Bildad Speaks: Man Cannot Be Righteous
1 Then oBildad the Shuhite answered and said:
2 “Dominion and fear are with God;1
he makes peace in his high heaven.
3 Is there any number to his parmies?
Upon whom does his qlight not arise?
4 How then can man be rin the right before God?
How can he who is sborn of woman be tpure?
5 Behold, even the moon is not bright,
and the stars are not pure in his eyes;
6 uhow much less man, who is va maggot,
and wthe son of man, who is a worm!”
Job Replies: God’s Majesty Is Unsearchable
1 Then Job answered and said:
2 “How you have xhelped him who has no power!
How you have saved ythe arm that has no strength!
3 How you have zcounseled him who has no wisdom,
and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
4 With whose help have you uttered words,
and whose breath ahas come out from you?
5 The bdead tremble
under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Sheol is cnaked before God,2
and dAbaddon has no covering.
7 He estretches out the north over fthe void
and hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He gbinds up the waters in his thick clouds,
and the cloud is not split open under them.
9 He covers the face of the full moon3
and hspreads over it his cloud.
10 He has inscribed ia circle on the face of the waters
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 jThe pillars of heaven tremble
and are astounded at his krebuke.
12 By his power he lstilled the sea;
by his understanding he shattered mRahab.
13 nBy his wind the heavens were made fair;
his hand pierced othe fleeing serpent.
14 Behold, these are but the outskirts of his pways,
and how small qa whisper do we hear of him!
But the thunder of his power who can understand?”
Job Continues: I Will Maintain My Integrity
1 And Job again rtook up his discourse, and said:
2 “As God lives, who has staken away my right,
and the Almighty, who has tmade my soul bitter,
3 as long as my breath is in me,
and uthe spirit of God is in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not speak vfalsehood,
and my tongue will not utter vdeceit.
5 Far be it from me to say that you are right;
till I die I will not put away my wintegrity from me.
6 I xhold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
my heart does not yreproach me for any of my days.
7 “Let my enemy be as the wicked,
and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
8 zFor what is the hope of the godless awhen God cuts him off,
when God takes away his life?
9 bWill God hear his cry
when distress comes upon him?
10 Will he ctake delight in the Almighty?
Will he call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
dwhat is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
12 Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
why then have you become altogether vain?
13 e“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
and the heritage that foppressors receive from the Almighty:
14 If his gchildren are multiplied, it is for hthe sword,
and his descendants have not enough bread.
15 Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
and his iwidows do not weep.
16 Though he jheap up silver like dust,
and pile up clothing like clay,
17 he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and kthe innocent will divide the silver.
18 He builds his lhouse like a moth’s,
like ma booth that na watchman makes.
19 He goes to bed rich, but will odo so no more;
he opens his eyes, and phis wealth is gone.
20 qTerrors overtake him like ra flood;
in the night a whirlwind scarries him off.
21 tThe east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
it usweeps him out of his place.
22 It4 hurls at him vwithout pity;
he flees from its5 power in headlong flight.
23 It wclaps its hands at him
and xhisses at him from its place.
James Killed and Peter Imprisoned
1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed fJames the brother of John gwith the sword, 3 and when he saw hthat it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during ithe days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him jin prison, delivering him over to four ksquads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest lprayer for him was made to God by the church.
Peter Is Rescued
6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, mbound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, nan angel of the Lord ostood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. pHe struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And qthe chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and rput on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but sthought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. tIt opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter ucame to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that vthe Lord has sent his angel and wrescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of xJohn whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and ywere praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, za servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, ain her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is bhis angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But cmotioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to dJames and to ethe brothers.”1 Then he departed and went to another place.
18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and fordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.
The Death of Herod
20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and ghaving persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain,2 they asked for peace, because htheir country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately ian angel of the Lord struck him down, because jhe did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
24 But kthe word of God increased and multiplied.
25 lAnd Barnabas and Saul returned from3 Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them mJohn, whose other name was Mark.
