Old/New Testament
17 My spirit is broken;
I am ready to give up.
My life is almost gone;
the grave is waiting for me.
2 People stand around me and laugh at me.
I watch them as they tease and insult me.
3 “God, give me some support.
No one else will!
4 You have closed my friends’ minds,
and they don’t understand.
Please don’t let them win.
5 You know what people say:
‘A man neglects his own children to help his friends.’[a]
But my friends have turned against me.
6 God has made my name a bad word to everyone.
People spit in my face.
7 My eyes are almost blind from my grief.
My whole body is as thin as a shadow.
8 Good people wonder how this could happen.
The innocent are upset with anyone who is against God.
9 But those who do right will continue to do what is right.
Those who are not guilty grow stronger and stronger.
10 “But come on, all of you, and try to prove me wrong.
I don’t find any of you to be wise.
11 My life is passing away, and my plans are destroyed.
My hope is gone.
12 Everything is confused—
night is day, and evening comes when it should be dawn.
13 “I might hope for the grave to be my new home.
I might hope to make my bed in the dark grave.
14 I might say to the grave, ‘You are my father,’
and to the worms, ‘my mother’ or ‘my sister.’
15 But you can’t really call that hope, can you?
Does anyone see any hope for me?
16 Will hope go down with me to the place of death?
Will we go down into the dirt together?”
Bildad Answers Job
18 Then Bildad from Shuah answered:
2 “When will you stop talking?
Be sensible; let us say something.
3 Why do you think we are stupid,
like dumb cows?
4 Your anger is hurting no one but you.
Do you think this world was made for you alone?
Do you think God should move mountains just to satisfy you?
5 “Yes, the light of those who are evil will go out.
Their fire will stop burning.
6 The light in their houses will become dark.
The lamps next to them will go out.
7 Their steps, once strong and fast, become weak.
Their own evil plans make them fall.
8 Their own feet lead them into a net.
They fall into its hidden pit and are caught.
9 A trap catches them by the heel,
and it holds them tight.
10 A rope is hidden on the ground to trip them.
A trap is waiting in their path.
11 On every side terrors frighten them.
Fears follow every step they take.
12 Disaster is hungry for them.
Ruin stands close by, waiting for them to fall.
13 Diseases will eat away their skin.
Death itself[b] will eat their arms and legs.
14 They will be taken away from the safety of their tents
and be led away to meet death, the king of terrors.
15 Nothing will be left in their tents,
which will be sprinkled with burning sulfur.
16 Their roots below will dry up,
and their branches above will die.
17 People on earth will not remember them.
Their names will be forgotten.
18 They will be forced from light into darkness.
They will be chased out of this world.
19 They will leave behind no children, no descendants.
None of their people will be left alive.
20 People in the west will be shocked at what happened to them.
People in the east will be numb with fear.
21 This is what will happen to the homes of those who are evil.
This is the place of those who don’t know God!”
Job Answers
19 Then Job answered:
2 “How long will you hurt me
and crush me with your words?
3 You have insulted me ten times now.
You have attacked me without shame!
4 Even if I have sinned,
it is my problem, not yours!
5 You want me to look bad to make yourselves look good.
You say my troubles are proof that I did wrong.
6 I want you to know it was God who did this.
He set this trap for me.
7 I shout, ‘He hurt me!’ but get no answer.
No one hears my cry for fairness.
8 God has blocked my way to keep me from getting through.
He has hidden my path in darkness.
9 He took away my honor.
He took the crown from my head.
10 He hits me on every side until I am worn out.
He takes away my hope.
It is like a tree pulled up by the roots.
11 His anger burns against me.
He treats me like an enemy.
12 He sends his army to attack me.
They build attack towers around me.
They camp around my tent.
13 “God has made my brothers hate me.
Those who knew me have become strangers.
14 My relatives have left me.
My friends have forgotten me.
15 My servant girls and visitors in my home
look at me as if I am a stranger and a foreigner.
16 I call for my servant, but he does not answer.
Even if I beg for help, he will not answer.
17 My wife hates the smell of my breath.
My own brothers hate me.
18 Even little children make fun of me.
When I get up, they say bad things about me.
19 All my close friends hate me.
Even my loved ones have turned against me.
20 “I am so thin, my skin hangs loose on my bones.
I have little life left in me.
21 “Pity me, my friends, pity me,
because God is against me.
22 Why do you persecute me as God does?
Don’t you get tired of hurting me?
23 “I wish someone would write down everything I say.
I wish my words were written on a scroll.
24 I wish they were carved with an iron tool into lead
or scratched on a rock so that they would last forever.
25 I know that there is someone to defend me and that he lives!
And in the end, he will stand here on earth and defend me.
26 After I leave my body and my skin has been destroyed,
I know I will still see God.
27 I will see him with my own eyes.
I myself, not someone else, will see God.
And I cannot tell you how excited that makes me feel![c]
28 “Maybe you will say, ‘How can we push Job a little harder
and make him realize that he is the source of his problems?’
29 But you need to worry about your own punishment.
God might use the sword against you!
Then you will know there is a time for judgment.”
Peter and Cornelius
10 In the city of Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a Roman army officer in what was called the Italian Unit. 2 He was a religious man. He and all the others who lived in his house were worshipers of the true God. He gave much of his money to help the poor people and always prayed to God. 3 One afternoon about three o’clock, Cornelius had a vision. He clearly saw an angel from God coming to him and saying, “Cornelius!”
4 Staring at the angel and feeling afraid, Cornelius said, “What do you want, sir?”
The angel said to him, “God has heard your prayers and has seen your gifts to the poor. He remembers you and all you have done. 5 Send some men now to the city of Joppa to get a man named Simon, who is also called Peter. 6 He is staying with someone also named Simon, a leatherworker who has a house beside the sea.” 7 The angel who spoke to Cornelius left. Then Cornelius called two of his servants and a soldier. The soldier was a religious man, one of his close helpers. 8 Cornelius explained everything to these three men and sent them to Joppa.
9 The next day they were coming near Joppa about noon, when Peter was going up to the roof to pray. 10 He was hungry and wanted to eat. But while they were preparing the food for Peter to eat, he had a vision. 11 He saw something coming down through the open sky. It looked like a big sheet being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill anything here and eat it.”
14 But Peter said, “I can’t do that, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is not pure or fit to be used for food.”
15 But the voice said to him again, “God has made these things pure. Don’t say they are unfit to eat.” 16 This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back up into heaven. 17 Peter wondered what this vision meant.
The men Cornelius sent had found Simon’s house. They were standing at the door. 18 They asked, “Is Simon Peter staying here?”
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Listen, three men are looking for you. 20 Get up and go downstairs. Go with these men without wondering if it’s all right, because I sent them.” 21 So Peter went downstairs and said to them, “I think I’m the man you are looking for. Why did you come here?”
22 The men said, “A holy angel told Cornelius to invite you to his house. He is an army officer. He is a good man, one who worships God, and all the Jewish people respect him. The angel told him to invite you to his house so that he can listen to what you have to say.” 23 Peter asked the men to come in and stay for the night.
The next day Peter got ready and went away with the three men. Some of the believers from Joppa went with him.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International