Old/New Testament
Job’s Final Defense Continued
30 “But now those younger than I, as far as days, laugh at me,
whose fathers I rejected for setting with the dogs of my sheep and goats.
2 Moreover, what use to me is the strength of their hands?[a]
With them, vigor is destroyed.
3 Through want and through barren hunger
they are gnawing in the dry region in the darkness of desolation and waste.
4 They are picking salt herbs, the leaves of bushes,
and the roots of broom trees to warm themselves.
5 They were driven out from fellow people;
they shout at them as at a[b] thief,
6 so that they dwell[c]
in holes of the ground and in the rocks.
7 They bray among the bushes;
they are gathered under the nettles.
8 A senseless crowd,[d] yes, a disreputable brood,[e]
they were cast out from the land.
9 “But now I am their mocking song,
and I have become a byword for them.
10 They abhor me; they keep aloof from me,
and they do not withhold spit from my face
11 because he has loosened his bowstring and humbled me,
and they have thrown off restraint in my presence.[f]
12 On the right hand the brood rises[g] up;
they put me to flight,[h]
and they build up their siege ramps[i] against me.
13 They destroy my path;
they promote my destruction;
they have no helper.
14 As through a wide breach they come;
amid a crash they rush on.
15 Terrors are turned upon me;
my honor is pursued as by the wind,
and my hope of deliverance passed by like a cloud.
16 “And now my life is poured out onto me;
days of misery have taken hold of me.
17 At night I am in great pain;[j]
my pains do not take a rest.
18 He seizes my clothing with great power;[k]
he grasps me by my tunic’s collar.
19 He has cast me into the dirt,
and I have become like dust[l] and ashes.
20 I cry to you for help, but[m] you do not answer me;
I stand, and you merely look at me.
21 You have turned cruel to me;
you persecute me with your hand’s might.
22 You lift me up to the wind—you make me ride it,
and you toss me about in the storm.
23 Indeed, I know that you will bring me to death
and to the house of assembly for all the living.
24 “Surely someone must not send a hand against the needy
when, in his misfortune, there is a cry of help for them.
25 Have I not wept for the unfortunate,[n]
and grieved myself over the poor?
26 Indeed, I hoped for good, but evil came,
and I waited for light, but darkness came.
27 My bowels are in turmoil, and they are not still;
days of misery come to confront me.
28 I go about in mourning garb, but not in sunlight;
I stand up in the assembly, and I cry for help.
29 I am a companion for the jackals
and a companion for ostriches.[o]
30 My skin turns black on me,
and my bones burn with heat.
31 So[p] my lyre came to be used for mourning,
and my flute for the voice of those who weep.
Job’s Final Defense Continued
31 “I made a covenant with my eyes,
so[q] how could I look closely upon a virgin?
2 And what is the portion of God from above
or[r] the heritage of Shaddai from on high?
3 Is not disaster for the evil one
and ruin for the workers of mischief?
4 Does he not see my ways
and count all my steps?
5 “If I have walked with falseness,
and my foot has hastened to deceit,
6 let him weigh me in the balance of justice,
and let God know my blamelessness.
7 If my steps have turned aside from the way,
and my heart has walked after my eyes,
and my hand has clung to a spot,
8 let me sow, and let another eat,
and let my crops be rooted out.
9 “If my heart has been enticed by a woman,
and at my neighbor’s doorway I have lain in wait,
10 let my wife grind for another,
and let other men kneel over her,
11 for that is a shameful act,
and that is a criminal offense.[s]
12 Indeed, that is a fire that will consume up to Abaddon,
and it would uproot all my crop.
13 “If I have rejected my male or[t] female slave’s case
when their complaint was against me,
14 then[u] what shall I do when God rises up?
And when he enquires, how shall I answer him?
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?
16 “If I have withheld the desire of the poor from them,
or[v] I have caused the widow’s eyes to fail,
17 or I have eaten my morsel alone,[w]
and the orphan has not eaten from it
18 (for from my childhood he[x] grew up with[y] me like a father,
and from my mother’s womb I guided her[z]),
19 if I have seen the one who perishes because of no clothing
or[aa] that there is no covering for the poor,
20 if his loins have not blessed me,
or[ab] by means of my sheep’s fleece he has warmed himself,
21 if I have raised my hand against an orphan
because I saw my supporters at the gate,
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
23 Indeed, the disaster from God was a dread for me,
and I was powerless[ac] because of his majesty.
