Job 9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Job Replies: There Is No Mediator
9 Then Job answered:
2 “Indeed, I know that this is so,
but how can a mortal be just before God?(A)
3 If one wished to contend with him,
one could not answer him once in a thousand.(B)
4 He is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
who has resisted him and succeeded?(C)
5 He removes mountains, and they do not know it
when he overturns them in his anger;
6 he shakes the earth out of its place,
and its pillars tremble;(D)
7 he commands the sun, and it does not rise;
he seals up the stars;
8 he alone stretched out the heavens
and trampled the waves of the Sea;[a](E)
9 he made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;(F)
10 he does great things beyond understanding
and marvelous things without number.(G)
11 Look, he passes by me, and I do not see him;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him.(H)
12 He snatches away; who can stop him?
Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’(I)
13 “God will not turn back his anger;
the helpers of Rahab bowed beneath him.(J)
14 How then can I answer him,
choosing my words with him?
15 Though I am innocent, I cannot answer him;
I must appeal to my accuser for my right.(K)
16 If I summoned him and he answered me,
I do not believe that he would listen to my voice.
17 For he crushes me with a tempest
and multiplies my wounds without cause;(L)
18 he will not let me get my breath
but fills me with bitterness.(M)
19 If it is a contest of strength, he is the strong one!
If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?[b]
20 Though I am innocent, my own mouth would condemn me;
though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
21 I am blameless; I do not know myself;
I loathe my life.(N)
22 It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’(O)
23 When disaster brings sudden death,
he mocks at the calamity[c] of the innocent.(P)
24 The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
he covers the eyes of its judges—
if it is not he, who then is it?(Q)
25 “My days are swifter than a runner;
they flee away; they see no good.
26 They go by like skiffs of reed,
like an eagle swooping on the prey.(R)
27 If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint;
I will put off my sad countenance and be of good cheer,’
28 I become afraid of all my suffering,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.
29 I shall be condemned;
why then do I labor in vain?(S)
30 If I wash myself with soap
and cleanse my hands with lye,(T)
31 yet you will plunge me into filth,
and my own clothes will abhor me.
32 For he is not a mortal, as I am, that I might answer him,
that we should come to trial together.(U)
33 There is no mediator[d] between us,
who might lay his hand on us both.(V)
34 If he would take his rod away from me
and not let dread of him terrify me,(W)
35 then I would speak without fear of him,
for I know I am not what I am thought to be.[e]
Acts 10:34-48
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Gentiles Hear the Good News
34 Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality,(A) 35 but in every people anyone who fears him and practices righteousness[a] is acceptable to him.(B) 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all.(C) 37 That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.(D) 39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,(E) 40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear,(F) 41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.(G) 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.(H) 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”(I)
Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit
44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.(J) 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the gentiles,(K) 46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”(L) 48 So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.(M)
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- 10.35 Or acts justly
John 7:37-52
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Rivers of Living Water
37 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me,(A) 38 and let the one who believes in me drink. As[a] the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart[b] shall flow rivers of living water.’ ”(B) 39 Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive, for as yet there was no Spirit[c] because Jesus was not yet glorified.(C)
Division among the People
40 When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.”[d] But some asked, “Surely the Messiah[e] does not come from Galilee, does he?(D) 42 Has not the scripture said that the Messiah[f] is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”(E) 43 So there was a division in the crowd because of him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
The Unbelief of Those in Authority
45 Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” 46 The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” 47 Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived, too, have you? 48 Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him?(F) 49 But this crowd, which does not know the law, they are accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus[g] before and who was one of them, asked, 51 “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?”(G) 52 They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”
Read full chapterNew Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.