Eliphaz Accuses Job of Great Wickedness

221 Then Eliphaz the Temanite made answer and said, 2 Is it possible for a man to be of profit to God? No, for a man's wisdom is only of profit to himself. 3 Is it of any interest to the Ruler of all that you are upright? or is it of use to him that your ways are without sin? 4 Is it because you give him honour that he is sending punishment on you and is judging you?

5 Is not your evil-doing great? and there is no end to your sins. 6 For you have taken your brother's goods when he was not in your debt, and have taken away the clothing of those who have need of it. 7 You do not give water to the tired traveller, and from him who has no food you keep back bread. 8 For it was the man with power who had the land, and the man with an honoured name who was living in it. 9 You have sent widows away without hearing their cause, and you have taken away the support of the child who has no father. 10 For this cause nets are round your feet, and you are overcome with sudden fear. 11 Your light is made dark so that you are unable to see, and you are covered by a mass of waters. 12 Is not God as high as heaven? and see the stars, how high they are! 13 And you say, What knowledge has God? is he able to give decisions through the deep dark? 14 Thick clouds are covering him, so that he is unable to see; and he is walking on the arch of heaven.

15 Will you keep the old way by which evil men went? 16 Who were violently taken away before their time, who were overcome by the rush of waters: 17 Who said to God, Go away from us; and, What is the Ruler of all able to do to us? 18 Though he made their houses full of good things: but the purpose of the evil-doers is far from me! 19 The upright saw it and were glad: and those who had done no wrong made sport of them, 20 Saying, Truly, their substance is cut off, and their wealth is food for the fire.

21 Put yourself now in a right relation with him and be at peace: so will you do well in your undertakings. 22 Be pleased to take teaching from his mouth, and let his words be stored up in your heart. 23 If you come back to the Ruler of all, making yourself low before him; if you put evil far away from your tents; 24 And put your gold in the dust, even your gold of Ophir among the rocks of the valleys; 25 Then the Ruler of all will be your gold, and his teaching will be your silver; 26 For then you will have delight in the Ruler of all, and your face will be lifted up to God. 27 You will make your prayer to him, and be answered; and you will give effect to your oaths. 28 Your purposes will come about, and light will be shining on your ways. 29 For God makes low those whose hearts are lifted up, but he is a saviour to the poor in spirit. 30 He makes safe the man who is free from sin, and if your hands are clean, salvation will be yours.

Job Desires to Plead His Case before God

231 And Job made answer and said, 2 Even today my outcry is bitter; his hand is hard on my sorrow. 3 If only I had knowledge of where he might be seen, so that I might come even to his seat! 4 I would put my cause in order before him, and my mouth would be full of arguments. 5 I would see what his answers would be, and have knowledge of what he would say to me. 6 Would he make use of his great power to overcome me? No, but he would give attention to me. 7 There an upright man might put his cause before him; and I would be free for ever from my judge.

8 See, I go forward, but he is not there; and back, but I do not see him; 9 I am looking for him on the left hand, but there is no sign of him; and turning to the right, I am not able to see him. 10 For he has knowledge of the way I take; after I have been tested I will come out like gold. 11 My feet have gone in his steps; I have kept in his way, without turning to one side or to the other. 12 I have never gone against the orders of his lips; the words of his mouth have been stored up in my heart.

13 But his purpose is fixed and there is no changing it; and he gives effect to the desire of his soul. 14 For what has been ordered for me by him will be gone through to the end: and his mind is full of such designs. 15 For this cause I am in fear before him, my thoughts of him overcome me. 16 For God has made my heart feeble, and my mind is troubled before the Ruler of all. 17 For I am overcome by the dark, and by the black night which is covering my face.

Job Complains of God's Indifference to Wickedness

241 Why are times not stored up by the Ruler of all, and why do those who have knowledge of him not see his days? 2 The landmarks are changed by evil men, they violently take away flocks, together with their keepers. 3 They send away the ass of him who has no father, they take the widow's ox for debt. 4 The crushed are turned out of the way; all the poor of the earth go into a secret place together. 5 Like asses in the waste land they go out to their work, looking for food with care; from the waste land they get bread for their children. 6 They get mixed grain from the field, and they take away the late fruit from the vines of those who have wealth. 7 They take their rest at night without clothing, and have no cover in the cold. 8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains, and get into the cracks of the rock for cover. 9 The child without a father is forced from its mother's breast, and they take the young children of the poor for debt. 10 Others go about without clothing, and though they have no food, they get in the grain from the fields. 11 Between the lines of olive-trees they make oil; though they have no drink, they are crushing out the grapes. 12 From the town come sounds of pain from those who are near death, and the soul of the wounded is crying out for help; but God does not take note of their prayer.

