Old/New Testament

5 “They cry for help but no one listens; they turn to their gods, but none gives them aid. ² They die in helpless frustration, overcome by their own anger. ³ Those who turn from God may be successful for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster. ⁴ Their children are cheated, with no one to defend them. ⁵ Their harvests are stolen, and their wealth slakes the thirst of many others, not themselves! ⁶ Misery comes upon them to punish them for sowing seeds of sin. ⁷ Mankind heads for sin and misery as predictably as flames shoot upwards from a fire.

⁸ “My advice to you is this: Go to God and confess your sins to him.^{[a] 9} For he does wonderful miracles, marvels without number. ¹⁰ He sends the rain upon the earth to water the fields, ¹¹ and gives prosperity to the poor and humble, and takes sufferers to safety.

¹² “He frustrates the plans of crafty men. ¹³ They are caught in their own traps; he thwarts their schemes. ¹⁴ They grope like blind men in the daylight; they see no better in the daytime than at night.

¹⁵ “God saves the fatherless and the poor from the grasp of these oppressors. ¹⁶ And so at last the poor have hope, and the fangs of the wicked are broken.

¹⁷ “How enviable the man whom God corrects! Oh, do not despise the chastening of the Lord when you sin. ¹⁸ For though he wounds, he binds and heals again. ¹⁹ He will deliver you again and again so that no evil can touch you.

²⁰ “He will keep you from death in famine and from the power of the sword in time of war.

²¹ “You will be safe from slander; no need to fear the future.

²² “You shall laugh at war and famine; wild animals will leave you alone. ²³ Dangerous animals will be at peace with you.

²⁴ “You need not worry about your home while you are gone; nothing shall be stolen from your barns.

²⁵ “Your sons shall become important men; your descendants shall be as numerous as grass! ²⁶ You shall live a long, good life; like standing grain, you’ll not be harvested until it’s time! ²⁷ I have found from experience that all of this is true. For your own good, listen to my counsel.”

6 Job’s reply:

² “Oh, that my sadness and troubles were weighed. ³ For they are heavier than the sand of a thousand seashores. That is why I spoke so rashly. ⁴ For the Lord has struck me down with his arrows; he has sent his poisoned arrows deep within my heart. All God’s terrors are arrayed against me. ^5-7 When wild donkeys bray, it is because their grass is gone; oxen do not low when they have food; a man complains when there is no salt in his food. And how tasteless is the uncooked white of an egg—my appetite is gone when I look at it; I gag at the thought of eating it!

^8-9 “Oh, that God would grant the thing I long for most—to die beneath his hand and be freed from his painful grip. ¹⁰ This, at least, gives me comfort despite all the pain—that I have not denied the words of the holy God. ¹¹ Oh, why does my strength sustain me? How can I be patient till I die? ¹² Am I unfeeling, like stone? Is my flesh made of brass? ¹³ For I am utterly helpless, without any hope.

¹⁴ “One should be kind to a fainting friend, but you have accused me without the slightest fear of God. ^15-18 My brother, you have proved as unreliable as a brook; it floods when there is ice and snow, but in hot weather, disappears. The caravans turn aside to be refreshed, but there is nothing there to drink, and so they perish. ^19-21 When caravans from Tema and from Sheba stop for water there, their hopes are dashed. And so my hopes in you are dashed—you turn away from me in terror and refuse to help. ²² But why? Have I ever asked you for one slightest thing? Have I begged you for a present? ²³ Have I ever asked your help? ²⁴ All I want is a reasonable answer—then I will keep quiet. Tell me, what have I done wrong?

^25-26 “It is wonderful to speak the truth, but your criticisms are not based on fact. Are you going to condemn me just because I impulsively cried out in desperation? ²⁷ That would be like injuring a helpless orphan, or selling a friend. ²⁸ Look at me! Would I lie to your face? ²⁹ Stop assuming my guilt, for I am righteous. Don’t be so unjust. ³⁰ Don’t I know the difference between right and wrong? Would I not admit it if I had sinned?

7 “How mankind must struggle. A man’s life is long and hard, like that of a slave. ² How he longs for the day to end. How he grinds on to the end of the week and his wages. ³ And so to me also have been allotted months of frustration, these long and weary nights. ⁴ When I go to bed I think, ‘Oh, that it were morning,’ and then I toss till dawn.

⁵ “My skin is filled with worms and blackness. My flesh breaks open, full of pus. ⁶ My life drags by—day after hopeless day. ⁷ My life is but a breath, and nothing good is left. ⁸ You see me now, but not for long. Soon you’ll look upon me dead. ⁹ As a cloud disperses and vanishes, so those who die shall go away forever— ¹⁰ gone forever from their family and their home—never to be seen again. ¹¹ Ah, let me express my anguish. Let me be free to speak out of the bitterness of my soul.

¹² “O God, am I some monster that you never leave me alone? ^13-14 Even when I try to forget my misery in sleep, you terrify with nightmares. ¹⁵ I would rather die of strangulation than go on and on like this. ¹⁶ I hate my life. Oh, leave me alone for these few remaining days. ¹⁷ What is mere man that you should spend your time persecuting him? ¹⁸ Must you be his inquisitor every morning and test him every moment of the day? ¹⁹ Why won’t you leave me alone—even long enough to spit?

²⁰ “Has my sin harmed you, O God, watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your target, and made my life so heavy a burden to me? ²¹ Why not just pardon my sin and take it all away? For all too soon I’ll lie down in the dust and die, and when you look for me, I shall be gone.”

8 Paul was in complete agreement with the killing of Stephen.

And a great wave of persecution of the believers began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except the apostles fled into Judea and Samaria. ² (But some godly Jews^[a] came and with great sorrow buried Stephen.) ³ Paul was like a wild man, going everywhere to devastate the believers, even entering private homes and dragging out men and women alike and jailing them.

⁴ But the believers^[b] who had fled Jerusalem went everywhere preaching the Good News about Jesus! ⁵ Philip, for instance, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about Christ. ⁶ Crowds listened intently to what he had to say because of the miracles he did. ⁷ Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed, ⁸ so there was much joy in that city!

^9-11 A man named Simon had formerly been a sorcerer there for many years; he was a very influential, proud man because of the amazing things he could do—in fact, the Samaritan people often spoke of him as the Messiah.^{[c] 12} But now they believed Philip’s message that Jesus was the Messiah, and his words concerning the Kingdom of God; and many men and women were baptized. ¹³ Then Simon himself believed and was baptized and began following Philip wherever he went, and was amazed by the miracles he did.

¹⁴ When the apostles back in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent down Peter and John. ¹⁵ As soon as they arrived, they began praying for these new Christians to receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶ for as yet he had not come upon any of them. For they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸ When Simon saw this—that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles placed their hands upon people’s heads—he offered money to buy this power.

¹⁹ “Let me have this power too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!”

²⁰ But Peter replied, “Your money perish with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! ²¹ You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right before God. ²² Turn from this great wickedness and pray. Perhaps God will yet forgive your evil thoughts— ²³ for I can see that there is jealousy^[d] and sin in your heart.”

²⁴ “Pray for me,” Simon exclaimed, “that these terrible things won’t happen to me.”

²⁵ After testifying and preaching in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, stopping at several Samaritan villages along the way to preach the Good News to them too.