Job 25; Job 26; Job 27; Acts 12

1 Bildad from Shuah replied:

2 Supreme power and awe belong to God; he establishes peace on his heights.

3 Can his troops be counted? On whom does his light not rise?

4 How can a person be innocent before God; one born of a woman be pure?

5 If even the moon is not bright and the stars not pure in his eyes,

6 how much less a human, a worm, a person's child, a grub.

1 Then Job said:

2 How well you have helped the weak, saved those with frail arms,

3 advised one lacking wisdom, informed many with insight!

4 With whom have you spoken; whose breath was expelled from you?

5 The dead writhe, the inhabitants beneath the waters as well.

6 The grave is naked before God; the underworld lacks covering.

7 He stretched the North over chaos, hung earth over nothing;

8 wrapped up water in his clouds, yet they didn't burst out below;

9 hid the face of the full moon, spreading his cloud over it;

10 traced a circle on the water's surface, at the limit of light and darkness.

11 Heaven's pillars shook, terrified by his blast.

12 By his power he stilled the Sea; split Rahab with his cleverness.

13 Due to his wind, heaven became clear; his hand split the fleeing serpent.

14 Look, these are only the outer fringe of his ways; we hear only a whispered word about him. Who can understand his thunderous power?

1 Then Job took up his topic again:

2 As God lives, who rejected my legal claim, the Almighty, who made me bitter,

3 as long as breath is in me and God's breath is in my nostrils—

4 my lips will utter no wickedness; my tongue will mumble no deceit.

5 I will not agree that you are right. Until my dying day, I won't give up my integrity.

6 I will insist on my innocence, never surrendering it; my conscience will never blame me for what I have done.

7 Let my enemy be like the wicked, my opposition like the vicious.

8 For what hope has the godless when God cuts them off, when he takes them away.

9 Will God hear their cries when distress comes to them;

10 will they delight in the Almighty, call God at any time?

11 I will teach you God's power, not hide what pertains to the Almighty.

12 Look, those of you who recognize this— why then this empty talk?

13 This is the wicked's portion with God, the inheritance that the ruthless receive from the Almighty.

14 If their children increase, they belong to the sword; their offspring won't have enough bread.

15 Their survivors will be buried with the dead; their widows won't weep.

16 If they store up silver like dust, amass clothing like clay,

17 they may amass, but the righteous will wear it; the innocent will divide the silver.

18 They built their houses like nests, like a hut made by a watchman.

19 They lie down rich, but no longer; open their eyes, but it's missing.

20 Terrors overtake them like waters; a tempest snatches them by night;

21 an east wind lifts them, and they are gone, removes them from their places,

22 throws itself on them without mercy; they flee desperately from its force.

23 It claps its hands over them, hisses at them from their place.

1 About that time King Herod began to harass some who belonged to the church.

2 He had James, John's brother, killed with a sword.

3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter as well. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.

4 He put Peter in prison, handing him over to four squads of soldiers, sixteen in all, who guarded him. He planned to charge him publicly after the Passover.

5 While Peter was held in prison, the church offered earnest prayer to God for him.

6 The night before Herod was going to bring Peter's case forward, Peter was asleep between two soldiers and bound with two chains, with soldiers guarding the prison entrance.

7 Suddenly an angel from the Lord appeared and a light shone in the prison cell. After nudging Peter on his side to awaken him, the angel raised him up and said, "Quick! Get up!" The chains fell from his wrists.

8 The angel continued, "Get dressed. Put on your sandals." Peter did as he was told. The angel said, "Put on your coat and follow me."

9 Following the angel, Peter left the prison. However, he didn't realize the angel had actually done all this. He thought he was seeing a vision.

10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself. After leaving the prison, they proceeded the length of one street, when abruptly the angel was gone.

11 At that, Peter came to his senses and remarked, "Now I'm certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod and from everything the Jewish people expected."

12 Realizing this, he made his way to Mary's house. (Mary was John's mother; he was also known as Mark.) Many believers had gathered there and were praying.

13 When Peter knocked at the outer gate, a female servant named Rhoda went to answer.

14 She was so overcome with joy when she recognized Peter's voice that she didn't open the gate. Instead, she ran back in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.

15 "You've lost your mind!" they responded. She stuck by her story with such determination that they began to say, "It must be his guardian angel."

16 Meanwhile, Peter remained outside, knocking at the gate. They finally opened the gate and saw him there, and they were astounded.

17 He gestured with his hand to quiet them down, then recounted how the Lord led him out of prison. He said, "Tell this to James and the brothers and sisters." Then he left for another place.

18 The next morning the soldiers were flustered about what had happened to Peter.

19 Herod called for a thorough search. When Peter didn't turn up, Herod interrogated the guards and had them executed. Afterward, Herod left Judea in order to spend some time in Caesarea.

20 Herod had been furious with the people of Tyre and Sidon for some time. They made a pact to approach him together, since their region depended on the king's realm for its food supply. They persuaded Blastus, the king's personal attendant, to join their cause, then appealed for an end to hostilities.

21 On the scheduled day Herod dressed himself in royal attire, seated himself on the throne, and gave a speech to the people.

22 Those assembled kept shouting, over and over, "This is a god's voice, not the voice of a mere human!"

23 Immediately an angel from the Lord struck Herod down, because he didn't give the honor to God. He was eaten by worms and died.

24 God's word continued to grow and increase.

25 Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch from Jerusalem after completing their mission, bringing with them John, who was also known as Mark.