Old/New Testament
Job Laments the Day He was Born
3 After this, Job spoke up solemnly, cursing[a] the day he was born.[b] 2 This is what Job said:
3 “Let the day when I was born be annihilated,
along with the night when it was announced,
‘It’s a boy!’[c]
4 Let that day be dark;
let God above not care about it;
let no light shine over it.
5 Let darkness and deep gloom reclaim it;
let clouds settle down on it;
let blackness in mid-day terrify it.
6 Let darkness carry that night away;
let it not take its place joyfully among the days of the year;
let it not be entered into the calendar.[d]
7 “Yes, let that night be barren;
let it not appear with its joyful shout.
8 Let whoever curses days curse it—
those who are ready to awaken monsters.[e]
9 Let the stars of its evening twilight be dark;
let it hope for light but let there be none;
let it not see the breaking rays[f] of the dawn.
10 “Because that night[g] refused to shut the doors of my mother’s[h] womb;
it failed to keep me from seeing this trouble.
11 Why didn’t I die while I was still in the womb,
or die while I was being born?
12 Why was there a lap[i] to hold me,
and why were there breasts to nurse me?
13 “If I had died,[j] I would be lying down by now,
undisturbed, asleep, and at rest,
14 along with kings and counselors of the earth,
who used to build for themselves what are now only[k] ruins,
15 or princes who amassed[l] gold for themselves,
and who kept filling their houses with silver.
16 “Or why was I not buried[m] like a stillborn child,[n]
like babies[o] who never saw the light?
17 In that place, the wicked stop causing trouble,
and there, those whose strength is exhausted are at rest.
18 In that place, those who once were prisoners will be at ease together;
they won’t hear the voice of oppressors.
19 The unimportant and the important are both there,
and the servant is free from his master.
20 “Why does God[p] give light to the sufferer
or life to the bitter person:
21 To those who are longing for death—
even though it does not come?
To those who search for it
more than for hidden treasure?
22 To those who are happy beyond measure[q]
when they reach their graves?
23 To the formerly successful[r] man who lost his way in life,
and God fenced him in?
24 “As far as I’m concerned, my food comes to me in the form of sighs,
and my cries of anguish pour out like water.
25 For the dreaded thing that I feared has happened to me,
what caused me to worry has engulfed[s] me.
26 I will not be at ease;
I will not be quiet;
I will not rest;
because trouble has arrived.”
Eliphaz: the Innocent Don’t Suffer
4 In reply, Eliphaz from Teman answered:
2 “Will you get offended if somebody tries to talk to you?
Who can keep from speaking at a time like this?[t]
3 Look! You’ve admonished many people,[u]
and you’ve strengthened feeble hands.
4 A word from you has supported those who have stumbled,
and has strengthened faltering knees.
5 “But now it’s your turn,
and you’re the one who is worn out![v]
Now it’s striking you,
and you’re dismayed!
6 “Your fear of God has been your confidence, hasn’t it?
The integrity of your life has been your hope, hasn’t it?
7 Now please think:
Who has ever perished when they’re innocent?
Where have the upright been destroyed?
8 It’s been my experience that those who plow the soil of[w] iniquity
and those who sow the seed of[x] trouble will reap their harvest![y]
9 They perish by the breath of God;
they are consumed by the storm that is[z] his anger.[aa]
10 “The lioness may roar,
and the lion cub may growl;
but even the ivory teeth of the full grown lion are broken.
11 Full grown lions die when they cannot find prey;
that’s when the lion cubs are scattered.
12 “A message was confided[ab] to me;
my ear caught a whisper of it.
13 Disquieting thoughts from dreams at night;
when deep sleep falls on everyone.[ac]
14 A fear fell upon me, along with trembling
that caused all my bones to shake in terror.[ad]
15 A spirit glided past me
and made the hair on my skin[ae] to bristle.
16 It remained standing,
but I couldn’t recognize its appearance.
A form appeared before my eyes;
At first there was[af] silence, and then this voice:
17 ‘Can a mortal person[ag] be more righteous than God?
Or can the purity of the valiant exceed that of his maker?’[ah]
18 “Indeed, since he doesn’t trust his servants,[ai]
since he charges[aj] his angels with error,
19 how much less confidence[ak] does he have
in those who dwell in houses of clay;
who were formed from a foundation in dust
and can perish[al] like a moth?
20 They are defeated between morning and evening;
they perish forever—and no one notices!
21 Their wealth[am] perishes with them, doesn’t it?
They die, and do so without having wisdom, don’t they?”
44 “Our ancestors had the Tent of Testimony[a] in the wilderness constructed,[b] just as the one who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. 45 Our ancestors brought it here with Joshua when they replaced the nations that God drove out in front of our ancestors, and it was here until the time of David. 46 He found favor with God and asked to design a dwelling for the house[c] of Jacob, 47 but it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 However, the Most High does not live in buildings made by human[d] hands. As the prophet says,
49 “‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house can you build for me,’ declares the Lord,[e]
“or what place is there in which I can rest?
50 It was my hand that made all these things, wasn’t it?’”[f]
51 “You stubborn people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. 52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors fail to persecute? They killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. 53 You received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet you haven’t obeyed it!”
Stephen is Stoned to Death
54 While they were listening to these things, they became more and more furious and began to grind their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen,[g] filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 He said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
57 But they shouted out loud, stopped listening, and together they all rushed at him, 58 ran him outside of the city, and began to stone him to death. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 As they continued to stone Stephen, he kept praying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” After he had said this, he died.[h]
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