Job 17; Job 18; Job 19; Acts 10:1-23

1 My spirit is broken; the days of my life are almost gone. The grave is waiting for me.

2 Those who laugh at me surround me; I watch them insult me.

3 "God, make me a promise. No one will make a pledge for me.

4 You have closed their minds to understanding. Do not let them win over me.

5 A person might speak against his friends for money, but if he does, the eyes of his children go blind.

6 "God has made my name a curse word; people spit in my face.

7 My sight has grown weak because of my sadness, and my body is as thin as a shadow.

8 Honest people are upset about this; innocent people are upset with those who do wrong.

9 But those who do right will continue to do right, and those whose hands are not dirty with sin will grow stronger.

10 "But, all of you, come and try again! I do not find a wise person among you.

11 My days are gone, and my plans have been destroyed, along with the desires of my heart.

12 These men think night is day; when it is dark, they say, 'Light is near.'

13 If the only home I hope for is the grave, if I spread out my bed in darkness,

14 if I say to the grave, 'You are my father,' and to the worm, 'You are my mother' or 'You are my sister,'

15 where, then, is my hope? Who can see any hope for me?

16 Will hope go down to the gates of death? Will we go down together into the dust?"

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:

2 "When will you stop these speeches? Be sensible, and then we can talk.

3 You think of us as cattle, as if we are stupid.

4 You tear yourself to pieces in your anger. Should the earth be vacant just for you? Should the rocks move from their places?

5 "The lamp of the wicked will be put out, and the flame in their lamps will stop burning.

6 The light in their tents will grow dark, and the lamps by their sides will go out.

7 Their strong steps will grow weak; they will fall into their own evil traps.

8 Their feet will be caught in a net when they walk into its web.

9 A trap will catch them by the heel and hold them tight.

10 A trap for them is hidden on the ground, right in their path.

11 Terrible things startle them from every side and chase them at every step.

12 Hunger takes away their strength, and disaster is at their side.

13 Disease eats away parts of their skin; death gnaws at their arms and legs.

14 They are torn from the safety of their tents and dragged off to Death, the King of Terrors.

15 Their tents are set on fire, and sulfur is scattered over their homes.

16 Their roots dry up below ground, and their branches die above ground.

17 People on earth will not remember them; their names will be forgotten in the land.

18 They will be driven from light into darkness and chased out of the world.

19 They have no children or descendants among their people, and no one will be left alive where they once lived.

20 People of the west will be shocked at what has happened to them, and people of the east will be very frightened.

21 Surely this is what will happen to the wicked; such is the place of one who does not know God."

1 Then Job answered:

2 "How long will you hurt me and crush me with your words?

3 You have insulted me ten times now and attacked me without shame.

4 Even if I have sinned, it is my worry alone.

5 If you want to make yourselves look better than I, you can blame me for my suffering.

6 Then know that God has wronged me and pulled his net around me.

7 "I shout, 'I have been wronged!' But I get no answer. I scream for help but I get no justice.

8 God has blocked my way so I cannot pass; he has covered my paths with darkness.

9 He has taken away my honor and removed the crown from my head.

10 He beats me down on every side until I am gone; he destroys my hope like a fallen tree.

11 His anger burns against me, and he treats me like an enemy.

12 His armies gather; they prepare to attack me. They camp around my tent.

13 "God has made my brothers my enemies, and my friends have become strangers.

14 My relatives have gone away, and my friends have forgotten me.

15 My guests and my female servants treat me like a stranger; they look at me as if I were a foreigner.

16 I call for my servant, but he does not answer, even when I beg him with my own mouth.

17 My wife can't stand my breath, and my own family dislikes me.

18 Even the little boys hate me and talk about me when I leave.

19 All my close friends hate me; even those I love have turned against me.

20 I am nothing but skin and bones; I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

21 Pity me, my friends, pity me, because the hand of God has hit me.

22 Why do you chase me as God does? Haven't you hurt me enough?

23 "How I wish my words were written down, written on a scroll.

24 I wish they were carved with an iron pen into lead, or carved into stone forever.

25 I know that my Defender lives, and in the end he will stand upon the earth.

26 Even after my skin has been destroyed, in my flesh I will see God.

27 I will see him myself; I will see him with my very own eyes. How my heart wants that to happen!

28 "If you say, 'We will continue to trouble Job, because the problem lies with him,'

29 you should be afraid of the sword yourselves. God's anger will bring punishment by the sword. Then you will know there is judgment."

1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, an officer in the Italian group of the Roman army.

2 Cornelius was a religious man. He and all the other people who lived in his house worshiped the true God. He gave much of his money to the poor and prayed to God often.

3 One afternoon about three o'clock, Cornelius clearly saw a vision. An angel of God came to him and said, "Cornelius!"

4 Cornelius stared at the angel. He became afraid and said, "What do you want, Lord?" The angel said, "God has heard your prayers. He has seen that you give to the poor, and he remembers you.

5 Send some men now to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is also called Peter.

6 He is staying with a man, also named Simon, who is a tanner and has a house beside the sea."

7 When the angel who spoke to Cornelius left, Cornelius called two of his servants and a soldier, a religious man who worked for him.

8 Cornelius explained everything to them and sent them to Joppa.

9 About noon the next day as they came near Joppa, Peter was going up to the roofn to pray.

10 He was hungry and wanted to eat, but while the food was being prepared, he had a vision.

11 He saw heaven opened and something coming down that looked like a big sheet being lowered to earth by its four corners.

12 In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds.

13 Then a voice said to Peter, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat."

14 But Peter said, "No, Lord! I have never eaten food that is unholy or unclean."

15 But the voice said to him again, "God has made these things clean so don't call them 'unholy'!"

16 This happened three times, and at once the sheet was taken back to heaven.

17 While Peter was wondering what this vision meant, the men Cornelius sent had found Simon's house and were standing at the gate.

18 They asked, "Is Simon Peter staying here?"

19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Listen, three men are looking for you.

20 Get up and go downstairs. Go with them without doubting, because I have sent them to you."

21 So Peter went down to the men and said, "I am the one you are looking for. Why did you come here?"

22 They said, "A holy angel spoke to Cornelius, an army officer and a good man; he worships God. All the Jewish people respect him. The angel told Cornelius to ask you to come to his house so that he can hear what you have to say."

23 So Peter asked the men to come in and spend the night. The next day Peter got ready and went with them, and some of the followers from Joppa joined him.