Job Bewails His Birth

31 Afterward e Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said e , 3 " Let the day perish on which I was to be born , And the night which said , 'A boy is conceived .' 4 "May that day be darkness ; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it. 5 "Let darkness and black gloom claim it; Let a cloud settle on it; Let the blackness of the day terrify it. 6 "As for that night , let darkness seize it; Let it not rejoice among the days of the year ; Let it not come into the number of the months . 7 "Behold , let that night be barren ; Let no joyful shout enter it. 8 "Let those curse it who curse the day , Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan . 9 "Let the stars of its twilight be darkened ; Let it wait for light but have none , And let it not see the breaking dawn ; 10 Because it did not shut the opening of my mother's womb , Or hide trouble from my eyes .

11 " Why did I not die at birth , Come forth from the womb and expire ? 12 "Why did the knees receive me, And why the breasts , that I should suck ? 13 "For now I would have lain down and been quiet ; I would have slept then , I would have been at rest , 14 With kings and with counselors of the earth , Who rebuilt ruins for themselves; 15 Or with princes who had gold , Who were filling their houses with silver . 16 "Or like a miscarriage which is discarded , I would not be, As infants that never saw light . 17 "There the wicked cease from raging , And there the weary are at rest . 18 "The prisoners are at ease together ; They do not hear the voice of the taskmaster . 19 "The small and the great are there , And the slave is free from his master .

20 "Why is light given to him who suffers , And life to the bitter of soul , 21 Who long for death , but there is none , And dig for it more than for hidden treasures , 22 Who rejoice greatly , And exult when they find the grave ? 23 "Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden , And whom God has hedged in? 24 "For my groaning comes at the sight of my food , And my cries pour out like water . 25 "For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread befalls me. 26 "I am not at ease , nor am I quiet , And I am not at rest , but turmoil comes ."

Eliphaz Rebukes Job

41 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered , 2 "If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient ? But who can refrain from speaking ? 3 "Behold you have admonished many , And you have strengthened weak hands . 4 "Your words have helped the tottering to stand , And you have strengthened feeble knees . 5 "But now it has come to you, and you are impatient ; It touches you, and you are dismayed . 6 "Is not your fear of God your confidence , And the integrity of your ways your hope ?

7 "Remember now , who ever perished being innocent ? Or where were the upright destroyed ? 8 "According to what I have seen , those who plow iniquity And those who sow trouble harvest it. 9 "By the breath of God they perish , And by the blast of His anger they come to an end . 10 "The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion , And the teeth of the young lions are broken . 11 "The lion perishes for lack of prey , And the whelps of the lioness are scattered .

12 "Now a word was brought to me stealthily , And my ear received a whisper of it. 13 "Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night , When deep sleep falls on men , 14 Dread came upon me, and trembling , And made all my bones shake . 15 "Then a spirit passed by my face ; The hair of my flesh bristled up. 16 "It stood still , but I could not discern its appearance ; A form was before my eyes ; There was silence , then I heard a voice : 17 'Can mankind be just before God ? Can a man be pure before his Maker ? 18 ' He puts no trust even in His servants ; And against His angels He charges error . 19 'How much more those who dwell in houses of clay , Whose foundation is in the dust , Who are crushed before the moth ! 20 ' Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces ; Unobserved e , they perish forever . 21 'Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die , yet without wisdom .'

44 "Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness , just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen . 45 "And having received it in their turn , our fathers brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the nations whom God drove out before e our fathers , until the time of David . 46 " David found favor in God's sight , and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob . 47 "But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. 48 "However , the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands ; as the prophet says : 49 ' HEAVEN IS MY THRONE , AND EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET ; WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME?' says the Lord , 'OR WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR MY REPOSE ? 50 ' WAS IT NOT MY HAND WHICH MADE ALL THESE THINGS ?'

51 "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit ; you are doing just as your fathers did. 52 " Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute ? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One , whose betrayers and murderers you have now become ; 53 you who received the law as ordained by angels , and yet did not keep it."

The Stoning of Stephen

54 Now when they heard this , they were cut to the quick , and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But being full of the Holy Spirit , he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God , and Jesus standing at the right hand of God ; 56 and he said , "Behold , I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God ." 57 But they cried out with a loud voice , and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse . 58 When they had driven him out of the city , they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul . 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said , "Lord Jesus , receive my spirit !" 60 Then falling on his knees , he cried out with a loud voice , "Lord , do not hold this sin against them!" Having said this , he fell asleep .

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Acts 7:44-60

Commentary on Acts 7:42-50

(Read Acts 7:42-50)

Stephen upbraids the Jews with the idolatry of their fathers, to which God gave them up as a punishment for their early forsaking him. It was no dishonour, but an honour to God, that the tabernacle gave way to the temple; so it is now, that the earthly temple gives way to the spiritual one; and so it will be when, at last, the spiritual shall give way to the eternal one. The whole world is God's temple, in which he is every where present, and fills it with his glory; what occasion has he then for a temple to manifest himself in? And these things show his eternal power and Godhead. But as heaven is his throne, and the earth his footstool, so none of our services can profit Him who made all things. Next to the human nature of Christ, the broken and spiritual heart is his most valued temple.

Commentary on Acts 7:51-53

(Read Acts 7:51-53)

Stephen was going on, it seems, to show that the temple and the temple service must come to an end, and it would be the glory of both to give way to the worship of the Father in spirit and in truth; but he perceived they would not bear it. Therefore he broke off, and by the Spirit of wisdom, courage, and power, sharply rebuked his persecutors. When plain arguments and truths provoke the opposers of the gospel, they should be shown their guilt and danger. They, like their fathers, were stubborn and wilful. There is that in our sinful hearts, which always resists the Holy Ghost, a flesh that lusts against the Spirit, and wars against his motions; but in the hearts of God's elect, when the fulness of time comes, this resistance is overcome. The gospel was offered now, not by angels, but from the Holy Ghost; yet they did not embrace it, for they were resolved not to comply with God, either in his law or in his gospel. Their guilt stung them to the heart, and they sought relief in murdering their reprover, instead of sorrow and supplication for mercy.

Commentary on Acts 7:54-60

(Read Acts 7:54-60)

Nothing is so comfortable to dying saints, or so encouraging to suffering saints, as to see Jesus at the right hand of God: blessed be God, by faith we may see him there. Stephen offered up two short prayers in his dying moments. Our Lord Jesus is God, to whom we are to seek, and in whom we are to trust and comfort ourselves, living and dying. And if this has been our care while we live, it will be our comfort when we die. Here is a prayer for his persecutors. Though the sin was very great, yet if they would lay it to their hearts, God would not lay it to their charge. Stephen died as much in a hurry as ever any man did, yet, when he died, the words used are, he fell asleep; he applied himself to his dying work with as much composure as if he had been going to sleep. He shall awake again in the morning of the resurrection, to be received into the presence of the Lord, where is fulness of joy, and to share the pleasures that are at his right hand, for evermore.