Old/New Testament
Human Beings Live and Die
14 Human beings born by women
are short-lived[a] and full of trouble.
2 He springs up[b] like a flower and then withers.[c]
Like a shadow, he disappears[d] and doesn’t last.
3 Indeed, have you opened your eyes on one like this—
to bring me into a legal fight with you?
4 Who can produce a clean thing from an unclean thing?
No one!
5 Since his days have been determined,
the number of his months is known to you.
You’ve set his limit
and he cannot exceed it.
6 Look away from him and leave him alone,
so he can enjoy his time, like a hired worker.”
Death is Certain
7 “There is hope for the tree, if it is cut down,
that it will sprout again,
and that its shoots won’t stop growing.
8 Even if its roots have grown ancient in the earth,
and its stump begins to rot[e] in the ground,
9 the presence[f] of water will make it to bud
so that it sprouts new branches like a young plant.
10 “But when a person[g] dies and wastes away,
when a person[h] breathes his last, where will he be?
11 As water disappears from the sea,
or water evaporates from a river,
12 so also a person[i] lies down and does not get up;
they won’t awaken until the heavens are no more,
nor will they arise from their sleep.”
There is Life after Death
13 “Won’t you keep me safe in the afterlife?[j]
Conceal me until your anger subsides.
Set an appointment for me,
then remember me.
14 If a human being[k] dies, will he live again?
I will endure the entire time of my assigned service,
until I am changed.[l]
15 You’ll call and I’ll answer you;
you’ll long for your creatures that your hands have made.[m]
16 Then you’ll certainly count every step I took,
but you won’t keep an inventory of my sin.
17 My transgressions would be sealed up in a bag;
you would cover over my sins.
18 “Mountains fall and crumble;
rocks are dislodged from their places.
19 Water wears away stones;
floods wash away topsoil from the land—
but you destroy the hope of human beings just like that!
20 You overpower him once and for all, and then he departs;
you change his appearance and then send him away.
21 “If his children are honored, he doesn’t know it;
if they become insignificant, he never perceives it.
22 He feels only his own pain,[n]
and grieves only for himself.”
Eliphaz Speaks Again
15 Then Eliphaz from Teman responded:
2 “Should a wise person respond with knowledge based on wind?
Should he fill his stomach with a wind storm from the east?
3 Should he engage in unprofitable argument,
or give a speech that benefits no one?
4 Yet you dispense with fear of God
and hinder meditations before God.
5 Because your sin dictates your speech,[o]
you have chosen the language[p] of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth is condemning you, not I;
your own lips will testify against you.”
Eliphaz Claims that Job is Guilty
7 “Were you the first person[q]to be born?
Were you brought forth before the hills were made?
8 Have you listened in on God’s secret council?
Have you limited wisdom only to yourself?
9 What do you know that we don’t know,
or that you understand and that isn’t clear to us?
10 “We have both the gray-haired and the aged with us,
and they are far older[r] than your father.
11 Are God’s encouragements inconsequential to you,
even a word that has been spoken[s] gently to you?
12 Why have your emotions[t] carried you away?
And why do your eyes flash
13 that you turn your anger[u] against God
and speak words like this?
14 “What is mankind, that he can be blameless?
Or does being born of a woman mean he’ll be in the right?
15 Look, if God[v] doesn’t trust his holy ones,[w]
if even the heavens aren’t pure as he looks at them,
16 then how much less is one who is abhorred and corrupted,
such as a man who drinks injustice like water?”
Eliphaz Describes the Plight of the Wicked
17 “I’ll tell you what, listen to me!
Let me relate what I’ve seen,
18 which is what wise men have explained,
who didn’t withhold anything from their ancestors.
19 To them alone was the land given,
when no invader[x] passed through their midst.
20 “The wicked person writhes in pain throughout his life,
a number of years has been reserved for the ruthless.
21 Terrifying sounds ring[y] in his ears;
when times are prosperous, the Destroyer will attack[z] him.
22 He does not believe he will escape[aa] darkness;
he is destined for the sword.
23 He wanders around for food—where is it?
He knows that a time of darkness is near.[ab]
24 Distress and pressure terrify him;
they overwhelm him, like a king poised for attack.
25 “For he has raised his fist against God,
defying the Almighty.
26 He defiantly ran against him
carrying his thick, reinforced shield.
27 Though he covered his face with fat,
and is grossly overweight at the waist,
28 He will live in devastated towns,
in abandoned houses
that are about to become heaps of rubble.
