and the untamable],

⁶ Whose home I have made the wilderness, and the salt land his dwelling place?

⁷ He scorns the tumult of the city and hears not the shoutings of the taskmaster.

⁸ The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.

⁹ Will the wild ox be willing to serve you, or remain beside your manger?

¹⁰ Can you bind the wild ox with a harness to the plow in the furrow? Or will he harrow the furrows for you?

¹¹ Will you trust him because his strength is great, or to him will you leave your labor?

¹² Will you depend upon him to bring home your seed and gather the grain of your threshing floor? [Who, Job, was the author of this strange variance in the disposition of animals so alike in appearance? Was it you?]

¹³ The wings of the ostrich wave proudly, [but] are they the pinions and plumage of love?

¹⁴ The ostrich leaves her eggs on the ground and warms them in the dust,

¹⁵ Forgetting that a foot may crush them or that the wild beast may trample them.

¹⁶ She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers; her labor is in vain because she has no sense of danger [for her unborn brood],

¹⁷ For God has deprived her of wisdom, neither has He imparted to her understanding.

¹⁸ Yet when she lifts herself up in flight, [so swift is she that] she can laugh to scorn the horse and his rider.

¹⁹ Have you given the horse his might? Have you clothed his neck with quivering and a shaking mane?

²⁰ Was it you [Job] who made him to leap like a locust? The majesty of his [snorting] nostrils is terrible.

²¹ He paws in the valley and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons [of armed men].

²² He mocks at fear and is not dismayed or terrified; neither does he turn back [in battle] from the sword.

²³ The quiver rattles upon him, as do the glittering spear and the lance [of his rider].

²⁴ [He seems in running to] devour the ground with fierceness and rage; neither can he stand still at the sound of the [war] trumpet.

²⁵ As often as the trumpet sounds he says, Ha, ha! And he smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

²⁶ Is it by your wisdom [Job] that the hawk soars and stretches her wings toward the south [as winter approaches]?

²⁷ Does the eagle mount up at your command and make his nest on [a] high [inaccessible place]?

²⁸ On the cliff he dwells and remains securely, upon the point of the rock and the stronghold.

²⁹ From there he spies out the prey; and his eyes see it afar off.

³⁰ His young ones suck up blood, and where the slain are, there is he.