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Job 41-42
Contemporary English Version
Job 41-42
Contemporary English Version
The Lord Continues
Can You Catch a Sea Monster?
41 (A) Can you catch a sea monster[a]
by using a fishhook?
Can you tie its mouth shut
with a rope?
2 Can it be led around
by a ring in its nose
or a hook in its jaw?
3 Will it beg for mercy?
4 Will it surrender
as a slave for life?
5 Can it be tied by the leg
like a pet bird
for little girls?
6 Is it ever chopped up
and its pieces bargained for
in the fish-market?
7 Can it be killed
with harpoons or spears?
8 Wrestle it just once—
that will be the end.
9 Merely a glimpse of this monster
makes all courage melt.
10 And if it is too fierce
for anyone to attack,
who would dare oppose me?
11 I am in command of the world
and in debt to no one.
12 What powerful legs,
what a stout body
this monster possesses!
13 Who could strip off its armor
or bring it under control
with a harness?
14 Who would try to open its jaws,
full of fearsome teeth?
* 15 Its back[b] is covered
with shield after shield,
16 firmly bound and closer together
17 than breath to breath.
When This Monster Sneezes
18 When this monster sneezes,
lightning flashes, and its eyes
glow like the dawn.
19 Sparks and fiery flames
explode from its mouth.
20 And smoke spews from its nose
like steam
from a boiling pot,
21 while its blazing breath
scorches everything in sight.
22 Its neck is so tremendous
that everyone trembles,
23 the weakest parts of its body
are harder than iron,
24 and its heart is stone.
25 When this noisy monster appears,
even the most powerful[c]
turn and run in fear.
26 No sword or spear can harm it,
27 and weapons of bronze or iron
are as useless as straw
or rotten wood.
28 Rocks thrown from a sling
cause it no more harm
than husks of grain.
This monster fears no arrows,
29 it simply smiles at spears,
and striking it with a stick
is like slapping it with straw.
30 As it crawls through the mud,
its sharp and spiny hide
tears the ground apart.
31 And when it swims down deep,
the sea starts churning
like boiling oil,
32 and it leaves behind a trail
of shining white foam.
33 No other creature on earth
is so fearless.
34 It is king of all proud creatures,
and it looks upon the others
as nothing.
Job's Reply to the Lord
No One Can Oppose You
42 Job said:
2 No one can oppose you,
because you have the power
to do what you want.
3 (B) You asked why I talk so much
when I know so little.
I have talked about things
that are far beyond
my understanding.
4 (C) You told me to listen
and answer your questions.[d]
5 I heard about you from others;
now I have seen you
with my own eyes.
6 That's why I hate myself
and sit here in dust and ashes
to show my sorrow.
The Lord Corrects Job's Friends
7 The Lord said to Eliphaz:
What my servant Job has said about me is true, but I am angry with you and your two friends for not telling the truth. 8 So I want you to go over to Job and offer seven bulls and seven goats on an altar as a sacrifice to please me.[e] After this, Job will pray, and I will agree not to punish you for your foolishness.
9 Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar obeyed the Lord, and he answered Job's prayer.
A Happy Ending
10 (D) After Job had prayed for his three friends, the Lord made Job twice as rich as he had been before. 11 Then Job gave a feast for his brothers and sisters and for his old friends. They expressed their sorrow for the suffering the Lord had brought on him, and they each gave Job some silver and a gold ring.
12 The Lord now blessed Job more than ever; he gave him 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 pair of oxen, and 1,000 donkeys.
13 In addition to seven sons, Job had three daughters, 14 whose names were Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren Happuch. 15 They were the most beautiful women in that part of the world, and Job gave them shares of his property, along with their brothers.
16 Job lived for another 140 years—long enough to see his great-grandchildren have children of their own— 17 and when he finally died, he was very old.
Footnotes
- 41.1 sea monster: The Hebrew text has “Leviathan,” which may refer to a sea monster or possibly to a crocodile in this verse (see the note at 3.8).
- 41.15 back: Two ancient translations; Hebrew “pride.”
- 41.25 most powerful: Or “gods.”
- 42.4 questions: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 4.
- 42.8 sacrifice to please me: These sacrifices have traditionally been called “whole burnt offerings” because the whole animal was burned on the altar. A main purpose of such sacrifices was to please the Lord with the smell of the sacrifice, and so in the CEV they are often called “sacrifices to please the Lord.”
Job 41-42
New International Version
Job 41-42
New International Version
41 [a]“Can you pull in Leviathan(A) with a fishhook(B)
or tie down its tongue with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through its nose(C)
or pierce its jaw with a hook?(D)
3 Will it keep begging you for mercy?(E)
Will it speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will it make an agreement with you
for you to take it as your slave for life?(F)
5 Can you make a pet of it like a bird
or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
6 Will traders barter for it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?(G)
8 If you lay a hand on it,
you will remember the struggle and never do it again!(H)
9 Any hope of subduing it is false;
the mere sight of it is overpowering.(I)
10 No one is fierce enough to rouse it.(J)
Who then is able to stand against me?(K)
11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay?(L)
Everything under heaven belongs to me.(M)
12 “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs,(N)
its strength(O) and its graceful form.
