Job 11; Job 12; Job 13; Acts 9:1-21

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Job 11

1 Will no one answer all this nonsense?
2 Does talking so much put you in the right?
3 Job, do you think we can't answer you? That your mocking words will leave us speechless?
4 You claim that what you say is true; you claim you are pure in the sight of God.
5 How I wish God would answer you!
6 He would tell you there are many sides to wisdom; there are things too deep for human knowledge. God is punishing you less than you deserve.
7 Can you discover the limits and bounds of the greatness and power of God?
8 The sky is no limit for God, but it lies beyond your reach. God knows the world of the dead, but you do not know it.
9 God's greatness is broader than the earth, wider than the sea.
10 If God arrests you and brings you to trial, who is there to stop him?
11 God knows which people are worthless; he sees all their evil deeds.
12 Stupid people will start being wise when wild donkeys are born tame.
13 Put your heart right, Job. Reach out to God.
14 Put away evil and wrong from your home.
15 Then face the world again, firm and courageous.
16 Then all your troubles will fade from your memory, like floods that are past and remembered no more.
17 Your life will be brighter than sunshine at noon, and life's darkest hours will shine like the dawn.
18 You will live secure and full of hope; God will protect you and give you rest.
19 You won't be afraid of your enemies; many people will ask you for help.
20 But the wicked will look around in despair and find that there is no way to escape. Their one hope is that death will come.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

Job 12

1 Yes, you are the voice of the people.
2 When you die, wisdom will die with you.
3 But I have as much sense as you have; I am in no way inferior to you; everyone knows all that you have said.
4 Even my friends laugh at me now; they laugh, although I am righteous and blameless; but there was a time when God answered my prayers.
5 You have no troubles, and yet you make fun of me; you hit someone who is about to fall.
6 But thieves and godless people live in peace, though their only god is their own strength.
7 Even birds and animals have much they could teach you;
8 ask the creatures of earth and sea for their wisdom.
9 All of them know that the Lord's hand made them.
10 It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone's life is in his power.
11 But just as your tongue enjoys tasting food, your ears enjoy hearing words.
12 Old people have wisdom, but God has wisdom and power. Old people have insight; God has insight and power to act.
14 When God tears down, who can rebuild, and who can free those God imprisons?
15 Drought comes when God withholds rain; floods come when he turns water loose.
16 God is strong and always victorious; both deceived and deceiver are in his power.
17 He takes away the wisdom of rulers and makes leaders act like fools.
18 He dethrones kings and makes them prisoners;
19 he humbles priests and men of power.
20 He silences those who are trusted, and takes the wisdom of old people away.
21 He disgraces those in power and puts an end to the strength of rulers.
22 He sends light to places dark as death.
23 He makes nations strong and great, but then he defeats and destroys them.
24 He makes their leaders foolish and lets them wander confused and lost;
25 they grope in the dark and stagger like drunkards.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

Job 13

1 Everything you say, I have heard before. I understand it all; I know as much as you do. I'm not your inferior.
3 But my dispute is with God, not you; I want to argue my case with him.
4 You cover up your ignorance with lies; you are like doctors who can't heal anyone.
5 Say nothing, and someone may think you are wise!
6 Listen while I state my case.
7 Why are you lying? Do you think your lies will benefit God?
8 Are you trying to defend him? Are you going to argue his case in court?
9 If God looks at you closely, will he find anything good? Do you think you can fool God the way you fool others?
10 Even though your prejudice is hidden, he will reprimand you,
11 and his power will fill you with terror.
12 Your proverbs are as useless as ashes; your arguments are as weak as clay.
13 Be quiet and give me a chance to speak, and let the results be what they will.
14 I am ready to risk my life.
15 I've lost all hope, so what if God kills me? I am going to state my case to him.
16 It may even be that my boldness will save me, since no wicked person would dare to face God.
17 Now listen to my words of explanation.
18 I am ready to state my case, because I know I am in the right.
19 Are you coming to accuse me, God? If you do, I am ready to be silent and die.
20 Let me ask for two things; agree to them, and I will not try to hide from you:
21 stop punishing me, and don't crush me with terror.
22 Speak first, O God, and I will answer. Or let me speak, and you answer me.
23 What are my sins? What wrongs have I done? What crimes am I charged with?
24 Why do you avoid me? Why do you treat me like an enemy?
25 Are you trying to frighten me? I'm nothing but a leaf; you are attacking a piece of dry straw.
26 You bring bitter charges against me, even for what I did when I was young.
27 You bind chains on my feet; you watch every step I take, and even examine my footprints.
28 As a result, I crumble like rotten wood, like a moth-eaten coat.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

Acts 9:1-21

1 In the meantime Saul kept up his violent threats of murder against the followers of the Lord. He went to the High Priest
2 and asked for letters of introduction to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he should find there any followers of the Way of the Lord, he would be able to arrest them, both men and women, and bring them back to Jerusalem.
3 As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him.
4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?"
5 "Who are you, Lord?" he asked. "I am Jesus, whom you persecute," the voice said.
6 "But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do."
7 The men who were traveling with Saul had stopped, not saying a word; they heard the voice but could not see anyone.
8 Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes, but could not see a thing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.
9 For three days he was not able to see, and during that time he did not eat or drink anything.
10 There was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. He had a vision, in which the Lord said to him, "Ananias!" "Here I am, Lord," he answered.
11 The Lord said to him, "Get ready and go to Straight Street, and at the house of Judas ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying,
12 and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he might see again."
13 Ananias answered, "Lord, many people have told me about this man and about all the terrible things he has done to your people in Jerusalem.
14 And he has come to Damascus with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who worship you."
15 The Lord said to him, "Go, because I have chosen him to serve me, to make my name known to Gentiles and kings and to the people of Israel.
16 And I myself will show him all that he must suffer for my sake."
17 So Ananias went, entered the house where Saul was, and placed his hands on him. "Brother Saul," he said, "the Lord has sent me - Jesus himself, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here. He sent me so that you might see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
18 At once something like fish scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he was able to see again. He stood up and was baptized;
19 and after he had eaten, his strength came back. Saul stayed for a few days with the believers in Damascus.
20 He went straight to the synagogues and began to preach that Jesus was the Son of God.
21 All who heard him were amazed and asked, "Isn't he the one who in Jerusalem was killing those who worship that man Jesus? And didn't he come here for the very purpose of arresting those people and taking them back to the chief priests?"
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.