Old/New Testament
30 “But now those who are younger than I
·make fun of [laugh at] me.
I would ·not have even [L have disdained to] let their fathers
sit with my sheep dogs.
2 What use did I have for their strength
since they had lost their ·strength [vigor] to work [C vv. 2–8 describe the young men who torment Job]?
3 They were thin from hunger
and ·wandered the dry and ruined land at night [or they gnawed the desert on the brink of desolation and destruction].
4 They ·gathered desert plants [plucked mallow] among the brush
and ·ate [or warmed themselves on] the root of the broom tree.
5 They were ·forced to live away [driven out] from people;
people shouted at them as if they were thieves.
6 They lived ·in dried-up streambeds [on the slopes of the wadis],
in ·caves, and among the rocks [dusty and rocky holes].
7 They howled like animals among the bushes
and huddled together ·in [or under] the brush.
8 They are ·worthless people without names [disreputable children of fools]
and were ·forced to leave the land [L whipped off the land/earth].
9 “Now ·they make fun of me with songs [I am the object of their melodious taunts];
my name is a ·joke [byword] among them.
10 They hate me and ·stay far away [keep their distance] from me,
but they do not mind spitting in my face.
11 God has ·taken away my strength [L loosened my bowstring] and ·made me suffer [humiliated me],
so they ·attack me with all their anger [L have removed all restraint before me].
12 On my right side they rise up like a mob.
They ·lay traps for my feet [L take my feet out from under me]
and ·prepare to attack me [L build up paths for my calamity].
13 They ·break [tear] up my road
and ·work to destroy me [or they profit from my ruin],
and ·no one helps me [or they need no help].
14 They come at me as if through a ·hole in the wall [wide breech],
and they roll in among the ruins.
15 Great fears ·overwhelm [or transform] me.
They blow my honor away as if by a great wind,
and my ·safety [or hope of rescue] disappears like a cloud.
16 “Now my life is ·almost over [L poured out in me];
my days are full of suffering.
17 At night my bones ache;
gnawing pains ·never stop [or do not let me lie down to sleep].
18 In his great power ·God [L he] grabs hold of my clothing
and ·chokes me with [or seizes me by] the collar of my coat.
19 He throws me into the mud,
and I become like dirt and ashes.
20 “I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer;
I stand up, but you just look at me.
21 You have turned on me ·without mercy [with cruelty];
with your powerful hand you ·attacked [L hate] me.
22 You snatched me up and ·threw me into [L made me ride] the wind
and ·tossed me about [made me reel] in the storm.
23 I know you will bring me down to death,
to the ·place where all living people must go [L house appointed for all the living].
24 “Surely no one would hurt [or Should not one send his hand out to help…?] those who are ruined
when they cry for help in their time of trouble.
25 ·I cried [L Do I not cry…?] for those ·who were in trouble [whose day was hard];
·I have been very sad [L don’t I have pity…?] for ·poor [needy] people.
26 But when I hoped for ·good [or the best], only ·evil [or the worst] came to me;
when I ·looked [waited] for light, darkness came.
27 ·I never stop being upset [L My insides are brought to a boil and not stilled];
days of ·suffering [affliction] are ahead of me.
28 ·I have turned black, but not by the sun [or I walk around mourning, without passion].
I stand up in public and cry for help.
29 I have become a brother to ·wild dogs [jackals]
and a friend to ·ostriches [or eagle owls; C animals that live in the desolate wilderness].
30 My skin has become black and peels off,
as my ·body [L bones] burns with ·fever [heat].
31 My ·harp [lyre] is tuned to sing a sad song,
and my ·flute [reed pipe] is tuned to moaning.
31 “But I ·made an agreement [L cut a covenant] with my eyes
not to ·look with desire [leer] at a ·girl [L virgin].
2 What ·has God above promised for people [L would be my portion with God above]?
What ·has the Almighty planned from [would be my inheritance/heritage with the Almighty/Shaddai] on high?
3 ·It is ruin [L Isn’t calamity reserved…?] for evil people
and ·disaster [misfortune] for those who do wrong.
4 ·God sees [L Does he not see…?] my ways
and counts every step I take.
5 “If I have ·been dishonest [L walked with falsehood]
or ·lied to others [L my feet hasten to fraud],
6 then let God weigh me on ·honest [just] scales [Prov. 11:1].
Then he will know I ·have done nothing wrong [am blameless/innocent].
7 If ·I have turned away from doing what is right [L my feet have wandered off the path; Prov. 2:20],
or my heart has ·been led by my eyes to do wrong [L followed my eyes],
or ·my hands have been made unclean [L blemish has clung to my hand],
8 then let ·other people eat what I have planted [L me sow and not eat],
and let my crops be ·plowed up [uprooted].
