Job 22; Job 23; Job 24; Acts 11

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied,

2 "Can any man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise man be of any help to him?

3 Job, what pleasure would it give the Mighty One if you were right? What would he get if you were completely honest?

4 "You say you have respect for him. Is that why he corrects you? Is that why he brings charges against you?

5 Haven't you done many evil things? Don't you sin again and again?

6 You took clothes away from your relatives just because they owed you some money. You left them naked for no reason at all.

7 You didn't give any water to people who were tired. You held food back from those who were hungry.

8 You did it even though you were honored and powerful. You owned land and lived on it.

9 But you sent widows away without anything. You mistreated children whose fathers had died.

10 That's why traps have been set all around you. That's why sudden danger terrifies you.

11 That's why it's so dark you can't even see. That's why a flood covers you up.

12 "Isn't God in the highest parts of heaven? See how high the highest stars are!

13 But you still say, 'What does God know? Can he see through the darkest clouds to judge us?

14 He goes around in the highest heavens. Thick clouds keep him from seeing us.'

15 Will you stay on the old path that sinful people have walked on?

16 They were carried off even before they died. Their foundations were washed away by a flood.

17 They said to God, 'Leave us alone! What can you do to us, you Mighty One?'

18 But he was the one who filled their houses with good things. So I don't pay any attention to the advice they give.

19 "Those who do what is right are joyful when they see sinners destroyed. Those who haven't done anything wrong make fun of them.

20 They say, 'Our enemies are completely destroyed. Fire has burned up their wealth.'

21 "Job, obey God and be at peace with him. Then he will help you succeed.

22 Do what he teaches you to do. Keep his words in your heart.

23 If you return to the Mighty One, you will have what you had before. But first you must remove everything that is evil far from your tent.

24 You must throw your gold nuggets away. You must toss your gold from Ophir into a valley.

25 Then the Mighty One himself will be your gold. He'll be like the finest silver to you.

26 You will find delight in the Mighty One. You will honor God and trust in him.

27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you. You will keep the promises you made to him.

28 What you decide to do will be done. Light will shine on the path you take.

29 When people are brought low you will say, 'Lift them up!' Then God will help them.

30 He'll even save those who are guilty. He'll save them because your hands are clean."

1 Job replied,

2 "Even today my problems are more than I can handle. In spite of my groans, God's hand is heavy on me.

3 I wish I knew where I could find him! I wish I could go to the place where he lives!

4 I would state my case to him. I'd give him all of my arguments

5 I'd find out what his answers would be. I'd think about what he would say.

6 Would he oppose me with his great power? No. He wouldn't bring charges against me.

7 I'm an honest person. I could state my case to him. Then my Judge would tell me once and for all that I'm not guilty.

8 "But if I go to the east, God isn't there. If I go to the west, I don't find him.

9 When he's working in the north, I don't see him there. When he turns to the south, I don't see him there either.

10 But he knows every step I take. When he has put me to the test, I'll come out as pure as gold.

11 My feet have closely followed his steps. I've stayed on his path without turning away.

12 I haven't disobeyed his commands. I've treasured his words more than my daily bread.

13 "But he's the only God. Who can oppose him? He does anything he wants to do.

14 He carries out his plans against me. And he still has many other plans just like them

15 That's why I'm so terrified. When I think about all of this, I'm afraid of him.

16 God has made my heart weak. The Mighty One has filled me with terror.

17 But even the darkness of death won't make me silent. When the darkness of the grave covers my face, I won't be quiet.

1 "Why doesn't the Mighty One set a time for judging sinful people? Why do those who know him have to keep waiting for that day?

2 People move their neighbor's boundary stones. They steal their neighbor's flocks.

3 They take away the donkeys that belong to children whose fathers have died. They take a widow's ox until she has paid what she owes.

4 They push those who are needy out of their way. They force all of the poor people in the land to go into hiding.

5 The poor are like wild donkeys in the desert. They have to go around looking for food. The dry and empty land provides the only food for their children.

6 The poor go to the fields and get a little grain. They gather up what is left in the vineyards of sinners.

7 The poor don't have any clothes. So they spend the night naked. They don't have anything to cover themselves in the cold.

