Job 11-12
Christian Standard Bible
Zophar Speaks
11 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2 Should this abundance of words(A) go unanswered
and such a talker[a] be acquitted?
3 Should your babbling put others to silence,
so that you can keep on ridiculing
with no one to humiliate you?
4 You have said, “My teaching(B) is sound,
and I am pure in your sight.”
5 But if only God would speak
and open his lips against you!
6 He would show you the secrets of wisdom,(C)
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know then that God has chosen to overlook some of your iniquity.(D)
7 Can you fathom the depths of God
or discover the limits of the Almighty?(E)
8 They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?(F)
9 Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.
10 If he passes by and throws someone in prison
or convenes a court, who can stop him?(G)
11 Surely he knows which people are worthless.
If he sees iniquity, will he not take note of it?(H)
12 But a stupid person will gain understanding
as soon as a wild donkey is born a human!
13 As for you, if you redirect your heart
and spread out your hands to him in prayer—
14 if there is iniquity in your hand, remove it,
and don’t allow injustice to dwell in your tents—
15 then you will hold your head high, free from fault.
You will be firmly established and unafraid.(I)
16 For you will forget your suffering,
recalling it only as water that has flowed by.
17 Your life will be brighter than noonday;
its darkness[b] will be like the morning.(J)
18 You will be confident, because there is hope.(K)
You will look carefully about and lie down in safety.(L)
19 You will lie down with no one to frighten you,
and many will seek your favor.(M)
20 But the sight of the wicked(N) will fail.
Their way of escape will be cut off,
and their only hope is their last breath.(O)
Job’s Reply to Zophar
12 Then Job answered:
2 No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!
3 But I also have a mind like you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?[c](P)
4 I am a laughingstock to my[d] friends,
by calling on God, who answers me.[e]
The righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock.(Q)
5 The one who is at ease(R) holds calamity in contempt
and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.
6 The tents of robbers are safe,(S)
and those who trouble God are secure;
God holds them in his hands.[f](T)
7 But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;
ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.(U)
8 Or speak to the earth, and it will instruct you;
let the fish of the sea inform you.
9 Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?(V)
10 The life of every living thing is in his hand,
as well as the breath of all humanity.(W)
11 Doesn’t the ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
12 Wisdom is found with the elderly,
and understanding comes with long life.(X)
13 Wisdom and strength belong to God;
counsel and understanding are his.(Y)
14 Whatever he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
whoever he imprisons cannot be released.(Z)
15 When he withholds water, everything dries up,
and when he releases it, it destroys the land.(AA)
16 True wisdom and power belong to him.
The deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leads counselors away barefoot
and makes judges go mad.(AB)
18 He releases the bonds[g] put on by kings(AC)
and fastens a belt around their waists.
19 He leads priests away barefoot
and overthrows established leaders.(AD)
20 He deprives trusted advisers of speech
and takes away the elders’ good judgment.
21 He pours out contempt on nobles
and disarms[h] the strong.
22 He reveals mysteries from the darkness
and brings the deepest darkness into the light.(AE)
23 He makes nations great, then destroys them;
he enlarges nations,(AF) then leads them away.
24 He deprives the world’s leaders of reason,
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.(AG)
25 They grope around in darkness without light;
he makes them stagger like a drunkard.(AH)
Acts 23:12-35
Christian Standard Bible
The Plot against Paul
12 When it was morning, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.(A) 13 There were more than forty who had formed this plot. 14 These men went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a solemn curse that we won’t eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15 So now you, along with the Sanhedrin, make a request to the commander that he bring him down to you[a] as if you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly. But, before he gets near, we are ready to kill him.”(B)
16 But the son of Paul’s sister, hearing about their ambush, came and entered the barracks and reported it to Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander, because he has something to report to him.”
18 So he took him, brought him to the commander, and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you.”
19 The commander took him by the hand, led him aside, and inquired privately, “What is it you have to report to me?”
20 “The Jews,” he said, “have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as though they are going to hold a somewhat more careful inquiry about him. 21 Don’t let them persuade you, because there are more than forty of them lying in ambush—men who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, waiting for your consent.”(C)
22 So the commander dismissed the young man and instructed him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have informed me about this.”
To Caesarea by Night
23 He summoned two of his centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready with seventy cavalry and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.[b](D) 24 Also provide mounts to ride so that Paul may be brought safely to Felix the governor.”
25 He wrote the following letter:[c]
26 Claudius Lysias,
To the most excellent governor Felix:
Greetings.(E)
27 When this man had been seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, I arrived with my troops and rescued him because I learned that he is a Roman citizen.(F) 28 Wanting to know the charge they were accusing him of, I brought him down before their Sanhedrin. 29 I found out that the accusations were concerning questions of their law,(G) and that there was no charge that merited death or imprisonment.(H) 30 When I was informed that there was a plot against the man,[d](I) I sent him to you right away. I also ordered his accusers(J) to state their case against him in your presence.[e]
31 So the soldiers took Paul during the night and brought him to Antipatris as they were ordered. 32 The next day, they returned to the barracks, allowing the cavalry to go on with him. 33 When these men entered Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him.(K) 34 After he[f] read it, he asked what province he was from. When he learned he was from Cilicia,(L) 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing whenever your accusers also get here.” He ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.[g](M)
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Psalm 89:21-27
Christian Standard Bible
21 My hand will always be with him,
and my arm will strengthen him.(A)
22 The enemy will not oppress[a] him;
the wicked will not afflict him.(B)
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike those who hate him.(C)
24 My faithfulness and love will be with him,
and through my name
his horn will be exalted.(D)
25 I will extend his power to the sea
and his right hand to the rivers.(E)
26 He will call to me, ‘You are my Father,(F)
my God, the rock of my salvation.’(G)
27 I will also make him my firstborn,
greatest of the kings of the earth.(H)
Footnotes
- 89:22 Or not exact tribute from
Proverbs 19:5-6
Christian Standard Bible
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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