Old/New Testament
Round Three: Bildad’s Speech
25 Bildad the Shuhite responded:
2 The power to rule and to inspire fear belongs to him.
He makes peace on high.
3 Can anyone count his troops?
Is there anyone on whom his light does not rise?
4 How then can a man be righteous with God?
How can one born of a woman be pure?
5 If even the moon does not shine brightly for him,
and if the stars are not pure in his eyes,
6 how much less a man, who is a maggot,
and a son of man, who is a worm?
Round Three: Job’s Second Speech
26 Then Job responded:
2 How marvelously you have helped the helpless!
How wonderfully you have saved the arm that has no strength!
3 What great advice you have given to the one who lacks wisdom!
What great insight you have revealed!
4 Who helped you proclaim these words?
Whose breath[a] came out of your mouth?
5 The spirits of the dead writhe in pain underneath the waters,
along with all those who dwell there.
6 Hell[b] is naked before God,
and there is nowhere to hide in the place of destruction.[c]
7 He stretches out the northern sky across the emptiness.
He suspends the earth on nothing.
8 He encloses water in his clouds,
but the clouds are not broken apart by its weight.
9 He dims the face of the full moon by veiling it with his clouds.
10 He drew a circle around the surface of the waters.
It marks the boundary of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of the heavens shake.
They are stunned by his rebuke.
12 By his power he calmed[d] the sea.
By his understanding he smashed Rahab.[e]
13 By his breath the skies became beautiful.
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.[f]
14 But all these are just the fringe of his ways!
How faint a whisper we hear of him!
Who understands his power, which is displayed in the thunder?
Round Three: Job’s Third Speech
27 After a pause,[g] Job began to present this discourse:
2 As God lives, he has deprived me of justice.
The Almighty has made my life[h] bitter.
3 Yes, as long as the breath of life is still in me,
as long as the breath from God is still in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not speak wickedness,
and my tongue will not murmur deception.
5 May I be cursed if I ever admit you are right.
Until I die, I will never deny my integrity.
6 I have held tight to my righteousness,
and I will not let it go.
My conscience[i] will not accuse me as long as I live.
7 May my enemy be like the wicked.
May the one who rises up against me be like the unjust.
8 For what hope is there for a godless person when God cuts him off,
when God takes away his life?
9 Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him?
10 Will he take delight in the Almighty?
Will he call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you about the hand of God.
I will not hide what the Almighty is doing.
12 Listen, all of you have observed this.
So why do you continue to spew forth such worthless vapor?
13 This is the allotment a wicked man receives from God,
the inheritance that tyrants receive from the Almighty:
14 Although his children are many, they are sent to the sword.
His offspring will not be satisfied with bread.
15 Those who survive will be buried by a plague.
They will be buried, and their widows will not weep.
16 Though the wicked man piles up silver like dust,
and he accumulates clothing like mounds of clay,
17 the righteous will wear what he accumulated,
and the innocent will divide his silver.
18 He has built a house, but it will be like a moth’s cocoon,
like a shack that a watchman has put up.
19 He goes to bed as a rich man,
but his wealth does not remain.
He opens his eyes, and it is all gone.
20 Terrors sweep over him like floodwaters.
At night, a strong wind carries him away.
21 The east wind lifts him up, and off he goes.
It blows him away from his place.
22 It hurls itself at him, and it does not spare him.
He flees from its power as fast as he can.
23 It mockingly claps its hands at him
and drives him from his place with hissing.
An Angel Frees Peter
12 At about that time, King Herod[a] laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church, in order to mistreat them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter during the days of Unleavened Bread.
4 After arresting Peter, Herod put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. Herod intended to bring him before the people for trial after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church earnestly offered up prayer to God for him.
6 The very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. He was bound with two chains, while sentries were in front of the door, guarding the prison.
7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood near him, and a light shone in the cell. The angel woke Peter up by striking him on the side, saying, “Quick, get up!” The chains fell from his wrists.
8 Then the angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” So he did so. Then the angel told him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” 9 Peter went out, following the angel, but he did not realize that what the angel was doing was really happening. He thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed through the first and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city. It opened all by itself for them. They went outside, walked down one street, and immediately the angel left him.
11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.”
12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, who is also called Mark. Many had gathered there and were praying. 13 When Peter knocked at the entrance gate, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 She recognized Peter’s voice and was so overjoyed, she did not open the gate. Instead she ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate.
15 They told her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept on insisting it was so, and they started saying, “It’s his angel.”
16 Meanwhile, Peter kept on knocking. When they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned to them with his hand to be silent and described to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. He said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he left and went on to another place.
18 At daybreak, there was no small commotion among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod searched for him and did not find him, he questioned the guards and ordered that they be executed.
Herod’s Death
Then Herod went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They joined together and approached him after they had won over Blastus, the king’s personal assistant. They asked for peace because their country depended on the king’s country for food.
21 On the appointed day Herod, dressed in his royal robes and seated on his throne, delivered a public address to them. 22 The crowd shouted, “It’s the voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give the glory to God. He was eaten by worms and died.
24 But the word of God continued to grow and increase.
25 After Barnabas and Saul had completed their relief mission in Jerusalem, they returned[b] and brought along John, who is called Mark.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.