8 They are soaked by mountain rains. They hug the rocks because they don't have anything to keep them warm.

9 Children whose fathers have died are torn away from their mothers. A poor person's baby is taken away to pay back what is owed.

10 The poor don't have any clothes. They go around naked. They carry bundles of grain, but they still go hungry.

11 They work very hard as they crush olives. They stomp on grapes in winepresses, but they are still thirsty.

12 The groans of those who are dying are heard from the city. Those who are wounded cry out for help. But God doesn't charge anyone with doing what is wrong.

13 "Some people hate it when daylight comes. In the daytime they never walk outside.

14 When daylight is gone, murderers get up. They kill poor people and those who are in need. In the night they sneak around like robbers.

15 Those who commit adultery wait until the sun goes down. They think, 'No one will see us.' They keep their faces hidden.

16 In the dark, people break into houses. But by day they shut themselves in. They don't want anything to do with the light.

17 The deepest darkness is like morning to them. The terrors of darkness are their friends.

18 "But sinners are like bubbles on the surface of water. Their share of the land is under God's curse. So no one goes to their vineyards.

19 Melted snow disappears when the air is hot and dry. And sinners disappear when they go down into their graves.

20 Even their mothers forget them. The worms in their graves eat them up. No one remembers sinful people anymore. They are cut down like trees.

21 They mistreat women who aren't able to have children. They aren't kind to widows.

22 But God is powerful. He even drags away people who are strong. When he rises up against them, they can never be sure they are safe.

23 God might let them rest and feel secure. But his eyes see how they live.

24 For a little while they are honored. Then they are gone. They are brought low. And they die like everyone else. They are cut off like heads of grain.

25 "Who can prove that what I'm saying is wrong? Who can prove that my words aren't true?"

1 The apostles and the believers all through Judea heard that people who were not Jews had also received God's word.

2 Peter went up to Jerusalem. There the Jewish believers found fault with him.

3 They said, "You went into the house of those who aren't Jews. You ate with them."

4 Peter explained everything to them. He told them exactly what had happened.

5 "I was in the city of Joppa praying," he said. "There I had a vision. I saw something that looked like a large sheet. It was being let down from heaven by its four corners. It came down to where I was.

6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth. There were also wild animals, reptiles and birds.

7 Then I heard a voice speaking to me. 'Get up, Peter,' the voice said. 'Kill and eat.'

8 "I replied, 'No, Lord! I will not! Nothing that is not pure and "clean" has ever entered my mouth.'

9 "A second time the voice spoke from heaven. 'Do not say anything is not pure that God has made "clean," ' the voice said.

10 This happened three times. Then the sheet was pulled up into heaven.

11 "Just then three men stopped at the house where I was staying. They had been sent to me from Caesarea.

12 The Holy Spirit told me not to let anything keep me from going with them. These six brothers here went with me. We entered the man's house.

13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house. The angel said, 'Send to Joppa for Simon Peter.

14 He has a message to bring to you. You and your whole family will be saved through it.'

15 "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them. He came just as he had come on us at the beginning.

16 Then I remembered the Lord's words. 'John baptized with water,' he had said. 'But you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'

17 God gave them the same gift he gave those of us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So who was I to think that I could oppose God?"

18 When they heard this, they didn't object anymore. They praised God. They said, "So then, God has allowed even those who aren't Jews to turn away from their sins and live."

19 Some believers had been scattered by the suffering that came to them after Stephen's death. They traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. But they told the message only to Jews.

20 Some believers from Cyprus and Cyrene went to Antioch. There they began to speak to Greeks also. They told them the good news about the Lord Jesus.

21 The Lord's power was with them. Large numbers of people believed and turned to the Lord.

22 The church in Jerusalem heard about this. So they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad. He told them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.

24 Barnabas was a good man. He was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. Large numbers of people came to know the Lord.

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul.

26 He found him there. Then he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church. They taught large numbers of people. At Antioch the believers were called Christians for the first time.

27 In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

28 One of them was named Agabus. He stood up and spoke through the Spirit. He said there would not be nearly enough food anywhere in the Roman world. This happened while Claudius was the emperor.

29 The believers decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. All of them helped as much as they could.

30 They sent their gift to the elders through Barnabas and Saul.