9 “If ·I have desired [L my heart has been enticed/seduced by] another woman [Prov. 5–7]
or have waited at my ·neighbor’s [or friend’s] door for his wife,
10 then let my wife grind ·another man’s grain [L another man; C a euphemism for sexual intercourse],
and let other men ·have sexual relations with [L kneel over] her.
11 That would be ·shameful [a foul deed],
a ·sin to be punished [a criminal offense; L a guilty thing before the judges].
12 It is like a fire that burns ·and destroys [L down to Abaddon; 26:6; 28:22];
all I have done would be ·plowed up [L burned to the root].
13 “If I ·have been unfair to [L reject proper judgment for] my male and female slaves
when they had a ·complaint [case] against me,
14 ·how could I tell God what I did [or what would I do when God rises against me]?
What will I answer when he asks me to explain what I’ve done?
15 God made me in my mother’s womb, and he also made them;
the same God formed both of us in our mothers’ wombs.
16 “I have never ·refused the appeals of the poor [or deprived the poor of some pleasure]
or ·let widows give up hope while looking for help [L caused the eyes of the widow to fail].
17 I have not ·kept my food to myself [eaten my morsel alone]
·but have given it to the orphans [L or not let orphans eat it].
18 Since I was young, ·I have been like a father to the orphans [L I have raised them like a father; or he (God) raised me like a father].
From ·my birth [L the womb of my mother] I guided the widows.
19 I have not let anyone ·die [L perish] for lack of clothes
or let a needy person go without ·a coat [L covering].
20 That person’s ·heart [L loins] blessed me,
because I warmed him with the ·wool [fleece] of my sheep.
21 I have never ·hurt [L raised my hand threateningly against] an orphan
even when I knew I ·could win in court [L had allies in the gate; C the city gate was where court was held].
22 If I have, then let my ·arm [L shoulder blade] fall off my shoulder
and [L my arm] be broken at the ·joint [socket].
23 I fear ·destruction [calamity] from God,
and I fear his ·majesty [ruin], so I could not do such things.
24 “I have not put my trust in gold
or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security.’
25 I have not ·celebrated [exulted in] my great wealth
or the ·riches [substance] my hands had gained.
26 I have not thought about worshiping the sun in its brightness
nor admired the moon moving in glory
27 so that my heart was ·pulled away from God [L enticed in secret].
My hand has never ·offered the sun and moon a kiss of worship [L passed a kiss from my mouth].
28 If I had, these also would have been ·sins to be punished [a criminal offense; L a guilty thing before the judges],
because I would have ·been unfaithful to [deceived; defrauded] God [L above].
29 “I have not been happy ·when my enemies fell [L in the disaster of those who hate me]
or ·laughed when they had trouble [L become excited when evil found them out].
30 I have not let my mouth sin
by cursing my enemies’ life.
31 The servants of my house have always said,
‘All have eaten what they want of Job’s food.’
32 No stranger ever had to ·spend the night [lodge] in the street,
because I ·always let travelers stay in my home [L opened the door to the traveler; C hospitality was highly valued in the ancient Near East].
33 I have not hidden my ·sin [transgression] ·as others do [or like Adam did; Gen. 3],
·secretly keeping my guilt to myself [L concealing my guilt in my bosom].
34 I was not so afraid of the crowd [large multitude]
that I kept quiet and ·stayed inside [L did not go out the door]
because I feared being ·hated [held in contempt] by other families.
35 (“How I wish ·a court would hear my case [L someone would listen to me]!
Here ·I sign my name to show I have told the truth [is my signature].
Now let ·the Almighty [Shaddai] answer me;
let the one who accuses me write ·it [an indictment/writ] down.
36 I would wear ·the writing [L it] on my shoulder;
I would ·put [L bind] it on like a crown.
37 I would ·explain to God [L give him an account of] every step I took,
and I would ·come near to [approach] him like a prince.)
38 “If my land cries out against me
and its ·plowed rows [furrows] ·are wet with tears [L have wept together],
39 if I have taken the land’s harvest without paying
or have broken the spirit of those who ·worked [or own] the land,
40 then let ·thorns [brambles] come up instead of wheat,
and let ·weeds [stinkweed] come up instead of barley.”
The words of Job are ·finished [ended].
