Job 25; Job 26; Job 27; Acts 12

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:

2 "God rules and he must be honored; he set up order in his high heaven.

3 No one can count God's armies. His light shines on all people.

4 So no one can be good in the presence of God, and no one born to a woman can be pure.

5 Even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes.

6 People are much less! They are like insects. They are only worms!"

1 Then Job answered:

2 "You are no help to the helpless! You have not aided the weak!

3 Your advice lacks wisdom! You have shown little understanding!

4 Who has helped you say these words? And where did you get these ideas?

5 "The spirits of the dead tremble, those who are beneath and in the waters.

6 Death is naked before God; destruction is uncovered before him.

7 God stretches the northern sky out over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.

8 He wraps up the waters in his thick clouds, but the clouds do not break under their weight.

9 He covers the face of the moon, spreading his clouds over it.

10 He draws the horizon like a circle on the water at the place where light and darkness meet.

11 Heaven's foundations shake when he thunders at them.

12 With his power he quiets the sea; by his wisdom he destroys Rahab, the sea monster.

13 He breathes, and the sky clears. His hand stabs the fleeing snake.

14 And these are only a small part of God's works. We only hear a small whisper of him.

1 And Job continued speaking:

2 "As surely as God lives, who has taken away my rights, the Almighty, who has made me unhappy,

3 as long as I am alive and God's breath of life is in my nose,

4 my lips will not speak evil, and my tongue will not tell a lie.

5 I will never agree you are right; until I die, I will never stop saying I am innocent.

6 I will insist that I am right; I will not back down. My conscience will never bother me.

7 "Let my enemies be like evil people, my foes like those who are wrong.

8 What hope do the wicked have when they die, when God takes their life away?

9 God will not listen to their cries when trouble comes to them.

10 They will not find joy in the Almighty, even though they call out to God all the time.

11 "I will teach you about the power of God and will not hide the ways of the Almighty.

12 You have all seen this yourselves. So why are we having all this talk that means nothing?

13 "Here is what God has planned for evil people, and what the Almighty will give to cruel people:

14 They may have many children, but the sword will kill them. Their children who are left will never have enough to eat.

15 Then they will die of disease and be buried, and the widows will not even cry for them.

16 The wicked may heap up silver like piles of dirt and have so many clothes they are like piles of clay.

17 But good people will wear what evil people have gathered, and the innocent will divide up their silver.

18 The houses the wicked build are like a spider's web, like a hut that a guard builds.

19 The wicked are rich when they go to bed, but they are rich for the last time; when they open their eyes, everything is gone.

20 Fears come over them like a flood, and a storm snatches them away in the night.

21 The east wind will carry them away, and then they are gone, because it sweeps them out of their place.

22 The wind will hit them without mercy as they try to run away from its power.

23 It will be as if the wind is clapping its hands; it will whistle at them as they run from their place.

1 During that same time King Herod began to mistreat some who belonged to the church.

2 He ordered James, the brother of John, to be killed by the sword.

3 Herod saw that the Jewish people liked this, so he decided to arrest Peter, too. (This happened during the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.)

4 After Herod arrested Peter, he put him in jail and handed him over to be guarded by sixteen soldiers. Herod planned to bring Peter before the people for trial after the Passover Feast.

5 So Peter was kept in jail, but the church prayed earnestly to God for him.

6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Other soldiers were guarding the door of the jail.

7 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shined in the cell. The angel struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Hurry! Get up!" the angel said. And the chains fell off Peter's hands.

8 Then the angel told him, "Get dressed and put on your sandals." And Peter did. Then the angel said, "Put on your coat and follow me."

9 So Peter followed him out, but he did not know if what the angel was doing was real; he thought he might be seeing a vision.

10 They went past the first and second guards and came to the iron gate that separated them from the city. The gate opened by itself for them, and they went through it. When they had walked down one street, the angel suddenly left him.

11 Then Peter realized what had happened. He thought, "Now I know that the Lord really sent his angel to me. He rescued me from Herod and from all the things the Jewish people thought would happen."

12 When he considered this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark. Many people were gathered there, praying.

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

14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so happy she forgot to open the door. Instead, she ran inside and told the group, "Peter is at the door!"

15 They said to her, "You are crazy!" But she kept on saying it was true, so they said, "It must be Peter's angel."

16 Peter continued to knock, and when they opened the door, they saw him and were amazed.

17 Peter made a sign with his hand to tell them to be quiet. He explained how the Lord led him out of the jail, and he said, "Tell James and the other believers what happened." Then he left to go to another place.

18 The next day the soldiers were very upset and wondered what had happened to Peter.

19 Herod looked everywhere for him but could not find him. So he questioned the guards and ordered that they be killed. Later Herod moved from Judea and went to the city of Caesarea, where he stayed.

20 Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, but the people of those cities all came in a group to him. After convincing Blastus, the king's personal servant, to be on their side, they asked Herod for peace, because their country got its food from his country.

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

22 They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not a human!"

23 Because Herod did not give the glory to God, an angel of the Lord immediately caused him to become sick, and he was eaten by worms and died.

24 God's message continued to spread and reach people.

25 After Barnabas and Saul finished their task in Jerusalem, they returned to Antioch, taking John Mark with them.