Old/New Testament
Elihu Speaks of God’s Dealings with Men
36 Elihu continued and said,
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“Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you,
That there is yet more to say on God’s behalf.
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“I will bring my knowledge from afar,
And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
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“For truly my words are not false;
He who is perfect in knowledge is with you.
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“Behold, God is mighty, and yet does not despise anyone [nor regard any as trivial];
He is mighty in the strength and power of understanding.
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“He does not prolong the life of the wicked,
But gives the afflicted their justice.
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“He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous [those in right standing with Him];
But with kings upon the throne
He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.
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“And if they are bound in bonds [of adversity],
And held by cords of affliction,(A)
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Then He declares to them [the true character of] their deeds
And their transgressions, that they have acted arrogantly [with presumption and notions of self-sufficiency].
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“He opens their ears to instruction and discipline,
And commands that they return from evil.
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“If they hear and serve Him,
They will end their days in prosperity
And their years in pleasantness and joy.
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“But if they do not hear and obey, they will die by the sword [of God’s destructive judgments]
And they will die [in ignorance] without [true] knowledge.
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“But the godless in heart store up anger [at the divine discipline];
They do not cry [to Him] for help when He binds them [with cords of affliction].(B)
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“They die in youth,
And their life ends among the [a]cult prostitutes.(C)
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“He rescues the afflicted in their affliction,
And opens their ears [so that they pay attention to His voice] in times of oppression.
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“Then indeed, He enticed you from the mouth of distress and confinement,
Into a broad place where there is no constraint or distress;
And that which was set on your table was full of fatness (rich food).
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“But you [Job] were full of judgment on the wicked,
Judgment and justice take hold of you.
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“Do not let wrath entice you into scoffing;
And do not let the greatness and the extent of the ransom turn you aside.
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“Will your wealth [be sufficient to] keep you from [the confinement of] distress,
Or will all the force of your strength do it?
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“Do not long for the night,
When people vanish from their places.
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“Take heed and be careful, do not turn to wickedness,
For you have chosen this [the vice of complaining against God] rather than [learning from] affliction.
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“Behold, God is exalted in His power;
Who is a ruler or a teacher like Him?
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“Who has appointed God His way,
And who can say [to Him], ‘You have done wrong’?
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“Remember that you should magnify God’s work,
Of which men have sung.
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“All men have seen God’s work;
Man looks at it from a distance.
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“Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him;
The number of His years is unsearchable.(D)
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“For He draws up the drops of water,
They distill rain from the mist,
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Which the clouds pour down,
They drop abundantly upon mankind.”
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“Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds
Or the thundering of His pavilion?(E)
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“Behold, He spreads His lightning around Him [against the dark clouds],
And He covers the depths of the sea.
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“For by these [mighty acts] He judges the peoples;
He gives food in abundance.
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“He covers His hands with the lightning,
And commands it to strike the mark.
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“His thundering voice declares [awesomely] His presence;
The cattle also are told of His coming storm.
Elihu Says God has Authority over the Storm
37 “Indeed, at His thundering my heart trembles
And leaps out of its place.
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“Listen carefully to the thunder of His voice,
And the rumbling that goes out of His mouth!
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“He lets it loose under the whole heaven,
And His lightning to the ends of the earth.
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“After it, His voice roars;
He thunders with the voice of His majesty,
And He does not restrain His lightning [against His adversaries] when His voice is heard.
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“God thunders marvelously with His voice;
He does great things which we cannot comprehend.
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“For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’;
And [He speaks] to the showers and to the downpour [of His mighty rains], ‘Be strong.’
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“God seals (brings to a standstill, stops) [by severe weather] the hand of every man,
That all men [whom He has made] may know His work [that is, His sovereign power and their subjection to it].
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“Then the beast goes into its lair
And remains in its hiding place.
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“Out of its chamber comes the storm,
And cold from the north wind.
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“Ice is made by the breath of God,
And the expanse of the waters is frozen.(F)
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“He loads the thick cloud with moisture;
He disperses the cloud of His lightning.
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“Its direction is turned around by His guidance,
That it may do whatever He commands it
On the face of the inhabited earth.
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“Whether [it be] for correction, or for His earth [generally]
Or for [His] mercy and lovingkindness, He causes it to happen.(G)
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“Listen to this, Job;
Stand still and consider the wonders of God.
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“Do you know how God establishes and commands them,
And makes the lightning of His [storm] cloud shine?
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“Do you know about the layers of thick clouds [and how they are balanced and poised in the heavens],
The wonderful works of Him who is perfect in knowledge,
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You whose garments are hot,
When He quiets the earth [in sultry summer] with the [oppressive] south wind?
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“Can you, with Him, spread out the sky,
Strong as a molten mirror?
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“Tell us [Job] what words [of man] shall we say to such a Being;
We cannot state our case because of darkness [that is, our ignorance in the presence of the unsearchable God].
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“So shall it be told Him that I wish to speak?
Or should a man say that he would be swallowed up [and destroyed by God]?
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“Now people cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies [without being blinded],
When the wind has passed and cleared them.
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“Out of the north comes golden splendor [and people can hardly look on it];
Around God is awesome splendor and majesty [far too glorious for man’s eyes].
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“The Almighty—we cannot find Him;
He is exalted in power
And He will not do violence to [nor disregard] justice and abundant righteousness.(H)
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“Men therefore fear Him;
He does not regard nor respect any who are wise in heart [in their own understanding and conceit].”(I)
22 Then the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, decided to select some of their men to go to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas [also called Silvanus, both], leading men among the brothers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:
“The apostles and the brothers who are the elders, to the brothers and sisters who are from the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, Greetings.
24 Since we have heard that some of our men have troubled you with their teachings, causing distress and confusion—men to whom we gave no such orders or instructions— 25 it has been decided by us, having met together, to select men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 So we have sent Judas and Silas, who will report by word of mouth the same things [that we decided in our meeting]. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place on you any greater burden than these essentials: 29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from [consuming] blood, and from [eating the meat of] things that have been strangled, and from sexual impurity. If you keep yourselves from these things, you will do well. Farewell.”
30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch; and after assembling the congregation, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, the people rejoiced greatly at the encouragement and comfort [it brought them]. 32 Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets (divinely inspired spokesmen), encouraged and strengthened the [a]believers with many words. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent back by the brothers with [the greeting of] peace to those who had sent them. 34 [b][However, Silas decided to stay there.] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, and with many others also continued teaching and proclaiming the good news, the word of the Lord [concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ].
Paul’s Second Missionary Journey
36 After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers and sisters (believers) in every city where we preached the message of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take [his cousin] John, who was called Mark, along with them. 38 But Paul kept insisting that they should not take along with them the one who had quit and deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work. 39 And it became such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took [John] Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose Silas [who was again in Antioch] and set out [on his second journey], commended by the brothers to the grace and favor of the Lord. 41 And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
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