Old/New Testament
Eliphaz Says Job Must Repent
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 “Can a mighty (A)man be of use to God,
Or an insightful man be useful to himself?
3 Is there any pleasure to [a]the Almighty if you are righteous,
Or profit if you make your ways perfect?
4 Is it because of your reverent fear that He reproves you,
That He (B)enters into judgment against you?
5 Is not (C)your evil great,
And your iniquities without end?
6 For you have (D)taken pledges of your brothers without cause,
And (E)stripped the clothing of the naked.
7 To the weary you have (F)given no water to drink,
And from the hungry you have (G)withheld bread.
8 But the earth (H)belongs to the (I)mighty man,
And (J)the [b]highly respected man inhabits it.
9 You have sent (K)widows away empty,
And the [c]might of the (L)orphans has been crushed.
10 Therefore (M)snares surround you,
And sudden (N)dread terrifies you,
11 Or (O)darkness, so that you cannot see,
And an (P)abundance of water covers you.
12 “Is not God (Q)in the height of heaven?
Look also at the [d]distant stars, how high they are!
13 You say, ‘(R)What does God know?
Can He judge through the dense gloom?
14 (S)Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;
And He walks on the [e]vault of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the ancient path
Which (T)wicked men have trod,
16 Who were snatched away (U)before their time,
Whose (V)foundations were [f]washed away by a river?
17 They (W)said to God, ‘Depart from us!’
And ‘What can [g]the Almighty do to them?’
18 Yet He (X)filled their houses with good things,
But (Y)the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 The (Z)righteous see and are glad,
And the innocent mock them,
20 Saying, ‘Truly those who rise against us are wiped out,
And their [h]abundance (AA)the fire has consumed.’
21 “[i](AB)Yield now and be at peace with Him;
Thereby good will come to you.
22 Please receive [j](AC)instruction from His mouth
And set His words in your heart.
23 If you (AD)return to [k]the Almighty, you will be [l]restored;
If you (AE)remove unrighteousness far from your tent,
24 And (AF)put your [m]gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,
25 Then [n]the Almighty will be your [o]gold
And choice silver to you.
26 For then you will (AG)delight in [p]the Almighty
And lift up your face to God.
27 You will (AH)entreat Him, and (AI)He will hear you;
And you will pay your vows.
28 You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;
And (AJ)light will shine on your ways.
29 When [q]some are cast down, you will speak with [r]confidence,
And the [s](AK)humble person He will save.
30 He will provide escape for one who is not innocent,
And he will (AL)escape through the cleanness of your hands.”
Where Is God?
23 Then Job answered and said,
2 “Even today my (AM)musing is rebellion;
[t]His hand is (AN)heavy despite my groaning.
3 Oh that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!
4 I would (AO)arrange my case for justice before Him
And fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words which He would [u]answer,
And discern what He would say to me.
6 Would He contend with me by (AP)the greatness of His power?
No, surely He would pay attention to me.
7 There the upright would (AQ)argue with Him;
And I [v]would have (AR)escaped forever from my Judge.
8 “Behold, I go forward but He is not there,
And backward, but I (AS)cannot discern Him;
9 When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;
He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.
10 But He knows the [w]way I take;
When He has (AT)tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 My foot has (AU)held fast to His path;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the command of His lips;
I have treasured the (AV)words of His mouth [x]more than my [y]portion of food.
13 But He is unique and who can turn Him?
And what His soul desires, that He does.
14 For He performs what is apportioned for me,
And many such decrees are with Him.
15 Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;
I carefully consider, and I am in dread of Him.
16 It is God who has made my (AW)heart faint,
And the Almighty who has dismayed me,
17 But I (AX)am not silenced by the darkness,
Nor (AY)thick darkness which covers me.
Who Can Prove Me a Liar?
24 “(AZ)Why are [z]times not stored up by the Almighty,
And why do those who know Him not behold (BA)His days?
2 [aa]Some (BB)move the boundaries;
They seize and [ab]devour flocks.
3 They drive away the donkeys of the (BC)orphans;
They take the (BD)widow’s ox for a pledge.
4 They push (BE)the needy aside from the road;
The (BF)afflicted of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.
5 Behold, as (BG)wild donkeys in the wilderness
They (BH)go forth seeking food earnestly in their work,
The desert becomes [ac]for him a place of bread for his young ones.
6 They harvest their fodder in the field
And glean the vineyard of the wicked.
