Acts 1; Deuteronomy 11; Deuteronomy 12; Job 9

Acts 1

1 I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach

2 until the day He was taken up, after He had given orders through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen.

3 After He had suffered, He also presented Himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

4 While He was together with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father's promise. "This," [He said, "is what ] you heard from Me;

5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

6 So when they had come together, they asked Him, "Lord, at this time are You restoring the kingdom to Israel?"

7 He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by His own authority.

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

9 After He had said this, He was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

10 While He was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them.

11 They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven."

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olive Grove, which is near Jerusalem-a Sabbath day's journey away.

13 When they arrived, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

14 All these were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.

15 During these days Peter stood up among the brothers-the number of people who were together was about 120-and said:

16 "Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David spoke in advance about Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

17 For he was one of our number and was allotted a share in this ministry."

18 Now this man acquired a field with his unrighteous wages; and falling headfirst, he burst open in the middle, and all his insides spilled out.

19 This became known to all the residents of Jerusalem, so that in their own language that field is called Hakeldama, that is, Field of Blood.

20 "For it is written in the Book of Psalms: Let his dwelling become desolate; let no one live in it; and Let someone else take his position.

21 "Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us-

22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day He was taken up from us-from among these, it is necessary that one become a witness with us of His resurrection."

23 So they proposed two: Joseph, called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias.

24 Then they prayed, "You, Lord, know the hearts of all; show which of these two You have chosen

25 to take the place in this apostolic service that Judas left to go to his own place."

26 Then they cast lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias. So he was numbered with the 11 apostles.

Deuteronomy 11

1 "Therefore, love the Lord your God and always keep His mandate and His statutes, ordinances, and commands.

2 You must understand today that it is not your children who experienced or saw the discipline of the Lord your God: His greatness, strong hand, and outstretched arm;

3 His signs and the works He did in Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt and all his land;

4 what He did to Egypt's army, its horses and chariots, when He made the waters of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued you, and He destroyed them completely;

5 what He did to you in the wilderness until you reached this place;

6 and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when in the middle of the whole Israelite [camp] the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing with them.

7 Your [own] eyes have seen every great work the Lord has done.

8 "Keep every command I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to cross into and possess the land you are to inherit,

9 and so that you may live long in the land the Lord swore to your fathers to give them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.

10 For the land you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated by hand as in a vegetable garden.

11 But the land you are entering to possess is a land of mountains and valleys, watered by rain from the sky.

12 It is a land the Lord your God cares for. He is always watching over it from the beginning to the end of the year.

13 "If you carefully obey My commands I am giving you today, to love the Lord your God and worship Him with all your heart and all your soul,

14 I will provide rain for your land in season, the early and late rains, and you will harvest your grain, new wine, and oil.

15 I will provide grass in your fields for your livestock. You will eat and be satisfied.

16 Be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside, worship, and bow down to other gods.

17 Then the Lord's anger will burn against you. He will close the sky, and there will be no rain; the land will not yield its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land the Lord is giving you.

18 "Impress these words of Mine on your hearts and souls, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads.

19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,

21 so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your fathers.

22 For if you carefully observe every one of these commands I am giving you to follow-to love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, and remain faithful to Him-

23 the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will drive out nations greater and stronger than you are.

24 Every place the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon and from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea.

25 No one will be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will put fear and dread of you in all the land where you set foot, as He has promised you.

26 "Look, today I set before you a blessing and a curse:

27 [there will be] a blessing, if you obey the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you today,

28 and a curse, if you do not obey the commands of the Lord your God, and you turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods you have not known.

29 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing at Mount Gerizim and the curse at Mount Ebal.

30 Aren't these mountains across the Jordan, beyond the western road in the land of the Canaanites, who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, near the oaks of Moreh?

31 For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you possess it and settle in it,

32 be careful to follow all the statutes and ordinances I set before you today.

Deuteronomy 12

1 "Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days you live on the earth.

2 Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are driving out worship their gods-on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every flourishing tree.

3 Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.

4 Don't worship the Lord your God this way.

5 Instead, you must go to the place the Lord your God chooses from all your tribes to put His name for His dwelling.

6 You are to bring there your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tenths and personal contributions, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

7 You will eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice with your household in everything you do, because the Lord your God has blessed you.

8 "You are not to do as we are doing here today; everyone [is doing] whatever seems right in his own eyes.

