Old/New Testament
IV. Third Cycle of Speeches[a]
Chapter 22
Eliphaz’s Third Speech. 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 Can a man be profitable to God?(A)
Can a wise man be profitable to him?
3 Does it please the Almighty that you are just?(B)
Does he gain if your ways are perfect?[b]
4 Is it because of your piety that he reproves you—
that he enters into judgment with you?
5 Is not your wickedness great,
your iniquity endless?
6 You keep your relatives’ goods in pledge unjustly,[c]
leave them stripped naked of their clothing.(C)
7 To the thirsty you give no water to drink,
and from the hungry you withhold bread;
8 As if the land belonged to the powerful,
and only the privileged could dwell in it!
9 You sent widows away empty-handed,
and the resources of orphans are destroyed.(D)
10 Therefore snares are round about you,(E)
sudden terror makes you panic,
11 Or darkness—you cannot see!
A deluge of waters covers you.
12 Does not God, in the heights of the heavens,(F)
behold the top of the stars, high though they are?
13 Yet you say, “What does God know?(G)
Can he judge through the thick darkness?
14 Clouds hide him so that he cannot see
as he walks around the circuit of the heavens!”
15 Do you indeed keep to the ancient way
trodden by the worthless?
16 They were snatched before their time;
their foundations a river swept away.
17 They said to God, “Let us alone!”
and, “What can the Almighty do to us?”
18 Yet he had filled their houses with good things.
The designs of the wicked are far from me
19 The just look on and are glad,
and the innocent deride them:[e](I)
20 “Truly our enemies are destroyed,
and what was left to them, fire has consumed!”
21 Settle with him and have peace.
That way good shall come to you:
22 Receive instruction from his mouth,
and place his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;
if you put iniquity far from your tent,
24 And treat raw gold as dust,
the fine gold of Ophir[f] as pebbles in the wadi,
25 Then the Almighty himself shall be your gold
and your sparkling silver.
26 For then you shall delight in the Almighty,
you shall lift up your face toward God.
27 Entreat him and he will hear you,(J)
and your vows you shall fulfill.
28 What you decide shall succeed for you,
and upon your ways light shall shine.
29 For when they are brought low, you will say, “It is pride!”
But downcast eyes he saves.(K)
30 He will deliver whoever is innocent;
you shall be delivered if your hands are clean.(L)
Chapter 23
Job’s Seventh Reply. 1 Then Job answered and said:
2 Today especially my complaint is bitter,
his hand is heavy upon me in my groanings.
3 Would that I knew how to find him,
that I might come to his dwelling!
4 I would set out my case before him,
fill my mouth with arguments;
5 I would learn the words he would answer me,
understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he contend against me with his great power?
No, he himself would heed me!
7 There an upright man might argue with him,
and I would once and for all be delivered from my judge.
8 But if I go east, he is not there;[g]
or west, I cannot perceive him;
9 The north enfolds him, and I cannot catch sight of him;
The south hides him, and I cannot see him.
10 Yet he knows my way;
if he tested me, I should come forth like gold.(M)
11 My foot has always walked in his steps;
I have kept his way and not turned aside.
12 From the commands of his lips I have not departed;
the words of his mouth I have treasured in my heart.
13 But once he decides, who can contradict him?
What he desires, that he does.(N)
14 For he will carry out what is appointed for me,
and many such things he has in store.
15 Therefore I am terrified before him;
when I take thought, I dread him.
16 For it is God who has made my heart faint,
the Almighty who has terrified me.
17 Yes, would that I had vanished in darkness,
hidden by the thick gloom before me.
Chapter 24
1 Why are times not set by the Almighty,
and why do his friends not see his days?[h]
2 People remove landmarks;
they steal herds and pasture them.
3 The donkeys of orphans they drive away;
they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
4 They force the needy off the road;
all the poor of the land are driven into hiding.
5 Like wild donkeys in the wilderness,
they go forth to their task of seeking prey;
the steppe provides food for their young;
6 They harvest fodder in the field,
and glean in the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They pass the night naked, without clothing;
they have no covering against the cold;
8 They are drenched with rain from the mountains,
and for want of shelter they cling to the rock.
9 Orphans are snatched from the breast,
infants of the needy are taken in pledge.[i]
10 They go about naked, without clothing,
and famished, they carry the sheaves.[j]
11 Between the rows they press out the oil;
they tread the wine presses, yet are thirsty.
12 In the city the dying groan,
and the souls of the wounded cry out.
Yet God does not treat it as a disgrace!
13 They are rebels against the light:(O)
they do not recognize its ways;
they do not stay in its paths.
14 When there is no light the murderer rises,
to kill the poor and needy;
in the night he acts like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight;(P)
he says, “No eye will see me.”
He puts a mask over his face;
16 in the dark he breaks into houses;
By day they shut themselves in;
they do not know the light.
17 Indeed, for all of them morning is deep darkness;
then they recognize the terrors of deep darkness.
18 He is swift on the surface of the water:[k]
their portion in the land is accursed,
they do not turn aside by way of the vineyards.
19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters,
Sheol, those who have sinned.
20 May the womb forget him,
may the worm find him sweet,
may he no longer be remembered;
And may wickedness be broken like a tree.
21 May his companion be barren, unable to give birth,
may his widow not prosper!
22 He[l] sustains the mighty by his strength,
to him who rises without assurance of his life
23 he gives safety and support,
and his eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted for a while, and then are no more;
laid low, like everyone else they are gathered up;
like ears of grain they shrivel.
25 If this be not so, who can make me a liar,
and reduce my words to nothing?
Chapter 11
The Baptism of the Gentiles Explained.[a] 1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem the circumcised believers confronted him, 3 saying, “You entered[b] the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them.” 4 Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying, 5 (A)“I was at prayer in the city of Joppa when in a trance I had a vision, something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me. 6 Looking intently into it, I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky. 7 I also heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘Certainly not, sir, because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But a second time a voice from heaven answered, ‘What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.’ 10 This happened three times, and then everything was drawn up again into the sky. 11 Just then three men appeared at the house where we were, who had been sent to me from Caesarea. 12 The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating. These six brothers[c] also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He related to us how he had seen [the] angel standing in his house, saying, ‘Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter,(B) 14 who will speak words to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’ 15 As I began to speak, the holy Spirit fell upon them as it had upon us at the beginning,(C) 16 and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.’(D) 17 If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?”(E) 18 When they heard this, they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, “God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”
The Church at Antioch.[d] 19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but Jews.(F) 20 There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however, who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. 21 The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas [to go] to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart, 24 for he was a good man, filled with the holy Spirit and faith. And a large number of people was added to the Lord. 25 Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.[e]
The Prediction of Agabus.[f] 27 At that time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, 28 and one of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine all over the world, and it happened under Claudius.(G) 29 So the disciples determined that, according to ability,(H) each should send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea. 30 [g]This they did, sending it to the presbyters in care of Barnabas and Saul.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.