29 “He won’t become rich and his wealth won’t last;
he won’t expand his holdings to cover the land.
30 He won’t escape darkness;
a flame will wither his shoots;
and he’ll depart by the breath of God’s[ac] mouth.
31 Let him not trust in a worthless speech.
He leads only himself astray,
for emptiness will be his reward.
32 This will be accomplished before his time;[ad]
his branches won’t grow luxuriant.
33 “He is like a vine that drops its unripe grapes;
like an olive tree that loses its blossoms.
34 For the company of the godless is desolation,
and fire consumes the tents of those who[ae] bribe.
35 For they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity;
their womb is pregnant[af] with deception.”
Job Reasons with Eliphaz
16 In response, Job said:
2 “I’ve heard many things like this.
What miserable comforters you all are!
3 Will windy words like yours never end?
What is upsetting you that you keep on arguing?
4 “I could also talk like you
if only you were in my place!
Then I would put together an argument[ag] against you.
I would shake my head at you
5 and encourage you with what I have to say;[ah]
my words of comfort would lessen your pain.
6 “But if I speak, my pain isn’t assuaged;
if I refrain from speaking, what do I have to lose?”
Job Claims of God’s Mistreatment
7 “God[ai] has certainly worn me out;
you devastated my entire world.[aj]
8 You’ve arrested me, making me testify against myself!
My leanness rises up to attack me, accusing[ak] me to my face.
9 His anger tears me in his persistent resentment against me;
he gnashes his teeth at me.
My adversary glares[al] at me.
10 People gaped at me with mouths wide open;
they slap me in their scorn
and gather together against me.
11 God has delivered me over to the ungodly,
throwing me into the control of the wicked.
12 “He tore me apart when I was at ease;
grabbing me by my neck, he shook me to pieces—
then he really made me his target.
13 His archers surround me,
slashing open my kidneys without pity;
he pours out my gall on the ground.
14 Attack follows attack as he breaks through my defenses!
He runs over me like a mighty warrior.
15 “I’ve even sewn sackcloth directly to my skin;
I’ve buried my strength[am] in the dust.
16 My face is red from my tears,
and dark shadows encircle my eyelids,
17 even though violence is not my intention,
and my prayer is pure.”
Job Appeals to Witnesses
18 “Listen, earth! Don’t cover my blood,
for my outcry has no place to rest.
19 Even now, behold! I have a witness in heaven,
my Advocate is on high.
20 My friends mock me,
while my eyes overflow with tears to God,
21 crying for him to arbitrate between this[an] man and God;
as a human being does with his fellow neighbor.
22 For when only a few years have elapsed,
I’ll start down a path from which I’ll never return.”
22 But Saul grew more and more persuasive, and continued to confound the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this man was the Messiah.[a]
23 After several days had gone by, the Jewish leaders[b] plotted to murder Saul,[c] 24 but their plot became known to him.[d] They were even watching the gates day and night to murder him, 25 but his disciples took him one night and let him down through the city wall by lowering him in a basket.
26 When Saul[e] arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they all were afraid of him because they wouldn’t believe he was a disciple. 27 Barnabas, however, introduced Saul[f] to the apostles, telling them how on the road Saul[g] had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how courageously he had spoken in the name of Jesus in Damascus. 28 So he freely circulated[h] among them in Jerusalem, speaking courageously in the name of the Lord. 29 He kept talking and arguing with the Hellenistic Jews, but they were bent on murdering him. 30 When the brothers found out about the plot,[i] they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.
31 So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace. As it continued to be built up and to live in the fear of the Lord, it kept increasing in numbers through the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
Aeneas is Healed
32 Now when Peter was going around among all of the disciples,[j] he also visited the saints living in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. 34 Peter told him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Messiah[k] is healing you. Get up and put away your mat!” At once he got up, 35 and all the people who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
Tabitha is Healed
36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha,[l] which in Greek is Dorcas.[m] She was known for her good actions and acts of charity that she was always doing. 37 At that time, she got sick and died. After they had washed her, they laid her in an upstairs room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to him and begged him, “Come here quickly!” 39 So Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they took him upstairs. All the widows gathered around Peter,[n] crying and showing him all the shirts and coats Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
40 Peter made them all go outside. After kneeling down, he prayed, turned to the body, and said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 He extended his hand and helped her get up. Then he called the saints, including the widows, and gave her back to them alive. 42 What happened became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Meanwhile, Peter[o] stayed in Joppa for several days with Simon, a leatherworker.
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