Old/New Testament
14 “All of us born to women
live only a few days and have a lot of trouble.
2 We grow up like flowers and then dry up and go away.
We are like a passing shadow that does not last.
3 Lord, do you need to watch someone like this?
Do you need to bring him before you to be judged?
4 I wish something clean could come from something unclean.
But it never can!
5 Our time is limited.
You have given us only so many months to live.
You have set limits we cannot go beyond.
6 So look away from us and leave us alone.
Leave us alone until we put in our time like a hired man.
7 “There is hope for a tree.
If you cut it down, it will grow again.
It will keep sending out new branches.
8 Its roots may grow old in the ground.
And its stump may die in the dirt.
9 But at the smell of water it will bud.
It will put out new shoots like a plant.
10 But we die, and our bodies are laid in the ground.
We take our last breath and are gone.
11 Water disappears from a lake.
And a river loses its water and dries up.
12 In the same way we lie down and do not rise again.
We will not get up or be awakened
until the heavens disappear.
13 “I wish you would hide me where the dead are.
Hide me until your anger is gone.
I wish you would set a time
and then remember me!
14 Will the dead live again?
I will wait, struggling hard
until things change for me.
15 You will call, and I will answer you.
You will desire the creature your hands have made.
16 Then you will count my steps.
But you will not keep track of my sin.
17 My wrongs will be closed up in a bag.
And you will cover up my sin.
18 “A mountain washes away and crumbles.
And a rock can be moved from its place.
19 Water washes over stones and wears them down.
And rushing waters wash away the dirt.
In the same way, you destroy hope.
20 You defeat man forever, and he is gone.
You change his appearance and send him away.
21 His sons are honored, but he does not know it.
His sons are disgraced, but he does not see it.
22 He only feels the pain of his body.
And he feels sorry only for himself.”
Eliphaz Answers Job
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “A wise man would not answer with empty words.
He would not fill his stomach with hot, east wind.
3 He would not argue with useless words.
He would not make speeches that have no value.
4 But you even break down the worship of God.
You stand in the way of those who pray to him.
5 Your sin teaches your mouth what to say.
You use the same words as people who trick others.
6 It is your own mouth, not mine, that shows you are wicked.
Your own lips speak as a witness against you.
7 “You are not the first man ever born.
You were not born before the hills were made.
8 You cannot listen in on God’s secret advice.
You cannot limit wisdom to yourself.
9 You don’t know any more than we know.
You don’t understand any more than we understand.
10 Old people with gray hair are on our side.
They are men even older than your father.
11 The comfort God gives you is not enough for you,
even when words are spoken gently to you.
12 Your heart has carried you away from God.
Your eyes flash with anger.
13 You speak out your anger against God.
And these words pour out of your mouth.
14 “How can man be pure?
How can a person born to a woman be good?
15 God places no trust in his holy ones.
Even the heavens are not pure in his eyes.
16 And man is even less than they are. He is terrible and rotten.
He drinks up evil as if it were water!
17 “Job, listen to me, and I will tell you about it.
I will tell you what I have seen.
18 These are things wise men have told.
Their ancestors told them these things, and they have hidden nothing.
19 (The land was given to their fathers only.
No foreigner lived among them.)
20 The evil man suffers pain all his life.
The cruel man suffers during all the years saved up for him.
21 Terrible sounds fill his ears.
When things seem to be going well, robbers attack him.
22 The evil person gives up trying to escape from the darkness.
It has been decided that he will die by the sword.
23 He wanders around. He will become food for vultures.
He knows death will soon come.
24 Worry and suffering terrify him.
They overwhelm him. They seem like a king ready to attack.
25 This is because he shakes his fist at God.
He tries to get his own way against God All-Powerful.
26 He stubbornly charges at God
with a thick, strong shield.
27 “The evil person’s face is covered with fat.
His waist is fat with flesh.
28 He will live in towns that are ruined.
He will live in houses where no one lives.
They are houses that are crumbling into ruins.
29 The evil person will no longer get rich.
And the riches he has will not last.
The things he owns will no longer spread over the land.
30 He will not escape the darkness.
A flame will dry up his branches.
God’s breath will carry that evil person away.
31 The evil person should not fool himself by trusting what is useless.
If he does, he will get nothing in return.
32 His branch will dry up before it finishes growing.
It will not even become green.
