Old/New Testament
Bildad Asks, Can Man Be Right with God?
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
2 “(A)Rule and dread [a]belong to Him
Who makes peace in (B)His heights.
3 Is there any number to (C)His troops?
And upon whom does His light not rise?
4 How then can mortal man be (D)right with God?
Or how can he be (E)pure who is born of woman?
5 Behold even (F)the moon has no brightness,
And the (G)stars are not pure in His sight;
6 How much less (H)mortal man, that (I)maggot,
And the son of man, that worm!”
Who Can Understand God?
26 Then Job answered and said,
2 “What a help you are to (J)the one without power!
How you have saved the arm (K)without strength!
3 What counsel you have given to one without wisdom!
What sound wisdom you have abundantly made known!
4 To whom have you declared words?
And whose breath comes out from you?
5 “The [b](L)departed spirits tremble
Under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Naked is (M)Sheol before Him,
And [c](N)Abaddon has no covering.
7 He (O)stretches out the north over what is formless
And hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He (P)wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not break out under them.
9 He [d](Q)obscures the face of His [e]throne
And spreads His cloud over it.
10 He has marked a (R)circle on the surface of the waters
At the (S)boundary of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble
And are astonished at His rebuke.
12 He (T)quieted the sea with His power,
And by His (U)understanding He crushed (V)Rahab.
13 By His breath the (W)heavens are made beautiful;
His hand has pierced (X)the fleeing serpent.
14 Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how only with a whisper of (Y)a word do we hear of Him!
But His mighty (Z)thunder, who can understand?”
I Hold Fast My Righteousness
27 Then Job continued to lift up his [f](AA)discourse and said,
2 “As God lives, (AB)who has removed my justice,
And the Almighty, (AC)who has embittered my soul,
3 For as long as breath is in me,
And the (AD)spirit from God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips certainly will not speak unrighteousness,
Nor will (AE)my tongue utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Till I breathe my last (AF)I will not remove my integrity from me.
6 I (AG)hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not reproach any of my days.
7 “May my enemy be as the wicked
And the one who rises against me as the unjust.
8 For what is (AH)the hope of the godless [g]when he is cut off,
When God requires (AI)his [h]soul?
9 Will God (AJ)hear his cry
When (AK)distress comes upon him?
10 Will he take (AL)delight in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will instruct you in the [i]power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you speak with utter vanity?
13 “This is (AM)the portion of a wicked man from God,
And the inheritance which the (AN)ruthless receive from the Almighty.
14 Though his sons are many, [j]they are destined (AO)for the sword;
And his (AP)offspring will not be satisfied with bread.
15 His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And [k]their (AQ)widows will not be able to weep.
16 Though he piles up silver like dust
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, (AR)but the righteous will wear it,
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 He has built his (AS)house like the [l]moth,
Or as a hut which the watchman has made.
19 He lies down rich, but never [m]again;
He opens his eyes, and (AT)it is no longer.
20 (AU)Terrors overtake him like many waters;
A tempest steals him away (AV)in the night.
21 The east (AW)wind carries him away, and he goes,
And it whirls him (AX)away from his place.
22 For it will hurl at him (AY)without sparing;
He will surely try to (AZ)flee from its [n]power.
23 Men will clap their hands at him
And will (BA)hiss him from his place.
An Angel Frees Peter from Prison
12 Now about that time [a]Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to harm them. 2 And he (A)had James the brother of John (B)put to death with a sword. 3 And when he saw that it (C)pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now [b]it was during (D)the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four [c](E)squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after (F)the Passover to bring him out before the people. 5 So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.
6 Now on [d]the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, (G)bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. 7 And behold, (H)an angel of the Lord suddenly (I)appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Rise up quickly.” And (J)his chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and [e]put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your garment around yourself and follow me.” 9 And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but was thinking he was seeing (K)a vision. 10 And when they had passed the first and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which (L)opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 When Peter (M)came [f]to himself, he said, “Now truly I know that (N)the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all [g]that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12 And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of (O)John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and (P)were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gate, (Q)a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 And when she recognized Peter’s voice, (R)because of her joy she did not open the gate. But she ran in and reported that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 15 And they said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is (S)his angel.” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door, they saw him and were astounded. 17 But (T)motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he recounted to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to (U)James and (V)the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place.
18 Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what [h]had become of Peter. 19 And when Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they (W)be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to (X)Caesarea and was spending time there.
The Death of Herod
20 Now he was very angry with the people of (Y)Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because (Z)their country was fed by the king’s country. 21 And on an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel and sitting on the judgment seat, began delivering an address to them. 22 And the assembly kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 And immediately (AA)an angel of the [i]Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
24 But (AB)the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.
25 And (AC)Barnabas and (AD)Saul [j]returned [k]to Jerusalem, (AE)fulfilling their ministry, taking along with them (AF)John, who was also called Mark.
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