Job 30; Job 31; Acts 13:26-52

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Job 30

1 "But now men who are younger than I make fun of me. I would not have even let their fathers sit with my sheep dogs.

2 What use did I have for their strength since they had lost their strength to work?

3 They were thin from hunger and wandered the dry and ruined land at night.

4 They gathered desert plants among the brush and ate the root of the broom tree.

5 They were forced to live away from people; people shouted at them as if they were thieves.

6 They lived in dried up streambeds, in caves, and among the rocks.

7 They howled like animals among the bushes and huddled together in the brush.

8 They are worthless people without names and were forced to leave the land.

9 "Now they make fun of me with songs; my name is a joke among them.

10 They hate me and stay far away from me, but they do not mind spitting in my face.

11 God has taken away my strength and made me suffer, so they attack me with all their anger.

12 On my right side they rise up like a mob. They lay traps for my feet and prepare to attack me.

13 They break up my road and work to destroy me, and no one helps me.

14 They come at me as if through a hole in the wall, and they roll in among the ruins.

15 Great fears overwhelm me. They blow my honor away as if by a great wind, and my safety disappears like a cloud.

16 "Now my life is almost over; my days are full of suffering.

17 At night my bones ache; gnawing pains never stop.

18 In his great power God grabs hold of my clothing and chokes me with the collar of my coat.

19 He throws me into the mud, and I become like dirt and ashes.

20 "I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you just look at me.

21 You have turned on me without mercy; with your powerful hand you attacked me.

22 You snatched me up and threw me into the wind and tossed me about in the storm.

23 I know you will bring me down to death, to the place where all living people must go.

24 "Surely no one would hurt a ruined man when he cries for help in his time of trouble.

25 I cried for those who were in trouble; I have been very sad for poor people.

26 But when I hoped for good, only evil came to me; when I looked for light, darkness came.

27 I never stop being upset; days of suffering are ahead of me.

28 I have turned black, but not by the sun. I stand up in public and cry for help.

29 I have become a brother to wild dogs and a friend to ostriches.

30 My skin has become black and peels off, as my body burns with fever.

31 My harp is tuned to sing a sad song, and my flute is tuned to moaning.

Job 31

1 "But I made an agreement with my eyes not to look with desire at a girl.

2 What has God above promised for people?

3 It is ruin for evil people and disaster for those who do wrong.

4 God sees my ways and counts every step I take.

5 "If I have been dishonest or lied to others,

6 then let God weigh me on honest scales. Then he will know I have done nothing wrong.

7 If I have turned away from doing what is right, or my heart has been led by my eyes to do wrong, or my hands have been made unclean,

8 then let other people eat what I have planted, and let my crops be plowed up.

9 "If I have desired another woman or have waited at my neighbor's door for his wife,

10 then let my wife grind another man's grain, and let other men have sexual relations with her.

11 That would be shameful, a sin to be punished.

12 It is like a fire that burns and destroys; all I have done would be plowed up.

13 "If I have been unfair to my male and female slaves when they had a complaint against me,

14 how could I tell God what I did? What will I answer when he asks me to explain what I've done?

15 God made me in my mother's womb, and he also made them; the same God formed both of us in our mothers' wombs.

16 "I have never refused the appeals of the poor or let widows give up hope while looking for help.

17 I have not kept my food to myself but have given it to the orphans.

18 Since I was young, I have been like a father to the orphans. From my birth I guided the widows.

19 I have not let anyone die for lack of clothes or let a needy person go without a coat.

20 That person's heart blessed me, because I warmed him with the wool of my sheep.

21 I have never hurt an orphan even when I knew I could win in court.

22 If I have, then let my arm fall off my shoulder and be broken at the joint.

23 I fear destruction from God, and I fear his majesty, so I could not do such things.

24 "I have not put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, 'You are my security.'

