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

Viewing Multiple Passages

Job 20

1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:

2 "My troubled thoughts cause me to answer, because I am very upset.

3 You correct me and I am insulted, but I understand how to answer you.

4 "You know how it has been for a long time, ever since people were first put on the earth.

5 The happiness of evil people is brief, and the joy of the wicked lasts only a moment.

6 Their pride may be as high as the heavens, and their heads may touch the clouds,

7 but they will be gone forever, like their own dung. People who knew them will say, 'Where are they?'

8 They will fly away like a dream and not be found again; they will be chased away like a vision in the night.

9 Those who saw them will not see them again; the places where they lived will see them no more.

10 Their children will have to pay back the poor, and they will have to give up their wealth.

11 They had the strength of their youth in their bones, but it will lie with them in the dust of death.

12 "Evil may taste sweet in their mouths, and they may hide it under their tongues.

13 They cannot stand to let go of it; they keep it in their mouths.

14 But their food will turn sour in their stomachs, like the poison of a snake inside them.

15 They have swallowed riches, but they will spit them out; God will make them vomit their riches up.

16 They will suck the poison of snakes, and the snake's fangs will kill them.

17 They will not admire the sparkling streams or the rivers flowing with honey and cream.

18 They must give back what they worked for without eating it; they will not enjoy the money they made from their trading,

19 because they troubled the poor and left them with nothing. They have taken houses they did not build.

20 "Evil people never lack an appetite, and nothing escapes their selfishness.

21 But nothing will be left for them to eat; their riches will not continue.

22 When they still have plenty, trouble will catch up to them, and great misery will come down on them.

23 When the wicked fill their stomachs, God will send his burning anger against them, and blows of punishment will fall on them like rain.

24 The wicked may run away from an iron weapon, but a bronze arrow will stab them.

25 They will pull the arrows out of their backs and pull the points out of their livers. Terrors will come over them;

26 total darkness waits for their treasure. A fire not fanned by people will destroy them and burn up what is left of their tents.

27 The heavens will show their guilt, and the earth will rise up against them.

28 A flood will carry their houses away, swept away on the day of God's anger.

29 This is what God plans for evil people; this is what he has decided they will receive."

Job 21

1 Then Job answered:

2 "Listen carefully to my words, and let this be the way you comfort me.

3 Be patient while I speak. After I have finished, you may continue to make fun of me.

4 "My complaint is not just against people; I have reason to be impatient.

5 Look at me and be shocked; put your hand over your mouth in shock.

6 When I think about this, I am terribly afraid and my body shakes.

7 Why do evil people live a long time? They grow old and become more powerful.

8 They see their children around them; they watch them grow up.

9 Their homes are safe and without fear; God does not punish them.

10 Their bulls never fail to mate; their cows have healthy calves.

11 They send out their children like a flock; their little ones dance about.

12 They sing to the music of tambourines and harps, and the sound of the flute makes them happy.

13 Evil people enjoy successful lives and then go peacefully to the grave.

14 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? What would we gain by praying to him?'

16 The success of the wicked is not their own doing. Their way of thinking is different from mine.

17 Yet how often are the lamps of evil people turned off? How often does trouble come to them?

18 How often are they like straw in the wind or like chaff that is blown away by a storm?

19 It is said, 'God saves up a person's punishment for his children.' But God should punish the wicked themselves so they will know it.

20 Their eyes should see their own destruction, and they should suffer the anger of the Almighty.

21 They do not care about the families they leave behind when their lives have come to an end.

22 "No one can teach knowledge to God; he is the one who judges even the most important people.

23 One person dies while he still has all his strength, feeling completely safe and comfortable.

24 His body was well fed, and his bones were strong and healthy.

25 But another person dies with an unhappy heart, never enjoying any happiness.

26 They are buried next to each other, and worms cover them both.

27 "I know very well your thoughts and your plans to wrong me.

28 You ask about me, 'Where is this great man's house? Where are the tents where the wicked live?'

29 Have you never asked those who travel? Have you never listened to their stories?

30 On the day of God's anger and punishment, it is the wicked who are spared.

31 Who will accuse them to their faces? Who will pay them back for the evil they have done?

32 They are carried to their graves, and someone keeps watch over their tombs.

33 The dirt in the valley seems sweet to them. Everybody follows after them, and many people go before them.

34 "So how can you comfort me with this nonsense? Your answers are only lies!"

Acts 10:24-48

24 On the following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for 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, saying, "Stand up. I too am only a human."

27 As he talked with Cornelius, Peter went inside where he saw many people gathered.

28 He said, "You people understand that it is against our Jewish law for Jewish people to associate with or visit anyone who is not Jewish. But God has shown me that I should not call any person 'unholy' or 'unclean.'

29 That is why I did not argue when I was asked to come here. Now, please tell me why you sent for me."

30 Cornelius said, "Four days ago, I was praying in my house at this same time -- three o'clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, there was a man standing before me wearing shining clothes.

31 He said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and has seen that you give to the poor and remembers you.

32 So send some men to Joppa and ask Simon Peter to come. Peter is staying in the house of a man, also named Simon, who is a tanner and has a house beside the sea.'

33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was very good of you to come. Now we are all here before God to hear everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us."

34 Peter began to speak: "I really understand now that to God every person is the same.

35 In every country God accepts anyone who worships him and does what is right.

36 You know the message that God has sent to the people of Israel is the Good News that peace has come through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Lord of all people!

37 You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after Johnn preached to the people about baptism.

38 You know about Jesus from Nazareth, that God gave him the Holy Spirit and power. You know how Jesus went everywhere doing good and healing those who were ruled by the devil, because God was with him.

39 We saw what Jesus did in Judea and in Jerusalem, but the Jews in Jerusalem killed him by hanging him on a cross.

40 Yet, on the third day, God raised Jesus to life and caused him to be seen,

41 not by all the people, but only by the witnesses God had already chosen. And we are those witnesses who ate and drank with him after he was raised from the dead.

42 He told us to preach to the people and to tell them that he is the one whom God chose to be the judge of the living and the dead.

43 All the prophets say it is true that all who believe in Jesus will be forgiven of their sins through Jesus' name."

44 While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who were listening.

45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been given even to those who were not Jews.

46 These Jewish believers heard them speaking in different languagesn and praising God. Then Peter said,

47 "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we did!"

48 So Peter ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.