9 Indeed, you have not yet come into the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you.

10 When you cross the Jordan and live in the land the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you live in security,

11 then the Lord your God will choose the place to have His name dwell. Bring there everything I command you: your burnt offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the tenth, personal contributions, and all your choice offerings you vow to the Lord.

12 You will rejoice before the Lord your God-you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

13 Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in all the [sacred] places you see.

14 You must offer your burnt offerings only in the place the Lord chooses in one of your tribes, and there you must do everything I command you.

15 "But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, according to the blessing the Lord your God has given you. Those who are clean or unclean may eat it, as they would a gazelle or deer,

16 but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.

17 Within your gates you may not eat: the tenth of your grain, new wine, or oil; the firstborn of your herd or flock; any of your vow offerings that you pledge; your freewill offerings; or your personal contributions.

18 You must eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God chooses-you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who is within your gates. Rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you do,

19 and be careful not to neglect the Levite, as long as you live in your land.

20 "When the Lord your God enlarges your territory as He has promised you, and you say, 'I want to eat meat' because you have a strong desire to eat meat, you may eat it whenever you want.

21 If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of your herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want.

22 Indeed, you may eat it as the gazelle and deer are eaten; both the clean and the unclean may eat it.

23 But don't eat the blood, since the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.

24 Do not eat blood; pour it on the ground like water.

25 Do not eat it, so that you and your children after you will prosper, because you will be doing what is right in the Lord's sight.

26 "But you are to take the holy offerings you have and your vow offerings and go to the place the Lord chooses.

27 Present the meat and blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God. The blood of your [other] sacrifices is to be poured out beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat the meat.

28 Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that you and your children after you may prosper forever, because you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

29 "When the Lord your God annihilates the nations before you, which you are entering to take possession of, and you drive them out and live in their land,

30 be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, 'How did these nations worship their gods? I'll also do the same.'

31 You must not do the same to the Lord your God, because they practice for their gods every detestable thing the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

32 You must be careful to do everything I command you; do not add anything to it or take anything away from it.

Job 9

1 Then Job answered:

2 Yes, I know what you've said is true, but how can a person be justified before God?

3 If one wanted to take Him to court, he could not answer God once in a thousand [times].

4 God is wise and all-powerful. Who has opposed Him and come out unharmed?

5 He removes mountains without their knowledge, overturning them in His anger.

6 He shakes the earth from its place so that its pillars tremble.

7 He commands the sun not to shine and seals off the stars.

8 He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.

9 He makes [the stars]: the Bear, Orion, the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky.

10 He performs great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.

11 If He passes by me, I wouldn't see Him; [if] He goes right by, I wouldn't recognize Him.

12 If He snatches [something], who can stop Him? Who can ask Him, "What are You doing?"

13 God does not hold back His anger; Rahab's assistants cringe in fear beneath Him!

14 How then can I answer Him or choose my arguments against Him?

15 Even if I were in the right, I could not answer. I could only beg my judge for mercy.

16 If I summoned [Him] and He answered me, I do not believe He would pay attention to what I said.

17 He batters me with a whirlwind and multiplies my wounds without cause.

18 He doesn't let me catch my breath but soaks me with bitter experiences.

19 If it is a matter of strength, look, He is the Mighty One! If it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

20 Even if I were in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, my mouth would declare me guilty.

21 Though I am blameless, I no longer care about myself; I renounce my life.

22 It is all the same. Therefore I say, "He destroys both the blameless and the wicked."

23 When disaster brings sudden death, He mocks the despair of the innocent.

24 The earth is handed over to the wicked; He blindfolds its judges. If it isn't He, then who is it?

25 My days fly by faster than a runner; they flee without seeing any good.

26 They sweep by like boats made of papyrus, like an eagle swooping down on [its] prey.

27 If I said, "I will forget my complaint, change my expression, and smile,"

28 I would still live in terror of all my pains. I know You will not acquit me.

29 Since I will be found guilty, why should I labor in vain?

30 If I wash myself with snow, and cleanse my hands with lye,

31 then You dip me in a pit [of mud], and my own clothes despise me!

32 For He is not a man like me, that I can answer Him, that we can take each other to court.

33 There is no one to judge between us, to lay his hand on both of us.

34 Let Him take His rod away from me so His terror will no longer frighten me.

35 Then I would speak and not fear Him. But that is not the case; I am on my own.