25 I have not celebrated my great wealth or the riches my hands had gained.

26 I have not thought about worshiping the sun in its brightness nor admired the moon moving in glory

27 so that my heart was pulled away from God. My hand has never offered the sun and moon a kiss of worship.

28 If I had, these also would have been sins to be punished, because I would have been unfaithful to God.

29 "I have not been happy when my enemy fell or laughed when he had trouble.

30 I have not let my mouth sin by cursing my enemy's life.

31 The men of my house have always said, 'Everyone has eaten all he wants of Job's food.'

32 No stranger ever had to spend the night in the street, because I always let travelers stay in my home.

33 I have not hidden my sin as others do, secretly keeping my guilt to myself.

34 I was not so afraid of the crowd that I kept quiet and stayed inside because I feared being hated by other families.

35 ("How I wish a court would hear my case! Here I sign my name to show I have told the truth. Now let the Almighty answer me; let the one who accuses me write it down.

36 I would wear the writing on my shoulder; I would put it on like a crown.

37 I would explain to God every step I took, and I would come near to him like a prince.)

38 "If my land cries out against me and its plowed rows are not wet with tears,

39 if I have taken the land's harvest without paying or have broken the spirit of those who worked the land,

40 then let thorns come up instead of wheat, and let weeds come up instead of barley." The words of Job are finished.

Acts 13:26-52

26 "Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those of you who are not Jews who worship God, listen! The news about this salvation has been sent to us.

27 Those who live in Jerusalem and their leaders did not realize that Jesus was the Savior. They did not understand the words that the prophets wrote, which are read every Sabbath day. But they made them come true when they said Jesus was guilty.

28 They could not find any real reason for Jesus to be put to death, but they asked Pilate to have him killed.

29 When they had done to him all that the Scriptures had said, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb.

30 But God raised him up from the dead!

31 After this, for many days, those who had gone with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem saw him. They are now his witnesses to the people.

32 We tell you the Good News about the promise God made to our ancestors.

33 God has made this promise come true for us, his children, by raising Jesus from the dead. We read about this also in Psalm 'You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.'

34 God raised Jesus from the dead, and he will never go back to the grave and become dust. So God said: 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings that I promised to David.'

35 But in another place God says: 'You will not let your Holy One rot.'

36 David did God's will during his lifetime. Then he died and was buried beside his ancestors, and his body did rot in the grave.

37 But the One God raised from the dead did not rot in the grave.

39 Brothers, understand what we are telling you: You can have forgiveness of your sins through Jesus. The law of Moses could not free you from your sins. But through Jesus everyone who believes is free from all sins.

40 Be careful! Don't let what the prophets said happen to you:

41 'Listen, you people who doubt! You can wonder, and then die. I will do something in your lifetime that you won't believe even when you are told about it!'"

42 While Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people asked them to tell them more about these things on the next Sabbath.

43 When the meeting was over, many Jews and those who had changed to the Jewish religion and who worshiped God followed Paul and Barnabas from that place. Paul and Barnabas were persuading them to continue trusting in God's grace.

44 On the next Sabbath day, almost everyone in the city came to hear the word of the Lord.

45 Seeing the crowd, the Jewish people became very jealous and said insulting things and argued against what Paul said.

46 But Paul and Barnabas spoke very boldly, saying, "We must speak the message of God to you first. But you refuse to listen. You are judging yourselves not worthy of having eternal life! So we will now go to the people of other nations.

47 This is what the Lord told us to do, saying: 'I have made you a light for the nations; you will show people all over the world the way to be saved.'"

48 When those who were not Jewish heard Paul say this, they were happy and gave honor to the message of the Lord. And the people who were chosen to have life forever believed the message.

49 So the message of the Lord was spreading through the whole country.

50 But the Jewish people stirred up some of the important religious women and the leaders of the city. They started trouble against Paul and Barnabas and forced them out of their area.

51 So Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feetn and went to Iconium.

52 But the followers were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.

Job 30; Job 31; Acts 13:26-52

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Job 30

Job 31

Acts 13:26-52