Job 25; Job 26; Job 27; Acts 12

Job 25

1 God is powerful; all must stand in awe of him;

2 he keeps his heavenly kingdom in peace.

3 Can anyone count the angels who serve him? Is there any place where God's light does not shine?

4 Can anyone be righteous or pure in God's sight?

5 In his eyes even the moon is not bright, or the stars pure.

6 Then what about a human being, that worm, that insect? What is a human life worth in God's eyes?

Job 26

1 What a big help you are to me -

2 poor, weak man that I am!

3 You give such good advice and share your knowledge with a fool like me!

4 Who do you think will hear all your words? Who inspired you to speak like this?

5 The spirits of the dead tremble in the waters under the earth.

6 The world of the dead lies open to God; no covering shields it from his sight.

7 God stretched out the northern sky and hung the earth in empty space.

8 It is God who fills the clouds with water and keeps them from bursting with the weight.

9 He hides the full moon behind a cloud.

10 He divided light from darkness by a circle drawn on the face of the sea.

11 When he threatens the pillars that hold up the sky, they shake and tremble with fear.

12 It is his strength that conquered the sea; by his skill he destroyed the monster Rahab.

13 It is his breath that made the sky clear, and his hand that killed the escaping monster.

14 But these are only hints of his power, only the whispers that we have heard. Who can know how truly great God is?

Job 27

1 I swear by the living Almighty God,

2 who refuses me justice and makes my life bitter -

3 as long as God gives me breath,

4 my lips will never say anything evil, my tongue will never tell a lie.

5 I will never say that you men are right; I will insist on my innocence to my dying day.

6 I will never give up my claim to be right; my conscience is clear.

7 May all who oppose me and fight against me be punished like the wicked and the unrighteous.

8 What hope is there for the godless in the hour when God demands their life?

9 When trouble comes, will God hear their cries?

10 They should have desired the joy he gives; they should have constantly prayed to him.

11 Let me teach you how great is God's power, and explain what Almighty God has planned.

12 But no, after all, you have seen for yourselves; so why do you talk such nonsense?

13 This is how Almighty God punishes wicked, violent people.

14 They may have many sons, but all will be killed in war; their children never have enough to eat.

15 Those who survive will die from disease, and even their widows will not mourn their death.

16 The wicked may have too much silver to count and more clothes than anyone needs;

17 but some good person will wear the clothes, and someone honest will get the silver.

18 The wicked build houses like a spider's web or like the hut of a slave guarding the fields.

19 One last time they will lie down rich, and when they wake up, they will find their wealth gone.

20 Terror will strike like a sudden flood; a wind in the night will blow them away;

21 the east wind will sweep them from their homes;

22 it will blow down on them without pity while they try their best to escape.

23 The wind howls at them as they run, frightening them with destructive power.

Acts 12

1 About this time King Herod began to persecute some members of the church.

2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death by the sword.

3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he went ahead and had Peter arrested. (This happened during the time of the Festival of Unleavened Bread.)

4 After his arrest Peter was put in jail, where he was handed over to be guarded by four groups of four soldiers each. Herod planned to put him on trial in public after Passover.

5 So Peter was kept in jail, but the people of the church were praying earnestly to God for him.

6 The night before Herod was going to bring him out to the people, Peter was sleeping between two guards. He was tied with two chains, and there were guards on duty at the prison gate.

7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shone in the cell. The angel shook Peter by the shoulder, woke him up, and said, "Hurry! Get up!" At once the chains fell off Peter's hands.

8 Then the angel said, "Tighten your belt and put on your sandals." Peter did so, and the angel said, "Put your cloak around you and come with me."

9 Peter followed him out of the prison, not knowing, however, if what the angel was doing was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.

10 They passed by the first guard station and then the second, and came at last to the iron gate that opens into the city. The gate opened for them by itself, and they went out. They walked down a street, and suddenly the angel left Peter.

11 Then Peter realized what had happened to him, and said, "Now I know that it is really true! The Lord sent his angel to rescue me from Herod's power and from everything the Jewish people expected to happen."

12 Aware of his situation, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.

13 Peter knocked at the outside door, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer it.

14 She recognized Peter's voice and was so happy that she ran back in without opening the door, and announced that Peter was standing outside.

15 "You are crazy!" they told her. But she insisted that it was true. So they answered, "It is his angel."

16 Meanwhile Peter kept on knocking. At last they opened the door, and when they saw him, they were amazed.

17 He motioned with his hand for them to be quiet, and he explained to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell this to James and the rest of the believers," he said; then he left and went somewhere else.

18 When morning came, there was a tremendous confusion among the guards - what had happened to Peter?

19 Herod gave orders to search for him, but they could not find him. So he had the guards questioned and ordered them put to death. After this, Herod left Judea and spent some time in Caesarea.

20 Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, so they went in a group to see him. First they convinced Blastus, the man in charge of the palace, that he should help them. Then they went to Herod and asked him for peace, because their country got its food supplies from the king's country.

21 On a chosen day Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to the people.

22 "It isn't a man speaking, but a god!" they shouted.

23 At once the angel of the Lord struck Herod down, because he did not give honor to God. He was eaten by worms and died.

24 Meanwhile the word of God continued to spread and grow.

25 Barnabas and Saul finished their mission and returned from Jerusalem, taking John Mark with them.