33 He will be like a vine whose grapes are pulled off before they are ripe.
He will be like an olive tree that loses its blossoms.
34 People without God can produce nothing.
Fire will destroy the tents of people who take money to do evil.
35 They plan trouble and give birth to evil.
Their hearts plan ways to trick people.”
Job Answers Eliphaz
16 Then Job answered:
2 “I have heard many things like these.
You are all painful comforters!
3 Will your long, useless speeches never end?
What makes you keep on arguing?
4 I also could speak as you do
if you were in my place.
I could make great speeches against you.
And I could shake my head at you.
5 But, instead, my words would encourage you.
I would speak words of comfort to bring you relief.
6 “But if I speak, my pain does not become less.
And if I don’t speak, it still does not go away.
7 God, you have surely taken away my strength.
You have destroyed my whole family.
8 You have made me thin and weak.
And people feel that this shows I have done wrong.
9 God attacks me and tears me with anger.
He grinds his teeth at me.
My enemy stares at me with his angry eyes.
10 People open their mouths to make fun of me.
They hit my cheeks to insult me.
They join together against me.
11 God has turned me over to evil men.
He has thrown me into the clutches of the wicked.
12 Everything was fine with me.
But then God broke me into pieces.
He held me by the neck and crushed me.
He has made me his target.
13 God’s archers surround me.
He stabs my kidneys and has no mercy.
He spills my blood on the ground.
14 Again and again God attacks me.
He runs at me like a soldier.
15 “I have sewed rough cloth over my skin to show my sadness.
I have buried my face in the dust.
16 My face is red from crying.
I have dark circles around my eyes.
17 And yet my hands have never done anything cruel.
And my prayer is pure.
18 “Earth, please do not cover up my blood.
Don’t let my cry ever stop being heard!
19 Even now I have one who speaks for me in heaven.
The one who is on my side is high above.
20 The one who speaks for me is my friend.
While he does this, my eyes pour out tears to God.
21 He begs God on behalf of a man
as a man begs for his friend.
22 “Only a few years will pass
before I go on the journey from which I cannot return.
22 But Saul became more and more powerful. His proofs that Jesus is the Christ were so strong that the Jews in Damascus could not argue with him.
Saul Escapes from Damascus
23 After many days, the Jews made plans to kill Saul. 24 They were watching the city gates day and night. They wanted to kill him, but Saul learned about their plan. 25 One night some followers of Saul helped him leave the city. They lowered him in a basket through an opening in the city wall.
Saul in Jerusalem
26 Then Saul went to Jerusalem. He tried to join the group of followers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe that he was really a follower. 27 But Barnabas accepted Saul and took him to the apostles. Barnabas told them that Saul had seen the Lord on the road. He explained how the Lord had spoken to Saul. Then he told them how boldly Saul had preached in the name of Jesus in Damascus.
28 And so Saul stayed with the followers. He went everywhere in Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of Jesus. 29 He would often talk and argue with the Jews who spoke Greek. But they were trying to kill him. 30 When the brothers learned about this, they took Saul to Caesarea. From there they sent him to Tarsus.
31 The church everywhere in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. With the help of the Holy Spirit, the group became stronger. The believers showed that they respected the Lord by the way they lived. Because of this, the group of believers grew larger and larger.
Peter Heals Aeneas
32 As Peter was traveling through all the area, he visited God’s people who lived in Lydda. 33 There he met a paralyzed man named Aeneas. Aeneas had not been able to leave his bed for the past eight years. 34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Stand up and make your bed!” Aeneas stood up immediately. 35 All the people living in Lydda and on the Plain of Sharon saw him. These people turned to the Lord.
Peter in Joppa
36 In the city of Joppa there was a follower named Tabitha. (Her Greek name, Dorcas, means “a deer.”) She was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 While Peter was in Lydda, Tabitha became sick and died. Her body was washed and put in a room upstairs. 38 The followers in Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda. (Lydda is near Joppa.) So they sent two men to Peter. They begged him, “Hurry, please come to us!” 39 Peter got ready and went with them. When he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. All the widows stood around Peter, crying. They showed him the shirts and coats that Tabitha had made when she was still alive. 40 Peter sent everyone out of the room. He kneeled and prayed. Then he turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, stand up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called the believers and the widows into the room. He showed them Tabitha; she was alive! 42 People everywhere in Joppa learned about this, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for many days with a man named Simon who was a leatherworker.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.