Job 30; Job 31; Acts 13:26-52

Job 30

1 But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to put with my sheep dogs.

2 What use to me was the strength of their hands? Their vigor had left them.

3 Emaciated from poverty and hunger, they gnawed the dry land, the desolate wasteland by night.

4 They plucked mallow among the shrubs, and the roots of the broom tree were their food.

5 They were expelled from human society; people shouted at them as [if they were] thieves.

6 They are living on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

7 They bray among the shrubs; they huddle beneath the thistles.

8 Foolish men, without even a name! They were forced to leave the land.

9 Now I am mocked by their songs; I have become an object of scorn to them.

10 They despise me and keep their distance from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

11 Because God has loosened my bowstring and oppressed me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.

12 The rabble rise up at my right; they trap my feet and construct their siege ramp against me.

13 They tear up my path; they contribute to my destruction, without anyone to help them.

14 They advance as through a gaping breach; they keep rolling in through the ruins.

15 Terrors are turned loose against me; they chase my dignity away like the wind, and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud.

16 Now my life is poured out before my [eyes], and days of suffering have seized me.

17 Night pierces my bones, and my gnawing pains never abate.

18 My clothing is distorted with great force; He chokes me by the neck of my garment.

19 He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.

20 I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me; when I stand up, You [merely] look at me.

21 You have turned against me with cruelty; You harass me with Your strong hand.

22 You lift me up on the wind and make me ride [it]; You scatter me in the storm.

23 Yes, I know that You will lead me to death- the place appointed for all who live.

24 Yet no one would stretch out [his] hand against a ruined man when he cries out to him for help because of his distress.

25 Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times? Has my soul not grieved for the needy?

26 But when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, darkness came.

27 I am churning within and cannot rest; days of suffering confront me.

28 I walk about blackened, but not by the sun. I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.

29 I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.

30 My skin blackens and flakes off, and my bones burn with fever.

31 My lyre is [used] for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping.

Job 31

1 I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I look at a young woman?

2 For what portion [would I have] from God above, or [what] inheritance from the Almighty on high?

3 Doesn't disaster come to the wicked and misfortune to evildoers?

4 Does He not see my ways and number all my steps?

5 If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has rushed to deceit,

6 let God weigh me with an accurate balance, and He will recognize my integrity.

7 If my step has turned from the way, my heart has followed my eyes, or impurity has stained my hands,

8 let someone else eat what I have sown, and let my crops be uprooted.

9 If my heart has been seduced by [my neighbor's] wife or I have lurked at his door,

10 let my own wife grind [grain] for another man, and let other men sleep with her.

11 For that would be a disgrace; it would be a crime deserving punishment.

12 For it is a fire that consumes down to Abaddon; it would destroy my entire harvest.

13 If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants when they made a complaint against me,

14 what could I do when God stands up [to judge]? How should I answer Him when He calls [me] to account?

15 Did not the One who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same God form us both in the womb?

16 If I have refused the wishes of the poor or let the widow's eyes go blind,

17 if I have eaten my few crumbs alone without letting the fatherless eat any of it-

18 for from my youth, I raised him as [his] father, and since the day I was born I guided the widow-

19 if I have seen anyone dying for lack of clothing or a needy person without a cloak,

20 if he did not bless me while warming himself with the fleece from my sheep,

21 if I ever cast my vote against a fatherless child when I saw that I had support in the [city] gate,

22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my back, and my arm be pulled from its socket.

23 For disaster from God terrifies me, and because of His majesty I could not do [these things].

24 If I placed my confidence in gold or called fine gold my trust,

25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth is great or because my own hand has acquired [so] much,

26 if I have gazed at the sun when it was shining or at the moon moving in splendor,

27 so that my heart was secretly enticed and I threw them a kiss,

28 this would also be a crime deserving punishment, for I would have denied God above.

29 Have I rejoiced over my enemy's distress, or become excited when trouble came his way?

30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse.

31 Haven't the members of my household said, "Who is there who has not had enough to eat at Job's table?"

32 No stranger had to spend the night on the street, for I opened my door to the traveler.

33 Have I covered my transgressions as others do by hiding my guilt in my heart,

34 because I greatly feared the crowds, and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so I grew silent and would not go outside?

35 If only I had someone to hear my [case]! Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me. Let my Opponent compose [His] indictment.

36 I would surely carry it on my shoulder and wear it like a crown.

37 I would give Him an account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.

38 If my land cries out against me and its furrows join in weeping,

39 if I have consumed its produce without payment or shown contempt for its tenants,

40 then let thorns grow instead of wheat and stinkweed instead of barley. The words of Job are concluded.

Acts 13:26-52

26 "Brothers, sons of Abraham's race, and those among you who fear God, the message of this salvation has been sent to us.

27 For the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers, since they did not recognize Him or the voices of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled their words by condemning Him.

28 Though they found no grounds for the death penalty, they asked Pilate to have Him killed.

29 When they had fulfilled all that had been written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and put Him in a tomb.

30 But God raised Him from the dead,

31 and He appeared for many days to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now His witnesses to the people.

32 And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our forefathers.

33 God has fulfilled this to us their children by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second Psalm: You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.

34 Since He raised Him from the dead, never to return to decay, He has spoken in this way, I will grant you the faithful covenant blessings made to David.

35 Therefore He also says in another passage, You will not allow Your Holy One to see decay.

36 For David, after serving his own generation in God's plan, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and decayed.

37 But the One whom God raised up did not decay.

38 Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you,

39 and everyone who believes in Him is justified from everything, which you could not be justified from through the law of Moses.

40 So beware that what is said in the prophets does not happen to you:

41 Look, you scoffers, marvel and vanish away, because I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will never believe, even if someone were to explain it to you. "

42 As they were leaving, they begged that these matters be presented to them the following Sabbath.

43 After the synagogue had been dismissed, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and persuading them to continue in the grace of God.

44 The following Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the message of the Lord.

45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to oppose what Paul was saying by insulting him.

46 Then Paul and Barnabas boldly said: "It was necessary that God's message be spoken to you first. But since you reject it, and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles!

47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have appointed you as a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. "

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the message of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.

49 So the message of the Lord spread through the whole region.

50 But the Jews incited the religious women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their district.

51 But shaking the dust off their feet against them, they proceeded to Iconium.

52 And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.