13 Who can strip off its outer coat?
Who can penetrate its double coat of armor[b]?(P)
14 Who dares open the doors of its mouth,(Q)
ringed about with fearsome teeth?
15 Its back has[c] rows of shields
tightly sealed together;(R)
16 each is so close to the next
that no air can pass between.
17 They are joined fast to one another;
they cling together and cannot be parted.
18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
its eyes are like the rays of dawn.(S)
19 Flames(T) stream from its mouth;
sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke pours from its nostrils(U)
as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
21 Its breath(V) sets coals ablaze,
and flames dart from its mouth.(W)
22 Strength(X) resides in its neck;
dismay goes before it.
23 The folds of its flesh are tightly joined;
they are firm and immovable.
24 Its chest is hard as rock,
hard as a lower millstone.(Y)
25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified;(Z)
they retreat before its thrashing.(AA)
26 The sword that reaches it has no effect,
nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.(AB)
27 Iron it treats like straw(AC)
and bronze like rotten wood.
28 Arrows do not make it flee;(AD)
slingstones are like chaff to it.
29 A club seems to it but a piece of straw;(AE)
it laughs(AF) at the rattling of the lance.
30 Its undersides are jagged potsherds,
leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.(AG)
31 It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron(AH)
and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.(AI)
32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it;
one would think the deep had white hair.
33 Nothing on earth is its equal(AJ)—
a creature without fear.
34 It looks down on all that are haughty;(AK)
it is king over all that are proud.(AL)”
Job
42 Then Job replied to the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things;(AM)
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.(AN)
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’(AO)
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.(AP)
4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’(AQ)
5 My ears had heard of you(AR)
but now my eyes have seen you.(AS)
6 Therefore I despise myself(AT)
and repent(AU) in dust and ashes.”(AV)
Epilogue
7 After the Lord had said these things to Job(AW), he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends,(AX) because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.(AY) 8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams(AZ) and go to my servant Job(BA) and sacrifice a burnt offering(BB) for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer(BC) and not deal with you according to your folly.(BD) You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.”(BE) 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite(BF) did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.(BG)
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes(BH) and gave him twice as much as he had before.(BI) 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before(BJ) came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him,(BK) and each one gave him a piece of silver[d] and a gold ring.
12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, an old man and full of years.(BL)
Acts 16:22-40
Contemporary English Version
Acts 16:22-40
Contemporary English Version
22 The crowd joined in the attack on Paul and Silas. Then the officials tore the clothes off the two men and ordered them to be beaten with a whip. 23 After they had been badly beaten, they were put in jail, and the jailer was told to guard them carefully. 24 The jailer did as he was told. He put them deep inside the jail and chained their feet to heavy blocks of wood.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened. 26 Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the jail to its foundations. The doors opened, and the chains fell from all the prisoners.
27 When the jailer woke up and saw that the doors were open, he thought that the prisoners had escaped. He pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don't harm yourself! No one has escaped.”
29 The jailer asked for a torch and went into the jail. He was shaking all over as he knelt down in front of Paul and Silas. 30 After he had led them out of the jail, he asked, “What must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Have faith in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved! This is also true for everyone who lives in your home.”
32 Then Paul and Silas told him and everyone else in his house about the Lord. 33 While it was still night, the jailer took them to a place where he could wash their cuts and bruises. Then he and everyone in his home were baptized. 34 They were very glad they had put their faith in God. After this, the jailer took Paul and Silas to his home and gave them something to eat.
35 The next morning the officials sent some police with orders for the jailer to let Paul and Silas go. 36 The jailer told Paul, “The officials have ordered me to set you free. Now you can leave in peace.”
37 But Paul told the police, “We are Roman citizens,[a] and the Roman officials had us beaten in public without giving us a trial. They threw us into jail. Now do they think they can secretly send us away? No, they cannot! They will have to come here themselves and let us out.”
38 When the police told the officials that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, the officials were afraid. 39 So they came and apologized. They led them out of the jail and asked them to please leave town. 40 But Paul and Silas went straight to the home of Lydia, where they saw the Lord's followers and encouraged them. Then they left.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 16.37 Roman citizens: Only a small number of the people living in the Roman Empire were citizens, and they had special rights and privileges.
Acts 16:22-40
New International Version
Acts 16:22-40
New International Version
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.(A) 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer(B) was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.(C)
25 About midnight(D) Paul and Silas(E) were praying and singing hymns(F) to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken.(G) At once all the prison doors flew open,(H) and everyone’s chains came loose.(I) 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.(J) 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.(K) 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”(L)
31 They replied, “Believe(M) in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved(N)—you and your household.”(O) 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night(P) the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.(Q) 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he(R) was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36 The jailer(S) told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”(T)
37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens,(U) and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.(V) 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.(W) 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house,(X) where they met with the brothers and sisters(Y) and encouraged them. Then they left.
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