Old/New Testament
5 “Call if you want to, Job, but no one will answer you.
You can’t turn to any of the holy ones.
2 Anger kills the fool,
and jealousy slays the stupid.
3 I have seen a fool succeed,
but I cursed his home immediately.
4 His children are far from safety
and are crushed in court with no defense.
5 The hungry eat his harvest,
even taking what grew among the thorns,
and thirsty people want his wealth.
6 Hard times do not come up from the ground,
and trouble does not grow from the earth.
7 People produce trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 “But if I were you, I would call on God
and bring my problem before him.
9 God does wonders that cannot be understood;
he does so many miracles they cannot be counted.
10 He gives rain to the earth
and sends water on the fields.
11 He makes the humble person important
and lifts the sad to places of safety.
12 He ruins the plans of those who trick others
so they have no success.
13 He catches the wise in their own clever traps
and sweeps away the plans of those who try to trick others.
14 Darkness covers them up in the daytime;
even at noon they feel around in the dark.
15 God saves the needy from their lies
and from the harm done by powerful people.
16 So the poor have hope,
while those who are unfair are silenced.
17 “The one whom God corrects is happy,
so do not hate being corrected by the Almighty.
18 God hurts, but he also bandages up;
he injures, but his hands also heal.
19 He will save you from six troubles;
even seven troubles will not harm you.
20 God will buy you back from death in times of hunger,
and in battle he will save you from the sword.
21 You will be protected from the tongue that strikes like a whip,
and you will not be afraid when destruction comes.
22 You will laugh at destruction and hunger,
and you will not fear the wild animals,
23 because you will have an agreement with the stones in the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your tent is safe,
because you will check the things you own and find nothing missing.
25 You will know that you will have many children,
and your descendants will be like the grass on the earth.
26 You will come to the grave with all your strength,
like bundles of grain gathered at the right time.
27 “We have checked this, and it is true,
so hear it and decide what it means to you.”
Job Answers Eliphaz
6 Then Job answered:
2 “I wish my suffering could be weighed
and my misery put on scales.
3 My sadness would be heavier than the sand of the seas.
No wonder my words seem careless.
4 The arrows of the Almighty are in me;
my spirit drinks in their poison;
God’s terrors are gathered against me.
5 A wild donkey does not bray when it has grass to eat,
and an ox is quiet when it has feed.
6 Tasteless food is not eaten without salt,
and there is no flavor in the white of an egg.
7 I refuse to touch it;
such food makes me sick.
8 “How I wish that I might have what I ask for
and that God would give me what I hope for.
9 How I wish God would crush me
and reach out his hand to destroy me.
10 Then I would have this comfort
and be glad even in this unending pain,
because I would know I did not reject the words of the Holy One.
11 “I do not have the strength to wait.
There is nothing to hope for,
so why should I be patient?
12 I do not have the strength of stone;
my flesh is not bronze.
13 I have no power to help myself,
because success has been taken away from me.
14 “They say, ‘A person’s friends should be kind to him when he is in trouble,
even if he stops fearing the Almighty.’
15 But my brothers cannot be counted on.
They are like streams that do not always flow,
streams that sometimes run over.
16 They are made dark by melting ice
and rise with melting snow.
17 But they stop flowing in the dry season;
they disappear when it is hot.
18 Travelers turn away from their paths
and go into the desert and die.
19 The groups of travelers from Tema look for water,
and the traders of Sheba look hopefully.
20 They are upset because they had been sure;
when they arrive, they are disappointed.
21 You also have been no help.
You see something terrible, and you are afraid.
22 I have never said, ‘Give me a gift.
Use your wealth to pay my debt.
23 Save me from the enemy’s power.
Buy me back from the clutches of cruel people.’
24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet.
Show me where I have been wrong.
25 Honest words are painful,
but your arguments prove nothing.
26 Do you mean to correct what I say?
Will you treat the words of a troubled man as if they were only wind?
27 You would even gamble for orphans
and would trade away your friend.
28 “But now please look at me.
I would not lie to your face.
