Old/New Testament
41 (9) “Look, any hope [of capturing him] is futile —
one would fall prostrate at the very sight of him.
2 (10) No one is fierce enough to rouse him,
so who can stand up to me?
3 (11) Who has given me anything
and made me pay it back?
Everything belongs to me
under all of heaven.
4 (12) “I have more to say about his limbs,
his strong talk, and his matchless strength.
5 (13) Who can strip off his [scaly] garment?
Who can enter his jaws?
6 (14) Who can pry open the doors of his face,
so close to his terrible teeth?
7 (15) “His pride is his rows of scales,
tightly sealed together —
8 (16) one is so close to the next
that no air can come between them;
9 (17) they are stuck one to another,
interlocked and impervious.
10 (18) “When he sneezes, light flashes out;
his eyes are like the shimmer of dawn.
11 (19) From his mouth go fiery torches,
and sparks come flying out.
12 (20) His nostrils belch steam
like a caldron boiling on the fire.
13 (21) His breath sets coals ablaze;
flames pour from his mouth.
14 (22) “Strength resides in his neck,
and dismay dances ahead of him [as he goes].
15 (23) The layers of his flesh stick together;
they are firm on him, immovable.
16 (24) His heart is as hard as a stone,
yes, hard as a lower millstone.
17 (25) When he rears himself up, the gods are afraid,
beside themselves in despair.
18 (26) “If a sword touches him, it won’t stick;
neither will a spear, or a dart, or a lance.
19 (27) He regards iron as straw
and bronze as rotten wood.
20 (28) An arrow can’t make him flee;
for him, slingstones are so much chaff.
21 (29) Clubs count as hay,
and he laughs at a quivering javelin.
22 (30) His belly is as sharp as fragments of pottery,
so he moves across the mud like a threshing-sledge.
23 (31) “He makes the depths seethe like a pot,
he makes the sea [boil] like a perfume kettle.
24 (32) He leaves a shining wake behind him,
making the deep seem to have white hair.
25 (33) “On earth there is nothing like him,
a creature without fear.
26 (34) He looks straight at all high things.
He is king over all proud beasts.”
42 Then [at last,] Iyov gave Adonai this answer:
2 “I know that you can do everything,
that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 “[You asked,] ‘Who is this, hiding counsel,
without having knowledge?’
Yes, I spoke, without understanding,
of wonders far beyond me, which I didn’t know.
4 “Please listen, and I will speak.
[You said,] ‘I will ask questions; and you, give me answers’ —
5 I had heard about you with my ears,
but now my eye sees you;
6 therefore I detest [myself]
and repent in dust and ashes.”
7 After Adonai had spoken these words to Iyov, Adonai said to Elifaz the Teimani, “My anger is blazing against you and your two friends, because, unlike my servant Iyov, you have not spoken rightly about me. 8 So now, get yourselves seven young bulls and seven rams, go to my servant Iyov, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. My servant Iyov will pray for you — because him I will accept — so that I won’t punish you as your boorishness deserves; because you have not spoken rightly about me, as my servant Iyov has.” 9 So Elifaz the Teimani, Bildad the Shuchi and Tzofar the Na‘amati went and did what Adonai had ordered them to do, and Adonai accepted Iyov[’s prayer].
10 When Iyov prayed for his friends, Adonai restored his fortunes; Adonai gave Iyov twice as much as he had had before. 11 Then all his brothers and sisters came to him, also all who had known him before, and they ate a meal with him in his house. They consoled and comforted him for all the evils Adonai had inflicted on him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. 12 Adonai blessed Iyov’s later situation even more than his earlier one — he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 pairs of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys.
13 He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first he named Y’mimah; the second, K’tzi‘ah; and the third, Keren-Hapukh. 15 Nowhere in the land could women be found as beautiful as Iyov’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritances along with their brothers.
16 After this, Iyov lived 140 years, long enough to see his sons and grandsons, four generations. 17 Then, old and full of days, Iyov died.
22 The mob joined in the attack against them, and the judges tore their clothes off them and ordered that they be flogged. 23 After giving them a severe beating, they threw them in prison, charging the jailer to guard them securely. 24 Upon receiving such an order, he threw them into the inner cell and clamped their feet securely between heavy blocks of wood.
25 Around midnight, Sha’ul and Sila were praying and singing hymns to God, while the other prisoners listened attentively. 26 Suddenly there was a violent earthquake which shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer awoke, and when he saw the doors open he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, for he assumed that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Sha’ul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here!”
29 Calling for lights, the jailer ran in, began to tremble and fell down in front of Sha’ul and Sila. 30 Then, leading them outside, he said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They said, “Trust in the Lord Yeshua, and you will be saved — you and your household!” 32 Whereupon they told him and everyone in his household the message about the Lord.
33 Then, even at that late hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed off their wounds; and without delay, he and all his people were immersed. 34 After that, he brought them up to his house and set food in front of them; and he and his entire household celebrated their having come to trust in God.
35 The next morning, the judges sent police officers with the order, “Release those men.” 36 The jailer told Sha’ul, “The judges have sent word to release both of you. So come out, and go on your way in peace.” 37 But Sha’ul said to the officers, “After flogging us in public when we hadn’t been convicted of any crime and are Roman citizens, they threw us in prison. Now they want to get rid of us secretly? Oh, no! Let them come and escort us out themselves!”
38 The officers reported these words to the judges, who became frightened when they heard that Sha’ul and Sila were Roman citizens. 39 They came and apologized to them; then, after escorting them out, requested them to leave the city. 40 From the prison they went to Lydia’s house, and after seeing and encouraging the brothers they departed.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.