Job Defends Himself

13 “Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.
(A)What you know, I also know;
I am not inferior to you.
(B)But I would speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to reason with God.
But you forgers of lies,
(C)You are all worthless physicians.
Oh, that you would be silent,
And (D)it would be your wisdom!
Now hear my reasoning,
And heed the pleadings of my lips.
(E)Will you speak [a]wickedly for God,
And talk deceitfully for Him?
Will you show partiality for Him?
Will you contend for God?
Will it be well when He searches you out?
Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man?
10 He will surely rebuke you
If you secretly show partiality.
11 Will not His [b]excellence make you afraid,
And the dread of Him fall upon you?
12 Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes,
Your defenses are defenses of clay.

13 “Hold[c] your peace with me, and let me speak,
Then let come on me what may!
14 Why (F)do I take my flesh in my teeth,
And put my life in my hands?
15 (G)Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.
(H)Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.
16 He also shall be my salvation,
For a (I)hypocrite could not come before Him.
17 Listen carefully to my speech,
And to my declaration with your ears.
18 See now, I have prepared my case,
I know that I shall be (J)vindicated.
19 (K)Who is he who will contend with me?
If now I hold my tongue, I perish.

Job’s Despondent Prayer

20 “Only(L) two things do not do to me,
Then I will not hide myself from You:
21 (M)Withdraw Your hand far from me,
And let not the dread of You make me afraid.
22 Then call, and I will (N)answer;
Or let me speak, then You respond to me.
23 How many are my iniquities and sins?
Make me know my transgression and my sin.
24 (O)Why do You hide Your face,
And (P)regard me as Your enemy?
25 (Q)Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro?
And will You pursue dry stubble?
26 For You write bitter things against me,
And (R)make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
27 (S)You put my feet in the stocks,
And watch closely all my paths.
You [d]set a limit for the [e]soles of my feet.

28 Man[f] decays like a rotten thing,
Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

Job Speaks of Life’s Woes

14 “Man who is born of woman
Is of few days and (T)full of [g]trouble.
(U)He comes forth like a flower and fades away;
He flees like a shadow and does not continue.
And (V)do You open Your eyes on such a one,
And (W)bring [h]me to judgment with Yourself?
Who (X)can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
No one!
(Y)Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.
(Z)Look away from him that he may [i]rest,
Till (AA)like a hired man he finishes his day.

“For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,
Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant.
10 But man dies and [j]is laid away;
Indeed he [k]breathes his last
And where is (AB)he?
11 As water disappears from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dries up,
12 So man lies down and does not rise.
(AC)Till the heavens are no more,
They will not awake
Nor be roused from their sleep.

13 “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14 If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my hard service (AD)I will wait,
Till my change comes.
15 (AE)You shall call, and I will answer You;
You shall desire the work of Your hands.
16 For now (AF)You number my steps,
But do not watch over my sin.
17 (AG)My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You [l]cover my iniquity.

18 “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away,
And as a rock is moved from its place;
19 As water wears away stones,
And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
So You destroy the hope of man.
20 You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;
You change his countenance and send him away.
21 His sons come to honor, and (AH)he does not know it;
They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.
22 But his flesh will be in pain over it,
And his soul will mourn over it.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 13:7 unrighteously
  2. Job 13:11 Lit. exaltation
  3. Job 13:13 Be silent
  4. Job 13:27 Lit. inscribe a print
  5. Job 13:27 Lit. roots
  6. Job 13:28 Lit. He
  7. Job 14:1 turmoil
  8. Job 14:3 LXX, Syr., Vg. him
  9. Job 14:6 Lit. cease
  10. Job 14:10 lies prostrate
  11. Job 14:10 expires
  12. Job 14:17 Lit. plaster over

Preaching Christ at Thessalonica

17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to (A)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, (B)went in to them, and for three Sabbaths (C)reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating (D)that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” (E)And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and (F)Silas.

Assault on Jason’s House

But the Jews [a]who were not persuaded, [b]becoming (G)envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of (H)Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, (I)“These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has [c]harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, (J)saying there is another king—Jesus.” And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

Ministering at Berea

10 Then (K)the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more [d]fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and (L)searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds. 14 (M)Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and (N)receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.

The Philosophers at Athens

16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, (O)his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was [e]given over to idols. 17 Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. 18 [f]Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this [g]babbler want to say?”

Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them (P)Jesus and the resurrection.

19 And they took him and brought him to the [h]Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” 21 For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.

Addressing the Areopagus

22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the [i]Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24 (Q)God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is (R)Lord of heaven and earth, (S)does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He (T)gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one [j]blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and (U)the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 (V)so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, (W)though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for (X)in Him we live and move and have our being, (Y)as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, (Z)we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. 30 Truly, (AA)these times of ignorance God overlooked, but (AB)now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which (AC)He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by (AD)raising Him from the dead.”

32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter. 33 So Paul departed from among them. 34 However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Ministering at Corinth

18 After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a certain Jew named (AE)Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them (AF)and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers. (AG)And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

(AH)When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was (AI)compelled [k]by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. But (AJ)when they opposed him and blasphemed, (AK)he shook his garments and said to them, (AL)“Your blood be upon your own heads; (AM)I am clean. (AN)From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named [l]Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. (AO)Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

Now (AP)the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; 10 (AQ)for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

12 When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the [m]judgment seat, 13 saying, “This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.”

14 And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there would be reason why I should bear with you. 15 But if it is a (AR)question of words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; for I do not want to be a judge of such matters. 16 And he drove them from the judgment seat. 17 Then [n]all the Greeks took (AS)Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. But Gallio took no notice of these things.

Paul Returns to Antioch

18 So Paul still remained [o]a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. (AT)He had his hair cut off at (AU)Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow. 19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, 21 but took leave of them, saying, (AV)“I[p] must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, (AW)God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus.

22 And when he had landed at (AX)Caesarea, and [q]gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch. 23 After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the region of (AY)Galatia and Phrygia [r]in order, (AZ)strengthening all the disciples.

Ministry of Apollos

24 (BA)Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being (BB)fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, (BC)though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, (BD)he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, (BE)showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 17:5 NU omits who were not persuaded
  2. Acts 17:5 M omits becoming envious
  3. Acts 17:7 welcomed
  4. Acts 17:11 Lit. noble
  5. Acts 17:16 full of idols
  6. Acts 17:18 NU, M add also
  7. Acts 17:18 Lit. seed picker, an idler who makes a living picking up scraps
  8. Acts 17:19 Lit. Hill of Ares, or Mars’ Hill
  9. Acts 17:22 Lit. Hill of Ares, or Mars’ Hill
  10. Acts 17:26 NU omits blood
  11. Acts 18:5 Or in his spirit or in the Spirit
  12. Acts 18:7 NU Titius Justus
  13. Acts 18:12 Gr. bema
  14. Acts 18:17 NU they all
  15. Acts 18:18 Lit. many days
  16. Acts 18:21 NU omits I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem
  17. Acts 18:22 To Jerusalem
  18. Acts 18:23 successively

Bible Gateway Recommends