251 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered: 2 "Dominion and fear are with God; he makes peace in his high heaven. 3 Is there any number to his armies? Upon whom does his light not arise? 4 How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? 5 If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his sight, 6 how much less a mortal, who is a maggot, and a human being, who is a worm!"
261 Then Job answered: 2 "How you have helped one who has no power! How you have assisted the arm that has no strength! 3 How you have counseled one who has no wisdom, and given much good advice! 4 With whose help have you uttered words, and whose spirit has come forth from you?
5 The shades below tremble, the waters and their inhabitants. 6 Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering. 7 He stretches out Zaphon over the void, and hangs the earth upon nothing. 8 He binds up the waters in his thick clouds, and the cloud is not torn open by them. 9 He covers the face of the full moon, and spreads over it his cloud. 10 He has described a circle on the face of the waters, at the boundary between light and darkness. 11 The pillars of heaven tremble, and are astounded at his rebuke. 12 By his power he stilled the Sea; by his understanding he struck down Rahab. 13 By his wind the heavens were made fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. 14 These are indeed but the outskirts of his ways; and how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?"
271 Job again took up his discourse and said: 2 "As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, 3 as long as my breath is in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, 4 my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. 5 Far be it from me to say that you are right; until I die I will not put away my integrity from me. 6 I hold fast my righteousness, and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.
7 "May my enemy be like the wicked, and may my opponent be like the unrighteous. 8 For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts them off, when God takes away their lives? 9 Will God hear their cry when trouble comes upon them? 10 Will they take delight in the Almighty? Will they call upon God at all times?
11 I will teach you concerning the hand of God; that which is with the Almighty I will not conceal. 12 All of you have seen it yourselves; why then have you become altogether vain? 13 "This is the portion of the wicked with God, and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty: 14 If their children are multiplied, it is for the sword; and their offspring have not enough to eat. 15 Those who survive them the pestilence buries, and their widows make no lamentation. 16 Though they heap up silver like dust, and pile up clothing like clay- 17 they may pile it up, but the just will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver. 18 They build their houses like nests, like booths made by sentinels of the vineyard. 19 They go to bed with wealth, but will do so no more; they open their eyes, and it is gone. 20 Terrors overtake them like a flood; in the night a whirlwind carries them off. 21 The east wind lifts them up and they are gone; it sweeps them out of their place. 22 It hurls at them without pity; they flee from its power in headlong flight. 23 It claps its hands at them, and hisses at them from its place.
121 About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. 2 He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. 3 After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.) 4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.
5 While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.
6 The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his wrists. 8 The angel said to him, "Fasten your belt and put on your sandals." He did so. Then he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." 9 Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel's help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting." 12 As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying. 13 When he knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. 14 On recognizing Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, "You are out of your mind!" But she insisted that it was so. They said, "It is his angel." 16 Meanwhile Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed. 17 He motioned to them with his hand to be silent, and described for them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he added, "Tell this to James and to the believers." Then he left and went to another place. 18 When morning came, there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 When Herod had searched for him and could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.
20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him in a body; and after winning over Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for a reconciliation, because their country depended on the king's country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the platform, and delivered a public address to them. 22 The people kept shouting, "The voice of a god, and not of a mortal!" 23 And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents. 25 Then after completing their mission Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem and brought with them John, whose other name was Mark.
