Job 11
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?
3 Shall your boasts silence people?
And will you (B)scoff, and no one rebuke?
4 For (C)you have said, ‘My teaching is pure,
And (D)I am innocent in your eyes.’
5 But if only God would speak,
And open His lips against you,
6 And 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?
8 They are as (H)high as [c]the heavens; what can you do?
Deeper than [d](I)Sheol; what can you know?
9 Its measurement is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.
10 If He passes by or apprehends people,
Or calls an assembly, (J)who can restrain Him?
11 For (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,
14 If wrongdoing is in your hand, (R)put it far away,
And do not let malice dwell in your tents;
15 Then, indeed, you could (S)lift up your face without moral blemish,
And you would be firmly established and (T)not fear.
16 For you would (U)forget your trouble;
Like (V)waters that have passed by, you would remember it.
17 Your [g]life would [h]be (W)brighter than noonday;
Darkness would be like the morning.
18 Then you would trust, because there is hope;
And you would look around and rest securely.
19 You would (X)lie down and none would disturb you,
And many would [i](Y)flatter you.
20 But 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.”
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
New American Standard Bible
Job Chides His Accusers
12 Then Job responded,
2 “Truly then (A)you are the people,
And with you wisdom will die!
3 But (B)I have intelligence as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
And [a]who does not know such things as these?
4 I am a (C)joke to [b]my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and (D)blameless man is a joke.
5 [c]He who is at ease holds disaster in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.
6 The (E)tents of the destroyers prosper,
And those who provoke God (F)are secure,
[d]Whom God brings (G)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.
8 Or speak to the earth, and have it teach you;
And have the fish of the sea tell you.
9 Who among all these does not know
That (H)the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 (I)In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And (J)the breath of all mankind?
11 Does (K)the ear not put words to the test,
As the palate [e]tastes its food?
12 Wisdom is with the (L)aged,
And with [f]long life comes understanding.
Job Speaks of the Power of God
13 “(M)Wisdom and (N)might are with Him;
Advice and (O)understanding belong to Him.
14 Behold, He (P)tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He [g](Q)imprisons a person, and [h]there is no release.
15 Behold, He (R)restrains the waters, and they dry up;
And He (S)sends them out, and they [i]inundate the earth.
16 Strength and sound wisdom are with Him.
One who (T)goes astray and one who leads astray belong to Him.
17 He makes (U)advisers walk [j]barefoot
And makes fools of (V)judges.
18 He (W)undoes the binding of kings,
And ties a loincloth around their waist.
19 He makes priests walk [k]barefoot,
And overthrows (X)the secure ones.
20 He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And (Y)takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 He (Z)pours contempt on nobles,
And (AA)loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He (AB)reveals mysteries from the darkness,
And brings the deep darkness into light.
23 He (AC)makes the nations great, then destroys them;
He [l]enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 He (AD)deprives the leaders of the earth’s people of [m]intelligence
And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.
25 They (AE)grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them (AF)stagger like a drunken person.
Footnotes
- 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
Acts 15
New American Standard Bible
The Council in Jerusalem
15 (A)Some men came down from Judea and began teaching (B)the brothers, “Unless you are (C)circumcised according to (D)the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had [a]a heated argument and (E)debate with them, (F)the brothers determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the (G)apostles and elders concerning this issue. 3 Therefore, after being (H)sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both (I)Phoenicia and Samaria, (J)describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they were bringing great joy to all (K)the brothers and sisters. 4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church, (L)the apostles, and the elders, and they (M)reported all that God had done with them. 5 But some of (N)the sect of the (O)Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to (P)circumcise [b]them and to direct them to keep the Law of Moses.”
6 (Q)The apostles and the elders came together to [c]look into this [d]matter. 7 After there had been much (R)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “[e]Brothers, you know that [f]in the early days (S)God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of (T)the gospel and believe. 8 And God, (U)who knows the heart, testified to them (V)giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; 9 and (W)He made no distinction between us and them, (X)cleansing their hearts by faith. 10 Since this is the case, why are you (Y)putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which (Z)neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we are saved through (AA)the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”
12 All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were (AB)relating all the (AC)signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.
