Old/New Testament
Chapter 25
Bildad’s Third Speech. 1 [a]Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 Dominion and dread are his
who brings about harmony in his heavens.
3 Is there any numbering of his troops?[b]
Yet on which of them does his light not rise?
4 How can anyone be in the right against God,(A)
or how can any born of woman be innocent?
5 Even the moon is not bright
and the stars are not clean in his eyes.
6 How much less a human being, who is but a worm,
a mortal, who is only a maggot?(B)
Chapter 26
Job’s Reply. 1 Then Job answered and said:[c]
2 What help you give to the powerless,
what strength to the feeble arm!
3 How you give counsel to one without wisdom;
how profuse is the advice you offer!
4 With whose help have you uttered those words,
whose breath comes forth from you?(C)
5 The shades[d] beneath writhe in terror,(D)
the waters, and their inhabitants.
6 Naked before him is Sheol,[e]
and Abaddon has no covering.(E)
7 He stretches out Zaphon[f] over the void,
and suspends the earth over nothing at all;
8 He binds up the waters in his clouds,
yet the cloud is not split by their weight;
9 He holds back the appearance of the full moon
by spreading his clouds before it.
10 He has marked out a circle[g] on the surface of the deep(F)
as the boundary of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of the heavens tremble
and are stunned at his thunderous rebuke;(G)
12 By his power he stilled Sea,
by his skill he crushed Rahab;[h]
13 By his wind the heavens were made clear,
his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.[i](H)
14 Lo, these are but the outlines of his ways,
and what a whisper of a word we hear of him:
Who can comprehend the thunder of his power?
Chapter 27
Job’s Reply. 1 Job took up his theme again and said:
2 As God lives,[j] who takes away my right,(I)
the Almighty, who has made my life bitter,
3 So long as I still have life breath in me,
the breath of God in my nostrils,
4 My lips shall not speak falsehood,
nor my tongue utter deceit!
5 Far be it from me to account you right;
till I die I will not renounce my innocence.(J)
6 My justice I maintain and I will not relinquish it;
my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.
7 [k]Let my enemy be as the wicked
and my adversary as the unjust!
8 For what hope has the impious when he is cut off,
when God requires his life?
9 Will God then listen to his cry
when distress comes upon him,
10 If he delights in the Almighty
and calls upon God constantly?
11 I will teach you what is in God’s hand,
and the way of the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Look, you yourselves have all seen it;
why do you spend yourselves in empty words!
13 This is the portion of the wicked with God,
the heritage oppressors receive from the Almighty:(K)
14 Though his children be many, the sword awaits them.
His descendants shall want for bread.
15 His survivors shall be buried in death;
their widows shall not weep.
16 Though he heap up silver like dust
and store away mounds of clothing,
17 What he has stored the righteous shall wear,
and the innocent shall divide the silver.
18 He builds his house as of cobwebs,
or like a booth put up by a watchman.
19 He lies down a rich man, one last time;
he opens his eyes—nothing is there.(L)
20 Terrors flood over him like water,
at night the tempest carries him off.
21 The east wind seizes him and he is gone;
it sweeps him from his place;
22 It hurls itself at him without pity,
as he tries to flee from its power.
23 It claps its hands at him,
and whistles at him from its place.
Chapter 12
Herod’s Persecution of the Christians.[a] 1 About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the church to harm them. 2 He had James, the brother of John,[b] killed by the sword, 3 [c]and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (It was [the] feast of Unleavened Bread.) 4 He had him taken into custody and put in prison under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. He intended to bring him before the people after Passover. 5 Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the church was fervently being made to God on his behalf.(A)
6 On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by double chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison. 7 Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly.” The chains fell from his wrists. 8 The angel said to him, “Put on your belt and your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” 9 So he followed him out, not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate leading out to the city, which opened for them by itself. They emerged and made their way down an alley, and suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter recovered his senses and said, “Now I know for certain that [the] Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.” 12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who is called Mark, where there were many people gathered in prayer.(B) 13 When he knocked on the gateway door, a maid named Rhoda came to answer it. 14 She was so overjoyed when she recognized Peter’s voice that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They told her, “You are out of your mind,” but she insisted that it was so. But they kept saying, “It is his angel.” 16 But Peter continued to knock, and when they opened it, they saw him and were astounded. 17 He motioned to them with his hand to be quiet and explained [to them] how the Lord had led him out of the prison, and said, “Report this to James[d] and the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place. 18 At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.(C) 19 Herod, after instituting a search but not finding him, ordered the guards tried and executed. Then he left Judea to spend some time in Caesarea.
Herod’s Death. 20 [e]He had long been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, who now came to him in a body. After winning over Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they sued for peace because their country was supplied with food from the king’s territory. 21 On an appointed day, Herod, attired in royal robes, [and] seated on the rostrum, addressed them publicly. 22 The assembled crowd cried out, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 At once the angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not ascribe the honor to God, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. 24 But the word of God continued to spread and grow.(D)
Mission of Barnabas and Saul. 25 After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission, they returned to Jerusalem,[f] taking with them John, who is called Mark.(E)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.