Old/New Testament
Elihu continues to speak[a]
36 Elihu continued to speak to Job. This is what he said:
2 ‘Be patient a little bit longer,
so that I can teach you some more.
I still have more to say
to show you that God is right.
3 I will tell you the many different things that I know.
I will show you that God, my Maker, is completely fair.
4 Everything that I say to you is true.
I am speaking to you as someone who knows everything.
5 God is very powerful
but he does not turn anyone away.
When he decides to do something,
he surely does it.
6 He does not allow wicked people to continue to live.
But he is always fair to those who are poor and weak.
7 He takes care of righteous people.
He gives them authority to rule like kings.
He gives them honour for ever.
8 People who do wrong things may suffer in prison.
Chains may hold their legs so that they cannot move.
9 When that happens,
God shows them what they have done.
He shows them their sins.
They have done wrong things because they are proud.
10 He tells them this to warn them.
They must turn away from wicked things.
11 They must obey him and agree to serve him.
If they do that, they will have everything that they need.
They will enjoy all the days that they live.
12 But if they refuse to listen to God,
they will go to their graves.
They will die
and they still will not understand what is right.
13 People who turn away from God are always angry.
Even when God punishes them,
they do not pray for help.
14 They die while they are still young.
Their lives finish in shame.
They live among the male prostitutes who serve false gods.
15 But God rescues people who suffer.
He uses their troubles to teach them about himself.
16 God has called you out of your troubles, Job.
He wants you to live in a safe place
where you have no problems.
He wants you to have a comfortable life
with plenty of good food to eat.
17 But now you have a lot of trouble,
because God is punishing you as wicked people deserve.
God is right and fair to judge you like that.
18 Be very careful!
Do not let anyone use their riches to deceive you.
Do not let them pay you a lot of money
to do something that is wrong.
19 Even if you become rich,
that would not keep you safe.
Even if you were strong and powerful,
that would not keep trouble away from you.
20 Do not wait for the night to hide what you want to do.
That is the time when people disappear from their homes.
21 Be careful! Do not try to do wicked things.
God has sent these troubles to test you.
He wants to stop you doing evil things.
22 Yes, God is very powerful.
There is no teacher as good as he is.
23 Nobody can tell him what he should do.
No one can say to him, “You have done things that are wrong.”
24 People sing songs to praise God
for the things that he has done.
You also should remember to praise him.
25 People everywhere have seen the things that God has done.
But we look at them from far away.
26 Yes, God is very great!
We cannot know him completely.
Nobody can count the number of his years!
27 It is God who pulls up water from the earth
to make the clouds.
Then he causes it to become rain.
28 The rain pours down from the clouds.
There is plenty for the people on the earth.
29 Who understands how the clouds move across the sky?
How does the noise of thunder come from God's home?
30 Look at the lightning that God sends all over the sky!
But he causes the bottom of the sea to remain dark.
31 This is the way that God rules the people of the world.
He sends the rain to give them plenty of food.
32 He sends his lightning like an arrow.
He commands it to hit the right place.
33 He sends thunder to show that a storm is coming.
Even the cows know what is happening.’
Elihu continues to speak
37 ‘When I hear the noise of a storm like that,
I shake with fear.
2 Listen carefully to the sound of God's voice,
when he speaks like thunder.
3 He sends lightning across the whole sky.
Its light reaches everywhere on the earth.
4 After the lightning comes the sound of his voice.
He roars like the great sound of thunder.
When he speaks like that,
the storm never stops.
5 When God's voice speaks,
he causes wonderful things to happen.
He does great things that we cannot understand.
6 He tells the snow to fall to the earth.
He tells the rain to pour down
and make the ground wet.
7 He does that to show people what he can do.
He causes everyone to stop their own work.
8 The wild animals have to hide in a safe place.
They have to stay in their homes.
9 The strong wind of a storm comes from the place where it starts.
Cold winds blow strongly from the north.
10 The cold wind is like God's breath.
He causes ice to cover the rivers and the lakes.