James’ Judgment
13 After they stopped speaking, [g](AD)James responded, saying, “[h]Brothers, listen to me. 14 (AE)Simeon has described how God first concerned Himself about taking a people for His name from among the Gentiles. 15 The words of (AF)the Prophets agree with this, just as it is written:
16 ‘(AG)After these things (AH)I will return,
And I will rebuild the fallen [i]tabernacle of David,
And I will rebuild its ruins,
And I will restore it,
17 (AI)So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
And all the Gentiles [j](AJ)who are called by My name,’
18 (AK)Says the Lord, who [k](AL)makes these things known from long ago.
19 Therefore, it is (AM)my judgment that we do not cause trouble for those from the Gentiles who are turning to God, 20 but that we write to them that they abstain from [l](AN)things contaminated by idols, from (AO)acts of sexual immorality, from (AP)what has been [m]strangled, and from blood. 21 For (AQ)from ancient generations Moses has those who preach him in every city, since [n]he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
22 Then it seemed good to (AR)the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to (AS)Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas who was called Barsabbas, and (AT)Silas, leading men among (AU)the brothers, 23 and they [o]sent this letter with them:
“(AV)The apostles and the brothers who are elders, to (AW)the brothers and sisters in (AX)Antioch, (AY)Syria, and (AZ)Cilicia who are from the Gentiles: (BA)Greetings.
24 Since we have heard that (BB)some [p]of our number to whom we gave no instruction have (BC)confused you by their [q]teaching, upsetting your souls, 25 (BD)it seemed good to us, having [r]become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have [s](BE)risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore, we have sent (BF)Judas and (BG)Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For (BH)it seemed good to (BI)the Holy Spirit and to (BJ)us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: 29 that you abstain from (BK)things sacrificed to idols, from (BL)blood, from (BM)things strangled, and from (BN)acts of sexual immorality; [t]if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”
30 So when they were sent away, (BO)they went down to Antioch; and after gathering the [u]congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its [v]encouragement. 32 (BP)Judas and (BQ)Silas, also being (BR)prophets themselves, [w]encouraged and strengthened (BS)the brothers and sisters with a lengthy message. 33 After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brothers and sisters (BT)in peace to those who had (BU)sent them out.[x] 35 But (BV)Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and (BW)preaching (BX)the word of the Lord, with many others also.
Second Missionary Journey
36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers and sisters in (BY)every city in which we proclaimed (BZ)the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take (CA)John, called Mark, along with them also. 38 But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had (CB)deserted them [y]in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 Now it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took (CC)Mark with him and sailed away to (CD)Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose (CE)Silas, and left after being (CF)entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he was traveling through (CG)Syria and (CH)Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Footnotes
- Acts 15:2 Lit no little
- Acts 15:5 I.e., Gentile believers
- Acts 15:6 Lit see about
- Acts 15:6 Lit word
- Acts 15:7 Lit Men, brothers
- Acts 15:7 Lit from days of old
- Acts 15:13 Or Jacob
- Acts 15:13 Lit Men, brothers
- Acts 15:16 Or tent
- Acts 15:17 Lit upon whom My name is called
- Acts 15:18 Or does these things which were known
- Acts 15:20 Lit the pollutions of
- Acts 15:20 I.e., to retain the blood
- Acts 15:21 I.e., the books of Moses, Gen through Deut
- Acts 15:23 Lit wrote by their hand
- Acts 15:24 Lit from us
- Acts 15:24 Lit words
- Acts 15:25 Or met together
- Acts 15:26 Lit given over
- Acts 15:29 Lit from which keeping yourselves free
- Acts 15:30 Or multitude
- Acts 15:31 Or exhortation
- Acts 15:32 Or exhorted
- Acts 15:33 Late mss add as v 34: But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.
