Job 5-7
Contemporary English Version
Eliphaz Continues
Call Out for Help
5 Job, call out for help
and see if an angel comes!
2 Envy and jealousy
will kill a stupid fool.
3 I have seen fools take root.
But God sends a curse,
suddenly uprooting them
4 and leaving their children
helpless in court.
5 Then hungry and greedy people
gobble up their crops
and grab their wealth.[a]
6 Our suffering isn't caused
by the failure of crops;
7 it's all part of life,
like sparks shooting skyward.
8 Job, if I were you,
I would ask God for help.
9 (A) His miracles are marvelous,
more than we can count.
10 God sends showers on earth
and waters the fields.
11 He protects the sorrowful
and lifts up those
who have been disgraced.
* 12 God swiftly traps the wicked
13 (B) in their own evil schemes,
and their wisdom fails.
14 Darkness is their only companion,
hiding their path at noon.
15 God rescues the needy
from the words of the wicked
and the fist of the mighty.
16 The poor are filled with hope,
and injustice is silenced.
Consider Yourself Fortunate
17 (C) Consider yourself fortunate
if God All-Powerful
chooses to correct you.
18 (D) He may cause injury and pain,
but he will bandage and heal
your cuts and bruises.
19 God will protect you from harm,
no matter how often
trouble may strike.
20 In times of war and famine,
God will keep you safe.
21 You will be sheltered,
without fear of hurtful words
or any other weapon.
22 You will laugh at the threat
of destruction and famine.
And you won't be afraid
of wild animals—
23 they will no longer be fierce,
and your rocky fields
will become friendly.
24 Your home will be secure,
and your sheep will be safe.
25 You will have more descendants
than there are blades of grass
on the face of the earth.
26 You will live a very long life,
and your body will be strong
until the day you die.
27 Our experience has proven
these things to be true,
so listen and learn.
Job's Reply to Eliphaz
It's Impossible
6 Job said:
2 It's impossible to weigh
my misery and grief!
3 They outweigh the sand
along the beach,
and that's why I have spoken
without thinking first.
4 The fearsome arrows
of God All-Powerful
have filled my soul
with their poison.
5 Do oxen and wild donkeys
cry out in distress
unless they are hungry?
6 What is food without salt?
What is more tasteless
than the white of an egg?[b]
7 That's how my food tastes,
and my appetite is gone.
* 8 How I wish that God
would answer my prayer
9 and do away with me.
10 Then I would be comforted,
knowing that in all of my pain
I have never disobeyed God.
11 Why should I patiently hope
when my strength is gone?
12 I am not strong as stone
or bronze,
13 and I have finally reached
the end of my rope.
My Friends, I Am Desperate
14 My friends, I am desperate,
and you should help me,
even if I no longer respect
God All-Powerful.[c]
* 15 But you are treacherous
16 like streams that swell
with melting snow,
17 then suddenly disappear
in the summer heat.
18 I am like a caravan,
lost in the desert
while searching for water.
19 Caravans from Tema and Sheba[d]
20 thought they would find water.
But they were disappointed,
21 just as I am with you.[e]
Only one look at my suffering,
and you run away scared.
What Have I Done Wrong?
22 Have I ever asked any of you
to give me a gift
23 or to purchase my freedom
from brutal enemies?
24 What have I done wrong?
Show me,
and I will keep quiet.
25 The truth is always painful,
but your arguments
prove nothing.
26 Here I am desperate,
and you consider my words
as worthless as wind.
27 Why, you would sell an orphan
or your own neighbor!
28 Look me straight in the eye;
I won't lie to you.
29 Stop accusing me falsely;
my reputation is at stake.
30 I know right from wrong,
and I am not telling lies.
Job Continues
Why Is Life So Hard?
7 Why is life so hard?
Why do we suffer?
2 We are slaves in search of shade;
we are laborers longing
for our wages.
3 God has made my days drag on
and my nights miserable.
4 I pray for night to end,
but it stretches out
while I toss and turn.
5 My parched skin is covered
with worms, dirt, and sores,
6 and my days are running out
quicker than the thread
of a fast-moving needle.