7 (BI)They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering against the cold.
8 They are wet with the mountain rains
And hug the rock for want of a shelter.
9 [ad]Others snatch the (BJ)orphan from the breast,
And against the afflicted they take a pledge.
10 Those poor ones walk about naked without clothing,
And hungry ones carry the sheaves.
11 Within the walls they produce oil;
They tread wine presses but thirst.
12 From the city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God (BK)does not pay attention to such offense.
13 “[ae]Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to recognize its ways
Nor abide in its paths.
14 The murderer (BL)arises at dawn;
He (BM)kills the afflicted and the needy,
And at night he is as a thief.
15 The eye of the (BN)adulterer keeps watch for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’
And he [af]keeps his face hidden.
16 In the dark they (BO)dig into houses;
They (BP)shut themselves up by day;
They do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to him as the shadow of death,
For he recognizes the (BQ)terrors of the shadow of death.
18 “[ag]They are [ah](BR)insignificant on the surface of the water;
Their portion is (BS)cursed on the earth.
They do not turn [ai]toward the (BT)vineyards.
19 Drought and heat (BU)seize the snow waters,
So does (BV)Sheol those who have sinned.
20 A [aj](BW)mother will forget him;
The (BX)worm feasts sweetly till he is (BY)no longer remembered.
And unrighteousness will be broken (BZ)like a tree.
21 He feeds on the barren woman who does not give birth
And does no good for (CA)the widow.
22 But He drags off the mighty by (CB)His power;
He rises, but (CC)no one believes in his life.
23 He provides them (CD)with security, and they are supported;
And His (CE)eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted a (CF)little while, then they are gone;
Moreover, they are (CG)brought low and like everything gathered up;
Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.
25 Now if it is not so, (CH)who can prove me a liar,
And make my speech worthless?”
Peter’s Report in Jerusalem
11 Now the apostles and (A)the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, [a](B)those who were circumcised took issue with him, 3 saying, “(C)You [b]went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began speaking [c]and proceeded to explain to them (D)in orderly sequence, saying, 5 “(E)I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw (F)a vision, [d]an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from heaven, and it came right down to me, 6 and when looking closely at it, I was observing it and saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the [e]sky. 7 And I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise up, Peter; [f]slaughter and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing defiled or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘(G)What God has cleansed, no longer consider defiled.’ 10 And this happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven. 11 And behold, immediately three men appeared at the house in which we were, having been sent to me from (H)Caesarea. 12 (I)And the Spirit told me to go with them [g](J)without taking issue at all. (K)These six brothers also went with me and we entered the man’s house. 13 And he reported to us how he had seen the angel [h]standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is also called Peter; 14 and he will speak (L)words to you by which you will be saved, you and (M)all your household.’ 15 And as I began to speak, (N)the Holy Spirit fell upon them just (O)as He did upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘(P)John baptized with water, but you will be baptized [i]with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 Therefore if (Q)God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, (R)who was I that I could prevent God’s way?” 18 And when they heard this, they [j]quieted down and (S)glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the (T)repentance that leads to life.”
The Church in Antioch
19 (U)So then those who were scattered because of the [k]persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way [l]to (V)Phoenicia and (W)Cyprus and (X)Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of (Y)Cyprus and (Z)Cyrene, who came to (AA)Antioch and began speaking to the [m](AB)Greeks also, (AC)proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 And (AD)the hand of the Lord was with them, and (AE)a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 Now the [n]news about them [o]reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent (AF)Barnabas off [p]to (AG)Antioch, 23 who, when he arrived and saw (AH)the grace of God, rejoiced and began to encourage them all with a purposeful heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and (AI)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a (AJ)considerable crowd was [q]brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for (AK)Tarsus to search for Saul; 26 and when he found him, he brought him to (AL)Antioch. And it happened that for an entire year they [r]met with the church and taught a considerable crowd. And (AM)the disciples were first called (AN)Christians in (AO)Antioch.
27 Now in those days, (AP)some prophets came down from Jerusalem to (AQ)Antioch. 28 And one of them named (AR)Agabus stood up and indicated [s]by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine (AS)all over the [t]world. [u]And this took place in the reign of (AT)Claudius. 29 And as any of (AU)the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the service of (AV)the brothers living in Judea. 30 (AW)And this they did, sending it [v]in charge of (AX)Barnabas and Saul to the (AY)elders.
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