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

1 My strength is almost gone. I won't live much longer. A grave is waiting for me.

2 People who make fun of me are all around me. I'm forced to watch as they attack me with their words.

3 "God, please pay the price to have me set free. Who else would put up money for me?

4 You have closed the minds of those who are trying to comfort me. They don't understand that I haven't done anything wrong. So don't let them win the argument.

5 Suppose a man tells lies about his friends to get a reward. Then his own children will suffer for it.

6 "God has made everyone laugh at me. People spit in my face.

7 My eyes have grown weak because I'm so sad. My body is so thin it hardly casts a shadow.

8 Those who claim to be honest are shocked when they see me. Those who think they haven't sinned are stirred up against me. They think I'm ungodly.

9 But godly people will keep doing what is right. Those who have clean hands will grow stronger.

10 "Come on, all of you! Try again! I can't find a wise person among you.

11 My life is almost over. My plans are destroyed. And so are the longings of my heart.

12 People like you turn night into day. Even though it's dark you say, 'Light is nearby.'

13 Suppose the only home I can hope for is a grave. And suppose I make my bed in the darkness of death.

14 Suppose I say to the grave, 'You are like a father to me.' And suppose I say to its worms, 'You are like a mother or sister to me.'

15 Then what hope do I have? Who can give me any hope?

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

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied,

2 "Job, when will you stop these speeches of yours? Be reasonable! Then we can talk.

3 Why do you look at us as if we were cattle? Why do you think of us as being stupid?

4 Your anger is tearing you to pieces. Does the earth have to be deserted just to prove you are right? Must all of the rocks be moved from their places?

5 "The lamps of sinful people are blown out. Their flames will never burn again.

6 The lights in their tents become dark. The lamps beside those who are evil go out.

7 They walk more slowly than they used to. Their own evil plans make them fall.

8 Their feet take them into a net. They wander right into it.

9 A trap grabs hold of their heels. It refuses to let them go.

10 A trap lies in their path. A rope to catch them is hidden on the ground.

11 Terrors alarm them on every side. They follow them every step of the way.

12 Trouble would like to eat them up. Danger waits for them when they fall.

13 It eats away parts of their skin. Death itself feeds on their arms and legs.

14 They are torn away from the safety of their tents. They are marched off to the one who rules over death.

15 Fire races through their tents. Burning sulfur is scattered over their homes.

16 Their roots dry up under them. Their branches dry up above them.

17 No one on earth remembers them. Their names are forgotten in the land.

18 They are driven from light into darkness. They are thrown out of the world.

19 Their family dies out among their people. No one is left where they used to live.

20 What has happened to them shocks the people in the west. It terrifies the people in the east.

21 Now you know what the homes of sinners are like. Those who don't know God live in places like that."

1 Job replied,

2 "How long will you people make me suffer? How long will you crush me with your words?

3 You have already made fun of me many times. You have attacked me without feeling any shame.

4 Suppose it's true that I've gone down the wrong path. Then it's my concern, not yours.

5 Suppose you want to place yourselves above me. Suppose you want to use my shame to prove I'm wrong.

6 Then I want you to know that God hasn't treated me right. In fact, he has captured me in his net.

7 "I cry out, 'Someone harmed me!' But I don't get any reply. I call out for help. But I'm not treated fairly.

8 God has blocked my way, and I can't get through. He has made my paths so dark I can't see where I'm going.

9 He has taken my wealth away from me. He has stripped me of my honor.

10 He tears me down on every side until I'm gone. He pulls up the roots of my hope as if I were a tree.

11 His anger burns against me. He thinks I'm one of his enemies.

12 His troops march toward me in force. They come at me from every direction. They camp around my tent.

13 "God has caused my brothers to desert me. The people I used to know are now strangers to me.

14 My family has gone away. My friends have forgotten me.

15 My guests and my female servants think of me as a stranger. They look at me as if I were an outsider.

16 I send for my servant, but he doesn't answer. He doesn't come, even though I beg him to.

17 My wife can't stand the way my breath smells. My own relatives won't have anything to do with me.

18 Even little children laugh at me. When I appear, they make fun of me.

19 All of my close friends hate me. Those I love have turned against me.

20 I'm nothing but skin and bones. I've only escaped by the skin of my teeth.

21 "Have pity on me, my friends! Please have pity! God has struck me down with his powerful hand.

22 Why do you chase after me as he does? Aren't you satisfied with what you have done to me already?

23 "I wish my words were written down! I wish they were written on a scroll!

24 I wish they were cut into lead with an iron tool! I wish they were carved in rock forever!

25 I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end he will stand on the earth.

26 After my skin has been destroyed, in my body I'll still see God.

27 I myself will see him with my own eyes. I'll see him, and he won't be a stranger to me. How my heart longs for that day!

28 "You might say, 'Let's keep bothering Job. After all, he's the cause of all of his suffering.'

29 But you should be afraid when God comes to judge you. He'll be angry. He'll punish you with his sword. Then you will know that he is the Judge."

1 A man named Cornelius lived in Caesarea. He was a Roman commander in the Italian Regiment.

2 Cornelius and all his family were faithful and worshiped God. He gave freely to people who were in need. He prayed to God regularly.

3 One day about three o'clock in the afternoon he had a vision. He saw an angel of God clearly. The angel came to him and said, "Cornelius!"

4 Cornelius was afraid. He stared at the angel. "What is it, Lord?" he asked. The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to poor people have come up like an offering to God. So he has remembered you.

5 Now send men to Joppa. Have them bring back a man named Simon. He is also called Peter.

6 He is staying with another Simon, a man who works with leather. His house is by the sea."

7 The angel who spoke to him left. Then Cornelius called two of his servants. He also called a godly soldier who was one of his attendants.

8 He told them everything that had happened. Then he sent them to Joppa.

9 It was about noon the next day. The men were on their journey and were approaching the city. Peter went up on the roof to pray.

10 He became hungry. He wanted something to eat. While the meal was being prepared, Peter had a vision.

11 He saw heaven open up. There he saw something that looked like a large sheet. It was being let down to earth by its four corners.

12 It had all kinds of four-footed animals in it. It also had reptiles of the earth and birds of the air.

13 Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."

14 "No, Lord! I will not!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything that is not pure and 'clean.' "

15 The voice spoke to him a second time. "Do not say anything is not pure that God has made 'clean,' " it said.

16 This happened three times. Right away the sheet was taken back up to heaven.

17 Peter was wondering what the vision meant. At that very moment the men sent by Cornelius found Simon's house. They stopped at the gate

18 and called out. They asked if Simon Peter was staying there.

19 Peter was still thinking about the vision. The Holy Spirit spoke to him. "Simon," he said, "three men are looking for you.

20 Get up and go downstairs. Don't let anything keep you from going with them. I have sent them."

21 Peter went down and spoke to the men. "I'm the one you're looking for," he said. "Why have you come?"

22 The men replied, "We have come from Cornelius, the Roman commander. He is a good man who worships God. All the Jewish people respect him. A holy angel told him to invite you to his house. Cornelius wants to hear what you have to say."

23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests. The next day Peter went with the three men. Some of the believers from Joppa went along.