- Acts 15:38 Lit from
Acts 16
New American Standard Bible
The Macedonian Vision
16 Now Paul also came to (A)Derbe and to (B)Lystra. And a disciple was there, named (C)Timothy, the son of a (D)Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well spoken of by (E)the brothers and sisters who were in (F)Lystra and (G)Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to leave with him; and he (H)took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering (I)the ordinances for them to follow which had been determined by (J)the apostles and (K)elders in Jerusalem. 5 So (L)the churches were being strengthened [a]in the faith, and were (M)increasing in number daily.
6 They passed through the [b](N)Phrygian and (O)Galatian region, after being forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in [c](P)Asia; 7 and after they came to (Q)Mysia, they were trying to go into (R)Bithynia, and the (S)Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; 8 and passing by (T)Mysia, they went down to (U)Troas. 9 (V)And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of (W)Macedonia was standing and pleading with him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 When he had seen (X)the vision, (Y)we immediately sought to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to (Z)preach the gospel to them.
11 So after setting sail from (AA)Troas, we ran (AB)a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis; 12 and from there to (AC)Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of (AD)Macedonia, (AE)a Roman colony; and we were spending some days in this city. 13 And on (AF)the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were thinking that there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.
First Convert in Europe
14 A woman named Lydia was listening; she was a seller of purple fabrics from the city of (AG)Thyatira, and (AH)a worshiper of God. [d]The Lord (AI)opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. 15 Now when she and (AJ)her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
16 It happened that as we were going to (AK)the place of prayer, a slave woman who had (AL)a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing great profit to her masters by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us and cried out repeatedly, saying, “These men are bond-servants of (AM)the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.” 18 Now she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and he turned and said to the spirit, “I command you (AN)in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very [e]moment.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of (AO)profit was suddenly gone, they seized (AP)Paul and Silas and (AQ)dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities, 20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men, Jews as they are, are causing our city trouble, 21 and they (AR)are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to practice, since we are (AS)Romans.”
Paul and Silas Imprisoned
22 The crowd joined in an attack against them, and the chief magistrates tore their [f]robes off them and proceeded to order [g]them to be (AT)beaten with rods. 23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding (AU)the jailer to guard them securely; 24 [h]and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in (AV)the [i]stocks.
25 Now about midnight (AW)Paul and Silas were praying and (AX)singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly (AY)there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately (AZ)all the doors were opened, and everyone’s (BA)chains were unfastened. 27 When (BB)the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about (BC)to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And the jailer asked for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before (BD)Paul and Silas; 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, (BE)what must I do to be saved?”
The Jailer Converted
31 They said, “(BF)Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and (BG)your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of God to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them (BH)that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set [j]food before them, and was [k]overjoyed, since he had become a believer in God together with (BI)his whole household.
35 Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their officers, saying, “Release those men.” 36 And (BJ)the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent word that you be released. So come out now and go (BK)in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “After beating us in public without due process—(BL)men who are Romans—they threw us into prison; and now they are releasing us secretly? No indeed! On the contrary, let them come [l]in person and lead us out.” 38 The officers reported these words to the chief magistrates. (BM)And they became fearful when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and pleaded with them, and when they had led them out, they repeatedly asked them (BN)to leave the city. 40 They left the prison and entered the house of (BO)Lydia, and when they saw (BP)the brothers and sisters, they [m]encouraged them and departed.
Footnotes
- Acts 16:5 Or in faith
- Acts 16:6 Or Phrygia and the Galatian region
- Acts 16:6 I.e., west coast province of Asia Minor
- Acts 16:14 Lit Whose heart the Lord opened
- Acts 16:18 Lit hour
- Acts 16:22 Or outer garments
- Acts 16:22 Lit to beat with rods
- Acts 16:24 Lit who
- Acts 16:24 Lit wood
- Acts 16:34 Lit a table
- Acts 16:34 Or overjoyed together with his whole household, since...God
- Acts 16:37 Lit themselves
- Acts 16:40 Or exhorted
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