26 “·Brothers, [L Men, brothers] ·sons [or descendants] of the family of Abraham, and others who ·worship [fear; 13:16] God, listen! The ·news [word; message] about this salvation has been sent to us. 27 Those who live in Jerusalem and their leaders ·did not realize that Jesus was the Savior [L were ignorant of this; or did not recognize him]. They did not understand the ·words that the prophets wrote [L voices of the prophets], which are read every Sabbath day. But they ·made them come true [L fulfilled them] when they ·said Jesus was guilty [L condemned him]. 28 They could not find any real ·reason [cause; basis] for Jesus to be put to death, but they asked Pilate to have him ·killed [executed]. 29 When they had done to him all that ·the Scriptures had said [L was written about him], they took him down from the ·cross [L tree; 5:30; 10:39; Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13] and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him up from the dead! 31 After this, for many days, ·those who had gone with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem saw him [or he appeared to those…Jerusalem]. They are now his witnesses to the people. 32 We tell you the ·Good News [Gospel] about the promise God made to our ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers; Gen. 12:1–3; 2 Sam. 7:12–16]. 33 ·God has made this promise come true [He has fulfilled this promise] for us, their ·children [descendants], by raising Jesus from the dead. We read about this also in the second psalm:
‘You are my Son.
Today I have ·become your Father [fathered you; T begotten you; Ps. 2:7].’
34 God raised Jesus from the dead, and he will never go back to ·the grave and become dust [L corruption; decay]. So God said:
‘I will give you the holy and ·sure blessings [L faithful things]
that I promised to David [Is. 55:3].’
35 But in another place God says:
‘You will not let your Holy One ·experience [L see] ·decay [corruption; Ps. 16:10].’
36 [L For; Now] David ·did God’s will [served God’s purpose] during his ·lifetime [L generation]. Then he ·died [L slept; C a euphemism for death] and was ·buried [L placed] beside his ·ancestors [L fathers], and his body ·experienced [L saw] ·decay [corruption] in the grave. 37 But the One God raised from the dead did not ·experience [L see] ·decay [corruption]. 38 [L Therefore] ·Brothers [L Men, brothers], ·understand what we are telling you [know this]: ·You can have forgiveness of your sins [L Forgiveness of sins is announced to you] through ·Jesus [L this man]. 39 The law of Moses could not ·free you from your sins [justify you; make you righteous]. But through Jesus everyone who believes is ·free from all sins [justified; made/declared righteous]. 40 [L So; Therefore] ·Be careful [Watch out]! Don’t let what the prophets said happen to you:
41 ‘·Listen [L Look; T Behold], you ·people who doubt [scoffers; mockers]!
·You can wonder [Be amazed], and then ·die [L perish; vanish].
I ·will do something [L am working a work] in your ·lifetime [L days]
that you won’t believe even when you are told about it [Hab. 1:5]!’”
42 While ·Paul and Barnabas [L they] were leaving the synagogue, the people ·asked [urged; encouraged] them to tell them more about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the meeting was over, many of the Jews and devout ·converts to Judaism [L proselytes] followed Paul and Barnabas from that place. Paul and Barnabas were persuading them to continue trusting in God’s grace.
44 On the next Sabbath day, almost everyone in the city ·came [gathered] to hear the word of the Lord. 45 Seeing the crowd, the Jewish people became very jealous and said ·insulting [blasphemous] things and ·argued against [contradicted] what Paul said. 46 But Paul and Barnabas spoke very ·boldly [fearlessly; courageously], saying, “·We must [It was necessary for us to] speak the ·message [word] of God to you first. But [L since] you ·refuse to listen [or reject it]. You are judging yourselves not worthy of having eternal life! So we will now ·go [L turn] to the ·people of other nations [Gentiles]. 47 [L For] This is what the Lord ·told us to do [commanded us], saying:
‘I have ·made [appointed] you a light for the ·nations [Gentiles];
·you will show people all over the world the way to be saved [L to bring salvation to the ends of the earth; Is. 42:6; 49:6; Acts 1:8].’”
48 When the Gentiles heard Paul say this, they ·were happy [rejoiced] and ·gave honor to [praised] the ·message [word] of the Lord. And the people who were ·chosen [destined; appointed] to have life forever ·believed the message [L believed].
49 So the ·message [word] of the Lord was spreading through the whole ·country [area; region]. 50 But the Jewish people ·stirred up [incited] some of the ·important religious women [devout/God-fearing women of high social status] and the ·leaders [or prominent men] of the city. They ·started trouble [stirred up persecution] against Paul and Barnabas and forced them out of their ·area [region]. 51 So Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet [C a sign of rejection and protest] and went to Iconium [C a city in the interior of south central Asia Minor, present-day Turkey]. 52 But the ·followers [disciples] were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
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