Old/New Testament
Zophar speaks to Job again[a]
20 Then Zophar replied to Job. This is what he said:
2 ‘I am very upset by the things that you have said.
So I must say more to answer you.
3 You have said things that insult me.
But now I know how to reply to you.
4 I am sure that you know this fact.
It has been true from long ago,
since people first lived on the earth.
5 You know that a wicked person is only happy for a short time.
His joy continues only for a moment.
6 He may think that he is more important than other people.
He may be proud of the honour that he receives.
7 But he will disappear for ever,
like dung that people throw away.
His friends will ask, “Where is he?”
8 He will disappear like a dream that quickly goes away.
Nobody can find him any more.
9 People who knew him will never see him again.
His family will no longer recognize him.
10 His children will have to give things back to poor people.
Those are the valuable things that he took from them.
11 He still had the strength of a young man.
But his strength will die with him when he lies in his grave.
12 He enjoys the wicked things that he does.
They are like something sweet in his mouth.
13 He continues to enjoy wicked things,
like the taste of sweet food that he keeps in his mouth.
14 But those things will become poison that hurts him.
Like bitter food that goes into his stomach.
15 Like a person who is sick and loses the food from his stomach,
God will cause the wicked person to lose all his riches.
16 He will drink the poison of snakes.
A dangerous snake will bite him and it will kill him.
17 He will never enjoy the good things that the earth provides.
He will not enjoy the honey and milk which pours out like rivers of water.
18 He will have to give back everything that he owned.
He will not enjoy the things that he has worked for.
19 This will happen because he has been cruel to poor people.
He has refused to help them.
He has taken houses for himself that do not belong to him.
20 He will always want to have more things for himself.
He takes anything that he wants to have.
21 Now nothing remains for him to take.
So his riches will come to an end.
22 When he has everything that he wants,
trouble suddenly comes to him.
23 When he is filling himself with good food,
God will punish him.
God will be very angry with him.
God will attack the wicked person so that he suffers.
24 He may escape from a soldier who has an iron sword.
But then a soldier will shoot a bronze arrow into him.
25 He pulls the arrow out of his back.
His blood makes its sharp point shine brightly.
He is very afraid.
26 All his riches disappear in the dark.
God will send a fire to destroy him.
It will destroy all his things that remain.
27 The heavens will show that he is guilty.
People on earth will speak against him.
28 A flood will destroy his house
and everything that he has.
That will happen on the day when God punishes people
because he is angry with them.
29 That is how God punishes wicked people.
God has decided to punish them as they deserve.’
Job replies to Zophar
21 Then Job replied. This is what he said:
2 ‘Listen carefully to the things that I am saying.
You can only help me if you do that.
3 Be patient with me so that I can speak.
After you have heard what I say,
you may choose to laugh at me.
4 It is not people that I want to argue with.[b]
So I have good reason to be upset.
5 When you look at me, you should be upset.
You should cover your mouth with your hand.
6 I think about what has happened to me.
It makes me very afraid.
My body shakes with fear.
7 Why do wicked people continue to live for a long time?
The older they become, the more power they have.
8 They see their own children grow and become strong.
Their children also have strong families.
9 They are safe in their homes
and they are not afraid.
God does not punish them.
10 Their cows give birth safely to many calves.
11 Their children run and play.
They jump like young lambs.
12 They enjoy the music of tambourines and harps.
They sing with joy to the sound of flutes.
13 Wicked people have plenty of money through their whole lives.
Even when they die, they do not suffer.
14 They say to God, “Leave us alone!
We do not want to know about your ways.
15 We do not need to serve the Almighty God.
If we pray to him,
there is nothing he can do to help us.”
16 They think that they have made themselves rich.
But it is not true.
So I do not listen to the things that wicked people say.
17 It seems that wicked people enjoy a long life.
They do not often have many troubles.
When God is angry with them,
he does not cause them to suffer.
18 He does not blow them away,
like the wind blows dry grass.
They do not disappear like chaff that a storm blows away.
19 You may say, “God will punish a wicked person's children
with the punishment that he deserves.”
But I say that God should punish the wicked person himself.
Then he will realize that he is wicked.
20 Wicked people should receive their own punishment.
They should see that Almighty God is angry with them.
21 After wicked people have died,
it does not matter to them if their family suffers.
22 No one can teach God what he should do.
He himself judges the most powerful rulers.[c]
23 One person has good health all his life.
Even when he is ready to die,
he still lives a safe and happy life.
