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If my troubles and griefs were weighed on scales,
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they would weigh more than the sands of the sea, so my wild words should not surprise you.
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Almighty God has shot me with arrows, and their poison spreads through my body. God has lined up his terrors against me.
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A donkey is content when eating grass, and a cow is quiet when eating hay.
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But who can eat flat, unsalted food? What taste is there in the white of an egg?
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I have no appetite for food like that, and everything I eat makes me sick.
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Why won't God give me what I ask? Why won't he answer my prayer?
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If only he would go ahead and kill me!
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If I knew he would, I would leap for joy, no matter how great my pain. I know that God is holy; I have never opposed what he commands.
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What strength do I have to keep on living? Why go on living when I have no hope?
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Am I made of stone? Is my body bronze?
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I have no strength left to save myself; there is nowhere I can turn for help.
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In trouble like this I need loyal friends--- whether I've forsaken God or not.
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But you, my friends, you deceive me like streams that go dry when no rain comes.
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The streams are choked with snow and ice,
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but in the heat they disappear, and the stream beds lie bare and dry.
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Caravans get lost looking for water; they wander and die in the desert.
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Caravans from Sheba and Tema search,
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but their hope dies beside dry streams.
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You are like those streams to me, you see my fate and draw back in fear.
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Have I asked you to give me a gift or to bribe someone on my behalf
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or to save me from some enemy or tyrant?
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All right, teach me; tell me my faults. I will be quiet and listen to you.
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Honest words are convincing, but you are talking nonsense.
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You think I am talking nothing but wind; then why do you answer my words of despair?
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You would even roll dice for orphan slaves and make yourselves rich off your closest friends!
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Look me in the face. I won't lie.
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You have gone far enough. Stop being unjust. Don't condemn me. I'm in the right.
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But you think I am lying--- you think I can't tell right from wrong.
1
Human life is like forced army service, like a life of hard manual labor,
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like a slave longing for cool shade; like a worker waiting to be paid.
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Month after month I have nothing to live for; night after night brings me grief.
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When I lie down to sleep, the hours drag; I toss all night and long for dawn.
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My body is full of worms; it is covered with scabs; pus runs out of my sores.
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My days pass by without hope, pass faster than a weaver's shuttle.
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Remember, O God, my life is only a breath; my happiness has already ended.
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You see me now, but never again. If you look for me, I'll be gone.
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Like a cloud that fades and is gone, we humans die and never return; we are forgotten by all who knew us.
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No! I can't be quiet! I am angry and bitter. I have to speak.
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Why do you keep me under guard? Do you think I am a sea monster?
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I lie down and try to rest; I look for relief from my pain.
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But you---you terrify me with dreams; you send me visions and nightmares
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until I would rather be strangled than live in this miserable body.
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I give up; I am tired of living. Leave me alone. My life makes no sense.
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Why are people so important to you? Why pay attention to what they do?
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You inspect them every morning and test them every minute.
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Won't you look away long enough for me to swallow my spit?
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Are you harmed by my sin, you jailer? Why use me for your target practice? Am I so great a burden to you?
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Can't you ever forgive my sin? Can't you pardon the wrong I do? Soon I will be in my grave, and I'll be gone when you look for me.
1
Are you finally through with your windy speech?
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God never twists justice; he never fails to do what is right.
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Your children must have sinned against God, and so he punished them as they deserved.
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But turn now and plead with Almighty God;
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if you are so honest and pure, then God will come and help you and restore your household as your reward.
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All the wealth you lost will be nothing compared with what God will give you then.
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Look for a moment at ancient wisdom; consider the truths our ancestors learned.
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Our life is short, we know nothing at all; we pass like shadows across the earth.
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But let the ancient wise people teach you; listen to what they had to say:
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"Reeds can't grow where there is no water; they are never found outside a swamp.
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If the water dries up, they are the first to wither, while still too small to be cut and used.
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Godless people are like those reeds; their hope is gone, once God is forgotten.
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They trust a thread---a spider's web.
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If they lean on a web, will it hold them up? If they grab for a thread, will it help them stand?"
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Evil people sprout like weeds in the sun, like weeds that spread all through the garden.
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Their roots wrap around the stones and hold fast to every rock.
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But then pull them up--- no one will ever know they were there.
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Yes, that's all the joy evil people have; others now come and take their places.
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But God will never abandon the faithful or ever give help to evil people.
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He will let you laugh and shout again,
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but he will bring disgrace on those who hate you, and the homes of the wicked will vanish.
1
About this time King Herod began to persecute some members of the church.
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He had James, the brother of John, put to death by the sword.
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When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he went ahead and had Peter arrested. (This happened during the time of the Festival of Unleavened Bread.)
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After his arrest Peter was put in jail, where he was handed over to be guarded by four groups of four soldiers each. Herod planned to put him on trial in public after Passover.
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So Peter was kept in jail, but the people of the church were praying earnestly to God for him.
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The night before Herod was going to bring him out to the people, Peter was sleeping between two guards. He was tied with two chains, and there were guards on duty at the prison gate.
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Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shone in the cell. The angel shook Peter by the shoulder, woke him up, and said, "Hurry! Get up!" At once the chains fell off Peter's hands.
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Then the angel said, "Tighten your belt and put on your sandals." Peter did so, and the angel said, "Put your cloak around you and come with me."
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Peter followed him out of the prison, not knowing, however, if what the angel was doing was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.
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They passed by the first guard station and then the second, and came at last to the iron gate that opens into the city. The gate opened for them by itself, and they went out. They walked down a street, and suddenly the angel left Peter.
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Then Peter realized what had happened to him, and said, "Now I know that it is really true! The Lord sent his angel to rescue me from Herod's power and from everything the Jewish people expected to happen."
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Aware of his situation, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
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Peter knocked at the outside door, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer it.
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She recognized Peter's voice and was so happy that she ran back in without opening the door, and announced that Peter was standing outside.
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"You are crazy!" they told her. But she insisted that it was true. So they answered, "It is his angel."
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Meanwhile Peter kept on knocking. At last they opened the door, and when they saw him, they were amazed.
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He motioned with his hand for them to be quiet, and he explained to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell this to James and the rest of the believers," he said; then he left and went somewhere else.
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When morning came, there was a tremendous confusion among the guards---what had happened to Peter?
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Herod gave orders to search for him, but they could not find him. So he had the guards questioned and ordered them put to death. After this, Herod left Judea and spent some time in Caesarea.
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Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, so they went in a group to see him. First they convinced Blastus, the man in charge of the palace, that he should help them. Then they went to Herod and asked him for peace, because their country got its food supplies from the king's country.
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On a chosen day Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to the people.
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"It isn't a man speaking, but a god!" they shouted.
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At once the angel of the Lord struck Herod down, because he did not give honor to God. He was eaten by worms and died.
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Meanwhile the word of God continued to spread and grow.
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Barnabas and Saul finished their mission and returned from Jerusalem, taking John Mark with them.
