Old/New Testament
34 Then Elihu continued his speech:
2 “Listen to what I say, you wise men.
Pay attention, you who know so much.
3 Your tongue tastes the food it touches,
and your ear tests the words it hears.
4 So let us test these arguments and decide for ourselves what is right.
Together we will learn what is good.
5 Job says, ‘I am innocent,
and God is not being fair to me.
6 I am right, but I am judged to be a liar.
I have done no wrong, but I am badly hurt.’
7 “Would anyone but Job say such things?
He has more thirst for insulting God than for water.
8 He is a friend of evil people.
He likes to spend time with the wicked.
9 I know this because he says,
‘You will gain nothing if you try to please God.’
10 “You men can understand, so listen to me.
God would never do what is evil!
God All-Powerful would never do wrong.
11 He pays us back for what we have done.
He gives us what we deserve.
12 The truth is that God does no wrong.
God All-Powerful is always fair.
13 No one chose God to be in charge of the earth.
No one gave him responsibility for the whole world.
14 If God decided to take away his spirit
and the breath of life he gave us,
15 then everything on earth would die.
We would all become dust again.
16 “If you men are wise,
you will listen to what I say.
17 Can someone be a ruler if he hates justice?
Job, God is not only powerful, but he is fair.
Do you think you can judge him guilty?
18 God is the one who says to kings, ‘You are worthless!’
He says to leaders, ‘You are evil!’
19 He does not respect leaders more than other people.
And he does not respect the rich more than the poor.
God made everyone.
20 Any of us can die suddenly, in the middle of the night.
Anyone can get sick and pass away.
Even powerful people die for no reason we can see.
21 “God watches what people do.
He sees every step they take.
22 There is no place dark enough
for evil people to hide from God.
23 God does not need to set a time
for people to come before him and be judged.
24 He does not have to ask questions when people do wrong,
even if they are powerful leaders.
He simply destroys them
and chooses others to take their place.
25 When he learns what people have done,
he defeats them, and overnight they are gone.
26 He will punish them for the evil they have done,
and he will do it where everyone can see.
27 He will do this because they rebelled against him
and ignored what he wanted.
28 They hurt the poor and made them cry to God for help.
And he hears their cry!
29 But if God decides not to help them,
no one can judge him guilty.
If he hides himself, no one can find him.
He is the ruler over every person and nation.
30 He keeps the wicked from ruling
so that they will not bring harm to the people.
31 “A person should say to God,
‘I am guilty; I will not sin anymore.
32 Show me the sins I am not able to see.
If I have done wrong, I will not do it again.’
33 Job, you want God to reward you,
but you refuse to change.
It is your decision, not mine.
Tell me what you think.
34 A wise person would listen to me.
A wise person would say,
35 ‘Job talks like an ignorant person.
What he says doesn’t make sense!’
36 I think Job should be punished even more,
because he answers us like someone who is evil!
37 He adds rebellion to his other sins.
He sits there insulting us and arguing with God!”
35 Elihu continued talking and said,
2 “Job, it is not fair for you to say,
‘I am more right than God,’
3 because you also ask him,
‘What’s the use of trying to please you?
What good will it do me if I don’t sin?’
4 “Job, I want to answer you and your friends here with you.
5 Look up at the sky.
Look at the clouds, which are so much higher than you.
6 If you sin, it does not hurt God.
Even if your sins are too many to count, that does nothing to God.
7 And if you are good, that does not help God.
He gets nothing from you.
8 Job, the good and bad things you do
affect only other people like yourself.
9 “If people are being hurt, they cry out
and beg for protection from those who hurt them.
10 But they forget to say, ‘Where is God, the one who made me?
He is the one who gives us songs to sing in the night.
11 He is the one who makes us smarter than any animal on earth
and wiser than any bird.’
12 “Or if evil people ask God for help, he will not answer them,
because they are too proud.
13 God will not listen to their worthless begging.
God All-Powerful will not pay attention to them.
14 So, Job, God will not listen to you
when you say that you don’t see him.
You say you are waiting for your chance to meet with him
and prove that you are innocent.
15 “Job thinks that God does not punish evil
and that he pays no attention to sin.
16 So he continues his worthless talking.
Everything he has said shows he does not know what he is talking about.”
The Meeting at Jerusalem
15 Then some men came to Antioch from Judea and began teaching the non-Jewish believers: “You cannot be saved if you are not circumcised as Moses taught us.” 2 Paul and Barnabas were against this teaching and argued with these men about it. So the group decided to send Paul, Barnabas, and some others to Jerusalem to talk more about this with the apostles and elders.
3 The church helped them get ready to leave on their trip. The men went through the countries of Phoenicia and Samaria, where they told all about how the non-Jewish people had turned to the true God. This made all the believers very happy. 4 When the men arrived in Jerusalem, the apostles, the elders, and the whole church welcomed them. Paul, Barnabas, and the others told about all that God had done with them. 5 Some of the believers in Jerusalem had belonged to the Pharisees. They stood up and said, “The non-Jewish believers must be circumcised. We must tell them to obey the Law of Moses!”
6 Then the apostles and the elders gathered to study this problem. 7 After a long debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “My brothers, I am sure you remember what happened in the early days. God chose me from among you to tell the Good News to those who are not Jewish. It was from me that they heard the Good News and believed. 8 God knows everyone, even their thoughts, and he accepted these non-Jewish people. He showed this to us by giving them the Holy Spirit the same as he did to us. 9 To God, those people are not different from us. When they believed, God made their hearts pure. 10 So now, why are you putting a heavy burden[a] around the necks of the non-Jewish followers of Jesus? Are you trying to make God angry? We and our fathers were not able to carry that burden. 11 No, we believe that we and these people will be saved the same way—by the grace of the Lord Jesus.”
12 Then the whole group became quiet. They listened while Paul and Barnabas told about all the miraculous signs and wonders that God had done through them among the non-Jewish people. 13 When they finished speaking, James said, “My brothers, listen to me. 14 Simon Peter has told us how God showed his love for the non-Jewish people. For the first time, God accepted them and made them his people. 15 The words of the prophets agree with this too:
16 ‘I will return after this.
I will build David’s house again.
It has fallen down.
I will build again the parts of his house that have been pulled down.
I will make his house new.
17 Then the rest of the world will look for the Lord God—
all those of other nations who are my people too.
The Lord said this.
And he is the one who does all these things.’ (A)
18 ‘All this has been known from the beginning of time.’[b]
19 “So I think we should not make things hard for those who have turned to God from among the non-Jewish people. 20 Instead, we should send a letter telling them only the things they should not do:
Don’t eat food that has been given to idols. This makes the food unclean.
Don’t be involved in sexual sin.
Don’t eat meat from animals that have been strangled or any meat that still has the blood in it.
21 They should not do any of these things, because there are still men in every city who teach the Law of Moses. The words of Moses have been read in the synagogue every Sabbath day for many years.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International