Old/New Testament
Bildad Says Man Is Inferior
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite [a]answered,
2 “(A)Dominion and awe [b]belong to Him
Who establishes peace in (B)His heights.
3 “Is there any number to (C)His troops?
And upon whom does His light not rise?
4 “How then can a man be (D)just with God?
Or how can he be (E)clean who is born of woman?
5 “If even (F)the moon has no brightness
And the (G)stars are not pure in His sight,
6 How much less (H)man, that (I)maggot,
And the son of man, that worm!”
Job Rebukes Bildad
26 Then Job [c]responded,
2 “What a help you are to [d](J)the weak!
How you have saved the arm (K)without strength!
3 “What counsel you have given to one without wisdom!
What helpful insight you have abundantly [e]provided!
4 “To whom have you uttered words?
And whose [f]spirit was expressed through you?
The Greatness of God
5 “The [g](L)departed spirits tremble
Under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 “Naked is [h](M)Sheol before Him,
And [i](N)Abaddon has no covering.
7 “He (O)stretches out the north over empty space
And hangs the earth on nothing.
8 “He (P)wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not burst under them.
9 “He [j](Q)obscures the face of the [k]full moon
And spreads His cloud over it.
10 “He has inscribed a (R)circle on the surface of the waters
At the (S)boundary of light and darkness.
11 “The pillars of heaven tremble
And are amazed at His rebuke.
12 “He (T)quieted the sea with His power,
And by His (U)understanding He shattered (V)Rahab.
13 “By His breath the (W)heavens are [l]cleared;
His hand has pierced (X)the fleeing serpent.
14 “Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how faint (Y)a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty (Z)thunder, who can understand?”
Job Affirms His Righteousness
27 Then Job [m]continued his (AA)discourse and said,
2 “As God lives, (AB)who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, (AC)who has embittered my soul,
3 For as long as [n]life is in me,
And the [o](AD)breath of God is in my nostrils,
4 My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will (AE)my tongue mutter deceit.
5 “Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Till I die (AF)I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 “I (AG)hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not reproach any of my days.
The State of the Godless
7 “May my enemy be as the wicked
And [p]my opponent as the unjust.
8 “For what is (AH)the hope of the godless [q]when he is cut off,
When God requires (AI)his [r]life?
9 “Will God (AJ)hear his cry
When (AK)distress comes upon him?
10 “Will he take (AL)delight in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 “I will instruct you in the [s]power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 “Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you [t]act foolishly?
13 “This is (AM)the portion of a wicked man from God,
And the inheritance which (AN)tyrants receive from the Almighty.
14 “Though his sons are many, [u]they are destined (AO)for the sword;
And his (AP)descendants will not be satisfied with bread.
15 “His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And [v]their (AQ)widows will not be able to weep.
16 “Though he piles up silver like dust
And prepares garments as plentiful as the clay,
17 He may prepare it, (AR)but the just will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.
18 “He has built his (AS)house like the [w]spider’s web,
Or as a hut which the watchman has made.
19 “He lies down rich, but never [x]again;
He opens his eyes, and (AT)it is no longer.
20 “(AU)Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A tempest steals him away (AV)in the night.
21 “The east (AW)wind carries him away, and he is gone,
For it whirls him (AX)away from his place.
22 “For it will hurl at him (AY)without sparing;
He will surely try to (AZ)flee from its [y]power.
23 “Men will clap their hands at him
And will (BA)hiss him from his place.
Peter’s Arrest and Deliverance
12 Now about that time [a]Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. 2 And he (A)had James the brother of John (B)put to death with a sword. 3 When he saw that it (C)pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now [b]it was during (D)the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four [c](E)squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after (F)the Passover to bring him out before the people. 5 So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.
6 On [d]the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, (G)bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. 7 And behold, (H)an angel of the Lord suddenly (I)appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And (J)his chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and [e]put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing (K)a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which (L)opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 When Peter (M)came [f]to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that (N)the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all [g]that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12 And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of (O)John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and (P)were praying. 13 When he knocked at the door of the gate, (Q)a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, (R)because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is (S)his angel.” 16 But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But (T)motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to [h](U)James and (V)the brethren.” Then he left and went to another place.
18 Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to [i]what could have become of Peter. 19 When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they (W)be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to (X)Caesarea and was spending time there.
Death of Herod
20 Now he was very angry with the people of (Y)Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because (Z)their country was fed by the king’s country. 21 On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the [j]rostrum and began delivering an address to them. 22 The people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 And immediately (AA)an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and [k]died.
24 But (AB)the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.
25 And (AC)Barnabas and (AD)Saul returned [l]from Jerusalem (AE)when they had fulfilled their [m]mission, taking along with them (AF)John, who was also called Mark.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.