Old/New Testament
Job Seeks Hope
17 “My spirit is broken; my days are extinguished;
The [a](A)grave is ready for me.
2 (B)Surely mockers are with me,
And my eye [b]gazes on their provocation.
3 “Establish, now, a pledge (C)for me with Yourself;
Who is there that will clap my hand in pledge?
4 For You have (D)hidden their heart from insight,
Therefore You will not exalt them.
5 He who (E)informs against friends for a share of the spoil,
The (F)eyes of his children also will come to an end.
6 “But He has made me a (G)byword of the people,
And I am [c]one at whom men (H)spit.
7 My eye has also grown (I)dim because of grief,
And all my (J)members are as a shadow.
8 The upright will be appalled at this,
And the (K)innocent will stir up himself against the godless.
9 Nevertheless (L)the righteous will hold to his way,
And (M)he who has clean hands will grow mightier and mightier.
10 But come again all of [d]you now,
For I (N)do not find a wise man among you.
11 My (O)days are past; my plans are torn apart,
Even the wishes of my heart.
12 They make night into day, saying,
‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.
13 If I hope for (P)Sheol as my home,
I [e]make my bed in the darkness;
14 If I call to the (Q)pit, ‘You are my father’;
To the (R)worm, ‘my mother and my sister’;
15 Where now is (S)my hope?
And who beholds my hope?
16 [f]Will it go down with me to Sheol?
Shall we together (T)go down into the dust?”
Bildad Speaks of the Downfall of the Wicked
18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
2 “How long until you put an end to your words?
Show understanding and then we can talk.
3 Why are we (U)regarded as beasts,
As dense in your eyes?
4 O [g]you who tear yourself in your anger—
For your sake is the earth to be forsaken,
Or the rock to be moved from its place?
5 “Indeed, the (V)light of the wicked goes out,
And the [h]flame of his fire gives no light.
6 The light in his tent is (W)darkened,
And his lamp goes out above him.
7 His [i]vigorous stride is shortened,
And his (X)own counsel brings him down.
8 For he is (Y)thrown into the net by his own feet,
And he steps on the netting.
9 A snare seizes him by the heel,
And a device snaps shut on him.
10 A rope for him is hidden in the ground,
And a trap for him on the path.
11 All around (Z)terrors frighten him,
And (AA)harass him at every step.
12 His vigor is (AB)famished,
And disaster is ready at his side.
13 The firstborn of death eats parts of his skin;
It (AC)eats parts of him.
14 He is (AD)torn from [j]the security of his tent,
And [k]they march him in step before the king of (AE)terrors.
15 [l]There dwells in his tent nothing of his;
(AF)Brimstone is scattered on his abode.
16 His (AG)roots are dried below,
And his (AH)branch is cut off above.
17 (AI)Memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name abroad.
18 [m]He is driven from light (AJ)into darkness,
And (AK)chased from the inhabited world.
19 He has neither (AL)offspring nor posterity among his people,
Nor any survivor where he sojourned.
20 Those [n]in the west are appalled at (AM)his [o]fate,
And those [p]in the east are seized with horror.
21 Surely such are the (AN)dwellings of the unjust,
And this is the place of him who does not know God.”
My Redeemer Lives
19 Then Job answered and said,
2 “How long will you torment my soul
And crush me with words?
3 These ten times you have dishonored me;
You are not ashamed that you wrong me.
4 [q]Even if I have truly erred,
My error lodges with me.
5 If truly you (AO)magnify yourselves against me
And argue my disgrace to me,
6 Know then that (AP)God has wronged me
And has closed (AQ)His net around me.
7 “Behold, (AR)I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer;
I shout for help, but there is no justice.
8 He has (AS)walled up my way so that I cannot pass,
And He has put (AT)darkness on my paths.
9 He has (AU)stripped my honor from me
And removed the (AV)crown from my head.
10 He (AW)breaks me down on every side, and I am gone;
And He has uprooted my (AX)hope (AY)like a tree.
11 He has also (AZ)kindled His anger against me
And (BA)counted me as His adversary.
12 His (BB)troops come together,
And (BC)build up their [r]way against me
And camp around my tent.
13 “He has (BD)removed my brothers far from me,
And my (BE)acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
14 My relatives have failed,
And my (BF)familiar friends have forgotten me.
15 Those who sojourn in my house and my maidservants count me a stranger.
I am a foreigner in their sight.
16 I call to my servant, but he does not answer;
I have to implore him with my mouth.
17 My breath is [s]offensive to my wife,
And I am loathsome to my own brothers.
18 Even young children reject me;
I rise up, and they speak against me.
19 All the men of my (BG)counsel abhor me,
And those I love have turned against me.
20 My (BH)bone clings to my skin and my flesh,
And I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.
21 Pity me, pity me, O you my friends,
For the (BI)hand of God has smitten me.
22 Why do you (BJ)persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?
23 “Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were (BK)inscribed in a book!
24 That with an iron stylus and lead
They were engraved in the rock forever!
25 As for me, I know that (BL)my [t]Redeemer lives,
And [u]at the last He will rise up over the dust of this world.
26 Even after my skin [v]is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall (BM)behold God,
27 Whom I [w]myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My [x]heart (BN)faints [y]within me!
28 If you say, ‘How shall we (BO)persecute him?’
‘And the root of the matter is found in [z]him?’
29 Then be afraid of (BP)the sword for yourselves,
For wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
So that you may know (BQ)there is judgment.”
Cornelius’ and Peter’s Visions
10 Now there was a man at (A)Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was (B)called the Italian [a]cohort, 2 a devout man and (C)one who feared God with all his household, and (D)gave many [b]alms to the people and prayed to God continually. 3 About (E)the [c]ninth hour of the day he clearly saw (F)in a vision (G)an angel of God who had come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” 4 And (H)looking intently on him and becoming afraid, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and [d]alms (I)have ascended (J)as a memorial before God. 5 Now send some men to (K)Joppa and summon a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; 6 he is lodging with a tanner named (L)Simon, whose house is by the sea.” 7 And when the angel who was speaking to him had left, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, 8 and after he explained everything to them, he sent them to (M)Joppa.
9 And on the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, (N)Peter went up on (O)the housetop about (P)the [e]sixth hour to pray. 10 But he became hungry and was desiring to eat. And while they were making preparations, he (Q)fell into a trance 11 and *saw (R)heaven opened up, and [f]an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, 12 and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the [g]sky. 13 And a voice came to him, “Rise up, Peter, [h]slaughter and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, (S)Lord, for (T)I have never eaten anything defiled and unclean.” 15 Again a voice came to him a second time, “(U)What God has cleansed, no longer consider defiled.” 16 And this happened three times and immediately the [i]object was taken up into heaven.
17 Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in [j]mind as to what (V)the vision which he had seen might be, behold, (W)the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; 18 and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was reflecting on (X)the vision, (Y)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, [k]three men are looking for you. 20 But rise up, go down and (Z)accompany them without taking issue at all, for I have sent them Myself.” 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and (AA)God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, (AB)was directed by a (AC)holy angel to summon you to his house and hear [l](AD)a message from you.” 23 So he invited them in and gave them lodging.
Peter at Caesarea
And on the next day he rose up and went away with them, and (AE)some of (AF)the brothers from (AG)Joppa went with him.
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