Job 29

New International Version

Job’s Final Defense

29 Job continued his discourse:^(A)

²“How I long for the months gone by,^(B)
    for the days when God watched over me,^(C)
³when his lamp shone on my head
    and by his light I walked through darkness!^(D)
⁴Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
    when God’s intimate friendship^(E) blessed my house,^(F)
⁵when the Almighty was still with me
    and my children^(G) were around me,^(H)
⁶when my path was drenched with cream^(I)
    and the rock^(J) poured out for me streams of olive oil.^(K)

⁷“When I went to the gate^(L) of the city
    and took my seat in the public square,
⁸the young men saw me and stepped aside^(M)
    and the old men rose to their feet;^(N)
⁹the chief men refrained from speaking^(O)
    and covered their mouths with their hands;^(P)
¹⁰the voices of the nobles were hushed,^(Q)
    and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.^(R)
¹¹Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
    and those who saw me commended me,^(S)
¹²because I rescued the poor^(T) who cried for help,
    and the fatherless^(U) who had none to assist them.^(V)
¹³The one who was dying blessed me;^(W)
    I made the widow’s^(X) heart sing.
¹⁴I put on righteousness^(Y) as my clothing;
    justice was my robe and my turban.^(Z)
¹⁵I was eyes^(AA) to the blind
    and feet to the lame.^(AB)
¹⁶I was a father to the needy;^(AC)
    I took up the case^(AD) of the stranger.^(AE)
¹⁷I broke the fangs of the wicked
    and snatched the victims^(AF) from their teeth.^(AG)

¹⁸“I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,
    my days as numerous as the grains of sand.^(AH)
¹⁹My roots will reach to the water,^(AI)
    and the dew will lie all night on my branches.^(AJ)
²⁰My glory will not fade;^(AK)
    the bow^(AL) will be ever new in my hand.’^(AM)

²¹“People listened to me expectantly,
    waiting in silence for my counsel.^(AN)
²²After I had spoken, they spoke no more;^(AO)
    my words fell gently on their ears.^(AP)
²³They waited for me as for showers
    and drank in my words as the spring rain.^(AQ)
²⁴When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;
    the light of my face^(AR) was precious to them.^[a]^(AS)
²⁵I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;^(AT)
    I dwelt as a king^(AU) among his troops;
    I was like one who comforts mourners.^(AV)

Footnotes

Job 29:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.

Acts 8:26-40

New International Version

Philip and the Ethiopian

²⁶Now an angel^(A) of the Lord said to Philip,^(B) “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” ²⁷So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian^[a]^(C) eunuch,^(D) an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,^(E) ²⁸and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹The Spirit told^(F) Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

³⁰Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

³¹“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³²This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
    and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
³³In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
    Who can speak of his descendants?
    For his life was taken from the earth.”^[b]^(G)

³⁴The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” ³⁵Then Philip began^(H) with that very passage of Scripture^(I) and told him the good news^(J) about Jesus.

³⁶As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”^(K) ^[37]^[c] ³⁸And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. ³⁹When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away,^(L) and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns^(M) until he reached Caesarea.^(N)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Acts 8:27 That is, from the southern Nile region
Acts 8:33 Isaiah 53:7,8 (see Septuagint)
Acts 8:37 Some manuscripts include here Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”