Job 15

New International Version

Eliphaz

15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite^(A) replied:

²“Would a wise person answer with empty notions
    or fill their belly with the hot east wind?^(B)
³Would they argue with useless words,
    with speeches that have no value?^(C)
⁴But you even undermine piety
    and hinder devotion to God.^(D)
⁵Your sin^(E) prompts your mouth;^(F)
    you adopt the tongue of the crafty.^(G)
⁶Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
    your own lips testify against you.^(H)

⁷“Are you the first man ever born?^(I)
    Were you brought forth before the hills?^(J)
⁸Do you listen in on God’s council?^(K)
    Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?^(L)
⁹What do you know that we do not know?
    What insights do you have that we do not have?^(M)
¹⁰The gray-haired and the aged^(N) are on our side,
    men even older than your father.^(O)
¹¹Are God’s consolations^(P) not enough for you,
    words^(Q) spoken gently to you?^(R)
¹²Why has your heart^(S) carried you away,
    and why do your eyes flash,
¹³so that you vent your rage^(T) against God
    and pour out such words^(U) from your mouth?^(V)

¹⁴“What are mortals, that they could be pure,
    or those born of woman,^(W) that they could be righteous?^(X)
¹⁵If God places no trust in his holy ones,^(Y)
    if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,^(Z)
¹⁶how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,^(AA)
    who drink up evil^(AB) like water!^(AC)

¹⁷“Listen to me and I will explain to you;
    let me tell you what I have seen,^(AD)
¹⁸what the wise have declared,
    hiding nothing received from their ancestors^(AE)
¹⁹(to whom alone the land^(AF) was given
    when no foreigners moved among them):
²⁰All his days the wicked man suffers torment,^(AG)
    the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.^(AH)
²¹Terrifying sounds fill his ears;^(AI)
    when all seems well, marauders attack him.^(AJ)
²²He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;^(AK)
    he is marked for the sword.^(AL)
²³He wanders about^(AM) for food like a vulture;^(AN)
    he knows the day of darkness^(AO) is at hand.^(AP)
²⁴Distress and anguish^(AQ) fill him with terror;^(AR)
    troubles overwhelm him, like a king^(AS) poised to attack,
²⁵because he shakes his fist^(AT) at God
    and vaunts himself against the Almighty,^(AU)
²⁶defiantly charging against him
    with a thick, strong shield.^(AV)

²⁷“Though his face is covered with fat
    and his waist bulges with flesh,^(AW)
²⁸he will inhabit ruined towns
    and houses where no one lives,^(AX)
    houses crumbling to rubble.^(AY)
²⁹He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,^(AZ)
    nor will his possessions spread over the land.^(BA)
³⁰He will not escape the darkness;^(BB)
    a flame^(BC) will wither his shoots,^(BD)
    and the breath of God’s mouth^(BE) will carry him away.^(BF)
³¹Let him not deceive^(BG) himself by trusting what is worthless,^(BH)
    for he will get nothing in return.^(BI)
³²Before his time^(BJ) he will wither,^(BK)
    and his branches will not flourish.^(BL)
³³He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,^(BM)
    like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.^(BN)
³⁴For the company of the godless^(BO) will be barren,
    and fire will consume^(BP) the tents of those who love bribes.^(BQ)
³⁵They conceive trouble^(BR) and give birth to evil;^(BS)
    their womb fashions deceit.”

Acts 2:14-36

New International Version

Peter Addresses the Crowd

¹⁴Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!^(A) ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷“‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.^(B)
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,^(C)
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.^(D)
¹⁹I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,^(E)
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
²⁰The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood^(F)
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
²¹And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord^(G) will be saved.’^[a]^(H)

²²“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth^(I) was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs,^(J) which God did among you through him,^(K) as you yourselves know. ²³This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge;^(L) and you, with the help of wicked men,^[b] put him to death by nailing him to the cross.^(M) ²⁴But God raised him from the dead,^(N) freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.^(O) ²⁵David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
    Because he is at my right hand,
    I will not be shaken.
²⁶Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest in hope,
²⁷because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    you will not let your holy one see decay.^(P)
²⁸You have made known to me the paths of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence.’^[c]^(Q)

²⁹“Fellow Israelites,^(R) I can tell you confidently that the patriarch^(S) David died and was buried,^(T) and his tomb is here^(U) to this day. ³⁰But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.^(V) ³¹Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.^(W) ³²God has raised this Jesus to life,^(X) and we are all witnesses^(Y) of it. ³³Exalted^(Z) to the right hand of God,^(AA) he has received from the Father^(AB) the promised Holy Spirit^(AC) and has poured out^(AD) what you now see and hear. ³⁴For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,