13 Then there are those who are haters of the light, who have no knowledge of its ways, and do not go in them. 14 He who is purposing death gets up before day, so that he may put to death the poor and those in need. 15 And the man whose desire is for the wife of another is waiting for the evening, saying, No eye will see me; and he puts a cover on his face. And in the night the thief goes about; 16 In the dark he makes holes in the walls of houses: in the daytime they are shutting themselves up, they have no knowledge of the light. 17 For the middle of the night is as morning to them, they are not troubled by the fear of the dark.

18 They go quickly on the face of the waters; their heritage is cursed in the earth; the steps of the crusher of grapes are not turned to their vine-garden. 19 Snow waters become dry with the heat: so do sinners go down into the underworld. 20 The public place of his town has no more knowledge of him, and his name has gone from the memory of men: he is rooted up like a dead tree. 21 He is not kind to the widow, and he has no pity for her child. 22 But God by his power gives long life to the strong; he gets up again, though he has no hope of life. 23 He takes away his fear of danger and gives him support; and his eyes are on his ways. 24 For a short time they are lifted up; then they are gone; they are made low, they are pulled off like fruit, and like the heads of grain they are cut off. 25 And if it is not so, now, who will make it clear that my words are false, and that what I say is of no value?

Peter's Report to the Church at Jerusalem

111 Now the Apostles and the brothers who were in Judaea had news that the word of God had been given to the Gentiles. 2 And when Peter came to Jerusalem, those who kept the rule of circumcision had an argument with him, 3 Saying, You went to men without circumcision, and took food with them. 4 But Peter gave them an account of it all in order, saying to them, 5 I was in the town of Joppa, at prayer: and falling into a deep sleep, I saw in a vision a vessel like a great cloth let down from heaven, and it came down to me: 6 And looking on it with attention I saw in it all sorts of beasts and birds. 7 And a voice came to my ears saying, Come, Peter; take them for food. 8 But I said, No, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever come into my mouth. 9 But the voice, coming a second time from heaven, said, What God has made clean, do not you make common. 10 And this was done three times, and they were all taken up again into heaven. 11 And at that minute, three men, sent from Caesarea, came to the house where we were. 12 And the Spirit gave me orders to go with them, doubting nothing. And these six brothers came with me; and we went into that man's house: 13 And he gave us an account of how he had seen the angel in his house, saying, Send to Joppa, and get Simon, named Peter, to come to you; 14 Who will say words to you through which you and all your family may get salvation. 15 And, while I was talking to them, the Holy Spirit came on them, as on us at first. 16 And the words of the Lord came into my mind, how he said, The baptism of John was with water, but you will have baptism with the Holy Spirit. 17 If then God gave them, when they had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the same as he gave to us, who was I to go against God? 18 And hearing these things they said nothing more, but gave glory to God, saying, Then to the Gentiles as to us has God given a change of heart, so that they may have life.

The Church at Antioch

19 Then those who had gone away at the time of the trouble about Stephen, went as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus, preaching to the Jews only. 20 But some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, when they came to Antioch, gave the good news about the Lord Jesus to the Greeks. 21 And the power of the Lord was with them, and a great number had faith and were turned to the Lord. 22 And news of them came to the ears of the church at Jerusalem: and they sent Barnabas as far as Antioch: 23 Who, when he came and saw the grace of God, was glad; and he made clear to them the need of keeping near the Lord with all the strength of their hearts: 24 For he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and a great number were joined to the Lord. 25 Then he went on to Tarsus, looking for Saul; 26 And when he had come across him, he took him to Antioch. And they were with the church there for a year, teaching the people; and the disciples were first given the name of Christians in Antioch.

27 Now in those days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them, named Agabus, said publicly through the Spirit that there would be serious need of food all over the earth: which came about in the time of Claudius. 29 And the disciples, everyone as he was able, made a decision to send help to the brothers living in Judaea: 30 Which they did, sending it to the rulers of the church by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.