24 He eats good food and his body is strong.
25 But another person is sad all his life, until he dies.
No good things ever happen to him.
26 But they all die one day
and their bodies lie under the ground.
Worms cover their bodies, whoever they are.
27 I know what you are thinking.
You want to show that I am guilty.
28 You say, “You see that the rich person no longer has a house.
Wicked people no longer have homes to live in.”
29 But you should ask people who travel to different places.
You should listen to the things that they say.
30 They would tell you that wicked people do not always suffer.
When trouble comes,
they continue to be safe.
When God is angry with people,
wicked people escape punishment.
31 No one speaks against them
to say that they are guilty.
No one punishes them
for the bad things that they have done.
32 When a wicked person dies,
people bury him with honour.
Guards watch over his grave.
33 A big crowd of people come to his funeral.
They make a heap of earth over his body,
in the valley where he rests happily.
34 So your useless words do not comfort me.
Your answers are all lies!’
24 The next day, Peter arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was ready to meet Peter and the other men. He told his family and his special friends to come to his house. They were all waiting to meet Peter. 25 When Peter arrived at the house, Cornelius went out to meet him. He went down on his knees in front of Peter to worship him. 26 But Peter lifted Cornelius up from the ground and he said to him, ‘Stand up. I am only a man, like you are.’
27 Peter continued to talk to Cornelius and they went into the house. Peter saw that many people had come together there in the house. 28 He said to them, ‘You all know that we Jews do not become friends with Gentiles. Our Jewish laws do not let us visit the homes of Gentiles. But God has now shown me something different. I should not say about anyone that God will not accept them.[a] 29 So when you asked me to come here, I was happy to come. I knew that it was right. So tell me now. Why did you ask me to come?’
30 Then Cornelius said, ‘Three days ago, I was in my house at this time of the day. It was three o'clock in the afternoon and I was praying to God. Suddenly, a man appeared and he stood in front of me. He was wearing bright clothes that shone. 31 The man said to me, “Cornelius, you have prayed to God and you have often given money to poor people. Now God wants to answer you. 32 So send some men to Joppa to fetch a man who is called Simon Peter. He is staying there at the house of Simon the tanner. His house is near the sea.” 33 So I sent some men immediately to bring you here. Thank you that you agreed to come. Now we are all here together, and God is with us. We are ready to listen to your message. Please tell us everything that the Lord God has told you to say.’
Peter speaks to Cornelius and to his family and friends
34 Then Peter said to them, ‘Now I understand that God accepts all people in the same way. God has shown me that this is true. 35 God accepts all people who worship him and who do the right things. It is not important to God which nation a person belongs to. 36 This is the message that God has sent to the people of Israel. He told us the good news about Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of all people. Because of Jesus, we can now come near to God again. 37 You know about the important things that have happened everywhere in Judea. These things began in Galilee after John spoke God's message to the people. He baptized those people who believed in God. 38 You know that God chose Jesus to do special work for him. He gave Jesus his Holy Spirit and helped him to do powerful things. Jesus came from the town of Nazareth. He travelled to many places and he did good things. The Devil had power over some people. But Jesus caused all those people to become well again. He could do those powerful things because God was with him.
39 We saw everything that Jesus did in Jerusalem and in all Judea. The leaders in Jerusalem fixed Jesus to a cross and they killed him. 40 But then, three days after that, God caused Jesus to become alive again. God caused him to appear to us. 41 Not all the people saw him. God chose us to be Jesus' apostles and we saw him. Now we are telling people about all these things. We ate and we drank with Jesus after he became alive again. 42 At that time, Jesus said to us, “Go and tell people the message about me. Tell them that God has given me authority to judge all people. I will judge those who are now alive. And I will judge those who have died.” ’ 43 Then Peter said, ‘All of God's prophets spoke about Jesus as God's Messiah. They said that God would forgive everyone who believes in him. He would forgive them for their sins because of what Jesus, the Messiah, would do.’
Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit
44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came down on all the people who were listening to his message. 45 The Jewish believers who had come from Joppa with Peter were very surprised. They saw that God had now freely given his Holy Spirit to Gentiles. 46 They heard the new believers speaking in strange languages. They were also praising God.
Then Peter said, 47 ‘God has clearly given his Holy Spirit to these people, in the same way that he gave him to us. So we should now baptize them with water. You surely agree that this is the right thing to do.’ 48 So Peter told the Jewish believers to baptize the new believers. They spoke the name of Jesus Christ when they baptized them. After that, Cornelius asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
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