29 Change your mind; do not be unfair;
think again, because my innocence is being questioned.
30 What I am saying is not wicked;
I can tell the difference between right and wrong.
7 “People have a hard task on earth,
and their days are like those of a laborer.
2 They are like a slave wishing for the evening shadows,
like a laborer waiting to be paid.
3 But I am given months that are empty,
and nights of misery have been given to me.
4 When I lie down, I think, ‘How long until I get up?’
The night is long, and I toss until dawn.
5 My body is covered with worms and scabs,
and my skin is broken and full of sores.
6 “My days go by faster than a weaver’s tool,
and they come to an end without hope.
7 Remember, God, that my life is only a breath.
My eyes will never see happy times again.
8 Those who see me now will see me no more;
you will look for me, but I will be gone.
9 As a cloud disappears and is gone,
people go to the grave and never return.
10 They will never come back to their houses again,
and their places will not know them anymore.
11 “So I will not stay quiet;
I will speak out in the suffering of my spirit.
I will complain because I am so unhappy.
12 I am not the sea or the sea monster.
So why have you set a guard over me?
13 Sometimes I think my bed will comfort me
or that my couch will stop my complaint.
14 Then you frighten me with dreams
and terrify me with visions.
15 My throat prefers to be choked;
my bones welcome death.
16 I hate my life; I don’t want to live forever.
Leave me alone, because my days have no meaning.
17 “Why do you make people so important
and give them so much attention?
18 You examine them every morning
and test them every moment.
19 Will you never look away from me
or leave me alone even long enough to swallow?
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
you watcher of humans?
Why have you made me your target?
Have I become a heavy load for you?
21 Why don’t you pardon my wrongs
and forgive my sins?
I will soon lie down in the dust of death.
Then you will search for me, but I will be no more.”
8 Saul agreed that the killing of Stephen was good.
Troubles for the Believers
On that day the church of Jerusalem began to be persecuted, and all the believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
2 And some religious people buried Stephen and cried loudly for him. 3 Saul was also trying to destroy the church, going from house to house, dragging out men and women and putting them in jail. 4 And wherever they were scattered, they told people the Good News.
Philip Preaches in Samaria
5 Philip went to the city of Samaria and preached about the Christ. 6 When the people there heard Philip and saw the miracles he was doing, they all listened carefully to what he said. 7 Many of these people had evil spirits in them, but Philip made the evil spirits leave. The spirits made a loud noise when they came out. Philip also healed many weak and crippled people there. 8 So the people in that city were very happy.
9 But there was a man named Simon in that city. Before Philip came there, Simon had practiced magic and amazed all the people of Samaria. He bragged and called himself a great man. 10 All the people—the least important and the most important—paid attention to Simon, saying, “This man has the power of God, called ‘the Great Power’!” 11 Simon had amazed them with his magic so long that the people became his followers. 12 But when Philip told them the Good News about the kingdom of God and the power of Jesus Christ, men and women believed Philip and were baptized. 13 Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed very close to Philip. When he saw the miracles and the powerful things Philip did, Simon was amazed.
14 When the apostles who were still in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When Peter and John arrived, they prayed that the Samaritan believers might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 These people had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, but the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them. 17 Then, when the two apostles began laying their hands on the people, they received the Holy Spirit.
18 Simon saw that the Spirit was given to people when the apostles laid their hands on them. So he offered the apostles money, 19 saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands will receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter said to him, “You and your money should both be destroyed, because you thought you could buy God’s gift with money. 21 You cannot share with us in this work since your heart is not right before God. 22 Change your heart! Turn away from this evil thing you have done, and pray to the Lord. Maybe he will forgive you for thinking this. 23 I see that you are full of bitter jealousy and ruled by sin.”
24 Simon answered, “Both of you pray for me to the Lord so the things you have said will not happen to me.”
25 After Peter and John told the people what they had seen Jesus do and after they had spoken the message of the Lord, they went back to Jerusalem. On the way, they went through many Samaritan towns and preached the Good News to the people.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.