Don't Forget!
7 I beg you, God, don't forget!
My life is just a breath,
and trouble lies ahead.
8 I will vanish from sight,
and no one, including you,
will ever see me again.
9 (E) I will disappear in the grave
or vanish from sight
like a passing cloud.
10 Never will I return home;
soon I will be forgotten.
11 And so, I cry out to you
in agony and distress.
12 Am I the sea or a sea monster?
Is that why you imprison me?[f]
13 I go to bed, hoping for rest,
14 but you torture me
with terrible dreams.
* 15 I'd rather choke to death
than live in this body.
16 Leave me alone and let me die;
my life has no meaning.[g]
17 (F) What makes you so concerned
about us humans?
18 Why do you test us
from sunrise to sunset?
19 Won't you look away
just long enough
for me to swallow?
20 Why do you watch us so closely?
What's it to you, if I sin?
Why am I your target
and such a heavy burden?
21 Why do you refuse to forgive?
Soon you won't find me,
because I'll be dead.
Footnotes
- 5.5 wealth: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
- 6.6 What is more tasteless … egg: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 6.14 and you should help me … God All-Powerful: Or “and if you don't help me, you no longer respect God All-Powerful.”
- 6.19 Tema and Sheba: Tema was a region in northwest Arabia, and Sheba was probably a region in southwest Arabia.
- 6.21 just … you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 7.12 sea monster … imprison me: “Sea monster” translates the Hebrew word “Tannin,” which was possibly a sea monster similar to Leviathan (3.8), Rahab (9.13), and Behemoth (40.15). According to 38.8-11, God makes the sea his prisoner by setting its boundaries.
- 7.16 my life … meaning: Or “my life will soon be over.”
Acts 8:1-25
Contemporary English Version
8 1-2 Saul approved the stoning of Stephen. Some faithful followers of the Lord buried Stephen and mourned very much for him.
Saul Makes Trouble for the Church
At that time the church in Jerusalem suffered terribly. All of the Lord's followers, except the apostles, were scattered everywhere in Judea and Samaria. 3 (A) Saul started making a lot of trouble for the church. He went from house to house, arresting men and women and putting them in jail.
The Good News Is Preached in Samaria
4 The Lord's followers who had been scattered went from place to place, telling the good news. 5 Philip went to the city of Samaria and told the people about Christ. 6 They crowded around Philip because they were eager to hear what he was saying and to see him work miracles. 7 Many people with evil spirits were healed, and the spirits went out of them with a shout. A lot of paralyzed and lame people were also healed. 8 Everyone in that city was very glad because of what was happening.
9 For some time a man named Simon had lived there and had amazed the people of Samaria. He practiced witchcraft and claimed to be somebody great. 10 Everyone, rich and poor, crowded around him. They said, “This man is the power of God called ‘The Great Power.’ ”
11 For a long time, Simon had used witchcraft to amaze the people, and they kept crowding around him. 12 But when they believed what Philip was saying about God's kingdom and about the name of Jesus Christ, they were all baptized. 13 Even Simon believed and was baptized. He stayed close to Philip, because he marveled at all the miracles and wonders.
14 The apostles in Jerusalem heard that some people in Samaria had accepted God's message, and they sent Peter and John. 15 When the two apostles arrived, they prayed that these people would be given the Holy Spirit. 16 Before this, the Holy Spirit had not been given to any of them, though some of them had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Peter and John then placed their hands on everyone who had faith in the Lord, and they were given the Holy Spirit.
18 Simon noticed that the Spirit was given only when the apostles placed their hands on the people. So he brought money 19 and said to Peter and John, “Let me have this power too! Then anyone I place my hands on will also be given the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter said to him, “You and your money will both end up in hell if you think you can buy God's gift! 21 You don't have any part in this, and God sees that your heart isn't right. 22 Get rid of these evil thoughts and ask God to forgive you. 23 I can see that you are jealous and bound by your evil ways.”
24 Simon said, “Please pray to the Lord, so that what you said won't happen to me.”
25 After Peter and John had preached about the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem. On their way they told the good news in many villages of Samaria.
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