221 Then Eli'phaz the Te'manite answered: 2 "Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself. 3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous, or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless? 4 Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you, and enters into judgment with you?
5 Is not your wickedness great? There is no end to your iniquities. 6 For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing. 7 You have given no water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry. 8 The man with power possessed the land, and the favored man dwelt in it. 9 You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless were crushed. 10 Therefore snares are round about you, and sudden terror overwhelms you; 11 your light is darkened, so that you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you. 12 "Is not God high in the heavens? See the highest stars, how lofty they are! 13 Therefore you say, 'What does God know? Can he judge through the deep darkness? 14 Thick clouds enwrap him, so that he does not see, and he walks on the vault of heaven.'
15 Will you keep to the old way which wicked men have trod? 16 They were snatched away before their time; their foundation was washed away. 17 They said to God, 'Depart from us,' and 'What can the Almighty do to us?' 18 Yet he filled their houses with good things--but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 19 The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent laugh them to scorn, 20 saying, 'Surely our adversaries are cut off, and what they left the fire has consumed.'
21 "Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. 22 Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. 23 If you return to the Almighty and humble yourself, if you remove unrighteousness far from your tents, 24 if you lay gold in the dust, and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent bed, 25 and if the Almighty is your gold, and your precious silver; 26 then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and lift up your face to God. 27 You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you; and you will pay your vows. 28 You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways. 29 For God abases the proud, but he saves the lowly. 30 He delivers the innocent man; you will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."
231 Then Job answered: 2 "Today also my complaint is bitter, his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. 3 Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat! 4 I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments 5 I would learn what he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me. 6 Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; he would give heed to me. 7 There an upright man could reason with him, and I should be acquitted for ever by my judge.
8 "Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him; 9 on the left hand I seek him, but I cannot behold him; I turn to the right hand, but I cannot see him. 10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. 11 My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. 12 I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured in my bosom the words of his mouth.
13 But he is unchangeable and who can turn him? What he desires, that he does. 14 For he will complete what he appoints for me; and many such things are in his mind 15 Therefore I am terrified at his presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him. 16 God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me; 17 for I am hemmed in by darkness, and thick darkness covers my face.
241 "Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty, and why do those who know him never see his days? 2 Men remove landmarks; they seize flocks and pasture them. 3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless; they take the widow's ox for a pledge. 4 They thrust the poor off the road; the poor of the earth all hide themselves. 5 Behold, like wild asses in the desert they go forth to their toil, seeking prey in the wilderness as food for their children. 6 They gather their fodder in the field and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man. 7 They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold. 8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains, and cling to the rock for want of shelter. 9 (There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast, and take in pledge the infant of the poor.) 10 They go about naked, without clothing; hungry, they carry the sheaves; 11 among the olive rows of the wicked they make oil; they tread the wine presses, but suffer thirst. 12 From out of the city the dying groan, and the soul of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayer.
13 "There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths. 14 The murderer rises in the dark, that he may kill the poor and needy; and in the night he is as a thief. 15 The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, 'No eye will see me'; and he disguises his face. 16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up; they do not know the light. 17 For deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.
18 "You say, "They are swiftly carried away upon the face of the waters; their portion is cursed in the land; no treader turns toward their vineyards. 19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters; so does Sheol those who have sinned. 20 The squares of the town forget them; their name is no longer remembered; so wickedness is broken like a tree.' 21 "They feed on the barren childless woman, and do no good to the widow. 22 Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power; they rise up when they despair of life. 23 He gives them security, and they are supported; and his eyes are upon their ways. 24 They are exalted a little while, and then are gone; they wither and fade like the mallow; they are cut off like the heads of grain. 25 If it is not so, who will prove me a liar, and show that there is nothing in what I say?"
111 Now the apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, 3 saying, "Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?" 4 But Peter began and explained to them in order: 5 "I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, something descending, like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came down to me. 6 Looking at it closely I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying to me, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' 8 But I said, 'No, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' 9 But the voice answered a second time from heaven, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.' 10 This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. 11 At that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesare'a. 12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brethren also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, 'Send to Joppa and bring Simon called Peter; 14 he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.' 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, 'John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?" 18 When they heard this they were silenced. And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life."
19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoeni'cia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyre'ne, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number that believed turned to the Lord. 22 News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose; 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large company was added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church, and taught a large company of people; and in Antioch the disciples were for the first time called Christians.
27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Ag'abus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world; and this took place in the days of Claudius. 29 And the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brethren who lived in Judea; 30 and they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
