Job 38; Job 39; Job 40; Acts 16:1-21

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Job 38

1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:

2 "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?

3 Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

4 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

5 Who determined its measurements--surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?

6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone,

7 when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 "Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth from the womb;

9 when I made clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band,

10 and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors,

11 and said, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed'?

12 "Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place,

13 that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?

14 It is changed like clay under the seal, and it is dyed like a garment.

15 From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken.

16 "Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

18 Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this.

19 "Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness,

20 that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home?

21 You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!

22 "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war?

24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

25 "Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt,

26 to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man;

27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground put forth grass?

28 "Has the rain a father, or who has begotten the drops of dew?

29 From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven?

30 The waters become hard like stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.

31 "Can you bind the chains of the Plei'ades, or loose the cords of Orion?

32 Can you lead forth the Maz'zaroth in their season, or can you guide the Bear with its children?

33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on the earth?

34 "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you?

35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say to you, 'Here we are'?

36 Who has put wisdom in the clouds, or given understanding to the mists?

37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,

38 when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cleave fast together?

39 "Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,

40 when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in their covert?

41 Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?

Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Job 39

1 "Do you know when the mountain goats bring forth? Do you observe the calving of the hinds?

2 Can you number the months that they fulfil, and do you know the time when they bring forth,

3 when they crouch, bring forth their offspring, and are delivered of their young?

4 Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open; they go forth, and do not return to them.

5 "Who has let the wild ass go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass,

6 to whom I have given the steppe for his home, and the salt land for his dwelling place?

7 He scorns the tumult of the city; he hears not the shouts of the driver.

8 He ranges the mountains as his pasture, and he searches after every green thing.

9 "Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your crib?

10 Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes, or will he harrow the valleys after you?

11 Will you depend on him because his strength is great, and will you leave to him your labor?

12 Do you have faith in him that he will return, and bring your grain to your threshing floor?

13 "The wings of the ostrich wave proudly; but are they the pinions and plumage of love?

14 For she leaves her eggs to the earth, and lets them be warmed on the ground,

15 forgetting that a foot may crush them, and that the wild beast may trample them.

16 She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers; though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear;

17 because God has made her forget wisdom, and given her no share in understanding.

18 When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider.

19 "Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with strength?

20 Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrible.

21 He paws in the valley, and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons.

22 He laughs at fear, and is not dismayed; he does not turn back from the sword.

23 Upon him rattle the quiver, the flashing spear and the javelin.

24 With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground; he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.

25 When the trumpet sounds, he says 'Aha!' He smells the battle from afar, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

26 "Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and spreads his wings toward the south?

27 Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes his nest on high?

28 On the rock he dwells and makes his home in the fastness of the rocky crag.

29 Thence he spies out the prey; his eyes behold it afar off.

30 His young ones suck up blood; and where the slain are, there is he."

Job 40

1 And the LORD said to Job:

2 "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it."

3 Then Job answered the LORD:

4 "Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer thee? I lay my hand on my mouth.

5 I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further."

6 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:

7 "Gird up your loins like a man; I will question you, and you declare to me.

8 Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be justified?

9 Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his?

10 "Deck yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor.

11 Pour forth the overflowings of your anger, and look on every one that is proud, and abase him.

12 Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked where they stand.

13 Hide them all in the dust together; bind their faces in the world below.

14 Then will I also acknowledge to you, that your own right hand can give you victory.

15 "Behold, Be'hemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox.

16 Behold, his strength in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly.

17 He makes his tail stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together.

18 His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron.

19 "He is the first of the works of God; let him who made him bring near his sword!

20 For the mountains yield food for him where all the wild beasts play.

21 Under the lotus plants he lies, in the covert of the reeds and in the marsh.

22 For his shade the lotus trees cover him; the willows of the brook surround him.

23 Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened; he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.

24 Can one take him with hooks, or pierce his nose with a snare?

Acts 16:1-21

1 And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek.

2 He was well spoken of by the brethren at Lystra and Ico'nium.

3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions which had been reached by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem.

5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

6 And they went through the region of Phry'gia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

7 And when they had come opposite My'sia, they attempted to go into Bithyn'ia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them;

8 so, passing by My'sia, they went down to Tro'as.

9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedo'nia was standing beseeching him and saying, "Come over to Macedo'nia and help us."

10 And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedo'nia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

11 Setting sail therefore from Tro'as, we made a direct voyage to Sam'othrace, and the following day to Ne-ap'olis,

12 and from there to Philip'pi, which is the leading city of the district of Macedo'nia, and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days;

13 and on the sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.

14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyati'ra, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to give heed to what was said by Paul.

15 And when she was baptized, with her household, she besought us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us.

16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by soothsaying.

17 She followed Paul and us, crying, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation."

18 And this she did for many days. But Paul was annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I charge you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour.

19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the rulers;

20 and when they had brought them to the magistrates they said, "These men are Jews and they are disturbing our city.

21 They advocate customs which it is not lawful for us Romans to accept or practice."