24 “If I have made gold my trust,
or[ad] I have called fine gold my security,
25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great
or[ae] because my hand found a fortune,
26 if I looked at the sun when it shone
or[af] at the moon moving in splendor,
27 and I was secretly enticed,[ag]
and my hand threw them a kiss,[ah]
28 this also is an iniquity to be judged,
for I have deceived God above.
29 “If I have rejoiced at the ruin of the one who hated me
or[ai] have exulted when evil overtook him—
30 no,[aj] I have not allowed my mouth to sin,
to ask his life with a curse.
31 Have the people of my tent not said,[ak]
‘O that[al] someone[am] had not been satisfied with his meat’?
32 An alien has not lodged in the street;
I have opened my door to the traveler.
33 Have I concealed[an] my transgressions as other human beings
to hide my iniquity in my bosom
34 because I dreaded the great multitude,
and the contempt of clans terrified me,
so that I kept quiet, I did not go out of the doorway?
35 O that[ao] I had[ap] someone hearing me!
Here is my signature;
let Shaddai answer me!
As for[aq] the written communication that my adversary[ar] has written,
36 I would surely[as] carry it on my shoulder;
I would bind it on me like a crown.
37 I would give him an account of my steps;
I would approach him like a noble.
38 If my land has cried out against me,
and its furrows have wept together,
39 if I have eaten its yield without payment,
or[at] I have caused the breath of its owners to die,
40 let thorns grow in place of wheat
and noxious weeds in place of barley.”
The words of Job are ended.
26 “Men and brothers, sons of the family of Abraham and those among you who fear God—to us the message of this salvation has been sent! 27 For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they[a] did not recognize this one, and the voices of the prophets that are read on every Sabbath, fulfilled them[b] by[c] condemning him.[d] 28 And although they[e] found no charge worthy of death, they asked Pilate that he be executed. 29 And when they had carried out all the things that were written about him, they took him[f] down from the tree and[g] placed him[h] in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 who appeared for many days to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem—who are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we proclaim the good news to you: that the promise that was made to the fathers, 33 this promise[i] God has fulfilled to our children[j] by[k] raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second psalm,
‘You are my Son;
today I have fathered you.’[l]
34 But that he has raised him from the dead, no more going to return to decay, he has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the reliable divine decrees of David.’[m] 35 Therefore he also says in another psalm,[n]
‘You will not permit your Holy One to experience decay.’[o]
36 For David, after[p] serving the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was buried with[q] his fathers, and experienced decay. 37 But he whom God raised up did not experience decay.
38 “Therefore let it be known to you, men and brothers, that through this one forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and from all the things from which you were not able to be justified by the law of Moses, 39 by this one everyone who believes is justified! 40 Watch out, therefore, lest what is stated by the prophets come upon you:[r]
41 ‘Look, you scoffers,
and be astonished and perish!
For I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you would never believe
even if someone were to tell it[s] to you.’”[t]
Response to the Message in Pisidian Antioch
42 And as[u] they were going out, they began urging[v] that these things be spoken about to them on the next Sabbath. 43 And after[w] the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and the devout[x] proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking to them and[y] were persuading them to continue in the grace of God. 44 And on the coming Sabbath, nearly the whole city came together to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when[z] the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and began contradicting what was being said by Paul by[aa] reviling him.[ab] 46 Both Paul and Barnabas spoke boldly and[ac] said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you, since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life! Behold, we are turning to the Gentiles! 47 For so the Lord has commanded us:
‘I have appointed you to be[ad] a light for the Gentiles,
that you would bring[ae] salvation to the end of the earth.’[af]
48 And when[ag] the Gentiles heard this,[ah] they began to rejoice[ai] and to glorify the word of the Lord. And all those who were designated for eternal life believed. 49 So the word of the Lord was carried through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high social standing and the most prominent men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and threw them out of their district. 51 So after[aj] shaking off the dust from their feet against them, they went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
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