Job 34; Job 35; Acts 15:1-21

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Job 34

1 Then Elihu said:

2 "Hear my words, you wise men; listen to me, you who know a lot.

3 The ear tests words as the tongue tastes food.

4 Let's decide for ourselves what is right, and let's learn together what is good.

5 "Job says, 'I am not guilty, and God has refused me a fair trial.

6 Instead of getting a fair trial, I am called a liar. I have been seriously hurt, even though I have not sinned.'

7 There is no other man like Job; he takes insults as if he were drinking water.

8 He keeps company with those who do evil and spends time with wicked men,

9 because he says, 'It is no use to try to please God.'

10 "So listen to me, you who can understand. God can never do wrong! It is impossible for the Almighty to do evil.

11 God pays a person back for what he has done and gives him what his actions deserve.

12 Truly God will never do wrong; the Almighty will never twist what is right.

13 No one chose God to rule over the earth or put him in charge of the whole world.

14 If God should decide to take away life and breath,

15 then everyone would die together and turn back into dust.

16 "If you can understand, hear this; listen to what I have to say.

17 Can anyone govern who hates what is right? and powerful?

18 God is the one who says to kings, 'You are worthless,' or to important people, 'You are evil.'

19 He is not nicer to princes than other people, nor kinder to rich people than poor people, because he made them all with his own hands.

20 They can die in a moment, in the middle of the night. They are struck down, and then they pass away; powerful people die without help.

21 "God watches where people go; he sees every step they take.

22 There is no dark place or deep shadow where those who do evil can hide from him.

23 He does not set a time for people to come before him for judging.

24 Without asking questions, God breaks powerful people into pieces and puts others in their place.

25 Because God knows what people do, he defeats them in the night, and they are crushed.

26 He punishes them for the evil they do so that everyone else can watch,

27 because they stopped following God and did not care about any of his ways.

28 The cry of the poor comes to God; he hears the cry of the needy.

29 But if God keeps quiet, who can blame him? If he hides his face, who can see him? God still rules over both nations and persons alike.

30 He keeps the wicked from ruling and from trapping others.

31 "But suppose someone says to God, 'I am guilty, but I will not sin anymore.

32 Teach me what I cannot see. If I have done wrong, I will not do it again.'

33 So, Job, should God reward you as you want when you refuse to change? You must decide, not I, so tell me what you know.

34 "Those who understand speak, and the wise who hear me say,

35 'Job speaks without knowing what is true; his words show he does not understand.'

36 I wish Job would be tested completely, because he answered like an evil man!

37 Job now adds to his sin by turning against God. He claps his hands in protest, speaking more and more against God."

Job 35

1 Then Elihu said:

2 "Do you think this is fair? You say, 'God will show that I am right,'

3 but you also ask, 'What's the use? I don't gain anything by not sinning.'

4 "I will answer you and your friends who are with you.

5 Look up at the sky and see the clouds so high above you.

6 If you sin, it does nothing to God; even if your sins are many, they do nothing to him.

7 If you are good, you give nothing to God; he receives nothing from your hand.

8 Your evil ways only hurt a man like yourself, and the good you do only helps other human beings.

9 "People cry out when they are in trouble; they beg for relief from powerful people.

10 But no one asks, 'Where is God, my Maker, who gives us songs in the night,

11 who makes us smarter than the animals of the earth and wiser than the birds of the air?'

12 God does not answer evil people when they cry out, because the wicked are proud.

13 God does not listen to their useless begging; the Almighty pays no attention to them.

14 He will listen to you even less when you say that you do not see him, that your case is before him, that you must wait for him,

15 that his anger never punishes, and that he doesn't notice evil.

16 So Job is only speaking nonsense, saying many words without knowing what is true."

Acts 15:1-21

1 Then some people came to Antioch from Judea and began teaching the non-Jewish believers: "You cannot be saved if you are not circumcised as Moses taught us."

2 Paul and Barnabas were against this teaching and argued with them about it. So the church decided to send Paul, Barnabas, and some others to Jerusalem where they could talk more about this with the apostles and elders.

3 The church helped them leave on the trip, and they went through the countries of Phoenicia and Samaria, telling all about how those who were not Jewish had turned to God. This made all the believers very happy.

4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the apostles, the elders, and the church. Paul, Barnabas, and the others told about everything God had done with them.

5 But some of the believers who belonged to the Pharisee group came forward and said, "The non-Jewish believers must be circumcised. They must be told to obey the law of Moses."

6 The apostles and the elders gathered to consider this problem.

7 After a long debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose me from among you to preach the Good News to those who are not Jewish. They heard the Good News from me, and they believed.

8 God, who knows the thoughts of everyone, accepted them. He showed this to us by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.

9 To God, those people are not different from us. When they believed, he made their hearts pure.

10 So now why are you testing God by putting a heavy load around the necks of the non-Jewish believers? It is a load that neither we nor our ancestors were able to carry.

11 But we believe that we and they too will be saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus."

12 Then the whole group became quiet. They listened to Paul and Barnabas tell about all the miracles and signs that God did through them among the non-Jewish people.

13 After they finished speaking, James said, "Brothers, listen to me.

14 Simon has told us how God showed his love for the non-Jewish people. For the first time he is accepting from among them a people to be his own.

15 The words of the prophets agree with this too:

16 'After these things I will return. The kingdom of David is like a fallen tent. But I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up.

17 Then those people who are left alive may ask the Lord for help, and the other nations that belong to me, says the Lord, who will make it happen.

18 And these things have been known for a long time.'

19 "So I think we should not bother the non-Jewish people who are turning to God.

20 Instead, we should write a letter to them telling them these things: Stay away from food that has been offered to idols (which makes it unclean), any kind of sexual sin, eating animals that have been strangled, and blood.

21 They should do these things, because for a long time in every city the law of Moses has been taught. And it is still read in the synagogue every Sabbath day."

Job 34; Job 35; Acts 15:1-21

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Job 34

Job 35

Acts 15:1-21