Old/New Testament
11 ¶ Then Zophar, the Naamathite, answered and said,
2 Should not the multitude of words be answered? And should a man full of talk be justified?
3 Should thy lies make men be silent? Shalt thou mock, and shall no man make thee ashamed?
4 For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean before thine eyes.
5 But oh, that God would speak and open his lips against thee
6 and that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom! For thou dost deserve double according to sound wisdom; and thou dost know that God has forgotten thee because of thine iniquity.
7 ¶ Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou come unto the perfection of the Almighty?
8 It is higher than the heavens; what canst thou do? It is deeper than Sheol; how canst thou know it?
9 The measure of it is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.
10 If he cuts off, or shuts up, or gathers together, then who can hinder him?
11 For he knows the vain men; and he sees the iniquity; will he not then understand it?
12 The vain man shall make himself understood, though man is born like a wild ass’s colt.
13 ¶ If thou would prepare thine heart and stretch out thine hands toward him;
14 if there is any iniquity in thy hand and thou dost put it far away and dost not consent that wickedness dwell in thy habitations,
15 then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; thou shalt be strongly established and shalt not fear;
16 and thou shalt forget thy misery and remember it as waters that passed away;
17 and thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.
18 And thou shalt trust because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig and sleep in safety;
19 thou shalt lie down, and no one shall make thee afraid; and many shall make requests unto thee.
20 But the eyes of the wicked shall consume themselves, and they shall have no refuge, and their hope shall be agony of the soul.
12 ¶ And Job answered and said,
2 No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
3 But I have a heart as well as you; I am not inferior to you; and who shall not be able to say as much again?
4 He who invokes God and he answers him is mocked by his friend; the just and perfect man is laughed to scorn.
5 The torch is held in low esteem in the thought of him that is prosperous, which was prepared to guard against a slip of the feet.
6 ¶ The tents of robbers are at ease, and those that provoke God and those who carry gods in their hands live secure.
7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the heavens, and they shall show thee;
8 or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; the fishes of the sea shall declare it unto thee also.
9 What thing of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD made them?
10 In his hand is the soul of every living thing and the spirit of all flesh of man.
11 Certainly the ear proves words and the mouth tastes foods.
12 ¶ With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days intelligence.
13 With him is wisdom and strength; he has counsel and intelligence.
14 Behold, he shall break down, and it shall not be built again; he shall shut up a man, and no one shall be able to open unto him.
15 Behold, he shall withhold the waters, and they shall dry up; also he shall send them forth, and they shall destroy the earth.
16 With him is strength and existence; he who errs and he who leads astray are his.
17 He causes the counsellors to walk away stripped of counsel and makes the judges to be fools.
18 He looses the bond of kings and girds their loins with a girdle.
19 He leads priests away spoiled and overthrows the mighty.
20 He impedes the lips of those that speak the truth and takes away the counsel of the aged.
21 He pours contempt upon princes and weakens the strength of the mighty.
22 He uncovers the depths of the darkness and brings out to light the shadow of death.
23 He multiplies the Gentiles and destroys them; he scatters the Gentiles and gathers them again.
24 He takes away the heart of the heads of the people of the earth and causes them to become lost, wandering without a way.
25 They grope in the darkness and not the light, and he causes them to err like drunken men.
13 ¶ Behold, my eyes have seen all this; my ears have heard and understood it.
2 As you know it, I know it; I am not inferior unto you.
3 But I would speak with the Almighty, and I desired to dispute with God.
4 That ye are certainly forgers of lies; ye are all physicians of no value.
5 O that ye would altogether be silent! And it would be unto you instead of wisdom.
6 Hear now my dispute, and hearken to the arguments of my lips.
7 Are ye to speak iniquity for God? Are ye to speak deceitfully for him?
8 Are ye to bring honour unto him? Are ye to contend for God?
9 Would it be good for him to search you out? As one man mocks another, do ye so mock him?
10 He will reprove you severely, if in secret you give him such honour.
11 Certainly his excellency should make you afraid, and his dread should fall upon you.
12 Your memories shall be compared unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.
13 ¶ Listen to me, and I will speak, and afterward let come on me what will.
14 Why shall I take my flesh in my teeth and put my life in the palm of my hand?
15 Though he slay me, yet I will trust in him; but I will defend my ways before him.
16 He also shall be my saving health; for the hypocrite shall not enter into his presence.
17 Hear diligently my reason and my declaration with your ears.
18 Behold now, if I draw near unto the judgment; I know that I shall be justified.
19 Who is he that will contend with me? For now, if I remain silent, I shall die.
20 At the least, grant me these two things; then I will not hide myself from thee:
21 withdraw thy hand from me; and let not thy dread make me afraid.
22 Then call, and I will answer; or let me speak, and answer thou me.
23 ¶ How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me to know my transgression and my sin.
24 Why dost thou hide thy face, and hold me for thine enemy?
25 Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? Wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?
26 Why dost thou write bitter things against me and make me carry the iniquities of my youth.
27 Thou dost put my feet also in the stocks and look narrowly unto all my paths; thou dost set a print upon the heels of my feet.
28 And man, is as a rotten thing that is being consumed, as a garment that is moth eaten.
9 ¶ And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, came unto the prince of the priests
2 and asked him for letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
3 And as he proceeded, he came near Damascus; and suddenly there shone round about him a light from heaven;
4 and falling to the earth, he heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I AM Jesus whom thou dost persecute; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what it behooves thee to do.
7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing indeed the voice, but seeing no one.
8 Then Saul arose from the earth; and opening his eyes, he saw no one; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus
9 where he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 ¶ And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; to whom the Lord said in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the street which is called Straight and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus; for, behold, he prays
12 and has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, of how much evil he has done to thy saints in Jerusalem,
14 and even here he has authority from the princes of the priests to bind all that call on thy name.
15 But the Lord said unto him, Go; for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
16 for I will show him how much it behooves him to suffer for my name.
17 Then Ananias went and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared unto thee in the way as thou didst come, has sent me, that thou might receive thy sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales; and he received sight immediately and arose and was baptized.
19 And when he had received food, he was comforted. Then Saul was certain days with the disciples who were at Damascus.
20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
21 But all that heard him were amazed and said, Is not this he that destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem and came here for that intent that he might bring them bound unto the princes of the priests?
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International