Job 20; Job 21; Acts 10:24-48

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Job 20

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:

2 This is why my unsettling thoughts compel me to answer, because I am upset!

3 I have heard a rebuke that insults me, and my understanding makes me reply.

4 Don't you know that ever since antiquity, from [the time] man was placed on earth,

5 the joy of the wicked has been brief and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment?

6 Though his arrogance reaches heaven, and his head touches the clouds,

7 he will vanish forever like his own dung. Those who know him will ask, "Where is he?"

8 He will fly away like a dream and never be found; he will be chased away like a vision in the night.

9 The eye that saw him will see [him] no more, and his household will no longer see him.

10 His children will beg from the poor, for his own hands must give back his wealth.

11 His bones may be full of youthful vigor, but it will lie down with him in the grave.

12 Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth and he conceals it under his tongue,

13 though he cherishes it and will not let it go but keeps it in his mouth,

14 yet the food in his stomach turns into cobras' venom inside him.

15 He swallows wealth but must vomit it up; God will force it from his stomach.

16 He will suck the poison of cobras; a viper's fangs will kill him.

17 He will not enjoy the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

18 He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming [it]; he doesn't enjoy the profits from his trading.

19 For he oppressed and abandoned the poor; he seized a house he did not build.

20 Because his appetite is never satisfied, he does not escape his desires.

21 Nothing is left for him to consume; therefore, his prosperity will not last.

22 At the height of his success distress will come to him; the full weight of misery will crush him.

23 When he fills his stomach, God will send His burning anger against him, raining [it] down on him while he is eating.

24 If he flees from an iron weapon, [an arrow from] a bronze bow will pierce him.

25 He pulls it out of his back, the flashing tip out of his liver. Terrors come over him.

26 Total darkness is reserved for his treasures. A fire unfanned [by human hands] will consume him; it will feed on what is left in his tent.

27 The heavens will expose his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him.

28 The possessions in his house will be removed, flowing away on the day of God's anger.

29 This is the wicked man's lot from God, the inheritance God ordained for him.

Job 21

1 Then Job answered:

2 Pay close attention to my words; let this be the consolation you offer.

3 Bear with me while I speak; then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.

4 As for me, is my complaint against a man? Then why shouldn't I be impatient?

5 Look at me and shudder; put [your] hand over [your] mouth.

6 When I think about [it], I am terrified and my body trembles in horror.

7 Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful?

8 Their children are established while they are still alive, and their descendants, before their eyes.

9 Their homes are secure and free of fear; no rod from God [strikes] them.

10 Their bulls breed without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry.

11 They let their little ones run around like lambs; their children skip about,

12 singing to the tambourine and lyre and rejoicing at the sound of the flute.

13 They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace.

14 Yet they say to God: "Leave us alone! We don't want to know Your ways.

15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what will we gain by pleading with Him?"

16 But their prosperity is not of their own doing. The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

17 How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? Does disaster come on them? Does He apportion destruction in His anger?

18 Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff a storm sweeps away?

19 God reserves a person's punishment for his children. Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know [it].

20 Let his own eyes see his demise; let him drink from the Almighty's wrath!

21 For what does he care about his family once he is dead, when the number of his months has run out?

22 Can anyone teach God knowledge, since He judges the exalted ones?

23 One person dies in excellent health, completely secure and at ease.

24 His body is well-fed, and his bones are full of marrow.

25 Yet another person dies with a bitter soul, having never tasted prosperity.

26 But they both lie in the dust, and worms cover them.

27 Look, I know your thoughts, the schemes you would wrong me with.

28 For you say, "Where now is the nobleman's house?" and "Where are the tents the wicked lived in?"

29 Have you never consulted those who travel the roads? Don't you accept their reports?

30 Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of disaster, rescued from the day of wrath.

31 Who would denounce his behavior to his face? Who would repay him for what he has done?

32 He is carried to the grave, and someone keeps watch over [his] tomb.

33 The dirt on his grave is sweet to him. Everyone follows behind him, and those who go before him are without number.

34 So how can you offer me such futile comfort? Your answers are deceptive.

Acts 10:24-48

24 The following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him.

26 But Peter helped him up and said, "Stand up! I myself am also a man."

27 While talking with him, he went on in and found that many had come together there.

28 Peter said to them, "You know it's forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a foreigner. But God has shown me that I must not call any person common or unclean.

29 That's why I came without any objection when I was sent for. So I ask, 'Why did you send for me?' "

30 Cornelius replied, "Four days ago at this hour, at three in the afternoon, I was praying in my house. Just then a man in a dazzling robe stood before me

31 and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your acts of charity have been remembered in God's sight.

32 Therefore send someone to Joppa and invite Simon here, who is also named Peter. He is lodging in Simon the tanner's house by the sea.'

33 Therefore I immediately sent for you, and you did the right thing in coming. So we are all present before God, to hear everything you have been commanded by the Lord."

34 Then Peter began to speak: "In truth, I understand that God doesn't show favoritism,

35 but in every nation the person who fears Him and does righteousness is acceptable to Him.

36 He sent the message to the sons of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ-He is Lord of all.

37 You know the events that took place throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John preached:

38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and curing all who were under the tyranny of the Devil, because God was with Him.

39 We ourselves are witnesses of everything He did in both the Judean country and in Jerusalem; yet they killed Him by hanging Him on a tree.

40 God raised up this man on the third day and permitted Him to be seen,

41 not by all the people, but by us, witnesses appointed beforehand by God, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

42 He commanded us to preach to the people, and to solemnly testify that He is the One appointed by God to be the Judge of the living and the dead.

43 All the prophets testify about Him that through His name everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins."

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who heard the message.

45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

46 For they heard them speaking in [other] languages and declaring the greatness of God. Then Peter responded,

47 "Can anyone withhold water and prevent these from being baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"

48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.

Job 20; Job 21; Acts 10:24-48

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Job 20

Job 21

Acts 10:24-48