“Do not mortals have hard service(A) on earth?(B)
    Are not their days like those of hired laborers?(C)
Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,(D)
    or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,(E)
so I have been allotted months of futility,
    and nights of misery have been assigned to me.(F)
When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’(G)
    The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.(H)
My body is clothed with worms(I) and scabs,
    my skin is broken and festering.(J)

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,(K)
    and they come to an end without hope.(L)
Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;(M)
    my eyes will never see happiness again.(N)
The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
    you will look for me, but I will be no more.(O)
As a cloud vanishes(P) and is gone,
    so one who goes down to the grave(Q) does not return.(R)
10 He will never come to his house again;
    his place(S) will know him no more.(T)

11 “Therefore I will not keep silent;(U)
    I will speak out in the anguish(V) of my spirit,
    I will complain(W) in the bitterness of my soul.(X)
12 Am I the sea,(Y) or the monster of the deep,(Z)
    that you put me under guard?(AA)
13 When I think my bed will comfort me
    and my couch will ease my complaint,(AB)
14 even then you frighten me with dreams
    and terrify(AC) me with visions,(AD)
15 so that I prefer strangling and death,(AE)
    rather than this body of mine.(AF)
16 I despise my life;(AG) I would not live forever.(AH)
    Let me alone;(AI) my days have no meaning.(AJ)

17 “What is mankind that you make so much of them,
    that you give them so much attention,(AK)
18 that you examine them every morning(AL)
    and test them(AM) every moment?(AN)
19 Will you never look away from me,(AO)
    or let me alone even for an instant?(AP)
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,(AQ)
    you who see everything we do?
Why have you made me your target?(AR)
    Have I become a burden to you?[a](AS)
21 Why do you not pardon my offenses
    and forgive my sins?(AT)
For I will soon lie down in the dust;(AU)
    you will search for me, but I will be no more.”(AV)

Bildad

Then Bildad the Shuhite(AW) replied:

“How long will you say such things?(AX)
    Your words are a blustering wind.(AY)
Does God pervert justice?(AZ)
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?(BA)
When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.(BB)
But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead(BC) with the Almighty,(BD)
if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf(BE)
    and restore you to your prosperous state.(BF)
Your beginnings will seem humble,
    so prosperous(BG) will your future be.(BH)

“Ask the former generation(BI)
    and find out what their ancestors learned,
for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,(BJ)
    and our days on earth are but a shadow.(BK)
10 Will they not instruct(BL) you and tell you?
    Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?(BM)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?(BN)
    Can reeds(BO) thrive without water?
12 While still growing and uncut,
    they wither more quickly than grass.(BP)
13 Such is the destiny(BQ) of all who forget God;(BR)
    so perishes the hope of the godless.(BS)
14 What they trust in is fragile[b];
    what they rely on is a spider’s web.(BT)
15 They lean on the web,(BU) but it gives way;
    they cling to it, but it does not hold.(BV)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
    spreading its shoots(BW) over the garden;(BX)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
    and looks for a place among the stones.
18 But when it is torn from its spot,
    that place disowns(BY) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’(BZ)
19 Surely its life withers(CA) away,
    and[c] from the soil other plants grow.(CB)

20 “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless(CC)
    or strengthen the hands of evildoers.(CD)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter(CE)
    and your lips with shouts of joy.(CF)
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,(CG)
    and the tents(CH) of the wicked will be no more.”(CI)

Footnotes

  1. Job 7:20 A few manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition and Septuagint; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text I have become a burden to myself.
  2. Job 8:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Job 8:19 Or Surely all the joy it has / is that

Paul Speaks to the Crowd(A)

37 As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks,(B) he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?”

“Do you speak Greek?” he replied. 38 “Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness(C) some time ago?”(D)

39 Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus(E) in Cilicia,(F) a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.”

40 After receiving the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned(G) to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic[a]:(H) 22 “Brothers and fathers,(I) listen now to my defense.”

When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic,(J) they became very quiet.

Then Paul said: “I am a Jew,(K) born in Tarsus(L) of Cilicia,(M) but brought up in this city. I studied under(N) Gamaliel(O) and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors.(P) I was just as zealous(Q) for God as any of you are today. I persecuted(R) the followers of this Way(S) to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,(T) as the high priest and all the Council(U) can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates(V) in Damascus,(W) and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.(X) I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

“‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,(Y) whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. My companions saw the light,(Z) but they did not understand the voice(AA) of him who was speaking to me.

10 “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.

‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’(AB) 11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.(AC)

12 “A man named Ananias came to see me.(AD) He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.(AE) 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.

14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors(AF) has chosen you to know his will and to see(AG) the Righteous One(AH) and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness(AI) to all people of what you have seen(AJ) and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized(AK) and wash your sins away,(AL) calling on his name.’(AM)

17 “When I returned to Jerusalem(AN) and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance(AO) 18 and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’

19 “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison(AP) and beat(AQ) those who believe in you. 20 And when the blood of your martyr[b] Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’(AR)

21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ (AS)

Footnotes

  1. Acts 21:40 Or possibly Hebrew; also in 22:2
  2. Acts 22:20 Or witness

In the council(A) of the holy ones(B) God is greatly feared;
    he is more awesome than all who surround him.(C)
Who is like you,(D) Lord God Almighty?(E)
    You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

You rule over the surging sea;
    when its waves mount up, you still them.(F)
10 You crushed Rahab(G) like one of the slain;
    with your strong arm you scattered(H) your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours,(I) and yours also the earth;(J)
    you founded the world and all that is in it.(K)
12 You created the north and the south;
    Tabor(L) and Hermon(M) sing for joy(N) at your name.
13 Your arm is endowed with power;
    your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.(O)

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19 Better the poor whose walk is blameless
    than a fool whose lips are perverse.(A)

Desire without knowledge is not good—
    how much more will hasty feet miss the way!(B)

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