11 He fills the clouds with lots of water.
He sends the lightning through the clouds.
12 The clouds move around across the whole earth.
They go wherever God sends them.
He tells them what they must do.
13 He may send a storm as punishment for his land.
Or he may send it to show his love for his people.
14 Listen carefully to what I am telling you, Job.
Stop and think about the wonderful things that God does.
15 Do you know how God commands the storms?
Do you know how he sends the bright lightning from the clouds?
16 Can you explain how the clouds hang in the sky?
God knows everything perfectly
and he does these wonderful things.
17 When the hot wind blows from the south,
nothing moves on the earth.
Your body is too hot in the clothes that you wear.
18 God puts the clouds across the whole sky,
like a metal mirror that shines brightly.
Can you also do that? No!
19 Tell us, Job, what things we should say to God.
We cannot argue with him,
because our minds are in a dark place.
20 Should I tell God that I want to speak to him?
That would be the end of me!
21 Now the wind has blown all the clouds away.
The sun shines brightly in the sky.
It is too bright for us to look at.
22 God comes with his bright glory from the north!
His glory is all around him.
It makes us afraid.
23 Almighty God is so great that we cannot come near to him.
He is very powerful.
But he always does what is right and fair.
He is not cruel to people.
24 So people respect God with fear.
He does not listen to those who think that they are wise.’
The leaders in Jerusalem write a letter to the Gentile believers
22 The whole group of believers agreed with what James said. So the apostles and the other leaders decided to choose some men from among the group of believers. These men would go to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Silas and Judas, who was also called Barsabbas. The believers all respected these men as leaders.
23 This is the letter that they sent with those men:
‘We, the apostles and leaders of the believers here say “hello” to you, our friends who also believe in Jesus. We say “hello” to all of you Gentile believers who live in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia.[a]
24 We have heard that some men from our group have confused your thoughts. These men came to you and they taught you without our authority. The things that they said were not right and they have upset you. 25 So now we have all met together. We have agreed what to do about this problem. We have chosen some men to bring this message to you. They will travel with our good friends, Barnabas and Paul. 26 These two men have worked as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that, they have almost lost their lives. 27 So we are also sending Judas and Silas to you. They will tell you the same things that we have written in this letter. 28 The Holy Spirit has shown us what we should do. We also think that this is the right thing to do. We do not want to put a heavy weight on you. So these are the only rules that we want you to obey: 29 Do not eat any food that people have given to their idols. Do not eat anything that still has blood in it. If people have strangled an animal to kill it, do not eat its meat. Do not have sex with anyone that you are not married to. If you obey these rules, you will do well. Goodbye.’
30 So the believers in Jerusalem sent these four men to go to Antioch. When they arrived there, they told the group of believers to meet together. When they all met, Silas and Judas gave them the letter. 31 When the believers in Antioch read the letter, they were very happy. They said, ‘This message will help us very much.’ 32 Judas and Silas were both prophets. They spoke a message from God to the believers there. They spoke for a long time to help the believers and to make them strong. 33 Judas and Silas remained in Antioch for some time. Then the group of believers sent them back to Jerusalem. The believers prayed that God would help them and take care of them. 34 [b] [But Silas decided to stay there.]
35 Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch for a longer time. Together with many other believers, they taught the people, and they spoke the message about the Lord Jesus.
36 After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, ‘We should go back to the towns where we already spoke the message about the Lord Jesus. Then we can visit the believers in all those places. We can see if they are doing well.’
37 Barnabas agreed and he wanted to take John Mark with them. 38 But Paul did not think that this was right. He said to Barnabas, ‘John Mark did not remain with us until we had finished our work. He left us when we were in Pamphylia.’
39 Paul and Barnabas argued strongly about this. They could not agree, so they went in different directions. Barnabas took John Mark with him and they sailed to Cyprus. 40 Paul chose Silas to go with him. The believers in Antioch asked the Lord God to take care of Paul and Silas. 41 They travelled through Syria and Cilicia. Paul taught the believers in those regions. He helped them to be strong and to trust Jesus.
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